Commenting in Epi's post, fathonlessblue decried how FMAB 30 has been
the only episode that's really dropped the ball so far
and highlighted the relevant chapters, characterizing them as a standalone story in their own right to reassure those who of us who fear being spoilt or poisoned by manga.
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- I was going to be all tsundere about this series - mainly because I hated the ending of the first iteration - but this first episode had such a great mix of action, recap and humour.
- Addicted to the OP - Electric guitar riff after the opening line and the scenes with Riza and Winry mouthing lyrics shot me through the heart / and you're too late / the guys give love a bad name.
- Kikuko Inoue-neesan makes me lust after Lust.
And so ends one of the most outstanding productions of Studio BONES. It has been a tremendous journey with Ed/Al. One filled with laughter, mirth, tears, horror and revulsion. Never had there been a series that managed to invoke such a wide spectrum of emotio
ns and with such fiery intensity. FMA resonates strongly with me because it deals with the many themes that humanity has been grappling and still struggling with ever since the dawn of time; the search for immortality, the intrinsic human need for hope, our futile responses to irreconcilable losses and the general darkness/foolishness of the human heart/mind. Using alchemy as a platform, FMA strings together many powerful anthropological tales built into Ed/Al's travels/quests. Personally I would recommend FMA as a must-watch literature 'text' for the young.
However, as with Scrapped Princess and Wolf's rain, I felt FMA's ending suffers from a slight oversimplification of complex issues or story elements introduced in the series. FMA is an intelligent series and has thus drawn a viewership of like profile. Side-stepping some critical story issues is not going to sit well this audience. Well, possibly some issues are left unfinished for closure/expansion in the FMA movie. Either that, the answers were dissipated throughout the series and require a careful viewer to piece together the grand puzzle. If so, that would be one excellent reason to re-watch the series.
~Warning: MAJOR spoilers~
Actually I am most confused on one aspect of the series (not being part of the intelligent audience): the FMA universe. The introduction of WWI Britain as a parallel universe really threw me off-balance. I was not totally shocked as insightful readers at David's blog have already mentioned that some of the images from the gate (earlier FMA eps) included images of our modern world and that of the atomic bomb. But really, is the gate just an inter-dimensional portal between parallel universes or a netherworld time machine that straddles millenniums of the same timeline? After all, Christianity was mentioned in the alchemy world and is thought to be an ancient religion not too far from Hohenhiem's time. So is the Alchemy world actually an extrapolation from the world which once hosted 1921 Munich? We also see Hohenheim back to pioneering transmutation research in this alchemy-less world. [See object of research]. Could this be one of those convoluted time-loop concepts which may be expanded in the FMA movie? If so, it certainly would make Ed and Al's mode of eventual reunion more interesting.
With scientific frontiers on nano-engineering (ie atomic level manipulation) and human cloning, we're actually not too far from 'transmutational' applications. Scientists and legislators in the related fields may want to catch FMA and gain some wisdom on both the beauty and darkness of the human heart (that remains unchanged across universes/millenniums) before delving into the realms of God for human access. Or just catch it anyway because it's one of the BEST titles, anime-dom offers.
Mwahahahah! It's alive... ALIVE! Armed with the Philosophical Screwdriver and the forbidden art of alchemy (which involves mystic rituals of ranting/kicking at the motherboard, ripping out exposed electrical sinews and cracking bare silicon bones, my PC has been revived! The first ever successful Computer Transmutation! With all my will, I binded a soul (Windows XP) and proceeded to name this homunculous shell of a PC, Wrath (in remembrance of my 'mad rage' during its transmutation... the CPU was practically quavering when I approached it with the powerful Screwdriver) However, I have no delusions about its eventual demise since it weakens with every transmutational resurrection. Transfer of its memories are underway and plans for a brand new body is in the works. Of course a new body costs and even with my Philosophical Screwdriver, I can't escape the fate of Equivalent Trade. Well, I wonder if things might be different if I'm armed with a Philosophical Machete instead...
Another 2 eps of solid storytelling. The battle royale as promised from ep 30 wasn't as grand or chaotic as I envisioned it to be. Nevertheless the short action scene was quite invigorating. Anyway, it would seem that Envy, representative of the homunculi, got the upper hand and technically 'won' the 5-way fight by offering Wrath some 'fruits from the tree of knowledge'. (Objective accomplished) And so Wrath's memories returned and innocence was lost immediately. Replacing it were malice and calculated vengeance. Honestly I lost a bit of respect of Izumi sensei in these 2 eps. Obviously Wrath is to be destroyed ASAP. But she goes soft on him cos he's her child. I guess she's only human. Al is the only character whom I find consistently sensible. For a 14 yr old, he seems to be fairly objective and does what NEEDS to be done. Then again, maybe it's cos Al can hardly be considered 'human'.
On another story front, we see the confrontation of the military and Ishbal people. And how Lust and Gluttony fan the flames of genocide. It's still a mystery to me why the Homunculi are so bent on having the Ishbal people destroyed. Past vendatta? Or is it part a greater, insidious scheme? Whatever it is, Hughes died for that knowledge...there better be a good story behind it.
Ep 28 was uncharacteristic of FMA. No doubt there was an alchemy principle that it was trying to convey ("
One is all, All is one"), but really there was no need for a full, dedicated ep. It was also pretty thin on plot development. However it does lead in to the more interesting ep 29. Here, the tempo picks up again. A mysterious boy, with the "
I'm Homunculus" look, appears. He possesses tremendous transmutation ability, being able to manipulate and fuse both organic and inorganic materials. Ed's immediate suspicion of him set the stage for straight talk with his sensei, embarking on one of the most intriguing topics of the series:
What happened during Ed/Al's human transmutation. And it was one revelation that brought about more questions than answers. Ed received visions that were full of apocalytic and prophetic imageries. The door with sinister eyes peering from the darkness was especially haunting. In addition, we find out that the Homunculous boy somehow obtained Ed's arm and leg. Apparently the theory of equivalent trade is cruelly distorting when it comes to human transmutation.
