Suzuka Ep 9: Shashin (Photo)

Despite Yamato's efforts to shorten the distance between him and Asahina, she still gives him the cold shoulder. Yamato cannot comprehend why Asahina adopts such an attitude towards him and feels extremely down. In addition, he feels that he has worked very hard in the athletics team and assumes that it is because he has not achieved any specific results in the 100m race which is why Asahina is rather nasty towards him.

Miki reminds Yamato that the athletics team will be conducting the heats to select members for the upcoming Tokyo championships and he resolves to work hard to prove himself. However, at the sight of his teammates' speeds, Yamato gets cold feet and wonders if he can do as well. Miyamoto assures Yamato that he will do well since he has practised very hard for the past two weeks. At the thought that Asahina will be watching his race, Yamato gets more worried but he makes up his mind not to embarrass himself in front of her. While watching the match, Asahina sees another guy's image in place of Yamato whch makes her stunned for a brief moment. Yamato achieves a record of in the 10 sec range for the 100m race which makes everyone in awe of his achievement. Miyamoto and the captain of the team remark that Yamato bears a resemblance to someone.

That evening, Yamato tries to emphasize his achievement to Asahina but she remains cold towards him. Yamato gets upset and grabs her arm to ask why she is adopting such an attitude but Asahina gets angry and says that she is irritated at the sight of Yamato. In addition, she says that she dislikes Yamato which makes him rather unhappy.

Yamato relates this to Hattori over lunch and the latter tries to console him by saying that it's better that Asahina hates him rather than have no feelings for him. Miki comes to their table and Hattori reveals that Yamato likes Asahina. Miki and Hattori start to bicker because Hattori encourages Yamato to quit the track team since Asahina dislikes him. However, Miki tells Yamato that Asahina dislikes people who give up halfway and he should not give up at this stage. In the end, Yamato decides to stay in the team for the time being since he has nothing to do and he wants to prove himself in running so that he still has a chance with Asahina.

Yamato puts in more effort during training so that he can prove himself. Miyamoto remarks to Asahina that Yamato resembles Tsuda Kazuki but she walks away without a word. During her self-training, Asahina fails to clear her usual height and Miki asks if she has any problems with Yamato. Asahina insists that she's just tired but her frustration at the thought of Yamato being linked to Kazuki heightens.

As training for the athletics team is cancelled for tomorrow, Yamato intends to ask Asahina out even though the possibility of her agreeing to it is remote. He sees Miyamoto and Asahina talking along the corridor and overhears that Asahina is going back to her hometown to see Kazuki.

Yamato is very disturbed about Asahina going to meet Kazuki whom he has no idea about. In order to get Gorou which has run into Asahina's balcony, Yamato happens to see a photo of Kazuki and Asahina in her room and gets her address via Miho. Yamato decides to go to Asahina's hometown, Yokohama to find out who Kazuki is...

The more I see Asahina, the more irritated I get at her. No doubt she rejected Yamato, couldn't she have adopted a better attitude towards him instead of being so nasty? I think Kazuki is someone very important to her but the way she is reacting when people say that Yamato resembles Kazuki is way overboard. Yamato really deserves a better girl than her.

Hattori and Miki look quite compatible together and it would be fun to see them being a couple (if that really happens).

We'll finally get to see more about Kazuki's relationship with Asahina and Yamato might really blow up if he finds out that Asahina is thinking of him as a substitute for Kazuki at least sub-consciously. Asahina may dislike the thought of people saying that Yamato resembles Kazuki but she is also one of those who feel this way no matter how strongly she tries to reject this idea.

Hachimitsu to Clover (Honey and Clover) Ep 01

Finally got started on this series which I have been reading rave reviewes about. The first episode mainly sets the background of the story, introduces the main characters and shows the first relationship's formation but I find it pretty enjoyable to watch since there's quite a bit of humour. One familiar voice actor I find is Ueda Yuji who plays Akutagawa Jiro in Tenipuri and he's playing another character who sleeps like a log and cannot be woken up easily. Maybe his voice gives people the impression that he's always sleepy but his role, Morita Shinobu doesn't seem to be a simple man. I feel that there is a mysterious streak behind Morita who has been in the university for 6 years and got retained just because he missed certain classes.

In the first episode, we see 5 students studying in an arts university namely Takemoto Yuta (2nd year, 19 years old), Mayama Takumi (4th year, 21 years old), Morita Shinobu (6th year, 24 years old), Yamada Ayumi (4th year, 21 years old) and Hanamoto Hagumi (1st year, 18 years old). Takemoto, Mayama and Morita stay in the same apartment block and Takemoto is always being fooled around by Morita who has a habit of disappearing for days to take up mysterious part-time jobs and end up dog-tired when he returns. Yamada is a very pretty girl who is always praised by teachers for her good results and talent but she gets distracted easily at the mention or sight of Mayama. Hagumi is a freshman at the university who is short and looks like a doll. It's obvious that Takemoto has fallen for her at first sight while Morita keeps making fun of Hagumi's height. The way I see it, Takemoto likes Hagumi but she might find that Morita is more appealing. On the other hand, Yamada seems quite interested in Mayama but according to the official website, Mayama is in love with a widow.

The pace of this anime is quite fast and not too draggy. I do hope that it can sustain its pace and feel throughout instead of being a long love story where people change partners very easily. Anyway, just based on first impressions, I like Mayama the most right now. As for Morita, he may appear frivolous but I have a hunch that he's not as simple as he seems. For Takemoto, I'm hoping that he won't be someone who can't make up his mind especially when it comes to the issue of whether to woo Hagumi later. Hagumi seems too much like a doll and I don't really like such girls most of the time when they appear in animes. Yamada seems an interesting person who is usually cool and collected but I think she'll be showing her flustered side when it comes to Mayama.

