Bleach 410

Ichigo continues to battle Tensa Zangetsu, while Tatsuki and Keigo bump into Aizen.

Ichigo: Right... didn't recognize you there for a moment. Love what you've done with the hair.

Summary:
Ichigo continues to battle Zangetsu while demanding Zangetsu explain himself about what he wants to protect and what Ichigo wants to protect are not the same. Zangetsu tells Ichigo to look around. The big skyscrapers in the world had given way to a copy of Karakura Town, and now everything is underwater. Zangetsu states that it's all because Ichigo ceased to move forward. Zangetsu isn't going to let Ichigo remain his way, so he stabs his hand into Ichigo to rip out the source that's causing Ichigo despair. Much to Ichigo's shock, Zangetsu pulls out Hichigo (Ichigo's hollow half) who is wearing the horned hollow mask and has long hair.

In Karakura Town, Tatsuki and Keigo are chatting when they suddenly feel an immense pressure. Tatsuki and Keigo spot Aizen and Gin approaching, and Aizen is impressed that Tatsuki and Keigo are still alive even though they are so close to him. Aizen states that he'll kill some of Ichigo's friends to help Ichigo perfect his powers. Tatsuki tells Keigo to run and Keigo complies, but Aizen is not worried and lets Keigo go. Tatsuki is unable to move as Aizen point his sword at her, but suddenly someone appears behind her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So now it's a party of three in Ichigo's inner world. Maybe the training session won't be so bad after all. I'm not surprised at all that Hichigo showed up, but this will be the first time that both Hichigo and Zangetsu are present at the same time. Obviously Hichigo wasn't content with being shut inside Ichigo forever and will make another bid for dominance, and as always Ichigo will have to beat Hichigo up to gain the power-up. We'll see what Tensa Zangetsu will choose to do though: directly assist Ichigo, assist by only giving advice, or maybe even just stand by and watch.

Moving to the other front, again it's no surprise that someone came to intervene against Aizen. My guess is that it's probably someone from Urahara's shop, since they did not accompany Urahara to fake Karakura Town. Could be one of the shinigamis too. Judging by Aizen's speech, it seems that he let Ichigo live on purpose so Ichigo can get his power-up. Aizen must have planned it all along as he always had. Ichigo is probably an important part of Aizen's plans, but it remains to be seen what kind of role Ichigo has (other than to be the person to finally kick Aizen's ass).

One Piece 590

Luffy sets himself on a new mission.

Oh yeah... Those guys...

Summary:
Out in the East Blue, Garp returns to the village in the Goa Kingdom, but he receives a not-so-warm welcome from Dandan who beats up Garp for failing to save Ace. The bar owner Makino comes out to break up the fight but she is also greatly saddened by Ace's death. After calming down, Dandan begins to worry about Luffy and she hopes that Luffy will stay alive.

Somewhere along the Grand Line, Shanks and Marco stand before the graves of Whitebeard and Ace as hundreds of pirates gather in mourning. Marco asks how he can ever repay Shanks, but Shanks tells Marco not worry about it and then turns around to leave.

On the Isle of Women, Luffy is stills screaming and crying about how weak he is. Jimbei is tired of Luffy's defeatist attitude and provokes Luffy into attacking so he can teach Luffy a lesson. After restraining Luffy, Jimbei tells Luffy to get back his confidence and realize that he hasn't lost everything. Thanks to Jimbei's words, Luffy finally remembers his missing crew and realizes he needs to get to their meeting place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It sure took long enough for Luffy to remember that his crew was missing. Ace and Whitebeard's deaths have been very important events to the story and to Luffy's character, but we can't dwell on that forever, so it's good to see that the series is moving on. The flashback chapters weren't the most exciting things ever. This chapter neatly tied up the flashbacks and also the battle at Marine HQ with Ace and Whitebeard's funeral. The next logical order of business is of course for Luffy to get his crew back. I wonder if the others will all show up at Shabondy Archipelago? That might be too short and easy though. If Oda wants to make the arc longer though he can easily have Luffy go looking around for his crew. Let's see what the next story arc will bring.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 63

The conclusion to the final battle.

Ling: Greed! You can't go yet! You haven't paid the rent for using my body!

Summary:
Ed socks Father some more with his bare fists, knocking Father to the ground. Father has trouble holding in God and lets out a shockwave. Using the shockwave as a distraction, Father stabs Ling/Greed with his hand and tries to absorb Greed's Philosopher's Stone. Ling tries to hold on to Greed but his own soul is being pulled towards Father as well. In order to save Ling, Greed lies for the first time that he'll fight together with Ling, but instead he breaks his connection with Ling and is pulled into Father. Greed's last act in Ling's body is to call for Lan Fan who severs Father's arm with her automail blade. With the link between Ling's body and Father severed, Ling regains control of his body and notices his Ouroboros tattoo disappearing. Meanwhile, Greed struggles against Father despite being absorbed and he turns one of Father's legs to graphite. Father snuffs out Greed for good, but the struggle allows Ed to come in and punch Father through the chest. After Ed's blow, black hands emerge from Father's chest wound and pulls Father into the portal inside the chest wound. Father (in his original black sphere form) is transported to in front of the Gate of Truth, and he is greeted by Truth who is in a similar small spherical form. Truth laughs at Father's effort to steal God/Truth's power and as punishment, Father is sent back into the Gate to suffer despair for all eternity.

Didn't know Father was into crazy body contortions.

I almost felt sorry for Father at this point. Almost.

Back in the real world, Ed and company are in no mood to celebrate Father's defeat as Al did not return to the world. Ling offers up his bottle of Philosopher's Stone to Ed for bringing Al back, but Ed declines, stating that he had made a promise with Al not to use Philosopher's Stones to regain their bodies. Ed tries to think of another solution but can't come up with anything. At this time, Hohenheim offers his own life to Ed to bring back Al, but Ed refuses this offer as well and calls Hohenheim "father" for the first time. After having a look at his comrades, Ed gets an idea and draws a human transmutation circle around himself. Ed declares that this is his last act of alchemy as the Fullmetal Alchemist and transports himself to the Gate of Truth. At the Gate, Truth asks what will Ed be paying to save Al, and Ed states that he will pay with the Gate. Truth states that if Ed pays with the Gate then he can no longer use alchemy, but Ed is fine with that, stating that he still has his friends. Truth smiles and tells Ed he has answered correctly before disappearing with the Gate, and Ed spots Al sitting in front of the back gate. Reunited once again, the two brothers travel through the gate and back to the real world.

Why use my own body when I can pay with this giant credit card?

Back to the real world we go.

Back at Central HQ, Al wakes up in his own body and is greeted by May, Hohenheim and the others. Later at Central HQ, Ed hands Selim to Mrs. Bradley. Radio Capital then broadcasts the message about the battle which pins the blame on the Central top brass, and that the Fuhrer and Selim were killed in the chaos. Back at Central, Hohenheim thinks about his time growing up with Homunculus. Alex Armstrong arrives to report that Ed and Al have been sent to hospital and he thanks Hohenheim for Ed and Al's efforts in saving the country. Hohenheim is brought to tears and he then leaves Central on his own, returning to Resembool Cemetery to Trisha's grave to say his last words. Later at the cemetery, Grandma Rockbell discovers that Hohenheim has passed away in front of Trisha's grave with a smile on his face.

