Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa

Received the premium edition DVD box of the FMA movie yesterday and got down to finish the film this evening. As there are another 2 discs containing making-of footage and cast interviews as well as other special items, I'll leave that for another day when I finish watching Disc 2 and 3. Thus, I will only focus on the movie for this post and the pictures featured are the front and reverse of the box packaging containing pictures of Ed and Al. In case you haven't watched the movie and do not wish to read spoilers, please do not proceed further.

First of all, the length of the movie is about 104 minutes long and constantly shuttles between the two worlds i.e. the so-called imaginary world where Ed used to be and the reality which is set in Munich. It's been 2 years since Ed was sent to this end of the world and he has been learning rocketry with another guy Alfons Hiederich who looks very similar to the Alphonse Elric in the other world. As such, that could be why Ed has a strange affinity with Alfons who looks sickly. By the way, Alfons' voice actor is Oguri Shun who recently played Hanazawa Rui in the drama version of Hana Yori Dango. Frankly speaking, if I didn't know beforehand that it was him who had taken on this role, I would never have identified Alfons' voice just by listening to him in the movie. Thus, I think Oguri has got potential to try his hand at other voice acting jobs in future since he seems to display a certain level of proficiency and versatality in this area. Oh, before I forget, Oguri's elder brother Ryo is also featured in this movie but I didn't figure out which role he had played.

While Ed is still trying to find a way to return to his own world, Al is on the other end with his memories wiped out after what happened in the series. Nowadays, Al is dressed in a similar way like what Ed used to be so I assume it must be due to him missing Ed. There's nothing wrong with this but I prefer Al in short hair as shown in the ending.

I won't go into much details on the plot though but I will just say that it involves war in the reality world i.e. when Germany lost WWI and Hitler was preparing for WWII. I'm actually quite happy with the storyline because it ties up a number of loose ends i.e. what happens to everyone after the series ended although it was a bittersweet ending.

What I found amusing was that some characters appeared in the movie through another form despite them already dead during the series. As such, we got to reunite with people like Hughes and Glacier who are not married, King Bradley being a film director who is Jewish, Rose in the form of a gypsy Noah and that ambitious Director Eckhart who seems to resemble a younger version of Dante. The most interesting appearance was Scar and Lust appearing together but they did not speak at all. This was in the ending part of the movie and I was pleasantly surprised by this. Too bad Okiayu Ryotaro did not get a chance to take part in this movie even though Scar was there. Ed and Al's reaction upon seeing Scar in another form was simply hillarious.

Talking about the conclusion, I was very happy to see Ed and Al reunited. Although it wasn't in their original world, it was still better than being apart. What a pity that nothing turned out well for Winry and Ed even though they had a brief meeting. It was so sad when Winry said that Ed had made it impossible for her to continue waiting for the day they will meet again. Another heartwrenching moment was Alphons giving up his life just to fulfil Ed's wish to reunite with Al. A lot of people died in the process but the movie brings a tinge of hope in the future despite the tough circumstances.

Last but not least, the English subs in the premium version was of great help for me to enjoy the story easily without straining my ears to hear the dialogue. However, the font, arrangement and position of the subs leave much to be desired so I hope future DVD releases with the subs feature can be modified and improved.

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora Ep 01: Akiko-san to Shoujo to Akutagawa Ryuunosuke

Ezaki Yuuichi, a 17-year-old senior high school student is going back to Wakaba Hospital before dawn as he had sneaked out in the night without permission. Just as he thinks that he can get off scott-free, he is caught red-handed by a nurse, Tanizaki Akiko who uses a slipper to hit Yuuichi on his head. Akiko lectures Yuuichi for not obeying instructions to stay in his ward but he tries to get off the hook by saying that he was only out for a stroll. However, Akiko exposes Yuuichi's lies as he had been out once the lights were off last night instead of a short while as what he claimed. Akiko reminds Yuuichi that he should not sneak out just because his condition has improved recently since he might have to extend his stay in the hospital in the event of any changes to his health. As such, Akiko threatens to make Yuuichi do a striptease dance if he dares to sneak out again. Just then, an elderly patient, Tada touches Akiko's bum deliberately and pretends that it was accidental. As Akiko is scolding Tada, Yuuichi seizes the opportunity to return to his room.