The OP and ED are rather catchy but I'll have to listen to them a few more times before I can say whether I like them. A lot of the times, I skip the OP and ED for animes if I've watched them a couple of times but there are always exceptions like some songs in Tenipuri, Fullmetal Alchemist and Slam Dunk. I have a slight issue with Yuki's voice being too high-pitched at times but the OP's visuals seem interesting so I'll have to decide whether I can stand the song and watch the visuals. As for the ED, this looks more promising to stay as one of the OP/ED which I'll watch every episode.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 16 - Ushinawareta Mono (Things we have lost)

Lust and Glutton go to the place where Scar had a fight with Ed where Glutton remarks that the Isbal dog i.e. referring to Scar is no longer around...

Meanwhile, Ed and Al return to the millitary's office in East City and wonder what has happened to Marcoh. Ed says that there's nothing they can do since the King has taken custody of Marcoh. He turns his attention to the piece of paper which Marcoh had secretly gave him telling him to look for "the geinuine truth behind truths" at National Central Library's 1st branch. Ed decides to hide this matter from Mustang as he is unsure whether to trust them anymore after hearing about what happened in Isbal.

The King decides to return to Central since Scar has been sighted in East City. Mustang asks the King to punish him since he withheld information on Marcoh but the King says that it's fine since he had intended to protect Marcoh in the first place despite Grand's objections. The King decides to make amends to Marcoh and tells Mustang not to take this matter to heart anymore.

Mustang and Hawkeye hears Al's screams suddenly and finds Armstrong trying to use alchemy to restore his metal armour but Al is very resistant to the idea. Mustang reminds Armstrong that Ed is the only person who knows how to contain Al's soul inside the armour so the most important thing is for Ed to get his right arm repaired as he cannot use alchemy with one arm. Ed and Al decide to return to their hometown, Rizenburu so that Winry can repair their bodies. Hughes askes Ed where he intends to go after the repairs and he reveals that he's going to Central to look up something from the library. As the brothers are not able to defend themselves during the journey home, someone has to accompany them but everyone gives all sorts of excuses to avoid this task. Finally, Armstrong decides to accompany them despite Ed's insistence that he doesn't want anyone to come along.

Hughes comes to send Ed, Al and Armstrong off at the train station and Al has to be put into the luggage carriage. Hughes reveals that 3 years ago, Nina was killed in the same way as what Scar did to his victims and Ed is fired up about taking revenge on Scar. In actual fact, Scar is hiding around the train station and threatens a little boy to eavesdrop on Ed's conversation with Hughes to find out where Ed is heading after repairing his arm.

Lust comes to look for Marcoh and forces him to reveal what he has hidden the research data but the latter refuses to do her bidding. Marcoh sees the symbol on Lust's chest and realises that she is not a human and cannot be killed. Lust and Glutton then hold a young girl as hostage to force Marcoh to tell the truth so that they can get hold of the data before Ed gets to it.

Ed finds that Al was left at a station before their destination and Ed and Armstrong return to the station concerned to get Al back. Meanwhile, Al's armour is taken away by a young boy who decides to use his armour for protection against a fight. Ed gets angry at Armstrong's relaxed attitude and tells him not to bother about their affairs. As Ed is looking around for Al, he is ambushed by a little girl who has stolen his left leg for her grandfather who is crippled. Al has no choice but to scare the young boy that he's a spirit so that he would not be taken elsewhere.

Ed is treated to some tea at the elderly man's house and offers to introduce him to Winry to make an artifical limb. However, the elderly man insists that he doesn't want to have a metal leg so that he can be reminded of what he has done there. Nevertheless, the elderly man says that he has gained something from what he has lost so he is not bitter about it. Ed refuses to listen and says that he has lost a lot of things but has not gained anything in return. He then leaves the elderly man's house and happens to find Al along the way. At the same time, Armstrong finds them and brings them back to the train station to head for Rizenburu again...

Lust and gang are not humans so who could they be? They should be from some organization which is so powerful and frightening that Marcoh shuddered at the sight of the symbol on Lust's body. What could their real aim be? Seems like besides Scar, Ed has another set of enemies to deal with.

And we finally see Winry back in the next episode so we can expect some bickering and humour between her and Ed. ^__^

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 15 - Isbal Gyasatsu (Killing of the Isbal)

Armstrong arrives in time to save Ed, Al and Marcoh from Scar which gives the trio time to escape. Scar has no wish to fight with Armstrong as his aim is to kill Ed and Marcoh first but Armstrong does not give him the chance to escape. When Armstrong happens to break Scar's sunglasses, he notices that the latter has red eyes which makes Armstrong realise that Scar is from the Isbal clan. Armstrong says that the Isbal clan should have been forbidden to use alchemy and points out that Scar's way of using alchemy is to stop at the second stage of alchemy i.e. disintegration instead of following the order of cooling down, disintegration and re-formation. The two then begin another battle of alchemy which results in a huge explosion...

Ed and Al try to bring Marcoh away from the eyes of the millitary and Scar. Ed says that it is not possible to get Mustang's help since Grand had appeared to capture him.

Mustang and his men find Armstrong under a rubble after his battle with Scar and he's seriously injured. Hughes also arrives to inform them that Grand had died and informs Mustang secretly that this is the work of Scar. Armstrong reveals that Scar is from the Isbal clan thus Mustang understands why Scar is out to kill all national alchemists. In the meantime, Scar is hiding along the streets to evade the millitary who is searching for him.

Marcoh explains to Ed why the Isbal clan hates the national alchemists so much. According to what Ed and Al understand, the Isbal clan had been fighting for independence but lost the war against the millitary resulting in lots of casualties. However, Marcoh explains that the hidden truth behind the war. The Isbal people had thought that alchemy was an unnatural way of changing the forces of nature and did not like the millitary or the national alchemists. As a result of this difference in thinking, the millitary and the Isbal people had clashes on a frequent basis. 13 years ago, a soldier accidentally killed a child which led to the beginning of the 7-year war at Isbal. Towards the end of the war, the millitary decided to get the national alchemists to participate so as to end this quickly.

