Reviews and Summaries F As stated, this is the section that contains the titles we have reviewed and or summarized starting with G. (Amazing isn't it? Even I wonder at the genius of such a system!) Please note that all descriptions that are in yellow come from the box or other materials that come with the movie/OVA/series, green comes from me, and purple comes from Karmie-chan. FA FI FR FU Fatal Fury (OVA) Based on a fighting game of the same name. One of the better fighting game to video translations (except for the first one which sux), it features fast paced battle scenes and a plethora of signature special moves performed by each character and fairly believable characters. (Action) You can get both episodes of the ovas in one disc. If you like the fighting anime genre, yes, go get this one. The first episode is bad, but the second one is one of the best fighting anime types out there. If you are not into that genre, just rent it. The second episode is fairly entertaining enough that it is well worth a look. Legend of the Hungry Wolf: Introduces Andy and Terry Bogart and Joe Higashi. The history of the Bogart brothers is revealed. Geese, the man who murdered their parents, is hosting a fighting competition and their only way of getting revenge on him is to enter the contest themselves and, hopefully, one of them will get a chance at facing Geese. The New Battle: Introduces Krauser, a German noble man and Geese’s half brother, and Mai Shiranuwi, a ninja warrior who wants to be Andy Bogart’s girlfriend. Krauser, bored and unbeaten in combat, seeks out Terry Bogart who has beaten Geese to enable him to pass the time. After beating Terry badly, he tells him to train some more and seek him out in his castle. Terry, now beaten, has lost his desire to fight. His friends must do whatever it takes for him to regain his fighting spirit and give him a second chance against Krauser. Fatal Fury: The Motion Picture Terry, Andy, and Joe help out Sulia in a race to obtain the six pieces of the Armor of Mars against her power hungry brother, Laocorn. Legend has it that the warrior who obtains and wears all six pieces of the Armor of Mars will be granted the powers of the god of war. All major villains in the movie are brand new and do not appear in any Fatal Fury games. (Action/Adventure) It's a pretty entertaining movie. A bit too close to Dragon Ball Z with their overusage of uber special techniques, but nothing to really complain about. Probably one of the best fighting game to anime translations out there. Go ahead and add this to your collection. Fate Stay Night Every ten years, a secret war takes place between seven magicians and the servants that they summon for that secret war. The prize is the ability to realize your dreams no matter how grand they may be, for when you win, the Holy Grail becomes yours and anything you ever dreamed of becomes possible. Shirou is a child who has lost everything when he was caught up as an innocent bystander in the previous war. He has survived and now, ten years after that incident, he has been drawn into it. He has unwittingly become the seventh master to participate in the current war for the possession of the Holy Grail. Standing by his side is the strongest of all the Servants - Saber. (Action/Fantasy/Supernatural) I rather liked Fate Stay Night. It's like a story with knights and magic placed in a modern setting with ordinary everyday people caught in between and the Holy Grail that will grant any wish as the prize. A little dark at times, this is also from the people who gave us Tsukihime. It is a great series that I could recommend to anyone. The Day it Began: Ten years ago, a battle took place that destroyed a part of the city and consumed all within that part in flames. Shirou was a child wandering about in that inferno when his would be stepfather rescued him and raised him as his own. Ten years later, Shirou is all alone again with only Taiga Fujimura-sensei visiting him to make sure that he is alright and Sakura, his best friend's little sister cooking and cleaning for him everyday. Enjoying high school life, Shirou has grown up to be someone reliable and handy as the student council president relies on him to fix things. Behind the scenes, something is beginning to happen once more. Later that night, as Taiga and Sakura leaves him for the day, Shirou remembers his adoptive father and his dreams of righting the wrongs of the world that Shirou has inherited. Elsewhere in the city, Rin Tohsaka, one of the seven masters that has awaken to wage the war for the possession of the Holy Grail once more, scans the city with her servant, an Archer class. The Night of Fate: Archer that Rin has summoned still cannot remember his true identity. The servants summoned by the seven masters for the Holy Grail war is a heroic soul summoned back to the world of the living to fight once more. They invariably become one of the seven classes - Saber, strongest of the 3 knight classes, Archer, the far seeing knight class, Lancer, the charger of the knight class, Caster, the long range Servant, Assassin, the Servant hidden in the shadows, Rider, the noble Servant, and Berserker, the Servant who has exchanged sanity for greater strength. In school, Shirou tries to talk to Shinji, Sakura's older brother about being a complete jerk. Lately, he's been hitting on all the girls of the archery club while making complete fools out of the beginners. The cause is that he has made a move on Rin and got completely rejected. Cleaning the club room late into the night, Shirou witnesses something incredible - Rin's Servant fighting Lancer. When they notice him, Lancer breaks off from the battle and chases after him. Catching up to him, Lancer stabs him through the heart and flees the scene. Rin, believing it to be her fault, orders Archer to follow Lancer to see if he would return to his master while she revives Shirou using magic. When Shirou wakes up and returns home, he soon discovers that Lancer has found out that he is still alive and has come to kill him again. Rin, also having realized this, rushes to where Shirou lives. About to receive the fatal blow, A magic circle forms behind Shirou and a new servant appears. Raising the Curtain: As Lancer is about to kill him again. A magic circle forms behind him and a beautiful woman dressed in armor appears and saves him just in time. Fighting out in his yard, the woman wields an invisible sword and fights evenly with Lancer. Suddenly, he reveals his secret technique, the Gae Bolga, which injures Saber. With his identity known to Saber as the greatest hero of Celtic traditions, Lancer retreats following the order given to him by his master. Before Shirou can properly talk to the woman named Saber, she runs off again and manages to defeat Archer who has come with Rin to protect Shirou from Lancer. Having defeated Archer, she is forced to withdraw as Shirou commands her not to kill Rin. Rin, surprised to learn that Shirou is a master as well, takes her to the church that governs the Holy Grail war to have some things explained to him since he unwittingly summoned Saber and knows nothing of what is happening. There, he learns of the Holy Grail war and that the events of ten years ago from his childhood were a direct result of a master with impure intentions attaining the Holy Grail. Leaving the sanctuary of the church more knowledgeable, but still confused, Shirou, Rin and Saber discovers a master waiting for them. The Strongest Enemy: Leaving the church behind, Shirou, Rin and Saber find that there is a master waiting for them . She seems to know about Rin and attacks them using her Berserker. Monstrous in both appearance and power, Saber, though more agile, is easily overpowered. The little girl boasts out to Rin that her berserker is unbeatable. He is the strongest hero in Greek mythology. His name is Heracles. Just when the berserker is about to land the final blow on Saber, Shirou jumps in and pushes Saber aside, getting hit himself. believing that she just killed Shirou, the little girl retreats and leaves Shirou lying bleeding and dying on the street. The next day, Shirou wakes up from a dream with his father in it before he died. Waking up the next day, he finds Tohsaki still in the house. Having made herself comfortable after dragging him back the night before, she explains to him that his wounds started to regenerate after getting hit. Although it seems unlikely, some of Saber's mana must have healed him. She also explains some of the consequences of being a master as well as what doing nothing could mean to them. After she leaves, Shirou began looking for Saber and finds her sleeping in the dojo. Talking to her, the two of them come to a minor understanding about their relationship. Two Magicians (Part 1): Shirou tries to hide Saber from Sakura and Fuji, but by evening time, after she had been sleeping all day and realized how lonely it must seem for her to be waiting all day for him, decides to introduce her to Sakura and Fuji. Refusing to let her stay in the same house by themselves, Fuji challenges Saber to a duel in which she has to leave if she gets beaten. Of course, Saber easily beats her up. Still not convinced, Fuji and Sakura decide to sleep over with Saber. Elsewhere, Tohsaka and Archer search for the servant and master that have been draining people of their lives to strengthen the servant. The following day, Fuji and Sakura have been fully convinced by Saber's intentions in staying there and decide to leave the two of them alone. Shirou leaves Saber behind as well when he heads for school. There, strange things seem to be happening as the captain of the archery club and Sakura's brother disappears. Later that day, Tohsaka finds Shirou wandering around and his lax attitude pisses her off so much that she decides to beat her up to teach her a lesson. Unbeknown to them, a servant is watching the school from the shadows. Two Magicians (Part 2): While Shirou and Tohsaka are duking it out, they are interrupted when they discover a student who has passed out due to her life being drained from her to power a servant. Shirou takes a hit from the servant when she protects Tohsaka who was in the middle of healing the student who had passed out. Chasing the servant, Shirou finds himself in a bind as the Rider servant reveals itself and attacks him. Deciding whether to use one of the seals to summon Saber, Shirou decides against it and faces Rider alone. He is nearly killed and the only thing that saves him is Tohsaka's arrival. Healing him up, Shirou heads on over to Tohsaka's house where the two of them discuss what had just happened. Tohsaka reveals the existence of the third master in their school who had been creating a seal to steal everyone's life force and feed it to the servant. The two of them decide to form an allegiance to root out the third master from the school. Archer, who has been ordered to walk him back home, mocks Shirou for his ideal of winning the Holy Grail without killing anyone and warns him of his impending death. Anticipatory Squirms: As if dealing with Saber getting mad at him for not summoning her when Rider attacked him at school and trying to go to school with them, Tohsaka arrives there as well. Although Tohsaka manages to convince Saber to stay at home, Shirou still has to deal with Sakura seeing Tohsaki waiting for Shirou that morning. At school, Shirou and Tohsaka goes all over the place looking for the magical seals that will drain people of their lives and begins deactivating them one after another. At the end of the day, after they had deactivated most of the seals, they decide to go home. Having already parted, Shirou feels another seal and goes out to look for it. He discovers the master seal that will activate all others and leave everyone within the seal a bunch of soulless dolls. There, he runs into Rider once more and discovers that Shinji, Sakura's older brother is the master who has summoned Rider. Melody of Dissonance: Having discovered that Shinji is the Master of the Rider Servant, the two of them have a talk about what to do. Like him, Shinji is an inexperienced Master who has never had any magical training whatsoever. He proposes to make an alliance with him against Rin. When he refused his invitation, he tells her of another Master in the school since he cannot be detected because he has no magical abilities and another Master hidden within Ryudou temple within the mountains - a fact that is confirmed by Issei, who has close ties to the temple. Returning home, he finds both Saber and Rin waiting for him there and he tells them of what he has found out. Together, they decide against attacking the Master on the temple. After the strategy meeting, Rin tells Shirou that she has decided to stay in the house with him and makes herself comfortable. Of course, it proves to be a problem when Sakura and Fuji comes over for dinner. Having completely talked her into a corner, Rin manages to convince Fuji and gets them to leave. As soon as Shirou falls asleep though, Saber heads out to the temple where the Assassin Servant is waiting to intercept all intruders at the main gate. Elegance in the Moonlight: Saber has run off to investigate the temple by herself and runs into the Assassin Servant. His introduces himself as Kojiro Sasaki, a fearsome swordsman from the history of Japan and Miyamoto's biggest rival. As Saber faces off against him, Rider sneaks up to the temple with ease and confront Assassin's Master. Against her, even Rider is having a difficult time finishing her off as Saber and Assassin are nearly equal in combat. When Assassin performs his 3 swallow strike, a move that is very near the level of a hougu, Saber is forced to go all out and begins summoning her sword. Upon sensing the immense amount of power that Saber is gathering, Rider retreats to spy on her technique. Shirou, who has followed her, sees Rider in the trees and when both Saber and Assassin senses her as well, they postpone the duel to keep their secrets from being leaked. As soon as Assassin leaves, Saber passes out and Shirou carries her back home. There, Saber explains what has happened to Shirou and Rin. When Shirou stubbornly refuses to allow Saber to fight, Saber decide to train him herself to show her the power of a Servant and hope that he will realize that he can never defeat one by himself. A Peaceful Interlude: Shirou takes the day off to take on the training from Saber since he is too much of an idiot to listen to reason or realize that there is no way that he would be able to take on a Servant with his bare hands. In the sword dojo of his house, he proceeds to get his butt kicked all afternoon by Saber who isn't even fighting him seriously. Asking why she wants the Holy Grail, Shirou finds out that Saber's reason has to do with an unfulfilled quest from her past life before her death and rebirth as a Servant. Having gone out to buy Taiyaki for himself and Saber, Shirou runs into Ilyasviel von Einzbern, the Master who commands the Berserker Servant. Deciding to spend the afternoon with her, Shirou finds out more about her and other things about being a Master and the Holy Grail war itself. Having returned home, Shirou finds out from Tohsaka that Shinji has contacted her in an effort to recruit her to his team. After dinner, Tohsaka begins training Shirou in magical basics so that his chances of survival will increase. Afterwards, Archer speaks to Shirou once again and tells him that he is an idiot and that Tohsaka is wasting her time on her. The only thing that he can do is get in her way and die, nothing else. Blood Fort Andromeda: After skipping school to be trained by Saber in fighting and by Rin in magic, Shirou is lured out into the school by Shinji. The moment he gets into the building, the seal is activated. Shinji really was the one who put the seal in to steal the energy from all his classmates to fuel his servant, the Rider. Without Saber, Shirou could easily take out Shinji, but not Rider. Tossed out the building, Shirou is forced to use one of his command seals to keep himself from getting killed and summons Saber into the battlefield. With Shirou taking on Shinji and Saber going up against Rider, Shirou and Saber easily overpowers the duo, but just as Shirou is about to force Shinji to give up his command seals, Rider