Yakitate Japan Ep 41

Azuma, Suwabara and Kawachi are saved after Pierro manages to swim underwater and gets help. They are surprised to see the King of Monaco before them and find out that the troubles they have gotten into are all the doing of the committee chief of the Monaco Cup. The King promises that there will not be anymore of such happenings in future and says that he will take over the running of the content from the semi-finals onwards. As such, the semi-finals are set to take place one week later where the contestants have to make sports bread for the F1 drivers.

Azuma mentions that he has made such a bread before, Japan No.51 which he says it's flawless. However, Kuroyanagi and Sophie reminds them that it is better not to underestimate their competitors especially the French team consisting of the Kaiser brothers. Upon hearing that the King will be giving free ingredients for the contestants, Azuma and the rest head for the palace to get what they want.

At the same time, the Monaco police come to Sophie to ask about her father Kirisaki Yuichi, the owner of St Pierre as they find that he had contact with the committee chief of the Monaco Cup. Sophie recalls with anger about how her father left her and Meister behind at a young age and even ate bread in front of the hungry siblings. As such, she would not be surprised if he's really behind what's been happening to the Japanese team.

At the palace, Azuma, Suwabara and Kawachi meet the King who decides to ask them one question before granting them to get whatever ingredients they need. They are stumped when the King asks them if they have a bread which looks delicious, who would they give it to first? Azuma answers almost immediately that he will eat it first because looking delicious is not a guarantee that it will taste as good. Thus, he will eat it first to confirm the taste before giving to others. The King is very pleased with this answer and grants them access to the ingredients.

When the trio return to the hotel and relate this to Sophie and Kuroyanagi, she is shocked to hear this question as this was what Kirisaki had asked her and Meister when he ate bread before them. The secret police also reveal that Kirisaki is an old acquaintance of the King so he would have the chance to stop the Japanese team from winning. This does not deter the trio and fires their determination to grab the title despite the obstacles in their way...

No contests in this episode but we'll get to see them against the French team in the next episode. Now that we are at the semi-finals of the Monaco Cup, are we nearing the end of this anime? I've been following this for close to a year so if it's ending, it will be kind of sad even though I wouldn't say this is one of my top favourites but it's enough to keep me entertained.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 08 - Kenja no Ishi (The Stone of the Wise)

The anguish of being unable to save Nina makes Ed very upset and helpless. Mustang tells Ed that he should leave this case to the investigation department which Hughes belongs to and reminds him that there will be more occurrences of similar heart-wrenching situations in future if he wishes to pursue his original aim of regaining his and Al's bodies by making use of the powers given to a national alchemist. Ed cannot come to terms with this matter and gets frustrated with himself.

One day, Mustang gets Havoc to inform Ed to consolidate and analyse Tucker's research data but Ed is unwilling to do so. Havoc tells Ed that Tucker had been executed quietly by the millitary which Ed sees it as a deliberate attempt to cover up the matter. Al tries to persuade Ed to get over the matter and concentrate on what he has to do but Ed refuses to do so and runs away from Tucker's place.

Ed goes to Mustang and asks him to take back the order of analyzing Tucker's research data so that he can concentrate on finding Nina's killer. However, Mustang reminds Ed that the duty of a national alchemist is not to find the murderer but to obey the orders given to him by the millitary. Ed does not wish to accept this order and gives Mustang his silver pocket watch back to show his determination.

While wandering around the streets, Ed happens to meet Scar who asks whether he is a national alchemist. However, Ed remarks that he has just stopped being one which Scar says that it is good for him.

Al goes to Riza Hawkeye to ask about Kenja no Ishi which she says that she isn't clear about. However, she tells Al that the national library may have such information but it is only open to national alchemists. At the same time, King Bradley joins in their conversation and tells Al that Kenja no Ishi may not even exist and that it is unknown whether it does have the powers as rumoured.

Ed goes to find Hughes who provides him with information on the serial murder cases so as to see if there's any clue to solving Nina's case. In the meantime, Winry arrives at Centora to give Ed and Al a surprise by paying them a visit and she heads to the millitary headquarters to look for them.

At the canteen, a lady who delivers supplies to the millitary kitchen hears about Ed being the youngest national alchemist and looks on with interest as Ed goes out to meet a visitor who is actually Winry. At the same time, Winry gets interested in the delivery lady's vehicle and the latter offers to let her take a look inside...

Ed comes out to find his visitor nowhere in sight and sees a screw left behind by Winry and tyre marks from a vehicle. He comes to the conclusion that Winry is in trouble and decides to search for her.

Winry is abducted by the lady who turns out to be a man by the name of Barry and he's the real culprit of the serial murders. Ed gets tied up by Barry and his arm being removed so as to prevent him from performing any alchemy rituals. Just before Ed gets killed by Barry, Hughes arrives with Al and his men to save them. This episode makes Ed realise how vulnerable he is and he would have to make himself stronger in order to achieve his aim.

Ed goes back to Mustang to get his silver pocket watch back and says that he will obey Mustang's orders. However, he asks for the permission to search for Kenja no Ishi in his free time which Mustang agrees to. Mustang also informs him that King Bradley has conferred upon Ed the title of "Fullmetal Alchemist".

