Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 35: Kusha no Saikai (The reunion of the fools)

At an empty coffee house, Lust and Gluttony tell Envy about the death of Greed since a certain person will create a new version soon. Envy also tells Lust about the arrival of Wrath who is now with Sloth. He realises that Lust is in a daze and asks if she's affected by Greed's death. Lust suddenly mentions that as a result of this incident, it only got her thinking where they came from and where they're heading towards. Just then, the owner of the shop comes to interrupt their conversation and tells them to leave as he's closing soon. However, the trio ignore him where Envy stabs him with a knife to stop him from making noise. Envy says that since they are in this world, they don't have to find a particular destination and will just stay here. Lust thinks to herself that this is not the first time she is thinking about this question.

Meanwhile, a car bangs into a house which results in a boy getting injured. A man by the name of Lujon arrives and uses the red water crystal to heal the boy. Lust happens to see this and when Lujon turns around, he is surprised to see her...

Ed, Al and Winry take a horse cart ride through the forest so that they can reach Isbal and meet Scar. Suddenly, they hear a girl's screams. The girl, Libia is surrounded by a group of men who wish to take advantage of her and Ed saves her from harm.

Lujon and Lust have a chat inside the coffee house where he remarks that it has been 2 years since they last met. Lujon asks her why she left without a word but Lust replies nonchalantly that she can't remember the past even though Lujon seems deeply attracted to her. Lust then asks him why he left his village and he reveals that he needs to find a new Kenja no Ishi since the village is struck with the same disease again.

2 years ago, there was a landslide near Lujon's village where his fiancee, Libia got injured and that was when he first saw Lust. Lust and Gluttony hear about the epidemic in the village where Lujon promised to heal everyone with alchemy.

Back to the present, Libia tells Ed, Al and Winry that she came to look for her fiance, Lujon. Even though the trio are not too interested in Libia's explanation in the first place, they sit up and take notice once they hear that Lujon left the village to look for Kenja no Ishi. Libia reveals that their village is struck with an epidemic where the body slowly gets covered by a wooden texture and there is no cure for it.

At that time, Lujon tried to use his limited alchemy skills to cure the sick people but it was of no use. Lust happened to have a flashback of a man grasping a woman's hand who was on her deathbed asking for God to save her which resembled what Lujon was muttering. Thus, Lust taught Lujon to learn the correct information on alchemy and even offered him a ring containing the red water crystal which was supposed to enhance his alchemy powers.

Lust and Gluttony follow Lujon back to his village where he keeps talking about how grateful he is about Lust coming along with him and how he misses their past. Meanwhile, Ed, Al and Winry decide to send Libia back to her village since she has no idea where Lujon is and would not be able to locate him without a clue.

While looking at Lujon, Lust's flashback became clearer about the man holding her hand and he turned out to be Scar's brother! As a result of Lust's help, Lujon managed to heal Libia and the rest of the people struck with the disease. However, this led to Lujon developing feelings for Lust despite him being engaged to Libia. Unknown to them, this was part of Lust's ploy to instigate the villagers to seek the real Kenja no Ishi since the virus was spread by Envy and the red water crystal given to Lujon would only heal the people for the time being.

On the day of Lujon and Libia's wedding, he told Lust that he loved her and cannot marry Libia. When Lujon hugged Lust, this was seen by Libia and Lust told Lujon to go after her. Lust took the chance to leave the village with Gluttony at that time...

With Lust's help, Lujon manages to save his people again and he hugs her again. This reminds Lust of the fragments from her past and she kills Lujon who is bewildered by her action. With the disintegration of the red water crystal on Lujon's ring, the villages are struck with the disease again.

The next morning, Libia returns to her village which is wiped out by the disease. Even Libia herself dies from this thus shocking Ed, Al and Winry on the degree of destruction in the village...

This episode proves the link between Lust and Scar's brother's lover who died. When Scar first met Lust, he already mentioned that she looks like his brother's lover so this is not a coincidence. From the flashbacks that Lust had, it seems that she was the product of Scar's brother's attempt at human alchemy to bring her back to life. However, it just seems unusually coincidental for Lust to have the same looks as the person who was being brought back to life. Anyway, the appearance of Lujon served as the trigger to regaining some memories of the past for Lust so she killed him in order to avoid being reminded repeatedly from those flashbacks.

Suzuka Ep 12: Gokai (Misunderstanding)

On the way to school, Asahina asks Yamato whether he will turn up for training and he replies in the affirmative. Although he wants to seize the chance to chat with her, Yamato senses that Asahina's attitude towards him is still icy-cold and feels discouraged before saying anything.

Yamato wonders if Asahina is still mad at him for mentioning Kazuki that night and feels that there is not much hope between them to patch up. Honoka realises that Yamato is feeling down because of Asahina and feels uneasy about Asahina's outburst that day during the race. Honoka is not sure of how Asahina feels towards Yamato but she starts to worry about the possibility that Asahina may like Yamato.

That day, after practice, Honoka suggests going home with Yamato but he has to stay behind as punishment for skipping practice previously. As such, Yamato tells Honoka to go home first and proceeds with his self-training as it's getting late. Honoka has no choice but to leave reluctantly and gets worried about leaving Yamato and Asahina alone.

Yamato wants to talk to Asahina but he's afraid of being ignored or disliked by her. Meanwhile, Honoka decides to look for Yamato as she's concerned about him being together with Asahina. When Yamato finishes practice, he sees Asahina leaving without a word and grumbles about her being a heartless person. Unknown to him, Asahina has heard this when she returns to help him do cooling-down exercises after the training. Asahina reminds Yamato of his shortcomings during running and he gets happy knowing that she has been watching him train. Honoka happens to see them holding hands while cooling down and is very shocked. She tries to conceal her uneasiness and convince herself that Asahina feels for Yamato in a different way from her.

Yamato receives 2 free tickets to the swimming pool from the cable TV salesgirl and wonders if he should ask Asahina out for a date on Sunday. When he raises this suggestion to Hattori, the latter mentions that unless Asahina likes him or is his girlfriend, girls would normally not go to the pool with a guy easily. In addition, he reminds Yamato that he was rejected by Asahina when they went to the amusement park previously and asks him whether he wants history to repeat itself. Although Yamato tries to convince himself that he does not have any ulterior motives for asking Suzuka out, he is reminded by Hattori that Asahina may have her plans for Sunday and Yamato remembers that she usually spends her Sundays visiting Kazuki's grave. Thus, Yamato drops the idea of asking Asahina out.

Honoka asks Yamato to go to the swimming pool with her on Sunday and this is overheard by Miki and Kobayakawa who want to tag along with them. Miki also asks Asahina to come along and the latter agrees after looking at Yamato for a brief moment. Yamato and Honoka are surprised at Asahina's decision since he is under the impression Asahina will go to visit Kazuki while Honoka is not happy about Asahina obstructing her attempt to spend time with Yamato.

At the swimming pool, Yamato is still wondering what made Asahina decide to go swimming with them and shrugs off the idea that she came because of him. Yamato wants to talk to Asahina but Miki drags her off to the pool. As for Honoka, she also intends to spend time with Yamato but Kobayakawa is eager to impress her and stops her from being with Yamato. However, Yamato makes up his mind to improve his relationship with Asahina today.

Yamato laments that he has no chance of getting close to Asahina and rejects Honoka's suggestion of playing on one of the attractions. Honoka realises that Yamato's attention is totally focused on Asahina and feels upset. Yamato starts to wonder if this is all his imagination about Asahina coming for his sake when she seems more interested in swimming.

On the way home, Yamato is tying his shoelaces and his friends walk ahead of him. To his surprise, he sees Asahina returning to look for him and they walk together. When the fireworks display is on, Yamato and Asahina are reminded of their time together at the amusement park where Yamato suddenly grabs her arm and is prepared to confess his feelings for her again despite the possibility of failure. Before he can say anything, Honoka, Miki and Kobayakawa return for them and Honoka sees that Yamato was grabbing Asahina's arm.

The next day, Honoka asks Asahina to walk home with her and she remarks that Asahina is on good terms with Yamato. Honoka reveals that she's in love with Yamato and asks Asahina if it's fine that she tells Yamato about it. When Honoka remarks that Asahina likes Yamato, the latter gets defensive and says that it's impossible for her to like him. Yamato happens to hear this and Honoka runs away as she's embarrassed by what she said. Asahina tries to explain herself but Yamato walks away, saying that he knows all along that Asahina does not like him. Even though he tries to pretend that it's OK, Asahina feels worried that she has hurt Yamato with her words...

Finally, Honoka has made her move by confronting Asahina about her feelings for Yamato and it is perfect timing for him to hear Asahina denying Honoka's view. I guess this will make Yamato realise the hopelessness of his situation with Asahina and by the next episode, it seems to be the turning point for his relationship with Honoka and look at her in a different light. Asahina does not seem as cold as before and she starts to see how her lies have hurt Yamato. By the time she realises her feelings for him, it may be difficult to rectify the situation now that Honoka is also involved.

Honey and Clover Ep 17

After Team B goes to Tottori, Nomiya, Yamazaki and Miwako remark that the office seems more spacious than before. Miwako asks Nomiya whether he had asked Yamada to make the large size plates and he says that he will only look for her after the school festival since she should be tied up with the event.

Meanwhile, Yamada recollects how she rejected her suitors' proposals and feels sad about hurting their feelings. Her childhood friend, Ippei who manages his family's bakery comes to look for Yamada and tells her not to blame herself for what happened since this is not her fault. Yamada is worried about the suitors avoiding her in future after the rejection but Ippei tells her to treat them as before. In addition, he asks Yamada to bring Hagu along to help out at his shop during Christmas.

Hagu is staring at Takemoto's graduation project when Hanamoto comes to look for her. He tells her that Takemoto should be returning to school later after his job interview and brings Hagu out to have dinner.

Takemoto returns to school and sees everyone cleaning up the campus since today is the last day of the school festival. As he has failed to secure a job again, Takemoto walks away without a word despite seeing Hagu and Takemoto having dinner. He goes to the hall where his graduation project is exhibited. He recollects the fact that he left home to study without a clear goal in life and is stumped during interviews now because he still has no idea what he wants to do. With this realisation, Takemoto grabs a chair and destroys the tower he had built...