breaks free from Saber and rescues Shinji, then uses her hougu - a technique that unleashes all of her stored mana in one shot to escape from the school. After Shinji retreats with Rider, Shirou passes out and wakes up back in his house nursed by Rin. From her, he learns that everyone in school is fine. Talking to Saber, Shirou finally acknowledges what he has been told all along - a Master cannot stand up to a Servant, but although he will not to tackle the problems all on his own anymore, he will still fight beside Saber. Tearing the Sky: After learning that Fuji has already begun to recover from the incident at school caused by Shinji, Shirou, Saber and Rin goes on a strategy meeting to discuss what they have learned about Rider. Afterwards, Shirou decides to go after Shinji before he has a chance to get Rider to use the Blood Fort seal to regain her strength once more and ambush them. Searching for him in the city with Saber, Realizing that Shirou is at his physical limit, Saber forces him to rest up in the nearest park that also happened to be where the final battle of the last Holy Grail War took place and where he had met his adopted father after he managed to survive that catastrophe. Beginning their search once more, they soon discover the whereabouts of Shinji and Rider and goes after them once more. Lured to the top of the building to fight Rider, Saber realizes that the reason she is the Rider Servant is because she rides the phantasmic beast Pegasus and draws off mana from it. It turns out that Rider is not a heroic soul, but an evil soul of equal power to a heroic soul. Running to the top to help Saber out, Shirou misses Ilya and Hercules following him. With Shirou in the roof with her, Saber is forced to reveal her hougu to protect him and her sword, Excalibur becomes visible as she unleashes a massive amount of power to completely eradicate Rider and her Pegasus. With Rider destroyed, Shinji runs away again as Shirou is forced to tend Saber who collapses after unleashing her hougu. Castle of Winter: Soon after finishing her battle with Rider, Saber collapses and goes to sleep. Talking to Rin, Shirou realizes that by using her hougu, Saber has almost depleted her mana and is about to fade away. The only way to save her now is for her to drain mana from her Master which she should have been able to do from the very beginning, but was unable to due to her incomplete summon or for Shirou to use one of his command seals to get her to kill a lot of people to replenish her mana. Watching over her, Shirou falls asleep and sees what she is dreaming off - a memory from her past when she was still alive. He sees her about to pull out Excalibur with a wizard calling her Arturia and telling her that whomsoever pulls the sword from the stone shall become King of Britain. It then skips to a scene in which Saber leads an army into a battlefield. Finally, it shows the sword in an unknown forest. Waking up, Shirou wonders where the sword is now. Shirou goes out for a walk trying to figure out what to do to save Saber. In the park where he was with Ilya, he meets her there once more and she uses a spell on him. He wakes up in her castle and she demands his services and loyalty in exchange for his life. He also learns that she was there when he faced Shinji and that she ordered Hercules to kill Shinji. In Shirou's house, Saber wakes up after sensing Shirou in danger and asks for Rin's help. With Rin and Archer, they make their way to Ilya's castle. With Ilya off to welcome Rin, Saber and Archer, Shirou attempts to Ilya's grasp. At the End of Ideals: Entering the castle after seeing Ilya leave, Rin with Archer and Saber manages to find Shirou and take him out. On their way out, they realize that they have been led to a trap and that the Ilya they saw earlier was merely a double to lure them in. Attacked by Ilya's Berserker, Archer is left behind to slow him down and escape whenever Rin, Saber, and Shirou have safely distanced themselves away. Facing Berserker's immense strength, begins to reveal his ability to summon a near unlimited number of weapons. Surprised that Archer is managing to damage Berserker, Ilya presses him to end it quickly which forces Archer to reveal his hougu - an ability to send them all to a place with a near unlimited number of swords at Archer's disposal. In the end, it still wasn't enough as Archer is eliminated from the game and Berserker begins to recover from the damages that Archer has inflicted on it. The Twelve Trials: Archer has been eliminated and Shirou, Saber, and Rin have made a stop at an old abandoned building. There, they come up with a strategy to defeat Berserker. Attempting to recover Saber's strength so that she can fight again, Rin transfer's a piece of Shirou's soul into Saber so that she can receive mana from Shirou and recuperate. In the morning, Rin comes up with a strategy in which she will hide while Shirou and Saber distract Shirou and Ilya. While they are fighting him, Rin will study and strike at the most opportune time. Going one on one against Berserker, Saber is unable to even attack and placed in a perpetual defense. While Saber is being pushed back, Shirou tries to back her up by using the bow and arrows that he transformed form sticks and discovers that he can't even distract Berserker with that. At the moment that Berserker's attention has been placed solely on eliminating Saber, Rin attacks using her most powerful jewels and manages to blow his head off. But at the moment that their victory is certain, Berserker grabs Rin and his head is still attached. From Ilya, they find out that Berserker's hougu is the ability to be reincarnated immediately after getting killed up to 12 times - a life for each of the 12 great trials that he performed in his legend. Rin most certainly killed him then, but he still has 7 more lives to go and he is about to squeeze Rin to death. The Sword that Brings Forth the Promised Victory: Trying to defeat Berserker before Rin is squashed, Shirou is forced to use another of his Reiju to keep Saber from using her hougu again and disappearing in the process. Trying to save Rin, Shirou remembers Archer's advice to him and begins using his tracing magic to recreate the sword that he saw Saber wielding in the dream that he saw. Using the sword that he has summoned, Shirou is able to cut off Berserker's arm and with Saber's help, kills him seven times in just one strike. With Berserker dead, Shirou takes in Ilya against Saber's advice with Rin disagreeing with him as well in the beginning. In the end, Saber is forced to accept her in the household when she tells them that Berserker is the only servant that she wants. Saber is reluctant about it, but Rin easily accepts it with keeping an eye on her in mind and having her as an extra protection for Shirou. Elsewhere, the witch on the mountain plots with another master upon finding out that Berserker has been eliminated from the war. In order to force the holy grail to materialize, they need someone who is of a magician's lineage and has the capacity for magic regardless of skill. To that end, they plan on using Sakura. Stigma of the Witch: Shirou sees a dream from Saber's past when she was King Arthur and is troubled by how her own people could not understand her. When Fujimura-sensei and Sakura comes over to make and eat dinner, Rin introduces Ilya to them as her cousin who is living there with them. After the two of them leaves, Rin, Shirou, Saber and Ilya form up a plan on what to do about the master on Ryudouji hill because the number of people getting into a coma is beginning to increase with Berserker out of the way. From Ilya, they learn that there is two Servants there. One of them is the Assassin servant that Saber fought and the woman that they though was his master turned out to be the Caster Servant. Caster being a magician as well, killed her master when she was summoned, used a normal human to be her master so that she could move more freely and then summoned Assassin. Rin has figured out that the puppet master is actually Kazuki-sensei and has decided to attack him to see if Caster will come out to protect him. Since Caster is the weakest, Saber can easily handle her. What they didn't realize was that Kazuki is willingly doing it. Although he is not a magician, he is a powerful brawler - powerful enough to beat up Saber with his fists after getting a magical boost from Caster. Desperate for a weapon to use against him, Shirou summons the swords that Archer uses. Caster then stops the fight and proposes that they all join together. She tells them that she has found a way to summon the Holy Grail without having the Masters and Servants fighting each other. It will just need the sacrifice of every living human in the city to summon it and a little more to maintain it. When they refuse, Caster tells them that she could always get another magician to serve as a sacrifice and retreats. Thinking that they are going to try to take Ilya, the three of them runs home. When Saber gets home, she finds Sakura collapsed on the floor and when she tried to help her, Sakura stabs her with a knife. It turned out to be Caster controlling Sakura and the knife is her Hougu. It has the ability to break bonds and although Sakura doesn't have enough to sever the bond between Saber and Shirou, she has managed to seal away Saber's ability to summon her sword. Taking Sakura as a hostage, Caster tells them to come to the temple if they don't want Sakura to die. The Decisive Battle: With Sakura kidnapped, Shirou, Rin and Saber rushes to get to the temple as quickly as they can before Castor sacrifices Sakura to summon the Holy Grail. When they reach the entrance to the temple, Rin discovers that the temple that Medea is using to cast the ritual to summon the Holy Grail is not in the temple that they see. Instead, she has created a Greek temple beneath the Buddhist temple above. Complete with a recreated city full of monster, they must break through quickly with time running out. Breezing through the monsters, Saber leaves Shirou and Rin to fight Assassin on the steps of the temple so that they two of them can reach Sakura in time. By the entrance of the temple, they see Rin in the altar with the ritual about to begin. Shirou stays behind to keep Kazuki busy as Rin tries to free Sakura from the ritual. Reaching the altar, Castor shows up and puts a spell on Sakura and begins the ritual to summon the Holy Grail. Rin has to fight her way through the defenses that has been put in the while Sakura's life is being drained away from her to summon the Holy Grail. Fighting the spell surrounding Sakura, Rin remembers the time that they first met years ago as children. Trying to not hold back, Rin manages to break through the spell and bring Sakura back to her senses. Weakened, wounded and bleeding badly by the Sakura's attacks while she was under the spell, Rin collapses in Sakura's arms as Caster muses from above to herself that she only needs one magician whomever it may be. The Golden King: Saber's battle with Assassin ends in a victory for her when she overcomes his swallow strike and rushes in to where Shirou and Rin are at. In the altar, Rin has run out of jewels to use against Castor and Shirou just got himself pummeled by Kazuki. Rushing in to defend them, Saber challenges Castor who mocks her and tells her that with the damage inflicted by Rulebreaker, she has no chance of beating her without that holy sword of hers. But just as they are about to begin their match, a figure in golden armor appears and easily destroys Castor and kills Kazuki. He claims to be the Golden King and claims Saber as his property. He tells Saber that he wants an answer to his proposal that he made ten years ago and leaves. Holding another strategy meeting in Shirou's house, Rin and Shirou finds out from Saber that the Golden King was an Archer class servant from the previous Holy Grail War. He was the one that beat her in the final battle amidst the flames that consumed everything and the place where Kiritsugi, Shirou's foster father found him in. An even bigger shocker for Shirou is that his dad was actually Saber's master from the previous war. Although she had fought him, Saber is uncertain of the Golden King's identity. A servant's weapon and markings gives a clue to their identity, but the Golden King has so many and all of them doesn't hold a distinctive clue to a single identity. Going back to the church, Shirou visits the priest there to ask about the Holy Grail and how a servant can exist without it since Saber was forced to destroy the Holy Grail that Kiritsugi attained from the previous war. Distant Traces of Dreams: Shirou finds out that the Archer servant that has survived from the last Holy Grail Battle might have been surviving for the past 10 years by killing and absorbing the lives of people since that time. The next day, Shirou takes Saber out on a date to get to know her better. They go through all the usual things from shopping to going to the movies and a dinner, to a trip to the aquarium and a teddy bear store. On the bridge, while trying to get her to change her outlook on why she has been summoned back into the world to take part in the Holy Grail War, the two of them get into an argument and Shirou leaves her behind on the bridge and tells her to do whatever she wants. Arriving back home, he falls asleep and is woken up by Rin hours later when she couldn't find Saber. Shirou rushes back to the bridge to find that Saber is still there trying to figure out what she wants to do for herself and where she should go to. The two of them make up and as Shirou leads her back home hand in hand, the Golden King appears and he is angry that Shirou is touching his property. The Genesis Star that Sunders Heaven and Earth: The Golden King attacks them as Shirou tries to get Saber away from him. Stabbed through the chest, he watches on as the Golden King overwhelms Saber and reveals to them his identity and the reason why he has so many weapons at his disposal. He is actually Gilgamesh, the first king in fables. At his disposal are weapons more powerful and more ancient than what most heroes could ever posses. Forcing Saber to give herself to him, Shirou manages to get up again and summon all of his strength to summon another weapon - an ultimate creation of his magic. He manages to summon the sheath for Excalibur and using it with Excalibur, the two of them reflects the Golden King's attack back at him, causing him to retreat. Shirou collapses from his injury in Saver's arms and dreams of another bit of Saber's past. When he wakes up, Shirou once again pours his heart out to Saber and how he feels about her and asks her again to forget the past and the selection of kings. Unfortunately, it is something that Saber refuses to do. Going to the church to seek out more advice about Gilgamesh, when he discovers something odd about the church, following that feeling along, he discovers a secret cavern within the church and runs into Lancer, the priest's servant... At the End of Wishes: Rin is looking after Ilya after a fever that will not go away until the Holy Grail War ends has rendered her extremely ill. Talking to Saber while searching for Shirou, she informs her of what she has found. She has discovered the whereabouts of Lancer's master and he is dead. He has been dead for a long time now and Rin suspects that a master from the previous war has killed him and used the remaining reiju that he has to form a pact with him. That would explain the reason why he has been using a servant of the knight class like lancer for reconnaissance - he has another servant that could do the fighting for him. Saber suspects that the priest is the new master for Lancer and rushes there since Shirou goes there and still hasn't returned. There, Saber finds Shirou and runs into Lancer who has used his Gae Bolga to stab Shirou in the chest. Kirei shows up and interrupts their battle and returns Shirou to Saber and asks them if they want to use the Holy Grail to rewrite their past. Shirou refuses and tells them that to do that would mean to destroy all the sacrifices that people have made since that time worthless and the lives they have lived after that unimportant. He then tells Saber that if she were to kill Shirou, he would give her the Holy