At that time, Grand had told Marcoh to give him the uncompleted Kenja no Ishi so as to increase the prowess of the national alchemists when suppressing the rebels. Marcoh had no choice but to surrender the crystals of the red water. Following orders to use the crystals, the national alchemists managed to win every battle easily but resulted in a lot of damage and casualties.

Marcoh then reveals that he met a couple during the war who were doctors and treated the injured regardless of their identities. However, they were killed by Mustang under the orders of Grand who regarded the couple as rebels. Mustang was greatly affected by this incident and had intended to commit suicide but Marcoh stopped him in time. Marcoh then asks Mustang to let him go without saying anything and he had tried to save as many people as he could. However, the destruction was rampant and only a few of the Isbal clan managed to survive. Ed understands Scar's motive for revenge but that is not going to change anything especially if he kills innocent people in the process. Al says that he might do the same thing as Scar if Ed is harmed but Ed tells him to live on happily as revenge will not bring him back if that really happens.

Ed suggests that Marcoh go to their hometown to hide and says that he can look for Winry. However, upon hearing Winry's surname, Marcoh keeps saying that he cannot go there and even runs away from Ed and Al.

Mustang and his men then catch up with Scar and he tries to use his powers to fight with Scar. However, Hawkeye stops Mustang in time and reminds him that his fire alchemy powers are of no use in the pouring rain which makes Mustang rather embarrassed.

As Ed and Al have caught up with Marcoh, they are shocked to bump into Scar again. Scar destroys part of Al's metal armour which makes Ed so mad that he tries to hit Scar. However, Ed is no match for him and his right arm is destroyed by Scar in the process. Just as Ed is about to be killed, Marcoh uses the red water crystal to suppress Scar's right arm and he runs away in pain. He uses alchemy to run away again when he finds himself being surrounded by Mustang and his men.

Al scolds Ed for trying to sacrifice himself and tells him not to give up his life so easily. Marcoh has to go back with the King's men and he reveals that the couple who died during the war was by the name of Rockwell which means that they were Winry's parents...

Now that Ed and Al are in a bad shape because of their destroyed limbs, I think Winry will make her appearance again to restore their bodies back to original. And it doesn't seem that Scar will be friends with Ed and company since he is full of hatred towards the national alchemists. What's left to find out would be what happened to his elder brother and what does the drawing on his arm mean.

Peach Girl

To set the record straight, I wasn't even interested in this anime when it was still showing. What changed my mind was Kiuchi Hidenobu who is the voice actor of Touji. Oh well, to cut the story short, I was doing a search of the works he appeared in and I happened to see this title. And when I checked out the storyline and some reviews, my interest was aroused so I decided to see this for myself. In actual fact, my main motive was to hear Kiuchi-san's voice again ever since he made me swoon with Oshitari Yuushi and I kind of liked him as Tenma in Monster. ^__^

Basically, the story is about this senior high school girl, Adachi Momo who is tanned and her hair bleached. On the surface, she seems like a very wild girl but she looks like this as she was previously from the swimming team in junior high. She has been secretly in love with her ex-junior high schoolmate Toujigamori Kazuya (Touji) but has never told him about it. In addition, she heard from her friend that Touji doesn't like tanned girls so Adachi is trying her very best to make herself fairer so that she can confess to Touji about her feelings when the time comes. However, she has a classmate, Kashiwagi Sae who loves to copy her and snatch her favourite things. To prevent Sae from laying hands on Touji, she lies to Sae that she likes Okayasu Kairi who is a popular playboy in school and this marks the beginning of her turbulent friendship and relationship with Okayasu. Touji overhears that Adachi likes him and tells her that he likes her too so they start dating. Sae decides to spoil Adachi's happiness and drives a wedge between her and Touji. Things get really bad and they are even on the edge of a breakup. Touji manages to see through Sae's true colours through Okayasu and makes up with Adachi. Nevertheless, things do not go well as Sae is yet again jealous about Adachi. She sets a trap which she took compromising photos of Adachi and another guy and threatens Touji to break up with Adachi or she will leak the photos to the press. Touji has no choice but to do Sae's bidding and hurts Adachi badly. Through the pain, Okayasu supports Adachi through it and they even start dating. However, Adachi realises that she is only second-best in Okayasu's heart since he's in love with their school's medical teacher, Misao. Even though she tries to convince herself that she is content with this position as long as she can be with Okayasu, she is unable to bear it when he does not give a clear indication of his feelings and breaks his promise again. Under such circumstances, Touji and Adachi make up again much to Okayasu's shock when he finally realises how important Adachi means to him. However, Adachi shows no signs of returning to him but her stand is shaken when she realises that Okayasu did mean to fulfil his promise. As such, she is torn between Touji and Okayasu which means she has to make a choice between them.

Talking about the characters, let me discuss the guys first. Personally, I like Touji better and it's not really because Kiuchi-san is the voice actor. It's just that I find him more of my type and a very "otoko-mae" type of person. Besides, I like his looks better i.e. cool and yet very kind and caring. However, the only thing which I don't like about him would be his handling of the incident concerning Sae's blackmail. Well, I do understand his kind intentions about protecting Adachi and bearing the pain all by himself but when the cover was blown, it made Adachi rather guilty and it could have formed part of the reason why Adachi went back to him after Okayasu failed to make it for their promise. If I was in that situation, I would have preferred that both of us go through this together instead of going through such a painful experience. What if Touji had chosen to brave through this with Adachi instead of listening to Sae? This might not have brought about Adachi falling in love with Okayasu later. As for Okayasu, I just don't feel too secure with such a guy. He keeps too many things to himself, too distrusting and very unclear about what he wants to do. He only realises a lot of things when it's too late to make amends and I can't imagine trying to do a lot of guesswork in a relationship. It's simply too tiring. In addition, he seems too frivolous (although his real nature is not really like that) for my liking. With regards to Adachi's final choice, all I can say that it's logical but not really what I had wished for. And it's evident whom I was rooting for. Somehow, I felt that Adachi and Touji had love between them but Adachi and Okayasu seem to have begun on the basis of sympathy and being the substitute for each other's true loves. That is why I don't really like the idea of Adachi professing how much she loves Okayasu when it's evident that Touji still means a lot to her.