The next day, everyone is shocked to find the remains of the tower scattered in the hall and Hanamoto tells Hagu not to worry since Takemoto was the one who did this despite that tower being the key to whether he can graduate.

Yamada and Hagu get down to work at Ippei's bakery. As it is snowing, Yamada finds her suitors cum childhood friends coming to offer refreshments and items to keep warm despite her rejection. Thus, this serves as an assurance to Yamada that they are not holding it against her for what happened.

Hanamoto, Hagu, Yamada and Takemoto hold a Christmas party but the atmosphere seems rather subdued without Morita and Mayama. Takemoto had thought that last year's Christmas party should be the last for the group since he felt that he should be the one absent from this year's party. Hanamoto sees that Takemoto is in a daze and makes him drunk so that he has no time to despair. Later, they play the Twister game made by Morita but Hanamoto accidentally injures himself...

It is one month to the submission deadline for the graduation project and Morita is still away. Hanamoto says that as long as Morita finishes the sculpture of himself, there should be no problems. However, as Morita is already in his 8th year, he might not graduate if he doesn't submit his project this time. Takemoto is also in the same situation as he has to make a new tower to replace the one he destroyed while he continues to get rejected at job interviews.

During New Year, Takemoto goes to his stepfather, Kazu's hometown with him and his mother and feels happy that his mother is getting along fine with Kazu's family. When he returns, he focuses on completing the tower and forces himself to continue despite feeling unwell.

Yamada and Hagu come to see Takemoto and brings food for him. However, Takemoto looks unwell and vomits blood before fainting which scares the girls...

Takemoto is admitted to hospital for stomach ulcer and has to be hospitalised for a period of time. This would mean that Takemoto would have no time to finish his project but Hanamoto says that the most important thing now is for Takemoto to rest instead of worrying over the project.

In his sleep, Takemoto dreams of his father who had cycled to bring him to a hospital when he was sick during his childhood. However, that also caused his father to be admitted since he was sickly in the first place. Takemoto wakes up to find Kazu holding his hand and his mother by his bedside. As he has to be admitted for a week, there is no way he can finish the tower in time. His mother tells him not to worry over money and he can consider repeating the final year instead of worrying over the graduation project. Although Takemoto is not too keen on this idea initially, he decides to heed his mother's advice to stay in the university for another year.

Hagu comes to visit Takemoto and his parents decide to leave them alone. Mayama, Yamada and Hanamoto are hiding outside to see whether Takemoto will tell Hagu about his feelings but Hanamoto runs into the ward and shows Takemoto a portable TV thus spoilling his chance. They happen to watch the Mochademy Awards on TV where the movie, Space Titanic wins the Best Special Effects Award and get startled when the winner goes on stage to receive the award...

I like the sentence which Takemoto said, "it's not that I don't have a map, it's that I don't have a place I want to go". Currently, I guess I'm also in the same situation. I am unsure of what I want to do so I seem to be wasting time while trying to find out where my direction is. Thus, I can understand Takemoto's apprehension. I'm not sure how long it takes for me to find my goal but I guess for Takemoto, since he has found out the reason for his unsuccessful job interviews, the thing now would be for him to find his goal before deciding how to achieve that.

Next episode would see the return of my favourite, Morita-san! Now that he's won an international award, I guess Takemoto might be feeling inferior to him again and it remains to be seen if anything will develop between Morita and Hagu after a long period of absence.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 34 - Goyoku no Riron (The logic of extreme greed)

Ed, Izumi and Sigu are watched over by the soldiers under Archer's orders and they refuse to let the trio go. Meanwhile, as exchange for betraying Greed, Kimbly and Tucker are allowed to return to the millitary. In addition, Archer tells his men to kill everyone in the bar including Greed's gang who has escaped.

The soldiers are hot on Greed's heels and his men get killed one after another. Suddenly, Armstrong appears in front of them and demands that they release Al. Roa takes on Armstrong where he goes into battle mode transformation but he is still no match for him. Armstrong persuades them to surrender so that they will not be killed. Greed tells Armstrong to relay a message to Kimbly and Tucker that he will be back to take revenge on the duo. Roa then smashes the wall of the underground tunnel thus giving them a chance to escape. Meanwhile, Ed, Izumi and Sigu have escaped from the soldiers by creating dummies to fool them.

Greed manages to take cover at a hut with Roa, Dolcetto and Martel only and is troubled over what he should do next. Just then, Lust and Gluttony appear and give Greed two choices i.e. either to be sealed again or killed on the spot. Lust reminds Greed that because of his disobedience to a certain person, he was sealed 140 years ago so she can also do the same to him under that person's orders. Dolcetto and Roa decide to handle Lust and Gluttony themselves so as to let Greed, Al and Martel run away. Although Greed is not willing to let them sacrifice for him, he decides to listen to them who ask him to take revenge on everyone's behalf.

Ed decides to go to Dante's house for a look as he notices a large number of birds flying away from her place. In the meantime, Greed, Al and Martel are hiding in the forest where Greed tells Martel to escape by herself if he's not back by dawn and goes somewhere without explaining further. Martel wants to get out from Al's armour but he stops her since Greed had given instructions for her to hide inside.

Greed comes to Dante's house where Lust and Gluttony observe from a distance. Lust says that everything is according to that person's plan so their job is done.

Greed sees Lyra who sees through why he is here as this is the place where he was created. She brings him to the hall where Greed feels very uncomfortable at the sight of some human bones which Lyra says that those are his remains. When Greed asks where Dante is, he is shocked to see her dead on the floor. Suddenly, a blue light appears where Greed sees an alchemy sign on the rooftop and this causes him to be in excruciating pain. He starts to throw up the red water crystals which melt one by one and feels drained after the ordeal. When he looks around for Lyra, he sees that she's no longer around.

Just then, Ed who has seen the blue light from the outside of the house, rushes into the hall and misunderstands that Greed killed Dante. Greed does not explain himself and challenges Ed to a fight if he wants to save Al. Ed uses alchemy to fight against Greed and manages to strip the latter's arm of its invincible shield. He explains that even though Greed may be a Homcrest, his body composition is still similar to humans. Under this principle, the substance which can be converted to form that metallic shield would be carbon whereby one third of the body is made up of. By knowing this, Greed's shield is no longer unbreakable but he refuses to give up. Ed makes up his mind to fight with Greed until he agrees to reveal Al's whereabouts. Ed manages to kill Greed easily as he has lost much of his life power due to the vomitting earlier. Before he breathes his last, Greed reveals that the weak point of the Homcrest is when they see the remains of the original person whom the alchemist was trying to resurrect and this restricts their movements. He also says that Ed can defeat that person and that he would rather die than be sealed again. Ed cannot believe that he has killed Greed and can only look on helplessly as Greed dissolves into a pool of water...

Dawn comes and Martel fulfills her promise to Greed by releasing Al and leaves. Ed then buries Dante in her garden together with Izumi and Al but they cannot find Lyra.

The brothers and Winry decide to go to Isbal to look for Scar as they do not want the millitary to cause more trouble for Izumi and Sigu. Ed makes up his mind to continue with this journey until he achieves his aim...

Oh...the death of Greed...No more of Suwabe-san's voice! Frankly speaking, Greed is my No.1 favourite Homcrest. Of course, it has to do with the fact that his charisma is heightened by Suwabe-san's voice but I find his frankness in not concealing his greed for material things and his mannerisms especially when trying to make light of the situation very appealing. Besides, he's not as detestable as the other Homcrest members. Now that he's no longer around, I really miss hearing Suwabe-san's voice.

Nevertheless, Greed has offered some valuable information to Ed. There is this someone who is controlling the Homcrest and I have a hunch that it could be Dante given that Greed was in fear of her and that Lyra mentioned that Greed was born at Dante's house. Thus, Greed's evolution and his being sealed 140 years ago should be related to her in one way or another. My hunch is that Dante is not dead and she might have transferred her soul to Lyra's body instead and left her old body to die. Thus, the current Lyra might contain Dante's soul instead. It's just a guess at this stage because that's the only explanation I can come up with given that I don't believe a character like Dante who seems to be hiding many things would die so easily.

It seems that the bag belonging to Greed could have been the red water crystals instead of money. To Greed, the red water crystals sustain his life so when he threw them up after being tricked by Lyra, it made him much weaker thus allowing Ed to kill him easily. However, Kimbly created a mini explosion in that bag which Archer was holding so I'm sure Kimbly is just making use of Archer for his own goal instead of listening to him blindly.

Honey and Clover Ep 16

The Fujiwara brothers decide to split their design agency after some differences where one group will operate in Tokyo while the other goes to Tottori. The announcement was even splashed on a tabloid. Miwako and Nomiya are discussing this as they are supposed to decide who goes to Tokyo or Tottori. Since the staff are already split into group A and B, those who are going to Tottori would likely be group B but there's a newly-married staff, Tanaka whom Miwako says should stay behind in Tokyo. Just then, Mayama returns to the office but ignores their questions on where he went with Rika. The two had come to know about Mayama's meeting with Rika through a fax from Asai and feel that Rika might quit from the industry if Asai is not fit to work anymore. As such, in order to see if Mayama will sacrifice everything to be with Rika, they decide to place him in group B to replace Tanaka where he's supposed to be posted to Tottori.

Yamada is having a flu and Hanamoto says that the virus spreads especially during the preparation of the school festival. He also asks about Takemoto where Hagu mentions that he's not doing well too. Hanamoto says that this is a natural process for all 4th year students and tells Hagu not to worry for him.

Hagu goes to look for Takemoto who is staring blankly at the tower he has created and seems to be unsure of how to continue. She gets him some refreshments and looks on with a worried look about Takemoto's condition.

Mayama goes to visit Asai and finds out that Rika has lied to him about the assignments under Harada Design being completed. Asai reveals that he had suggested to Rika before about getting Mayama to return to her agency but she refused to do so as she's worried about hurting his feelings. Rika said that she didn't have to put on an act in front of Mayama since he's unaware of her past with Harada and could concentrate on work. However, Rika is still blaming herself for the accident which killed Harada thus at the first sign that she's feeling happy and relaxed in Mayama's presence, Rika decides to punish herself by pushing Mayama away in order to repent for the accident she caused. Mayama thinks to himself that the pain he feels when he can't see Rika is the best reason why he cannot stop loving her.