Later, Yuuichi's friends Sekoguchi Tsukasa and Yamanishi Tamotsu come to visit him and have a good laugh after hearing what happened. Tsukasa comments that there's nothing to be afraid of but Yuuichi says that Akiko will do as what she threatens. As Tamotsu munches on the snacks they brought for Yuuichi, he jokes that there's no harm doing a striptease in this cold weather since the latter's condition can be cured if he rests well which leads Yuuichi to grumble at Tamotsu for finishing his food. Actually, Yuuichi is suffering from acute hepatitis which can be cured after a few months of rest. As he has been feeling better after one month of hospitalisation, that is why he gets so bored that he has to sneak out to do something.

As Yuuichi is walking along the corridor, he spots a girl in a ward located at the eastern wing. When Akiko comes to give Yuuichi an injection, she tells him that the girl is Akiba Rika who is of the same age as him and she was transferred here from another hospital. Yuuichi asks if Rika's condition is not optimistic (the eastern wing is meant for terminally-ill patients)but Akiko says that it's not serious and does not go into details.

That night, Yuuichi tries to sneak out again but sees Akiko outside his ward with a long bench put at his door. Yuuichi realises that Akiko is serious about thwarting his attempts to go out and gives up in resignation.

In the day, Yuuichi goes to Rika's ward and wants to make friends with her but turns back at the last minute. As he is staring into blank space at the rooftop, Akiko goes there to take a puff and remarks that Ise is such a small town. She asks Yuuichi what he intends to do after senior high school graduation. Yuuichi has plans to go to an university in Tokyo or Nagoya as he can't wait to leave here. Akiko says that she would love to do the same but in reality, it is hard for her to do so. Akiko suddenly asks Yuuichi if he is willing to be Rika's friend in exchange for removing the bench outside his ward and passes a book of Akutagawa Ryuunosuke to him because Rika likes his works.

Yuuichi decides to back out of his deal with Akiko since he's not a fan of Akutagawa as what she told Rika and he's not sure of how to make friends with Rika. However, he accidentally slips and bangs against the door whereby Rika comes to know that someone is outside her ward. As such, Yuuichi summons his courage to enter the room and meets Rika who asks him about Akutagawa's works. Yuuichi cannot answer Rika's question which leads her to find out that he has lied to her. He tries to liven up the atmosphere by talking about the town. When he talks about the cannon base mountain, this finally gets Rika's attention. She then tells him that she's willing to forgive him if he agrees to do something for her.

Rika orders Yuuichi to borrow a book of Akutagawa for her at the town library but he brings back the wrong book. She flares up and tells Yuuichi to get the correct book even though he is coughing badly due to the cold weather. Even though Rika has noticed this, she still forces Yuuichi to do her bidding. Yuuichi has no choice and goes back to get the book she wants. As Yuuichi goes back to his ward, he meets Tada who offers to share his collection of pornographic books with him. Yuuichi declines his kind gesture upon seeing the huge amount of books in Tada's ward.

Since then, Rika would play pranks on Yuuichi and make him do what she orders. She forces Yuuichi to go with him to the operating theatre and they are almost caught by Akiko. When they go to the rooftop to chat, Rika asks Yuuichi why he has never tried to find out what illness she is suffering from. Yuuichi comments that those staying in the east wing are seriously ill so he assumes that Rika is like them. She reveals that the valve in her heart is faulty and the only way to recover is through a heart transplant. However, her body is weak thus increasing the possibility of failure during the operation. Rika's father had also suffered from the illness and died in the midst of surgery.

Rika says that her father brought her to the cannon base mountain before his operation which could be the reason why he made up his mind to have the transplant. As such, Yuuichi realises that Rika keeps looking out of the window because she wants to see the mountain. Rika wishes to go there again before she could make up her mind on the surgery.

Yuuichi sneaks out to play TV games at Tsukasa's house and returns to the hospital before dawn to find that Tada had passed away suddenly. Before he died, he told Akiko to give his collection of pornographic books to Yuuichi. As Yuuichi lies on his bed while looking at the collection, he makes up his mind to do something and calls Tsukasa for help.

Yuuichi goes to Rika's room and offers to bring her to the mountain. They are spotted by Akiko but Tsukasa appears in time to stop her from chasing after them. Yuuichi and Rika take the scooter which Tsukasa prepared but they fall on the mountain trail and have to walk to the peak.

They finally make it to the top as Rika tells Yuuichi that she's prepared to die if the operation fails. Upon hearing this, Yuuichi gets a shock as Rika hugs him while she sobs. She asks Yuuichi why he wants to help her and he tells her about his drunkard father who died long ago. This makes Rika misunderstand that Yuuichi is doing this out of sympathy but he tries to deny it. As he gets too agitated while trying to explain himself, he suddenly collapses and mutters something which makes Rika blush...