For the girls, Adachi is a kind person especially for her repeated attempts to help Sae despite the latter being a bitch but I was rather sick of her going to and fro in her relationships and moping around too much. I know there are 2 wonderful guys in front of her and it's hard to choose but by this changing attitude, it would have hurt a lot of people. As for Sae, I had the urge to strangle her when she kept irritating people with her antics especially when she forced Touji to break up with Adachi. Although she became a better person in the end after going through a relationship with Okayasu's playboy elder brother, Ryo, I really can't say that I like her.

On the whole, this anime is quite entertaining and I finished it in 2 days. However, I wouldn't say that this ranks in my all-time Top 10 favourite since I thought that the to-and-fro relationship was kind of hard to accept. Well, the biggest reward of watching this anime is getting to "know" Touji and hear Kiuchi's voice again... ^__^

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 14 - Houkai no Migite (The destructive right hand)

In the city of Rioru, the millitary is there to suppress the chaos created by the citizens who are at odds with one another due to the fake priest's words. In actual fact, the fake priest is an imposter by Envy and she had deliberately done this to create trouble in the city. The millitary had come to stop the rebels but ends up aggravating the situation...

Envy tells Lust that the serial killer of the national alchemists (Scar) has moved to East City since most of the national alchemists have moved there. Lust remarks that both Mustang and Ed will be the biggest obstacles for them to achieve their goal and they would have to beware of them.

Meanwhile, Hughes tells Mustang about Scar being the serial killer and he has killed 9 alchemists to date not counting innocent witnesses. In addition, all victims were killed as if an internal explosion had happened within their bodies. Mustang remarks that this is the main reason why the national alchemists and King Bradley had come to East City since Mustang has been stationed here from 3 years ago and that it would be unlikely for Scar to follow them to the countryside. Just then, Hughes receives a phonecall that a new victim has been found at the East City train station, signifying that Scar is somewhere nearby.

Ed and Al head to the village of Hydo after Mustang's tip-off so as to find out more on Kenja no Ishi. As they walk around the village, they hear rave reviews about Marcoh who has changed his name to Mauroh as a wonderful doctor who has helped the villagers in many ways. However, they cannot understand why he is doing this and not keeping a low profile since the millitary may find him easily. Before they meet Marcoh, they happen to see Alex Louis Armstrong and hide from him because they are convinced that they are being followed by him at the orders of the millitary.

Ed and Al finally get to meet Marcoh but he gets panicky at the sight of them and assumes that they are sent by the millitary to take him back or to seize the research date of Kenja no Ishi. Marcoh seems very afraid to see them and prepares to shoot them. Al blocks Ed from the gun and this convinces him that they do not mean any harm.

Marcoh tells Ed and Al that he had stolen the research data after he ran away during the Isbal internal war. Marcoh says that he feels guilty at causing so many deaths and is now a doctor to help the people so as to make amends. He refuses to let Ed and Al see his research data but Ed manages to find the crystallized version of the red water in Zenotime. However, Grand barges in with his men at that time and seizes the data and Marcoh with him. He refuses to let Ed and Al read the data and brings Marcoh away.

Ed decides to save Marcoh from Grand but Scar appears at this time. He kills Grand right before Ed and Marcoh and turns his attention towards them next. However, Ed does not want to wait for his death in this matter and drags Marcoh away with him. Al manages to pull Ed and Marcoh to safety but Scar soon catches up with them. Just as Ed is about to be killed, Al blocks the attack for Ed who is unable to understand why Scar is after the lives of national alchemists. Scar explains that he will kill all national alchemists who make use of this technique to disrupt nature for the millitary's selfish goals.

Armstrong comes to save Ed, Al and Marcoh in the nick of the time and they run away while Armstrong deals with Scar. Ed returns the crystal of the red water so that Marcoh can continue treating people and lets him go...

The OP and ED has been changed. Graphics-wise, I see a lot of Winry which means that she's probably going to appear a lot from now on. Anyway, the OP "Ready Steady Go" by L'arc en Ciel is quite nice especially the chorus section which is very catchy. As for the ED "Tobira no Mukou" by Yellow Generation, I think it sounds better than the previous ED by Kitase Nana.

It seems like Scar is going to remain Ed's enemy for some time given that he hates national alchemists a lot. And as we dig further into his past and the reason for his hatred, things might change since I don't think Scar is going to remain a rival for long. It seems like people like Lust, Wrath, Glutton and Greed (Suwabe Junichi's character!!) would be the more difficult and troublesome villians to deal with.

Suzuka Ep 08: Kyori (Distance)

Yamato joins the athletics team much to the surprise of Asahina, Miyamoto, Hattori and Honoka. However, Asahina does not think too highly of Yamato who is intending to take part in the 100m race.

Yamato is surprised at how tough the training is and Asahina scolds him for being a burden to the athletics team. Yamato meets Hashiba Miki who is also a sprinter and a friend of Asahina. When Yamato sees how good Asahina is, he feels more admiration for her.

Yamato is so tired that he can't even walk home. When he sees Asahina practising alone after the end of training, Miki tells Yamato about Asahina's strengths as an athlete. Yamato feels the distance between them the more he tries to get close to Asahina. Hattori and Honoka come to help Yamato home and all he could think of is how good Asahina is.

As time goes by, Yamato starts to get used to the tough training but Honoka feels sorry for him whenever she comes to see him after school. Hattori suggests that Honoka can try to join the athletics team if she wants to get close to Yamato. However, Honoka is not too good at sports and feels sad that she cannot be an athlete.

On her way home, Honoka meets Yuka who brings her to the public bath and accidentally blurts out that Yamato is in love with Asahina. Honoka is stunned but decides not to give up as she is serious about Yamato and wants to spend more time with him.