Not many people die with a smile on their faces. All in all, Hohenheim was a fortunate man.

Ending sequence is the OP song coupled with a montage of Hohenheim's exploits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's all for the epic final battle to Fullmetal Alchemist. The episode mostly followed the manga, but all the scenes are (or at least feel) more drawn out. The outcome of the battle against Father was apparent from the last episode when Ed started punching his lights out, but Greed received a surprising bit of spotlight near the climax to bid farewell. Greed's departure was a little sudden, but it was an appropriate ending for him. Besides, he would have gotten in the way between Ling and Lan Fan lol. So in the end, Father got what he deserved (eternity inside the dark closet in his original, pathetic state), and Ed saves Al by trading his Gate of Truth. I thought Ed got off a little easy when it came to getting Al back. Not being able to use alchemy is very inconvenient, but it seems like a small price to pay to get back a loved one. Then again, "alchemy is small price to pay" is the answer that Ed has figured out after all of his escapades throughout the series, and I'm glad that the series has an unambiguously happy ending (unlike the old series).

I still think that the final moment would have been more emotional if Hohenheim sacrificed himself for Al, but then again I'm not writing the story. Hohenheim ended up dying anyways though, but he got his wish at the end to rejoin Trisha. The final scenes, including the anime-original scene of Alex thanking Hohenheim and the ED sequence, were a nice tribute to a character who played an integral part of the story and also who happened to be the last casualty of the final battle.

Now that the climax of the series has passed, it certainly looks like the next episode will be dedicated to the epilogue. Can't say I'm surprised since the battle wasn't long enough to be dragged on to the next episode. However, there really isn't that much manga material left for the next episode either. I'm sure Bones will find some way to make it decent though. Since the series isn't over yet, I'll save my conclusions for the next FMA:B post.

Angel Beats! 13 (Finale)

Everyone graduates.

OMG! It's a ghost!

Yuri might not be the fearless leader anymore, but she's still formidable.

Summary:
Yuri wakes up in the infirmary being watched over by Kanade, Otonashi, Hinata, and Naoi. When Yuri acts strangely, Kanade correctly concludes that Yuri has shed her burden and this causes Yuri great embarrassment. The group of five then decide to throw a graduation ceremony for themselves at the school gym. After singing a mock school song about Mapo Tofu and handing out handmade diplomas, Otonashi gives an emotional speech thanking Yuri, Kanade and the others for the time they spent together.

Graduation starts with a costume disco dance-off. Saturday Night Fever baby!!

Yuri has finally succumbed to Kanade's cuteness quotient.

After the ceremony, the members begin to say their goodbyes and Naoi is first to disappear. Yuri is up next and she apologizes to Kanade for their battles before passing on. Hinata is third and he gives Otonashi a couple of high fives. Now alone with Kanade, Otonashi asks Kanade to go outside. In the outdoors, Otonashi asks Kanade to stay with him to help other souls that may drift into the world and confesses that he likes Kanade. Kanade, however, asks Otonashi to stop because if he keep saying that he loves her then she'll pass on. Kanade reveals that in life she is recipient of Otonashi's heart and only wandered into this world to thank the person who gave her life. Having found Otonashi and properly thanked him, Kanade asks Otonashi to continue with his words. Otonashi is reluctant but eventually relents and tearfully hugs Kanade while saying how they'll be together forever. Kanade thanks Otonashi once more before disappearing, and Otonashi is left alone calling out Kanade's name.

Bye bye.

Some time later in another world, a girl who looks like Kanade hums Iwasawa's "My Song" on the streets. A guy who looks like Otonashi passes by and recognizes the tune, and as the girl walks away the guy reaches for her.

Rendezvous in another life perhaps?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kanade has Otonashi's heart... so that's why they called the show "Angel Beats!". That particular detail didn't make much sense like most such things in the series, but at least the knowledge was sentimental enough to add to the ending. This episode was an okay finale (in that it didn't go down in a fiery crash). It didn't explain much about how the world works or even the backgrounds of most of the characters, but the cutesy graduation ceremony and the emotional goodbyes were decent to watch and actually had a little bit of substance to it. Since most of the SSS has passed on off screen, there were only five characters to get rid of in the finale and Otonashi and Kanade received enough screen time for their send off. The epilogue at the very end was a nice touch. It's an unlikely scenario in the real world, but one can dream.

Overall, Angel Beats! was... a mess. Not an entirely displeasing mess, but a mess nonetheless. It was a random show that tried to do too much in the span of 13 episodes and wasn't really focused on anything in particular. The show wandered about and didn't seem to know where it was going. The material is a eclectic mix of styles: one moment we have slapstick, the next moment guns are blazing and minutes later the show tries to pull a sob story... well, at least the show wasn't boring, but it wasn't exactly coherent either. I liked the action and slapstick (action and comedy go together just fine), but the drama parts weren't too convincing due to the heavy comedic elements. Angel Beats! also has the frustrating tendency to introduce hints and dangling threads and then not bother to cover them, although maybe the makers meant for it to be this way so there is enough stuff left for sequels/side stories.

To put Angel Beats! in a good light: it has very good production values, doesn't bore, and it doesn't conform to any standard formulas (although that's not necessarily a good thing). Is it a watchable show? Certainly. Is it a good show? That's much harder to say.

Tenjou Tenge 134

The conclusion to the school council tournament.

The kendo club is going down, but at least they'll get to ogle Aya before being beaten down.

Summary:
Maya is back home looking for Aya who is in danger of being late for the tournament finals. Somewhere in the Natsume residence, Aya takes a bath, puts on some special robes robes and prepares to draw Reiki from its scabbard on a ceremonial altar. As Maya watches from the distance, Aya draws the sacred sword but finds the blade rusting and crumbling. Aya and Maya realize that since Reiki is made from Iya's power, and since all of Iya's Dragon Gate powers has transferred to Maya the sword has reached the end of its life. Reiki crumbles in Aya's hands and disappears into the wind, and Aya starts crying while Maya promises that she'll carry on Iya's will.

Later in the day at the stadium, the Juuken Club has assembled against the 2nd Kendo Club in the tournament finals. Aya, clad in her miko attire and with a serene smile on her face, gets the honor of starting for the Juuken Club. Aya thanks all of her friends for helping her grow and become stronger. Knowing that she is not alone, Aya draws her sword and starts the match.