Grail, but Saber refuses and tells him that Shirou is much more important. Upon hearing this, he summons Gilgamesh to Lancer's surprise and orders the two of them to work together and dispose of Shirou and Saber. The moment her leaves though, Lancer, displeased with this secret and the disregard of the rules and use of heroic souls such as themselves, fights Gilgamesh and allows them to flee. Away from the church, Saber heals Shirou's wound by replenishing the mana within Excalibur's sheath and explains to him that the sheath itself is like a hougu that automatically heals the owner of wounds. His dad had taken it from Saber during the last war and must have given it to him to save his life back then. As they run away, Gilgamesh destroys Lancer. Holy Grail: Shirou and Saber returns home to discover Rin gravely wounded. Kirei showed up there and caught her off guard and has kidnapped Ilya who has begun to change into the Holy Grail. Either of them stands a chance against Kirei and Gilgamesh so Shirou decides to gamble on a chance since they only need to defeat one of them. He tells Saber to take the scabbard out of him and take it back. This will increase Saber's powers at the risk of Shirou not being able to heal if he gets wounded. Going to the temple that Rin predicted the two of them would be in, the Holy Grail has begun to enter the world of humans once more. Saber faces Gilgamesh as Shirou goes off to face Kirei on his own to rescue Ilya. Going up against, Gilgamesh, it just seems to be a repeat of the events from ten years ago while Shirou learns that Kirei is the one that his father fought ten years ago. When he had Saber destroy the sword, he believed that he had put an end to the Holy Grail war once and for all and lived out the rest of his life content while the curse that he was inflicted with eats away what is left of his strength. When Shirou gets enveloped in the tendrils of darkness that Kirei is manipulating, Gilgamesh taunts Saber who is at her limit that her master is already dead. Upon hearing this, she tells him that he is still alive and she can feel the connection she has with him. With this, she gets her second wind and fights more furiously than before. Avalon: The final battle upon them, it seems as if both Saber and Shirou are a bit outmatched by their opponents. Both of them keep on fighting and refuses to surrender even as it seems to be a hopeless cause. By believing in each other though, they managed to gain the strength needed to fight back. Saber finally was able to unleash her true Hougu - Avalon, an ability that protects her from all attacks completely and using that, charges through Gilgamesh' attack, then counters with Excalibur and finally destroys him and puts an end to the battle that began between the two of them 10 years past. Shirou, using tracing magic, breaks free of Kirei's hold and uses the magical knife that Rin gave him to stab Kirei. Upon getting stabbed, Kirei recognizes the knife and asks why he has it. It was something that he gave to a little girl 10 years ago on a whim. With both Kirei and Gilgamesh gone, Saber asks Shirou to use his last reiju to command her to destroy the Holy Grail. Upon doing this, the last reiju disappears from Shirou's hand and Saber vanishes. Later on, everything begins to return to normal. Rin has moved back to her own place while Ilya stayed on with him. Sakura still comes to cook for him and Taiga-sensei still comes over to eat Sakura's cooking. Meeting Rin on his way to school, they talk about the events of the Holy Grail war and how he is holding up now that Saber is gone. Shirou responds to her by telling her that someday, the memory of her voice, her face, her everything will eventually vanish from him, but he will always know that he love her. Skipping school, Shirou heads for that bridge where their date ended. Back in the past, Saber as King Arthur, is carried by Bedevere. She wakes up and tells him that she just had a most wonderful dream. She then commands him to take her sword through the forest, though the battlefield and toss it into the lake. When he returns, Arthur tells him that she is going back to sleep and this time, it will be for a long time. With his king dead, Bedevere wonders if Arthur was able to see the continuation of that dream she had and hopes that she did. Final Approach (Comedy) Panic Visit!! Prety Girl of Love and Destiny!: Great Explosive Debut!! Love and Adoration for the Transfer Student!: A Great Crash!! The Dragon and Tiger of Love and Ambition!: A Great Decision!! The Departure to Love and Ambition!?: Closing in!? Hell of Steaming Love and Death!: A Great Shock!! The Result of Love and Sorrow!: These days, Ryo and Emiho have been getting awfully close to one another. It doesn't seem to bother Shizuka. Ryo and Emiho have gotten so close that they actually talk to each other on the phone most nights and even went out on a date in the zoo. Of course, such happy moments can't last - especially when Ryo discovers that Shizuka have been monitoring their activities from a spy satellite. Ryo gets extremely angry at her upon learning this. It was one thing to intrude on his privacy, but doing the same thing to Emiho is the last straw. From that point on, Ryo has completely ignored Shizuka. A Great Tragic Love!! The Sleeting Snow of Love and Yearning: With Ryo ignoring Shizuka completely, it has been a strange and unbearable situation for Akane. Miki has been worried about her and tried to talk to Ryo. Yurika agrees with this sentiment as well. Being berated about how he refuses to see Shizuka's real self, Ryo thinks about it for a moment. On the way home, Shizuka gives away her umbrella to Miki and walks of into the snow by herself. Having noticed this, Ryo follows her where he found her crying to herself in the snow (Sad girls in snow! sorry, sorry that was bad). Ryo decides to share his umbrella with her as they walk home together. A Great Fever!! The "A-hn for Love and Reminiscences!: Akane has gotten a cold. Staying at home, she reminisces about the past and begins to feel as if she is being left behind by her brother. In school, Ryo is a nervous wreck worrying about Akane. He's so worried that he decides to go home early. Arriving home, he nurses Akane the way they used to before. Of course the loving tender moment was disrupted by Shizuka who has arrived home with Miki and Emiho. A Great Battle!! Beyond the Love and Gunfire!: When Emiho's brother shows up out of the blue demanding that Ryo stop associating himself with his sister, he also learns that Emiho's marriage is being stepped up by him as well. Ryo makes a deal with Shizuka in order to rescue her and together with backup, they storm the cruise both where the meeting is taking place. Having rescued Emiho, she is put off to learn that Ryo bribed her into rescuing her by promising a kiss. At the same time, Emiho's fiancé falls for Shizuka! A Great Execution!! The Summons of Love and Mercilessness!: While preparing for the finals, Shizuka got a message from her father, the president of the Masuda foundation. It would seem that he didn't know anything about the marriage arrangement with Ryo and demands that she return home in one week to explain everything. At the same time, he tells her that her grandfather is ill. Shizuka explains to Ryo and Akane that although the initiative for the marriage arrangement is true, her father is never around and that she was raised mostly by her grandfather who has given his approval for her involvement. Refusing to tell Ryo why she has agreed to it, Ryo gives her just one week to keep living with them - the time that her father has allowed for her to stay where she is before going back home! The Great Farewell!! The Hina Dolls of Love and Farewell!: With only a day left until Shizuka has to go home to her father, Ryo wanted to not do anything special, but Akane, working an emergency shift, made sure to leave the two of them all of Shizuka's favorite food. After dinner, Shizuka gave Ryo a pair of Hina dolls that represents the two of them and tells him the tale of a young heir who fell in love with a girl, but was forced to marry another woman. In time, he stopped thinking of his first love, but when his wife died, he started thinking about her again and tracked her down. Unfortunately, she had already died. She did, however leave behind two grandchildren about the same age as his own granddaughter. That was the story of Shizuka's grandfather. Opening up her heart to him, she can't understand why Ryo would not accept her and ran away from him in tears. Great Applause!! "Idiot" of Love and Blessing!: After Shizuka has left, Ryo seems extremely happy about it. As time went on though, it was becoming easy for the people close to him to see that he is only trying to act happy and that he really misses Shizuka who has returned to her old school. Finally realizing that he really does miss her after opening up the Hina dolls she left behind and discovering the message she left for him, he has made a decision to finally go see her again and take her back. Going to her school, he finds her and the two of them are reunited once more as the share their first kiss. A Great Conflict!! The Wedding of Love and Glory!: Haru and Yurika has finally married and Haru has moved out of his place which is right next door to Ryo's apartment. With that vacated of an occupant, a new neighbor moves in and it turns out to be Shizuka. When Ryo and the girls go to the mall, Ryo and Emiho are offered to be the model for Emiho's brother's commercial about a wedding. The others want in on it too. To decide who gets to be in the commercial, they all have a competition. In the end, Emiho's brother couldn't decide and they all end up in the commercial. Final Fantasy: Advent Children Two years have passed since Cloud and his friends defeated Sephiroth and the planet itself wielded its powers to stop the destruction of meteor that Sephiroth and Jenova caused. In the aftermath of that tragedy, a new illness have appeared that has inflicted itself on people - Geostigma. Cloud and Tifa now lives with orphans and Cloud runs a delivery service. All is not well however when a man named Kadaj with his henchmen Yazoo and Loz come after him looking for Jenova's head whom they refer to as "mother." Finding out from Rufus who managed to survive the Weapon attack on Midgar, he learns that they might be trying to recreate the tragedy of Sephiroth. In a search for answers as well as forgiveness for himself from a memory, Cloud goes up against Kadaj and his gang. Everyone gathers together again to go against this new tragedy in the making, but they are unable to prevent Kadaj from taking Jenova's head. About to loose to Cloud, Kadaj takes on Jenova's head (or what remains of it) into himself and he is transformed into Sephiroth. Cloud once again have to face his nightmares. In the aftermath of that, a cure for Geostigma has finally been found as Cloud heals the children afflicted by it in the church where Aerith used to grow her flowers. Looking around at everyone's smiling faces, Cloud notices a woman in the background walking away. Aerith! She turns around and tells him, "You're going to be alright now!" She then turns around and walks away with Zach into the light as Cloud agrees with her. Letting go of his memory's hold on him, he answers her by saying to himself, "I am not alone!" (Action/Adventure) What? Are you kidding me? Do you even have to ask? It will not disappoint - especially those who have played this game and loved like I have. Easily one of my top three favorite in the Final Fantasy series (along with 6 and 10). The CG rendering is so amazing that if someone were to watch it for a minute or so only, they might walk away thinking that it is a live action film that they just saw. It also makes it mildly amusing to compare the CGs of the film with that of the original game for PS1. Final Fantasy: Last Order This is a chronicle of the time that Zack and Cloud (well, mostly Zack since Cloud was in a drooling vegitative state at the time) spent when they first escaped the Nibelheim research facility where they were kept as guinea pigs for experiments. While Zack does all the fighting, a shared memory flashes back from Zack and the man in charge of the Turks at the time to the events of five years prior. In Nibelheim, where an incident is being investigated by Shinra, Sephiroth found out a secret and went insane, killed almost everyone and vanished when Zack and Cloud managed to inflict a heavy damage on him. Going back to the present, Zack and Cloud's journey ends just shy of Midgar. (Action/Adventure) It's an ok thing to watch - especially if you've never played Final Fantasy 7 before. It gives out some info on Zack and the incident at Nibelheim where Cloud and Tifa grew up in. other than that, not much going on in here, so I can only recommend this to people who want to know more about the world of Final Fantasy 7 after seeing Advent Children. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within The year is 2065 AD. The Earth is infested with alien spirits, and mankind faces total extinction. Led by a strange dream and guided by her mentor, Dr. Sid, scientist Aki Ross struggles to collect the eight spirits in the hope of creating a force powerful enough to destroy the alien presence and pure enough to protect the planet. With the aid of the Deep Eyes Squadron, Aki must save the Earth from its darkest hate and unleash the spirits within. (Action/Adventure) The CG's are spectacular and there is a guy there named Cid, but as for the rest - it's a major disappointment. Sure it looks pretty and there are big named stars doing voice actor work for it, but truthfully, it shouldn't even be labeled Final Fantasy. Sure, there is a guy named Cid in there, but where are the Chocobo's, Moogles, Biggs, Wedge, summoned beasts, magic, sword battles. More importantly, where did the plot, character development and story telling, which is the trademark of Final Fantasy, go? Rent this one just to see the amazing CG effects, but I would not recommend actually buying this. Fist of the North Star (Also known as Hokuto no Ken) The world is on the verge of complete destruction! The only hope left for mankind is to find a hero worthy of becoming the next “Fist of the North Star.” (Action) For all of you post apocalyptic buffs, go ahead and get this one. Quite innovative for its time, some people have described it as big men with little heads that go boom. Ken, the main protagonist of the story has been parodied over and over again. If you ever see and anime that references exploding heads and a character with seven scar holes inhis chest that looks like the big dipper, it's from this anime. Five Card Story (Hentai) 1: Daina Nariyuki is a sexy, young, English teacher. He is planning to charm his way into four of his cute students, Lisa, Fumiko, Naoki, and Mimika. However, Onikuma, the school dean is one step ahead with a sinister plan. What is Onikuma up to? What will Diana do? Will he get his girls? Will he also end up with his pretty new assistant, Mayu? Follow the titillating adventure of Diana and his sexy girls! 2: The English teacher, Daina, ends up in a hotel with his assistant Mayu. Afterwards, they come across Naoki. She is being ordered by the dean, Onikuma, to prostitute herself. A top student and VP of the student government, Lisa brings Daina a homemade lunch. However, it contains a special ingredient…. When Lisa demands sex from Daina, he is surprised that the virgin Lisa seems more experienced. Follow Daina and his students through this tale of lust and mystery! 