That day, Ed and Al bring Winry out where Scar is watching from afar. He sees that Ed has become a national alchemist again and walks away quietly...

I wonder if Scar will become Ed's friend or foe in future. I doubt that he is evil but it seems that he has something against the millitary or the national alchemists and feels that his purpose of living is to eliminate the evil brought upon by alchemy.

Mustang, being the person who invited Ed to come to Centora takes on the role of a mentor and disciplinary master for Ed. He keeps Ed on the correct track i.e. to do what is expected of him and yet teaches him about the vulnerability of being under the millitary. Although he may seem quite childish at times to bicker with people like Hughes, he seems to be a very deep character with an unknown past. And Hughes is adding a lot of humour in the anime with his love for his daughter and bragging to everyone how cute she is.

Now that Winry has come to join Ed and Al, this might mean lighter moments every now and then especially if Ed is teased about his relationship with her. ^__^

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 07 - Kimera ga Naku Yoru (The Night when Kimera cried)

Ed becomes a national alchemist at the age of 12 which makes him the youngest to date. Mustang passes him the silver pocket watch which bears testimony to his status while also means that he is a member of the millitary at the same time.

Mustang's subordinate, Jean Havoc drives Ed back to the Tucker residence and Ed grumbles about Mustang as an unfeeling fellow who only knows how to aim for promotions. Havoc defends Mustang by saying that if he's really like that, his subordinates would not obey him at all. He also mentions that Mustang is busy with a case of serial murders where the victims were women. Ed doesn't understand why Mustang has to poke his nose into this matter and Havoc explains that since the murders happened on millitary territory, it doesn't reflect nicely on Mustang to have the cases unresolved.

Tucker holds a celebration party for Ed and he is reminded by Havoc about the upcoming annual test for alchemists. Tucker is very stressed over this as he has yet to create a succesful kimera (hybrid of human and animal) for the test. If he fails the test, his status as an alchemist would be taken away and he would have to go without the financial assistance from the government.

Ed is writing a letter to Winry about him being an alchemist when Nina comes into their room. Al teases Ed about Winry being his girlfriend which Ed is quick to deny. Upon seeing Ed writing a letter, Nina decides to draw a picture of her family to send to her mother who has returned to her hometown as she is angry with Tucker. Later, Tucker says that Nina's mother is unhappy with him being poor and brings Nina back to her room. However, Ed notices something fishy when he sees Nina's picture burned and comes to the conclusion that this is Tucker's doing.

Ed goes to the national library to find more information about Tucker and his experiments on Kimera but is told that he needs approval from the millitary top brass in order to access the information. On the way out, Ed sees a man, Scar who wants to enter the library but is stopped by the guard. Ed tries to stop Scar and accidentally tears off the sleeve of his shirt thus revealing some tattoos on his right arm. Scar gets frightened and runs away quickly.

Ed goes to look for Hughes and asks about Tucker's wife. According to Hughes, he heard that Tucker's wife died before he and Nina came to Centora so Ed is puzzled to hear conflicting stories about Tucker's background. In addition, the millitary comes to Tucker's house and makes Ed and Al move away as Tucker's experiments are supposed to be top secret.

Tucker is pressurised by the millitary that he has to come up with something for the upcomimg test and comes to a decision after hugging Nina...

Ed and Al return to Tucker's house quietly and finds that he has successfully created a new kimera which can talk and understand human speech. Ed realises that Tucker had sacrificed his own daughter, Nina and his dog, Alexander to come up with Kimera and questions his conscience. However, Tucker thinks that he did nothing wrong since he does not want to live in poverty again and be stripped of the title of national alchemist. Ed wants to restore the kimera back to its original form but Tucker claims that his alchemy is so successful that it would not be possible to do so. Ed gets so angry that he beats up Tucker. Just then, the millitary come to Tucker's place to bring him and the kimera back. Ed is furious about the millitary planning to destroy the evidence and keep the matter under wraps and creates an accident which results in the kimera running away.

At the same time, Scar is hiding at a street corner and lamenting why his elder brother tattooed the alchemy formations on his arm. Just then, the kimera appears in front of Scar which he realises immediately what this animal is made up of. In order to stop its suffering, Scar decides to restore the kimera back to its original form which ultimately means that it is destroyed.

Ed and Al finally find the kimera's remains at the street corner and are upset that they are unable to do anything to save Nina and Alexander...

Although the thought of hearing Okiayu-san's voice is great, I never guessed that this is such a sad episode which made me cry in the end. The excitement of hearing him was very much overshadowed by the sad ending.

I can never comprehend how Tucker can sacrifice his own wife and daughter for the sake of creating a kimera. And it was so painful to see Ed feeling helpless because he knows that with his current powers, he's still unable to restore the kimera back to its original form. In the end, he could have done the same thing as Scar i.e. relieving the kimera of its pain by destroying it.

Will future episodes be as sad and painful to watch as this? I never thought that I would shed tears when watching this anime although some of the previous episodes did make me feel upset. This anime is one of the few which has managed to tug at my heartstrings recently and I'm sure it will get even better.

