Anime Fullmetal Alchemist

[Guest IchigoAi]

I'm a little confused..from what I've heard, the manga is still in progress, but the anime is over? :huh:

[Guest MajorAlchemyFan]

I totally love this anime!!!! :love: My favorite character is Edward Elric. He's cool and he's like totally a genius when it comes to all matters of alchemy. I'm a bit of a science and math wiz myself. I like how Edward get's all mad when people make wise-cracks about his hight and thinking that his 1 year younger brotherAlphonse is the real Fullmetal Alchemist because he's taller and he lost his body in any experiment in they're younger years; in order to save him, Ed affixed his soul to a suit of armor in the basement that they were in. I've watched the anime on Adultswim and yesterday they didn't show Episode 6!? They showed R.O.D. instead. (Read or Die) Well, I hope I can make new FMA fan friends here, just pm me and we'll talk! Thnx! ;)

[MoNO]

I've watched all of fullmetal alchemist. It is one of best anime's i've ever watched. the plot to it is pretty good. It has everything a good anime needs it is funny, action packed, and has a good story with it thats all i need to watch an anime. the ending of it is pretty confusing but its still pretty good considering most anime do not have very good endings. well all i have to say to everyone who is still watching it is to keep watching it.

[Dagger]

Episode 8 did not falter, even though I went into it with a whole lot of excitement and completely renewed expectations. First of all--and I'm positive I've said this before--it's wonderful and almost startling to see a shounen hero who acts his age. Ed makes a believable twelve-year-old (at least, I think that's how old he is at this point in the show). Seeing him actually get scared out of his mind and seeing him frantically scramble to stay alive added an extra layer of emotional realism to the show. The artwork helped a lot in this regard: the wild, panicked look on his face during [spoiler]the part when he was being attacked by the serial killer[/spoiler] really grabbed my attention. I had been expecting the usual burst of scrappy courage one normally gets from this kind of protagonist. But even Ed's amazing resourcefulness wasn't enough to [spoiler]save him and Winry. He survived only because Al and the others arrived in time.[/spoiler]

Overall, this episode got its message across very neatly (although I still think that the title was sort of misleading). Ed and Al clearly need each other, and they are very much an equal team. Though they are both strong by themselves, neither is capable of making it on his own. I like that.

~Dagger~

[Noside]

Each episode makes this anime better. Making Edward vulnerable and scared just added so much realism to his character. I'm happy to see he's not a badass who can face anything that comes his way, atleast not yet, he's still a rookie.

He really shows his age and acts like an older brother usually does: Hard headed, unwilling to do things he doesn't like, stays strong to his ideals and gets shaken really hard when he sees them contradicted.
I don't know much about younger brothers so I can't comment on Alphonse. I like his character in the fact he's understanding of his circumstances and calm most of time. I think the dubbing really captures his wanting to become human again.

This anime is quickly going up the ladder in my list of favorite animes.


Time for some spoilers on ep.8:

[spoiler]
When winry came, ya knew she was gonna be a victim and that refrigerator car helped make it obvious. At first I didn't like the fact it's a coincidence everything happens, but I now understand it was neccessary for what happens and that it was a good idea to do it. I really think the dubbing and drawing was great in this episode, Edward sounded desperate in his ordeal and in his realizations that he can't do it all alone. I like that Edward didn't stand and fight with one arm, he showed authentic fear and ran to try can get Winry loose and get his arm first. I think Edward would of been okay, he was about to kill the guy when Al came. That strike into Al's armor was a great idea, Edward realized he could of killed Al if he was human and Al is again reminded of his inhumanity.
[/spoiler]

This is a Rock Solid anime, I wish I saw earlier, but I'm glad I'm seeing it now at the same time...Damn that made no sense.

[2010DigitalBoy]

Fullmetal has oficially become the coolest anime ever. Seeing Ed freak out helped establish realism that makes the show cool. Finally, a twelve year old who doesnt easily brave any situation like a tactical genius. Ed scrambled for his life, and did exactly what any kid would do in that situation. What I didnt like about this episode is they made the killers identity to obviouse.

