#Fujiwara Keiji

[tokusongs]

"Let's Morphin'☆Drawin'", from Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters (2012). Performed by Sakurada Rika (Yoshiki Risa), with Red Buster/Sakurada Hiromu (Suzuki Katsuhiro), Cheeda Nick (Fujiwara Keiji), Usada Lettuce (Suzuki Tatsuhisa), and Gorisaki Banana (Genda Tessho).

[s0lace-1n-s0l1tude]

Bungou Shikkaku review

The only one I found for now

Go figure when it was posted though

文豪シリーズ 第一巻:「吾輩たちは文豪である」 Bungou Series 1 (Wagahai tachi wa bungou de aru): review+part translation

文豪シリーズ 1:「吾輩たちは文豪である」

Bungou Series 1 (Wagahai tachi wa bungou de aru : We Are Great Writers) is a series that started not too long ago this year. If you understood the reference in the title (wagahai hint hint) then you would know what this is about almost immediately- famous names in Japanese literature are featured in this series.

Now if you have watched Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen and liked the idea of classic lit writers gathering in one place and interacting with each other, this CD might be for you. An A+++ for the cast:

芥川 龍之介 Akutagawa Ryūnosuke : Toriumi Kousuke

夏目 漱石 Natsume Sōseki : Fujiwara Keiji

泉 鏡花 Izumi Kyōka : Ishida Akira

谷崎 潤一郎 Tanizaki Jun'ichirō : Yusa Kouji

Editor chief/new editor : Kondo Takayuki

Afficher davantage

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

Original title: Kôkyôshihen Eureka Sebun | 交響詩篇エウ���カセブン.

[ducktracy]

while i’m getting all my Shin-chan fanaticism out of my system… please enjoy this incredibly Rugratsian experience (and incredible experience in general), animated by Yuichiro Sueyoshi. i can’t stop coming back to this

[symbieote]

Okay, started the Gintama: the final movie soooo..... Uhhhh

First of all i dunno about art style. I dont mean the toriyama interlude but the main part of the film. Its ever so slightly different but just different enough to be noticeable and off-putting. Second of all its bizarre how its detectable that its a movie with ambitions for higher production values than tv episodes but also that it probably had some hiccups, im guessing from covid.

[blade-liger-4ever]

I want to keep this on my blog

Some Tweets Remember Keiji Fujiwara

Keiji Fujiwara died of cancer at the age of 55. The news was devastating for the seiyuu community. Many seiyuu are remembering and looking back on their times with Fujiwara and the impact he made on them. A lot of anime I’ve watched wouldn’t have been the same without Fujiwara. From Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to Dr. Stone, he shaped a lot of characters that I look back and smile thinking about. 

The following were all translated by @granblue_en on Twitter.

Takuya Eguchi

[original tweet | translation source]

Kaori Nazuka

[original tweet | translation source]

Tetsuya Fukuhara (creative director, Granblue Fantasy)

[original tweet | translation source]

Emiri Katou

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuki Ono

[original tweet | translation source]

Madoka Yonezawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Tomoyo Kurosawa

[original tweet | translation source]

Koichi Haruta (former producer)

[original tweet | translation source]

Minoru Shiraishi

[original tweet | translation source]

Yuuichi Nakamura

[original tweet | translation source]

The following were translated by lig0schndr on Reddit

Ayana Taketatsu

Tomokazu Seki

Megumi Ogata

Mariya Ise

Nobunaga Shimazaki

Showtaro Morikubo

Marina Inoue

Romi Park

Natsuki Hanae

Toshiyuki Toyonaga

Kazuhiko Inoue

Yuki Kaji

Hiroki Yasumoto

Jouji Nakata

Katsuyuki Konishi

Shouta Aoi

Kensho Ono

Noriko Hidaka

Rie Tanaka

Kikuko Inoue

Ami Koshimizu

Megumi Han

Arisa Komiya

Ryotaro Okiayu

Kenjiro Tsuda

Nozomi Yamamoto

Kanako Kondo

Haruka Kudo

Hitomi Harada

Miyu Tomita

Wataru Hatano

Atsushi Abe

Suzuko Mimori

Atsuko Tanaka

Aya Suzaki

Sayaka Ohara

Asami Imai

Daisuke Hirakawa

Hikaru Akao

Yui Ishikawa

Toa Yukinari*

Kotono Mitsuishi*

Nobuhiko Okamoto (blog)