Gankutsuou Ep 2 - Tsuki ni Asahi ga noboru made (Before the sun shines upon the moon)

Just as Albert is getting intimate with Beppo, a girl who makes the first move on him while on the streets, he is surprised to see her holding a gun and a group of gangsters moving towards him.

At the same time, Franz is at the party but his thoughts are on Albert who is wandering on the streets. He hears from the people at the party that there is a gang headed by a guy called Luigi Vampa which abducts people on the streets and robs or kills them. Since the local police are unable to do anything to Luigi's gang, they do as they wish in Luna which makes Franz start to worry.

Franz returns to the hotel where he is stopped by the convict who was saved by Albert when he chose his name from the three cards. That convict tells Franz to prepare 50 million ducats before dawn or Albert would be killed. Franz tries very hard to get the money but it is in the middle of the night and he can find nobody to lend him the money. Finally, he remembers the Count and goes to him for help.

During the journey to save Albert, Franz reveals to the Count that he and Albert met during his father's funeral when Albert came to talk to him. As such, they have been good friends since then but the Count seems to have doubts on the strength of their friendship.

At the same time, it is nearing dawn and Luigi's gang prepares to kill Albert. Beppo tries to intervene and is beaten by the gang. Just then, the Count's men barge in to overcome the gang members. The Count goes to find Luigi alone and reveals that he's Gankutsuou (king of the cavern). When Luigi attacks the Count, he is unhurt which scares Luigi so much that he is easily subdued.

After the ordeal, Albert tries to make light of the matter which Franz gets angry and slaps him since he was running around for his sake.

During a meal with the Count, he reveals to Albert and Franz that he plans to move to Paris and asks for their help to introduce him to the noble society there. Albert agrees to it enthusiastically and they make a date to meet 3 months later on 22 May. With that, Albert and Franz leave Luna to return to Paris.

The Count keeps looking at a wedding picture of a couple and talks about revenge. What has it got to do with Albert since the Count seems to be very interested in him? And he's definitely not human judging from the fact that he was not hurt when Luigi flung a knife at him. And when the Count appears in Paris, this seems to spell trouble from the trailer of the next episode.

The OP and ED are all in English and differ in styles. The OP is a ballad while the ED is a fast techno-style number. I prefer the OP though.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 06 - Kokka Renkin Jutsushi Shikaku Shiken (National Alchemist Exam)

In order to prepare for the national alchemist exam, Mustang brings Ed and Al to Shou Tucker who is well-known for creating a hybrid animal, Kimera who can speak and understand human speech. Tucker lives with his 4-year-old daughter, Nina and his dog Alexander but he does not talk about where his wife is. In addition, when Ed and Al ask to see Kimera, Tucker says that Kimera had died a few months after it was created and does not elaborate further. Mustang tells Tucker that he will tell him more about the Elric brothers in future.

During dinner, Nina sees that Al is not eating and passes him the bread which Al pops into his armour even though he cannot eat and doesn't feel the hunger. Upon seeing this, Ed feels rather upset.

Ed and Al study alchemy in Tucker's place and play with Nina whenever they can. One day, Hughes comes to look for them and reminds Ed that today is his birthday. As such, he is here to bring the brothers and Nina to his place for a celebration. They meet Hughes' wife, Gracia who is pregnant and they have a feast together. Suddenly, Gracia collapses in pain and says that she's about to give birth. Due to the fact that there's a snowstorm, Hughes runs out to get a doctor and asks the kids to look after Gracia.

The Elric brothers and Nina have no idea what to do and can only follow Gracia's directions to prepare towels and a tub of hot water. However, Hughes does not return for a long time and the water gets cold. Ed gets uptight and puts his hands together in frustration before touching the cold water which heats up immediately. Both Ed and Al are quite shocked as Ed did not even draw an alchemy diagram and yet he can make the water boil just by using his hands.

After getting the doctor, Gracia finally gives birth to a baby girl. That night, Ed and Al lay on their beds as Al remarks that he should have been soft and cuddly like Hughes' daughter when he was born but now he's in a hard and cold armour. This makes Ed even more determined to be a national alchemist so as to get Al's body back.

The national alchemist exam consists of three stages i.e. the written exam, the interview and physical alchemy test. Both Ed and Al pass the written exam but Mustang tells Al to give up taking the exam because he will definitely be probed about his armour. If Ed and Al wish to conceal their past, Al must not take part in the interview. Ed persuades Al to give up and says that it is enough for him to be a national alchemist in order to regain Al's body which Al agrees to reluctantly. When asked at the interview why he wants to be a national alchemist, Ed thinks of Al and says that he made a promise to his family member to do so.

At the final stage where the candidates have to show their alchemy abilities in front of the millitary personnel, Ed manages to impress them as he does not need to draw the alchemy diagram and saves someone from being injured. As such, Ed becomes a national alchemist at the age of 12.

Two parts are especially memorable to me in this episode.

The first being Ed and Al's regrets when seeing Hughes' baby daughter that they no longer have their original bodies given by their mother, Tricia. It's rather sad to see them behaving like this and when Al said that all he wants to do when he gets his body would be to hug Ed tightly, it speaks volumes of how much the brothers love each other.

