Ginyu Mokushiroku ~ Meine Liebe Ep 01: Hokori (Pride)

In the year 1935 when the world was filled with political instability, a country located at the edge of Europe by the name of Kuchen decided to seek its own independence despite objections from neighbouring countries. The King was assisted by several learned scholars who aimed to restore the kingdom. These men had notable backgrounds, intelligence and were chosen by the Kuchen Church. Most of them were from the prestigious Rosenstolz Academy. Currently, several young men who aspire to be chosen for this task are striving to reach the top of their cohort and are called the Strahl Candidates.

Orpherus is sending his elder sister, Robertine out as she heads off to town and pick up her wedding dress. He offers to accompany her but she declines the offer, saying that she wishes to keep the wedding dress a secret until the ceremony. Orpherus expresses his reluctance to see his sister get married which leads Robertine to comment that he's still like a child. She promises that he will always be her little brother even if she gets married and has a family of her own. However, that becomes the last he sees of Robertine as a messenger rushes into the house to inform Orpherus of her demise due to a bomb planted on the horse carriage.

Orpherus wakes up from his dream about Robertine's death and decides to get dressed instead of going back to sleep. He looks lovingly at the necklace which Robertine left behind and heads off for lessons at the Academy.

On the way, Eduard grabs Orpherus from the back but the latter manages to break free after a initial startle. Eduard comments that Orpherus is not on his guard today and realises that the latter is not his usual self because of the recurring dream for the past 2 years. Orpherus stresses that he still doesn't understand why Robertine was killed and the authorities failed to find the culprit since then. Eduard says that this could either be the work of another country or some rebel out to create chaos but this resulted in the death of an innocent person. Orpherus vows to stamp out such violence so that everyone in Kuchen can live in peace. Eduard assures Orpherus that he can surely be a Member of the Strahl where the latter also says that Eduard can be one too. However, Eduard laughs it off and says that someone like him cannot be a Member of the Strahl and he isn't that interested in the post too. Nevertheless, if Orpherus is going to enter the ranks of the Strahl, he doesn't mind joining him since Eduard had promised Orpherus before that he will stay with him forever. Actually, Eduard had been the one to provide moral support for Orpherus when Robertine passed away thus they have a strong friendship binding them together.

Naoji is practising kendo when Eduard and Orpherus pass by. Eduard praises Naoji for being so hardworking to practice everyday but the latter remarks humbly that he has to do this because he's not good at it. Orpherus asks Naoji to teach him kendo next time but he rejects this because he's not skilful enough. After Naoji takes his leave to get changed for class, Orpherus remarks that Naoji must be disliking him but Eduard says that this isn't the case. However, Eduard doesn't elaborate on the reason and reminds Orpherus that it's time to head for class.

During class, Orpherus is arguing with Ludwig again because their views differ. Ludwig is of the view that more martial control is required to keep the country peaceful but Orpherus thinks otherwise and wants to use reasoning to change mindsets. Just then, their teacher Beruze enters the classroom and breaks up the argument since they should not do this during lesson time.

Naoji asks Ludwig why he had to antagonize Orpherus again but the latter stresses that Orpherus was the one who got things started. Ludwig asks Naoji if he is taking Orpherus's side but Naoji explains that this is not the case. In fact, he feels uncomfortable in Orpherus's presence because his lack of confidence is in stark contrast with the strong beliefs exhibited in Orpherus's eyes. Ludwig praises Naoji's humility but adds that if he is to belittle himself anymore, whatever merits he has would become flaws. He reminds Naoji to have higher aspirations if he is to follow him in future. Meanwhile, Ludwig's supporters are feeling indignant about Orpherus's insolence towards their respected leader and plan to get back at the latter...

At the same time, Isaac is sitting at a cafe outside the Academy and remarks that it is a pretty impressive school. The waitress remarks that the scholars who are going to manage Kuchen in future are studying there so this is nothing strange. When Isaac remarks that it's tough to write about unfamiliar places, the waitress ask if he is a novelist but Isaac reveals that he's in this area to search for something.

The principal asks Beruze how he finds the students in the Academy. Beruze says that they have very distinct personalities and surprise him with their actions. The principal reveals that he expects several students to be chosen as the Strahl members this year. When Beruze asks why none were chosen last year, the principal reveals that good grades alone would not put the students in the running for the Strahl since fate also plays a role in this issue.

Orpherus is fuming mad after the argument with Ludwig and Eduard tells him to cool down since this is not the first time it has happened. Eduard drags Orpherus to the greenhouse maintained by Camus, another Strahl candidate where they find Camus communicating with the plants and flowers. Camus realises immediately that Orpherus had a clash with Ludwig again and comments that it would be nice if they can get along well. However, Orpherus dismisses this possibility since he and Ludwig are entirely different and apologises quickly for criticising Ludwig in front of Camus since they are relatives.

After the brief stay in the greenhouse, Orpherus has calmed down and comments that it was good to see the plants and flowers. As the trio heads for dinner, Camus stops in his tracks and says that he senses an evil presence somewhere...

At night, one of Ludwig's followers chat with Beruze and complain about Orpherus not being worthy of being a Strahl candidate. Beruze tells the student that someone who is not entirely of a noble status has managed to enter the Academy and this leads the student to come up with an idea of throwing this person out...

Camus rushes to look for Orpherus and Eduard where he passes a notice being spread around to expose Eduard's background. Actually, Eduard may be titled as a Viscount but he is actually the child of his father with a non-noble woman whom he had not married. The students gather around to mock Eduard and questions his eligibility to enter the Academy. Orpherus tells the guy leading the insults to shut up as he will not allow anyone to insult his friend. However, Eduard says that it's OK since that's the truth but Orpherus refuses to take it lying down since Eduard is indeed the son of Viscount Braunschweig.

Orpherus goes to look for Ludwig and questions why he had to use such dirty tactics to get back at him. Ludwig doesn't deny this accusation and taunts Orpherus to see what he will do. Orpherus then challenges Ludwig to a duel to settle the differences between them.

Orpherus and Ludwig begin their duel at a secluded spot within the Academy. Camus, Naoji and Eduard want to stop them since nobles are prohibited from such fights but Eduard knows that Orpherus will not back off at all. Camus is certain that Ludwig would never insult Eduard in this manner thus Naoji doesn't understand why Ludwig did not explain himself. Just then, they see one of Ludwig's followers peeping at the duel and find out that this is all his doing.

At the same time, Orpherus and Ludwig are so engrossed in the duel that they even slash the other party's arm Even as Camus, Naoji and Eduard bring the culprit before them and wants them to stop fighting, they fail to hear what is said. Naoji then steps in to break up the fight by using two tree twigs. Ludwig tells the culprit to get out of his sight before leaving.

When Camus dresses Orpherus's wound, Eduard remarks that he didn't have to go to that extent but Orpherus insists that he has to protect Eduard's reputation. Camus tries to prove Ludwig's innocence and is surprised to hear that Orpherus knew soon after they started the duel since Ludwig did not have any malice towards him at all. Meanwhile, Naoji asks Ludwig why he had to accept the challenge. Ludwig wanted to defeat Orpherus but finds that the latter is not a walkover rival thus he is relishing the challenge more than ever...

The reason why I started watching this series is largely due to the fact that I came to know about the second season shown during winter this year and thought the story was quite interesting. As such, I decided to backtrack and watch the first season before continuing with the second season. Some familiar names in the seiyuu list include Hoshi Souichirou and Ishida Akira who play Camus and Naoji respectively. By the way, Koyasu Takehito who plays Isaac sounds rather close to Ookawa Tooru who played Mustang in Fullmetal Alchemist which led me to think for a brief moment that I was hearing Mustang in this anime. And of course, Kusunoki Taiten who did the narration and the role of the principal was a surprise for me since I like Taiten-san's voice. If you know my obsession with Tenipuri, you will see why I'm so besotted with his voice. ^__^

As for the 5 main characters, personal favourite as at this point in time would be Eduard. I just have this preference for guys who put on the cheeky look but actually has some emotional wounds or trauma to get over with and Eduard happens to fit the bill. Besides, I like his tanned appearance and casual style. With regards to the rest, Camus seems like a nice and gentle bishonen while Naoji doesn't attract me in any particular way. For Orpherus, I will use rigid and idealistic to describe him while Ludwig strikes me as an extremist who worships control and power as the sole means to great achievements. If Orpherus and Ludwig can work together and resolve their differences, that would be a good partnership but given their different personalities, that's quite unlikely to materialise in the near future.