Honoka joins the athletics team as a manager in the hope of being near Yamato. At the sight of Honoka, Asahina gets irritated and ignores Yamato and Honoka. Contrary to Honoka's expectations, she has so much work to do and can't spend a lot of time with Yamato. Asahina tells Yamato to be more serious when she sees Miki trying to give Yamato a massage as he is suffering from muscle ache. Miki tells Asahina to be less harsh on Yamato as he is working hard.

This makes Yamato more determined to work hard and prove himself to Asahina who keeps convincing herself that his enthusiasm won't last. Asahina gets frustrated with him but starts to remember the happy times they have spent together...

The next episode shows Asahina and Yamato quarrelling again. Well, it's time Asahina snapped out of her irritated mood and stop treating Yamato like dirt. And it seems that we might find out who that guy in the photo is. Asahina would probably realise Yamato's importance only when he gets together with Honoka...Wouldn't that be too late? Honoka is more frank when it comes to getting what she wants as compared to Asahina and I find myself rooting for her instead as the anime progresses.

Gankutsuou Ep 4 - Haha no Himitsu (My mother's secret)

Albert introduces the Count to his parents and his mother, Mercedes is visibly shaken upon seeing the Count. Albert's father, General Montcerf warmly welcomes the Count and invites him for dinner.

However, during the meal, Mercedes realises that the Count has not been touching the food and asks if dinner is not to his liking. The Count simply attributes this as a lack of appetite but drinks the seafood soup prepared by Mercedes instead. He remarks that this is a nostalgic flavour and asks her whether she is from Marseilles. However, General Montcerf is visibly unhappy at the mention of the place and says that Mercedes has nothing to do with such a lowly place.

After dinner, the Count and Mercedes meet at the terrace and start to chat. Mercedes remarks that in the Eastern Universe, people who share bread and salt under one roof will be friends forever and remarks that she hopes they will be like that since the Count has had a meal at her place. However, the Count rebukes that this is Paris where nobody shares bread and salt. In addition, there is no such thing as forever friends which makes Mercedes stunned. Unknown to them, Beppo and Albert are looking on from afar and Beppo says that Mercedes is visibly drawn to the Count and wonders if they are having an affair. Albert tells Beppo to stop spouting nonsense and walks away.

After sending the Count off, Albert has tea with his parents. Mercedes tells him to treat the Count with respect and not associate too closely with him. Later that night, Albert sees Mercedes holding a man's photo while in a daze and Beppo's words about the fact that Mercedes is in love with someone else other than his father makes Albert very uncomfortable.

The next morning, Albert wakes up to find Eugenie at his house and thinks that she is looking for him. However, Eugenie is waiting for Mercedes to go shopping. Albert walks past Mercedes' room and sees Beppo trying on his mother's jewellery. Beppo draws Albert's attention to the locked drawer and tells him that she can be of help if he wants since she's an expert at picking locks.

Albert prepares to go to the Count's house with Franz, Maximillian and Bauchean, dressed as a pirate because Beppo said he was too plain with his original suit. The four are surprised to see the Count living in an ordinary apartment but while they are waiting for the Count at the living room, they feel the ground sinking and reach a hall which is made of gold. They finally get to see the Count and Albert is especially stunned when he sees the scenery in his mother's painting which makes him more convinced that there is something between the Count and Mercedes. The Count gives Albert a sword as his companion for his journey from now on...

Albert is simply too easily swayed by other people especially Beppo who keeps trying to fan Albert's suspicion towards Mercedes' feelings towards the Count. He should learn to be more independent and less rash when it comes to his association with people.

From the next episode's trailer, the title is "Do you love your fiancee?" Is this directed at Albert only or does this include Franz too? It's obvious that Albert doesn't seem too attracted to Eugenie unlike what he feels towards Beppo and Franz doesn't seem to be that close to Valentine too. Well, we'll see from the next episode then.

Yakitate Japan Ep 43

The semi-finals against the French team is approaching the time limit and Azuma is still nowhere in sight. Kawachi and Suwabara are getting panicky and worried over whether they would win this round in the absence of Azuma.

Kaiser's bread made from blueberries overwhelms Pierro who is full of praise. He ignores Kawachi's creation and rejects Suwabara's entry since a driver would not want to eat a bread with alcohol before a race. In addition, the shape of the bread in the form of a turtle is not a good sign when it comes to races where speed is of the essence.

Just then, Azuma finally arrives at the contest venue and shows his creation which is a black bread in the shape of a spiral. However, Pierro refuses to accept this as a valid entry since Azuma did not make the bread here and nobody can even prove whether this was done during the contest time or if this was even made by Azuma himself.

Just then, the King comes and asks Pierro to judge Azuma's entry because he was the one who caused Azuma to be late. As such, Pierro tries it and decides that Azuma's bread is superior to the Kaiser brothers'. Even the eldest brother, Grant admits that they have lost and leaves the contest venue dejectedly.

Kawachi seems to be in a sorry state. Not only was his creation being ignored and forgotten by everyone, he got his head shaved by Pierro when he got carried away after tasting the bread. He seems to be the clown and keeps getting ridiculed throughout the whole series. As for Suwabara, I was pretty concerned last week when Grant Kaiser said that his bread has a weak point and I thought it has to do with the red wine he used. True enough, it is the case but I never thought of the turtle as a bad omen for racers. ^__^

As for Azuma, he's always the hero who saves the day. That's really expected and we'll see how he works his magic in the next episode which is 2 weeks later. Well, that's the finals against the Americans and I know for sure he's going to win. The thing is whether the anime is going to continue after the Monaco Cup arc.

Monster Ep 61 - Kioku no Tobira (The door of memories)

Nina and Dieter continue to stay in Prague so that she can regain her memories of what happened to her mother, Johan and herself when they were staying there. However, she can only see flashbacks of the past and starts to realise that something is not quite right with her memories especially the part when she saw someone looking exactly like her welcoming herself home. Dieter screams at Nina and this breaks her train of thoughts just in time before she gets overcomed by fear. He tells Nina that she doesn't have to remember the past since painful memories should be left behind. Like what Tenma told him, all he has to do is to make good memories and forget the bad ones. He tells Nina that they should return to Munich and look for Dr Reichwein instead of staying in Prague.