The second being the part when Ed and Al were told by Mustang that Al has to give up the exam. Since Al is now being contained in the armour, he doesn't have a physical form to speak of and would definitely be questioned by the examiners. To spare him from that rejection and pain of having to recount his past, Mustang has no choice but to ask him to give up or they can never cover up their past and the failed human alchemy ritual they performed. No wonder Al did not become a national alchemist. This had been bothering me since I started watching this so I know what's going on now.

The next episode should talk more about how Ed and Al are living after getting the title of national alchemist. And Scar has appeared! Okiayu-san! I certainly hope that he can talk more in this anime. ^__^

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 05 - Shisou! Automeru (Run! Autometal)

In order to be a national alchemist, Ed and Al prepare to take a train to Centora so as to meet Roy Mustang. While on the phone with Mustang at a station, Ed is told to take the earlier train instead of the one he is scheduled to board. Although Ed cannot understand why Mustang insisted on him doing so, he obeys this order and rushes to board the train with Al.

On the same train, there are military personnel because General Haguro is on board with his family. One of them, Maes Hughes is chatting on the wireless phone with Mustang telling him all about his wife and yet-to-be born child which makes the latter really irritated and hangs up the call.

Just then, some members of the Eastern Liberation Group take over the train and hold everyone hostage so as to make Mustang release their leader from prison. The ringleader among them, Bald insists on Mustang bringing their leader to the Centora station or he would kill the General and other passengers. Ed and Al are requested by the millitary to assist in stopping them which they gladly agree to do so. After some hair-raising encounters, Bald and his members are overpowered and held captive.

When they reach Centora, Mustang comes to meet Ed and Al and take over those captives. Suddenly, Bald breaks free and attacks Mustang but he uses his fire alchemy skills to stop Bald.

Ed asks Mustang if he had known about the attack beforehand thus decided to make use of him and Al to save the General. Mustang does not deny this and says that this is a good opportunity for Ed which he should be thanking Mustang for. That is because kids cannot take part in the national alchemist test and with this achievement, Mustang can arrange for Ed to take part in the test. Although Ed is angry at Mustang for making use of him and Al, he sees Mustang's point and declares that he will definitely pass the test.

Some new characters are being introduced here e.g. Hughes who is so funny and seems like an interesting combination with Mustang. I bet these two will be the source of more comical relief.

As for Mustang making use of Ed in this incident, I bet there will be more to come since Pinako already warned Ed that he might be forced to do things he doesn't want. As such, there will always be a high chance that Ed is being manipulated to do certain things in future since he is going to be a national alchemist. Just like what Al keeps emphasizing, you have to give up something in order to get something as in the laws of alchemy. Thus, for Ed to get the position of a national alchemist, there are things he may have to sacrifice in the end.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 04 - Ai no Rensei (Alchemy of Love)

In order to become a national alchemist, Ed and Al leave their hometown to look for Roy Mustang and pass by a village by the name of Rintaa where there's a famous alchemist by the name of Majhal. Ed remembers that a guy by the same name sent letters to his father so he and Al decides to pay Majhal a visit.

On the way to the village, the brothers meet a boy by the name of Clause who has led a group of boys to release fireworks in preparation for the village's festival. Clause and his gang get into a clash with Ed and Al when Majhal comes by and brings them back home.

Majhal marvels at Ed's ability to contact Al's soul in the metal armour and remarks that he is as good as his father. Ed asks Majhal about his letter to his father whereby they had discussed the alchemy of human body but Majhal claims that he is not able to do something like this and he had just discussed this with Ed's father to exchange pointers. Just at this point, an old lady by the name of Levy comes by to give Majhal some rose jam and she leaves hurriedly at the sight of Ed and Al.

While having dinner, Clause's father brings him to Majhal's place to apologise to Ed and Al. Clause is unable to take it lying down and runs away.

Ed and Al run after him and save him from falling into the river. Clause relates that his sister died in the forest and on her funeral, both he and his father saw the image of a woman by the name of Carlin who died 20 years ago. Clause asks Ed and Al to help him find that spirit but Ed refuses to do so since there are no spirits in the first place.

Clause gets his friends to lay a trap at the cemetery to capture Carlin but Ed and Al fall into the trap instead. However, Clause happens to see Carlin's image and runs towards her but Majhal appears at that time and induces a fire to burn Carlin. Ed hears a strange sound when Carlin is burnt and suspects that something is wrong.

Ed and Al search around for clues in Majhal's house and bump into Levy who try to stop them. However, Ed finds some figurines of Carlin and understands what is going on when Majhal returns. Majhal tells Ed and Al that Carlin used to be his lover but she died due to an accident. As doing a human alchemy was beyond him, he had to get women and use their spirits to get Carlin to return to life in a figurine. Just then, Clause who is actually a girl in disguise barges into Majhal's house and overhears everything thus she is captured by Majhal as the next sacrificial spirit to get Carlin back to life.

Ed and Al finally break free of the chain and Ed finds out that Levy is actually Carlin. She lost her memory due to the accident and was living elsewhere until she regained her memory and returned to look for Majhal. However, Majhal did not recognise her at all. Majhal refuses to believe that the Carlin he had loved turned into an old woman and tries to kill them when Ed turns the tables on him thus leading to Majhal being killed by the falling sword.