The official announcement by the Fujiwara brothers about the splitting of the agency is made. Mayama finds himself being posted to Tottori and decides to quit immediately as expected by Nomiya and Miwako who already knew that he will throw away everything for Rika.

Mayama goes to Rika's apartment and makes his way in much to her surprise. He starts to set up the computer system and make arrangements to prepare for work which startles Rika. Mayama then reveals that he has quit from Fujiwara Design and wants Rika to hire him. She asks him why he insists on returning to her company where Mayama reminds her that he promised to return whether Rika is waiting for him or not and stresses that he won't be hurt anymore. As such, Rika has no choice but to accept his decision.

The 3rd generation boss of the sushi shop, Tatsu is getting married to Akemi, one of the owners of a bar named Misuzu and he seems to be quite unwilling to do so. His counterparts rejoice over the fact that there's lesser competition for Yamada who congratulates Tatsu and she even cries after getting drunk.

On the eve of the school festival, the teachers are judging the graduation projects and seem to be unsure of how to view Takemoto's creation. Hanamoto decides to help out by naming his creation which results in the teachers being full of praise for Takemoto.

Nomiya comes to Yamada's shop to buy wine and she remarks that he has been coming frequently of late. He reveals that Mayama had quit from their company and he has gone to work for Rika. Upon hearing this, Yamada faints on the spot.

The next day, Yamada is not looking well after hearing what Mayama did. At the same time, Takemoto who had been sleeping beside his creation, wakes up to find the festival already in progress and realises that Hagu had been there with the blanket, warming packets and hot drinks.

Yamada is shocked to find 4 of the 3rd generation shop owners proposing to her and runs away from them by using Hagu as her cover. Takemoto also comes to look for them and they find out why Yamada has to hide from her suitors. Yamada says that she has never thought of them in the romantic sense even though they are childhood friends. If they did not propose to her, they would have remained as good friends. This suddenly makes Yamada realise that her situation with Mayama is similar and she bursts out crying after finally seeing why Mayama told her to give up.

Hanamoto and Yamada have a chat on the rooftop and she reveals that she has always felt that Mayama is a fool not to reciprocate her feelings despite how much she loves him. However, now that the same thing has happened to her, it's not possible for her to pick anyone from the 4 suitors despite them loving her since she doesn't have any feelings for them. That is why she has finally realised Mayama's feelings when he told her to look for someone else now. Hanamoto tells Yamada that she should tell her suitors the truth and leave them to decide whether to continue or give up just like what she has to choose with regards to her feelings for Mayama.

Hanamoto thinks to himself that he lied to Yamada where there should be another way of handling the situation. However, by letting her think that there's only 2 choices, it will help her to settle the matter in an easier manner...

In a sense, I really do admire Mayama for his determination to press on once he has made up his mind. I guess until he found out about Rika's true feelings and realised how he couldn't live without her, he was still in a fix over what to do as he didn't want to force Rika into desperation. Since this relationship is not exactly hopeless and she does feel something for him, Mayama feels that there's nothing left to stop him except to stay by Rika's side and wait for her to come to terms with her feelings. If this had been a one-sided relationship where Rika felt nothing for Mayama, I guess he might not have that belief that things will work between them and continue to struggle with his pining for Rika and his unwillingness to force her. Judging from this, he's not afraid to fight for what he wants but this is a calculated move, not a rash action without taking into consideration the consequences that may arise.

As for Yamada's side, I can't really say that it's wrong of her to think of trying to change Mayama's feelings since she has the right to love just as Mayama has the right to reject. However, by expecting someone to love you back just because you have invested all your feelings into him/her is not logical. Love doesn't work like an equation where you get what you have put in. She realises that she has been too demanding of Mayama to reciprocate her feelings but this might not be enough for her to give up on him totally despite knowing that he has made his choice. Maybe Nomiya would be the answer to help her get over Mayama.

Yakitate Japan Ep 46

Monica finishes her bread first followed by Suwabara. At first sight, Suwabara's creation is not comparable to Monica's in terms of the aesthetic appeal but after removing the outer crust, he reveals the actual appearance of the bread which is in the shape of a crown decorated with fruit pieces as the jewels on the crown. In actual fact, this bread is made from two layers of dough. The inner layer, Pane Di Oro which has a high composition of egg yolks and looks yellowish, turns into golden brown after baking. In order to prevent the outer crust from being burnt, Suwabara had used a layer of the croissant dough which makes it easy to remove from the finished product. He had even made the mould of the crown himself. However, there is a final step to complete the bread by brushing a coat of chocolate on the crown to increase the lustre of the bread instead of the fruits (jewels) taking away the attention.

Pierro decides to eat Monica's bread first since she finished baking before Suwabara but she insists on letting Pierro judge Suwabara's creation first. Although Suwabara senses that Monica is up to no good, he has no reason to stop Pierro and allows him to taste his bread first.

After tasting Suwabara's bread, Pierro creates a box and disappears in it. Kawachi comes to the conclusion that this is a Pandora's box where misfortune will befall those who open it. As such, when Suwabara and Monica open the box, a large number of walking cabbages run amok to signify the meaning of trouble. In the end, Suwabara finds Pierro at the bottom of the box and the latter finally stops fooling around to explain what he thinks of Suwabara's creation.

Pierro is full of praise for Suwabara's bread and points that he achieved the glittering effect on his fruits by using honey. Suwabara explains that he followed the German tradition of soaking fruits into honey but Monica rebukes that this would not have resulted in such a lustre. Suwabara clarifies that he had also grinded the same type of fruits and added them to the honey so that the colour and lustre will be enhanced rather than using honey alone.

When it is Monica's turn to be judged, everyone is surprised to find that the rose on her bread has bloomed from the initial bud. Kuroyanagi says that Monica should have added malt sugar to the rose and made use of the room temperature, heat from the bread and warmth from the spotlights to heat up the malt sugar thus resulting in the blooming of the rose. Pierro also remarks that the bread is still feeling warm despite it being finished some time ago.

After tasting Monica's bread, Pierro starts to weep and calls the police to surrender himself for causing public disturbance by releasing those walking cabbages earlier. This results in the police arresting Pierro. Thus, Suwabara and Monica have to go to the police station in order to hear Pierro's judgement for this round.

Kuroyanagi stops Kawachi and Azuma from going in with Suwabara and Monica so that they won't see Suwabara losing to Monica. True to his word, Monica is the victor for this round. This is because she used 5 layers of dough which were put together by using malt sugar. As such, this helps to retain warmth within the bread thus resulting in the rose blossoming. In addition, the use of black wheat for the bread helps to make it tastier than Suwabara's creation.

Suwabara admits his defeat and wants to shake Monica's hand to congratulate her. However, she refuses to do so thus Suwabara grabs her hands and see that they are covered with blisters and burns as a result of handing malt sugar at a high temperature. This makes Suwabara in awe of her and Monica is surprised yet happy to hear his praise for her.

As such, Kawachi would have to win the next round or the Japan team would lose the title...

As what I expected, Suwabara has lost this round and more pressure would be put on Kawachi who has never been expected to do well. Besides that, Tencho, Tsukino and Kanmuri also come to support the team so this should make Kawachi buck up. I'm glad to see Kanmuri again after a long absence. Anyway, there is no way that Kawachi can lose since Azuma has to appear in the final round. The lead character can't be going without airtime, right?

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 33 - Torawareta Al (Al is captured)

Al is attacked by Greed's men, Martel, Dolcetto and Roa where Martel enters Al's armour to control his movements. Meanwhile, Ed regains consciousness but he is unable to fight back. Greed intends to break one of Ed's legs to prevent him from following them but drops the idea when he sees Dante and Lyra looking at him through the window. Greed then unwillingly tells Kimbly to leave with him, leaving Ed helpless to do anything...

Ed tries to find Al who has been taken away by Greed and his men but he has no luck in locating their hideout. Meanwhile, Izumi and Sigu come to look for Dante where they find out about what happened. She passes a matchstick box to Izumi which bears the name of a bar, "Devil's Nest". Izumi questions Dante whether this is her doing but the latter expresses that she will not be that foolish to allow Al be captured at her house. Besides, she has no wish to get involved in the troubles of the outside world. Izumi points out sarcastically that not everyone can be like Dante who lives in the forest and thinks of alchemy only. Dante asks Izumi why she did not stop the brothers from seeking Kenja no Ishi where she replies that they will find the answer themselves instead of her telling them what lies beyond this journey. Izumi stresses that her thinking and way of using alchemy is different from Dante and that she will never come back here again.

In the basement of Devil's Nest where Al is held, Martel apologises for staying inside the armour as she has to keep an eye on him. Al asks Dolcetto why they have become kimeras where he explains that they used to be soldiers but got injured during the war. Just as they were on the verge of dying, they were sent to the 5th laboratory as experiment subjects to create a kimera. They mention that Greed saved them from there and gave them a purpose in life where it's apparent that they are full of admiration for him. Greed enters the basement with his men where Al sees that Tucker has joined Greed's gang against his own will since he's the only person who can restore the kimeras back to their original states.

Greed introduces himself to Al where the latter notices the sign of the Homcrest on the back of his hand. Greed also says that he's not an ally of Lust and Envy where they should be described as enemies. His intention in capturing Al is obtain the secret behind attaching the soul to an object in the hope of obtaining eternal life. Al believes that Ed will come to save him but Greed says that Ed has been beaten up by him and cannot find him. Al then draws an alchemy sign on the floor to attack Greed but he is unhurt as a result of his strong body termed as the toughest shield. To demonstrate the fact that he's invincible, Greed gets Roa to deal a blow to his head which is detached from his body but he manages to regain his normal form as if nothing has happened.

Suddenly, Izumi and Sigu appear at the basement to save Al. Ed is surprised to see the millitary around and tries to find another way to escape their detection. Armstrong appears and reveals that they have seen Al being taken away but did not take any action so as to capture Greed's gang. Ed is furious at Armstrong's indifference with regards to Al's safety but the latter still reveals the place where Ed can find his brother.