Months later in a snowy winter, Masataka walks to the clubhouse with Bob who continues to champion his new kid and hairdo. As the next year's new student council, the Juuken Club is in dire need of new members as only Aya, Masataka and Bob remain. All the others have graduated. Bob and Masataka reach the clubhouse and finds Aya sitting in front of the cherry tree and staring upwards. Aya points upwards at the tree, and to Bob and Masataka's amazement the tree quickly goes into full blossom. Remembering that Souichirou said he would return when this tree blooms again, Masataka catches one of the falling petals and believes he is ready to face Souichirou.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wait a second... I thought Masataka had confessed to Aya at the end of the last chapter. Whatever happened with that? Where is Aya's response? Lol maybe Aya intepreted the "I love you" as "let's stay as friends and club members" and that was that. Whatever happened, Oh! great decided not to show it in this chapter.

Other than the lack of Aya's response, nothing surprising or remarkable happened in this chapter. Since Iya's spirit is gone, it's no surprise that Reiki faded away, and whole school tournament was a foregone conclusion once Mitsuomi's group decided to only watch from the stands. The highlight of the chapter was probably the second page where there is a full frontal depiction of Aya taking a bath. We can make fun of the story all we want, but we have to admit that Oh! great knows how to draw.

The good news about the chapter is that at least we are getting close to the showdown with Souichirou. I don't know how much training Masataka went through, but I doubt he can go up with against Souichirou's hundreds of Red Feather powers on his own. Maya, Aya, and Bob should definitely be present, and maybe the rest of the cast will show up as well. There are only three more chapters left in the series (as written on page 1 of this chapter). Let's see if we'll get something decent at the end.

One Piece 589

The end of the flashback.

Dadan just can't admit she likes those two rascals.

Summary:
After Sabo's tragic death, Ace and Luffy promised each other that they would become strong and free. Through the years, the two grew up together causing trouble and having fun. When Luffy was 14 and Ace was 17, Ace left for the seas and Luffy continues to train. During this time, Luffy sometimes hears news of Ace's success as a pirate, and this motivates Luffy to train harder. Finally, Luffy reaches 17 years of age and sets off on his own to start his grand adventure.

Back to the present, Luffy continues to cry and realizes that despite all his training and battles, he is still too weak.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm glad the flashback is finally over, but I'm a bit disappointed that it ended rather uneventfully. I was hoping Dragon would play more of a role in the flashback, but he didn't do much after rescuing the denizens of trash city. In this chapter, Dragon's group appears to have visited the dojo Zoro was from, but I don't remember any connection between Dragon and Zoro so I'm not sure what it means. As for the flashback itself, the whole thing was to give more background into Luffy and Ace's motivation and their relationship with each other. For these purpose, the flashback did the job, but there wasn't much more to it than that.

Now that the story is back to the present, let's see what Luffy's next move will be. Luffy needs to become more powerful somehow, but given what's happening in Bleach, I'm hoping to avoid another training segment.

Bleach 409

Ichigo battles a new-look Zangetsu.

Zangetsu after his Extreme Makeover. The wonders of modern plastic surgery.

Summary:
Inside Ichigo's mind, Ichigo is having trouble breathing and is then tossed into a building by a hooded figure. The hooded person tells Ichigo to calm down so he can breathe, and Ichigo complies. The figure removes his hood to reveal the face of a young man, and the young man retrieves a sword and attacks Ichigo. Ichigo wonders if the young man is Zangetsu, and the young man states that he is now Tensa Zangetsu because Ichigo came to this world in bankai form. Ichigo asks Tensa Zangetsu to teach him the final Getsuga Tenshou, but Tensa Zangetsu doesn't want to because what he wants to protect isn't the same as what Ichigo wants to protect.

Back in Karakura Town, a middle aged guy spots Aizen and Gin but is cut to pieces by Aizen's power. Aizen and Gin then spot Tatsuki carrying Michiru down the street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The training has begun in Ichigo's mind once again, but to keep things from becoming too stale, Kubo has introduced a younger, more powerful version of Zangetsu for Ichigo to fight. That should keep Ichigo in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber for long enough for Aizen to have some fun in Karakura Town. As to why Tensa Zangetsu doesn't want Ichigo to learn the final Getsuga Tenshou, my guess is that the move is some sort of all out attack that will damage or even destroy the zanpukto, but any other guess is as good as mine. While Ichigo is stuck fighting this side battle, Aizen and Gin have located Tatsuki. It'd be pretty sad and pathetic if Tatsuki just died, so hopefully she and the rest of Ichigo's friends can put up some sort resistance or maybe people from Urahara's shop can show up. Aizen seems to be taking his sweet time these chapters, so I don't know when he'll actually proceed to the next stage of his plan.

Sekirei 101

Higa has some new plans for Uzume.

Nobody trusts Minaka these days.

Summary:
Over the phone, Minaka promises Minato that he'll treat Chiho if Minato can bring Chiho to MBI. Homura and Minato's other Sekireis warn Minato against trusting Minaka, but without another plan Minato decides to trust the MBI president. Before hanging up, Minaka states that he's happy to see that Minato has grown up, and this puzzles Minato.

In the Higa building, Kakizaki tells Uzume to wait in the lobby. Uzume looks around and spots three of Higa's Sekireis and then Shiina sitting against the wall. Uzume asks why Shiina didn't go rescue his Ashikabi when Kakizaki had gone, and Shiina answers that Higa told him that humans are better companions for his Ashikabi. Uzume tells Shiina that she has no choice but to help Shiina, but Shiina isn't in such a situation and should believe in his Ashikabi instead of other people. Uzume is then summoned by Kakizaki into Higa Izumi's office. Higa is disappointed in Uzume's recent failures, but he will give Uzume one last chance. For this mission, Higa orders Uzume to attack Izumo Inn and obtain the jinki possessed by Minato.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Higa vs. Minato conflict continues to build up. While Minato plans to rescue Chiho, Higa orders Uzume to attack Izumo Inn. The fun thing is that neither Higa or Minato know what the other has planned. Sending Uzume to Izumo Inn to steal the jinkis should be pretty interesting. I wonder if Uzume will be able to sneak back in though since Minato's crew is on to her and Matsu can track her every move. And when push comes to shove, it's unlikely Uzume can take down Miya even in a sneak attack, but on the other hand Izumo Inn might be lightly guarded if Minato's group goes to rescue Chiho. Higa also could send some of his other Sekireis as an "insurance policy". At the same time, maybe Shiina will attempt to break Yukari out of jail thanks to Uzume's pep talk. Basically, a lot of things could happen over the next little while. The next couple of chapters should be pretty good as the story leads into the inevitable Higa vs. Minato showdown.

Summer 2010 Anime

It's almost time for another new season, and that means another new crop of anime series. As always, this is just a list of shows that I'll check out and/or blog about, and there is a list of season preview posts from the blogs on my blogroll. Without further ado, here is my planned schedule.

Will watch/will blog:

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~
Since I cover the Sekirei manga and covered the first season of the anime, I'm obligated to watch and write about this series. Yes, Sekirei is mostly about the boobs, but there is more to the series as well.

Will watch/might blog:

Highschool of the Dead
Based on the manga series about a group of highschoolers trying to survive a zombie apocalypse, Highschool of the Dead is one of the shows that's getting a fair bit of buzz for the summer season. I've checked out the manga and found it entertaining, but I never actually followed the manga because it went on a long hiatus. The premise sounds promising, and there will be plenty of fan service, gore, and violence. What's not to love?