With regards to the story, it appears that this episode is telling us about the background of Orpherus and the trailer suggests that Ep 2 will talk about Eduard. As such, I think the first 5 episodes will reveal the background and personality of one character before the story goes into full gear towards their journey of being a member of the Strahl.

The OP is OK to listen but the opening of the ED gives me the creeps. I just don't like such songs and I doubt I will grow to like it anyway.

The 200th Post Memorial Recap

This marks the 200th post in this blog and it's only been 1 year & 4 months since I started. My first blog was on Tennis no Oujisama in Aug 2004 which led me to think of doing one for other animes/manga. As such, that was why I started this new blog subsequently in Jan 2005. However, I was procastinating all the time and there was a particular month when I did nothing. Finally, I decided that it was time to stop giving excuses and change the situation. That started a frenzy to post reviews of what I've been watching before the format changed to a synopsis+review system which is now in place.

In my case, I would usually do episodic reviews only if I like the anime well enough. Otherwise, like what I've been doing in the past, I would just post a summary review when I finish the series. Of course, there have been some instances when I dropped the series halfway e.g. Okusama wa Joushikousei which got me cursing and swearing whenever I watched it. Nonetheless, I try to finish up what I've started on, barring unforseen circumstances.

Initially, my purpose of doing this was just a means of self-satisfaction and I didn't have the idea of promoting the blog. As I developed this space, I received some comments from visitors which made me realise that there were people reading this as well. That's when I made a more active effort in trying to promote the site by interlinking with other online facilities which I'm maintaining. Of course, I don't get anything out of increased hits but I do feel happy to see the stats going up.

Previously, Blogger had a problem with the post counter on the dashboard so I don't have an idea as to which is my 100th post. Now that this has been fixed, it just dawned on me that since I'm hitting the 200th mark, I might as well do a recap of what I've done so far. It helps me to keep track of things and visitors can try searching the archives for anything which interests you.

The Completed Series
* Those in italics have episodic reviews. Others have a summary review only.
1) Love Hina
2) Otogizoushi
3) Tantei Gakuen
4) Emma
5) Marmalade Boy
6) Kareshi Kanojo no Jijou (Kare Kano)
7) Spiral
8) Peach Girl
9) Hachimitsu to Clover

The Incomplete Series
1) Yakitate Japan (summary Ep 1-24, episodic 25 ~ 56)
2) Monster (summary Ep 1-49, episodic 50 ~ 68)
3) Suzuka (summary Ep 1-2, episodic 3 ~ 23)
4) Gankutsuou 1 ~ 4
5) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi 1 ~ 41
6) Paradise Kiss 1 ~ 7
7) Jigoku Shoujo 1 ~ 6
8) Mushishi 1 ~ 3
9) Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora 1 ~
10) Yomigaeru Sora 1 ~
11) Juousei 1 ~

There's a lot of backlog to be covered especially with the passing of each season but I will try to finish whatever I can. Hopefully by the end of the year or when the 300th post is hit, I would have cleared at least 3 titles from the list above. There are a number of interesting titles this season but at the same time, there are some which I dropped rather quickly like Gakuen Heaven and Girls' High. I can't bring myself to adapt to yaoi or moe type of stories. Nevertheless, I hope to get NANA, Ray The Animation and Ouran Koukou Host Club up on the blog soon or else the backlog will truly be a never-ending story. ^__^

And there's the manga reviews of Nodame Cantabile, Paradise Kiss and Hachikuro which I wish to do. Maybe I'm being too ambitious in trying to provide so much content based on a solo effort but I'll just keep to my pace or else this turns out to be a source of stress rather than a form of relaxation for me...

Jigoku Shoujo Ep 06: Hiru Sagari no Mado (Window of the Afternoon)

Yasuda Haruka is walking home with her mother in the afternoon after shopping for groceries. As they walk past the Totaka residence, Haruka's mother happens to look up to the second floor where the curtains are not drawn and stops in her tracks. Haruka wonders what has gone wrong as her mother is in a trance while a courier man emerges from the Totaka residence. Unknown to them, Mrs Totaka is looking at Mrs Yasuda with hatred in her eyes.

That night, Mrs Yasuda is not her usual self as Haruka helps her with the preparations for dinner. She tries to pretend that nothing is wrong and goes to see who is at their doorstep when the bell rings. To her horror, Mrs Yasuda finds the same courier man who was in the Totaka residence bringing a plate of cherries at Mrs Totaka's orders. The man threatens Mrs Yasuda that she will be in deep trouble if she dares to reveal what she had seen in the Totaka residence earlier in the afternoon. Mrs Yasuda is so freaked out that she throws away the cherries which makes Haruka feel weird about her action.

The next day, Mrs Yasuda bumps into Mrs Totaka when she takes the rubbish to the common dumping ground and the latter asks how the cherries tasted. Mrs Yasuda lies that they were delicious. However, Mrs Totaka deliberately mocks Mrs Yasuda for making gyoza which were very smelly due to the latter's over-usage of garlic. The neighbours also join in by saying that Mrs Yasuda has no consideration for her neighbours since she just moved in from the rural area. When Mrs Totaka mentions that Haruka is in the same class as her daughter, Yuriya. Mrs Yasuda shudders to think what will happen to Haruka as the neighbours caution her about Mrs Totaka being a dangerous figure to offend since her husband is the manager of the branch which their husbands are working at.

In school, Yuriya gangs up with her buddies to mock Haruka for smelling of gyoza. When Haruka asks her mother if she has offended the Totaka family in any way, Mrs Yasuda freezes with fear and doesn't go to open the door for her husband because she's scared of the courier man turning up again.

Mr Yasuda complains that he was scolded by Mr Totaka for no reason and questions his wife if she had done anything to Mrs Totaka. Mrs Yasuda tries to explain that she isn't in the wrong but her husband tells her to stop making trouble so as to make his work life easier.

Mrs Totaka calls Mrs Yasuda and says that she has sent a guy to "entertain" the latter and that she should enjoy herself. Mrs Yasuda is shocked to see a gangster-looking man turning up and banging on the door so loudly that it attracts the attention of the neighbours. She can only slump to the floor and cry as the man continues to be a nuisance.

On the way home, Haruka is stopped by Yuriya and her friends where they accuse her mother of being flirtatious and inviting a man into her house. She also finds the neighbours gossiping about her mother. Haruka is horrified to find her mother committing suicide and doesn't understand why Mrs Totaka has a part to play in her mother being so distressed.

At night, Haruka accesses Jigoku Tsuushin to seek help. As she looks at how the Totaka family is enjoying themselves while her mother is hospitalised, Haruka is seething with rage. Ai appears before Haruka who asks her to find out what had happened between her mother and Mrs Totaka. Ai gives her the drill as usual and shows her the reason for Mrs Yasuda's suicide.

Haruka finds out that her mother happened to see Mrs Totaka having an affair with the courier man which led to a series of bullying actions. Mrs Totaka even got a man to rape Mrs Yasuda and took photos of the act. She threatened to deal with Haruka next if Mrs Yasuda tells anyone about her affair.

Ai says that it was unfortunate for Mrs Yasuda to see something she shouldn't have but Haruka refuses to accept this because Mrs Totaka is in the wrong. As such, Ai explains that this is the reason for her existence i.e. to seek vengeance for the wrongs in the world.

Haruka goes home to find her father scolding her mother for making a cuckold out of him and refuses to hear his wife's explanation. Upon seeing her father beat her mother, Haruka makes the decision to take revenge on Mrs Totaka by pulling the red string from the straw figure.