[Gin]

[font=Comic Sans MS][size=1]I?ve watched most of the episodes on Adult Swim (I missed the first one or two) and really like it. This has been the first anime that I haven?t done any thing like read the synopsis of episodes that come later in the series or watched the very last episode before seeing any others. (I hope that made since).[/size][/font]

[font='Comic Sans MS'][size=1]Ok I had a lot to say about last night?s episode but unfortunately was away from the computer; now that I am on I can?t think of what I wanted to say?[/size][/font]

[size=1][font='Comic Sans MS']I came in right when the opening theme started so I missed the very first part, but I was surprised they didn?t have much about [/font][font='Comic Sans MS'][spoiler] Nina dying in last night?s episode. Ed did still mention it and seemed angry but? from what I remember there wasn?t that much about it. [/spoiler] also as Dagger said I didn?t quite understand why the episode was called The Philosopher?s Stone [spoiler](I don?t know if this should be a spoiler but) they didn?t have much on The Philosopher?s Stone. Al went and asked about it then mentioned it to Ed and at the end of the episode Ed asked to be told about the stone but except for that [/spoiler] they didn?t say much about it at all. [/font][/size]
[font='Comic Sans MS'][/font][font='Times New Roman'][font=Comic Sans MS][size=1]My brother some times comes in and watches it with me and I was surprised, [spoiler] he came in when the ?lady? in the green dress was delivering food and guessed that ?she? was the killer and was using the van to store the bodies. ?My brother just came in and I told him he was right, he also just said he thought the killer was actually a man wearing a mask (ha he was wrong about that he only wore a wig)[/spoiler][/size][/font][/font]

[Guest Edward1066]

[quote name='ThatOneOddDude']Fullmetal has oficially become the coolest anime ever. Seeing Ed freak out helped establish realism that makes the show cool. Finally, a twelve year old who doesnt easily brave any situation like a tactical genius. Ed scrambled for his life, and did exactly what any kid would do in that situation. What I didnt like about this episode is they made the killers identity to obviouse.[/quote]
I'm with you on that. Fullmetal Alchemist is a great series. But I don't think it's the best anime out there. To me, that would be Berserk... Again, everything you just said is true, for the most part...

[AzureWolf]

[FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Realism? Realism?! REALISM?! Just a few episodes ago, we saw [SPOILER]Ed take down a guy at gun point, after which he went hand-to-hand against the head boss who was hijacking the train[/SPOILER]. While I know people are free to interpret things in anime as freely as they want (provided that it doesn't contradict or not work throughout the series), I really have to disagree.

Anyway, I finally caught up with the series. So, based on the first episode, all of these current events are just flashbacks... That's quite interesting. Getting back to the point, with my newfound knowledge of the series, I don't think the whole panic-stricken scene was meant to build realism. Rather, it was to juxtapose the two brothers once more.

I'm convinced, not just because of the hijacking scene, but because [SPOILER]Ed's life was in danger before and he killed the guy[/SPOILER]. Accidentally, but the event still happened and he didn't panic.

So what did Ed panic about? It was [SPOILER]the sight of his own blood[/SPOILER]. In my opinion, he would have been fine if he [SPOILER]never got cut or realized he was bleeding[/SPOILER], but that's just speculation now, haha. Still, based on previous events, I'm pretty sure of that.

Also, what was the point of [SPOILER]of having the brother come in and take a hit for Ed[/SPOILER]? It was to show that Al won't be able to experience or fully understand what his brother is going through. The first time [SPOILER]you see your own blood in such a situation[/SPOILER] is something you don't forget, and the feeling is very unique. Al, as his sad tone hints at, realized this. So, I think the point was to impress upon the brothers' state and another consequence for their sin.[quote name='Dagger IX1']Overall, this episode got its message across very neatly (although I still think that the title was sort of misleading). Ed and Al clearly need each other, and they are very much an equal team. Though they are both strong by themselves, neither is capable of making it on his own. I like that.[/quote] You really think so? I can't say you are wrong, but I think each brother is his own person, and perfectly capable of handling himself alone. It seems to me both brothers are very independent, but are together because they are bound by sin.

Anyway, having watched the DVD versions, I'm wondering why the opening is different. It seems that Cartoon Network is airing a different opening than the one that is in the first eight episodes on the FMA DVD. Personally, I think the one on the DVDs works and fits better than the Ready Steady Go one (thank God Godel's internet isn't working). In fact, after seeing this opening, I think the one being aired is very inappropriate for FMA and is just there because the band that made the song is finally getting popular here in the US.

Thank goodness Godel isn't around... O_O[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Anyway, having watched the DVD versions, I'm wondering why the opening is different. It seems that Cartoon Network is airing a different opening than the one that is in the first eight episodes on the FMA DVD. Personally, I think the one on the DVDs works and fits better than the Ready Steady Go one (thank God Godel's internet isn't working). In fact, after seeing this opening, I think the one being aired is very inappropriate for FMA and is just there because the band that made the song is finally getting popular here in the US.