3: In the old school building, Lisa is helplessly chained and unable to resist the carnal advances of Fumiko, Naoki, and Onikuma. Lisa, given the aphrodisiac, becomes the nest victim in Onikuma’s sinister plan. While Daina is on a date with Mimika, Mayu becomes the last victim, as Onikuma kidnaps her to make her his ultimate slave. Unaware of the dangers in Lisa and Mayu’s lives, Daina continues his date and ends up taking her virginity. How will Daina save the girls from Onikuma? Will he be on time? 4: Mayu, kidnapped by Onikuma, is chained in the old school building. Onikuma assaults her with a vibrator, and he violently slaps her for her insolence. After Mayu is given the aphrodisiac, her hunger for cock overtakes her mind, reason, and sanity. Meanwhile, Daina is busy comforting Lisa through the power of love and sex. By being loved by Daina, all his girls slowly begin to mend their hearts and bodies of the trauma they received. Unable to escape, Omikuma violates every orifice in Mayu, unaware of Mayu’s shocking secret and weapon! Fruits Basket The Sohma family is cursed. However, this is no ordinary family curse. When a member of the family is embraced by a person of the opposite gender, they transform into an animal of the Chinese Zodiac! The Sohma's managed to keep the curse private for generations, but when a young girl stumbles upon their secret, life at the Sohma house changes forever. Conflict erupts as Zodiac rivals clash in this most unusual household. Young Tohru Honda must promise the secret will remain her own, or face the consequences! (Comedy/Drama) Karmie-chan was actually the one who introduced me to this series way back when. She was the one who gave me the avi files and the codecs to play them years and years ago. Ah! So nostalgic! Anyway, Fruits Basket is a good series! Very funny, but has a lot of darker aspects hidden in the humor-which I like rather well. Yes, buy it! This is one of my all time favorite anime series! You HAVE to buy it! Buy it! Buy it! Buy it! It'll leave you laughing, "aww"ing, and sometimes crying. Everyone I've ever lent this series to has HAD to get it for themselves. Don't be a loser! Go out and get it too! 1: Tohru Honda lives in a tent. It hasn't always been this way, but with her parents gone and her Grandfather's house temporarily under construction she thought it seemed like a good idea at the time. But, as Tohru is about to discover, her happy little home in the woods is not her own. She's pitched her tent on land belonging to the Sohma family and meeting them will change her life forever. 2: Tohru has only spent one night in the Sohma house, and already she's stumbled on the family secret - literally! It seems the Sohmas have been living under a curse for generations. If they are every hugged by a member of the opposite sex...poof! They turn into animals! Now that Tohru has discovered the secret, she may not be able to move in after all. Worse, the head of the Sohma family may decide to erase her memory! 3: It's Kyo's first day at school, and he doesn't like it one bit! But when his daring escape attempt prompts another potentially violent confrontation with Yuki, Tohru has no choice but to intervene. Every action has a consequence, and Tohru's action has set in motion a chain of events that will soon lead her to discover there's a lot more to Yuki and Kyo than meets the eye. 4: Tohru is settling into her new role as the Sohma's housekeeper, but when another member of the Sohma family pays a visit, she may soon find herself without a house to keep! Kagura is coming along with her earth-shaking love for Kyo. Once she arrives, there is no wall strong enough to keep her from her husband-to-be! Shigure's house may never be the same. 5: Tohru always knew she wouldn't be able to stay with the Sohma's forever, but when the renovations to her grandfather's house are finally completed, she finds herself wishing she didn't have to leave so soon. Now in an unfamiliar house, surrounded by abrasive in-laws, Tohru does her best to adjust to life without Yuki, Shigure, and Kyo - but they may not be able to live without her! 6: Tohru's friends, Sakie and Arisa, have always been a bit overprotective of her. So when Tohru confides in them that she's been living with the Sohmas, it's only natural they would want to check it out for themselves! It's an impromptu slumber party, and Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo will have to watch their step when the girls arrive; the slightest slip could reveal the family secret! 7: It's one again time for the school's annual Cultural Festival, and Class 1-D's rice ball stand is a success thanks in large part to Tohru's delicious homemade treats. But what should be a day of fun turns tense when the festival is visited by two unexpected guests - Momiji and Hatori Sohma! Akito has sent them to the school to do some checking up on Yuki and the others. The only question is, why? 8: At Hatori's request (or rather, demand), Tohru pays a secret visit to the Sohma Estate. But when she arrives to find the sprawling compound practically deserted, not even the fun-loving Momiji can help to ease Tohru's nerves. Thanks to Yuki's previous warning, Tohru fears the "important matters" Hatori wishes to discuss may include erasing her memory! 9: Akito Sohma demands strict loyalty from every member of his family. The family tradition of gathering together on New Year's Holiday threatens to leave Tohru alone at Shigure's house during the celebration. To make matters worse, Tohru has never spent the holiday away from her mother. Kyo and Yuki must quickly decide whether to remain with the family or rush to Tohru's side in her moment of grief. 10: With Yuki and Kyo always competing in one form or another, the arrival of the unpredictable Hatsuharu Sohma complicates the matter even further. Hatsuharu's wild personality shifts without warning earning him the nickname "Black Haru" among his family. How will the volatile Hatsuharu react to the strange girl who knows the family secret? 11: The arrival of Valentine's Day brings with it the threat of amorous girls doing their best to get close to the popular Yuki and Kyo. But when the heat is on, Kyo flees the scene only to run into his most ardent pursuer...Kagura! Back at Shigure's house, Tohru gives gifts to all her new friends. With emotions high, Kyo flies into a rage...and towards a confrontation with Shigure! 12: As a gift to Tohru, Momiji invites the residents of Shigure's house to a vacation at the Sohma family resort. While there she learns that two new Sohmas will be enrolling in her school...Momiji and Hatsuharu! Considering the existing situation the addition of the two new Sohmas is sure to make every day at school much more interesting. 13: It's the first day of a new school year, and Tohru is excited that two more Sohmas are coming to high-school, Momiji and Hatsuharu! There's trouble in the halls when the Student Council President discovers that Momiji is wearing a girl's uniform, and even more when Black Haru appears! But the real problem begins when Tohru runs into an unexpected visitor in the hall...Akito has come to school! 14: While tending to the garden with Yuki, Tohru has a rather creepy first encounter with a new member of the Zodiac - Ayame Sohma, the snake! But the real surprise comes when Tohru discovers that Ayame is Yuki's older brother! Ayame has made a special trip to Shigure's house in order to close the gap that exists between him and Yuki, but in order to succeed, he may just need Tohru's help! 15: Tohru and her friends plan a visit to Kyoko's grave on the first anniversary of her death. There is much smiling as they all remember how wonderful Tohru's mother was in life, and Hana and Yuki are both amazed at how Tohru seems only a year after the tragedy. But there is something else hiding behind Tohru's smile that not even her closest friends can see. Tohru's struggle to cope with the loss of her mother is far from over, and it takes a chance meeting with Momiji to remind her that all of her efforts are not in vain. 16: At Shigure's urging, Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, and Hatori pile in the car for a trip to the Sohma's lake house. But what should be a relaxing vacation turns out to be rather stormy when Tohru discovers something's bothering Yuki and Kyo. And the boys' moods only worsen when an uninvited guest suddenly arrives...Ayame! 17: Having a conversation about Yuki's presidential probability for next year's student body, Tohru meets another cursed Sohma. This time, it is Kisa, a little girl who is cursed by the spirit of the tiger and because of that curse, she has withdrawn. herself and has lost her voice. When her mother comes over for her, Tohru shows a deep insight to her reasons and from then on, Kisa decides to follow her around like a chick. They soon learn that the reason why she became that way is because people are bullying her because of her hair and eye color. When her homeroom teacher asks Haru to deliver a message to her, they all come to the realization that they should first be able learn to love themselves and have confidence. Realizing this, Kisa regains her voice and decides to go back to school. Yuki also decides to accept the nomination for school body president because of this. 18: The Prince Yuki fanclub, incensed with how close Tohru has gotten to Yuki lately, has decided to do something about it. First though, they have to do something about her protectors and the first priority is to neutralize Hanajima and her fearsome vibe ability. Going into her house to find out her weaknesses, Hanajima and her brother manages to turn the tables on them by threatening to curse them all. After they have left Hanajima's house in a panic, Tohru and Ootani, worried at what the prince Yuki club is up to, visits her house and Hanajima, admits to herself that Tohru is her one and only weakness. Back in school, confident that the curse was merely a hoax played on them, the Prince Yuki club starts being a pain to Hanajima again to which she replies that the curse takes effect after three days. The episode ends with Hanajima looking at the camera as if she knows that we are watching. 19: During their examination, Tohru gets a red mark and must retake the exam. Worried about it, she collapses due to a cold induced fever as she and Kyo are walking home from school. Worried about her, various Sohma members do what they can to help her out. Kyo makes her leek porridge. Momiji replaces her in her part time job. Hatori, with Kisa in tow, visits for an exam. Yuki gives her the cheat sheets for the coming make up test. When she finally gets better, she takes the test and passes it-all due to everyone's help. 20: Yuki and Tohru journey to Ayame's clothing boutique after Yuki unexpectedly tells his brother that he would like to see it. Along the way Yuki divulges his reasoning for his newfound interest in his estranged older brother. But upon arrival, Yuki and Ayame separate for a private conversation. Tohru is more than nervous about how Yuki will emerge from the confrontation. 21: Tohru and Kisa have been spending a lot of time together, but not everyone if as happy about is as they are. Tohru learns this the hard way, when she meets a new member of the Zodiac on the street and he steals her purse! It's the young Hiro Sohma, and one way or another, he's not going to let Tohru have Kisa all to herself. 22: With only half of the school year remaining, the time has come for the crowning of the new President of the Prince Yuki Fan Club. Many girls including Minami vie for the position. The outgoing President, Motoko vows that she will never let any girl get close to Yuki. 23: Shigure's house receives yet another visitor - Ritsu Sohma, the daughter of the hostess at the hot springs. Whenever Ri's around, it seems to be one mishap after another. But Ritsu's biggest bombshell is yet to come. Tohru is in for the surprise of her life! 24: Yuki and Kyo's martial arts teacher comes to Shigure's house to visit with his former students. His name is Kazuma, and his grandfather was the previous Sohma afflicted by the curse. He comes bearing a terrible secret about Kyo. As hideous as this news is, Kyo must not avoid it any longer if he is to have any hope of becoming a full member of the Sohma family. 25: Kyo's shocking transformation into his true form is finally complete! Unfortunately for Tohru, she witnesses the entire spectacle leaving her disoriented and confused. Kagura comes up with the family's last hope to save him...whether Tohru likes it or not! 26: Honda faces Kyo and his monstrous form and with help from Yuki who kept Kyo from running again, manages to heal his damaged soul from the misery of his cursed form. All that Kyo really needed was an acceptance for who he really was, not pity or overprotection like his mother gave him. Honda was afraid of him, but accepts that this too is a part of him. With that he is relieved from a small part of his burden. With all that behind them, Kyo bids farewell to his master/adopted father. Honda has decided to confront Akito about what he has done against the advice of Kyo, Yuki, and Shigure. Meeting him in the main house with Yuki, Shigure and Hatori watching, Akito taunts her and asks her what would she know about being cursed. Honda replies the normal way and takes pity on Akito which easily diffuses the situation. Honda is then allowed to remain with Shigure, Yuki, and Kyo as if things never happened. Full Metal Panic This show has a little bit of everything in it. It has Mecha's, secret military organization, high school hi-jinx, love triangles, conspiracies, lecherous "best buddies," a protective "older sister," an archnemesis that doesn't seem to want to die, secret technologies, etc. It starts of with a mysterious organization trying to recover "black technology"-a technology that is far superior to what current human technology is. The only way to obtain this is through the subconscious minds of select people called "the whispered" who dreams about the blue prints. The main character, Sagara, is an operative of the secret military protection force called Mythril and has been sent back to high school to protect a whispered who has been targeted by a mysterious organization. It follows the adventures (or misadventures for the most part) of Sagara and Chidori as they go through (or try to go through) normal, everyday life and try to stay out of trouble and secretly flirting with each other. (24 episodes-Action/Adventure/Comedy) Karmie-chan thinks that this is a pretty good series, but I disagree with her in this. I hated Sagara and Chidori because they're both frickin' idiots. Sagara has no common sense at all and Chidori, after seeing Sagara pilot a mecha, kill people with guns, knives and lethal fighting styles several times, still thinks that he's nothing more than a military otaku and not a real special operative. It would have been better if Werz, Mao, and Tessa were the main characters in my opinion. Full Metal Panic Fumoffu More Full Metal Panic but on a more comedic and less serious tone. Slapstick comedy ensues here and most of the main characters in the first season makes guest appearances all through out as well as new characters appearing. Fumoffu is mostly about the daily misadventures of Sousuke and Chidori though. (Comedy) I liked this one much, much better than the first season. Get this one! Do it now! Oh yeah, for some strange reason, some episodes are two 15 minute (give or take a few minutes) episodes while others are full episodes so there are actually only 11 episodes of Fumoffu and 2 unaired ones. The Man Who Came From the South: Sagara gets to class and finds that someone has been in his shoe locker. Suspicious, Sagara decided that the safest way to approach it is to blow it up along with the love letter that was left in there. Of course when he pieces the letter together, he figures that the letter is actually a death threat and sets out to neutralize the "enemy." (half episode) Lunch Time That Run Idle: Kaname decides to help out Sousuke who is unable to understand Manyoushu poetry by loaning him her notes. Sousuke works all night and when morning came and it is time to return the notes, he realizes that he forgot it in his home. Kaname forces him to go home and retrieve her notes rather than spend a make up class for not turning it in on time. Hi-jinx ensues in their quest to retrieve the notes and return to school on time. From taxi drivers that runs away from them to being chased by cops, to taking the wrong train. They get back only to realize that the teacher collecting them is out sick and Kaname is the one who is appointed to pick them up and turn them in the next day. (half episode) Steel Summer Illusion: After being annoyed that Sousuke doesn’t even notice the brand new swimsuit that she’s wearing in their day at the beach, Kaname storms off. Sulking by herself, a strange man asks her if she would come with him to have some tea with his master, a frail young