Meanwhile, Izumi has beaten Greed's men and wants to bring Al back. However, Greed refuses to oblige and remains unscathed despite Izumi dealing him a strong punch on his face. Izumi uses alchemy to increase the strength of her blows but Greed is unaffected no matter what she does. Sigu tries to help Izumi who insists on settling this herself but she collapses after vomitting blood. Just then, Ed appears at the basement. Unknown to them, the millitary is surrounding the bar so as to prevent anyone from escaping under Archer's orders.

Ed and Izumi combine their strengths to deal with Greed who is not affected at all but Izumi no longer has the energy to continue. As such, Ed decides to deal with Greed alone but nothing seems to work against the latter. Greed tells Ed that he only wants the secret to attach the soul to an object and says that it's better for Al to remain as he is. Ed does not agree with him and declares that since the Homcrest tribe are created as a result of failed human alchemy rituals, they would have to be destroyed by the alchemists themselves. Greed then transforms into battle mode where he's more powerful than before and mocks Ed for not being able to harm him since he has never killed anyone before.

Someone rushes to the basement to inform Greed that the millitary have forced their way into the bar. Greed is certain that the millitary cannot do anything to them but he is shocked to realise that Kimbly betrayed him and collaborated with Archer to launch this attack. Greed's men tell him to escape and bring Al along with them. When Ed tries to chase after them, he is stopped by the soldiers under the orders of Archer...

Now that we know Greed's aim is to obtain eternal life, it's quite different from the other Homcrest members who want to be humans where they will eventually die one way. That's where I'm confused. Some of them seek eternal life while the rest want to live like normal people. Just what is driving them to pursue their individual goals? For Greed, it's obvious that he desires the material things in life but for Lust and company, there should be a motive why they wish to become humans.

In addition, it seems that Greed and Dante are related to each other where he seems to be in fear of her. I wonder whether this has anything to do with why the Homcrest came into the world.

Kimbly seems to have a hidden agenda by helping Archer. I don't believe that he will listen to Archer blindly just to get back to the millitary and betray Greed in the process. Maybe he joined Greed at the beginning so as to get out of the 5th laboratory but he will probably betray Archer when he outlives his usefulness. There must be something which he wants to do as a national alchemist so he is using Archer in the process.

Honey and Clover Ep 15

Mayama, Nomiya and Yamazaki have worked throughout the night and are feeling the fatigue when Miwako offers them massage tickets to relax from work. They start to talk about Mayama trying to obstruct Nomiya and Yamazaki from getting close to Yamada and Mayama tries to explain that he doesn't want them to play around with her as she's a very nice girl. Miwako suggests that if Mayama is so worried about Yamada, he should get her to be his girlfriend. Mayama cannot explain the real reason for rejecting Yamada and is at a loss for words when asked why he has to stop other people from wooing Yamada. Nomiya points out that Mayama doesn't woo Yamada because his real target is Rika which gets Mayama in a fluster thus indirectly confirming Nomiya's guess. Nomiya says that Mayama is just holding on to Yamada as a backup when things between him and Rika get impossible which makes Mayama extremely angry as he insists that he has never thought of Yamada in that way.

Nomiya goes to the university to look for Yamada and Mayama insists on following him so that he can't try anything funny with her. They are actually there to collect the pottery which they have asked Yamada to make. Mayama asks Yamada about Takemoto's condition as he has not been home for some time. Takemoto is having problems finding a job and spends his nights making a tower-like sculpture as his graduation project. As for Hagu, she's hyped up over her creations and busy handling the people who come to interview her. Yamada suggests that Mayama and Nomiya can eat the curry she made but they are scared by the way it looks and decline her offer.

Just as they are leaving, Mayama receives a call from Miwako to return to the office as the model he made was destroyed when the table collapsed. As such, Nomiya takes the chance to return to the university alone when he realises that he had left something behind.

Meanwhile, Yamada sees that Mayama has forgotten to take his coat and wears it to feel his warmth. This is seen by Nomiya who has returned for his lighter and Yamada is embarrassed by her actions. Nomiya asks Yamada to go out with him for dinner and doesn't give her a chance to change out from Mayama's coat.

On the way, Nomiya asks Yamada if she prefers udon or soba and she replies the latter. Nomiya is actually observing her intently as Yamada gets absorbed in her thoughts of Mayama while wearing his coat.

Yamada falls asleep during the journey and wakes up to find herself in Tateshina (Nagano Prefecture) where Nomiya had brought her to a famous soba restaurant. She is at a loss for words since she never expected to come to such a far place with Nomiya just for dinner.

The next day, Nomiya brings the soba he bought from Tateshina as a souvenir for his colleagues. He reveals that he went there with Yamada which makes Mayama very surprised. Mayama barges into Hanamoto's office to question Yamada on this trip which makes her flare up and she says that whatever she does has got nothing to do with him. Yamada recalls that Nomiya offered to help her return Mayama's coat and feels embarrassed at the thought that he might be laughing behind her back for what she did.

Hanamoto tells Mayama that he's being over-protective of Yamada and tells him to let go. However, Hanamoto is also behaving like Mayama when it comes to matters regarding Hagu. Hanamoto suddenly mentions that Rika said she saw Mayama a few days ago which confirms his guess that he did see her at the park.

Mayama recollects that 2 years ago, he carried Rika out of the bathroom when she was bathing and stayed by her bedside. When she woke up, she mistook Mayama as her dead husband but realised her mistake soon. However, they slept together on that night...

Mayama receives a call that Asai is hospitalised and goes to visit him. Asai says that Rika has been taking care of him and she has gone out to buy something for him.

Mayama rushes downstairs to look for Rika and stops her in the lift. He asks to return to her company but Rika decides that it's better for Mayama to stay in Fujiwara Design. Besides, the assignments in her company have been completed so there's no need for Mayama to return. As such, she insists on staying on to take care of Asai and says goodbye to Mayama.

Mayama decides not to give up and rents a car to send Rika home in the rain. However, Mayama does not send her home immediately and drives around which Rika does not voice her objections about...

I'm surprised to know that Mayama and Rika's relationship is not one-sided as it seems on the surface. Initially, it looked as if Mayama was pestering Rika but after seeing that they did sleep together, it gives me the impression that Rika had initially thought of Mayama as a replacement for her husband and found that this would hurt him subsequently. That could be why she tried to get Mayama to leave her and reject his love so as to make herself feel better despite having some feelings for him. And Mayama seems bent not to let go this time round judging from his attempt to have more time with Rika by driving her around aimlessly.

This would spell bad news for Yamada who is still obsessed with Mayama and has no intention to give up. I guess she is hoping for that glimmer of hope when Mayama will finally notice her but this seems to be impossible. As for Nomiya who keeps getting close to her, I wonder if he's really interested in her or simply wants to get Mayama worked up for fun. The way Nomiya looks at her doesn't seem like he's trying to make a fool of her but his actions seem to suggest otherwise. I have a hunch that something might evolve between Nomiya and Yamada in future especially if Mayama gets back with Rika. Actually, Nomiya seems similar to Morita in the sense that they may appear frivolous on the outside but they could be deeper than what you think.

Oh, talking about Morita, how I wish that he's back in the anime soon! Without him, the atmosphere seems to get a little heavy especially when the story is currently focusing on Mayama, Rika and Yamada.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 32 - Fukai Mori no Dante (Dante in the deep forest)

Al decides to take revenge on Wrath for taking Ed's limbs but Izumi tries to stop him. Wrath has no intention to repay her kindness and launches his counterattack against the brothers. Al explains that he finally understands that Wrath is able to use alchemy because he has Ed's limbs despite him being a Homcrest. The brothers are bent on regaining what Ed has lost but Izumi steps in again to spoil their attacks...

Izumi creates a deep valley to separate Ed and Al from Wrath thus giving him a chance to escape. When Ed and Al search around for Wrath, they are surprised to see the King and Juliet (i.e. Envy and Sloth) at the beach. The King says that they are trying to find the people who attempted human alchemy which is banned and says this is of more importance than finding Wrath. In order to protect Izumi, the brothers decide to drop their search for Wrath who is actually hiding in Sloth's body.

Meanwhile, in Sram, Scar is questioning the mysterious man as to why he taught Scar's brother how to perform human alchemy. He simply replies nonchalantly that he only told Scar's brother about the past of the Isbal people and his brother was the one who found out the logic behind that. Just then, Leo and Rick come to look for Scar in a hurry...

At the same time, the millitary has arrived to look for Scar where Hawkeye is negotiating with Scar's teacher on sending the Isbal people back to their designated area in the south. However, before they do that, the millitary would have to check through everyone's names and faces so that they can find Scar. Yoki insists to Mustang that he did see Scar and goes to the Isbal people to demand that they turn Scar in. Suddenly, Yoki is shot on his forehead followed by a number of shots on his body which is actually the doing of Lust and Gluttony. This causes some panic as the soldiers misunderstand that the Isbal people are firing shots at them and they retalliate. However, when Mustang's men stop them, it is too late as a number of the Isbal people have been hit. Lust and Gluttony then create chaos by instigating the people to fight against the millitary. Mustang decides that it's time for him to step in and suppress the crowd...

Izumi tells Ed and Al that they will no longer be her students so they prepare to leave Dublith. When Sigu sends them off at the train station, he reveals that Izumi's words mean that the brothers will be regarded as equal-standing individuals to Izumi in future instead of students who have to do her bidding. Thus, the brothers return to Izumi's place and insist on finding out more on Kenja no Ishi which should exist in the first place instead of depending on the red water crystals to create it. Izumi then tells them to visit Mdm Dante who is living in the forest so as to get her medicine and find out more on Kenja no Ishi from her.

Unknown to them, Archer has sent men to tail the Elric brothers as he's still bewildered by what happened at the Southern Command Centre. Even though Central told him that the King was there yesterday, the subsequent confirmation today mentioned that the King had come to the south alone. As such, Archer feels that by keeping a lookout on the brothers, he will be able to find the kimera and Kimbly as well as Wrath.