Ai and her associates spring into action with Ichimoku Ren appearing before Mrs Totaka as a courier man. She is immediately smitten by Ren and invites him into her house. However, Mrs Totaka is shocked to see her husband and tries frantically to explain herself. She finds herself being surrounded by people mocking her for being the loose woman in the neighbourhood before Ai sends her to hell.

After the ordeal is over, Haruka wonders if she had done the right thing especially seeing how Yuriya is mocked by the neighbours after the latter's mother was said to have eloped with a man. However, seeing that her mother has returned to normal, Haruka can only assure herself that the decision has not been made in vain...

Mrs Totaka is certainly obnoxious but somehow I feel that sending her to hell is just letting her off too easily. She deserves more than that. However, the job of Ai and gang is to send people to hell so I doubt there will be any variations to the treatment of the bad guys in the story other than Ai rowing the boat personally headed for hell.

It's normal for Haruka to feel undecided over the choice she made because she sees the same thing happening to Yuriya. Having been through that, I don't think she wishes the worst for Yuriya who did nothing particularly wrong except to follow her mother's lead in bullying Haruka. However, when I saw how Haruka's mother joined the neighbours in the teasing, it just makes me wonder if she deserves to be rescued from the mental torture with her daughter's after-life because this seems like she was taking revenge on Yuriya for what Mrs Totaka did. I can't blame her for feeling this way but it made me a little uncomfortable to see Mrs Yasuda behaving this way. It just goes to show that there isn't always a fairytale ending after taking revenge.

Yakitate Japan Ep 56

One morning, Kuroyanagi has finished taking his bath and is preparing to use the hairdryer. Just as he flicks the switch on, he gets a strong electric shock and this marks the beginning of a series of unfortunate events for him...

The 2nd round of the Yakitate 9 contest begins with Master Liu representing St.Pierre for the sake of challenging Azuma, Kanmuri and Kawachi after they won the Monaco Cup. Kawachi has reservations about Liu knowing how to make bread though. When Liu chooses the panel reflecting Ookuchi in Kagoshima Prefecture which is written in red, Kuroyanagi explains that this is because the type of bread they have to make has been decided in advance and for this case, they are supposed to make Chinese buns. As Liu is an expert in Chinese cuisine, the Pantasia trio will face an uphill battle in this round.

Kawachi asks Kanmuri if he has thought of something to win this round and the latter brings them to a black pig farm. Kanmuri reveals that the black pigs from the Isa region would be their biggest weapon since the filling inside many Chinese snacks include pork and the meat from the black pigs is of a high quality. To the trio's surprise, they bump into Kuroyanagi who says that he's here to find out about the famous local produce as a judge of the contest. However, they sense that Kuroyanagi is not his usual self and are even more surprised to see him not reacting to the delicious pork. Before they can find out what's wrong, Kuroyanagi prepares to leave and reminds them not to be too complacent because this will be the biggest undoing for a chef. Kanmuri feels that the pork is not enough to give them an advantage since Liu is making the same dish as them and may use similar ingredients.

Meanwhile, Kuroyanagi discovers that he has lost his sense of taste as he tries stuffing himself with different food items but they taste the same to him. He recalls that this must be due to the electrocution accident and doesn't know what to do. The Pantasia trio come to know about this and Azuma promises to make the Japanese-style Ja-pan Chinese buns so that Kuroyanagi can regain his sense of taste. Kawachi scolds Azuma for this because the stipulated theme is Chinese buns but Kuroyanagi says that as long as the buns are steamed, the filling is not that important.

The Pantasia trio return to their motel named "Damesou" (Cannot make it) after buying the ingredients for the contest. Besides the pork from the black pigs, they also acquired the Kinzan spring onion and Satsuma City dried fish. Azuma says that they still have to work on the skin of the buns because it would be better to use the dough meant for baked bread. However, due to the difference in water content of the dough as well as the use of the steamer, it is impossible to do this in practice. Kawachi tells Azuma to give up the idea since they have less than a day to the contest. Suddenly, Azuma thinks of a technique to improve the dough which will help them win.

On the day of the contest, Kuroyanagi is worried about his inability to taste thus is mentally prepared to quit as a judge if he doesn't recover by this round. Meanwhile, Liu shows off his skills in frying the ingredients for the buns' filling which impresses the crowd. In response to this, Azuma uses the local yam wine which is added to the stew of spring onions and pork meant as the filling. Besides this, he also uses the technique for handmade noodles so as to prevent the dough from turning soggy due to the steaming and giving it an enhanced chewiness.

Liu finishes his Manhan Banquet buns but Kuroyanagi is unable to taste anything. As such, he enlists the help of Meister Kirisaki's peacock, Kuu. After tasting Liu's buns, Kuu spreads his feathers completely to signify that Liu has gotten full marks. On the other hand, Kuroyanagi is unable to regain his sense of taste and decides to resign as the judge. However, Azuma wants him to eat his creation first before quitting since he's confident that this will help Kuroyanagi to recover.

Upon tasting the bun, Kuroyanagi goes back to normal and starts to display his usual exaggerated reactions. He then declares Pantasia as the winner of this round which causes Liu to protest. Kuroyanagi explains that since Liu's buns did not make his regain his taste and had used only one type of local produce, it was clear that Azuma's side was superior.

Actually, coming to this point, watching this anime has become more of a habit rather than an interest in how the story develops. That is because it's easy to predict that Azuma's side will win the contest at the end although there might be some hiccups along the way. If not for the humour, the central theme of food and the fact that I've been following it for more than 1 year, I think I would have dropped this long ago based on my usual preferences and watching habits. Kuroyanagi gets to take centrestage in this episode which can be considered good news to me since he's been one of my favourite characters ever since I started watching this anime. That part about the electrocution and the unexpected announcement of Kuu being a special guest judge instead of Meister Kirisaki were really classic humour moments. And not forgetting, the name of the motel which the Pantasia team has to stay in, never fails to make me laugh. Trust them to think of a name like Damesou!

Next episode takes another shot at a parody of SMAP when CMAP makes another appearance. This time round, the remaining 3 members of the group challenge Azuma and gang so it should be fun trying to see which CMAP member is supposed to represent the real-life SMAP members. ^__^

Juousei Ep 01: Unmei (Fate)

A pair of twin brothers by the name of Tooru and Rai are running through a dense forest with some men hot on their heels. Rai tells his elder brother to slow down as he cannot catch up and suddenly falls down when he loses his balance. Tooru turns back to hold Rai's hand as they run away from the impending danger. Tooru vows to himself that he will protect Rai on behalf of their parents...

In the year DC 2436 within Balkan Galaxy, there is a space colony by the name of Juno which comprises of 10 planets. All the planets have been modified to provide living conditions suitable for human beings and the massive moving exercise from Earth to these planets started from 350 years ago. This led to humans creating a second solar system different from the old solar system they used to know. Tooru and Rai are watching the explanation video whereby Tooru is very impressed with the beauty of Earth. However, the same cannot be said for Rai as he hurries Tooru to go home since they did not tell their mother about this outing and they are supposed to go for the routine medical checkup today. Tooru has no choice but to leave the theatre reluctantly.

On the way home, Tooru tells Rai that human beings can live up to 90 years old even without the absence of the life support system. Rai remarks that the longest lifespan they can have in the colony would be around 50 years and wonders what is causing the difference. Tooru declares that he will enter the pilot school after his primary school graduation so as to fulfil his dream of going to Earth one day. Rai reminds him that as a son of the Klein family, they are supposed to follow the paths of their parents to become scientists in future since their Prime Minister Odin also says so. However, Tooru does not think that Odin has the right to dictate their future. Rai is still unconvinced of this materialising since not everyone can go to Earth but Tooru is unfazed by the difficulty since he wants to see the natural sights of Earth for himself. Rai then says that he will become a scientist and join Tooru on his trip to Earth.

When Tooru and Rai return home, they find their house enveloped in darkness. Tooru suspects that something is wrong and enters the house gingerly. To the brothers' horror, they find their parents murdered. Suddenly, a smoke can is thrown into the room and the twins faint as a result. Before Tooru loses consciousness, he sees the alliance troops' special team members and wonders why they are doing this despite their duty of protecting the Klein family. The brothers are then sent to an unknown planet by the space shuttle...