Nana Mizuki (blog)

Toshiyuki Morikawa (blog)

Satoshi Hino (blog)

Tatsuhisa Suzuki (blog)

Chie Nakamura (blog)*

* not translated

Keep reading

[shocotate]

FMA Scene Selection (Episode 10)

November 1st, 2009. Keiji Fujiwara appears as a surprise guest at Fullmetal Alchemist Festival ’09 in Pacifico Yokohama.

[worldend]

everytime the turks show up in rebirth i keep expecting for reno to also be there but he never is.... not that elena isnt good shes always like the highlight in all of these moments but i just really miss that guy.

[moonilit]

You can’t do me like that man

[guildwarsgirl]

I don't know if I should laugh or cry, but YouTube recommended this to me. It reminded me just how much I miss the late Keiji Fujiwara, he truly was a blessing in the voice acting community and a legend in Japan.

[icharchivist]

oof the gbf wday cutscene, which is just “parents are worrying over what to give their children because they’re being crushed by the realization that they are going to die one day and that their children are going to outlive them and they worry about them grieving and want to spend quality time with them”, hits very different when three of the characters in this cutscenes had been recast because their seiyuu died....

those three.

It’s.

Painful.

[lyrics365]

Soshite Kyou mo Sekai wa Lyrics

sora no hate ookina ana ga aiteru inochi wo chijimeru youna hageshii hikari ga ori soso gu haikyo ni yureteru hana wo funde, toki wa sugiru dakitometai kowashite wa tsukutte, mata kowashite iku no wo tometai umare ochita to kikara ningen dato omouna chanto ikite, HITO wa hito ni nareru mono soshite kyou mo sekai wa mawaru mawari tsuzukeru arasou no wo, ima demo yamera rezuni tooku…

[suchine-toki]

Just read that a week ago Tanaka Atsuko, the voice actress of Fumiko (among many others) died 😞 RIP

[memoriesarchived]

Hoshina Soshiro - Archive 1

TW: Mention of blood

Prequel : Archive Opened, Archive 1, Archive 2

Summary: Memories of Hoshina Soshiro before division 3.

Hoshina Soshiro, the blade prodigy. If this was still the Muromachi period he would've been considered a genius. It's a pity that he doesn't have the same unleashed power with guns. Even so, despite all of that here he stands in line at the himeji entry exam to grab his bib number. In his hand was number 203. He couldn't find anyone he recognized personally in the sea of people. "Oh we're still missing on more person" The officer whispered to each other as they looked down at the list of people's name that were crossed off. "We have to start the exam soon, it can't be helped" The other officer added shaking his head. The officers stood up from their chair, packing up the papers and tablets. "WAIT!!!" The voice was so loud that the whole room dropped dead into silence. All the heads turned to the owner of the voice, including Soshiro. Only for his eyes to land on a girl, she seems like she's 5'4 at best. Her dark brown hair tied up into a ponytail with a white bow. Her teal eyes glistening like the andaman sea glittering under the sun. "I'm sorry I'm late!!" The girl shouted as she rushed to the registration table. Her bangs were stuck to her forehead, cheeks were flushed red, probably because of the heat from outside. It is late June anyways.

"Iwaizumi Yoko" Yoko grinned as she looked at the officers.

"Okay, here you go Iwaizumi-san" The officer handed her the bib number. "Well, good luck on the exam". The officer bid as he packed up once again. Seems like an interesting one.