Although character-design and graphics are not that good, the reason why I'm watching this is because of the storyline. At the end of the ED, there is a shot of Yuuichi and Rika getting married so I'm quite interested to know how their relationship will develop over the course of 6 episodes only. I guess the emphasis will be very much on them while the rest of the characters could have mysteries to be unresolved or vaguely explained by the end of the run due to the limited timeframe.

The OP is a mid-tempo number while the ED is a sentimental song. As I've only listened to them for a few times, it may take a while before I can say how I feel about the songs but the vocals by nobuko were OK in my opinion.

The only familiar voice to me would be Takahashi Mikako who played Yamada Ayumi in Hachikuro and Ryuuzaki Sakuno in Tenipuri. Well, I loved her potrayal of Yamada but I don't feel as strongly for Rika in this anime though. Maybe it's because I have an issue with characters with hair too long and eyes so big that they take up half of the face. On the other hand, I like the voice of Yuuichi whose seiyuu is Suzumura Kenichi. I find his voice familiar so I might have to do a search to see where I've heard him before.

On the whole, I'm quite satisfied with this anime and will probably continue to watch this barring unforseen circumstances.

Paradise Kiss Ep 06: NEW WORLD

I was 5 when I took an entrance exam for the first time. As compared to failing to enter a famous university's affiliated primary school, I was more upset at seeing my mother's disappointed expression.

Yukari meets Mikako at the restaurant where the photoshoot is taking place and remarks that the latter and Miwako look identical. Mikako says that she's always been mistaken by others and wonders if she looks that childish despite being 36 and having a daughter.

Mikako brings Yukari to meet the staff including her husband Tsutomu, the photographer and gives them a shock at how good Yukari looks. One of them, Higasa mentions that Mikako rejected all her suggestions for the replacement model which made them worry whom Mikako was going to get for the photoshoot. However, upon seeing Yukari, they are glad that Mikako made the right choice. When Yukari sees that Seiji is the make-up artist, she starts to blush which makes Seiji ask if she's feeling unwell. Yukari replies that she's fine so as to conceal her nervousness as she doesn't want to disappoint the staff especially Mikako who picked her for the job.

Seiji suddenly asks Yukari why she decided to take up this job but she's unable to answer. This makes Seiji tease her for being "threatened" by Mikako to come and his words are overheard by Mikako. Hearing the bantering around her, Yukari starts to relax and feel less anxious about what is going to happen during the photoshoot.

When I entered a public primary school, I made up my mind to aim for a famous private junior high school in my vicinity. My success in achieving this goal brought me great pride as it was to compensate for my failure to get into a private primary school. At that time, my father had to be transferred to another place for work so my mother used my studies as a reason to stay behind in Tokyo. However, as I wasn't cut out for that junior high school, it was a torture trying to keep up with the pace and my results were always below average. As a result, my mother showed her disappointment with me openly and things got worse when my younger brother made it easily into the private primary school which I failed to enter. Although I have been largely ignored due to my academic weakness, the only thing I could do was to try to do well so as to get into my parents' good books. Wearing the uniform of a famous senior high school was the sole source where I could feel proud about myself. However, after meeting the members of Parakiss, I feel that there are other things I can do to prove my worth in life.

The photoshoot progresses smoothly and everyone is full of praises for Yukari's performance. At the same time, Yukari is happy to know that she can fit into the fashion arena which is so serious about each minute detail. When the work is completed, Mikako invites Yukari to stay for dinner but she has to go since Miwako and gang are waiting for her in the atelier. Mikako teases Yukari for going on a date with George which the latter is quick to deny but she sings praises of George and says that Yukari is lucky to grab such a guy. This makes Yukari quite embarrassed though. Yukari then bumps into Seiji at the corridor who tells her that George asked him to look out for Yukari since this is her first photoshoot. However, Seiji says that there wasn't such a need since Yukari did very well.

During dinner at the atelier, everyone is marvelling at how beautiful Yukari looks which makes her blush in embarrassment. Later, George sends Yukari back to Arashi's apartment where she is staying at the moment. When Yukari finds out that there is little time till the fashion show, she asks George if they can finish the dress by then but he's not too bothered by the lack of time and has confidence that everything will go smoothly. Yukari disses George for being too arrogant when he suddenly bends over and asks to kiss her.