Tooru and Rai finds themselves at a place surrounded by dense vegetation. Before they know what's happening, some men chase after the brothers who slide down a slope to hide from their enemies. The brothers do not know where they are since there is no such planet in the Balkan system which is full of plants. Tooru concludes that they were thrown here by someone's orders and takes out a small pouch from his pocket with a bad smell. He doesn't know where this came from and tells Rai that this was put into his pocket along with a beam knife. Somehow, this seems to suggest that the brothers have to protect themselves from harm by using these items. Tooru and Rai prepare to leave the place but the latter sprains his foot so Tooru lends a helping hand. Rai apologises for causing trouble but Tooru says that this is in return for Rai's help when they were in Juno.

Suddenly, some grass extend wriggling stems to trap Rai's foot and Tooru has to free his brother from those weird plants. This leads their enemies to know their whereabouts and they find themselves surrounded by these people who want to kill them. Just then, a guy by the name of Zagi appears and tells the people that the brothers will be taken care of by him. As such, these people leave the twins alone with Zagi. Tooru is wary of Zagi who claims to be the leader of those people who were chasing the brothers and defends themselves when Zagi asks what they had done to deserve this punishment. Zagi doesn't want to harp on this issue further and decides to teach them more about this planet.

The planet, Chimaera is where criminals who commit serious crimes are sent to. There are 181 consecutive days and nights in a year where the temperature goes as high as 30 degrees Celsius in the day but dips as low as minus 40 degress Celsius at night. Apparently, this planet is within the Balkan Galaxy but its existence has never been made known publicly. Suddenly, some plants reach out to grab Rai again so Zagi reminds them to be on their guard and apply the liquid of a plant named Muusa on their bodies so as to repel these carnivore-like plants. When Tooru reveals that he has also been given this liquid in the pouch, Zagi remarks that there must be a reason for the brothers to be sent to Chimaera. He also reminds them that the massive amount of plants on this planet have an advantage over the humans so they have to become beasts in order to survive. According to the people residing here, they call Chimaera Juousei (the Planet of the Beast King) since only the Beast King can survive under such conditions.

Chimaera is divided into 4 areas controlled by the White, Black, Yellow and Brown Rings where people with the same skin colour gather. However, the place when Zagi resides is called the Nest of the Wild Kids and they do not belong to any of the Rings. Men and women also live separately from one another. Tooru asks Zagi if there's any way to leave Chimaera. Zagi has a smirk on his face as he reveals the only way to leave would be to get the title of the Beast King and rule over the 4 Rings.

Zagi comments that even though Tooru and Rai look the same, they have entirely different characters. Suddenly, they hear the Wild Kids scolding Rai for spilling a bucket of water. When they start throwing punches at Rai, Tooru comes to his brother's rescue and takes most of the blows for him. Zagi looks on from the side and seems to have thought about something.

Tooru and Rai take a rest in a cave as the latter apologises for causing trouble again. Tooru tries to assure Rai that it's OK as Zagi enters the cave to explain that the Wild Kids were angry because their water supply is running out. Zagi asks Rai to leave them alone as he tells Tooru to consider saving his life instead of protecting Rai. As the night of Chimaera is harsh, someone like Rai who's weak will definitely not survive. Tooru refuses to accept this as he cannot bear to leave his brother in the lurch but Zagi is convinced that the night will prove to be the biggest test for Rai who will be picked on by the Wild Kids.

Tooru decides to leave the Wild Kids' Nest so as to prove Zagi wrong and save Rai from the attacks. As they are walking through the forest, Rai complains of the heat and thirst but Tooru is bent on walking further. Rai throws a tantrum and says that it will be better if they stayed with Zagi since he's better off dead than to continue walking. This makes Tooru convinced that Zagi's opinion holds true and he brandishes the beam knife at Rai who is shivering with fear. However, when Tooru sees his reflection in Rai's eyes, he gives up the idea of killing Rai.

At this moment, some people emerge from the forest who claim to be from the Brown Ring and accuse the brothers of creating trouble in the area. The men want to bring them to be executed before their King but Tooru tries to explain that they just came from the colony and know nothing. Just when Tooru is diverting the attention of the men with his beam knife, he suddenly goes on the offensive and stabs one of the men with it. A guy watching the exchange on a tree branch is surprised by Tooru's move as the other men try to avenge their second-in-line. Tooru makes use of this chance to get Rai to escape but the latter is caught. When one of the Brown Ring guys fire a machine gun, this sends the plants in the area going wild. Rai is swallowed by the plants as Tooru looks on helplessly. As Tooru is caught by the plants, a girl with black eyes use a rope to grab hold of his hand as he starts to lose consciousness...

I have to admit that right from the start, I became interested to watch this only after knowing that Domoto Koichi and Oguri Shun are in the seiyuu lineup. Well, I wouldn't call myself fans of them but I think the TV stations are clever enough to know that having a celebrity in the lineup would generate more publicity and interest in the anime. And does this spell bad news for the professional seiyuus as we see more celebrities taking on lead roles in animes?

In this case, I think the TV station may need to explain why it never said from the start that Koichi and Oguri are not supposed to appear until a later stage. The lead character Tooru is only 11 now and the anime will surely cover his growing-up years in Chimaera so that's the reason why Koichi appears from mid-season at Ep 6. As for Oguri, I think he's appearing in the next episode since his character is already shown at the ending of the debut episode. Somehow, this may cause those who are watching this anime for the sake of these guys to feel cheated but personally, I'm slightly disappointed only. If the story was trashy, I might have a stronger reaction towards this issue.

Coming to the anime itself, I'm quite impressed by the clarity of the graphics and the pace of the story. I wasn't really expecting much from this anime but I must say that I am pleasantly surprised. And it was good to see the Japanese subs which helped in understanding the various mind-boggling names of the planets, systems, galaxy etc. However, the katakana gave me a big headache since the spelling differed much from the romanisation most of the time.

The part about Tooru being caught in a fix on whether he should choose his survival over protecting Rai was quite well-known and for a brief moment, I really thought he wanted to kill Rai. It seems like those carnivore plants made the decision for him since Rai looks unlikely to survive after he was swallowed by them. And this might be the biggest reason why Tooru is bent on being the Juou, so as to realise the dreams of him and Rai. There seems to be a lot of mystery-unravelling coming up so for someone like me who digs investigative or mystery stories, this looks likely to catch my interest throughout the season.

As for the theme songs, I've read rather unfavourable comments about Koichi's OP. Frankly speaking, I cringed for the first time I heard it but when I was going through it for the second time when doing this review, it didn't sound that bad after all. Well, I can say that this is the typical Koichi-style so having been exposed to KinKi Kids' music for so many years, this doesn't surprise me. For those who have not been listening to KinKi Kids, I believe this will take some time to feel accustomed to. The ED didn't leave much of an impression on me but the clip seems to be showing Tooru and a girl in a tranquil place. That shouldn't be Chimaera, I guess. Maybe that is implying that Tooru will go to Earth as he wishes?

Paradise Kiss Ep 07: Chou (Butterfly)

George goes to school in his sports car and uses the parking lot meant for the teaching staff. This causes Hamada-sensei to reprimand him for breaking the rules but George justifies his action by saying that nobody uses it anyway. Hamada-sensei gives up trying to argue with him and asks about the progress of his preparations for the fashion show. George keeps her in suspense as usual without answering her question directly thus Hamada-sensei remarks that she will be looking forward to see what he can come up with.

George meets Isabella and Miwako at the lift lobby where he compliments Miwako for looking cute today. Upon hearing this, Miwako blushes and recalls overhearing what he and Yukari had been doing the previous night. She tries to conceal her uneasiness where George offers to accompany her if she's having some wild sex fantasy. Arashi screams at George to keep away from Miwako and is about to walk away when George passes him the keys to his apartment. This makes everyone find out that Yukari has left Arashi's place and moved in with George instead.