Greed and his men are walking through a misty forest where he remarks that he's going somewhere to check something and asks them to return to Devil's Nest (their hideout).

At Mdm Dante's place, the brothers are shocked to see Lyra who helped the evil Yoki in the past. It seems that Lyra is now Mdm Dante's student and she has turned over a new leaf. Mdm Dante reveals that Izumi used to be her student and starts to prepare her medicine. However, they do not realise that Greed is there too where he prepares to proceed with his plan. He gets his men to assemble at Mdm Dante's house so as to ambush the Elric brothers.

When asked about Kenja no Ishi, Mdm Dante tells the brothers to drop the idea of finding it as it is rumoured that misfortune will befall those who pursue it. She also remarks that the brothers resemble their father, Hohenheim which makes Ed angry at the mention of him and he leaves the room immediately.

In Mdm Dante's garden, Greed and Kimbly appear in front of Ed who is knocked out by Greed. Meanwhile, Greed's men surround Al and threaten him to leave with them but Al refuses to obey...

At this point in time, it is still unknown what Greed is actually after since he can use alchemy and should not have the same aim as Lust and gang. Maybe we'll find out more in the next episode when they capture Al to threaten Ed.

It is getting obvious that the King is definitely suspicious with each episode. Notwithstanding the fact that Envy keeps taking his form, Archer and Armstrong has already noticed that something is fishy, judging from the contradicting responses as to the King's whereabouts from Central. Even if Sloth/Juliet can control the information, the real King should sense that his secretary is not simple and has ulterior motives. Unless...he turns out to be the 7th Homcrest member? They keep saying that there's 7 of them but I only see 6 so far. And Greed seems to know Dante beforehand...

As for Mustang's side, he's in some trouble since the suppression of the Isbal people will probably bring repercussions to threaten his career prospects. Whether he captures Scar is not so important now given that he has the rioting people to control. As for Scar, the drawings on his arm seem to have a profound meaning and he keeps saying that this arm was given by his brother. I'm puzzled by what he means by this.

Hachikuro Soundtrack and Calendar

I received this on Friday even though I ordered it on last Sunday night. I'm not sure what resulted in the delay but anyway, as long as I receive this, there's no reason to complain anymore. I got the first press which is in the form of a digipak but other than that, I don't think there's other freebies as compared to the DVD releases which have premiums for the first press. There are 32 tracks in this CD instead of 27 mentioned on the official website including the OP (Dramatic by YUKI) and the two EDs. After a few runs, I like 11 tracks which includes 2,7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 25, 27, 28 and 32. Most of these are slow numbers by the OP and ED (Waltz) are also included in my favourites above. It's very suitable for listening to especially at nights and helps to calm you down.

I also ordered the Hachikuro calendar which is due to be released next month. I wonder how it will look like as I'm quite excited about seeing Morita and everyone on an enlarged picture. I just hope they show them as they are instead of those funny versions in the anime as I like to see the serious versions of the characters especially Morita who looks very nice when he's in deep thought.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 31 - Tsumi (Sin)

At Central's train station, Mustang and his men prepare to head to Scram so as to arrest Scar. One of them, Fuery remarks that they seem to be overdoing things by bringing so many soldiers along despite the Isbal refugees being ordinary people and would not be dangerous. Mustang says that their aim is to capture Scar only and expects that they would not meet with resistance by the Isbal people. However, Falman brings up the fact that the Isbal people may feel hostile towards them since they were previously attacked by imposters of the millitary who destroyed their homes in Central so there is a chance that they may meet with resistance. Mustang does not mention clearly what they should do in case the Isbal people refuse to cooperate and is in deep thought...

Meanwhile, in Scram, Leo and Rick are looking around for Scar who has gone to the mysterious man's tent. Scar finds a similar alchemy symbol on the wall of the tent which matches the drawings on his right arm when the mysterious man is shocked to see him...

In Southern Command Centre, Izumi refuses to give up Wrath despite being cornered. Armstrong is surprised to see Kimbly who should have been executed for disobeying orders during the Isbal war and killing mercilessly. Kimbly remarks that he was looking forward to the execution but says that the King should know why the sentence was never meted out. As the King is impersonated by Envy who knows nothing about this, he tells Armstrong and Archer to capture Wrath first instead of finding out the reason why Kimbly is still alive.

Ed and Al try to stop Izumi from leaving and Envy (the King) seizes the opportunity to grab Wrath away from her. When Izumi tries to stop him from leaving, Armstrong blocks her attacks as he is focused on protecting the King from harm. The two of them then get embroiled in a battle of alchemy.

Ed and Al wants to intervene in the fight but the kimera and Kimbly stop them for doing so. They are shocked to see that Kimbly is able to induce an explosion out of nowhere and Ed realises that Kimbly is using the metallic elements within any object to create this explosion. Unknown to them, Archer is eavesdropping on their conversation. Kimbly reveals that they wish to get Wrath and their chief, Greed wishes to see the brothers. However, Ed takes the chance to launch an counterattack against the kimera and Kimbly so as to break free from them.

In the meantime, Envy reveals her usual self to Wrath and gives him some red water crystals to eat. This makes Wrath crave for more and Envy explains that as long as Wrath can eat those crystals, this proves that he's not a human being. Envy also finds out that Wrath can use alchemy because he has Ed's limbs as Wrath remembers how he came about...

The kimera and Kimbly escape from the Southern Command Centre after failing to get anything. On his way out, Kimbly is stopped by Archer who asks him whether he has the intention to return to the millitary as he can help...

Ed and Al are searching for Izumi after breaking free from Kimbly and sees Armstrong injured from his battle with her. He gives them a hint as to where Izumi is despite the fact that they are supposed to be from opposing sides.

Izumi finds Wrath who runs out from a room and she senses that something is not the same with him. In addition, she finds the King lying in a pool of blood and assumes that this is his doing. Actually, that is Envy pretending to be dead so as to fool Izumi. Ed and Al decide to leave the Southern Command Centre as they have no authority to enter in the first place and cannot find Izumi anywhere.

Archer finds out that the King has not come to the south and orders Armstrong to search for the King again within the building.

Ed and Al ask Sigu about Izumi's whereabouts. Winry reveals that Izumi should be at the island since that was where she performed human alchemy to bring back her dead child. The reason why she chose that island was due to it being secluded and away from other people thus nobody would be hurt if anything goes wrong.

Izumi brings Wrath to the spot where she tried to perform human alchemy and recalls that it failed thus creating a monster-like thing. Izumi tries to strangle Wrath but cannot bear to do so. Wrath says that if she doesn't kill him, he will be killing her. Meanwhile, Ed, Al and Winry have arrived on the island to look for Izumi with Envy observing them from the top of the cliff.

They find Wrath trying to kill Izumi and Ed stops him from continuing. Ed wants to kill Wrath but Izumi stops him from doing it. Izumi says that she intends to kill Wrath because he was created due to her failed human alchemy ritual. At that time when the monster-like thing was created, Izumi decided that it was not possible to let it continue living and offered it to the door she saw during the alchemy ritual. Wrath explains that the Homcrest came about as a result of failed human alchemy rituals and they are just half-completed beings with a body and spirit. He says that Envy and the rest of the Homcrest tribe were created ages ago so everyone hopes to become real humans.

Meanwhile, Sloth comes to join Envy to monitor the situation while Greed and his gang also arrive on the island to get Wrath on his side. Envy says that after sealing Greed for more than a century, he's still the same and warns that history might repeat itself. Greed says that he wants to get Wrath on his side but Envy says that it's too late for him to do anything. Just then, Sloth arrives and Greed realises that he is outnumbered so he gets his gang to leave the island immediately.

Wrath continues with his explanation that he had been waiting behind that door for a chance to take on a form of life after Izumi offered him to the door and his body started to grow bigger with time. When Ed came to offer his limbs at the door in exchange for Al's soul, they became Wrath's to use where he subsequently came into the world as a Homcrest. Ed is stunned to know the truth and Wrath takes the opportunity to attack him but Al protects Ed from harm. Al wants to get Ed's limbs back from Wrath since this is the reason why they have gone through so much to date...

To think that the Homcrest are created due to failed human alchemy rituals and Ed actually contributed to making one. I guess the shock of finding out about this would affect him greatly. As for Izumi, her obsession with trying to protect Wrath just because he was created from her dead baby will obstruct Ed and Al's fight against the Homcrest.

Greed seems to be scared of Envy and gang for the reason of being sealed again for a century. I wonder what he did to deserve that punishment since they should be from the same tribe but I don't think that he's as weak as he seems just because he ran away from the island after seeing Sloth and Envy. Besides, he's the only Homcrest who can use alchemy until Wrath came along and given that he has been living for a long time, I think he is indeed powerful.

By the way, Sloth and Envy mentioned that there were 7 of them but I could only count 6 among them i.e. Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Envy and Sloth. Who is the 7th Homcrest? Since these people cannot die at all, how can Ed and Al get rid of them?

I have a feeling that the trip to Sram for Mustang and gang would be disastrous given that Lust and Gluttony are already there. They might create chaos and distrust between the millitary and the Isbal people so as to obstruct the arrest of Scar who seems to be closer to finding out the meaning of the symbols on his arm. Come to think of it, Scar said that Lust looked similar to his brother's lover so I have a guess that she was created as a Homcrest due to his brother's failed human alchemy.

I'm right to say that Archer is not a good guy after all. Imagine him enticing Kimbly to return to the millitary and he must have an hidden agenda to do so. As for Kimbly, I'm not sure whether he will continue to stay with Greed or be driven by his personal ambitions which is unclear at the moment.

Suzuka Ep 11: Shobu (Contest)

Yamato drags Hattori along to walk around aimlessly on the streets as he doesn't want to turn up for the athletics meet. However, Hattori tricks Yamato to go to the stadium even though he is reluctant to see Asahina after their quarrel the previous night.