Soshiro made his way outside to where the fitness exam was to be taken place. It was a series of test: low crawl, 4km timed run, and speed climbing. It wasn't a surprised when he landed in the top three barracks in each one. However, the surprise was that Iwaizumi Yoko placed first in all of them except the timed run, that one Soshiro took home the win. This caused an up-roared within the sea of examinee, everyone asking the same question. Who is Iwaizumi Yoko?

The next part of the exam was the aptitude test. All of the examinee was ushered to the testing ground.

"I'm impressed by how fast you were" The blonde guy started as the group walked towards gate 4. "Keiji Fujiwara" "Hoshina Soshiro" Soshiro offered back, the two of them talked until they reached Gate 4, the exam arena. Soshiro learned that Keiji is actually the Keiji Fujiwara that's the top student at JGSDF. No wonder that man is so muscular. All of the examinee was ushered into the preparation room, and changed into the combat suit. As Soshiro slips the suit on, he feels the material clinging onto his skin. It feels like it wasn't even there. His heart was beating so loud that it feels like everyone else around him could hear it. "OOO THIS IS SO COOL!!" Yoko shouted, looking at her arms and legs that were now covered with the suit perfectly. Soshiro eyes trailed from Yoko's face down to her legs. The suit is hugging all of her curve perfectly, the way it reveals Yoko's waist and hips--Soshiro shook his head, snapping himself out of the trance. Now isn't the time to be ogling someone. "You think someone with a big dick would have an issue wearing this?" Yoko questioned with the most nonchalant face Soshiro ever seen. Yoko she looked around as if she's trying to find something or rather someone to prove her point. The girl with a bob hair cut next to her slapped Yoko's arm. "Could ya have said that any louder?" "I'm just expressing my concern for my fellow examinee, Megumi-chan"

Soshiro broke out into laughter, hugging himself as he folded in half. He locked eyes with Keiji as the other jaw's dropped at what they just heard. Keiji reminds him of a gaping goldfish somehow and that made him laugh even more. "I hope everyone here pass" Soshiro wheezed out.

"Settle down everyone, I'm Captain Kinichi and I'll be proctoring the aptitude test." The voiced boomed around them, and they could see Captain Kinichi on the screen. The man had a scar running from underneath his eye to his nose. Soshiro heard about it before that Captain Kinichi got that scar from saving his vice-captain during a mission. An honorable man indeed.

"The combat suit also measure your unleashed combat power. This practically means how much power of the suit that you're able to draw out. 20% is usually where most trained general officer is at so don't fret if your percentage is low"

"Ito Misakai, 8%"

"Tanaka Momo, 10%"

"Keiji Fujiwara, 25%" To be expected of the top student at JGSDF

"Abe Megumi, 5%"

"Hoshina Soshiro, 32%?!" Fuck yeah

"Iwaizumi Yoko, 35%?!" Oh?

"Suzuki Hajime 17%" The list then went out, but everyone including Soshiro was hung up over Yoko's number. When Captain Kinichi announced Keiji's number everyone already went crazy, but to see that the expectation kept going up was insane.

"Judging from the results here, it seems like we're going to have an interesting exam. Your objective is to neutralize Kaiju. The target are the 53 Yoju and Honju in the arena, this arena is modeled of the Gion-distract in Kyoto. We captured them last year during the Gion tragedy. Each one of you have been assigned an auto-tracking drone. You can pick what weapons you would like to use in the arena. In the event we determined that your life is in danger, we will activate your suit's shield. However, that also means that you failed. We can't guarantee that you'll make it out of this alive, so anyone that chooses to walk away can do now. THE EXAM STARTS NOW." Next to Soshiro a box appeared from the ground, the lid of the box opened automatically. Showcasing variety of weapons to choose from, however he already has his eyes set on one thing and one thing only. The one thing he ever known his whole life, the twin sword. He also grabbed the katana just in case, there's no such thing as being too careful. Once he stepped out, the arena is literally a replica of Gion. Soshiro located his first target, smirking as he went up close to the lizard type yoju. When it comes to mid size yoju, Soshiro has no doubt in his mind that he'll win. Soshiro drew his swords out, and in the matter of 23 seconds the yoju dropped to the ground. "That's some big dick energy right there" A familiar voice shouted, Soshiro looked up to see Yoko standing on a house's balcony. Her bangs falling over her eyes as she looked down on him, her lips curving into a little smirk. In her hand was a bloodied scythe, interesting choice