Meanwhile, Yukari wakes up on George's bed and finds herself in a trance when she thinks through her eventful yesterday. She decides to do something so as not to waste time and is full of amazement about George's apartment which is furnished with expensive stuff. In addition, the clothes which George prepared seem to have been tailored specially for her. As Yukari eats the food George left for her, she can't help but feel that he has a gentle side too.

Yukari waits patiently for George to come home as she tries to finish up the sewing of beads on the dress material. Suddenly, she realises that this is not the way she should be leading her life even if she moves in with George and decides to look for a job.

Miwako asks Arashi why he is in a bad mood today but he insists that nothing is wrong. She refuses to give up and comments that Arashi is not talking much to her which leads the latter to say that they have been together for the past 18 years and there will be times they will run out of topics to talk about. Arashi then questions Miwako if she is hiding something from him. Miwako thinks hard about this and remembers Yukari sending an email to apologise for dirtying Arashi's bedsheet and changing another set fo him. Although Miwako is supposed to keep it from Arashi, she comes clean about this where he realises that George and Yukari had sex on his bed. Miwako assumes that this is what Arashi was referring to but he walks off angrily. Miwako doesn't know what she has done wrong and is on the verge of tears.

Yukari is disappointed about not finding a job but Isabella encourages her to persevere. George tells Yukari that she doesn't have to bother finding a job since she can get money if she sleeps with his father. This makes Yukari angry who indicates that she doesn't have any intention to be his No.2 mistress (George's mother is No.1) but George says that she would probably be Number 200 given his father's reputation as a playboy. Isabella tells Yukari that George has been in a good mood today thanks to her. Just then, Yukari asks about Miwako and Isabella says that she had left school at noon due to stomach pains. George questions Arashi if he had quarrelled with Miwako but the latter tells him to shut up.

Yukari is in the midst of sending an email to ask about Miwako's condition when George puts a ring with a butterfly motif on her finger. Actually, this is an accessory he had made for the fashion show and he's happy to see that the size fits Yukari.

That night, Yukari receives Miwako's reply rather late at night and she wonders if anything happened to Miwako. George wants to remove the butterfly ring which Yukari has been wearing but she refuses to oblige because she likes it very much. However, Yukari gives in and removes it before she damages the ring. She decides to go to bed early while George continues with the sewing of the beads. Yukari waits in vain for George to enter the bedroom and slowly wanders into dreamland.

Yukari remembers how Tokumori told her about her mother being seemingly unaffected about her disappearance and wonders if she has given up on her. Yukari wonders if her current situation is a sign of her progress in life or running away from reality. As she dreams of failing the university entrance exams, she mutters words of apologies to her mother and suddenly wakes up from her sleep. Yukari finds George sleeping beside her and feels as if this is more like a fantasy to her. When she sees the miniature version of the butterfly ring on her finger, Yukari starts to cry and hugs George tightly. The next day, Yukari makes up her mind not to give up no matter what happens so as to prove that her decision is correct.

Yukari asks Mikako out for advice on how to become a professional model. Mikako says that she can recommend Yukari to her friend who has opened a model agency recently and even sets up a meeting for her at 2pm that afternoon. Before they part ways, Mikako asks Yukari where she got her clothes from. Upon hearing that they were made by George, Mikako comments that he is going to pose stiff competition to her in future.

Meanwhile, Tokumori asks his teacher whether Yukari can take the make-up exams and finds out that her mother lied to the teacher that Yukari is ill. However, the teacher has his reservations as to Yukari's ability to pass the exams since her results have been deteoriating.

Yukari recalls Mikako's remarks about George's talent and that she found a room full of clothes designed by him at his apartment. Although he can open a shop with his existing designs, George has no intention to sell those clothes since they mean something to him. Yukari wonders if she should wear these important clothes but George assures her that she can because she's also important to him. With this in mind, Yukari braces herself for the interview held at the agency Treetop.

Yukari meets the boss, Shimamoto Kozue who is busy talking on the phone with a person by the name of Yukino. Kozue reprimands Yukino for being too naive and getting cheated by her boyfriend again which seems to be almost identical to the situation Yukari is in i.e. leaving high school to live with her boyfriend. When Kozue is done with her conversation, she introduces herself to Yukari and asks about her height. Kozue then remarks that Yukari's height of 170cm is lesser than what she had expected. This makes Yukari worry if she's too short to be a model but Kozue clarifies that she just thought that Yukari was taller based on the photo which Mikako gave her. When Kozue finds out how serious Yukari is to become a model, she bursts out laughing and says that it's been some time since she met someone who's so passionate about something. Yukari is slightly offended by Kozue's teasing but she starts to realise that the modelling profession may be more complicated than what she thinks...

Yukari is still unsure whether what she has done is really what is best for her but she tries very hard to convince herself that once she is successful in modelling, that will bear testimony to the fact that she isn't wrong. I can't say that she's wrong but then having to live your life by trying to prove something to others seems rather tiring. And she's doing this primarily to show her mother that she has a better alternative than to mug for the entrance exams and spend 4 years not knowing what to do in the university.

As usual, George shows off his egoist side but there are some scenes which show that he can be very sweet. For example, preparing the clothes and food for Yukari, making a miniature butterfly ring for Yukari to wear on a daily basis since the original one meant for the fashion show is too bulky and of course, allowing Yukari to wear his valued collection of clothes. Although he can be rather obnoxious at times, I'm sure these gestures of gentleness would make it hard for Yukari to pull herself away from him.

Arashi is obviously unhappy over the fact that Miwako has met Tokumori without telling him but he doesn't thrash things out directly. He is waiting for Miwako to say it but she has no idea what he is referring to. As such, this gap has led to an argument between them but I'm sure things will work out fine very soon. Sometimes, all it takes to solve the problem is to be frank but this is usually the hardest thing to do when it comes to a relationship.

Habu April 06 Issue - 2005 Manga Best Ten Awards

I bought this manga magazine recently primarily for the sake of its 2005 Manga Best Ten Award results and wanted to see how different it was from the results presented in the "Kono Manga ga Sugoi" books which I bought 2 months ago. Note that the voting in Habu does not divide the respondents according to gender so there are quite a number of BL titles in the ranking. For those who are interested in the Kono Manga rankings by male and female readers, please click the links accordingly. I will also be including some interesting topics raised in the magazine besides the results of the manga survey. As the sample size is rather small, there is this trend of the later positions having more than one entry which sort of defeats the purpose for having the ranking so I decided to put the Top 10 or 20 depending on the situation.

Best 20 Manga
1) Kyou Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou! - Matsumoto Temari + Takabayashi Tomo
2) BLEACH - Kubo Taito
3) Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi - Arakawa Hiromu
4) Fruits Basket - Takaya Natsuki
5) Saiyuuki RELOAD - Minekura Kazuya
6) Junjou Romantica Series - Nakamura Shungiku
7) Tennis no Oujisama - Konomi Takeshi
8) DEATH NOTE - Oobata Takeshi + Ooba Tsugumi
9) D.Gray-man - Hoshino Katsura
10) Gintama - Sorachi Hideaki
11) Skip Beat! - Nakamura Yoshiki
12) xxxHOLIC - CLAMP
13) Ookiku Furi Kabutte - Higuchi Asa
14) ONE PIECE - Oda Eiichirou
15) TSUBSA RESERVoir CHRoNICLE - CLAMP
16) NARUTO - Kishimoto Masashi
17) Hachimitsu to Clover - Umino Chika
18) Ouran Koukou Host Club - Hatori Bisuko
19) LOVELESS - Kouga Yun
20) SILVER DIAMOND - Sugiura Shiho

Comments: Among the top 20, I'm reading Tenipuri, Hagaren and Hachikuro at the moment but I'm kind of interested in titles like Ouran Koukou Host Club, DEATH NOTE and Skip Beat either because of the story or the anime. I note that there are quite a number of BL titles in this ranking which can be explained by the huge proportion of female voters in this survey. I notice that Habu has a lot of advertisements on BL comics so I guess the magazine itself is also actively promoting BL which I'm not particularly interested in. Another strange thing I noticed was that supposed hits like NANA and Nodame Cantabile were ranked outside the Top 20 which was really unusual.