Meanwhile, Arashi sends Miwako home and they find out that Mikako and Tsutomu have already returned home. As such, Arashi decides to go back to his family home since he can't spend the night at their place and his apartment is taken up by Yukari.

When George says that he is going home, Yukari invites him to enter her apartment for tea but he mocks her for using such an indirect method to make him stay. This makes Yukari angry and she tells him to scram. However, she soon regrets this and tells George that she only has instant coffee to offer. Even though Yukari assumes that George will stay over for the night, he tells her that he will leave after having his coffee.

Arashi returns home to find Tokumori waiting for him and asks why the latter has come. Tokumori asks Arashi about the whereabouts of Yukari. Although Arashi is not willing to say anything at first, he blurts out the truth by mistake after hearing that Tokumori plans to look for Miwako to ask about this if he doesn't tell him the answer.

At the same time, George is preparing to leave when Yukari starts to cry because she's unable to communicate her thoughts to him. As such, she feels as if she's in this relationship alone while George maintain a cool front. Upon seeing her tears, George hugs Yukari which reassures her that he also loves her. George then carries Yukari into the apartment and they start to get intimate. Unknown to the lovers, Miwako has come to look for Yukari and she's shocked to hear their sounds from the apartment. When Tokumori comes to look for Yukari, Miwako drags him away hurriedly so that they would not disturb Yukari and George.

In the 18-years before I met George, I had no experience in kissing, not to mention sex. I knew little about this and didn't even know why it was necessary. However, my body reacted naturally to George's advances. Is this instinct? Are guys all so good at kissing? What should I do? I really feel like crying. If only this would help to reduce the distance between us...

Miwako tells Tokumori about why Yukari has left home and says that there's nothing to worry about since George will take care of Yukari. When Tokumori says that he has a headache, Miwako is very concerned about him and it seems as if they have finally returned to how they were in the past.

The next day, Yukari moves out of Arashi's department so as to live with George...

Firstly, with regards to Yukari's feelings about being largely ignored due to her not being as academically inclined as her younger brother, I can emphathise with her because I'm in a similar situation. As such, it really made me feel worthless at times because it was evident that I wasn't being looked upon favourably so I had to look for other ways to prove myself. I don't feel that I've succeeded in this area though so it is very tough for me to manage such feelings of unfairness and resentment. That is why Yukari's monologue struck a chord with me and made me see myself in what she experienced. At least she found something which she can work hard in but I'm still searching.

About Yukari's taking the first move to invite George to stay over, I simply get the feeling that she was desperate to bridge the distance between them as shown in the monologue towards the end of the episode. Frankly speaking, sex doesn't seem to be the best method to bridge the so-called distance between the two parties in a relationship. Sometimes, if intimacy comes at a stage when both are not prepared to accept a change in the current status, it may hasten the destruction of the relationship. That is why I don't agree with her thinking that by sleeping with George, this would have improved their relationship. In their case, they fell in love within days of knowing each other. The intensity of their relationship is so strong that they may have to slow down and look at things in perspective instead of rushing to progress further. By not taking a reality check at the current situation, it does not help to improve their relationship since they are as different as chalk and cheese right from the start.

With regards to the sex scene, I felt that it was more explicit than showing nudity. Despite it being a midnight slot anime where there should not be any issues with the nudity, using dialogue is a clever way of getting over the issue while not exploiting visual effects to woo the audience. It made me laugh at times but I don't think this was crude in any way.

As for Tokumori, I really think he's such a nice guy. No doubt he may have been dumped by Miwako, he still shows concern for her and treats her like a friend. On the other hand, he's truly worried about Yukari and cares for her because he does like her. Although I know that Yukari currently has eyes for George only, I am starting to feel that Tokumori might be the best lifelong partner for her instead.

Last but not least, the title seems to have two meanings i.e. Yukari's entry into the world of fashion and her being a real woman because she slept with George.

Suzuka Ep 21: Koukai (Regret)

Yamato makes up his mind to train hard for the upcoming competition. On the other hand, he fails to mend his relationship with Asahina as she is still giving him the cold shoulder. Although Yamato knew very well that things would come to this stage since he lied to Asahina about the reason for his breakup with Honoka, he still feels upset over Asahina's attitude. As a result, this affects his concentration level and he keeps dropping the baton during the relay race practice. Yamato's senior Sasaki grumbles about his lousy techniques but Miyamoto defends Yamato for being a newbie at relay races so as to pacify them. However, Sasaki points out that Yamato is not serious about practice while Miki looks on worriedly.