Will watch/won't blog:

Sengoku Basara 2
I watched the first series and found it enjoyable for the over-the-top action (and not its historical accuracy), so I'll also be watching the second season.


Other than the shows mentioned, there are some other series that look interesting such as Seikimatsu Occult Academy and Shiki. I don't know if I can find the time to watch more than three series though. Although I am on vacation right now, I have a lot of stuff to sort out during the summer. A couple hours of anime per week shouldn't hurt though... I hope.

Finally, here is the list of Summer 2010 anime preview posts from other anime blogs:

- Bokutachi no BLOG
- Eye Sedso
- Hyper Parfait
- Rabbit Poets
- Random Curiosity
- Star Crossed
- Sea Slugs!
- T.H.A.T.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 62

Everyone joins efforts to take down Father on top of Central HQ.

Looks like May isn't the only one who's crazy for Al.

Summary:
On the surface, Father tries to take the souls of several Briggs soldiers, but he is interrupted by Hohenheim and the others. Hohenheim confronts Father for being good for nothing but destruction, but Father responds by releasing some of the souls (including King Xerxes and other acquaintances of Hohenheim) in his body into human form. Hohenheim and the others and sickened by the display. Just as Ed arrives on the surface, Father releases a powerful energy blast to blow away all of "humans" he just created and also Ed, Hohenheim and allies.

Alex Armstrong, a guy who knows how to shine in any situation.

Underground, Greed and Ran Fan join up with Alex Armstrong's group. On Greed's recommendation, Olivier, Jerso, Sig, and the other Brigg soldiers stay behind while the others head up towards the surface. After Alex's group leaves, Olivier sits down near Wrath's body after remembering that Buccaneer had helped soften up Wrath.

I wonder why Father didn't take Hohenheim's Philosopher's Stone.

Boom Headshot!

On the surface, most of Central HQ has been blown away by Father. May wakes up and discovers that Al had shielded her from the blast, while Ed and Izumi discover that Hohenheim had blocked the blast for them. Father appears and tosses Hohenheim away to go after Ed and Izumi, but he is interrupted by gunfire from Brigg soldiers. While Father is held back by the attacks, Ed, Izumi, and Hohenheim are carried away by soldiers led by Lt. Henschel. The attacks from the soldiers appear ineffective against Father's defenses, but soon Mustang and the others from underground join the fray. Mustang (with Riza serving as his eyes and using clapping transmutations), Alex, Ran Fan, Zampano, Darius, Izumi, and the Brigg soldiers combine their efforts, but they are unable to penetrate Father's defense. Greed also joins in but he is snared by Father who wants to absorb Greed's Philosopher's Stone. However, this falls right into Greed's plans as Father is left open for Ed, Izumi, and Alex. Father fends off the attacks with alchemy and destroys Ed's automail arm, but he is forced to block Ed's kick with his arm. All of the previous attacks have worn Father down and now he can't control his powers, and as a result Father releases a big shockwave that sends everyone sprawling.

Blind, but still hot and lethal.

Gotta be hard to dodge when some guy's arm is stuck in your eye socket.

After the shockwave, Father desperately tries to find souls to use as energy, and he sets his eyes on Ed whose arm is pinned to a wall by a piece of rebar. Seeing Ed in trouble and realizing that his soul seal is about to crack, Al tells May to help him with a transmutation. May uses her daggers to make transmutation circles around Al and near Ed's missing arm, and Al transmutes himself despite Ed's protests. Al is immediately sent to the Gate of Truth to rejoin his real body. Afterwards, Al is met by Truth who wonders if Ed will come back for Al. Al believes that Ed will come back for him, and Truth wonders what Ed will sacrifice next time as the right arm he received from Ed fades away.

Possibly the most pivotal transmutation thus far in the story.

Back in the real world, Ed has his real right arm back again. Ed quickly frees himself and pummels Father with a variety of attacks while everyone else cheers him on. From the sidelines, Greed watches the fight and realizes that all he wanted was to have friends like Ed and the others.

Closer... closer... closer...

...and POW!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The final battle isn't over yet, but it's close to being done as we can see by the lack of a cliffhanger at the end of this episode. This episode was excellent. I was actually surprised by how good this episode was, because I had my complaints about the manga chapter (107) that this episode was based on. While this episode followed the manga 95% of the time, it was just better... perhaps by the sheer fact that it was beautifully animated with a matching score. When I read the manga, I thought the part where Al traded his soul for Ed's arm felt tacked on. This was partially because I initially didn't realize that Al's soul seal was breaking, but I was in a nitpicking mood and thought the other characters (they weren't all knocked out) could have done something before Al had to resort to such a high risk maneuver. This episode however made me forget about those slight lapses in detail because the animation and music drew me into the emotion of the moment. The scene really highlighted the trust and love Ed and Al had for each other, and the final battle needed a scene like this. The action was of course brilliant, and it was good to see all the capable good guys working together to defeat Father. The violence was surprisingly brutal too especially near the end when Ed was pummeling Father. The show did go into the shounen cliche at the end with everyone else cheering Ed on while doing nothing themselves, but I'm just going to enjoy the ending and not care about these little things anymore.

With Father on the ropes and Ed getting his second wind, the outcome of that particular battle seems to be going to good guy's way. The main problem left for the next episode will probably be how to retrieve Al from the Gate of Truth. As Truth said in this episode, we'll have to see what Ed is prepared to sacrifice in exchange for his brother. There are two episodes left to cover the last chapter of the manga. The final chapter of FMA was massive, but I don't know if it has enough material for two episodes. My guess is Bones will probably add a bit more to the fighting as they did in this episode in the scene when Ed attacked Father (in the manga, only Ed attacked after Greed was caught). It all ends in two weeks.

Deadman Wonderland 36

Ganta, Shiro, and Azami vs. Madoka.

Deadman Wonderland is a world of pain.

Summary:
Madoka tells Ganta and company that he cannot disobey Tamaki's orders because of a transmitter in his brain. Shiro and Azami charge at Madoka, but Madoka scratches them and this causes the girls to stop in their tracks. Madoka explains that his Branch of Sin allows him to control people's five senses, and that the water he gave to Ganta contained his own blood to block out Ganta's sense of pain. Madoka quickly scratches Ganta and makes Ganta feel as if he has been hit by a truck. Ganta is badly winded and shoots to destroy the transmitter, but Madoka states that Ganta is too late as Tamaki has transferred control to himself. Ganta punches Madoka in anger, but Madoka stops him. Madoka explains his crazy philosophy about how nice guys should suffer, and he makes Ganta feel as if he has been crucified. Seeing Ganta get hurt causes Shiro to release her Branch of Sin, but she misses the attack on Madoka and Madoka makes Shiro feel the Iron Maiden. Ganta tells Madoka to kill him instead, but Madoka is bent on making Ganta suffer and continues to hurt Shiro until she falls to the ground from her injuries.