Meanwhile, Asahina is at the stadium and recollects Yamato's words which makes her wonder why he knows about Kazuki. Just then, she sees a group of reporters surrounding Arima Emerson who is the No.1 sprinter in senior high school and he used to lose to Kazuki in the past. However, Asahina does not think much of Arima and gets angry when Miyamoto mentions that he has hopes of Yamato replacing Kazuki in the race. She says loudly that Arima is nowhere near Kazuki which is overheard by Arima himself. Miyamoto tries to get her to lower her voice but Asahina cannot be bothered to keep her thoughts to herself.

Yamato and Arima happen to see Arima approaching Asahina for her remarks about him being not comparable to Kazuki. Asahina gives a half-hearted apology which Arima is not happy with. He even mocks that since Kazuki is no longer around, whatever Asahina says would be of no meaning. Fellow athletes overhear their conversation and surround Asahina to make her apologise to Arima. Hattori tells Yamato to leave so that they are not implicated. However, he still goes to Asahina's rescue and brags that he will win the race. Nobody believes Yamato's words but Arima says that he's prepared to see how fast Yamato can be.

Asahina asks Yamato if he had considered carefully before challenging Arima but he says that he's prepared to apologise to Arima if he really loses. Asahina scolds him again for not thinking of the consequences but Yamato feels that as long as he doesn't lose, everything will be fine.

Honoka is helping Yamato to warm up when Miki comes to tell Yamato about Arima's background. His confidence gets shaken as a result. Hattori comes to chat with Asahina who says that she doesn't think Yamato will win over Arima. However, Hattori doesn't speculate on Yamato's chances and simply tells Asahina to go and watch the heats.

Arima and Yamato happen to be in the same heat and the latter is further pressurized by Arima's supporters. Arima thinks that Yamato is just trying to copy Kazuki and thinks lightly of him. Although Yamato thinks that it would be tough for him to beat Arima, he feels that he will have to try his best since he's angry at Arima for bullying Asahina. Yamato lags behind Arima since the start but he suddenly increases his pace after hearing Asahina's voice and almost overtakes Arima who is having problems catching up. However, Yamato falls down before reaching the finishing line and Arima wins the heat easily. Even though Yamato is prepared to apologise to Arima, the latter simply says that he doesn't need that and tells Yamato to scram because he's disturbed by the fact that he was almost beaten. Yamato seizes the chance to scold Arima before running away.

Arima is sitting under a tree and feels that Asahina will dislike him more due to his childish behaviour. Unexpectedly, Asahina comes to look for him with the first aid box and gives him some treatment for his knees. Although Yamato is surprised by Asahina pasting so many plasters on his slightly grazed knees, he is happy to hear that she tells him to return for training which means she's no longer angry with him...

Yamato simply refuses to give up Asahina as seen from his action to protect her from Arima. Although he says that he's not going to get involved, it would be impossible to sever all ties with Asahina just because they quarrelled. Besides, as what Honoka noticed, Yamato got the motivation to accelerate when he heard Asahina's voice so it's obvious how much she means to him.

Honoka is finally making her move. By asking Asahina in the next episode whether it is OK for her to confess to Yamato about her feelings, this helps Asahina to think about how she feels for him but I don't think she will tell Honoka at this point in time that she likes Yamato since she's still pining about Kazuki. In addition, Honoka simply needs some assurance from Asahina that she will not be an obstacle. Only when Honoka really starts to date Yamato, it would be Asahina's turn to feel sorry for not realising how she feels at an earlier point in time.

Honey and Clover Ep 14

Mayama dreams of Rika in his sleep and senses that she called out his name. When he wakes up, he sees Takemoto sleeping beside him and feels moody about not having a woman instead. Due to the fact that there's only Mayama and Takemoto living in the apartment block now, Takemoto comes to Mayama's room at times for company and the latter allows him to use his aircon and other appliances just like what Morita used to do.

Takemoto, Yamada and Hagu have soba at Hanamoto's apartment courtesy of Takemoto's ex-roommate, Hasegawa who has taken over his family's soba business. In addition, using his expertise as an arts graduate, Hasegawa had produced special dining utensils for the soba which can even be ordered through the Internet where the media and travel guides scramble to recommend his shop. Yamada is inspired by Hasegawa's success and feels that she should work harder. This reminds Hanamoto of a conversation he had with Yamada's dad in the past where he felt that Yamada would be able to make the family business a success if she teams up with her elder brother.

In Mayama's company, Fujiwara Design, his colleagues tease him for not having a girlfriend and waking up to find his roommate (Takemoto) beside him. Miwako asks if Mayama had dreamt of his ex-girlfriend but Mayama says that things between them i.e. referring to him and Rika are not looking well. Miwako says that this might not be the case as there is this explanation that someone appears in your dream because that person is missing you which makes Mayama if this is possible. Just then, another colleague, Nomiya enters the office and gets Mayama and Yamazaki to go together for the presentation to a client.

The guys manage to clinch the deal and prepare to return to the office for a celebration. As they pass by a park, Mayama fails to notice that Rika is also around with Asai and that she doesn't want to greet Mayama since he seems to be doing well. However, Mayama gets the feeling that he might have seen Rika just now and returns to the park but cannot find her.

Mayama is taking a nap in the office and happens to murmur Takemoto's name which makes his colleagues laugh at him to imply that he's a gay. Just then, their bosses who are twin brothers get into a quarrel again and they wonder if their agency might be split up due to the bosses' differences. Suddenly, Mayama's colleagues talk about Harada Design (Rika's company) and express their admiration for Harada and Rika. Miwako says that Nomiya is already close to Harada's level but he thinks that he has a long way to go. Mayama feels left out during this conversation as he is the only person who has never met Harada before.

Nomiya tells Mayama that he wishes to meet Yamada who is the creator of the pottery they used previously for one of the shops since other clients are asking for similar items. However, Mayama gives lots of excuses to stop Nomiya from meeting Yamada as Nomiya's famous for being a playboy and Mayama doesn't want him to get close to Yamada. This gets his colleagues suspicious as he's being extremely protective of Yamada.

At the summer festival, Takemoto, Hagu, Yamada, Mayama and Hanamoto are walking around the various stalls. Yamada and Hagu are at a games stall where Yamada cannot hit the rabbit soft toy with the ball. Mayama comes to their aid and gives them the rabbit soft toys which makes Yamada extremely happy.

Just then, Nomiya, Yamazaki and Miwako turn up for the festival which makes Mayama extremely disturbed. Nomiya gives the rabbit soft toy he got to Yamada and introduces himself to her since Mayama simply refuses to let them meet. Miwako and Yamazaki tell Mayama that his unnatural attitude when Yamada was mentioned made them suspicious so Nomiya raised the suggestion of meeting Yamada without giving notice.

Hanamoto tells Mayama that there is nothing wrong with introducing Nomiya to Yamada but Mayama says that Nomiya treats relationships lightly and is worried about him hurting Yamada. Although Mayama knows that he has no rights to interfere in Yamada's affairs, he hopes that she will find a good man and be happy. When Hanamoto asks Mayama what type of man is considered good to him, he gives a list of traits but Hanamoto silences him by saying that Yamada may not be happy even if she finds such a man. Hanamoto points out directly that if Mayama cannot promise to be with Yamada for the rest of her life, he doesn't have the right to decide who is good for her. Although he understands this, Mayama still hopes to protect Yamada but he's not sure at the same time whether this is just to make himself feel better for rejecting her.

Mayama goes to the school to look for Yamada and is surprised to see Nomiya and Yamazaki learning pottery from Yamada. Mayama tries to stop Nomiya from getting close to Yamada and ends up being scolded by her for criticising his seniors. Hanamoto happens to pass by the pottery room and realises that Mayama is bent on obstructing Nomiya and Yamada from developing a relationship...

Competition in the form of Nomiya appears which makes Mayama become overly protective of Yamada. He may not mean to hurt Yamada but I think this is going overboard. First of all, he rejected Yamada in the first place. By right, he doesn't have the authority to interfere in her future relationships no matter what excuses he may give. Protect her? Doesn't he realise that by poking his nose into her affairs, this might hurt her even more? It's as if he doesn't love her and yet he doesn't want someone else to love her. Or if Nomiya turns out to be the type of guy whom Mayama can accept, he will go all out to bring Nomiya and Yamada together? That's very cruel as it can be interpreted as he's trying to hold on to Yamada as a substitute while he's waiting for things between him and Rika to improve. This is two-timing. Well, Mayama doesn't seem to be such a cad but to onlookers or even Yamada herself, his actions seem to give this impression.

Next episode will see a development between Mayama and Rika which might clear up the ambiguous situation between them.

Frankly speaking, I am not in favour of Yamada being with Mayama. No matter what, I really doubt he can love Yamada wholeheartedly since he's so obsessed with Rika. It's really high time that Yamada gives up pining for someone who would not realise your worth and reciprocate your feelings. Maybe Nomiya's appearance means that she might find someone new.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 30 - Nanpo Shireibu Shuugeki (Attack of the Southern Command Centre)

At Sram where refugees of various tribes come together and live, Yoki who used to be from the millitary stationed at Uswell, sees a group of people coming and notices that Scar is one of them. He runs to find a phone so as to inform the millitary about Scar's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Ed is still chasing Wrath along the streets and tries to apologise for blowing up at him earlier. However, Wrath is so scared of Ed that he refuses to listen. Just as Ed is about to follow him, he sees someone who tries to talk to him about human alchemy...

At the same time, Archer and Armstrong comes to Sigu's shop and ask about the Elric brothers' whereabouts but Sigu keeps rattling off prices of his products so as to ignore Archer's questions. Archer then makes Armstrong to scare Sigu into talking but it ends up as a competition between the two men who are full of muscles. Winry who has been watching this in secret, gets worried that the men might fight and runs out to stop them while accidentally blurting out Ed's name. Archer then turns his attention to Winry so as to find the brothers...

Ed and Al corner the guy who says that he wants to bring the brothers to a safe place away from the Homcrest and reveals that he heard about them from Tucker. They are surprised to see a lizard's tail behind this guy's back and he manages to escape before Ed could catch the guy who is obviously a kimera. Just then, Armstrong and Archer arrive and he introduces the latter to them. Al asks about Hughes after hearing that Archer works in the same department as him but Armstrong does not reveal that Hughes had been murdered. Archer wants to talk to them about what happened in the 5th laboratory but Ed refuses to cooperate as he has more important things to do.

