Firstly is Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion. At first glance you might think its a combination of Gundam Seed and Full Metal Panic, what with the similar elements of the introduction and the cross playing of school with military life. However, the main character and essential plot is strikingly different, even as they pile in genre staples and fanservice(without checking, I'm sure the hentai for the show is vast and varied).

The titular character Lelouch finds himself in an alternate world where Britain apparently never lost the American Revolution, and it continued to expand into a dominant power, an empire controlling 1/3 of the globe. So of course they go and attack Japan, silly little island with its backwards people so nostalgic for the past(okay, I'm stretching a bit for dramatic effect, but its relevant to the plot later). They unveil a new humanoid weapon that travels around on wheeled skates, called a Knightmare Frame. (OMG, the white people, they have robots! tongue.gif )

He's an heir to the British throne, but falls out of favor as his mom, the Queen no less, is killed and he's sent to Japan with his sister as a political hostage. So he hates his dad, the Emperor, that man among men, and plots revenge.

Cue the main story as he meets this weird alien chick named C.C. who gives him the titular power of Geass, special eye powers that manifest themselves differently in individuals who bond themselves with C.C. Lelouch, being a Prince, gets the ability to give anyone a single order that they absolutely cannot refuse, no matter what(see now how the possibilities for hentai must be so great for this show).

So cue things forward a bit and he becomes a sort of antihero terrorist, moving other terrorists like chess pieces and confounding the awesome British military, until he meets who I'll call Battle Princess Cornelia. Cue more crazy awesome fights. Toss in the genre convention of his best friend Kururugi Sazaku, the son of the late Prime Minister of Japan, joining the British military and fighting in their personified Deus Ex Machina unit(I swear, its Sakuradite core- think anime power source for magical mystery power among mech shows, is the visible source for its ability to break Lelouch's otherwise totally awesome and enjoyable antics aimed at killing and overthrowing the British, and ultimately his dad), just to be a blatant foil of Lelouch. Somewhere in there is the attractive Kallen, did I mention half the show's young characters end up in the same private Academy and life double lives(hence the Full Metal Panic references), who moonlights as a terrorist and later on comes under the control of Lelouch(who masks himself, you know, since people think he's dead and all, something I didn't mention yet).

I'm going to cut short here, because that should be enough to give you a taste for the complexity of the show. Make no mistake, its still somewhat of a spectacle show. But one done RIGHT. Lelouch is an enjoyable antihero who, and this is especially true of the flashback sequences to when he was a kid right after his mother dies, reminds me a bit of the character Laharl from the Disgaea series. The first season ended not to long ago, and I'm highly anticipating the second season.