In anguish, Ganta struggles to Shiro's side. Ganta remembers how he met Shiro by chance when they were little, and they became friends on first sight. While Ganta is crying over Shiro, Shiro has a dream where a masked version of herself is telling her to go to sleep. Back in the real world, Madoka forms his right hand into a jaw to finish Ganta off. Knowing that Madoka is coming, Ganta pushes the limit of his Branch of Sin and manages to counter Madoka's poison, but Madoka still appears to be a little faster. However, Shiro suddenly wakes up and fends off Madoka's attack with her Branch of Sin, and this allows Ganta to blast Madoka with his Ganta Gun. After defeating Madoka, Ganta and Shiro declare their love for each other, and Azami is amazed that both of them managed to smile.

With Madoka defeated, Azami regains control of her body just in time to receive a call from Makina. After learning about Tamaki's move, Makina sends Tamaki's location to Ganta. Ganta decides to proceed on his own and tells Azami to take care of unconscious Shiro. Shortly after Ganta had gone, Azami checks on Shiro but Shiro suddenly wakes up with a different, more malevolent personality. Elsewhere in the compound, Toto has copied the abilities from many Deadmen thanks to samples collected by the twins. Knowing that the Wretched Egg is going to wake up, Toto and the twins then head off to intercept the Wretched Egg before she kills Ganta.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was the final side-battle against the first unit Forgeries, and as expected it was better than the last few chapters. The fight was fairly short and was similar in construction from the previous fights (good guy(s) go down early, have a flashback, and then storm back for the victory), but at least Madoka was the nuttiest out of the first unit Forgeries and it's easier for us to care about the protagonists Ganta and Shiro. It was a nice moment when Shiro and Ganta finally declared they love each other, but it looks like Shiro (the personality) will be gone for a while.

The battle between Ganta and Madoka was decent, but the most exciting part of this chapter was its implications for the future, as the Wretched Egg has finally awakened and that means bad news for everyone. Azami might be toast, and that would be a pretty shocking death given how hard Ganta worked to save her. In response to the Wretched Egg, Toto and the twins are on the move. They don't like trustworthy characters, but at this point Toto is the one of the few hopes of stopping the Wretched Egg. This is of course all going on simultaneously with Makina and Ganta's operation to take out Tamaki. Let's see how these storylines will be tied up together in the next few chapters.

Angel Beats! 12

Yuri ventures into the source of the shadow monsters.

Kanade: Angel of Destruction... That'd make a pretty good show.

Here comes TK the (super)Human Spinning Top!!

Summary:
The members of the SSS have agreed to Otonashi's plans after a night of considerations, and Otonashi and the fighters of the group head out to find Yuri while Girls Dead Monster and the support members go into hiding (or disappears, whichever one). At the same time, Kanade is out fighting the shadows. Meanwhile, Yuri ventures towards the old Guild and runs into a lot of shadows. Yuri runs out of ammo, but Chaa shows up and gives her a new machinegun and informs her that the Guild members are headed to safety. Yuri continues on to the old Guild, but she is suddenly surrounded by shadows and caught by one of the dark beings. The next thing Yuri knows, she is in a classroom attending class with other students. Yuri has a feeling something is wrong but can't put a finger on it. Yuri spends most of the class staring out the window and gets picked on by the teacher. Instead of reading the text as the teacher had requested, Yuri comes back to her senses and expresses in an emotional speech that this is happy life is not for her. When Yuri finishes her speech, all of the other people in the classroom are gone and a flood of shadows crashes through the windows. Yuri struggles against the current, but she is pulled out by Otonashi.

Even heroes need a bathroom break.

I will not make any Matrix: Reloaded jokes. I will not make any Matrix: Reloaded jokes. 

I will not make any Matrix: Reloaded jokes...

Yuri has always wanted to try being a crazy villain.

Yuri wakes up and sees Otonashi, Hinata, Naoi and Kanade watching over her at the Old Guild. Kanade had detected something was wrong and led the guys down to rescue Yuri. With Yuri in the lead, the group continues on deeper into the tunnels and they discover that the shadows seem to be guarding something. Kanade and the guys stay to hold off the shadows while Yuri ventures into a small tunnel leading to a computer room. Yuri enters the room and sees a lot of computer running the Angel Player software which seem to be controlling the NPCs/shadows. In the room, Yuri is greeted by a male student who states that he is only following someone else's programming. The student explains that the programmer was a guy who was waiting for a girl that had already graduated from the world. Since the reunion was basically impossible, the guy went nuts and turned himself into a NPC and spread his program throughout the world. However, people like those from the SSS started to show up causing love to take hold in the world. This upsets the balance of the world, and according to the programmer's instructions the NPCs are turned into shadows in order to reset the world. After the explanation, the male student tells Yuri that she can use the computers in the room to take control of the world. Yuri laughs crazily and ponders the suggestion, but she decides that she cannot betray the SSS or even Kanade at this point. Instead, Yuri shoots up all the computers and the male student with her guns, and afterwards she sits down thinking about her SSS comrades and her murdered siblings before falling unconscious. Some time later, Yuri wakes up and finds herself in a brightly lit room watched over by Otonashi and company.

10 out 10 for the spin and drawing out the dualies, but it isn't it a bit overkill for shooting up a bunch of computers?

Yuri: Hey guys, you wouldn't believe the dream I had. I was Neo in the Matrix Reloaded in that scene facing the Architect, but the Architect was a student instead of an old man, and all the screens were displaying hearts like it was some sort of strange Valentines Day. And get this: I was asked if I wanted to become Queen of the world, and for some unfathomable reason I refused!? I was like: what the heck am I doing!? Weird huh?

The others: ...

Yuri: But it gets better from there. Instead of leaving the place like Neo did in the movie, I took out my guns and shot up the joint, dual-wielding and doing 360 spins Chow Yun-fat style. It was so AWESOME!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I guess this episode was supposed to be the big showdown and reveal about how the world works, but it just wasn't that good. The pacing seems off for the entire episode, and it's probably due to the dream sequence and that really long explanation at the end. So the world turns out to be some sort of digital afterlife programmed (but not created) by a lovelorn computer nerd, and by spreading the love, Yuri and friends are "bugs" in the world that need to be taken care of. Angel Beats! is known for its randomness, so I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, but I can't help but think that they are trying to get away with the loosey goosey story by confusing the heck out of us (it didn't work). Questions still remain about the Angel Player software and Kanade, and if we are really lucky we might get some answers in the finale next week. I doubt the show will clear up everything given how this episode went, but I'm glad that at least Yuri found a bit of solace in this episode.

The whole explanation was disappointing, but the episode had moments with the action. Kanade doing the "angel of death" thing at the beginning; Yuri's slow-mo computer shoot-up; and TK and crew doing their thing were kind of cool, but the problem was the action came in brief pulses because of the dream sequence and expositions. The episode would be more entertaining if the fighting was more continuous.

Now that the crisis has been averted, it is time for Otonashi to go through with his plan and make all the people with souls pass on. There are a lot of characters left though, so graduation will have to be done en masse, or perhaps they will graduate in a different sense. Whatever happens next week. Let's hope it'll be better than this week's show.