Ep 30 was a masterful tapestry of all the storythreads. There is plot development in ALL directions in ALL the layers of the story, yet they are strongly binded at the core by the main characters (Ed, Scar and Mustang). Truly, Ep 30 is the stuff that makes FMA great. Man, I need my next dosage of FMA soon *shivering hands*. Also, I get the feeling Izumi sensei is not going to last very long. It's sad since she was a fitting replacement for Hughes. Well if they are going to kill her off, it had better be gloriously spectacular. She deserves nothing less.
Ep 26 was a Winry character building ep. I like how they titled it "Kanojyo no riyuu" (Her reasons) and applied it to both Paninya (whose storythread put us in perspective on the true purpose of auto-mails) and Winry (which give us insight on how she specifically viewed Edward's auto-mail). Yes, plenty of Winry goodness and it didn't stop there! The new ending sequence was also totally Winry-centric! For a moment (I emphasize just for a teeny weeny moment), I wanted to be the dog in the ending sequence. (I'm sure it's the secret wish of many Winry fans out there
) Looks like Winry's going to quite central in the latter part of the series, or at least I hope so!
Now ep 27 was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It began with a lot of violence. These are the times when Al is probly thankful that he doesn't have sensory neurons. Edward got it real bad though. Anyway, after that inital bout of violence, the ep mellowed a little. Some flashbacks followed, then a death, more violence and finally it ends with a moving moment of the sensei embracing the brothers. A simple act but I could really feel Izumi's heart connected to the brothers' loss/pain. I'm full of respect for Izumi sensei. Not only is she a Class A alchemist, a top-notch pugilist, she also exhibits great wisdom (Anime quote for April comes from her). But it seems that her wisdom was earned at a great cost. Possibly something to do with her child/children which even people around her are evasive about. Yeah she probly has tried human transmutation, resulting in her ability to transmute w/o a circle, like Edward. State Alchemists are likely to have played a role in some past tragedy, resulting in her hatred of them. I wonder if the next ep will reveal some of her backstory. In the meanwhile, I'll try not to get too attached to her... Ep 25 still stings my heart.
Usually, I would not have flinched from penning spoilers in their full unedited glory. But I just can't do it for ep 25. Something devastating happened in FMA ep 25 and since then the collective heart of the anime community has not stopped bleeding. The main reason why I am not talking about it here is because, every FMA watcher should experience this pain for himself and not be shortchanged by having the heartrending moments dulled with the prior knowledge through spoilers. My advice: Avoid reading anime blogs entries on FMA ep 25 (or even the comments) for full impact. The last 5 min has got to be the most powerful anime moment of all the current 2004 series.
I've always knew Studio BONES to be quite the master in bringing out emotional moments. Some poignant moments from their previous productions that were memorable for me.
1) Misaki and her mom's reunion (Angelic Layer ep 25)
2) Ayato and Asahina's 'fight' (Rahxephon ep 19)
3) Pacifica and her mom's meeting (Scrapped Princess ep 19)
4) Fulle and his efforts to save Pacifica (Scrapped Princess ep 18)
5) Pacifica and the prince's reunion (Scrapped Princess ep 23)
(Yes yes, I'm biased.. after all Scrapped Priness is on my personal favourites list.) Anyway I've already tried to be very general on the description of the touching moments so that you may not be robbed of the burning heartache when you savour these moments firsthand.
I just hope BONES can keep up the stamina/fervour to see FMA through (52 eps is no joke). If the latter half can retain the spirit and direction of the first half of the series, Fullmetal Alchemist will undoubtly be THE anime for 2004.
You know an anime is hot when it chronically graces the covers of anime magazines. Animage (Dec 2003, Mar 2004), Animedia (Dec 2003), Newtype Japan(Jan 2004, Mar 2004) and Newtype USA (Feb 2004) were some of the mags infected by FMA fever. I'm hot with this fever too. And it seems like I would be blogging FMA after all since it's going beyond the typical 24/26 eps. I'm not so sure I can endure the torment of waiting for that 1 ep every week. Sigh it's going to like Gundam SEED all over again... (I was always screaming at the end of every GS ep cos I know the next dosage comes only 7 days later.)
Now back to FMA. Woah. Fantastic storyline. It was very interesting to see how the many layers to the story are woven together and anchored by the 2 Elric brothers as the focal point in the grand scheme of things. The pace is excellent. There's always a constant trickle of answers or subtle hints to the many questions in the series. And when a major plot revelation is in view, it's always preceded by a good buildup to ensure the impact of the revelation is felt. The characters are also deep and interesting. The 2 Elric brothers did mature quite a bit during their journeys. I thot it was interesting that Al, being the younger brother, is the voice of wisdom and exhibited more maturity than Ed (though a little too trusting at times). Scar, Roy Mustang and Maes Hughes are not cardboard characters either. Esp for Roy and Maes whose true motivations are still unclear for me. I suspect Roy want to be the Fuhrer for reasons connected to the Ishiba massacre.
On another note, I wonder if FMA is Japanese animanga circle's response to the thorny issue of human cloning. Imagine having Scar's power in cloning terms, instead of rearranging atoms, he could just scramble someone's DNA code on touch, creating instantly "The Human Blob". Of course he could potentially cure cancer too. However, when it comes to such powerful discoveries/techniques, I have tremendous faith in mankind. You can be sure the human race will see its first BLOB bomb long b4 commercially viable cancer treatments are made available to masses. Now we know why Ishibala deemed alchemy evil.
Danny Choo