rich boy. When Sousuke tracks her down to the mansion, she refuses to see him, which prompts Sousuke to think that she was kidnapped. Fortunately, the young master’s three servants were former mercenaries who served in the French Foreign Legion, but will that be enough to stop Sousuke? Artistic Hamburger Hill: When the class goes out in the field for their art project, Sousuke is chosen to be the model for their drawings. When he asked the art teacher about being a model, they misunderstand each other and Sousuke thought that being at one with the environment means hiding and making sure that he is not discovered. The art teacher in return thought that Sousuke was earnestly listening to his ideas and refuses to let anyone else become their model. The class, led by Kaname must search for Sousuke and bring him back or risk failing their project. When they finally corner Sousuke after several injuries from the trap that Sousuke left behind to keep them from finding him, they beat the crap out of him and make sure he doesn’t run away again before they finish the project. (half episode) Stake Out With All of One’s Heart: Kaname, getting sick and tired of Sousuke’s inability to merge into normal society, decides to say yes when she meets an old classmate of hers who asks her out on a date. Kyouka, worried about the crumbling relationship between Kaname and Sousuke, decides to bring Sousuke along and stake out Kaname’s date. Everything seems to be going well, until some drunks decides to pick on them and Sousuke, trying not to be discovered, steals a Bonta-kun costume-the park’s mascot to help out. Of course true to form, a minor disaster occurs with Sousuke’s act of good will. (half episode) Fetish That Has Been Touted: A masher has been appearing lately attacking girls. When it attacked Kyouka, Kaname decides to report it to the cops even though Kyouka doesn’t feel like reporting. Unfortunately, Kaname encounters Wakana Youko, the cop they ran away from. Kaname gets volunteered as bait with Youko watching and Sousuke wearing the Bonta-kun suit as an added protection. Unfortunately, Youko sees Sousuke and mistakes him as the masher…. (half episode) Patient of the Darkness: Sousuke’s seeming lack of fear for the supernatural has Kaname troubled. To make certain and try to put the fear in him, she decides to take him to a haunted hospital that burned down a few years ago. In there, ghosts still wander around. Unfortunately, Kaname is the only one who gets scared silly and when gets trapped, they find out that it was actually just pranks played by kids to keep other people out or is it just that? (half episode) Pure and Impure Grappler: Kaname and Sousuke are given the job to kick out the Karate Club from their club dojo since the shack they are using as their dojo is scheduled for demolition. The Karate club steadfastly refuses though and only agrees if Sousuke can beat them in a match. Of course Sousuke agrees to it without knowing what a karate match is and pummels them one by one with unfair methods ranging from stun guns to gas attacks to unfair distractions. After beating the three junior members, Sousuke must face the captain who turns out to be the guy that rescued Kaname the day before from some thugs. When he gets distracted by Kaname, Sousuke knocks him out cold and takes control of the club dojo’s fate. Trespass with Good Intention: Tsubaki, the Karate Club’s captain, is still miffed at Sousuke for winning unfairly and keeps on challenging him to duels. When they accidentally injure the janitor, they are punished by being forced to work together in helping perform the duties of the janitor and taking care of him while he recovers from the injuries he sustained. Unfortunately, their help is not helping the janitor out. As a matter of fact, it has the opposite effect. With the last of his patience lost, the janitor snaps and becomes a berserking demon of destruction that both Tsubaki and Sousuke must work together to stop! War Cry That Has Gone Too Far: When the Rugby Club is about to be closed, they get one more chance in the form of Kaname and Sousuke. If they Kaname and Sousuke cannot shape them up and they lose the next match, it’s all over for them as a club. Unfortunately, the Rugby Club turned out to be a bunch of effeminate men who’d rather socialize by doing volunteer work, drinking tea, eating cake, and cleaning than actually playing Rugby. In order to turn them into real men, Sousuke takes them into the mountains to train. Taking a cue from Melissa Mao’s how to train manual, Sousuke turns them into fierce killing machines. When the appointed time for the match came, the Rugby Club is more than prepared with a lot of spirit to spare. Of course, under the influence of Sousuke’s training, disaster results…for the other team. The Goddess Visits Japan: The Ordeal Chapter: With their Mythril submarine docked for repairs, Captain Tessa Testarosa decides to take a vacation and goes to Japan to experience what high school life is like as well as spend some time with Sousuke. For Sousuke, that means he gets a visit from his superiors and added duties to keep Tessa safe. With Sousuke on the job, both Kaname and Tessa are relatively safe, but who is going to be protecting Sousuke from Kaname and Tessa’s battles over him? With Melissa Mao’s plane delayed, it means that he won’t be having any support at all. The question now is how long will he last. The Goddess Visits Japan: The Hotsprings Chapter: With Captain Tessa visiting Japan and staying over at Sousuke’s place, Mao and Kurz comes over as well to pick them up as well as Kaname and her friends for a trip to the hotsprings. Being in the hotsprings means one thing-the perfect opportunity to peep at naked girls! Of course, in order to do that, Kurz and the rest of the guys must get past the defenses that Sousuke has placed in order to stop him from doing just that! Fancy With No Moral Codes: Oren’s dad seems to be the head of a local gangster group that has been getting their collective buts kicked by the new kids in the block. Sousuke must help shape up the members to make sure that Oren is kept safe. It is an undertaking that is a whole lot harder that it sounds since they are all hopeless cases. When Oren is kidnapped, Sousuke must rescue her, but even in his advanced Bonta-kun suit, he can’t take them all in. He needs help. There’s no choice left but to give Oren’s hopeless bodyguards the rest of the unsold Bonta-kun suits and hope for the best as they mount a rescue operation. Blue Bird Who Cannot Be Controlled: Due to the lack of rooms for clubs, clubs at Jindai High School have been stepping all over each other. When the Sociology Club is disbanded due to lack of members, their room is to be auctioned of to the other clubs. Whichever club wins the contest set up by the Sociology Club will inherit their room. The contest: flirting with girls! Whoever goes out and convinces the most girls to come with them that afternoon wins. Sousuke is convinced to join the Photography Club and helps out even though he doesn’t have the slightest idea how to flirt with girls. On top of that, if he doesn’t come back with even one girl, he has to swim naked on the lake. There are lots of people with lots of different ways to try to convince girls to come with them-from the smooth talking Fashion Club, to the Karate Club setting them up in dangerous situations then rescuing them, to Sousuke and the Photography Club caging them. Of course at the end of the day, after Kaname forces Sousuke to release the girls, he has to start all over again with Kaname watching over him. Seeing him fail miserably even when he helps out an elderly woman, Kaname decides to go home. Just when Sousuke is about to take a swim naked, Kaname shows up wearing her mother’s formal kimono and disguised as a married woman. She rescues Sousuke and takes him away with everyone else saying they can’t compete with Sousuke who managed to pick up a beautiful married woman. Fifth Period’s Hot Spot: When Sousuke’s order for a special gun sight part arrives, he receives the wrong item and gets a bottle of bio weapon instead. When he is called into the faculty room yet again, Ono D, after finally getting his hands on the special spicy bread, grabs the closest water bottle to put out the heat and grabs Sousuke’s bottle of bio weapon. With the bio weapon hanging in the air, Sousuke decides to quarantine the class while he tries to contact the weapons dealer. When someone enters the classroom, breaking all the seal that Sousuke placed in the door, everyone decides to run away spreading the airborne bacteria all over the school. Fortunately for everyone, the bacteria turns out to be an offshoot of the oil-eating bacteria and the only thing that it does is eat polyesters. That means that everyone wearing artificial materials in their uniforms soon finds themselves butt nekked. With everyone’s uniform falling apart and rumor of Sousuke’s involvement, everyone will now be gunning for Sousuke’s head. The Hostage of Meaningless Compromise: When Sousuke gets into an altercation with some local punks and solves the situation by “peaceful mean” using his gun, they come running to their boss. They decide that Sousuke’s weak spot is Kaname and takes her hostage. If he doesn’t comply to their demands, Kaname will be “most unhappy” before the day ends. Of course, true to form, Sousuke tries to solve the situation “peacefully” by kidnapping the gang leader’s younger brother and hanging him on the ceiling of the warehouse where they are to meet. If they don’t free Kaname, Sousuke will detonate the bombs he planted-severing the ropes that the little kid is hanging from. Not only that, but he has made it clear that he has something similarly nasty planned for everyone involved in that gang. Now the choice is left in the leader’s hands. Hostility That Crossed Paths: Lunchtime in school has always been a fiasco, but when Sousuke runs out of his rations and is forced to try and buy food from the lunch lady, pure havoc ensues-including the lunch lady being injured. Now Kaname, Sousuke, and the others must sell the lunches. Of course things are never that simple. A vengeful coach trying to get Sousuke, keeps on trying to sneak something nasty in the lunches so that Sousuke gets the blame and, each time, keeps falling victim to the traps that Sousuke’s left behind to ensure the safety of the lunches. If this goes on, the poor coach won’t be in any shape to do any coaching ever again! Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid Although a semblance of an ordiary life has returned to Chidori, things are not that well as Mythril soon unveils a hidden threat of another secret organization much like their own. Using advanced technology and testing them out in civil war grounds of chaotic countries. Their eyes soon set upon Mythril's own operations and have decided to make moves against them and capture Mythril's only Arms Slave equiped with a Lambda Driver. (Action/Comedy/Sci-fi) The 3rd season, although most consider it as the second. Most people don't count Fumoffu as an actual season. It is still pretty good. There is a greater cohesion in the plot line, story telling and style than the original which I loathed. Though there are still some comedic moment in it, the story does get a bit dark nearing the ending. The story telling and pacing is pretty good overall. I liked this series, although I liked Fumoffu much better. End Days: A civil war outbreak in a small African nation of Balic has caused Mythril to intervene when one faction has begun to turn it into a war of genocide. Successfully rescuing a clinic full of the elderly, women, children, and invalid, Sousuke, Mao, Kurz and the helicopter unit is pinned down when an anti ECS missle hits their recon copter. Sousuke leaves to eliminate the missle battery to allw the others to escape and gets left behind to be hunted down by the main body of the enemy army where he has to evade them until he gets to the extraction point set up by Tessa. Reaching that point, Sousuke looks like he's about to be killed when the Tuatha de Danan rises from the surface to retrieve the arbalest and deliver a missle barrage as a parting gift to the enemy army surrounding Sousuke and the Arbalest. Out of enemy range, things returns to normal as Sousuke prepares for a text in Japanese history while the commanders anylize the info retrievd in battle. Rturning to Japan, it's just another day as Chidori beats Sousuke up for forgetting her notes in the TDD. What Lies Beneath the Water's Surface: In Jindai High School, Sousuke continues his life protecting Chidori. In the aftermath of the Balic incident, Colonel Maless, the colonel Mythril fought there is killed by Gates and his men, the ones behind them being armed with anti-ECS weaponry, after he rfuses to pay for the weapons he was supplied with. Gates also seems to have an interest in the Arbalest that Sousuke pilots and it's capabilities with its Lambda Driver. When Sousuke is informed by Kazama that someone has been peeking at Chidori's movement, he begins to go into over protective modewhile trying not to let her know about it. After causing a hug ruckus with the sprinkler system, he is forced to tell her what is going on as he manages to catch where the location of the stalker is. Cornering him, they manage to prevent more from being posted as Sousuke interogates him as an "enemy combatant." Fortunately for him, Chidori is there to restrain Sousuke, but she still wonders who might have been peeking in on her at her apartment that morning. The Labyrinth and the Dragon: When the first peace talks between the North and South Hong Kong government after 10 years of civil war is sabotaged by a terrorist attack, Mythril is sent in to intervene. When they hole themselves up in a complex maze of underground tunnel, an intelligene officer named Vincent Blueno is added as their liason to help them manuever in the complexity of the maze. Begining the mission, they manage to easily infiltrate the terrorist's defenses and destroy several savage AS that have been patroling the area. After finding where the hostages are, Kurz discovers that the Savages that they have been destroying are unmaned and piloted by remote control. Just as he's made the discovery, the trap is sprung and they find themselves surrounded by more advanced enemy ASes led by Gates. Daylight: The SRT unit that was sent in which Sousuke is a part just walked into a trap. No matter what movement they do to counter the trap, the terrorists keep on predicting what they are going to do next and counter their movement. Believing that their equipment's encryption cannot be broken, Tessa believes that there may be an informant within their ranks and she is right. Captain Vincent Blueno has been informing Gates about the movement that they are about to perform. Trying to counter this problem, Tessa sets of to manual command the team, using something that came up from their briefing to give the commands in code. Using that, they mange to get the upper hand and get Gates and several of his men to walk into a trap that they have set up. Unfortunately, they are not able to capture Gates as his AS's Lambda Driver overwhelms the Arbalest's own. Captain Blueno also manages to escape the intelligence officers sent to capture him. Lovely Sicily: In Japan, Sousuke is recalled for the operation to capture Vincent Blueno. They have discovered his wherabouts to be in Sicily amidst the mafia whom he is cashing in a favor that they owe him. It doesn't do him any good though, when Mao and Kurs manages to nap him anyway. Making their getaway, they manage to hit a snag as the mob gives chase. After eliminating the mobsters chasing them, they are pursued by Savages sent by Gates to silence Blueno whom they mistake for the mafioso as well. They are save at the last minute by an AS that looks like a modified M-9. Edge of Heaven: Vincent Blueno has been captured and in his interogation, he reveals that he has been approached by an organization called "Amalgram" to give them the inside info on Mythril's organizational movement. Back in Japan, things go on as they normally go on. Finding out that Sagara cuts his own hair with a knife, Chidori and Tokiwa decides to take him to a salon and give him an image change. When that gets screwed