XBlade Volume 9

It's been almost half a year since my last XBlade post, but I've finally located the 9th volume of the series. This volume covers chapter 34-37 of the manga and continues on with Haru and Mana's adventure inside the 13th District of Tokyo.

Summary:
Mana continues to tell Haru the story of how she met Kuushirou: Thanks to Kuushirou's influence, Mana is allowed out of her room to hang out with Kuushirou, and the two grew closer every day. Kuushirou would go on business for a few days, and Mana always promised to wait for him to come back. However, after one mission Kuushirou barely made it back and suffered from bad wounds. It turns out Kuushirou was beaten in a sword fight, and in his half-unconscious state Kuushirou mutters something about a "guardian blade". While Mana is watching over Kuushirou, suddenly her father enters the room with a crazed look on his face. Mana's father reveals that Kuushirou is a special agent that he has been instructed to assist, but Mana's father isn't content with his current position and decided to betray Kuushirou. Instead of trying to kill Kuushirou himself, Mana's father allowed the enemy to send a cursed spirit to carry Kuushirou away. Mana fends out the spirit, but she knows that the spirit and her father will try again to take Kuushirou away.

Let go of him, you skank!!

At night, Mana sits on guard besides the unconscious Kuushirou, but she doesn't notice a dark figure standing behind her. Suddenly, Mana notices the cursed spirit going after Kuushirou again, and this time the spirit is much more persistent. Unable to fight off the spirit, the desperate Mana agrees to the silent requests of the dark figure standing behind her, and the dark figure blasts the cursed spirit away with the eye ion his right palm. After the spirit is defeated, Mana reaches out to the dark figure, and dark figure sneers and reaches for Mana with his right hand. In the same night, Mana's father was found dead in the castle with foam coming out of his mouth.

Back to the present, Mana states that this is how she became a guardian blade. Kuushirou was defeated by a man wielding a guardian blade, and so he need a guardian blade to challenge the man again. After that fateful night, Mana left the castle to travel with Kuushirou who slowly recovered, but the defeat has scarred him such that he never again smiled like before. Mana is crying at this point, but states that Kuushirou who attacked isn't the Kuushirou that she knew. Haru agrees with Mana and declares out loud that he is going beat some sense in Kuushirou, but he ends up slipping and making a fool out of himself. Mana takes to opportunity to hand Haru the object she has been carrying, and the object turns out to be a sword sheath. Mana tells Haru that Kuushirou is known for his attack off the draw, so Haru should take the sheath if he wants to travel with her. Haru gladly accepts the sheath and rallies his comrades to continue on, but he slips again and then discovers a large group of monsters gathering behind him. Haru summons Mana for combat, and he and the rest of fighters in the group charge right into the monsters. Somewhere else in the district, the girl who looks like Aki stands before Kuushirou who is half-encased in some sort of gooey solid.

Chaaaarrrrrggggeee!!!

Haru and allies managed to cut down all the monsters, but the battle has proved to be long and tiring. To help the group get some rest and replenish their energy, Kaya leads the group head to a base that she often visits. Upon entering the base, Haru and Yaegaki are surprised that so many people managed to stake out a home in such a hostile environment. Haru then notices a bunch of weapon-wielding men charging at the gate from the outside, and Kaya explains that those men are bandits who are under Yamada's command. Haru volunteers to fight off the bandits, but the base has plenty of defenses and the bandits are driven off with catapults. The defenses of the base are devised by two university professors, and many people from the university live within the base. Kaya and Haru's group are the met by a group of children and a young woman named Izumi who Kaya is friends with. Kaya tells Haru and the others that Izumi took care her after she escaped from Yamada, and some of the former Yamada members had helped put up the barrier around the base to keep the monsters out. Kaya states that the base is becoming self-sufficient, but they still need supplies from time to time. After looking around the base, Yaegaki becomes concerned about the residents and asks Izumi and Kaya to take her to the person in charge, but Izumi and Kaya suggests that Yaegaki and the rest of the group should take a bath and have a meal first.

Someone really does need a bath and a meal.

After the meal, Haru and Mana hang out together and Haru wonders what'll happen if Kuushirou returns to his senses. Mana states that she'll go back with Kuushirou but will visit Haru every so often, but to her indignation Haru has fallen asleep. Elsewhere in the base, Kaya send Hyakume off on an errand. Kaya then goes to find Haru and Mana, but she discovers that both of them are asleep and that Mana has drawn all over Haru's face. Kaya decides not to wake Haru and Mana and leaves on other business. A little later, Haru and Mana are woken up by loud noises. They run outside and discovers that the base is under attack from the monsters. Even worse, Haru spots Izumi and a child trapped in the midst of the monsters. Haru summons Mana and charges into the monsters, but their numbers start to overwhelm Haru. As Haru is being pushed back, Mana reminds Haru that he isn't fighting alone and can use her senses as well. Haru takes the advice and renews his attacks once again, and he manages to break through to Izumi. From the sidelines, Fujimaru is watching the battle and is impressed by Haru's growth as a swordsman. Elsewhere in the base, Kaya is trying to alert the President (the person in charge) to the attack, but her way is blocked off by Suou (who's wearing a mask) and Kaname.

Suou is obviously a fan of the masked pilots in Gundam.

Back outside, the denizens of the base are busy fighting against the monsters. Haru, Yaegaki and Fujimaru has killed all the nearby monsters and are moving to reinforce another location. On the way, Yaegaki notes that the monsters seem to be moving in an organized manner, and Fujimaru states the Yamada's spell corps have experimented with controlling monsters. Meanwhile, Haru has ran ahead and he spots Suou carrying an unconscious Kaya on his shoulder. Suou tells Haru that he'll be waiting for Hyakume in front of the assembly hall. Haru tries to go after Suou but he is blocked off by a group of monster, and after cutting through monsters Haru discovers that Suou is already gone. Outside the base, Suou tells the leader of the bandits to do whatever he wants with the base before moving on the assembly hall.

Back inside the base, Haru tells his comrades about Kaya's kidnapping and Suou's challenge to Hyakume. With Hyakume nowhere to be found, Haru volunteers to go rescue Kaya, but Fujimaru states that he'll be the one to face his former Seven Sheathes comrade.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Decent volume. The story continues to grow, but there weren't any big surprises or very important battles in these four chapters. Rather, the latter half of this volume was setting thing up for a big showdown in the next volume between Suou and whoever wants to answer his challenge. It seems like Fujimaru will be the first to answer the call, but I don't think he has the ability to beat Suou in a duel. Fujimaru is still hurt, and Suou has a new and improved blade. The story might be setting up for Fujimaru's demise, although I doubt Haru and company will let Fujimaru go off on his own. Defeating Suou and rescuing Kaya is not the only problem for the good guys, as Suou's surprise attack has left the base vulnerable to the bandits. Looks like we will have at least two battles going on simultaneously in the next volume, and that should be something to look forward to.