Top 10 Male Characters
1) Vera Kyou Conrad - Kyou Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou
2) Edward Elric - Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi
3) Shibuya Yuuri - Kyou Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou
4) Fonbire Ferald Kyou Conrad - Kyou Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou
5) Roy Mustang - Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi
6) Takahashi Misaki - Junjou Romantica Series
7) Kurosaki Ichigo - BLEACH
8) Usami Akihiko - Junjou Romantica Series
9) Sakata Gintoki - Gintama
10) Fonvera Teru Kyou Gwendol - Kyou Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou

Comments: Other than Ed and Mustang, I don't know the rest.

Top 5 Female Characters
1) Honda Tooru - Fruits Basket
2) Mogami Kyoko - Skip Beat
3) Ichihara Yuuko - xxxHOLIC
4) Risa Hawkeye - Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi
5) Kuchiki Rukiya - BLEACH

Comments: Seems like the girls are not that enthusiastic when voting for their counterparts because a significant number of characters are in the same positions.

Top 5 Partners
1) Shibuya Yuuri & Vera Kyou Conrad - Kyou Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou
2) Edward & Alphonse Elric - Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi
3) Kira Yamato & Aslan Zara - Kido Senshi Gundam SEED DESTINY
4) Shibuya Yuuri & Fonbire Ferald Kyou Conrad - Kyou Kara Ma no Tsuku Jiyuugyou
5) Mihashi Ren & Abe Takaya - Ookiku Furi Kabutte

Comments: I know the Elric brothers only...

Top 10 animes
1) Kyou Kara Maou
2) Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED DESTINY
3) Gekijouban Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi ~ Shanbara wo Yuku Mono ~
4) BLEACH
5) BLOOD+
6) Mushishi
7) Hachimitsu to Clover
8) LOVELESS
9) Koukyoushihen Eureka Seven
10) Tennis no Oujisama

Comments: Among the top 10, I've only watched 4 i.e. the Hagane movie, Mushishi, Hachikuro and Tenipuri. I can't comment about the rest but Kyou Kara Maou seems to be hogging the limelight in Habu's survey.

Top 10 Voice Actors
1) Sakurai Takahiro (Kyou Kara Maou)
2) Morikawa Toshiyuki (Kyou Kara Maou)
3) Ishida Akira (Kido Senshi Gundam SEED DESTINY)
4) Saiga Mitsuki (Kyou Kara Maou)
5) Inoue Kazuhiko (Kyou Kara Maou)
6) Hoshi Souichirou (Kido Senshi Gundam SEED DESTINY)
7) Fukuyama Jun (Gankutsuou)
8) Park Romi (Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi)
9) Sugita Tomokazu (Hachimitsu to Clover)
10) Miyata Yuki (Kyou Kara Maou)

Comments: The ones whom I've actually heard would be Park Romi, Fukuyama Jun and Sugita Tomokazu. As for the rest, I do know some of them but I've not watched the animes concerned.

Last but not least, here's the list of movies/dramas which were adapted from manga in the year 2005 as featured in this magazine. The names which appear at the end of the titles are the main cast members:

Movies
MAKOTO - Higashiyama Noriyuki
Azumi 2 Death or Love - Ueto Aya, Oguri Shun etc
Tetsujin 28 go - Ikematsu Shiaki, Aoi Yu etc
Rinjin 13 go - Nakamura Shido, Oguri Shun etc
Mayonaka no Yaji-san Kita-san - Nagase Tomoya, Nakamura Shichinosuke etc
Tomie BEGINNING - Matsumoto Rio, Shirata Hisako etc
Tomie REVENGE - Matsumoto Rio, Shirata Hisako etc
Gyakukyou Nine - Tamayama Tetsuji, Horikita Maki etc
NANA - Nakashima Mika, Miyazaki Aoi etc
Touch - Nagasawa Masami, Saito Shota, Saito Keita etc
Maicchingu Machiko! Begins - Isoyama Sayaka etc
Initial D THE MOVIE - Jay Chou, Edison Chan etc
ALWAYS Sanchome no Yuuhi - Tsutsumi Shinichi, Yoshioka Hidetaka, Koyuki etc
Asatte DANCE - Matsuda Yomasa, Kurosawa Ai etc
Tokyo Zombie - Asano Tadanobu, Aikawa Sho etc
Luna Heights - Yasuda Misako, Kashiwabara Shuuji etc

Dramas
Roomshare no Onna - Nakajima Tomoko, Sasaki Kuranosuke
H2~Kimi to Ita Hibi - Yamada Takayuki, Ishihara Satomi
Gokusen - Nakama Yukie, Hayami Mokomichi, Koike Teppei, Kamenashi Kazuya, Akanishi Jin etc
Tokumei Kakaricho Tadano Jin - Takahashi Katsunori
Attack No.1 - Ueto Aya, Sakai Ayana
Omiya-san - Watase Tsunehiko, Sakurai Atsuko
Yaou - Matsuoka Masahiro, Kitamura Kazuki, Kaname Jun
Kochira Honke Joushou 5 - Takashima Masanobu, Mizuno Maki
Umizaru - Ito Hideaki, Kato Ai, Nakamura Tooru
Haruka 17 - Hirayama Aya
Dragonzakura - Abe Hiroshi, Hasegawa Kyoko, Yamashita Tomohisa, Nagasawa Masami
Tadashi Renai no Susum - Oshima Satoko, Uentsu Eiji
Designer - Matsumoto Rio, Kokusho Sayuri
Joou - Kitagawa Hiromi, Kaneko Noboru
Hana Yori Dango - Inoue Mao, Matsumoto Jun, Oguri Shun
Don't Mind! - Aibu Saki, Nishijima Chihiro
Mama wa Ballerina - Tokojima Yoshiko, Yamazaki Ginnosuke

*I've put those titles which I watched in italics...

Monster Ep 68 - Ruuenhaimu (Ruhenheim)

At Hotel Versteck located in the quiet town of Ruhenheim, an old man is talking to a little boy about the bike he picked up from the rubbish dump being faulty again. The boy is feeling upset over being teased by others that he is a moving piece of trash riding on the dumped bicycle but the old man tries to lift his spirits and starts repairing it as the chain has fallen off. Just then, the boy brings the old man's attention to Lunge who had called up earlier to book a room.

Lunge remarks to the old man who operates Hotel Versteck that he is glad to get a room at such a short notice whereby the latter explains that this isn't a big problem as the rooms are always empty. The owner says that Ruhenheim is such a quiet place and the only guests staying here besides Lunge are an elderly couple where the husband has mobility problems due to leg injuries. The boy named Wim offers to carry Lunge's luggage into Room 302 which the owner claims to have the best view in the hotel. Lunge then tells Wim that the bicycle didn't look like a piece of trash to him which makes the boy very encouraged by his words.

Lunge pays a visit to the local police station where the policeman is startled by his appearance. The latter gets even more bewildered when Lunge asks how long it would take to ask for reinforcements to come to the town. Nevertheless, the policeman explains that it would take about an hour for reinforcements to arrive if they contact the state headquarters. However, the policeman is sceptical about anything happening in this quiet place. Lunge suggests that the local police should start checking on everyone who enters the town from now on before anything terrible happens.

Meanwhile, Wim is testing his bicycle on the streets but the chain comes off again, causing Wim to lose his balance. As he grimaces in pain, the bullies come to mock Wim again and even stamps on his bicycle. When Wim tries to stop them, the bullies kick his face before walking off. Just then, Grimmer appears before Wim to extend a helping hand...

Lunge is taking a break in the hotel's lounge when the elderly couple chats with him. They find out that he's on a holiday alone and suggest that he can write a postcard to his grandson. At this moment, Grimmer enters the hotel and asks for lodging while Lunge returns to his room quietly without saying anything.

Grimmer goes to the train station and notices that nobody has alighted at Ruhenheim. As he is leaving the station, he hears a faint sound of a gunshot...