Thank goodness Godel isn't around... O_O[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Haha, yeah, that pretty much covers it. I suppose this decision also gives people an extra incentive to go out and buy Funi's DVDs, which will contain all the correct openings with the correct music (they made a statement to that effect a little while back). I don't know if CN ever tried to publicly justify running Ready Steady Go in front of every single episode, but your reasoning makes sense to me.

EDIT: It's not so much that I think the brothers are wholly unable to function separately, but I do believe each is driven by his desire to fix/heal the other. Right now it's more or less their entire purpose in life. Without each other, they would not have that to aim for and would be sort of lost.

~Dagger~

[AzureWolf]

[quote name='Dagger IX1']Haha, yeah, that pretty much covers it. I suppose this decision also gives people an extra incentive to go out and buy Funi's DVDs, which will contain all the correct openings with the correct music (they made a statement to that effect a little while back). I don't know if CN ever tried to publicly justify running Ready Steady Go in front of every single episode, but your reasoning makes sense to me.[/quote][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Also, if I remember correctly, CN starts the episode with the opening, while FMA on DVD has a bit of the show before actually showing the opening. There's actually an interesting thing about FMA's presentation that I would like to point out, but I think it'll be in vain right now.

So, does this mean that Ready Steady Go is a regular opening (it's definately not a bootleg opening with random episode snippets)? That still bothers me a little, heh.[QUOTE] It's not so much that I think the brothers are wholly unable to function separately, but I do believe each is driven by his desire to fix/heal the other. Right now it's more or less their entire purpose in life. Without each other, they would not have that to aim for and would be sort of lost.[/QUOTE]Well, I don't think the episode in question really establishes any of that. Them being bound by sin (aka "desire to fix/heal the other") was pertty early on, even before their quest started. In this episode, that theme wasn't very strong - at least not to me.

And logically, of course if the other wasn't around, their desire to fix/heal the other wouldn't be there, haha. Without a doubt, their appreciation for just having one another was made clear after the incident. However, this as well, was not established in this episode.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

EDIT: While I think I understand what everyone is saying, I think you are conveying the idea wrong. You can relate to the character better, or you can sympathize with the character better, because you know he is flawed like everyone else. This even, however, is also established earlier on, IMO.

[Dagger]

[quote name='AzureWolf][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Also, if I remember correctly, CN starts the episode with the opening, while FMA on DVD has a bit of the show before actually showing the opening.[/color][/size'][/font][/quote]

CN does show the pre-episode prologues, including Al's usual opening narration. I've missed one or two of them due to turning on the TV too late, but so far I think nearly every episode has come with some kind of preface.

[QUOTE][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]So, does this mean that Ready Steady Go is a regular opening (it's definately not a bootleg opening with random episode snippets)? That still bothers me a little, heh.[/color][/size][/font][/quote]

I believe so. It definitely is OP animation, as opposed to stuff snatched from the actual show. However, I'm not totally sure that they're using the proper animation for the song (although the visuals and music seem to synch up pretty well).

[QUOTE][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Well, I don't think the episode in question really establishes any of that. Them being bound by sin (aka "desire to fix/heal the other") was pertty early on, even before their quest started. In this episode, that theme wasn't very strong - at least not to me.

And logically, of course if the other wasn't around, their desire to fix/heal the other wouldn't be there, haha. Without a doubt, their appreciation for just having one another was made clear after the incident. However, this as well, was not established in this episode.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT][/QUOTE]

Gah, I'm doing a really bad job of expressing myself today. Let me try again. The idea of them being tied together by sin was planted early on, as you mentioned. Their close relationship was also presented and developed from the very beginning.

But for me, the emotional extremes Ed underwent in episode 8 (particularly his reaction to turning around and seeing Al toward the end) kind of galvanized all of this. Al simply stood there--calm, quietly sad, strong and supportive and yet really much too young to be playing that sort of role. The imagery then and the dialogue later, especially when Al talked about how he couldn't understand what Ed had experienced, seemed to make the bond between them very concrete.

I was strongly affected by the rawness of what transpired earlier in the episode, so in a way, everything that happened afterwards was also seared into my mind. I guess that's a big part of the reason why I was so struck by what Al said and how he acted as Ed's support.

EDIT: And what you said in your edit hits the nail on the head, I think.

~Dagger~

[AzureWolf]

[FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Alright, now I follow you, Dagger. Heh, sorry to put you on the spot for a sec, but I was just confused. I didn't even realize the characters said everything I said soon after (or during?) the event, haha. That's good as confirmation, but bad because I obviously didn't figure it out myself, haha.