The first one-third consisted of Mana's story. The circumstances of Mana becoming Kuushirou's blade wasn't too surprising (Kuushirou in big trouble, Mana can't save him), although the alchemist Zin (the dark figure mentioned in the summary) is still a big mystery. Not sure what he is trying to accomplish moving around and turning people into guardian blades, but it's probably for some malevolent purpose given the tone of the narrative. Mana's story also didn't reveal what happened during their mission into Yamada. I guess that will be saved up for later when Haru and Mana confront Kuushirou again.

Other minor notes: I liked the comedy in this volume, especially when Haru fell asleep on Mana. It was also fun to see Ruru falling to the ground in hunger after showing little expression before this point. We finally found out what Mana was carrying a sheath all these time, but it was little disappointing that Haru hasn't done anything with the present yet.

It's clear that there is still a lot to be revealed about the world of XBlade. There are a number of groups on the move and their motivations aren't clear as of yet. It'll be at least a few months before we find out any answers though.

Bleach 408

Ichigo starts training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber Precipice World, plus some happenings in Karakura Town.

It pays to watch where you are going.

Summary:
Isshin sets up the Precipice World for Ichigo to train. Ichigo has 2000 hours (1hr in real world time) to call out Zangetsu once again and obtain the final Getsuga Tenshou.

In Karakura Town, Keigo bumps into Tatsuki and they appear to be the only two people who are still awake. While carrying their unconscious classmates Michiru and Chizuru, Tatsuki tells Keigo that she had surveyed the edge of town and discovered that the town has been transported to another location. Tatsuki guesses the strange events probably has something to do with Ichigo, and she's confident that Ichigo will do something about it. Meanwhile, Aizen and Gin have arrived in town.

Back in the Precipice World, Isshin notices a cut appears on the meditating Ichigo's shoulder, and this means Ichigo may be in a deep struggle against Zangetsu.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not much happening in this chapter, but I suppose that was to be expected when Bleach whipped out the Hyperbolic Time Chamber last week. Half of this chapter was spent on Isshin setting up the place for Ichigo. With the way things are going now, we could see Ichigo fighting Zangetsu or his inner hollow for the next few chapters. There was a bit of development in Karakura Town with Keigo running into Tatsuki, but I fail to see how the residents of Karakura Town can mount any sort of effective resistance against Aizen. That is unless Tatsuki and Keigo suddenly develop superpowers, but even then they would be no match for Aizen. It seems that Karakura Town is within the Soul Society nowadays (although I'm confused as to whether that's true or not), so perhaps resistance will come from the shinigamis who stayed behind. Anyways, hopefully the next chapter won't be so slow.

Naruto 499

With Kushina's assistance, Naruto takes on Kyuubi once again.

Kyuubi: Yeah sure, you won't hurt me... just after you blasted me with 100 Raesangans and a couple of Wind Shurikens!

Summary:
With Kushina's help, Naruto drives out all the hate from Kyuubi and goes on the attack, spamming shadow clones and peppering Kyuubi with a whole lot of Rasengans. With Kyuubi reeling, Naruto's clones starts pulling in Kyuubi's chakra while another clone blasts Kyuubi with a Wind Shuriken. The attacks pay off and Naruto is able to pull Kyuubi's chakra into himself, transforming himself into a new form with a seal on his body. Kyuubi refuses to give up and forms giant black energy ball, but Naruto turns the markings on his body and locks Kyuubi under a powerful seal from the Sage of the Six Paths. Before being locked away, Kyuubi vows to get Naruto back for this.

After defeating Kyuubi, Naruto faces Kushina once again. Kushina state that she can now follow after Minato, but before that she wants to tell Naruto what happened during the year when Naruto's born. Kushina then reveals that she was Kyuubi's previous host.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was a relatively quick and easy victory for Naruto, but I guess Kushina's Power of Love was just too great for Kyuubi. Instead of taming the beast as Killer Bee had done, Naruto just robbed most of Kyuubi's chakra and locked the beast up again. The good thing about this arrangement is that it gives Kyuubi a chance to come back and bite Naruto in the behind. I wonder how Naruto suddenly got access to seals from the Sage of the Six Paths, but perhaps Kushina and someone else will explain later. For now though we are treated to some more story time from Kushina, and we'll finally learn about what happened on the day when Kyuubi attacked the village. It should be an interesting story especially given that Kushina was Kyuubi's old host, but too bad there won't be a new chapter of Naruto next week.

Aria Fan Art

I haven't posted artwork here for a long time (not since February in fact). This was mostly because I was busying trying to graduate from college and traveling. Also, I tend to save these posts for the days I have nothing else to post about lol. Now that I'm back home and still on vacation, I *should* have more time to draw. Anyways, here is a piece of fan art I made for Kozue Amano's Aria, one of my favorite manga series. It's a pencil doodle colored in PS. Decided to leave pencil lines in because my CG lines suck. It's not my best work, but at least I got more practice at making backgrounds.

Sekirei ~Pure Engagement~ 01

A late post on the early airing of Sekirei's second anime season premiere.

It's funny how the only guy in the squad gets left out of the picture.

A typical day at Izumo Inn.

Button up your shirt if you don't want to see your own man-boobs.

List of highlights:
- An iteration of the Disciplinary Squad consisting of Miya, Matsu, Kazehana, Karasuba, and a male Sekirei destroys an army task force.
- Minato and his Sekirei are still fooling around at Izumo Inn. Kazehana is still bumming around drinking wine and Homura struggles with his body.
- Uzume visits her Ashikai Chiho at hospital but is bothered by a guy in a suit and wearing glasses
- Benitsubasa, still fuming from her embarrassing loss to Yume/Musubi at the end the last season, beats up some random Sekirei.
- Meanwhile, Haihane tries to dig up information on the old Disciplinary Squad. She discovers that the second iteration consisted only of Yume and Karasuba, and all the data for the first iteration has been deleted.

Not sure why I took this screen shot... other than that Chiho's neck and face look a little strange.

There wasn't anything good on TV so Benitsubasa decided to visit Izumo Inn for entertainment.

A lot more of this to come!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sekirei is back for a second season on the TV screen. This was a special early screening that everyone except me seemed to know about, and the series officially starts on either June 27 as written on the persistent message that covered half of the screen. I guess the makers of the show really wanted to make sure we remembered to watch the darn show when it actually starts.

Anyways, the episode consisted of a bit of character re-introduction, recap of the first season, some flashbacks and hints of things to come, and of course some fan service to round things out. It was a lot of stuff, but there wasn't any particular focus. The episode was aimed at bringing fans back to speed and giving a small preview of what's to come, and for those tasks it did a decent job. Nothing important or exciting happened though. The flashbacks and hints were drawn from manga chapters that chronologically should fall somewhere in the middle of the season, but it's not a bad idea to show a bit of them in the beginning. On to the non-story aspects, the animation looks similar to the first season: not super high quality but decent enough. The OP and ED are once again sang by the seiyus of Minato's four main Sekirei and the songs aren't particularly notable.