At the same time, Mr Hennich who has heard the same sound mentions this to his wife but she doesn't believe him since nobody in this town would own a gun. She suggests that it is likely that the drunkard living near them may own one which is met with sceptism by Mr Hennich that the drunkard can't even shoot anything properly. The wife exclaims that she won nothing in the lottery again and accuses her husband of being a jinx which leads to them quarrelling.

Mrs Hillman is running around town looking for her dog, Ludwig and comes to seek help from the owner of Hotel Versteck. She gets hysterical and wonders if the gunshot has anything to do with the disappearance of Ludwig. The owner suggests that Hillman should go to the police for help but she is not convinced that the policeman will put in effort to search for Ludwig since he hates dogs. Suddenly, Grimmer who is using the alias Neumaier offers to help Hillman look for Ludwig.

As Grimmer goes around to look for Ludwig, he finds out from the locals that they do not like Hillman and her noisy pet. When he turns up at Hotel Bergbach, Grimmer finds out that there is no guest staying there and the grumpy owner states that he would have known if the noisy dog was around since his place is too quiet.

Grimmer bumps into Lunge on the streets and they exchange some words before parting ways. Lunge happens to see Wim being thrown out of his house by his alcoholic father because he wants the boy to buy more wine. The owner of Hotel Versteck brings Wim back so that he can be spared from the violent outburst of his father.

Grimmer is at a sausage store where he talks to the shop assistant who can't stop talking about her desire to leave Ruhenheim which is too quiet. She hopes to meet someone who will take her away from the town and laments that she hasn't met such a person yet. When the girl tells Grimmer about Ludwig's preference for bones, he seems to have an idea about where to find the dog.

Lunge meets the local policeman who jokes that the terrible thing which Lunge was referring to should be the disappearance of Ludwig. When Lunge asks the policeman about the gunshot, the latter dismisses this and explains that a car broke down on the highway so the backfiring sound could have been mistaken as a gunshot.

Grimmer finds Ludwig on the hill munching on a bone which it buried in the past and is surprised to see Lunge appearing soon after. It appears that they both came to the same conclusion after obtaining different clues. Lunge questions Grimmer's reason for being in Ruhenheim where the latter throws the question back to him. Grimmer points out that he knows about Lunge's identity and can feel that he's not here for vacation. Not to be outdone, Lunge reveals that he also knows about Grimmer's real identity. It turns out that the both of them have come here for the same purpose i.e. to stop the massacre that's going to happen soon.

The Hennich couple quarrel again about the wife's obsession with the lottery. Before the husband leaves for work, his wife exclaims that she has a winning ticket...

Wim is trying to find out from the bullies about the whereabouts of his bicycle and gets a shock when they tell him that it has been thrown at the vampire's mansion on the western hill.

Mr Hennich returns to the apartment hurriedly and brings back some guns to protect themselves now that they have won the lottery worth 20 million marks. The husband explains that they won't need to use the ammunition if nobody knows about the matter but the wife reveals that she bought the numbers based on the birthday of a local, Mr Konrad whom she met at the store. Although Konrad may not know the numbers which Mrs Hennich bought, there is a chance that others may have come to know about this since Mr Hennich mentioned that the girl at the sausage store was looking at him just now. The couple get paranoid about people having designs on them after knowing about their new-found wealth and resolve to protect themselves with the guns they acquired.

Wim goes to the vampire's mansion to search for his bicycle and almost gets scared to death when he sees Lunge and Grimmer there. Grimmer tells Wim that his bicycle is at the foot of the mountain and the latter was tricked by those bullies. The men then remark that Bonaparta didn't come to the mansion for some time and the dead cat outside the mansion was killed by a submachine gun which suggests that the people they are looking for should be near the town. Just then, Lunge spots the numerous sketches of Johan and Nina at various stages of their childhood and realises that Bonaparta must have been dissatisfied with his sketches no matter how many he drew...

Meanwhile, Konrad is pulling out the vines from the cowberries field on the hill when a man approaches him from behind and points a gun at him...

Seems like the final stage of Monster is to be set in Ruhenheim. Grimmer and Lunge were talking about a massacre which is to happen soon so I guess this is largely related to Johan. The issue is what will Johan stand to gain from this series of events. I guess when the main characters are all assembled at Ruhenheim i.e. Tenma, Nina, Johan etc, that will probably mark the end of everything. And that could jolly well happen in the last 2 episodes or so thus we have a long wait before the doubts are cleared.

Suzuka Ep 23: Gekirei (Encouragement)

Miyamoto offers a suggestion to Yamato about how he should improve his running technique so as to increase his chances of winning Arima. However, as there is little time before the Tokyo tournament, Miyamoto is concerned about the consequences of changing his running style at this juncture. Upon hearing this, Yamato assures Miyamoto that he will put in his best effort so the latter decides to draw up a new training plan for Yamato.

Yamato tells Suzuka enthusiastically about the change in training plans and the possibility of him running faster than before but she is sceptical about this proposal working out. Suzuka even goes to the extent of dampening Yamato's hopes and screams at him to stop telling her about his plans. This makes Yamato bewildered as to why Suzuka is blowing up at him for no apparent reason.

During practice, Honoka wants to bring a towel to Yamato but stops in her tracks when she sees how hard he has been training for the tournament and him smiling happily in the company of the teammates. Much as she wants to show concern for him as an ordinary friend, Honoka finds it hard to do so especially when others are around.

Yamato gets Miki to stay back with him for more training whereby she senses his enthusiasm in trying to achieve the best results. Yamato tries to conceal the reason why he is so hyped up about being the champion but Miki realises that he is doing this for the sake of Suzuka. Miki reminds Yamato that being the No.1 would not win him Suzuka's heart but he is insistent on achieving this because he wants to be worthy of Suzuka when he confesses his feelings for her again. Miki decides to help Yamato continue with the training under the condition that he has to treat her to dinner. Unknown to them, Honoka has overheard their conversation.

During dinner, Miho remarks to Ayano that they should do something to encourage Yamato who has been training hard. When they ask Suzuka for suggestions, the latter leaves the dining area as if she's not interested in this topic. Suzuka returns to her room and can't help but feel frustrated over Yamato's ambition to be the No.1 runner in Japan.

Honoka calls Nana for a chat and they meet up at her family's shrine. Honoka says that she has been hoping to get back with Yamato one day when she feels more confident about herself. However, when she sees how serious Yamato is about Suzuka, she feels that she doesn't stand a chance at all. As such, Nana tells Honoka to forget about Yamato since she should find a guy who truly cares for her.

Hattori praises Yamato for working so hard to be No.1 but teases him at the same time for his reason to do so. At the same time, Suzuka also sees how hard Yamato has been training for the race but still reacts indifferently when Yamato tells her about his improvement. Although Yamato is upset by Suzuka's reaction, he decides to concentrate on his training so that he has something to show for it in future.

In the midst of his personal training, Suzuka comes to tell Yamato to go home since he's been practising too hard and this will not have any positive effect on his results. The tone of her words makes Yamato flare up at Suzuka because he feels indignant about her attitude towards his enthusiasm. Yamato decides to go home because he doesn't want to quarrel with Suzuka. She realises that she has gone too far and chases after Yamato to apologise. Yamato assures her that he's not angry so she encourages Yamato to work hard and runs off quickly. Yamato is happy to hear this and gets more hyped up towards achieving his goal.

The day of the Tokyo tournament finally arrives and Yamato is raring to go...

Well, as how Miki puts it, being No.1 in the race doesn't matter when it comes to winning Suzuka's heart. I mean, the two of them obviously have feelings for each other but they must overcome their own psychological barriers before anything can work out between them. Yamato is afraid of being rejected again while Suzuka has to get over the trauma she experienced when Kazuki died soon after he confessed his feelings for her. Unless they resolve these issues, nothing will turn out well. I just have this feeling that this problem will dragged till the end before we see an happyily-ever-after conclusion for the couple.