After practice, Miki waits for Yamato and asks about his training condition. Upon hearing what happened, Miki offers to help Yamato with practising on how to pass the baton. Even though the running track is closed, Miki brings Yamato to a park to practice. After repeated tries, Yamato is getting the hang of it but when he thinks of Asahina's attitude towards him, he gets distracted again and drops the baton. Miki decides to take a rest for a while and buy some drinks.

When Yamato is alone while waiting for Miki to return, he can't help but feel despondent over not meeting up to people's expectations. As he's not sure what his goal is, Yamato doesn't know how to change the current situation. Miki points out that Yamato regrets lying to Asahina but he denies it and puts the blame of his breakup with Honoka on himself. Yamato feels that he cannot tell Asahina the truth so Miki offers to tell her about it on his behalf. However, Yamato decides to do it himself since he wants to make up with Asahina.

The next day, Yamato is troubled over how to tell Asahina the truth when Miki asks why he has yet to take any action. Hattori wants to know what is going on but Miki refuses to divulge. As such, Hattori accuses Miki of trying to get close to Yamato which leads her to scold him for having wild thoughts.

During practice, Yamato is distracted again and incurs the wrath of his teammates. As such, he decides that it is time to settle the matter once and for all as this will continue to be a hindrance to his preparation for the relay.

Asahina returns home to see Yamato waiting for her but she ignores him. When she hears the real reason for his breakup with Honoka, Asahina gets a shock and questions why Yamato had to lie to her. Yamato says that he doesn't want to remain in this situation with her but she leaves when she hears that he is attributing blame for his lack of concentration due to their quarrel.

Yamato goes to the laundry shop and meets Asahina there. The atmosphere between the two of them is awkward as she keeps giving half-hearted answers. This makes Yamato quite disappointed that telling the truth has not brought about any positive effects. He offers some croquettes he bought but she rejects his offer. Despite Asahina having finished her laundry, she remains seated which leads Yamato to remind her to take the clothes out. Yamato finds out that she's just too embarrassed about taking her underwear out from the washing machine so he prepares to leave the shop. Just before he steps out, Asahina stops Yamato and says that she will have one of his croquettes and tells him to go out of the shop once he finishes them.

When Yamato returns home, he receives a call from Miki who asks about what happened. Yamato does not go into details and simply says that everything is fine. Later, Asahina calls him and says that she's not angry anymore so he has no more excuse to fumble at training. Upon hearing his encouragement, Yamato is elated and reaffirms his liking for Asahina.

Well, both Yamato and Asahina are really clumsy at communicating their real thoughts to each other. Although she is no longer angry at Yamato after knowing the truth, she chose to talk to him through the phone instead of while they were in the laundry shop. On the other hand, Yamato knows that he is not eloquent enough to handle the situation and keeps putting off this matter until he realises that not clearing the air would be detrimental to his training progress and his emotions. Sometimes, it can get quite frustrating to see the two of them behaving like kids without social skills. However, since it's nearing the end of the series, I believe that unless one of them decides to come clean with his/her feelings, nothing will come out between the two of them.

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 04: Kikoenu Sakebi Koe (The unheard screams)

Kanno Junko is waiting anxiously outside the consultation room where she is called by the clinic assistant, Sekimoto to see her pet dog Candy for the last time. The vet, Honjou announces that there is nothing more he can do for Candy which makes Junko break down as she calls Candy's name repeatedly...

Days later, Junko is still mourning Candy's demise as she recalls how it was given by her parents who died when she was just 10. As such, she has regarded Candy as her only family member all along and is very affected by the loss of her beloved. She is unsure of how she should face the future alone and keeps crying.

One day, Honjou is going out for a house visit when Sekimoto comes to inform that one of their patients is bringing his pet dog which suffered a fracture to the clinic. However, Honjou can't be bothered about it and tells her to take good care of an actress' dog instead before driving off. On the way back to the clinic, Sekimoto bumps into Junko who thanks her for taking care of Candy while it was alive. Junko wants to thank Honjou too but he is not around. When Sekimoto hears Junko's praises for Honjou, she feels extremely uncomfortable.

Sekimoto recalls how upset Junko was with regards to Candy's death and decides to ask Junko out. She reveals to Junko about Honjou practising preferential treatment towards his patients by favouring the rich and famous. As such, Candy's death was caused by Honjou delaying treatment while he was on the phone chit-chatting. Sekimoto apologises for not being able to get Honjou to save Candy first which gets Junko very agitated. She blames herself for bringing Candy to Honjou's clinic and accidentally overhears some female students talking about Jigoku Tsuushin.

