By Mamadou Traore & John Tustin
This animated dark fantasy (adapted from the original manga by Hiromu Arakawa) takes place in a world of mystery and wonder where people of all ages can use the magical science known as Alchemy. Alchemy follows a law of “equivalent exchange” that allows one to transfer one object to another.
Based on this premise alone, it’s no wonder why it’s forbidden to make another human being. But when the two brothers Alphonse and Edward attempt to resurrect their dead mother, they’re in for a rude awakening. By violating this ultimate taboo, Edward (the oldest) loses his arm and leg; while Alfonse loses his entire body, and has his soul bonded to a suit of armor.
With nowhere else to turn, they decide that they’re determined to get their bodies back. Looking for the mythical “philosopher’s stone” they’ll stop at nothing to make their bodies whole. On this journey to restore what’s been lost they meet a plethora of characters. Colonel Mustang the hot-blooded fire alchemist welder, Riza Hawkeye the sharp-witted marksmen, Winry the skilled auto-mail mechanic, and the main antagonists. Characters here act, talk, and speak like real people, unlike in other shows in which the characters feel robotic.
It should also be noted how they introduce heavy topics such as war, genocide, xenophobia, grief and religion. Each serious issue is presented in an organic way, which makes it feel like the writer isn’t trying to force their viewpoints on you. Besides including these complex themes, the story line creates an environment with real consequences and struggles. You can tell when characters are genuinely conflicted, and that writers aren’t trying to force fake conflicts.
Having watched the 63 episodes necessary to complete it (1 being filler) don’t expect all the episodes to be action-packed. That’s not to say each one doesn’t have its own flair. The animation style is pretty good for the early 2000s, even though there is occasional use of CGI (computer generated imagery).
Lastly, I want to say the voice acting (sub or dub) is phenomenal. Whether subtitled in English or dubbed in audio translations, FMJB is guaranteed to please even otaku shonen fans. With the use of many different voice actors, there’s no need to fret about repeated sounds. Each character is given a unique vocal attitude which fits the way the voice actor portrays them. When watching the show you genuinely believe the characters are in the situations presented.
All in all, even with minor complaints, it’s safe to say this particular anime is a work of art.
* * *
Full-Metal Alchemist
(By John Tustin)
Full-Metal Alchemist (FMA) the original anime, has the same premise of the Brotherhood version. In a world of alchemy, two brothers commit the greatest sin in the Alchemical world by trying to resurrect their dead mother. They paid the ultimate price for this crime by one brother literally losing an arm and a leg, and the other being bound to a suit of armor. They then try to regain what they’ve lost by searching for a metaphysical myth and legendary artifact called the Philosopher’s Stone.
FMA can probably be considered one of the best anime films to ever grace the earth. I mean I loved it … in fact I watched all 51 episodes in 3 days (because I don’t have a life).
on the other hand, there’s the series’ “ending”, which seems like its writers decided to create the most lazy and convoluted ending in all of fiction. But, I will divulge my quarrels with this anime later on. For now, I’ll just talk about the positives, of which there are many.
First: the premise is extremely intriguing; ALCHEMY! This is a way to think of science as magic, which is pretty interesting. Then there’s a great cast of characters who make you want to continue watching the show. They are all funny, distinctive, and have deep, fully worked out character profiles, which makes the series feel very adult for a shonen (boys) anime which is normally aimed at kids and teenagers.
I think the best part about the series is that it is realistic in the sense that no two characters are the same. They are never just copied and pasted for convenience. The best example is probably the villains. They don’t all have the same mindset, but just happen to be similar enough to want to join the same group. Finally, I would like to praise the overall pacing of FMA. Nothing dragged on, or went by too fast. It just hit that sweet spot where all the important narrative events feel like they were properly concluded at the right time.
Ok, so remember what I just said about everything FMA does right and how amazing it is? Well, take all that, pour gasoline on thevehole thing, then set it on fire— and that’s the ending.
This ending is just so bad. The big ”surprise” is confusing, and the villain always lurking in the shadows orchestrating every event had the blandest and most unoriginal motivation in anime.
I don’t totally blame the writers because they were writing the show as the original manga was still being published. Eventually, the anime’s timeline overlapped the manga’s so the writers had to get creative and write their own ending.
And they did, just that, only very very poorly. FMA: Brotherhood on the other hand came out after the manga finished, and this gives the original creator’s true ending of the FMA series.
Overall I love FMA, but it is so frustrating because of that dang ending. I recommend watching FMA and then watching FMA: Brotherhood, because they are still different enough to stand on their own. If you want the real FMA experience, watch both series. The best place right now to catch both series is on Netflix, where it is subtitled in English, and also dubbed if you choose so.