Hachimitsu to Clover Real-Life Movie Making-Of DVD

With the impending screening of Hachikuro's real-life movie this summer, the making-of DVD will be released prior to that. The date of sale is 14 July and the catalog number is ACBD-10385. As there is only one DVD and I suppose the content is unlikely to last more than an hour, the price is 2500 yen (inclusive of tax). Due to the fact that I'm a big fan of the Hachikuro anime and manga, that is why I am including information of the real-life movie on my blog.

According to the information on HMV Japan, there will be a monologue from Sakurai Sho who plays the lead character Takemoto. There will also be clips from the movie itself as well as footage of the filming process. I believe more information will be available via the official movie's site when it's nearer to the release date. The DVD launch is in tune with the recent trend of many Japanese movies releasing making-of DVDs prior to the cinema launch so as to boost interest. And because I'm interested in the movie itself, it's no wonder I'm falling prey to this promotional gimmick and buying a Japanese movie's making-of DVD for the first time. ^__^

By the way, the theme songs for the movie had been revealed yesterday. As the author Umino Chika had mentioned before that the title of the manga was derived from songs of both artistes and the anime had used their songs extensively as the BGM, it is no wonder that they are roped in for the real-life movie. In addition, ARASHI will also be taking part in the music aspect since Sakurai is the lead for the movie. Spitz is singing the theme song, "Mahou no Kotoba" (The Words of Magic) while Sugashikao writes the ending song, "Aozora Petal" (The Blue Sky Petal) which is to be sung by ARASHI. Both songs will be released this summer in conjunction with the launch of the movie.

Frankly speaking, until I saw the cover of this DVD, I was very sceptical over whether the cast would be suitable to play the characters. I was very shocked to see Mayama (Iseya Yuusuke) and Yamada (Seki Megumi) looking so similar to the actual characters especially Iseya's tall and thin frame which is a dead ringer for Mayama. As for Seki, if she had dyed her hair a little bit, maybe it would look slightly better but the charm she exudes is so close to Yamada. My impression of Sakurai Sho has always been a smart and cool guy so I was worried over whether it would be hard for him to overcome this problem but his image looks fine for Takemoto although it borders on the side of silliness. As for Aoi Yu, I can't really judge whether she fits Hagu's image but the dress looks like something which Hagu would have worn. I wonder if she would tie her hair into two buns like what Hagu usually does. Last but not least, Kase Ryo as Morita, my No.1 favourite character...why on earth is he wearing those gaudy colours? Other than his Hikawa Kiyoshi-imitation enka singing performances during hanami, Morita doesn't wear anything as flashy as that! I'm just hoping that Kase will be able to bring out the essence of the talented Morita and will be prepared to overlook the image issue provided it doesn't differ too much from the Morita whom I've come to like.

Paradise Kiss act 3 Special Edition DVD

Received the last DVD from the ParaKiss series which features Isabella on the cover alone. Looks like my guess has come true about she or rather he is unlikely to be paired up with Tokumori for the last volume. As usual, there is an additional DVD besides the last 4 episodes of the series but the content is not as attractive as the previous volumes. Personally, I tend to prefer footage of the recording sessions or chat clips of the seiyuus when it comes to the special content in anime DVD releases. As such, things like the chat between the music producers and anime producer done more like a drinking and smoking session do not interest me. Besides, a collection of the ending clips of LaForet and its surrounding area seems really bland. Last but not least, the OP and ED without the lyrics on screen just doesn't give the idea that much effort was put into the production of this final volume. Maybe the better segment among the selection was seeing the winning entries from the ParaKiss fashion designing contest but there could be more done to present the images in a more interactive manner. Otherwise, seeing a series of fashion design drawings instead of the actual outfit or even giving us the actual prize presentation ceremony would be much better. As such, due to my dissatisfaction with the special DVD and the colour scheme of this final volume, I must say that I'm not very happy with this purchase.

The freebie which interests me a little more would be the jewellery box which George gave to Yukari at the end of the anime. I have taken photos of the exterior and interior as shown below. No doubt I feel that the quality of this item pales in comparison to the blue rose cossage and the photo frame given away in the last 2 volumes, being able to own a replica of such an important item in the story is the biggest redeeming factor for this volume. I can't help feeling that something must have gone wrong halfway during the planning and designing of the freebies for this last volume that it gives the idea that not much effort was put into it and everything appears so slipshod and like a last-minute job especially with regards to the special DVD.

Although I'm a little happy to see the jewellery box, I just feel that the item is so light as if the production process deliberately scrimped on the interior of the box which seems hollow when I touch it. Sorry for complaining so much about this last volume of the Paradise Kiss series but frankly speaking, ever since I was impressed by act 1's blue rose cossage and the high quality packaging of the DVD, I had come to expect a certain level of quality from Aniplex and FujiTV to produce something good.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Premium Collection DVD

Received the Hagaren Premium Collection DVD today which was released on 29 March.

I had a good laugh during the later part of the DVD which had three brand new short stories made specially for this release. I'll come to that later.

Let me talk about the first section, "Nanadai Homculus vs Kokka Renkin Jutsushi Gundan". The setting is for the viewer to become a newbie national alchemist who goes on a learning tour about 5 main subjects before embarking on a mission to eliminate the Homculus. The 5 subjects are namely alchemy, automail, the millitary, Homculus and miscellaneous topics like Kenja no Ishi. Basically, by going through these sections, you will be able to learn more about the anime series itself as well as the concepts within the story. In addition, the characters are grouped into several categories for easy reference e.g. the alchemists, the national alchemists and the Homculus. I believe you will be able to learn something new after browsing through the topics. By the way, each topic begins with a short narration with past visuals by Mustang's subordinates before you come to the interactive menu which works like what you would find on CD-ROMs.

After you are done with the learning, the 10-minute long battle between the millitary and the Homculus will begin. In this clip, all previous relationships will not be taken into account as we have the supposedly dead people all coming back e.g. Greed and Co. as well as those villians in the millitary being on the side of justice. I won't say that there's much humour but it's fun to see everyone again at one shot.

The next major segment would be the three short stories I mentioned earlier.

The first story is the "real-life movie" version (Jissha-hen) where the crew actually put a huge model of Al on the streets of Tokyo at various spots while the narration goes on about how he tries to look for Ed. In the end, the conclusion is that the staff will not do a real-life movie. It was so funny to see an otherwise emotional narration being made to look more like a comedy as Al pops up at various junctures.

The second story "Enkai-hen" (Banquet version) is set to send you rolling on the floor with laughter. All the characters are shown in chibi format and the setting is a celebration party after the end of the movie last year. That's why you can see Al in his original form instead of the armour and the dialogue is largely linked to what has happened in the movie. Personal favourite moments include Mustang misunderstanding that Hawkeye has the intention to be with him and getting so disappointed when she says that she's thankful that the scriptwriter didn't make that arrangement as well as Scar and Lust appearing as a couple complaining about the lack of lines and being made extras in the movie. You've got to see this for yourself since it's hard to describe all the punchlines in words. By the way, do check out Winry's complaint about Ed getting too close to Noah (the girl who looks like Rose) in the movie. That was also quite enjoyable to watch.

Last but not least, we have the story entitled "Kodomo-hen" where the children versions of Ed, Al and Winry roam the streets while they head somewhere. Along the way, they will meet Mustang and Co. as well as Hughes who plays a policeman. In the end, we find out that the trio have come to visit an old man who happens to have automail limbs and holds a photo of Ed and Al in the teenager days at the time after the movie. It so happens that the kids are there to celebrate the birthday of this old man whom I suspect should be Ed. At the end, the parting message is that Ed would turn 100 in 2005 and he should be living somewhere peacefully...

Do not stop the DVD yet because you will get to hear a song titled Hagane no Kokoro sung by the three female seiyuus who play Ed, Al and Winry. Kind of corny lyrics but then the visuals are the things to take note because you will see how the staff moves the huge model of Al around to do the filming for the Jissha-hen.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied with my purchase but there could be more content to justify the price tag of 3990 yen. As for the freebies, there are 2 postcard-sized pictures, the introduction booklet as well as the drawings which the staff did for the "Enkai-hen".