At midnight, Junko accesses the site and keys in Honjou's name. Ai receives the message and meets Junko to tell her how the procedure works. Upon hearing that she will be sent to hell when she dies, Junko starts to hesitate about pulling the red string.

Junko happens to see a news report on TV about medical malpractice and asks Sekimoto for help to get evidence on Honjou's misdeeds. However, Sekimoto says that the clinic is frequented by many celebrities and politicians thus the matter will not be reported by any TV station. Nevertheless, Junko refuses to give up as she doesn't want any more victims to die like Candy. As such, Sekimoto agrees to help Junko search for incriminating evidence against Honjou.

At night, Sekimoto brings Junko into the clinic to look for information. Just then, Honjou returns to the clinic and finds out what they are doing. However, Honjou refuses to admit his mistake and even taunts Junko to ask the animals in the clinic if he is a lousy vet. Knowing very well that the animals can't speak, Honjou is not scared of Junko's threats to expose him. When Honjou insults Candy for being a mere stray which has no right to live, Junko is furious and pulls the red string to take revenge.

This sets Ai and her team to get to work. Honjou is caught in an accident and suffers a fracture on his leg. He is pushed into the ambulance roughly by Ichimoku Ren and Wanyuudo. Later, when Honjou comes to, he finds himself trying to get the attention of them and Honne-onna who claim that they do not understand what he is saying. Honjou refuses to admit his mistake and is sent to hell with animals clawing all over him...

The format of the show tends to get repetitive i.e. someone hates a person, seeks the help of Jigoku Shoujo and hesitates, gets angry and pulls the red string. It can get boring over time but this episode is still fine because the villian really got on my nerves and the way he was punished proves that there is something called retribution after all. However, I'm not sure if I will continue to watch this if the format remains unchanged. I surely hope that the story can get deeper than what the current situation offers. It would be best to provide an insight on Ai and her subordinates' backgrounds since I think this would be more interesting.

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora trailer

Saw the trailer for Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora which is due to begin on 12 Jan. From the looks of it, this anime is said to be a pure love story between Yuichi and Rika. However, it seems like it's probably going to head towards a sad outcome since Rika has been down with an illness since young and I don't think it will be possible for her to be cured suddenly within the run of the anime. And that means Yuichi may have to bear with the pain of losing someone he loves. I'm still not sure whether this anime is going to last for 6 episodes only as announced on a number of websites. If that's the case, my concern is how they are going to squeeze the content from 5 volumes of manga into just 6 episodes and not compromise on the quality of the story. The animation standard looks quite good to me based on the trailer though. Personally, I think this is one of the more promising new animes for the latest season so I have a certain degree of faith in it. Nevertheless, I'll save my judgement until I see the first episode next Thursday.

Yakitate Japan Ep 54

The first round of the Yakitate 9 competition begins with Tsubozuka Takumi from CMAP representing St Pierre against the Pantasia trio of Azuma, Kanmuri and Kawachi. Kuroyanagi explains the rules of the game where they will win a panel of the 9 available in each round. The side with the most panels at the end of the contest will be the winner. As such, Kuroyanagi reveals the first panel which reads Ooma, a place in Aomori Prefecture and the northern most port town of Honshuu.

On the train heading to Ooma, Azuma remarks that CMAP is rather famous as he sees Tsubozuka's photo on the cover of a magazine. However, he pronounces the group name wrongly which leads an irritated Kawachi to correct him. Kanmuri explains that CMAP stands for "Cooking Meal Assemble People" and is an idol group of 4 people who have been put together because of their culinary talents. Kanmuri remarks that Tsubozuka alone is a tough rival but Kawachi does not think much of it. Azuma asks what Ooma is famous for so that he can think of what type of bread to make. As Ooma is a famous harbour city, the tuna caught from the nearby waters are termed as "Super Tuna" and sold at the premium price of at least 20,000 yen per kg. This will pose a challenge since they cannot produce something whereby the locals and tourists cannot afford as that will defeat the purpose of the contest.

Upon reaching Ooma, the trio find themselves having to live in a rundown hotel as they have to foot the production costs of the programme. Thus, they have to scrimp and save in other ways since they agreed to this condition without much thought when Kirisaki brought up the idea.