up (mainly with Sousuke almost shooting the stylist), Chidori takes her to her place and cuts his hair for him. Afterwards, Sousuke gives Chidori a bunch of taser weapons when she asks about protecting herself if he's not there. Returning to his own apartment, Sousuke is shocked to learn that he has been taken out of his assignment to protect Chidori, that he must return to base immediately and he is not allowed to contact Chidori again. Left Behind: Infuriated that he is suddenly transfered away from his duty to protect Chidori, Sousuke tries to confornt Wraith who just mocks him and tells him to follow order like a soldier should. In the end, he has no choice and silently leaves without telling anyone about it. The next day, Chidori wonders where he might be, but doesn't really pay it much mind as he's always gone absent before. After school, she and Tokiwa are going to a karaoke bar to take their minds of the test they just had when Chidori is overwhelmed by presence she felt when Yu Lan passed her in the streets and decides to run home. Frightened, she tries to contact Sousuke and finds out that he is no longer there when she goes to his appartment to find that it is empty except for the her notebook left for her at the entrance hallway. Jungle Groove: Back in their headquarters, Sousuke seems to have lost all of his initiative to fight as a new soldier is transfered in to cause a ruckus with him and Kurz. Forcing him to take him on in an Arms Slave, he trashes Sousuke up in his Arbalest after revealing that he is their new commanding officer, Uruz 1. After soundly defeating him, Grousseoux tells him that it isn't lack of skill that cost him the battle, but by the hesitations of his action caused by his desire to not pilot the Arbalest. Meanwhile, back in Japan, Chidori wonders where Sousuke might be now that she really needs him. Her Problem: When Sousuke is no longer there to protect her, Chidori begins to suspect that someone is stalking her. Having confirmed from their teacher that Sousuke is no longer around, she decides to catch her enigmatic stalker and manages to confront Wraith. The moment she gets the drop on him though, he gets shot twice as Yu Lan appears to finish her off. Managing to trick her, she momentarily incapacitates her as Leonardo Testarossa appears to give her orders to leave Chidori alone. Refusing this, she attacks him forcing his miniturized Arms Slave to act and kill her. Having left, Chidori is now alone to deal with several issues with Wraith. Two in Hong Kong: In Mythril's base of operation, Sousuke's unit is assigned their new mission. Sousuke is begining to question himself, why he's there and still hates piloting the Arbalest, but is refused when he requests to use a normal M-0. In Hong Kong, Sousouke and his entire unit is sent to find the Arms Slave that has been attacking both the North and South and causing a panic on both sides. Tensions are already high enough on both sides without the incidents, but now they are ready to boil over and cause another civil war. realizing that the Arms Slave is acting on its own, they have to search for where it might be since is using an ECM to cloak itself. There, Sousuke is not himself at all and after encountering it, decides that he can't keep doing this and leaves his post to wander around Hong Kong aimelessly. His Problem: Gates and his team is headed for Hong Kong to put a stop to Yu Fan's rampage and retrieve Yu Lan's corpse. Sousuke, wandering around Hong Kong without any initiative whatsover, meets up with a hooker that looks a bit like Chidori and decides to take her up on her offer for some fun. In her room, drinking up the booze that he got, she drones on how useless it is to trust people and that doing so can only lead to disappointment. At the same time, he starts having flashbacks of his time with Chidori and decides to leave her. Wandering around again, he finds a message left for him to go to a certain place. It is a message that has been plastered all over and one that Uruz 9 has also discovered. Burning Hong Kong: The SRT team is forced to take premature action with the tensions between North and south about to break out into a full civil war. At the same time, ollowing the trail of the message, he meets Yu Fan who tells him to meet a certain someone in a certain place. There, he is surprised to see Gawlun, still alive, but barely from their last encounter. After taunting him for becoming so weak and unlike the "saint" that he was when they first met, Gawlun tells him of Amalgram, Yu Fan and Yu Lan, how the two of them are so like him, and that Chidori is dead at his command. Pushed over the edge, Sousuke shoots him dead,detonating the bomb under his bed as the Mythril operation to stop Yu Fan's rampage in Hong Kong at Gawlun's order begins. Continuing Days: Escaping the bomb that detonated the moment of Gawlun's death, he encounters Uruz 9 once more who gives him a choice - either return to his post of be shot! When he expressed his lack of desire to fight anymore, Chidori shows up, seemingly from the grave, and gives him that reason to fight once more. Once more back to his old self, Sousuke takes on the Amalgram execution squad consisting of 5 venom types led by Gates who moment sbefore, just killed Yu Fan. Defeating them, things returns to normal, except for the fact that Sousuke is now ready to defy the wishes of his superiors in Mythril to return to Japan and be Chidori's protector once more. Back at Jindai High, things with Chidrori returns to the way it was before, but not quite the same as their days continues on. Fullmetal Alchemist Full Metal Alchemist is set in a world in which alchemy is a reality. It is a science in which you understand the nature of objects and with that understanding, rearrange the bonds that forms objects. Here, the story centers around the Elric brothers. The oldest, Ed, is a State Alchemist. A State Alchemist is an alchemist who serves the military and for the most part, uses their skills to kill people. It is something that Ed and Al despises, but find a necessity in order to find the Philosopher's Stone and restore themselves to normal. (Action/Comedy/Drama) Full Metal Alchemist is T3H 4W3S0M3! No seriously, it is one of the best series that has come out in the past few years in my opinion. It has just the right combination of comedy, tragedy, action, drama, etc. What? You haven’t seen it yet? Go out there and get it now! One Who Challenges the Sun: The Elric brothers arrives at the city of Lior where a priest named Cornelio works miracles. It is rumored that he an even bring the dead back to life. The meet a young woman named Rose who is under the priest's care and with her help, gets to meet him. Upon seeing his miracles, they suspect that he is just fraud using alchemy to fool the masses. They tell this to Rose, who has her hopes set on Cornelio reviving her lost love and she refuses to believe them. At the same time, Cornelio, fearing that his fraud will be revealed and under the guidance of Lust and Envy who has given him a ring with the Philosopher's Stone that amplifies alchemy, sets out to eliminate him using some of his more fanatically faithful people. Body of Taboo: Cornelio tries to eliminate the Elric brothers after they realize that he is a fraud. They manage to get away from his trap, however and realize that the ring on his hand might actually be a Philosopher's Stone, the one thing that they have been searching for to restore themselves to normal. As Cornelio continues to fool Rose with minor illusions, he does the same to the entire city and with the citizens’ help, the Elric brothers are recaptured. While in his cell, Ed talks to Cornelio and manages to get him to reveal his true intent to the masses with some help from Al who had escaped previously when Ed switched him with a dummy before they were captured. With the chaos that ensued afterwards, The Philosopher’s Stone on his ring reveals itself to be a fake as the nasty side effects of over using it emerges. Having defeated Cornelio, the Elric brothers leaves the city to renew their search of the real Philosopher’s Stone and leaves behind Rose. Cornelio, defeated confronts Lust and Greed and is killed by them and replaced by Envy. Transmutation of Love: The Elric brothers are ontheir way to Central City to meet Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang about being a State Alchemists when they overhear news of the dead walking the earth in the next town where the only defense the town has is an alchemist by the name of Majhal. Remembering his name from their father's letters, Ed and Al head for that town to find out more clues form him about human transmutation. There, they discover that there really are zombie like creatures roaming the town. The creature in question used to be a woman that lived there so long ago and died in a tragic accident. However, things are not as they seem when they soon discover that Majhal himself as the cause of the incidents. Attempting to bring back his beloved by transfixing the souls of women into dolls that resembles his lost love, He is oblivious to the fact, until the very end that his long lost beloved still lived. She never really died, merely lost her memories and has been by his side for quite some time now. Dash! Auto-mail: On the way to Central to meet Roy, the Elric brothers are instructed to take an earlier train. The train also happens to carry and important general and his family on their way back from a vacation. The train is attacked by rebels and the general captured with only Major Maes Hughes evading capture by the rebel forces. Al and Ed are mistaken for soldiers and are forced into action against the rebels and eventually hooks up with Major Hughes who already knows about them from Colonel Mustang. They take out the rebels one by one and Al takes out the leader in a competition of automail might. In Central, the rebels are being arrested when the Colonel Mustang arrives. The rebel leader breaks free and attacks Colonel Mustang who just snaps his fingers and burns the man into submission. National Alchemist Qualification Test: Allowed to take the certification exam, Ed and Al will be staying at Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist's home with him and his daughter, Nina, as they study. Shou is a State Alchemist as well as the first one to create an intelligent chimera that can speak. He and his daughter supports Ed and Al as best they could through out the three phase of the exams. They passed the written part with ease, but Al had to drop out for the second exam which was might involve a physical exam to keep people from finding out that he is only a hollow suit of armor. During the third part, an accident occurs and in the heat of the moment, Al performs an Alchemic reaction without a transmutation circle. This impressive feat is noted by the examiners and Ed gets his state certification and given the name Full Metal Alchemist by the Fuhrer. The Night the Chimera Cries: Ed is now officially a State Certified Alchemist. That also means that he will be able to access books kept by the government on alchemy that normal alchemists do not have access to. As he, Al and Nina celebrates his certification, darkness seems to loom over Shou as General Basque Gran, the Iron Blood Alchemist and highest ranking State Alchemist, visits him and reminds him that it is nearly time for his yearly certification exam. He needs to do something spectacular this year in order to keep his certification and funding. One night, Ed and Al, suspicious of the quirks that seem to be showing up in Shou's behavior, confronts him in his basement where he works on the creation of chimeras for the military. There, he shows the Elric brothers his newest creation to be presented for his certification exam. It is another intelligent chimera that can speak. Ed is mortified to find out that Shou has used Nina, his own daughter, in an experiment to create an intelligent chimera. Afterwards, Shou is arrested for human transmutation experiments and taken away by the Iron Blood Alchemist. Nina, as a chimera escapes and finds a homeless man that Ed ran into earlier. When they reach her, they discover that she has been killed. Philosopher's Stone: Ed is depressed at the events that has taken place. Nina has been murdered twice over and Colonel Mustang informs them that the Sewing Life Alchemist has been executed for performing human transmutation. He has vowed to quit as a State Alchemist. At the same time, Al learns about the Philosopher’s Stone. It is a relic that can bypass the laws of transmutation and it's limitations on Alchemists. Elsewhere, Winry arrives in the city to congratulate Ed on becoming a State Alchemist. Major Maes Hughes, investigating Nina's murder, informs Ed that he is looking at a series of murders that might be tied into Nina's death where young women are kidnapped and sliced, then abandoned elsewhere. As Ed is informed that Winry is waiting for him, he goes to see her only to find her gone. She has been kidnapped and Ed goes of to rescue her only to get captured by the serial killer himself. He barely makes it out of there alive when Al shows up to help them with Major Hughes. Winry has been saved and this incident along with the knowledge of the Philosopher's Stone's existence gives Ed resolve to continue being a State Alchemist. The Silver Watch of the Dog of the Military: Ed and Al, on their first mission, is sent to inspect some minerals. In the mining town that they are sent, they find that the citizenry suddenly becomes inhospitable once they learn that Ed is actually a State Alchemist. It seems that there is something funny going on with the Lieutenant in charge of the town. Thief Siren: On their way back to report to Colonel Mustang on the incident in Lior, Ed and Al are mistaken for Psyren, a phantom thief who uses alchemy in her capers. After getting food poisoning, Ed and Al goes to the clinic where they meet a beautiful nurse. After the police have confirmed that Ed really is the State Alchemist known as Full Metal, they ask for his help dealing with Psyren. At the time and place of her next caper, Ed pursues Psyren and realizes that she is actually the nurse from the clinic. Confronting her, she gives her reasons for doing the things that she does. Talking to the citizens of the city, the Elrics realize just how popular and seemingly well loved, Psyren is by the locals. A love-hate relationship ensues and in the end, Ed catches Psyren in the act and turns her over to the local police. The Elrics then leaves the city as Psyren is being taken away. Unfortunately for the local cops, Psyren has more tricks up her sleeves and manages to escape once more. Plain of Pebbles, Part 1: In accordance to Psyren's advice, the Elric brothers heads out to Xenotime, a mining town that used to mine for gold, but as of late, the gold vein seems to have dried out. According to the rumor the Magwar, biggest landowner in the area is having research done on how to create a Philosopher's Stone. Arriving in town, they rescue a little girl. Receiving a warm welcome, they are immediately turned into outcasts when they tell people that they are the Elric brothers. Apparently, there are already people working for Magwar that claims to be the Elric brothers. Heading there, they find out that there is a real probability that they are performing research on the Philosopher's Stone when Ed faces off against the elder Tringham brother who is impersonating him. When they discover the river of red liquid, they soon find out more about it and the man who did initial research on it, the Tringham brother's father. It happened years ago when the mine was in danger of closing and research on it was initiated. Soon after, gold started pouring out once more, but people started getting sick. As people were dying, a strange doctor came through the town and told them that the red liquid is making them all sick. At the mansion, as the upinger of the Tringham brothers is starting to have doubts about the research, Magwar tells them that there is not enough progress and wants them to use "that" method. Plain of Pebbles, Part 2: When the Tringham brothers refused to perform "that" method, Magwar had them imprisoned. In jail, as Magwar is about to close the door on them, they find