"Oho? The great Iwaizumi-san is complimenting me?"

"Perhaps, you don't really see someone using a sword nowadays"

"Says the one with a scythe" Soshiro added as he decided to join Yoko up on the balcony.

"I don't really like it when they're too close to me. They're kinda ugly and disgusting" Yoko made a disgusted look on her face. She really is a simple person.

"Why not a gun?"

"It wouldn't be fun if the risk wasn't high enough." Soshiro himself really didn't know what to make of that answer. Is she was joking or psychotic. "Do you want to team up?"

"Sure" Soshiro replied, getting up on his legs.

"Everyone! The mature ones have acidic saliva in the neck. It can shoot salivas out of it's mouth" Megumi shouted, thankfully she was close by otherwise Soshiro wouldn't have heard it.

"That means the ones we dealt with in these streets were just the juven-" Soshiro grabbed Yoko, cutting her mid-sentence. He pulled her closed to his chest and jumped off the balcony. Sheltering Yoko from being the one to brace the impact as the both of them fall to the ground. Soshiro being the safety mat for Yoko. Looking up the both of them saw how the balcony that they were just standing at melted to nothing. The acid even punctured a hole in the house. Towering above them was the mature lizard yoju. This yoju was taller than the houses, which translates to Soshiro would have a hard time with his sword.

"Thanks" Yoko said as she got to her feet, grabbing the scythe that landed next to them. Soshiro ran up to the lizard, slicing the skin off. It wasn't that easy as he wasn't cutting fast enough to beat the regenerating time. The next cut he made next to the yoju's knee was then followed by a large scythe decapitating the yoju. Before he knew it, him and the scythe user was completely in sync. Every cut he made, Yoko would be ready to deal the last blow. It was as if they were dancing, in a rhythm where only the two of them would know. The yoju was neutralized in no time. There were streams of yoju coming at them, however the two of them finished it in no time.

Sweat slid down Soshiro's face, dripping down on the ground. The muscle on his back flexing as he inhale and exhale. The coconut dark violet hair was now also drenched wet, it was like someone poured a bucket of water on him. Yoko's condition was no different than Soshiro's. "We make a great duo don't you think?" "So ya need to pass" Soshiro winked at Yoko, this made Yoko's already flushed face even redder. The tips of her ears burning as she smiled back brightly. If Soshiro were to be completely honestly, that smile that Yoko had was more than enough for him to forget about all the kaiju that's wrecking havoc in the world. Enough for him to even forget that they're in an exam.

"That's my line!"

"Should've said it faster than" Soshiro laughed. Yoko stuck out her tongue at him, but doesn't say anything else as they walk down the street.

"All yoju have been neutralized" Captain Kinichi announced. At this announcement, it sparked a fire in between the duo. Yoko was the first to start running and Soshiro caught up in no time. A smile playing on his lips as he could see Yoko's lips parted before she utter the next words. It was as if he already knew what she was going to say.