On the other hand, Yukino brings the staff and Tsubozuka to a sushi restaurant as her intention is to chalk up an exhorbitant bill since the Pantasia side has to bear the cost. However, Tsubozuka doesn't want to eat the sushi and criticises it for being too awful. Yukino wonders if there's anything with Tsubozuka's thinking as he suddenly tells the chef to let him make the sushi. The chef is furious to hear Tsubozuka's remarks but decides to grant his request. Tsubozuka manages to come up with the sushi in a shorter time than the chef and the taste turns out to be much better. Kuroyanagi points out that Tsubozuka used a different method in cutting the tuna so that the muscles are removed thus leading to a better taste. In addition, he manages to extract the muscles which is filled with the freshness and essence of the tuna. Upon seeing Tsubozuka's performance, Yukino is convinced that he can do well for the contest.

When the producer asks for more tuna, the chef explains that he has run out of supplies since the tuna is only harvested from Aug to Jan. For other periods of the year, the tuna served would be those frozen from the catch in the harvesting season. Yukino thinks of an idea to deal a fatal blow to the Pantasia team.

The next day, Kuroyanagi explains the rules to the two teams and stresses the importance of using the local produce in their bread creations. Azuma, Kawachi and Kanmuri go to buy the tuna but find out that the supplies had been snapped up on the previous night. As such, they realise that this is all Yukino's doing so as to obstruct them in the contest.

Azuma suddenly asks Kanmuri when Ooma receives the most tourists and the latter says that it should be during the Golden Week period of April to May. In winter, Ooma is too cold while in summer, the seafood produce is tasteless thus tourists usually do not come here during such periods. As such, Azuma thinks that they should drop the idea of using Super Tuna since the tourists would not want to eat frozen stuff during a holiday. Besides, there is no rule that they can use a single type of local produce. Just as they are thinking of alternatives, Yukino deliberately appears in front of them to flaunt the tuna she bought in bulk so as to emphasize the helpless situation they are in.

Kanmuri brings Azuma and Kawachi to the fishery so that they can use sea urchins instead of tuna for the contest. Since sea urchins are harvested during March to June which coincides with the tourist season in Ooma, they can get the freshest supplies at a much lower price. Azuma is excited about this since they can get purple sea urchins here which leads Kawachi to ask if there are different colours for sea urchins. Kawachi explains that there are two types of sea urchins i.e. the red-flesh and the white-flesh. Thus, the purple sea urchins refer to the white-flesh variety. Azuma tells them that he knew about this because his family plants rice and works with sushi restaurants. Azuma then wants Kawachi to make some French bread but Kanmuri objects to this since they will lose if they use Kawachi's bread. However, Azuma explains that he wants Kawachi to make some awful-tasting bread which gets the others bewildered by his action.

The trio go to their cooking trailer made specially for this programme and paid from their own pockets so as to make their chawan-mushi bread. Kawachi makes some awful-tasting bread at Azuma's request but the latter says that it's not enough. He wants Kawachi to make some soggy bread since his current creation is too good to meet his expectations. Kanmuri finds out what Azuma is trying to do and tells Kawachi to add more water into the dough while he goes to get a secret weapon for the contest.

Matsushiro and Tsukino come to support the trio but are surprised to hear that Azuma wants Kawachi to make some awful-tasting bread. Meanwhile, Tsubozuka asks for permission to use his personal oven which Kuroyanagi agrees to. Just as Kuroyanagi wants to begin the programme, Azuma comes to interrupt him again and asks for permission to use a local rubbish bag. Kuroyanagi is taken aback by Azuma's action and thinks that the latter must be up to something again.

Kawachi doesn't understand why Azuma must force him to make the awful-tasting bread since he has improved his breadmaking skills over time. As he has no idea what Azuma plans to do, he can't help but feel apprehensive over their chances of winning. Meanwhile, Matsushiro remarks to Tsukino that Tsubozuka is not a simple character after seeing him make 2 types of dough i.e. for cream puffs and pastries which may be bad news for the Pantasia team.

Just then, Tsubozuka comes to the Pantasia team and tells them not to throw in the towel in such a manner by making awful bread even if they have no confidence of winning. However, Azuma tells Kawachi that he has no intention of losing delibrately by using the latter's bread directly. Kawachi and Tsubozuka watch in amazement as Azuma puts the bread into the rubbish bag...

It is so evident that CMAP is used as a parody for SMAP where even the acronym is a direct rip-off from Sports Music Assemble People. ^__^ I was giggling as I watched this and wondered how they could have done it in such an obvious manner. Anyway, I just can't link Tsubozuka to any of the SMAP members he could have represented. His appearance doesn't look like any of them and his name...the closest match I can think of is Kusanagi. Anyway, I guess the other members may appear in future so I can see whether they are modelled after the real SMAP members.