Ed and Al prepare to resume their journey when Clause comes to see them off in her female clothes. Al laments that although alchemy may be useful, it can be misused like in Majhal's case.

Well, from the next episode onwards, Ed and Al will finally get to meet Roy and begin their journey to be a national alchemist. I'm quite curious as to what kind of man is Ed and Al's father. Is he a national alchemist since Majhal remarked that Ed was like his father due to his ability to contain Al's soul in an armour?

Gankutsuou Ep 1 - Tabi no Owari ni Bokura wa Deau (We met at the end of the trip)

Started to watch this yesterday.

Well, I've been hearing a lot about this anime e.g. the fact that it's made by Gonzo, the graphics are fabulous. Personally, I find that the graphics and colours used seem to be rather imaginary, dreamy and unreal. I guess this has to do with the fact that this story is set in the future. One point I would like to make would be the colours of the clothes. Somehow, the designs do not seem to be stagnant and they kind of blended in with the surroundings as if the prints of the clothes are moving. In addition, the clothes seem to be in vibrant colours and there's no plain suit so far based on this first episode. It's the first time I've seen colours like this in an anime.

The story begins with 2 good friends, Albert Montcerf and Franz who are travelling together. They come to a town called Luna when their local carnival is being held.

At the opera, Albert and Franz see a mysterious man who calls himself the Count of Monte Cristo and has nicknames like the Gentleman and Vampire since his background is unknown to the nobles. The two receive a dinner invitation from the Count and are impressed with his mannerisms and wealth. Albert seems to be in awe of the Count which Franz does not feel the same way as he's wary about this mysterious man. However, Albert does not believe Franz and agrees to join the Count for lunch on the next day where the public execution of criminals is to take place.

The Count suggests that they play a game where Albert can save one of the criminals' lives by choosing the card which bears that person's name. Franz realises that the Count is up to no good but Albert refuses to leave the balcony. The Count makes use of Albert's mentality that he wants to search for his true self on this trip with Franz and wants Albert to make his choice to prove that he has a mind of his own. After much deliberation, Albert finally chooses a card and he ends up saving the worst criminal among the three - a serial killer.

After being much shaken after this incident, Albert quarrels with Franz and goes wandering on the streets. He meets a beautiful girl and brings her to a street corner before getting intimate with her. However, Albert is shocked when the girl suddenly uses a gun to point at him...

Based on the story so far, I think my interest can be sustained throughout the series since I like suspense stories. I'm interested to know what the Count is up to and why is he seeking revenge on Albert who seems to have nothing to do with him. This looks very promising.

Suzuka Ep 05: Koi wazurai (Love troubles)

After that hug in the rain, Yamato wants to know how Asahina feels about him but she keeps avoiding contact with him. This makes Yamato rather uneasy and he gets angry at Asahina when she agrees to go somewhere with a guy wearing spectacles. However, it turns out that this guy, Miyamoto used to be Asahina's senior in junior high and is asking for her help to get Yamato into the athletics team. Although Yamato is glad that there is nothing between Miyamoto and Asahina, he still rejects Miyamoto's offer as he did not think that the record he achieved during that shuttle run was real. It was most probably by luck that he could run that fast so he didn't think it was right to join the athletics team. Nevertheless, Miyamoto says that he will ask Yamato again since he's not likely to agree to it now.

That night, there is a thunderstorm which results in a blackout. Being afraid of the dark and the thunder, Asahina comes over to Yamato's room with an aromatherapy candle and they sit side by side in the dimly-lit room. They talk about their hometowns where Yamato brings up the day they hugged in the rain. Asahina tries to brush it off by saying that she held on to him because she was stunned by the car which drove past them and tells Yamato not to assume things.

Yamato is confused by Asahina's ever-changing attitude and wonders if she has any feelings for him. Hattori realises that Yamato is troubled over Asahina and gives him some advice.

After school, Yamato asks Hattori to go to a karaoke with him to vent his frustrations when the latter asks Honoka along. Yamato does not realise Honoka's obvious feelings for him and decides to go home as he feels that he's not enjoying himself at all. He wonders if he should confess his feelings to Asahina but he's scared that they cannot be friends if she rejects him. Suddenly, he hears Asahina calling out to him and she asks him to go shopping with her. As such, Yamato decides that it's better not to tell Asahina about his feelings first as he doesn't want to lose her.

Frankly speaking, if I am Yamato, I would also feel frustrated at Asahina's everchanging attitude. One moment, she's quite nice and the next, she seems to be avoiding Yamato like the plague. However, it seems like Asahina's feelings have somewhat changed after seeing Yamato run in the race so I guess she's not willing to come to terms with her feelings yet. On the other hand, we have Honoka who's obviously obsessed with Yamato but he only has eyes for Asahina.

The next episode's title is "Kokuhaku" (Confession) so does this mean that Yamato is going to make a move?

Yakitate Japan Ep 40

As usual, a highly entertaining yet ridiculous episode from Yakitate Japan. This is not a grouse as my meaning of ridiculous would be some of the events not being very logical but I won't call myself an idiot for continuing to watch this. Actually, I wonder what really makes me stay on to watch Yakitate as the story is not really exciting and quite repetitive i.e. make bread, win contest but the humour makes me relax for that 20 minutes or so thus I'm content to be silly and forget all logic. At the initial stages of watching this, I actually had the urge to eat bread after each episode.