Meanwhile in Prague, Vardeman comes to the police station and asks to take part in the interview of the 5 people who used to attend the reading sessions by Franz Bonaparta. He is told that he can only listen and not raise questions. Surprisingly, the detective in charge of this charge is Suk and he doesn't like the fact that Vardeman keeps asking questions despite his objections. The people being interviewed seem to remember very little about their pasts and what happened in that mansion of red roses. In addition, they are not very emotional people and has the same expression even when talking about sad happenings.

Suk flares up at Vardeman and tells him to take note of what is required of him. Vardeman reveals that they both have personal agendas with regards to this case. Suk wants to clear his name after being framed for having links to the former Czechoslovakia secret police and Vardeman wants to prove whether his father was indeed involved in the brainwashing experiments conducted by Franz Bonaparta at the mansion. One of the interviewees reveal that Vardeman's father told the kids to run away from the mansion and said that there were better things at the other end of the rainbow which seems to suggest that he wasn't supportive or directly involved in those experiments.

Nina and Dieter return to Munich to stay with Dr Reichwein but she is constantly in a daze. She also refuses to talk about what happened in Prague. Dr Reichwein praises Dieter for getting Nina to return and stop trying to retrieve her memories. Karl and Lotte come to visit them which makes Nina very happy.

Dr Reichwein receives a letter from Tenma who tells him that Eva is coming to seek help from him. He also mentions that he is going to end this case soon. Nina asks Karl to find out where Tenma sent the letter from. In addition, Nina tells Dr Reichwein that it is time for her to remember the past and says that she will not regret whatever happens by then.

Dr Reichwein arranges for Dr Gillen to conduct a hynopsis on Nina so that she can remember the past. Nina warns Dr Gillen that he might hear something horrifying later and tells him to be mentally prepared. Under hynopsis, Nina reveals that her father used to be a millitary personnel with the government but was murdered according to what her mother said. However, Nina had never seen him before. In addition, Nina's mother was from the anti-government movement thus had to hide with her kids in the apartment bearing "The Three Frogs" signboard. Just at this time, Karl comes to Dr Reichwein, Dieter and Lotte and reveals that Tenma sent the letter from Frankfurt.

At this moment, Nina seems to remember everything but simply refuses to reveal who she really is. She gets violent when probed by Dr Gillen but he manages to save himself from being strangled to death in time. No doubt Nina had refused to speak during hynopsis, she has managed to remember everything after this session.

2 days later, Nina leaves Dr Reichwein's place without a word and heads to Frankfurt to look for Johan so that she can end everything and save Tenma...

What an exciting episode! However, before we can get to the bottom of things, there is a cliffhanger yet again. Nevertheless, I have some opinions on some things shown in this episode:

The person who was at the mansion of red roses might not be Johan. It seems like Nina was the one who actually went through the experience of seeing those dead bodies, being welcomed home by someone who was dressed exactly like her (most probably Johan) and ran away from the mansion through the thorny rose bushes (especially when they showed someone with long hair and a dress). I have a hunch that Nina got confused and thought that Johan was being brought to that mansion. This is also the same when she saw someone welcoming her home but all along, she kept saying that she was the one who was waiting at home for Johan to come home. And that evil looking girl waiting at home seems more like Johan to me. Or was Nina not that innocent and kind in the past? However, it doesn't seem logical in another way since Johan knew a lot about that mansion and even had a motive to burn it. If he had never been there, his familiarity with the place seems unbelievable.

So what exactly does Nina know? Who is she? These answers could prove crucial to explain why Johan is doing all these and what he is planning to achieve. Come to think of it, Nina looks more and more like Johan especially in this episode. I never noticed this so much in other episodes but since there were lots of close-up shots of her, it suddenly dawned on me how much she looks like Johan especially those scenes when she was in anguish over her recovered memories.

Another surprise was the return of Suk. I thought I would never see him again and now, he's involved in checking the case of the mansion with Vardeman. Seems like he has recovered and returned to work. However, it seems like he has changed quite a bit after that case and being deceived by the fake Anna posed by Johan. And it seems like Vardeman's dad wasn't too supportive of the experiments conducted by Franz Bonaparta when he even instigated the kids to run away. Nina/Johan could be one of those who heard his words and followed his instruction. Anyway, it seems like the duo can turn up more facts from the interviews of those who used to attend the reading sessions.

Where is Runge? After he found Franz Bonaparta's son, there should be an explanation on this. And next episode is on Tenma (he seems injured, again for the Nth time) so I doubt Runge would appear. I'm hoping for more information with regards to this subplot.

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 13 - Honoo vs Hagane (Fire vs Metal)

Ed and Al go to the East City to meet Mustang and to submit his report of Rioru. Al picks up a wandering cat on the streets out of sympathy and wants to keep it but Ed tells him to dump it since they do not have the time and ability to take care of it. Al remembers how Ed used to plead with Tricia to keep a dog and feels sad about their current situation.

Ed submits his report to Mustang but leaves out what happened at Zenotime and Aquaroa. However, Mustang knows about what has happened and tells Ed to report whatever he has done. In addition, he reminds Ed to stay in the capital so as to carry out his duties as a national alchemist since the latter has spent 3 years on searching for Kenja no Ishi but to no avail.

Just at this time, Basque Grand brings King Bradley and a huge number of national alchemists to the East City with the reason that they are here for an inspection. Ed asks Hughes about Marcoh who had saved the sick babies in Zenotime but he knows nothing about it. Ed is sure that Mustang knows something about Marcoh but the latter pretends that he is unaware. Grand appears at that time and tells them that Marcoh ran away from the army 6 years away during the internal war.

Ed tries to look for information on Marcoh but there is no data on him at all. Just then, Hughes comes to inform Ed that the annual test for national alchemists will be held at the East City instead of Centora for this year. Ed comes up with an idea to get what he wants.