Given that the Sekirei manga is still in serialization and progressing ever so slowly, ~Pure Engagment~ probably won't be the last season of Sekirei, but it should cover a few good parts of the story. Since I cover the manga and the first season of the anime, I am obligated to cover this season of the anime as well.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 61

The final battle continues.

I made a sun because I want a tan.

Summary:
The massive nation-wide transmutation is quickly over, and people lie all over Central's streets. Back in Father's chamber, Ed and company are still alive and kicking, but they realize Father has gotten what he wanted. From behind the smoke, Father explains that he needed the entire country for energy in his plan to absorb God, but he has succeeded and both God and the souls of all the people reside within him. Ed and company are then surprised to see that Father has taken the form that somewhat resembles Ed or a young Hohenheim.

This is what happens when a living god has an upset stomach.

After absorbing God and the 50 million souls of Amestris into his body, Father disables Amestrian alchemy in the surrounding the area and decides to form a miniature sun in one hand to blow all his enemies away, but suddenly he starts losing power. Hohenheim explains that the souls of the Amestrian people are still connected to their bodies and he has spread souls within his Philosopher's Stone around the country for this very moment. In one fast and spectacular reaction, the souls of the Amestrian people are sucked from Father's body and deposited back into the bodies of the people, and the people around the country start to wake up.

Cast Level 99 defensive spell!

Without the 50 millions souls, Father is having trouble containing God within his body and he calls off the attacks on Hohenheim and company. However, Father is not about to surrender and he fires an energy blast which starts to overwhelm Hohenheim and May. Ed and Al try to support their father from behind, but they know Hohenheim and May can't hold out for long and they need Scar to do his part. A few levels above, Scar and Wrath are engaged in a ferocious fight with the two combatants trading blows. As the solar eclipse is about the end, Wrath is momentarily blinded by sunlight, and this allows Scar to rip off both of Wrath's arms. However, before falling down, Wrath is able to inflict a deep cut in Scar's torso by grabbing a sword with his mouth. Lying down on the ground and near the end of his life, Wrath spots Lan Fan approaching. Lan Fan asks if Wrath has any last words, and Wrath answers no. Lan Fan asks about Mrs. Bradley, and Wrath states that nothing needs to be said because he had chosen her and she was the King's wife. Wrath then comments that humans have given a bit of meaning to his life before dying. After Wrath dies, Lan Fan retrieves the bottle of Philosopher's Stone from Wrath's body. Lan Fan helps Scar over to the human transmutation circle, and Scar uses his arms to activate the reverse transmutation circle around the city (which the Ishvalans have set up).

Couldn't find a good screenshot of Wrath stabbing Scar with the blade in his mouth, so this will have to do.

Back down in Father's chamber, Ed and company can use their alchemy once again, and Ed, Al, and Izumi combine their attacks to destroy Father's throne. Ed then declares that they are going to kick Father's ass. While Ed and company continue to battle Father at lowest level, Scar talks with Ran Fan and explains that his brother had designed his circle not only to neutralize Father's circle but to unlock the power within the earth (Xingese alchemy) in Amestris. Back in the lowest level, Ed is surprised by the level of alchemy attacks he is able to perform, but he, Al, Izumi and Hohenheim are still not able to even scratch Father with their attacks. Hohenheim encourages everyone to keep attacking as Father is having trouble keeping "God" contained. Ed and company try dropping a column and dousing Father with lava (from the tank that melted the first Greed), but Father fends off all the attacks and flies out to the surface.

Time for a shower.

It's Rocketman!!

Hohenheim realizes Father is trying replenish his energy by absorbing souls and suggest that everyone give chase. Hohenheim, Al, Izumi, May and Mustang head to the surface using alchemy, but Ed stays to take on Pride. On the way up, Izumi and Al runs into her husband Sig along with the Armstrong siblings, Riza, and the chimeras. Izumi leaves Mustang with Riza's group before continuing upwards. Meanwhile, without anyone to give him a ride, Greed is climbing up the hard way and he arrives at Scar and Ran Fan's level. Greed takes a look at Wrath's body and is not pleased with the satisfied look on Wrath's face.

There ain't a bigger psycho out there than Kimblee.

Back at the lowest level, Ed wonders why Pride even listens to Father given how little Father seem to care for him, but Pride refuses to listen to Ed. After tossing Ed around for a bit, Pride tries to take over Ed's body as his own body is no longer stable due to forcing Mustang to open the Gate. However, Pride's attempt is blocked by Kimblee's soul. Pride can't believe Kimblee managed to retain his existence, but Kimblee states that howls of anguish are lullabies to him. Kimblee doesn't like the fact that Pride is being a hypocrite by trying to steal a human body despite his despise for humans. Kimblee's interference buys enough time for Ed to clap his hand together, and using his alchemy Ed invades Pride's soul and reverts Pride to his embryo state. Instead of killing Pride, Ed leaves the homunculus and heads upwards to join the others.

OMG Ed is beating up a little kid... 

...I mean: Take that you creepy homunculus!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so the counterattack begins. The big transmutation happened pretty quickly in the last episode, but the good guys brought Father back down to a beatable level (and temporarily saved the people of Amestris) pretty quickly as well. Luckily for the good guys, Father's transmutation didn't sacrifice any of the "sacrifices". It was a combined effort of Hohenheim and Scar and friends that leveled the playing field somewhat, and you have to hand to the good guys for planning out both of these extensive counters. Without the 50 million souls, Father is having trouble containing the power of God, but he is still a lot more powerful than any of the good guys so the battle is far from over.

Compared to the manga, the anime cut a few scenes of Father blasting at Hohenheim and company with energy waves. I suppose that was done to fit the Ed vs. Pride fight into the episode. I also noticed that the Father's young form in the anime is better looking than the manga version. The anime made Father look a little more like Ed whereas the manga Father had more-squinty, evil-looking eyes.

While the final battle versus Father still has some ways to go, two more homunculi are defeated. The Scar vs. Wrath fight concludes with Scar ripping Wrath's arms off, but Wrath cements his status as the most bad-ass character in the series by grabbing the broken blade with his mouth and stabbing Scar. No hands necessary. If Scar wasn't such a tough guy in his own right he would have died from that blow. A part of me always wished for Greed/Ling to finish off Wrath, but this was still an appropriate ending for Wrath. So Scar gets credit for the kill, with assists from Ling/Greed, Fu, and Buccaneer.

Moving on, Ed defeated Pride in the final match of this episode. Ed stuck to his "no-killing" principle and turned Pride into an embryo, which actually may mean that Pride will survive until the end of the show. That's a surprise given all the nasty things that Pride has done. Kimblee's interference was certainly unexpected, but in a way he was sticking to his (insane) principles. I think the mangaka Arakawa-sensei felt that Kimblee had a weak death, so she brought Kimblee back for one final moment in the spotlight.

This episode covered quite a bit of stuff from the manga. The animation quality was excellent as usual. The narrative this week wandered off from the big battle to cover Scar vs. Wrath and Ed vs. Pride, but next week should be all about everyone vs. Father. I am confused to how many episodes are left though. At the current pace two should be enough, but supposedly there are three more? We'll just have to wait and see then.