Stage 01, On The Day The Demon Prince was Born
The story begins in a Britannian suburb (Tokyo City) 7 years after the war, in the year 2017a.t.b. The scene starts with a police helicopter chasing down a truck. Another scene change; a TV is playing news report is shown, discussing a terrorist bombing that occurred in Osaka. Two people are playing chess with a group of bodyguards surrounding them. One of the players, an older man, runs out of time and his substitute, a student, arrives. His name is Lelouch Lamperouge. His friend, Rivalz, comments that he can’t possibly win. Lelouch is confident as he can win. Scene change again. Three girls are discussing Lelouch’s absence and how he should pay more attention to his studies.Another scene change; back to the truck. The driver is commenting on how difficult it is to get away. Meanwhile, Lelouch has won his match in 8mins 32sec, to the horror of his opponent, a noble.
The two students are walking out of the building as a public address is shown on a gigantic TV screen on the side of another building. The address, made by the governor, the 3rd Prince, Clovis, commenting on how his heart is torn by the event and how he will not “bend to the terrorists”. The passenger of the truck is also watching as she comments on how they are Japanese, not Elevens, as Clovis calls them in his greetings. Later, Clovis is congratulated by a bunch of important people for making his “awesome” announcement. A military person runs in and tells Clovis about the truck, which is obviously containing something important. Clovis demands that the supervisors and the Knightmares are sent out, and the scene changes with the pilots boarding their Knightmares.
Scene goes back to Lelouch and Rivalz, who are on their way back to school. The truck comes up behind them. And the truck is steered off to the side and crashes as the driver gets frustrated. Rivalz and Lelouch pause to check the scene. The helicopter is then shown again as it comments that the military is taking over the operation.
Lelouch is looking at the truck and a weird light comes out, forming a cross. A crowd gathers at the scene. Lelouch goes to help the two people in the truck, as Rivalz is left with the motorcycle, which appears to have broken down. A voice saying “I found it. My-” is heard by Lelouch as he climbs the truck’s ladder. The driver starts the truck again and Lelouch falls into an opening in the truck. Rivalz cracks a joke saying “Is that what they call a hit and run.” The military’s helicopters are closing in as they threaten the truck to stop. They start firing and the passenger, a girl, goes to the back of the truck and enters an old Knightmare, a Glasgow using it to take down the helicopters. The military deploy their own Knightmares, the standard Sutherland, in retaliation. Another Knightmare tries to gun down the truck, causing it to turn and run in an old subway corridor.
A man with purple hair and glasses questions and states that the General and Clovis are hiding something, which is what the terrorists stole. The man wants to collect data by helping in the search in exchange for keeping the secret. The General declares that the terrorists stole a chemical weapon, a poison gas. The army sends in their Elevens soldiers (soldiers who are Japanese) in to search the Shinjuku ghetto and subway corridors.
The truck is eventually stuck on a broken stretch of the road, and a soldier notices and alerts the commander. The truck driver decides that he has no choice and opens the hatch to the back. The soldier charges in and attacks Lelouch, who is standing near the poison gas capsule. He is knocked down by the soldier who tells him to not kill anyone, despite Lelouch’s attempts in explaining the situation. Lelouch kicks the soldier away from him and talks about how Britannia made the gas in the first place. He starts to walk out of the shadows as the soldier recognizes him and says his name while taking off his helmet. The soldier is revealed as Lelouch’s friend, Suzaku. Lelouch is shocked that his friend is in the army but their conversation is interrupted by the opening of the capsule. Suzaku takes action, placing his gas mask over Lelouch’s face while pulling both of them to the ground. The capsule opens to reveal a tied-up girl with long green hair.
Another scene change to the female terrorist with the Knightmare (Glasgow), who is communicating with someone. Scene change back to Lelouch and Suzaku who are freeing the girl in the capsule. Lelouch asks Suzaku if the girl was poison gas. They are interrupted again by the arrival of the commander of the reinforcements. The commander criticizes Suzaku for not following orders. He offers him a chance to redeem himself by using a gun to kill Lelouch, who the commander thinks is a terrorist. Suzaku stands up for Lelouch, saying that he is only a civilian who got caught in the conflict. The commander continues to force Suzaku to kill Lelouch but Suzaku refuses. The commander shoots Suzaku’s side at his refusal. He commands the soldiers to retrieve the woman and to kill Lelouch. The truck driver, despite being heavily wounded, is still conscious and blows up the truck in an attempt to kill the soldiers. Scene change to Clovis’ personal car, where he commands that the event should be declared as a “practice manoeuvre for cleaning up the district”. Clovis doesn’t want the event to leak outside, which will lead to his disinheritance. He commands that the Shinjuku Ghetto be destroyed. And so the army attacks as scenes of killing are shown.
Scene change. Lelouch and the girl are running in a dark area and they seemed to have gotten away from the soldiers during the truck explosion. He questions the girl on her identity and blames her for what is happening. Lelouch is still in shock about Suzaku’s death. Another scene change to the purple haired man and his assistant. They have brought along the Lancelot but they cannot use it since they don’t have a “devicer”. Scene change back to Lelouch, who are hiding on from the soldiers, who have just killed another man. They are guarding the only exit. Lelouch’s cell phone rings, alerting the soldiers to his location. One of the three girls from earlier is trying to call him. He ends the call without answering. Lelouch is banged up against a wall as the solders have their guns on the girl. Some rambling is made by the commander as he points his gun to shoot Lelouch. The girl jumps in the way shouting “don’t kill him” as the commander fires. She is shot in the head as a symbol appears on her head. She falls down, appearing to be dead. Lelouch is in more shock. His hand shakes as he thinks about Suzaku and the girl while wondering if he is going to meet his end there too. His mind flashes to a picture of a girl in a wheelchair, called Nunnally. The girl from the capsule grips his hand as the same mysterious voice from earlier asks if he doesn’t want to end it here. An inside your mind flashing scene thing follows. The girl offers him a contract. If he accepts the power she offers, he must grant one of her wishes. She tells him that if he accepts, he will live as a human but different from other humans. She also says that “the power of the king will make you lonely”. A couple of scene flashes, including one with a tall man saying “The union of Ragnarok, the land of legend… once again”. Lelouch accepts the contract.
Mind scene ends as Lelouch gets up, holding his hand over his left eye. Some more bantering between the commander and Lelouch. The commander has his gun pointed at Lelouch as Lelouch reveals his eye, which is glowing red with power. Lelouch then commands the soldiers to die as his new power takes over their minds. The commander and the other soldiers hold their gun to their necks as the commander say “Yes, your highness” before shooting themselves. Blood splashes all over as some goes onto Lelouch’s cheek, startling him out of his trance. Lelouch comments that from that day on, everything was a lie. He is upset about the unchanging world but doesn’t want to give up. The scene ends with Lelouch’s shocked face turning into an evil grin.
Rating: 3/5
Comment/Review:
There were way too many scene changes but it is only fair since it is the first episode. The Knightmares are rather hideous looking and cannot compare at all to Gundams. The art is great and the plot easily catches your attention. -ryaiden
