Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Episode 23 – 26

Now that I feel a little less like dying, it’s time to wrap up the last few episodes of Hagaren. This post is going to be long enough as it is so I’m probably going to gloss over a lot of the smaller details. Second, I’m probably not going to go into a lot of detail about my thoughts on them. Not entirely sure anyone cares but those are the caveats for this week’s super-jumbo-sized Hagaren babblechat.

~Warning, Spoilers Ahead~
Girl on the Battlefield (戦場の少女) – Lin escapes with LanFan over his shoulder and Bradley heads out with Gluttony to track them down. After leaving Winry in the care of the Lieutenant, Ed goes after Scar where Al is already fighting and Mustang sends Hawkeye out to be of assistance however she can.

Inside the Belly (腹の中) – Marcoh is being held captive by the Homunculi and Envy tells him if he doesn’t help out they’ll kill everyone in the little village he’s from. After a brief battle, Ed, Lin and Envy are devoured by Gluttony while Al watches helplessly.

The Door of Darkness (闇の扉) – Wading through the lake of blood, Ed finds Lin and they try to figure out where they are. They assume they’re in Gluttony’s stomach from the fire and rubble around them but have no idea how to get out.

Reunion (再会) – Inside Gluttony, the battle between Envy’s true form, Ed and Lin has begun. Ed is just about to strike a blow when a face appears from the mass and begs him to kill it, along with hundreds more. He flashes back to Nina and Alexander, giving Envy time to strike and swallow Ed whole.

Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Episode 12

~Warning, Spoilers Ahead~

Episode III-I, castling starts the new chapter off in another new setting, this time a comfortable looking cottage in which a small girl has just broken an important vase. Beatrice, a witch who looks nothing like the Golden Witch we know, appears and repairs it just long enough for a cat to come by and break it again, then explains to the younger girl (whom she calls Princess) that she couldn’t change the fate of the vase breaking but was able to put it off for a little while – only an Endless Witch can permanently repair and break things. The girl says she wants to become a witch and Beatrice takes her on as her disciple.

The story moves forward, stopping briefly to see Eva arguing with Kinzo about being the head of the family and being told her place is to marry a man that will be “profitable” to the Ushiromiya family. Her younger self comes to her in a vision and they plot to find a way to become the family’s head, then begin working on what appears to be the epitaph’s riddle.

The next jump is to Rokkenjima on the night of the storm, and in the garden Maria tells Beatrice that she wants to become a witch too. Beatrice sends her to the house and reaches out to catch the ring thrown to her by Kinzo…

Umineko no Naku Koro ni, Episode 11

~Warning, Spoilers Ahead~

Episode II-VI, back rank mate picks up in Natsuhi’s bedroom with George still trying to open the box with the mirror inside while Shannon proves that her “furniture” power is defensive. Even producing the mirror doesn’t keep them from becoming the next two sacrifices before they have a chance to express their love one final time. Genji finds Kumasawa and Dr. Nanjo’s bodies outside and brings Rosa out to see them. After Maria tells them that they are the seventh and eighth twilights, they discover that Gohda, Shannon and George were the fourth through sixth and that Beatrice should be revived at any moment.

This week’s episode punished me in a most severe way for thinking that Umineko doesn’t have as much disturbing content as Higurashi. In fact, this episode elicited every possible emotion from me…

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai (ひぐらしのなく頃に解) contains the last two of the four “answer arcs,” Minagoroshi (皆殺し編,; Massacre Arc) and Matsuribayashi (祭囃し編,; Festival Accompanying Arc). Before them, however, is an introductory episode where Akasaka and Ooishi meet with a thirtyish Rena to discuss the Great Hinamizawa Disaster and a special anime-only arc, Yakusamashi (厄醒し編; Disaster Awakening Arc). The latter was requested by Ryuukishi07 to include information from the original question arcs that had been left out, and focused on Rika and Satoko’s relationship as well as Rika’s growing depression.

After all the speculation about Oyashiro-sama, aliens, bioterror and conspiracies that ran rampant through the majority of the series, I was actually very satisfied with the final explanation and ending to the series.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Episode 22

~Warning, Spoilers Ahead~

Distant Backs (遠くの背中) Begins with Ling going to LanFan’s aid and sparring with Bradley, who sees through his strategy immediately. They end up in an abandoned building where LanFan throws down a flash bomb that blinds Bradley’s “good” eye, but Ling is unable to escape because his “Ultimate Eye” was protected by the patch.

Winry visits the graveyard with Gracia and Elysia and wonders if she was seeing Hughes as her father. On her way back to the hotel she hears that the Elrics are fighting with Scar and hurries over. Ed and Al, having not yet gotten the signal from Ling, are continuing to fight on their own without backup. Al tries to buy them some time by talking to Scar and Ed confronts him about killing the Rockbells, unaware that Winry is right behind them. Despondent, she picks up a nearby gun and points it at Scar.