Wrath almost falls from the rooftop if not Ed who saves him. As such, he seems to be less scared of Ed and Al and is willing to talk to them. Wrath asks them why his arms are different from them and Ed says that his right arm is not real. Wrath probes further by asking where his real arm is but Ed doesn't know how to answer. When asked about the scar on his arm, Wrath says that he doesn't know why he got this. Al discusses with Ed that this might be a coincidence that Wrath has the same scar as him in the past but Ed finds that this is too hard to believe.

Unknown to them, Archer and Armstrong are monitoring their movements on the rooftop and Archer decides to fire shots at them so as to capture Wrath after looking at his right foot. Ed and Al do not understand why Armstrong is attacking them and Wrath falls from the rooftop after losing his balance. Archer and Armstrong then capture him against the objections of the Elric brothers and Archer explains why he wants Wrath by showing the sign of the Homcrest on the bottom of Wrath's right foot. Ed tries to get Armstrong to help in the release of Wrath as he still wishes to find out whether the boy's limbs belong to him but Armstrong says that even if his hunch is proven, Ed would not be able to sever Wrath's limbs and attach them back to his body. As such, Armstrong refuses to accede to his request.

Sloth receives the call from Yoki about Scar's whereabouts and has plans to send people to kill him. Meanwhile, the kimera who spoke to Ed and Al calls Greed to report on Wrath being part of the Homcrest tribe. Greed who is in an underground bar with his gang prepares to get Wrath to join his side since he's the only Homcrest member who can use alchemy like him. Kimbly mentions that he has worked before at the Southern Command Centre so Greed orders him to bring Wrath back from there.

Izumi returns from the island and finds out what has happened. Al asks Izumi why she is so concerned for Wrath and reveals that he's also from the Homcrest tribe. Izumi scolds the brothers for not understanding how the Homcrest tribe came about and that she knew about Wrath's identity from the start. Before she could continue further, Izumi vomits blood again and Sigu sends her to the hospital immediately.

Ed, Al and Winry find out from the doctor that Izumi cannot be cured and it's no use sending her to Central for treatment. This is because Izumi's liver and digestive system have been removed from her body and her survival hinges on the remaining organs in her body. It is already a miracle for her to have lived to this date. Ed and Al guess that Izumi might have tried human alchemy herself thus resulting in the loss of organs from her body.

Sigu brings Izumi to the Southern Command Centre where she insists on entering alone as she doesn't want him to see what she's going to do next. Ed and Al rush there and sees that Izumi has used alchemy to create chaos. Winry meets Sigu at the entrance and he reveals that Izumi had lost her baby in the past due to health reasons and held herself responsible for not being able to bear children. However, she was very affected by this matter and tried human alchemy to bring her dead child back to life thus resulting in the loss of her organs.

Meanwhile, Izumi saves Wrath from being the experimental subject of the millitary while the kimera and Kimbly blow up part of the Southern Command Centre to enter the building. Just as Archer and Armstrong are trying to find Izumi, they find that the King has arrived and joins them in the search.

Ed finds Izumi and asks her to escape after leaving Wrath behind. He tells her that he cannot be on her side since he works for the millitary but Izumi refuses to let Wrath go. At the same time, Kimbly, Archer, Armstrong, the King surround Izumi along the corridor with the same aim of getting Wrath.

In Sram, Scar sees a suspicious man with drawings on his face and his teacher tells him not to go near that man. In the meantime, at Central, the King tells Mustang to go after Scar who is in Scram. When Scar enters the tent of that mysterious man, he is shocked to see alchemy ritual signs on the wall...

First of all, I think Izumi feels that Wrath could be her son since she performed the human alchemy ritual on that island where he was found. That's why she was so loving towards him and protected him at all costs despite him being a perfect stranger. As to whether Izumi is one of the Homcrest, the design on her chest seems to be slightly different from what's on Wrath's foot but the coincidence of both having red signs on their body is very unusual. To think that she has managed to survive so far without her organs so that's why she feels sad when she sees Ed and Al following her footsteps. She had taught them not to attempt human alchemy but she broke the rule herself so she might be blaming herself more than what can been seen on the surface.

I am absolutely sure that the King appearing in Southern Command Centre should be Envy. Surely the King can't show up at two places at the same time to meet Archer and Armstrong while commanding Mustang to capture Scar? I still have my suspicions about any agenda the King may have since his trust of Juliet/Sloth is simply bewildering. Besides, the King in the South mentioned that there are 5 parties after Wrath i.e. Izumi, the millitary, Greed's gang, Ed and of course, Envy's gang.

Suwabe-san spoke so many lines in this episode which was really unexpected. I'm already swooning at hearing his voice. Even though Greed doesn't look as good as Atobe-sama, his voice makes him a more charismatic figure. As for Ueda Yuji's potrayal of Kimbly, his voice is deeper than usual. If not for the fact that I knew that he's the voice actor for this role, I might not have associated him with the Jirou or Morita Shinobu I know. Okiayu-san spoke less than 3 lines throughout the episode which was kind of disappointing though.

Yakitate Japan Ep 45

Suwabara and Azuma are making their own preparations for the final but Kawachi does nothing and is reprimanded by Kuroyanagi for wasting time putting on wigs to cover his shaved head. Sophie comes to inform them of the contestant order of the US team where Suwabara meets Monica in the first round, Kawachi against Spencer in the second round and Azuma in the final round. Kawachi gets cold feet because he has seen how good Spencer was during the Pantasia Newcomer Contest while Suwabara does not like the idea of competing with a little girl constantly chewing gum as he hopes to have a match with either Spencer or Shadow who had beaten Azuma in the previous round.

Meanwhile, Spencer and Monica are relaxing in their room when she suddenly asks him how good Suwabara is. Spencer says that Suwabara had always been regarded as the champion contender during the Pantasia Newcomer Contest until Azuma stole the limelight and title from him but Monica doesn't seem to feel threatened.

Sophie is searching for information on Monica and Shadow but fails to find any. Kuroyanagi suggests that this could be due to them being newcomers in any bakery contest. Just then, Kuroyanagi's ex-classmate during his Harvard days, Kid calls to inform that he is operating an investigation agency in the US and provides him with info on Monica since nothing can be found about Shadow at the moment. After hearing Kid's words, Kuroyanagi gets so shocked and tells Sophie to get the guys to assemble as he has something to tell them.

Azuma, Kawachi and Suwabara are wondering why Kuroyanagi asked to meet them suddenly and he apologises for disturbing them at this time. Kuroyanagi says that his guess as to why Kirisaki had not made trouble for them since the semi-final could be due to Monica and Shadow displaying their true abilities and there was no need for him to intervene. Initially, the US team had won their matches through Spencer only but in the semi-final, the results showed that Monica and Shadow were better than him. As such, the duo could be newbies to bread making and attained their current standards after being with Spencer on the same team and tapping on their own strengths. Kuroyanagi also says that Monica is not as simple as she seems because she is the world champion for the confectionery making contest. Given that the first round's judgement criteria is based on aesthetic appeal and that confectionery production requires much more effort being put into appearance as compared to bread making, she has an advantage over Suwabara in this aspect. They misunderstand that Suwabara is shivering with fright after hearing this but he is actually thrilled at the fact that he's competing against someone of substance and is trembling due to excitement. Thus, Suwabara gets more enthusiastic and hyped up at the prospective of meeting Monica in the first round.

Kuroyanagi mocks Kawachi for not putting in more effort and reminds him that there is a chance that Suwabara might lose given that his opponent is Monica. As such, the second round is very crucial since the Japan team will lose the title once Suwabara and Kawachi are defeated.

On the day of finals where Round 1 is held, the rest of the rounds will be held in the next two weeks. In addition, there are little spectators since France will not be appearing in the finals. Monica appears in a bikini as her strategy is to get Suwabara distracted due to her dressing. However, Suwabara retalliates by stripping down to his underwear which makes Monica realise that this plan is not going to work.

Suwabara prepares two bowls of dough where one has a lot of egg-yolks while the other is the type used to make croissants. On the other hand, Monica has five bowls of dough in different shades of grey as she has used black wheat. In actual fact, Monica is a immigrant from Germany who had gone to USA when she was a kid. Using black wheat is a traditional way of making bread by the Germans. As her family believed that they would succeed in USA through bread making, they left their hometown but things did not go their way. Thus, Monica accepted Kirisaki's suggestion of taking part in the Monaco Cup so that she can be the general manager of St Pierre's confectionery department if they win the title.

Suwabara prepares some fruits which exude a glow but Monica counterattacks this by making a carving of a rose which looks very realistic...

It seems like each round of the final would take about 2 episodes so this could mean that this anime will not finish in Sep. Does this mean it will extend beyond the Monaco arc? I certainly hope so.

I have a hunch that Suwabara might lose and Kawachi may turn out to be the unexpected hero for Round 2 although nobody believes that he will beat Spencer. Or else, letting Suwabara win and Kawachi lose would be quite expected and reduces the tension since Kawachi would definitely have to win in order for Azuma to compete with Shadow.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 29 - Kegarenaki Kodomo (The pure child)

Ed and Al are surprised to find out that Meisun was the masked man who appeared during their training and see a boy (Wrath) emerging from the bushes looking at them with curiousity. Izumi decides to approach Wrath to find out more but vomits blood suddenly. This scares him as he grabs a stone and hits it at his hand thus creating a blue light. Ed feels that Wrath is an alchemist and goes to stop him from taking any further action. He is surprised to see Wrath's hand being turned into stone. All of a sudden, the blue light appears again as the clothes on Wrath's body and his stony hand disappear into thin air. Izumi stops Ed from coming near Wrath even though he has his doubts about Wrath's identity and worries about Wrath being after their lives but she says that a child can't do anything to harm the Elric brothers and notices that Wrath's arms and legs are of different shades of colour. When asked about his name and home, Wrath simply says that he does not know and seeks comfort in Izumi's arms.

Back at Izumi's home in Dublith, Wrath is gobbling down food as if he has not eaten for ages. Meanwhile, Winry is happy to see the brothers back and asks if Izumi has forgiven them for their actions. However, they say that it's impossible as they went against her teachings and defied the rules of nature but they know that Izumi also understands why they did that. Ed also mentions that he's suspicious about Wrath and feels that Izumi is too trusting towards him.