Ed suggests to have a pre-match with Mustang and wants the latter to take care of the cat Al picked up from the streets if he wins as well as reveal information on Marcoh. Mustang does not take Ed's challenge seriously but King Bradley gives the go-ahead for this and Mustang has no choice but to accept this.

Mustang tells Hawkeye and Havoc that he is obeying King Bradley's orders because he is aiming for the post of the president. He reveals that his ambition is to make all women in the country wear mini-skirts which Hawkeye walks away and disses his thinking.

On the day of the battle, Mustang has the advantage and is almost able to win the match. However, a flashback appears before him and he loses his concentration which gives Ed the chance to retalliate. King Bradley stops the match and declares that it's a draw but makes them clear up the mess they created.

Ed asks Mustang why he didn't use his full powers during the match and why he lost his concentration. Mustang reveals that he remembered something which he doesn't ever want to think of again i.e. a weeping woman who was holding a gun and would kill Mustang if he didn't react. Mustang says that he thinks that Marcoh is a good man and tells Ed that he should go and look for him if he wishes to look for Kenja no Ishi.

Hughes and Mustang have a chat over drinks and Hughes reveals that Rioru is in chaos because the chief priest told the people to fight against the millitary. Even though Ed mentioned in his report that Rioru's chief priest was dead, this meant that the current priest is not the same as before. Mustang thinks that it's best not to let Ed know it now since he will realise in future that his actions did not save Rioru. In addition, Hughes reveals that the reason why King Bradley, Grand and the alchemists came to East City was due to the fact that there have been a spate of murders in Centora targetting national alchemists and there are less than 5 alchemists stationed there.

At night, a man is murdered brutally and it turns out to be Scar's doing...

Mustang and Hughes are really an interesting combination. On the surface, both may seem frivolous but they are serious when it comes to the crunch. And it seems that Mustang is very much affected by what he did during his war missions as seen from that flashback which made him lose his concentration. However, when these two are cracking jokes like Hughes trying to show off his daughter and Mustang showing his lecherous side, it makes me laugh non-stop thus making the anime more enjoyable.

Scar seems bent on killing national alchemists and he would probably cross paths with Ed as enemies. I'm really interested to know why he is behaving like this and whether he would be Ed's enemy throughout the series.

By the name, I note that Suwabe Junichi-san is also involved in FMA and he's a baddie by the name of Greed. When will I get to see or rather hear him?!

Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist) Ep 12 - Sareki no Daichi Kouhen (The land of sand - Part 2)

Mugear lead his men to the laboratory where Ed, Al, Russell and Fletcher are at. Russell lies that there is nothing wrong but Mugear keeps knocking on the door. Fletcher then decides to use alchemy to create a tree and block the door in order to give the Elric brothers time to escape.

After they leave, Mugear comes into the laboratory and asks about the progress of the experiment. Russell then passes a completed crystal of the red water which makes Mugear very happy. However, Mugear turns on them by using that crystal to perform alchemy and hold the Tringun brothers in captive since he already knew right from the beginning that they were imposters. Russell then asks Mugear about the whereabouts of their father, Nash and he reveals that Nash was killed because he refused to complete the most crucial portion of the experiment i.e. making pregnant women drink the red water and using the crystallized foetus as the exchange terms to create gold.

At the same time, Ed and Al return to Belsio's place and hear from him about Nash Trigun's past. He had been to Centora for the experiment but came back alone without his family and in a sorry state. Mugear came to Nash and asked him to continue the red water experiments. Although Nash was initially resistant to the idea, he finally agreed for the sake of making Zenotime prosperous again.

However, this led to more troubles as the vapour from the red water caused the people to fall sick and many babies died during that time. As such, Nash finally stopped the experiment and disappeared. This made Zenotime go back to its poverty state where no gold could be mined.

After hearing this story, Al tells Ed that he finds the Tringun brothers quite similar to them but Ed doesn't feel this way since he's feeling sore about his name being used. However, he finally decides to go and look for Mugear again so as to save the Tringun brothers.

Mugear tries to lie to Ed and Al in order to make them do his bidding. However, he ends up being killed by falling stones when the cave containing the red water fountain collapses.

Ed and Al leave Zenotime to return to Centora and the Tringun brothers reveal that they are staying behind to do their bit for the town and to make up for what they did. Although Russell offers to divulge the composition of the red water to assist Ed in his search for Kenja no Ishi, Ed declines the offer and decides to use his own abilities to achieve his aim...

There's not much action here other than Ed creating and breaking some walls and the Tringun brothers using trees to absorb the red water which had overflowed. The next episode seems more exciting since it's a battle between Mustang and Ed. Oh, I'm looking forward to seeing Mustang and Hughes squabble again... ^__^

Suzuka Ep 07: Ketsui (Determination)

After being rejected by Asahina, Yamato is feeling very down and knows that it's hard to pretend that nothing has happened. Seeing how upset Yamato is feeling, Hattori offers to bring Yamato for a go-kon (group date) but Yamato rejects his suggestion. Even Miho realises this so she tries to liven up things by saying that she will marry Yamato if nobody wants him in the end. This makes Yamato feel even worse as he has to be comforted by his younger cousin in his relationship matters when he should have been more mature in his way of doing things.

That night, Yamato meets Asahina who has returned home from a gathering with her athletics teammates but she returns to her room without speaking to him. Yamato feels down again but lightens up when he hears someone knocking at his door. To his disappointment, he sees Yuka and Megumi who bring drinks to his room and say that they are going to comfort him for being out of love.

Yuka tells Yamato about her own experience and tells him that he should not give up so easily even though he has been rejected. Upon hearing this, Yamato makes up his mind to continue liking Asahina and even shouts at the top of his voice about his feelings which makes Asahina very embarrassed.

After some consideration, Yamato contemplates joining the athletics team at Miyamoto's suggestion and tells Hattori about it. To his surprise, Hattori tells him to give up the idea since his intention of joining the athletics team is just to get closer to Asahina. When Asahina hears about Yamato's decision and realises that he has no idea how tough the training is, she flares up and tells Yamato not to belittle the athletics team's training as a piece of cake.