What was left off from last week would be Pierro, Azuma, Kawachi and Suwabara being trapped at the deep valley. Pierro lies to the trio that he can swim 2-3km underwater to seek help provided they feed him with a bread made with fish. This is initially to get them fired up and stop worrying over their survival but Pierro does not know how to swim in the first place. As such, he is just making use of the time to make the bread for thinking of another way to get help.

However, things do not go his way as the guys manage to make the bread despite Pierro's constant "disturbances" like giving a mathematics question to test them. Unexpectedly, Azuma is a maths genius so Pierro's question means nothing to him.

Pierro realises that he cannot run away from his responsibility anymore and falls into the water to prepare to die. However, apparently after eating that bread, he suddenly knows how to swim and breathe like a fish as if he has gills. And this leads him to reach where Kuroyanagi and Sophie are so I guess it's obvious that the trio will be saved by the next episode. Besides, the King of Monaco will step in and remove that chief of the committee so there should be more fair play.

And the next round should be the semi-finals so we are nearing the end of the Monaco Cup arc. Does that mean I have to say goodbye to this series?!

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 03 - Okaasan (Mother)

Ed and Al proceed on their trip in search of Kenja no Ishi and are flipping through some ancient books at a old bookstore. Al finds an elementary book on alchemy which the brothers used to learn from. However, Ed seems to be reluctant to talk about the past as Al relates what happened in their hometown, Rizenburu.

The two brothers lived with their mother, Trisha and their father had left them many years ago. They are good friends with Winry Rockbell, who lives nearby and her grandmother, Pinako. The Elric brothers' first product from alchemy was a doll for Winry's birthday but she got scared at the sight of the ritual and resulted in her parents telling Trisha about it. However, Trisha did not blame them and even praised them for being smart enough to conduct alchemy rituals. As such, this led to the brothers being more obsessed with alchemy so as to please their mother. Trisha didn't talk much about her husband and was constantly in a daze which led to Ed being increasingly irritable when his father was being mentioned. Actually, Ed didn't really hate his father but he was angry that the latter's departure without a word about his whereabouts caused unhappiness for Trisha and gradually resisted the mention of him.

One day, the Elric brothers heard from Winry that her parents were dead due to the internal war and ran home crying as they couldn't bear the thought of Trisha leaving them in the same way. However, as fate would have it, Trisha passed away when Ed was 10 and Al was 9 due to a chronic illness which she had never told anyone about. Ed and Al had sent letters to their father's acquaintances so as to get him to return to see Trisha but to no avail. The brothers then decide to find a teacher to learn all about alchemy so as to bring their mother back to life despite the fact that the resurrection alchemy ritual is forbidden due to the unforseen repercussions. At this time, Ed was already quite furious about his father not even returning to attend Trisha's funeral and didn't want to rely on him even if they did meet him again.

After the brothers came back from their learning trip, they proceeded to make arrangements for the resurrection ritual. Unknown to them, someone from the military had been watching them from afar as they prepared for the ritual. Things went out of of control which resulted in Ed losing his left leg and Al losing his entire body. To prevent Al from disappearing, Ed sacrificed his right arm so as to contain Al's soul in the metal armour. When Al regained his consciousness, he is shocked to see what happened and brings Ed to Winry's place for treatment.

At that same time, Roy Mustang, the military guy who was observing Ed and Al's house from afar came to Winry's place and asked to talk to Ed and Al but was being chased out by Pinako who wanted to give Ed some rest. After Ed woke up, he asked Pinako and Winry to fix metal limbs for him so that he can go to look for Roy when he recovers. Pinako tries to dissuade Ed from being a national alchemist since this means that he will be enlisted into the army when there is war and that he may be forced to use his alchemy skills to kill people. However, to Ed, the most important thing to become a national alchemist was to find a way to get back his and Al's bodies.

After some time, Ed was finally able to utilise his metal limbs with ease and told Al about his decision to be a national alchemist so as to find ways to regain their bodies. Al refused to leave Ed and insists on going with him. Ed says that they might not succeed again this time to regain their original bodies and he was prepared to bear all the consequences of his actions. Al decided against stopping Ed and the brothers went to look for Roy after burning their house so as to say goodbye to their pasts.

This is a rather emotional episode where we find out what happened in the Elric brothers' lives before the failed alchemy ritual. The bond between mother and son is so strong that I felt so sad when Trisha died and the brothers stood in the bitter cold at the cemetery. When Ed said with indignation that Trisha was happy to see the brothers being interested in alchemy just because it reminded her of their father, it was as if Ed felt that all he had done so far were in vain and his resentment towards his father seemed to have escalated due to Trisha's death. He thinks that his father should be held responsible for Trisha's unhappy life while pining for him so when Ed and Al meet their father again, it's probably going to be a clash of emotions.

Just a note here, I might not be able to come with the actual spelling of the places since they are in romaji. If not for the website, I may have similar problems with the characters' names too.