Anyway, seeing as how the show is 51 episodes long, airs only once a week, and has sparked my interest, I'm not going to wait almost a year to see what FMA amounts to. I've started watching the DVD rips, and FMA is hitting all the right chords and with the correct force. It's quite interesting, heh. In less than 10 episodes, it's already easily gone leaps and bounds above Naruto. In fact, it became my favorite action anime, but we'll if it's destined to overtake any of my top 5 favorite anime series (Naruto wasn't in my top 5, btw).

Sorry I won't be able to discuss the series with anyone since I'm taking the impatient way out. And Ready Steady Go is the second opening. Bummer, as it still doesn't seem to fit, heh.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Noside]

*Aside* Being a fan of FMA, I've made it a point to post after watching every episode,heh.

This episode was a great bit of comic relief after last week's episode.

[spoiler]
A typical Hero saves the town from tyranny episode, but it was good. It's a shame Al didn't do much, sure he saved a kid and gave Ed a sandwhich, but it's still a shame he didn't do much else. I really thought it was going to be a two part episode with some background as to why alchemy girl was the way she was or how the town became the way it was. I really didn't think Ed was gonna save the town so easily. From the mountain of gold to the taxi ride in the sand I was having a good laugh. As far as I can tell the episode established why Ed became so popular and why they were walking in the sand in the first episode.
[/spoiler]

wow I didn't have much to say about FMA this time around, maybe there'll be more to mention next time. :D

[natetron46]

I think this is the best action anime out there. No other anime does what FMA does so regularly. They have great action in each episode, but they still mantain a plot. The plot if strong, and it revolves around characters that you want to and can identify with easily. This keeps you coming back, every week has a new twist and the episodes compliment each other wonderfully.

Azure, where are you getting those rips? Id love to see some, are they in good quality?

[color=navy][size=1]Next time just PM him--Azure obviously knows better than to describe how he got them or post links, but it's still better to keep this kind of thing on the down low. Thanks.

~Dagger~[/size][/color]

[AzureWolf]

[quote name='natetron46']Azure, where are you getting those rips? Id love to see some, are they in good quality?[/quote][FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]I'll answer the first question with a story. I met a kid at college who had no respect for anime. He thought it was a cheesy rip-off of other cartoons, and the ugliest stuff ever concieved (almost word for word). I decided to show him some of my recommended "gateway" animes, and I casually gave him a link to where I get almost everything. Of course, places that have everything also have the shadier sides of anime and manga, but I figured it didn't matter since he thought anime was ugly as sin.

He now has terabytes of hentai on his computer, and shares it on the school servers. He's supposedly removed most of his pr0n to make space. Worse, he continuously dangles it over my head that I introduced him to anime (which he just refers to as "hentay"), and now he wants to return the favor by showing me what I've been apparently overlooking...

So, to put it simply, unless you are a gay guy or a straight girl (or neutered), you most likely aren't going to get a link from me, even by PM. Yes, I have a sense of morale. Sue me.


As for the second question, I took screencaps that I think make the distinctions very clear. In the prologue, there's a bunch of stuff with words on it. In the first picture, you can't really read much, especially not the bottles. In the second one, it's pretty nice, but the H:W ratio is a bit off, it's a little hard to read certain things, and you can't read the label on the third bottle (below the other two).

Last is the DVD rip, and you can see a significant difference. Not only can you read the names of the books easily and read the writing, you can also read the labels on all three bottles. In this version, you can tell that the third bottle has the label "water" on the other side of it, so you can read it backwards.

Look at them in order, since your brain will make you think you can read what it says if you know what it says already. Some of the compression you can see if due to my laziness to not manually go from .bmp to .jpg. However, I think BSplayer's jpg capture is the best I've seen from a video player.


Anyway, there are four openings and endings for FMA. While my favorite opening is the fourth and final one, I think the third one was the best, followed by the fourth one, then the first, and finally, the second (which is Ready Steady Go). The third opening reminds me of what FMA is all about, while the fourth opening is all about the end of the series.

For the endings, I think the first one is the best, followed by the second, then the fourth, and finally the third. The third is just blatant (but welcomed) fanservice, boring, slow, and totally out of FMA's character.

And FINALLY, religious references that actually pertain to the story. It's a welcome change from the usual religious references that are used just for the sake of having religious references and that could be removed without affecting the story in any way.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[XcXChezaXcX]

I'm a big fan of FMA, especialy since it's made by the same people who created Cowboy Bebop and Wolf's Rain. I do hope that FMA ends happy though since Cowboy Bebop's and Wol's Rain's endings are (at least to me) a little depressing. :(

[natetron46]

Thats a pretty good story Wolf. I really do like the dvd rips, for any movie let alone anime. They are very good quality and I actaully have cable that allows me to connect my CPU to a television through the "video in" and play the movies on it. That looks just like a DVD when you do that. Its great, thank you ATi 9800 pro.