"The loser have to pay for dinner" Before Yoko could even finish Soshiro was already a few feet ahead. Making Yoko scoff as she flings her scythe ahead to loosen up the weight to make herself faster. They ran past the other examinee. To plain eyes, they just look like colors flashing by. "They're a whole different class" Megumi sighed, wiping her forehead as she grinned. "Who cares tho! I'll catch up to them!!" She shouted as she also started running to the direction of the Honju. "Mmmh I could already smell the wagyu" Soshiro teased as he halts right in front of the honju. Wasting no time, Soshiro jumped into the air. "Number One: Air Slicer" Soshiro did his best to engrave as many cut as he can. The bigger the size, the thicker the skin. He was also running out of stamina. The honju twisted its body and avoided the attack. It wiped its tail and smacked Soshiro mid air. Soshiro got slammed to the ground. He could feel his ribs break, coughing up blood all over the cracked pavement. The honju was above him, towering over him. Piercing yellow eyes look right into him. He blinked. The honju was gone. Soshiro felt water dripping down his face, he looked up into the sky to see if it was raining. It was indeed raining, but raining blood. The culprit for this was now in front of him, the teal eyes soften as they landed on him. Her lips let out a small sigh. Soshiro noticed how her white bow was now drenched red.

"Sorry that I couldn't keep up Hoshi-chan"

"I'm craving wagyu...A5 wagyu" Soshiro smile, letting himself close his eyes for a second. That honju really just reminded him again of everything everyone in his life ever said to him. The era of sword is over.

"Hoshi-chan, you're really cool...you know that right?" The sweet voice lured him back to opening his eyes. Her arms wrapped around his back, lifting his other arm around her neck. The feeling of warmth grew in his chest as he let himself lean against the girl next to him. "You as well, Yoko-chan"

"Eh? Are you even older than me to say that?"

" 19 "

" Fine, you win this one" Yoko huffed out.

"The honju has now been neutralized, everyone please head out to the exit gate." Captain Kinichi announced. To say everyone in the monitor room was amazed would be an understatement.

"This year's recruits really are talented"

"Iwaizumi Yoko's unleashed power was at 60% earlier" Harumi Miyako was still in shock with what she saw. The speed that the honju was taken down was insane. This girl was probably on par with officers from division 1. "Hoshina Soshiro is also no joke. He's even faster than Iwaizumi" Captain Kinichi added as he sat down on his chair looking at the two through the screen. "This is probably what it means by, it takes a monster to hunt a monster down one."

Soshiro was propped up sitting reading a book on his hospital bed, the hospital gown draped over him. He looked up at the clock to see it being 14:00. Just as if on cue, the room door opened and it revealed a the brown hair girl. Today she was wearing pink satin crop tank top with lace embroidery on the top and white flare jeans. Her hair was tied up into a half up half down with a white bow. In her hands were two coffee ceramic cups and a bento box wrapped with a furoshiki seahorse pattern. One of the ceramic was teal with a black cat on it and the other one was dark red with a white cat on it. "Coffee delivery" Yoko sang as she puts the coffee down next to Soshiro's bedside. "Hoshi-chan, how's the recovery?" "They said I'm released t'morrow" Soshiro set his book down next to his bedside, reaching for the red cup. Bringing the cup to his lips, inhaling the aromatic scent of the coffee before taking a sip. She sure does make good coffee. "Don't ya live in Mie?"

"Yeah why?"

"Isn't a hassle to drive all the way here everyday?"

"I can't have Hoshi-chan being all bored and alone can I?" Yoko replied nonchalantly like it didn't make Soshiro's heart skip a beat or anything. If Soshiro would paid more attention, he would've noticed that Yoko stuttered and her ears were bright red. "Didn't know I was that special" Soshiro retorted.

"Shut up before I take the coffee away"

Soshiro did just that, sipping slowly on the coffee as they basked in each other's presence. The only thing they could hear was the birds chirping outside of the hospital's window. The sunlight found its way into the room, hitting Soshiro's face perfectly. His eyes glistened like a ruby. Yoko couldn't look away, as if she's in a trance.

"T'morrow, let's go to the bookstore" Soshiro turned and held her eye contact, he himself was no better than Yoko. To him Yoko's eyes were that of the Andaman sea and Soshiro would gladly drown in them.