Monster Ep 59 - Akuma wo Mita Otouko (The man who saw the devil)

I'm not sure at this point whether I'm going to do reviews of the past episodes but I'm sure I'll re-watch the whole series when it is completed. I might just discover things I've not noticed before during the first run. In the meantime, I'll just write a review of this long-awaited episode and upload the picture when I get home.

Anyway, this episode focuses a lot of Martin and Eva although we get a glimpse of Johan and see Tenma being walloped by Martin.

Tenma tries to look for Eva by asking Martin on her whereabouts but Martin beats him up and tells him not to appear again. Frankly speaking, I'm confused why Martin had to beat Tenma up. He seems to be overly protective of Eva and I get the feeling that he's emotionally attached to her. Maybe I won't call it love at this stage but more of an unexplained attraction to her. Or should I say that it's because they are just 2 lonely souls living without a purpose?

Eva is still going around attending parties when she suddenly tells Martin that her job is done and she won't be going for any parties again. Martin did notice that she was pointing at Johan during one of the parties where his employer approached Johan with another young man to chat. However, he didn't really take notice of Johan. Just as Eva is preparing to leave, his employer comes to her and brings her out for dinner while Martin goes back to his favourite hamburger joint for food.

Tenma comes to look for Martin again and the latter tells him about the parties Eva has been attending. Tenma doesn't believe that Eva is doing all these without any purpose and finally realises that Eva was being taken away to point out Johan to Martin's employer. Seeing Tenma's expression, Martin feels that Eva is in danger and rushes back to the restaurant where his employer passes him a gun to kill Eva.

Martin goes back to the hotel room and finds a dead drunk Eva who knows that he is back to kill her. Her pleas to get Martin to kill her make him remember his ex-girlfriend whom he had found in bed with another man after she was high on drugs. That girlfriend pleaded with Martin to kill her so as to lessen her guilt but Martin simply walked out of the room. However, she shot herself and Martin insisted that he killed her so that's why he ended up in prison.

Martin brings Eva to a hotel to hide and decides to use her invitations to attend the parties. He intends to find out what's going on and meets the guy which his employer had brought to Johan. After following him, Martin is invited to that guy's room as he recounts Martin's past and guesses correctly what happened to his ex-girlfriend. He also manages to deduce that Martin left his drunkard mother to freeze to death when he was 10 which destroys Martin's composure and logic. As he walks out of the hotel in a daze, he fails to see Johan walking past him and heading towards that guy's room.

Somehow, the conversation between the guy at the party and Martin seem to resemble what transpired between Richard Braun and Johan during the Munich arc. Richard was investigating Johan and the latter managed to invoke the guilt in him which led to his death. Although I doubt Johan pushed him over the building and am more inclined to the notion that Richard was being "brain-washed" by Johan and jumped over himself, Martin seems to be going through what Richard had gone through then. The only difference is that Johan didn't do it himself and the method looks similar. I wonder that guy at the party has been trained by Johan to do such things and he seems to be in awe of Johan's greatness. Just what exactly is Johan planning? We have about 15 episodes left and there are still so many mysteries to be resolved. I just hope that the anime can wrap up nicely and not spoil what has been nicely built up so far.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 02 - Kinki no Karada (The Forbidden Body)

Ep 2 is as good as the debut episode and it seems like the quality of this anime is rather consistent so far. I hope that it lives up to its name and fame as I progress with each episode.

Ed and Al are caught in the battle with the chief priest of the Rioru Church, Cornello who holds Kenja no Ishi and uses it to his advantage. However, Ed and Al are not stupid enough to wait for Cornello to attack them and flee from the underground cell by creating a door. This part is rather funny as Cornello proclaims that there's only one exit and Ed replies indignantly that if there's no exit, the only way to escape would be to make a door himself. And since Ed doesn't need to draw the formation on the ground to perform a renkin ritual, he easily creates a door to achieve his aim.

However, this does not mean the end as Cornello uses the broadcast system and gets the citizens of the town to capture Ed and Al. He snatches the pendant given to certified alchemists by the government and thinks that this will prevent Ed from being able to conduct any alchemy/renkin rituals. Cornello then locks Ed in the underground cell away from Al.

Lust and Gluttony who have been watching the development of the matters remind Cornello that he should not be revealing the existence of Kenja no Ishi to everyone thus the latter decides to kill those who know about this i.e. Ed, Al and Rose.

Al steals the bell from the church tower and prepares to take his revenge against Cornello. At the same time, Rose finds that Cornello has been lying to her all this while and that her boyfriend who is supposed to come to life, actually comes in the form of a bird which Cornello has placed the soul into. He tells Rose that it will be too risky to do a human alchemy and he wasn't prepared to make such a sacrifice in the first place. Cornello then releases that bird to attack Rose as he wants to remove all those who know about Kenja no Ishi. Luckily, Al saves Rose and tells her that they want to get Kenja no Ishi because Ed and him just wants to return to the days before they attempted the human alchemy ritual and has no plans to bring their mother back now.

Cornello comes to the underground cell to kill Ed and ends up falling into his trap since his words are broadcast through the bell Al stole. The citizens gather at the church to seek an explanation and Cornello still insists that Ed and Al are nothing but troublemakers and liars. However, just as Ed gets the upper hand and shows the public what he's capable of, Kenja no Ishi disintegrates and Cornello's arm suffers an injury. When he retreats to his chamber and asks Lust and Gluttony on what to do, Gluttony eats him up and takes on Cornello's form to reassure the public.