[elfpirate]

Hmmm... I guess I'd have to admit that I watch it every time it's on, and I think Ed is a great character... and the alchemy theme is really cool... but I agree with some of you that the plot is a bit mundane... and (this will anger some of you) I can't stand Al's character. He annoys me greatly... he's whiney and I hate it when he interferes as the voice of reason when Ed is losing his temper or freaking out... Basically, I think he's a little too "goodie two shoes" for my liking...

Overall, however, I do like FMA a helluve lot and never miss an episode...

[Guest blackhole]

i've become a huge fan of the fullmetal alchemist and i've been hearing some rumors that there may be a movie coming out? Has anyone heard anything about that? Any info would be awesome. I just got the game, and i'm digging it. If your fan of the series check out the game trailer at [url]www.square-enix.com/games/FMA[/url]
later!

[outlawstar69]

Yes, actually. There is a movie coming out sometime soon... details are few, but from what I gathered, the movie is called, "Hagaran the Movie" (doesn't know translation for that), and takes place two years after the series ended.

Is there anyone else know more information?

[AzureWolf]

[FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]Information about the original airing for FMA is also sparse. From what I've gathered from various forums (take the value of posts as you will, heh), FMA was originally planned to be 52 episodes, but the last episode was scrapped without any explanation. After the 51st episode aired, rumors spread like wildfire that a 22-minute 52nd episode would just not be enough if what was intended was going to happen.

So, here comes the movie. Many people speculate (READ: [U]SPECULATE[/U]) that it's the missing 52 episode, placed as a movie so the length is justified. Based on what I saw in the teaser (trailers are longer, and more coherent), it seems more like a side-story, but I could be wrong, as (FMA ending spoiler) [SPOILER]you don't see the armor Al is supposedly in move[/SPOILER].

Personally, I loved FMA and would prefer the story not to be touched in any way, shape, or form. However, there's the other side of me saying that they could easily make another season because of what happens at the end. Likewise, there's no reason that the movie couldn't address those events. But again, based on the teaser, I'm skeptical.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[Dagger]

I love two-parters! On that note, "The Other Brothers Elric" ended nicely. The production values of the latest episode seemed especially good--some of the shots during the battle scenes looked almost jarringly fluid, if that makes any sense.

Can anyone comment on the importance of the character called [b]Maria Ross[/b]? I have a very vague idea of who she is (she is female, right?), but I don't think she's appeared in the series yet. Does she only show up in one or two episodes, or does she have a recurring role?

I just found out that she's voiced by my favorite seiyuu, so the significance of her role will basically determine whether I watch the Fullmetal Alchemist DVDs in English or Japanese. If she only has a couple of lines, or only plays a big role in one episode's storyline, then I'll eventually watch just that episode in Japanese. If she starts to pop up relatively often, I'd like to watch the whole thing in Japanese (for the sake of consistency).

Ultimately this is all pretty minor, but I went through some serious agony when I learned that Mitsuki Saiga was Makubex from Get Backers, as I had already watched & immensely enjoyed a good portion of the anime in English. I have this weird thing about not mixing languages until I've seen the whole series. :p

~Dagger~

[AzureWolf]

[FONT=book antiqua][SIZE=2][COLOR=blue]What's production values mean? I'm not good with Hollywood lingo. I'm getting a vague sense from the context, but not quite.
[QUOTE]Can anyone comment on the importance of the character called [B]Maria Ross[/B]?[/QUOTE]Yeah, Maria Ross is a sub-supporting character: she's important, but not in the long run. You can't forget/miss her. While you see her a little more here and there, her main appearance and role are in a sub-plot that starts at episode 18 and ends at episode 22 (the resolving part of the plot continues to 25, but I'm sure there are breaks in between because of the presentation style). She also... plays(?) a key role or two in episode 25. As far as prominent and foreground roles are concerned, that's it for her.

As for the english voice acting, it's good and consistent most of the time. But when the characters have to emote, it just irks me, because it seems fake. Not just crying, but also angst and other stuff. I can't say I care about how well-decorated a VA is: if he/she does a bad job, I'm going to point that out. Of course, it helps that I have no clue or sense of who's who and if a voice sounds familiar.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[MoNO]

Yeah...yeah...
Can i get some more information about the movie. Im very excited about this because the ending was a bit dissapointing. Can someone get all he information on the movie I will be very grateful. (When it comes out) or anything on it really.