out from him that he was the one who had their father murdered years ago when he refused to perform "that" method to crystalize the red liquid into a form of an imperfect Philosopher's Stone. "That" method entails forcing pregnant women to drink the red liquid then. as the red liquid begins to crystalize in the placenta, it is scrapped off. With the Tringham brothers refusing to do that, Magwar attempts to get the Elric brothers to continue on where they left off. Agreeing to it, Ed demands to punish the Tringham brothers personally, but releases them instead. Knowing the truth about the red liquid and Magwar, Ed releases the Tringham brothers and goes after Magwar instead. When the fountain of the red liquid ruptures, it engulfs the entire mansion and threatens to flood the town in the poinonous substance. The Tringhams and the Elric cooperates to save the town. Afterwards, it's off to Central to face Colonel Mustang for Ed and Al. Flame VS Full Metal: The time has come for Edward Elric's annual certification renewal and with all the State Alchemists and the Fuhrer himself in town, he proposes a duel with Colonel Roy Mustang, with a side deal with the Flame Alchemist to tell him everything he knows about the Crystal Alchemist and the Philosopher's Stone. Doctor Marco, the Crystal Alchemist, according to General Basque Gran, the Iron Blood Alchemist, is a traitor who had deserted during the Ishbal rebellion and taken with him everything concerning the Philosopher's Stone. After a rather flashy and explosive duel, the match was stopped by the Fuhrer to stop further damage and Ed's certification is renewed. Cleaning up the mess together, Roy tells him of the time in Ishbal and the location of the Crystal Alchemist that he has never told anyone else about. Right Hand of Destruction: Having gained knowledge of the Crystal Alchemist's location, the Elric brothers begin their search for him while dodging another State Alchemist that seems to be following them. Having met Dr. Marco, the Crystal Alchemist, they discover that he has knowledge of preparing an incomplete, albeit powerful replica of the Philosoper's Stone. Unfortunately, the Iron Blood Alchemist shows up to arrest Marco and take back his incomplete stones. Fearing that it would be the same as it was four years ago, Ed chases after them when Scar, the State Alchemist killer attacks the car that General Basque Gran and Dr. Marco is in. Witnessing General Gran's death, the Elric brothers flee with Dr. Marco. When they are cornered and about to be killed, the Alchemist that was following them earlier shows up and reveals to be a body guard ordered by Lieutenant Maes Hughes to protect the brothers. He is Luis Armstrong, the Strong Arm Alchemist! Ishbal Massacre: With the Strong Arm Alchemist facing of against Scar, the Elric brothers take Dr. Marco to safety. When they have fled a bit, Dr. Marco reveals his shame and the truth he knows about the Ishbal Massacre. It started as a clash of religious and cultural ideals that inflamed into a bloody civil war. When the war seemed to have no end, the Fuhrer unleashed the State Alchemists against a people that barely have any modern weapons to eradicate them all. Even so, then Colonel Basque Gran, ordered the use of the incomplete Philosopher's Stone to completely destroy an entire culture. With soldiers committing horrible atrocities, and the murder of two doctors trying to ease the people's pain, Dr. Marco decides to disappear with the stones, leaving only Roy Mustang a clue to where he might be headed. Back to the present, even with the Fuhrer ordering every available resource, he has still managed to catch up to the Elric brothers and heavily damage Al and destroy Ed's automail arm before being forced to retreat. Dr. Marco is then taken under the custody and protection of the Fuhrer himself as Ed and Al are forced to return home to fix themselves. That Which was Lost: Ed and Al, accompanied by the Strong Arm Alchemist, are on their way home so that Granny Pinako and Winry can fix Ed's automail at which point, Ed can once again fix Al. When the train accidentally unloads Al on the wrong station, Ed and Major Armstrong return to look for him. In that town, as Ed harbors a hate against the soldiers who participated in the Ishbal suppression, Al is picked up by a young man who wants to be a gangster. After having gotten away from the Major, Ed encounters a little girl who steals his automail leg. After finally catching up to her, he meets her grandfather who was a soldier during the time of Ishbal massacre. He then realized that it is the soldiers themselves that lived through those times that holds the greatest guilt of all and that he had no right to judge them since he wasn't there. On the way out, Ed is reunited with Al and Major Armstrong. Together, they head on to the station to catch the last train. The House Where the Family Waits: Ed and Al are finally back in their hometown where Pinako and Winry can fix his broken arm. They also decide to update his leg so that it is adjusted to his increase in height. At the same time, Major Alex Louis Armstrong tries to learn more about the Elric brothers and the town they grew up in. After having been finally fixed, Ed fixes Al by transmuting the pieces of him that has been destroyed back into his armor. As he attempts to fix Al, Major Armstrong notices the blood seal is actually written in blood and is highly impressed with the skill Ed displayed in affixing Ed's soul into the armor. When they are both fully fixed, they decide to head back into Central City in search of the hidden Marco notes on the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. Marco Notes: Back in Central City in search of new clues that Marco's notes can provide, they find that the library that had the notes had been burned down the night before they arrived when Scar is ambushed in it by Lust and Greed. Although everything had been turned to ash, Ed still hopes to transmute the ashes back to the way they were, that is, until the ashes got blown away by the wind just as he was about to transmute them. All hope is not lost however as they discover a former worker named Shezka who happened to be a bibliophile. She might have taken out the book that they need. Heading to her place, the Elrics learns that she doesn't, but remembers the book and has a photographic memory when it comes to books. She then proceeds to recreate the book in its entirety which appears like a normal cookbook. Glancing through it, Ed realizes that it is in code and happily takes the book and gives Shezka her reward. The Genuine Truth Behind Truths: Guardian's Soul: Crimson Glow: Created Human: A Heart of Steel: Affixing Memories: Farewell Ceremony: Ed and Al, with Winry in tow, leaves for their teacher's place to ask her for a clue about the philosopher's stone. While this is going on, time goes backwards to when Maes Hughes and Roy Mustang right after the end of the Ishbalan rebellion and Roy's promise to never again allow something like that to happen and Maes pledging to support him in his quest from behind all the time from that moment on. Back in the present, Maes is busy researching all the series of seemingly connected event about disaster befalling those that gets to close to the philosopher's stone and a certain soldier in the Ishbalan incident. Having found that the clue has come to him, he takes a risk on it and confronts Colonel Juliet Douglas, the Fuhrer's personal secretary about her involvement with the humonculous when he is attacked by Lust. Rescued by Lt. Ross, Maes attempts to make a call to Roy with information that can land him straight to the top when Lt. Ross turns on him. She turned out to be Envy, but Maes manages to slash his throat before he shoots. turning his back on him, he rises up once more and changes into his Glacia abd shoots Maes dead when he hesistates for a moment at the sight of his wife's face. Afterwards, Maes is burried with a double promotion - a Brigadier General in death. Her Reason: When Ed, Al and Winry head for a town know for making automail, Winry finds herself in heaven at all the gadgets she sees. Ed, challenged to an automail arm wrestling by the local champ who was cheating using alchemy, takes them on as Winry, insulted by their remarks about her automail, cheers him on. Having won the contest, Winry is dismayed and disappointed to later learn that Ed didn't win by automail and actually used alchemy to cheat. Having run off, Winry meets a girl who participated the arm wrestling tournament as well. They became fast friends and together, plot to knock Ed down a notch or two. Afterwards. Winry and her friend realizes something that they already know and simply forgot - that automail isn't great for being mechanical and complex. It is wonderful because it is your arms and legs and it becomes a part of you and completes you where you were once incomplete. Teacher: After the last incident clears up and Ed and Winry has made up, they find themselves in another pinch when their teacher catches up to them and punishes them for going against her teachings and becoming a State Alchemist. Going back to the town where Izumi, their teacher lives (forcibly). Back in the place where they learned formal alchemy, they remember the time before they became her students and how they wished to have a master teach them so that they can bring their mother back to life. They met Izumi and her husband during a stormy night in their hometown of Risembool when she used alchemy to save the village from the flood. Begging her to take them on as her apprentices, she agrees to give them a month to pass her test when she learns that they are orphans. There, they learn and grow under her tutelage and they come to know her pain and how much she hates people who missuse alchemy. In the end, Izumi realizes that they had attempted human transmutation when Ed perfomed alchemy without a alchemic circle and the realization that Al's armor is empty inside and Ed has an auto mail arm and leg when she tossed them around earlier. One is All, All is One: Sent to live in the same small island that they were sent to for their month of trial basis, Ed and Al relive the time when they had to do it first. Back then, she had left them there on their own with only a knife, the cryptic words "all is one, and one is all." Forbidden from using alchemy back then as they are now, they scrapped on trying to survive by catching things to eat and finding shelter while trying to figure out the meaning of her words. They also notice that there seems to be someone who is following them from the shadows like it was years ago. Back then, when Izumi had returned to pick them up again, they had realized that the meaning behind her words is that everything in the world is connected in a cycle and that no one is exempt from it - a lesson that they seem to have forgotten. having re-realized that lesson, they are picked up by Izumi when a strange child appears who can also use alchemy. Untainted Child: The strange child can use alchemy, but it would seem that he doesn't have much in the way of control. Ed and Al are also highly suspicious of the child and fear that he is also another humonculous sent to kill them or force them to create the Philosopher's Stone. Strangely enough though, Izumi begins actinge strangely around the bow that they found. He seems to be nothing but a little child...one that can use alchemy, but a mere child nonetheless. As Ed and Al are suspicious of this strange childs origins and to what purpose that he comes to them, Izumi is troubled by thoughts of her own. The next day, she orders the two of them not to get near the boy as she heads out to check something for herself. South Headquarters Assault: While Izumi is checking a suspicion that she has, Ed has realized the same thing that Al has realized. The child seems to have the arm and leg that he has lost! Chasing after him against Izumi's command, they chase him through the streets of Dublith where they encounter a chimera - a perfected one! Also on their thrail is Lieutenant Colonel Archer, a blood thirsty, ambitious man who is using Major Armstrong as his personal bodyguard. Archer has figured out where Ed and Al is and wants to use them for his own ambition. While chasing after them, they also discover the existance of the chimera as well as the homunculous. He then decides that he wants the humonculous for himself and orders Major Armstrong to kidnap him from Ed and Al. When Izumi returns and finds out what has happened, she decides to walk into South Central HQ to retrieve the boy one way or another. Sin: Going up against their teacher, Major Armstrong with Lt. Col. Archer and a man who appears to be the Fuhrer behind him, and Kinbley, a former State Alchemist known as the Crimson Alchemist, with the same chimera that confornted Ed and Al before. It has become a royal rumble as to who can grab the child and leave without the others catching up and being able to grab him away. The Fuhrer grabs the child and runs off leaving the rest to go fight amongst themselves. Major Armstrong goes up against Izumi, Ed goes up against the chimera, and Al goes up against Kimbley. Elsewhere, the "Fuhrer" reveals himself to be Envy in disguise and manages to turn the boy, now named Wrath against them. When Izumi manages to grab him again, she takes him back to the island where they first found him. When the Elric brothers follow her, she reveals that she is his creation and how humonculous are made, because she herself has made one! They are made when an alchemist attempts to do a human transmutation and fails. What comes out is a humonculous. After having sent the transformed remians of her still born baby back through the gate, Wrath waited his chance and stole Ed's right arm and left leg and using that, he was able to return through the gate to where he was originally made where Ed and Al found him earlier, Dante of the Deep Forrest: Having lost Wrath when Ed and Al are decieved by Sloth and Envy, they head for Izumi's place where Izumi tells them that they are no longer her students as of that moment. Deciding to leave after that, they quickly return when her husband tells them that no longer being her students now means that they can talk to each other as equals. Elsewhere, Colonel Mustang is charged with searching for and apprehending Scar as things quiclky go sour with some help from Gluttony and Lust. Going back to Izumi's house, they stubornly ask for aclue to the philosopher's stone and Izumi sends them off to pick up her medicine from Dante. The next day, knocking on her door, they are surpirsed to see Ryla there and that she is apprenticing herself to Dante who turned out to be Izumi's teacher from way back when. While she takes them under her wing as she prepares Izumi's medicine, Greed spots them when he decides to pop by for a look at a familiar face. Separated as Ed walks outside the house while Al talks some more to Dante, Greed and his allies attacks quickly overpowering Ed while Al is left to face several chimeras on his own. Kidnapped Al: The Theory of Greed: The Reunion of Fools The Sinner Within Me: Flame Alchemist, Fighting Lieutenant, The Mystery of Thirteenth Warehouse: A filler episode staring The Flame Alchemist-Colonel Roy Mustang. It features a day in the life of the Flame Alchemist as he loafs through his job and rushes to finish them at the last instance, to him playing the role of a playboy, to him ordering one of his men to find a girlfriend for another subordinate, to him and his subordinates playing detective. With the River's Flow: Ed and Al are close to Lior but is in need of new transportation. When they get into an argument about Ed's stubbornness and about their father, the two of them part ways. Ed reminisces about the two of them when they were younger and how they always get into fights while Al encounters Martel again who is looking for more information to get her revenge. When Ed and Al finally get together again, their problem of getting transportation is solved when Martel offers to give them a ride to Lior. Eastern Civil War: Ed and Al learns the true events behind the Ishbal uprising from Martel, one of the elite soldiers who was actually there from the beginning and helped instigate the incident and then locked away at 5th