That night, Ed and Al try to break into Wrath's room and are surprised to see him dangling upside down by the window instead of sleeping. Wrath asks the brothers to play with him and tries to strangle a rat. Ed tells Wrath to let go of the rat but the latter refuses to do so. As such, Ed chases him around the room and has no choice but to use alchemy to create a rope and tie Wrath's legs to the bed. Ed tries to question Wrath on his identity as he's very confident that he has seen Wrath before. This makes Wrath panic and creates a sudden alchemy reaction where his body is connected to the bed. Izumi enters the room and pacifies Wrath which then restores him back to the original state. The brothers also notice Wrath's unnatural skin colour and reveal why they are so persistent in finding out his identity since they have been attacked by the Homcrest before.

Meanwhile in Central, Mustang is in his car parked outside Hughes' residence but does not enter to visit his family. Sheska has come to visit and Glacier tells her to stop investigating Hughes' murder. However, Sheska assures Glacier that she will not put herself into danger. Sheska sees Mustang's car leaving and chases after him. She mocks him for not having the guts to meet Hughes' family since he did not investigate his best friend's murder and concentrates more on his own career prospects. Before leaving, Sheska throws stacks of information on cases Hughes was checking on prior to his death to Mustang and says that Hughes' murder should be linked to something there.

Sloth i.e. Juliet is talking to Envy on the phone when the King enters the office. However, she seems unconcerned about whether he would hear her conversation and he does not take a look at what she's doing. Sloth tells Envy to go to Dublith to look for the Elric brothers since Izumi is living there and leave Greed to Lust and Gluttony to handle.

Ed and Al tell Izumi about their clashes with the Homcrest and the fact that they cannot use alchemy themselves to make Kenja no Ishi. Since Wrath can use alchemy, Izumi says that he can't belong to the Homcrest but Ed is not convinced since alchemy cannot used to change the state of the body at will. Ed mentions the door he saw when the human alchemy ritual failed which gave him the idea to consolidate Al's soul into the armour by sacrificing his arm. He also remembers that he saw Wrath's face at that time which signifies that he's not a human being. Izumi decides that she will have to do some investigation first and forbids the brothers from approaching Wrath in the meantime. Izumi insists on going to the deserted island for investigation after taking her medicine despite Sigu's concerns of her health and whether the brothers know the origins of the Homcrest.

In Central, Mustang's subordinates are unpacking their stuff when one of them impersonates as Armstrong to play a prank on his colleagues. However, Hawkeye says that Armstrong has been transferred to help Hughes' replacement, Frank Archer and they have left Central for an investigation so Armstrong would not appear now. In addition, they know from Falman that Archer is a man who likes wars. Meanwhile, Armstrong asks Archer why he is going to the south to look for the Elric brothers and the latter remarks that he's not going to let Ed and Al do what they wish like what Mustang does...

Ed and Al are locked in their room and guarded by Meisun under Izumi's orders while she goes to the island alone. Al uses alchemy to put a phone downstairs where Winry is helping Wrath to bathe so as to speak with her. Al asks about any strange observations on Wrath's body and suspects that the different shades of colour on his limbs could belong to what Ed has lost since Ed saw his face on the door. Ed gets very worked up and breaks through the floor despite Winry and Sigu's intervention. He grabs Wrath's right arm and sees the scar which he got during the probation training when a fox bit him thus confirming Al's hunch. Ed questions Wrath where he got his arm and leg from and the latter runs away from Ed in fright. Ed chases after Wrath relentlessly along the streets...

On the island, Izumi finds something which gets so shocked and worked up that she vomits blood again...

A major discovery again! To think that Wrath got his limbs from Ed when he lost them during the human alchemy ritual and it sure hurts to find that someone benefited from his loss. This also goes to suggest that Wrath is not a human after all but whether he belongs to the Homcrest, that's another question. I also wonder what Izumi found on the island which got her so shocked.

Talking about Izumi, she seems to be rather sickly and keeps vomitting blood. In addition, seeing the symbol on her chest, I really think she knows about the Homcrest and may have been one of them. Besides, she seems to be hiding lots of things from the Elric brothers and I hope that she can come clean soon.

We have more enemies popping up again in the form of Archer who definitely is not a good guy. Someone who craves chaos and battle can't be someone who holds lives in high regard. I think there are so many enemies now that it will be a hassle to deal with everyone. Besides, some of the baddies haven't made their intentions known or taken any specific actions e.g. Greed's gang. Only 20 plus episodes left and I don't know how this will wrap up nicely in the end.

The more I look at the King, the more I think he's suspicious. Not paying attention to what Sloth/Juliet is doing may not be really significant but Sloth's attitude as to not being scared of the King knowing what she's talking about certainly makes me wonder if he's in cahoots with her and the Homcrest. If that's the case, Mustang and Co would probably have a tough fight since they are up against the highest authority in the millitary. The only way is to overthrow the King.

And in the next episode's trailer, we get to see Greed and Kimbly plus Scar again! Wow, a reunion of Tenipuri seiyuus huh? Atobe, Jirou and Tezuka meet again but in another anime and the coincidence is really uncanny. Greed and Kimbly are from the same gang, Atobe and Jirou are from Hyotei while Tezuka/Scar belongs to the opposite side. Just thinking of listening to their voices is enough to get me hyped up.

Honey and Clover Ep 13

Takemoto tells his friends about Morita leaving for USA due to work and that it is not known when he will be back. When the group goes to Morita's room to see the range of high tech equipment inside, Takemoto suddenly asks Hagu whether she hopes for Morita's return and she says that she does not want Morita to return now as he can finish whatever he has to before coming back. This takes Takemoto by surprise as he continues to be in turmoil over Kaoru's question of whether he wants Morita to return. He is also unsure over what answer he was expecting from Hagu in the first place when he asked her that question.

Meanwhile, Yamada is wondering if she's such a failure for not realising that Hagu likes Morita despite being friends with her for so long and living with her for 1 year. Mayama tries to console her but she feels that he's making fun of her for being insensitive to the happenings around. The two are actually making pottery for Mayama's work requirements at the university and he jokes that she can asks for anything in return for helping out. Yamada thinks to herself that she hopes to get Mayama if he can grant her wish. In the end, they agree that it's better to leave Hagu alone for the time being since she seems to be rather unsure about love at this stage.

Hagu goes to inform Dange-sensei about Morita's trip and he remarks that Morita is like an overly-packed train where he's bursting with talent and potential. As such, he already knows that it's no use trying to stop Morita from doing what he wants and seems to accept his sudden departure with stride. Dange-sensei reveals that although Morita may seem disinterested in many things, he pays a lot of attention to what Hagu is making especially after he saw her make a giant sculpture despite her being petite which makes Hagu very surprised.

Upon hearing Dange-sensei's words, Hagu decides to buck up and do her best in whatever she does. Takemoto passes by the office and goes to take a look at Hagu who is focused on her painting. Somehow, Takemoto seems to see Morita's serious expression when carving his sculpture as he observes Hagu. This makes him sense a widening distance between him and Hagu and Morita as he thinks to himself that if Hagu had cried her heart out while wishing for Morita's return, this would have made him felt better.

During summer, the shiso planted on Yamada's balcony has a branch split at the top and her mother tells her to remove the broken branch so that the shiso can continue growing. However, Yamada is reluctant to do so as she feels that the leaves on the split branch indicate a form of life and it's not easy to throw them away easily.

Hagu continues to work on her creations with a lot of enthusiasm and this makes Yamada and Takemoto worried whether Hagu's working too hard recently. In order to get Hagu to relax herself, Yamada suggests going to the local fireworks festival tonight and offers to lend Hagu a yukata. Takemoto calls Mayama to invite him and Yamada is very excited at the prospect of seeing him. However, Mayama says that he has a celebration party at work and this makes Yamada very disappointed. Upon seeing this, Hanamoto decides to take advantage of Mayama's weakness of being left out by his friends and the latter falls for the trick and agrees to come for the fireworks festival.

Yamada brings Hagu back home to try on yukatas and Yamada's aunt gives her a mature-looking yukata which emphasizes her assets. Hagu wants to follow Yamada's style but due to her size, most of the yukatas are too big for her and she has to settle for a kid size kimono on the cute style.

Yamada and Hagu are on the way to the fireworks festival by the river where Yamada expresses her doubt over whether she looks good. Hagu, Takemoto and Hanamoto all compliment her for being very pretty but she seems to be unconvinced. When Mayama praises her for looking good, Yamada thinks to herself that she had taken so much effort to doll up just for Mayama's sake and hearing his compliments mean much more than hearing it from others. She hopes to change Mayama's feelings for her little by little but she starts to cry while thinking why she keeps holding on to this dream given the low likelihood of it ever coming true.

A few days later, Yamada sees that the shiso's stem has broken again as it cannot withstand the weight of the split branch but she still cannot bear the thought of removing the split branch. It's the same as her love for Mayama which she can't stop her pining for him...

With Morita's absence, things seem to get a bit moody and serious since he's always fooling around with everyone.

Hagu's response to Takemoto's question was kind of unexpected. It's as if she has grown up overnight and know that there's no point crying over anything. Besides, Morita won't be able to come back or know about her wishes even if Hagu really wants him to return since nobody knows where he has gone. While treasuring her memories of Morita, Hagu has found strength to embark on her creations with renewed vigour. It's no wonder why Takemoto feels left out because Hagu's newfound enthusiasm stems from Morita and they seem to be linked through this strong bond especially now that Hagu knows that Morita has cared for her since a long time ago. It would disappoint Morita if Hagu does not work hard during his absence.

The analogy of the split shiso's stem seems so fitting in Yamada's situation. She knows that it's better to stop pining for Mayama and move on but it's easier said than done since she has loved him for such a long time. And seeing how the shiso had suffered from her reluctance to nip the problem in the bud, I wonder if this will make her realise that the situation would not improve despite her continuing to love Mayama who only has eyes for Rika or she will continue to hold on to the feeble hope.