Azuma is always up to his unthinkable ways of making bread but asking Kawachi to make awful-tasting bread and throwing it into a rubbish bag? This is indeed worth thinking about. What exactly is he trying to do?

Paradise Kiss act 1 A/T cossage

As mentioned previously, here's the picture of the blue rose cossage which comes with act 1's DVD box. It is placed inside a clear plastic box with the cloth label of "Paradise Kiss x A/T" attached at the back. The colour of the rose is similar to what is shown in the anime. However, the lable is not shown too clearly in the photo since most of it is covered by the cossage. There are instructions on the cardboard insert of the box about how to use and clean the cossage if required. It seems that the cossage might discolour if it is washed in certain ways. I don't plan on using this in the first place since I will keep it as a collector's item. In fact, I've not used any of the freebies I got from various DVDs or CDs. Anyway, I don't have the habit of wearing such accessories so there's no risk of spoiling it. I'm looking forward to the next volume's free gift which is a photo stand designed by Yazawa Ai herself. How it looks like will only be known next month when I receive the DVD box of act 2 to be released on 10 Feb.

New animes of interest in Winter 06

A new year marks a new season of animes to look forward to. However, I did not find many titles which caught my eye at first sight like how much I was dying to watch Paradise Kiss. Nevertheless, there are a few which seem rather interesting so I'll probably give them a try if I do find them available for viewing.

Yomigaeru Sora
What caught my eye was that this title features a relatively unknown occupation i.e. the defence forces rescue team. They possess a high level of expertise in rescue operations from battle grounds or disaster-struck areas. As such, I think professional knowledge into this area would be an eye-opening experience. In addition, people who likes helicopters or millitary aircraft in general would probably be drawn to this series. The main character is a newbie helicopter pilot Uchida Kazuhiro who has to deal with a gap in his expectations and reality as he is sent to the rescue team instead of being in the battle unit which he aspires to join. He also has to be apart from his girlfriend who works in a publishing company at Tokyo so I expect problems both on the professional and private aspects. Hopefully, the story will have enough episodes to cover everything in detail instead of glossing over everything just to get it over and done with.

Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora
The story is about a 2nd year senior high school boy Yuichi who has to be hospitalised. As he is bored, Yuichi tries to sneak out of the hospital but is caught by a nurse Akiko who has a fiery temper and used to be a gangster. Subsequently, he meets another young female patient, Rika who keeps making a fool out of him. Well, I sense that there might be romance in the air between Yuichi and Rika but the short run of this series might make it hard for this development to be included. 6 episodes just seems too short to compile 5 volumes of manga material in one shot. Thus, I'm quite concerned about the pace of the story being too fast and neglecting essential points in the story. Besides that, I think Yuichi should experience a change in his mindset through his contact with Rika so I don't wish to see this being neglected due to the limited time for this series. The sole familiar name in the cast for me will be Takahashi Mikako who plays Yamada Ayumi in Hachikuro and Ryuuzaki Sakuno in Tenipuri.

Ayakashi
This anime is produced by Toei to be shown on FujiTV from 12 Jan. However, there are only 3 episodes which I think is too short. Maybe a slightly longer run would be enough to satisfy the viewers. On the other hand, these stories have no relation to one another so the number of episodes do not seem so important after all. Although having independent storylines, the three episodes have a common theme of horror and hatred. Somehow, this leads me to think of Jigoku Shoujo but this series is based on folklore or famous horror stories as compared to Jigoku which is largely fiction. I am quite interested in stories set in ancient Japan especially during the Heian period so this catches my eye easily. Since this is produced by a movie company, I think the quality of the animation and story might be very high since the animators would only need to produce 3 episodes so QC can be done much easily. More money to be spent on each episode should be good for this series.

Meine Liebe Weider
The second series begins on 22 Jan at 11.30pm Sundays. Well, I didn't watch the first series shown in 2004 but after reading what's on the official website, I think this might be worth checking out. The story has an European setting and the main cast is a group of future leaders in an elite school. I tend to like stories set in schools and the feel of the European culture so I may have to find the first series first before watching this 2nd part. By the way, I find two familiar names in the seiyuu list i.e. Ishida Akira and Hoshi Souichirou who play Mizuki Hajime and Mukahi Gakuto in Tenipuri.