"Where?" Yoko whispered out, suddenly her voice was stuck in her throat.

"Mie, I'll pick ya up" Soshiro set down his now empty coffee cup.

"Okay" Yoko unwrapped the furoshiki from the bento box and handed the box over to Soshiro.

"Thanks" Soshiro grinned, looking down at what's inside took his breath way. It was rice ball that looks like panda, grilled wagyu and veggies on the side. He first tried the wagyu, the meat itself was so sweet and tender, it literally melted in his mouth. "It's delicious Yoko-chan!"

"Bet it is, it took me so long to cook it"

"Didn't burn the kitchen down?"

"I'll burn you"

Soshiro laughed continued eating, Yoko grabbed the TV remote and turned it on. The two of them watched the news quietly, but if Yoko were to ever look back at Soshiro, she would noticed how his eyes were on her more than it was on the TV. "I think the news reporter should change her lipstick" Yoko commented, pointing out how the bright pink neon lipstick didn't suit her. "I can't believe they would let her on live television without anyone telling her that." "It's her new hair color, if she didn't dye it orange maybe it would've worked" Soshiro added.

"You're right"

"When am I not?"

"Like how you think milk goes in before cereal"

"Ya just in denial"

"Okay Mr.Coconut"

The two of them bickered until the sunset, however there were absolutely no tension in the room. Yoko packed up and got ready to leave as she realized that the sun was threatening to fall asleep anytime soon.

"Taking the train?"

"Nah, I took the motorcycle today"

"Be careful"

"Of what? Of you on the loose?"

"I'm warning other people, since ya took the motorcycle" Soshiro teased, chuckling as he could see Yoko pouting away. "Okay, for real now be safe"

"Yea Yea, Gramps" Yoko waved off as she head for the door, turning around one last time to look at Soshiro before heading out. "Don't be late tomorrow, Coconut-Chan". Before Soshiro could even reply, Yoko left. Leaving him grinning like an idiot to himself. Soshiro stayed up a little longer, to meditate. Even on day offs, he still needs to train. If he can't train physically then he'll train mentally. Every second that passes is considered potential time he could use for growth. Just as he was ready to sleep, he got an emergency alert on his phone. Emergency Alert: Honju sited in Nara, everyone please go to your nearest shelter or lock yourself inside your house.

Emergency Alert: Honju sited in Nara, everyone please go to your nearest shelter or lock yourself inside your house.

Soshiro eyes widen at the news. It was only an hour and half since Yoko left. Meaning that she was probably still on her way home. Soshiro immediately went through his contacts. Finger hovering over, Wonder Gorilla before tapping the call button under the contact.

"Pick up idiot" Soshiro whispered, only for the call to go into voicemail. He tried multiple times to no avail.

[russenoire]

i just finished fullmetal alchemist 2003...

and i have words about this.

while both series have lovely scores, courtesy of michiru ooshima here and akira senju for FMAB, FMAB's OPs and EPs are almost all far too good to skip, ever. (if i have to hear pornograffiti's 'melissa' one more time, i will scream.) both series rely pretty heavily on slapstick humor to leaven the surrounding darkness, and the massive chip on edward's shoulder about his height, grating in brotherhood, also wears on my patience here.

i liked this story's approach to alchemy and how it works. but the creators' vision of homunculi here, where each homunculus arises as a result of a single alchemist's hubris and becomes their sin to answer for? i prefer it a little more than the admittedly more cohesive explanation of a single being splitting off aspects of himself.

we get to spend more time with scar and maes hughes (my favorite character; i adore his hazel eyes in this adaptation and hearing the late keiji fujiwara's silky pipes voice him twice is a joy). i still can't decide which kimblee i like best.

both fullmetals are examples of satisfyingly meaty storytelling and full of awesome animation. i suspect a dislike of canon divergence behind a lot of the hate for the first series, and a preference for deeper character study and pathos behind hate for the second.