As Ed and Al prepares to leave the town to search for the real Kenja no Ishi, Rose rants at Ed for destroying everyone's hope by exposing Cornello's true colours. Ed cannot be bothered to explain his actions while Al tries to console Rose and tells her that they do not want her to pay a huge price to bring back her boyfriend like what they did in the past.

Well, in my opinion, I would rather know the truth than to live in false hope which Rose seems to prefer the reverse. Either way, Rose would be hurt so the best thing is for her to move on like what Al said. However, it is easier said than done because Ed and Al doesn't seem to have gotten over their failed alchemy ritual where the price they paid is always there to remind them of the failure. Although Ed might be looking cheerful at times especially when he's being teased about not growing tall or being vertically challenged, the solitude and sadness in his eyes cannot be ignored. It's just that it doesn't manifest itself just like the moon during daylight. And it seems that Ed is also blamimg himself for Al's loss of his body even though he did sacrifice an arm to give him a metal armour. By the way, the seiyuu for Ed seems to be a Korean lady and somehow, she sounds rather close to Minagawa Junko as Ryoma in Tenipuri at times.

The anime blends serious issues with humour which makes it a very meaningful piece of work. And I really like it just after watching 2 episodes.

The ED song by Kitade Nana doesn't sound as good as Porno's Melissa though.

Okusama wa Joushikousei Ep 9 - 10

I'm quite disappointed with what I'm getting from this anime. Frankly speaking, the female lead is the type of girl I can't stand i.e. weak, insecure and overly cute to the extent of being pretentious. OK, I know Asami is meek by nature but the suggestive nature of the anime together with a bland storyline where nothing major happens to them except for the little crisis of Iwasaki or Sakura eyeing Ichimaru is really not enough to keep me staying tuned. Somehow, I get the feeling that this anime is in the middle of nowhere. It's not as wild or intense to bring out the theme of a relationship which must be kept under wraps. Even the circumstances whereby these two got married are not explained properly. I just get the feeling that I'm being brought to somewhere without knowing what led to the situation. Moreover, if the story continues like this where Asami gets insecure and jealous, Ichimaru continues to be ignorant to her internal thoughts and we get other women constantly eyeing him, it's going to be repetitive. To prevent me wasting time further, I'm washing my hands off this anime. This is really not my cup of tea. I'm better off spending time on other titles.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 01 - Taiyo ni Idonmu Mono (The guy who challenges the sun)

Finally started watching a new anime and this is quite interesting. Much better than I expected although the beginning was bit gory when Edward lost his left leg after that renkin ritual and blood was dripping from the wound. However, as the story progressed, it proved to be very engaging and looks set to hold my attention throughout the entire 51 episodes.

The story begins with 2 brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric aged 11 and 10 respectively in the year 1910 set in Europe. Having lost their mother at a tender age, they decide to attempt the most forbidden renkin ritual of resurrecting the dead even though renkin is a scientific method of creating or changing things to a certain stage by using a combination of materials. In addition, the combination must be of the correct proportion or else the ritual would not succeed. And to attempt the renkin ritual out of nothing, you have to pay a big price which results in Edward losing his left leg and Alphonse losing his entire body. In order to keep Alphonse alive, Edward sacrifices his right arm to conduct a renkin ritual so that Alphonse can continue living in a metal armour.

4 years later, Edward and Alphonse proceed on their trip to find Kenja no Ishi (The stone of the wise) in order to utilise its power. At this time, Edward is already given the title of Tensai Renkin Jutsushi (Genius Alchemist) since he got his alchemist licence from the country in his teens and he's quite frank with his words to the point of hurting others at times. Alphonse, on the other is a kind and gentle guy lying within the heavy armour suit.

They come to a town called Rioru where there is a guy, Corello who calls himself the ambassador of the Sun God and is worshipped by the people since he gave them a lot of things despite them living in the middle of a desert. However, Edward and Alphonse see through the fact that Corello was able to create these so-called miracles because of the possession of Kenja no Ishi but Rose, the girl who is serving the temple so as to resurrect her boyfriend, refuses to believe Edward who tells her that there is a huge price to pay for that forbidden renkin ritual. When Corello tries to eliminate Edward and Alphonse, he and Rose then realise that the reason why they are called the Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi is due to some of their body parts being replaced by metal...

I like the theme song very much, Melissa by Porno Graffiti. Somehow, I tend to like theme songs by so-called established names rather than anime song singers who sometimes tend to be quite squeaky when it comes to especially female vocalists. I believe the target audience of FMA is not mainly kids so the production crew chose Porno Graffiti to come up with this song. I certainly don't mind hearing this throughout the entire series though.

It seems like the plot will thicken and go deeper into its central theme. One of the more memorable parts in this episode would be Edward dissing Rose's belief that her boyfriend will come back to life just by serving the Sun God when he and Alphonse paid the price for their attempt literally with their lives. That look of solitude in him is hard to forget.

Oh, the only familar name I can find in the seiyuu list is Okiayu-san as Scar but his role has not appeared here...I can only wait...