Laboratory to silence them about the true events. Back in Central City, Winry and attempts to discover more about Brigadier General Maes Hughes' murder by tapping the Fuhrer's secretary's phone line and is attacked by a creature wearing Ed and Al's mom's face. They are rescued in time however and the two of them decide to head for Lior. Scar Mark: Martel and Al faces off against Kimbly, the Crimson Alchemist and defeats him, but Martel runs off and hides in order to keep herself from being caught. In Lior, Ed faces off against scar in an attempt to gain more knowledge and meets up with Rose again and discovers more dirty secrets about the military and about Scar's past and his personal view about the Ishbal uprising. Back with Al and Martel, while sneaking around the ventilation shaft, Martel overhears the Fuhrer's conversation with the Crimson and Sewing Life Alchemists about plans for using chimeras and an order to eliminate Ed and Al. Martel confronts the Fuhrer and gets killed while hiding inside of Al's armor. Holy Mother: Martel has been killed but not before informing Al that the Fuhrer is also a chimera. In Lior, Ed has been detained by Scar and those who believe that Rose is a “Holy Mother." A huge alchemic circle has been draw around the entire city and Scar plans on using the military as ingredients for the philosopher's stone that he would use to crush the military. Meanwhile, Colonel Mustang and his men receive a letter from Ed telling them not to go to Lior and Al heads for Lior as well. Back in Lior, the Crimson Alchemist, along with some chimeras, are terrorizing the citizens and Scar has decided to face them himself to settle an old score from the past while Ed evacuates everyone else to safety. While everyone is being evacuated, Wrath attacks them wanting the rest of Ed's body and the Fuhrer's secretary appears as well revealing to Ed that she really is their mother! Without Knowing His Name: Scar has finally managed to kill the Crimson Alchemist, but not before losing his left arm and Al getting turned into a bomb. In order to save him, Scar has decided to give Al his right arm and create the Philosopher's stone inside Al instead of himself. Underneath Lior, Ed has managed to slow down both Wrath and the Fuhrer's secretary long enough to get everyone to safety as Rose regains her voice. Back in the makeshift military headquarters, Colonel Mustang with Lieutenant Hawkeye and Major Armstrong confronts Colonel Archer and Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist. Because of this, Colonel Archer rashly order the entire army to go into Lior after managing to get away from Colonel Mustang. When they reach the city, Scar confronts them by tossing out the Crimson Alchemists body to taunt them. Colonel Archer orders the troops to surround and attack the city and in doing so, allows Scar to complete the Philosopher's Stone by sacrificing himself. In the aftermath, the entire city vanishes along with everyone in there and Ed finds Al in the center. When Al removed the front part of his armor, they both find out that his insides have been turned into the Philosopher's Stone! *New ending and closing* The Stray Dog Has Ran Away: Winry has returned home with Shezka and at the same time, the Fuhrer gives orders to arrest Ed and Al for their suspected involvement in the Lior incident. Ed and Al, in the meantime, are on their way back home in an attempt to keep the Philosopher’s Stone away from military and Homunculus hands. Back home, Hoenheim, Ed and Al's father returns after a long time to discover that his house is gone. In Winry's house, Lt. Ross shows up to warn Winry and Shezka about new turn of events in the military. Hearing that Ed and Al are being hunted down, they decide to go and meet them on their way back. As Ed and Al are running back home, Col. Roy Mustang along with Maj. Armstrong and the rest of Mustang's subordinates are hunting them down and manages to capture Winry and Shezka. After a lot of running around, Roy Mustang and his subordinates finally manage to corner the Elric brothers. Hoenheim of Light: Ryla takes Rose to an ancient chapel with several of the homunculus waiting for them. Colonel Mustang along with the rest of his staff and Major Armstrong confront the Elric brothers and take them to Winry's house. There, they finally meet their father again after ten long years. When they all sit down talking about events, Hoenheim realizes something when the topic came to Dante and Ryla. Hoenheim reveals some information about the homunculi to Roy Mustang and Al spends the night with his father. In the morning, Al finds that Hoenheim has left. He is headed for a confrontation with Dante about his sons. After Roy leaves to derail the efforts to find the Elric brothers, Shezka lets out that Brigadier General Maes Hughes has been murdered when he got too close to the truth and the Elric brothers react in a predictable fashion. One Who Lets Her Soul Rot: Hoenheim finally confronts Dante about the Homunculus and the philosopher's stone. Back at Ed and Al's hometown, Shezka and Winry receives a strange phone call from Shou Tucker while making dinner. Al decides not to tell Ed, who is making false tracks that leads to the north, about the phone call. Back in Central City, Colonel Roy Mustang is facing an inquiry by the upper echelons of the military about leaving the search for the Elric brothers, which is when he reveals the things that has been discovered about Juliet Douglas. Back with Dante and Hoenheim, Dante reveals what her plot is and banishes Hoenheim beyond the Alchemic gate. At the same time, the Elric brothers leaves and heads towards Dante's old place. As Ed confronts their teacher and asks for a part of her child's remains, Al meets with Shou Tucker. Human Transmutation: Al meets with Shou Tucker in order to learn how to use the philosopher's stone and in return, Shou wants to be able to use the stone to perform a human transmutation in order to revive his daughter Nina. At Dante's house, Ed and his teacher contemplates on the secrets surrounding Dante and her possible connection Hoenheim of Light, Ed and Al's father. Back in Central, Brigadier General Roy Mustang is sent to fight in a conflict to the north along with Lieutenant Colonel Alex Louis Armstrong and everyone else who might know about the homunculus. When he got back to his room, Ed is attacked by Lust and Envy. He seem to be cornered until Lust reveals that she is willing to side with Ed. Meanwhile, Sloth confronts Shou and Al. Homunculus Seal: Sloth has taken away Al only to be confronted by Ed as he resolves to correct their mistake of creating her by giving her death using pieces of her their mother's corpse and the alchemic array Ed saw when Greed died. Lust, helping Ed, explains to Sloth about the memories that she has about her human counterpart and why remembering it and knowing that she can never be that person is a hell that has been cursed on her as well as any other Homunculus who remembers the memories of their human counterparts. Al objects to this and throws the piece of their mother's corpse away giving Sloth time to escape by hiding inside Al where Ed cannot touch and Wrath a chance to help Sloth out. Ed takes on Sloth who has taken control of Al as Wrath faces of against Lust. Using the same alchemic array that Ed created and Scar's amulet, Wrath manages to completely kill Lust and runs of to help Sloth. Merging himself with Sloth, Wrath inadvertently kills her by forgetting that he has merged the piece of Ed and Al's mother's corpse into him, giving Ed time to change all of Sloth's molecules into ethanol causing her to evaporate completely. Full Moon wo Sagashite (In Search of the Full Moon) Mitsuki Kouyama in a 12 year old girl who dreams of being a singer so that she can fulfill her promise to the boy the she grew up with in the orphanage and is in love with. The only problem with that dream is that she has a tumor in her throat that could kill her if not removed and if it is removed, could render her voiceless. That and the fact that her grandmother hates music and is absolutely against her dream of being a singer. Then one fateful day, two shinigami's (harbinger of death or gods of death) came out of her wall and she could see and hear them even though normal humans shouldn't be able to. They tell her that she is fated to die a year from that moment and that fate is something that cannot be changed. Knowing this, Mitsuki runs off to a singing audition but can't enter because you have to be 16 to compete. Takuto, realizing how much she wants to be a singer, decides help her accomplish her dreams and thus ensure that she has no regrets whatsoever when her time is finally up. He uses his power against the wishes of his partner and transforms Mitsuki into the 16 year old version of herself and with that, the super idol Full Moon is born. (Comedy/Drama) Kinda reminiscent of Creamy Mami, Full Moon is about a young girl searching for her true love through the use of her voice and the songs that she and her beloved sang together in their memories. It's a good series that can be cute at times and serious in others. The ending songs too are awesome and I do highly recommend this series to anyone (well, except the most mindless shoujou hater). Thumbs up on this one! But I Want to Sing: Mitsuki Kouyama is a twelve year old girl who dreams of being a singer and being reunited with her first love, Eichi. Unfortunately, there are two things going against her-her grandmother who absolutely hates music and a throat cancer. When a pair of Shinigami (angels of death) comes out of the wall. When the pair panics at Mitsuki being able to see them, they accidentally let out that she only has one year left to live. Armed with this fact, Mitsuki resolve to go to the audition and with help from Takuto (one of the Shinigami), manages to get picked as the next idol star in the making. A Promise With Eichi-kun: Manager-san has Arrived: The Feeling of the Heart Set On the Song: The First Job: A Long Day In the Studio: Full Moon Debut: Was It Really a Hit?: I Just Want Him To Hear It: The Rules of Show Business: The Perilous Lens Negi Ramen and the Saint's Stone: The Small Concert: Go For It! Substitute Manager: First Kiss: Enter the Rival: Two Paths Cross: Run to the Auditorium: The Unreachable Singing Voice: Meroko All Alone: New Feelings: Exciting Live Concert: Moving Panic: Dad's Song A Request to Dr. Wakaouji: What I Want to Tell: I Will Not Lose: Mitsuki the Love Expert: The New Shinigami Izumi and Jonathan: Someone Who Knows Eichi: The Autumn School Festival: An Honest Madoka: Advancing Illness: Old Man On the Swing: Mail From Eichi-kun: Fated New Artist of the Year Award: A Present From Full Moon: Grandma's Past: Crossing the Pacific: Stolen Pendant: The Town Where Eichi Is: Eternal Snow: Mitsuki has finally arrived at the place where Eichi is only to discover that he has been dead for the past two years already. All her hopes and dreams crushed in a single blow, Mitsuki wanders out aimlessly in the wintry landscape. Discovering Eichi’s tombstone, she lies down on top of it as if seeking to join him in death as well. I'll Never Sing Again...: Tender Hearts: Izumi's Enticing Offer: On the Night of the New Moon: Desire to Live: She Can't Turn Into Full Moon!?: Mitsuki's Feelings, Meroko's Feelings: I Just Can't Tell Him: Day of Destiny: Searching for a Full Moon: Mitsuki, as Full Moon, performs her final concert as Takuto begins to fade away. Meroko, using the last of her powers to prevent disaster, disappears as well and Izumi keeps up the illusion of Full Moon until the end of the concert to fulfill Meroko’s wishes. Meroko and Takuto are about to be punished for trying to change Mitsuki’s fate, but when they accept their punishment, they are rewarded instead. Many people want to sacrifice their happiness for the one they love, but only few actually act on it. Mitsuki’s fate is changed and weeks have passed since, Mitsuki’s operation. Meroko became an angel and Mitsuki following Meroko’s bunny keychain that appeared before her, runs into a man who looks just like Takuto. Full Moon wo Sagashite (In Search of the Full Moon) Mitsuki has a show to do the next day so she sets the alarm to wake her up early. However, when the alarm clock rings, Meroka, half asleep, just shuts it of and goes back to sleep. When Mitsuki finally wakes up to realize that she is late, she runs off to the studio and forgets to bring Takuto along. Now Takuto and Meroko must make it to the studio and transform Mitsuki into Full Moon. Of course this isn't going to be as easy as it sounds in their chibi-form. (Comedy) This is a ten minute episode that can take place anywhere in the series. It's mostly the misadventures of Meroko and Takuto. It's pretty cute. If you love Full Moon wo Sagashite, download this one! Futari H Makoto and Yura are a newly married couple. Not having much sexual experience, they decide to learn more on the subject through various sources like friends, family, the media, etc., but with each lesson comes another embarrassing moment for the couple (Comedy/Hentai) It's rather interesting. The first two is worth a look and pretty funny in its own ways, but the last two turns into just another hentai. Lesson 1 - Masturbation/Sex: Makoto and Yura are getting married through an arranged marriage. Both of them seem to be content with the arrangement and are looking forward to their new lives together. During the consummation of their marriage (which happened the day after the honey moon since Yura fell asleep before anything could happen), they both find out that they are both virgins and need to learn more about sex. Lesson 2 - Kiss, Kiss, Kiss: Makoto and Yura have plans for having dinner with Makoto's parents later that night. But before that, Makoto has to go to work and Yura has plans to have lunch with her friends. At work, a new coworker is introduced. Her name is Miyuki Kikuchi and she seems to know Makoto. Rika, Yura's little sister shows up as well and gives Makoto some advice about what women want in the sack. Later on, Makoto heads on to meet with Miyuki in her hotel room after he remembers that she is actually one of the students he used to tutor. Miyuki wants Makoto to impregnate her because she wants a child without the hassle of having a man and she has chosen him, the only guy she ever liked, to be the donor. Makoto convinces her to wait and that if a loser like him can find someone wonderful like Yura, he's sure that she will find happiness as well. At the same time, Yura's friends are in the next room teaching her about techniques to use on Makoto. Later that night, the couple have dinner with Makoto's parents and afterwards, they decide to apply the knowledge that they have gained earlier that day. White Lovers: Some time has already passed since the last episode and Makoto and Yura are quite experienced now (you could say that they go at it like rabbits). When the Yabuki's, their next door couple wins a trip to Hokkaido, they decide to invite them as well since the prize is for four people. When their other neighbor, Makoto's cousin Kyouko, finds out about it, she decides to tag along. In Hokkaido, they ski, go to the zoo, and screw around (augmented by Makoto overactive perverted imagination) at every chance they get. They also meet another couple in their inn who are about to get married and quickly became friends with them. After a fun vacation, they all head back home with Kyouko wishing that she could find someone special soon. Yura in Costume: Yura and Makoto decides to go off shopping together and doubled it into a date. Having so much fun, Yura accidentally spends too much and felt really bad afterwards. So much so that she decides to get a part time job as a waitress in a family restaurant. Makoto, of course, doesn't approve. Makoto spends his time worrying about it and trying to understand why Yura would want to work there. After seeking advice of the women surrounding him, from the office Lady he works with, to Rika, Yura's little sister, to Kyouko, his cousin, he came to a realization that he is merely being overprotective and jealous. Upon that realization, Makoto and Yura resume their happily married couple status and vow not to let anything come between them again. Back  Next  Reviews Page  Main