i'm usually wary of adaptations continuing after creators run out of source material myself, but the story shō aikawa and seiji mizushima constructed out of whole cloth offers up a feast of philosophy, character study, mindfuckery and intricate military-political intrigue. and for the most part, it holds up under its own weight.

here scieszka, winry and rose are more instrumental to the story's plot. dante the cursed shapeshifting genius alchemist is a brilliant addition to the story, as is archer (more on him below). lust becomes an almost sympathetic character, what with having loved and lost multiple times as she manipulates mankind into seeking knowledge while being only a tool herself. alphonse is a formidable alchemist and a prodigy in his own right. here that's not just hinted at; both boys could have passed the state alchemist exam with ease. i loved seeing the elric brothers use alchemy to squabble with each other, not just fists and limbs. and edward... he's a double amputee, but his prosthetic limbs work well enough to rid him of any real functional impairment (bless winry's fantastic engineering!). i'm not going to get into the fucked-up implications of that in this post, but i will say that FMA '03 makes his disability much clearer. we see how painful attaching his automail limbs is, repeatedly. a character pries them off of him at one point and he's almost helpless until he can get them back. it's now obvious why he wears gloves most of the time.

the brutality and pervasive racism of the military dictatorship running amestris is given far more focus here. (edward himself gets checked on his own racist assumptions quite a few times.) we see more of the armed forces in the act of genocide, not just flashbacks in haunted soldier memories. officers openly call people savages; kimblee is sent in as an exterminator because of his amorality and solipsism; shou tucker's sick research is allowed to continue, even though the military already has a more efficient method to make chimerae. while making the situation the elric brothers left behind in liore worse, the shady lt col archer sustains what would have been fatal wounds. he gets rebuilt into some sort of robocop hybrid sentient killing machine with no qualms about gunning down his own men. rose is traumatized to mutism raped by the military for having led a rebellion and still leads her people.

whether this feels heavy-handed to you may depend on your tolerance for darkness and cognitive dissonance; i'm still processing how i feel about it. both takes on arakawa-sensei's story present their main and supporting cast as capable of cruelty and kindness, but FMA '03 foregrounds that evil a bit more alongside the good. it made the kindness less palatable for me, in a good way.

also i spoiled myself a bit by watching the conqueror of shamballa before finishing this series. when i learned that mizushima-san is a huge fan of hideaki anno's work, FMA '03's 'inconclusive' ending made even more sense.

[fma03anniversary]

For the second time in 3 months, for Fullmetal Alchemist's popularity brings it back as the cover feature on Newtype Magazine for March 2004 with 10 full pages of info. Let's look inside!

Looking ahead at the upcoming story elements, we get our first look at the Laboratory 5 story line with four pages.

We have a two page spread covering the ladies of the show, then another two page spread featuring interviews with Romi Park, Rie Kugimiya, Tōru Ōkawa, and Keiji Fujiwara. The last two pages are dedicated to the secondary characters we've been introduced to over the last few weeks, plus a bit of information on the new OP/ED everyone's been enjoying!

Monthly rankings!

FMA lands at #2 most popular show going into March after sitting in #1 entering February (Flame vs Fullmetal did great things for the popularity!).

Ed occupies #2 most popular male character (down from #1 in Feb), Roy holds steady at #5. Riza sits at #3 most popular female character (down from #2), and Winry is at #5 (down from #3). FMA DVD 1 ranks #3 best selling anime DVD behind Gundam Seed Vol 10 and Nausica Valley of the Wind's first DVD release (previously VHS only).

And still crushing it 3 months later, Melissa comes in as the 2nd best selling anime single, just behind the new Astroboy theme song.

Finally, the Furoku purchase bonus this month is an FMA sticker book, with 10 pages of stickers from the illustrations featured in Newtype the prior few months!

For the April preview, Gundam returns to the cover, but don't worry there's going to be a whole lot more FMA too!