Yamato had intended to join the athletics team to spend more time with Asahina but makes her angry again. He fails to find a good opportunity to apologise to her and Hattori keeps telling him not to join the team for such a reason. When Honoka hears about Yamato's intention, she dissuades him from joining since the training is tough and it will tire him out. Actually, she is saying this because she wants more time with Yamato.

Hattori decides to bring Yamato to Asahina personally and apologise for his words. However, Yamato makes up his mind and tells Miyamoto that he is joining the athletics team much to the surprise of Hattori and Asahina...

I had the urge to make Asahina come to her senses when she ignored Yamato after the rejection. Come on, you can still be friends so what's with that attitude?! And poor Yamato is so smitten with her that he even joins the athletics team just to spend more time with her. I really think he deserves someone who will appreciate him better.

Well, joining the athletics team may not turn out well too as seen in the trailer for Ep 8 when he feels the distance between him and Asahina. And Honoka finally springs into action and takes the initiative to change the situation between her and Yamato. That's good because without competition, Asahina will never realise the importance and value of Yamato.

Yakitate Japan Ep 42

Azuma and Kawachi are busy preparing for their creations in the semi-final where the latter has managed to come up with something which he is satisfied with. However, Azuma is troubled as he does not know how to improve his Ja-pan No.51 which according to him, is perfect. Just then, Suwabara returns from his stroll and shows them the masks of the Kaiser brothers which are given out for free on the streets. He warns that they would be surrounded by supporters wearing these masks and have to prepare themselves for this psychological pressure. Suwabara also encourages Azuma to think harder on how to improve his creation and is secretly happy at the chance to have a contest with Azuma again.

On the day of the semi-final, Azuma suddenly has an idea on how he wants to improve his creation and tells Kawachi that he will be late for the match since he has to go to the palace to get his ingredients. Kawachi and Suwabara are worried about Azuma not making it for the match.

Just then, the Kaiser brothers come to talk to them before the start of the match and reveal the truth on their bodies and arrangements under that huge cloak. This makes the duo more apprehensive over whether they can win the semi-final especially without Azuma's present.

During the match, Pierro tells them that it is alright for Azuma to be late provided that he can come up with his bread within the time limit. As Kawachi and Suwabara show off their creations, they are stunned to see the Kaiser brothers being levels above them...

The part about the Kaiser's brothers' body structure is simply exaggerated.Imagine a man having arms of 2.72m long! And I simply do not understand why they must be stacked together. Anyway, it seems that the Japanese team is up against a formidable opponent and where is Azuma again? He is always late but manages to save the day. I guess we can see his performance in the next episode.

Monster Ep 60 - Shirisugita Otooko (The Man Who Knew Too Much)

After meeting the mysterious man at the hotel room, Martin leaves in a daze and fails to notice Johan who has walked past him. The man had said that Martin should kill Eva since she is asking him to kill her but Martin has other plans.

Martin returns to the hotel room where Eva is at and tells her to go to Tenma for help. However, Eva says that she will be waiting for Martin at Frankurt Central Station and tells him to escape with her. Martin says that he does not plan to kill Eva since nobody wants to die out of their own accord. After that, Martin waits for his employer's men to come for him and a gunfight ensues. Although he manages to kill 4 of them, one guy who is not injured fires a shot at Martin. Subsequently, he is sent to Tenma's place by his friend.

Tenma is unable to conduct more treatment for Martin due to lack of medical equipment but Martin refuses to be sent to a hospital. Martin tells Tenma about that man in Room 606 of Jahreszeit Hotel, his employer, the devil gaining an apprentice and the experiment at the Mansion of Red Roses still going on. In addition, he finds out that Eva is not with Tenma and realises that she is at Frankfurt Central Station. Before he breathes his last, he says that he does not want to listen to the devil and tells Tenma to look for Eva.

Tenma arrives at the train station to look for Eva and reveal that Martin has died. Eva is very upset and cries. After that, Tenma and Eva go to a coffee house to have a chat and he tells her to go to Munich. Dr Reichwein will help Eva to hide from Roberto and Martin's employer before they go to the police. Eva asks Tenma to go back with her but he says that he has to end the whole matter before more innocent people like Martin are implicated.

As Eva's train pulls away from the station, she thinks back on how she heard from Martin's employer about Johan being at an apartment in Haldecker Street and she did not tell Tenma on this info. At the same time, Tenma goes to the hotel where Martin met the mysterious man while Eva prepares to buy a gun to hunt for the devil...

It's a pity Martin died but this brought about a change in Eva as she seems to be less bitter towards Tenma when they met. In addition, seeing her cry like that, it gives the impression that she really liked Martin as a kind person who was good to her despite her treatment towards him or she felt responsible for causing him to die. And withholding that important piece of information from Tenma, Eva seems bent on killing Johan but I don't think she will succeed. If she does, the story would end prematurely. The showdown between Tenma, Nina and Johan has yet to begin so I doubt her actions will amount to anything.

As for Martin's words about the devil gaining an apprentice and the Mansion of the Roses experience, my view is that he could have made a mistake somewhere on the first part. I don't think Martin took much notice of Johan and could have misunderstood that the devil was the man in the hotel room. My view is that Johan is the devil and that man was just being brainwashed by Johan and not the other way round. However, Martin's words were kind of vague so I'm not sure what he actually thought. Well, I did assume that he was probably going to kill Eva after his past was exposed by that man but it turns out that he was logical enough to let Eva go and disobey the devil's orders. That was a clever twist to the story.

Well, for Tenma, I'm really wondering when he can meet Johan again. Maybe we'll have to wait till the final episode? And where is Nina and Dieter? I really think that when Nina, Tenma and Johan meet, that would probably be the climax of the story. Oh, where is Runge? I thought he found out who was Franz Bonaparte's son but what happened to that subplot? Lots of questions and we only have 10 plus episodes left till the end. Can everything be wrapped up by then?