This episode is about mahjong. They play a whole lot of mahjong.
I don’t understand mahjong.
BOTTOM LINE: I used to play a computer game where there was a big tile pyramid and you had to remove two like tiles at a time. I liked it.
But this isn’t that.
There’s this new match teacher, she’s kind of a brainwashing slut. She gets her hands on Tsukune since he’s a big dummy. Typical storyline ensues.
BOTTOM LINE: This episode was absolutely hilarious due to Moka’s eyes being uneven at least 60% of the time.
A test ECM (Esper Counter Measure) exercise segues into a terrorist plot by The Normal People to utilize the ECM to take out The Children and gain access to BABEL’s Esper archive. Also Kaoru has super superpowers and that creepy guy keeps calling her his queen. I totally can’t tell where this is going!
BOTTOM LINE: Yeah it wasn’t bad. I worry over the plot reveal though; it’s clearly not the series’ strong point.
This episode is all about The Children going to school. There’s no The Normal People organization hijinks, no psychic upstarts, no huge explosions or anything. Just some kids going to school, and the main character monitoring them with a prototype camouflage suit to make sure nothing goes out of control.
And it’s goddamn awesome.
BOTTOM LINE: From the jackass kid who almost gets splattered to the Invis-o-Suit wackiness to the reveal of the invisible antagonist this was a pretty excellent time. I LOVE WACKY FACES
Ichijou’s grandfather has come to visit Cross Academy. This is a big deal because A) he’s one of the oldest (and therefore most evil) vampires alive and B) he’s one of the most influential members of the Council of Ancients. I think that’s what it’s called, it’s some vampire ruling body. He seems like kind of a jerk, and he obviously is. We also learn that he wanted to become Kaname’s official guardian but Kaname said no way. Noooo way.
Then there’s Zero’s new task of taking missions from the Vampire Hunter Office. He has no right to refuse now that he’s become a vampire himself, since it’s the only way they’ll let him live. So he goes out and does his thing. Yuki gets involved along with the two models from the Night Class, one of which can use some kind of blood magic. That’s pretty tite.
BOTTOM LINE: A good, but not amazing, episode.
Lelouche really wants to support Nunnally, and doesn’t want to struggle against her as Zero. That’s unthinkable! But he also doesn’t want to leave his followers in a lurch. What’s the answer?
Well, Lelouche’s was to ensure that Zero received a sentence of banishment. Then, once the whole Order showed up at Nunnally’s announcement, release some gas and when it clears - bam, everyone’s in a Zero uniform. Thus ensuring everyone can leave the country 100% safely. Of course he also relies on Suzaku being there, since he won’t authorize the soldiers to just shoot everyone for pulling that kind of wacky stunt. They really do want to, but that’s just too bad.
BOTTOM LINE: Pretty damn cool.
A bit of a slower episode, Main Character realizes how much The Children would like to go to school, and how much they’re missing out by not interacting with other kids their own age. So he sets up a project designed to prove they’re perfectly able to attend school normally, by using a realistic simulation. And their simulator robots keep getting destroyed by The Children. Whoops. They’re in the middle of one such training session when a terrorist group of anti-psychics hacks into their computer and causes some mishaps. They catch the perp at the end and everything’s A-OK.
BOTTOM LINE: Very actiony, but I’m not watching this series for the action. Of course not! So a little slow, but not bad. Finally someone uses teleportation offensively. They never do that.
Lelouche is depressed. So depressed. He figures since Zero was created for Nunnally’s sake, there’s really no reason to continue with him anymore. So he just wanders around, uses his Geass to terrorize a few street thugs, and is about to take up a Refrain addiction until Karen and then Rolo come and talk some sense into him. He arrives back at the school to see his friends have stayed home from the field trip to wait for him. It’s then he has some kind of revelation; something something happiness metaphor something. I seriously have no idea what the result was, because it seemed like he was going to become just a normal student and forget the whole rebellion thing but then he calls the Order again to help them out of their latest jam. Then he flies towards Suzaku and tells him he’s going to participate in the new administration area along with the rest of the Order. For reals? Maybe.
BOTTOM LINE: Seeing Lelouche really depressed was a huge change and quite interesting. In fact, everything about this episode was above average except for that bizarre change of heart he had towards the end. No idea what was going on there, but hey, whatever. Guess we’ll find out more in the next episode!
Big time action is the Name of the Game. I just realized there hasn’t been a really *BIG* action episode this season, so I suppose that bill is now paid. Lelouche learns that Nunnally is alive, and is the new governor of Area 11. So he gets the Order to attack the ship she’s traveling on in order to rescue her. But when he finally meets her (as Zero) he learns she has volunteered for the position, and she’s going to reinstitute Euphemia’s plan so everyone can live together. Then (as the fighting has caused the ship to begin crashing) she’s rescued by Suzaku, while Zero is thrown clear and grabbed by Karen.
Now really the best part about this episode is the action, which begins good enough but really is kicked up a notch when Lakshata arrives and equips Karen’s Guren with a bunch of new upgrades which makes her a total badass. It was awesome, no lie. Now Lelouche doesn’t know how to proceed. Either he keeps fighting against Nunnally and her ideals or he gives up. Bad decisions.
BOTTOM LINE: A really good action-oriented episode, with an impressive amount of surprises thrown in. Lelouche really needs to just kill Suzaku right now. That’s it, axe him, then everyone’s happy.
What I didn’t like, however, is the Emperor’s aspiration revealed. “Kill the gods?” That is almost painfully anime. It’s not shocking anymore guys, we all expect it now 
This episode focuses on Naomi something-or-other, Esper codename Kitty Cat. She’s a level 6 who does a little bit of everything, unlike The Children’s specialties. But her powers are freaking out, which is portrayed in a very Inukami-like situation. Pretty excellent. Main character, his doctor friend and The Children are recruited to try and figure out what her problem is.
Through a variety of amusing survellience activities they discover that her manager has been raising her since 12 to be his perfect woman, and she secretly hates him. So she beats the crap out of him and the old pervert esper who has appeared for a second time, and changes her codename to Wild Cat. Which made me think of Wing Commander, for some reason.
BOTTOM LINE: One of the better episodes so far. The Children’s reactions to how perfect she appears are really good, and Kaoru’s sparring session was a series highlight. I’m really feeling the Inukami vibe.
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