Anime Fullmetal Alchemist

[Tatsubei Yagyu]

[COLOR=Navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I noticed something really creepy...during the Exam thing Ed had to do to become a State Alchemist, [spoiler]that guy made a huge tower, and the other made a blump which ran into it and Ed saved everyone with alchemy, making cherry blossoms...[/spoiler]

And in Episode 50, [spoiler]The attacking flying things ran into a tower or something (don't remember :animeswea ) and it crashed down on Ed who couldn't use alchemy...[/spoiler]

Interesting, how similar the two events prove to be, no? ;) [/FONT][/COLOR]

[indent][color=darkRed][SIZE=1]I added spoiler tags to your post. Even if it's near the beginning of the series, keep in mind that others may not have seen that episode yet. -Arvi[/SIZE][/color][/indent]

[jadwin]

I think it was good...it made my kinda mad...and It was sooooooo Sad....* Sniff *
Why did that happen?

[Guest Stafal-chan]

[quote name='Ramen_Mido]Last night episode was pretty good they explained the whole [spoiler] door to both worlds and the truth about eqvilent exchange[/spoiler].Which took me by surprise. I was also glad to see Rose show some emotion. My only complaint was [spoiler] fight between Envy and Edl[/spoiler] it was a huge letdown I did however enjoy Envy [spoiler] changing faces to make Ed feel guilty . And the ending was great with Ed [spoiler] getting brtualized by Envy[/spoiler'] I really want to see next weeks episode now.[/quote]


Yeah that one really stopped it at a good part...i wonder if Full Metal Alchemist is almost over...hmmm i hope not my other show just ended (Samurai Champloo) soo i hope Full Metal's not because then i'll be outta stuff to watch...

[Kenshin DX]

^^^Only one episode left Stafal -chan. Next week makes episode 51.

[Tatsubei Yagyu]

[COLOR=Navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS][quote name='Tatsubei Yagyu][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS][indent][color=darkRed][SIZE=1]I added spoiler tags to your post. Even if it's near the beginning of the series, keep in mind that others may not have seen that episode yet. -Arvi[/SIZE][/color'][/indent][/quote]

Meh bad. :(

Does anyone have info on the movie coming out in the U.S.? Because the lack of a solid conclusion is killing me...[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=Tatsubei Yagyu][COLOR=Navy][FONT=Comic Sans MS]
Does anyone have info on the movie coming out in the U.S.? Because the lack of a solid conclusion is killing me...[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]
It'll hit stores on October 3 (nice choice, eh?), which is the same day that volume 13 of the TV series will be coming out.

~Dagger~

[Nekova]

Wow! I went into this show with average expectatations, and have to admit I've been pleasantly surprised. The first few shows seemed average, but #'s 5-7 were way above par and now that I'm up to episode 15 I've got to say this anime has me hooked. Although it's had quite a few episodes done mainly for comedic reasons, the plot and background to the series has started to gain a lot more depth. I think this is shaping up to be one of my favourites, at least if it can keep going strong.

[kalon]

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of my favorite obsessions, but the last episode is on tomorrow(Saturday,3/18/06).:bawl: I am so happy that they are bringing the movie over. I do have a preference for the manga,though. The manga is supposed to be 20 total volumes.And as it turns out, the anime is [I]way[/I] different from the original manga, so I can still hope for a happy ending. :love2:
3/19/06 at 11:29---I just saw the last episode. That. Was. SPECTACULAR.

[Tyler Koregaten]

[quote name='Nekova']Wow! I went into this show with average expectatations, and have to admit I've been pleasantly surprised. The first few shows seemed average, but #'s 5-7 were way above par and now that I'm up to episode 15 I've got to say this anime has me hooked. Although it's had quite a few episodes done mainly for comedic reasons, the plot and background to the series has started to gain a lot more depth. I think this is shaping up to be one of my favourites, at least if it can keep going strong.[/quote]

If you think epsiodes 1-15 has you hooked, just wait.

Episodes 20-25: will keep you on the edge of your seat
Episodes 25-30: bring more humor to balance out the former suspense
Episodes 30-49: and you're back on the edge of your seat
Episodes 50 & 51: you'll near die from what happens
The Movie: you'll be thinking, WHEN DOES THE TORTUROUS SUSPENSE END!? I NEED TO SEE THE ENDING! you'll be lucky if you don't fast forward to the end on the movie ^__^

Hope you enjoyed my quick, non-spoiling summary of FMA. And also, I seriously do have a registered copyright on this summary, so contact me before using it on a site or something. No commercial use accepted.


~ Tyler

[Dagger]

Well, the final episode airs tonight. I have this plan worked out to maximize my viewing enjoyment, haha--I'm going to watch it on TV as usual, and then wait until tomorrow evening to see the film. Hopefully I'll resist the temptation to pop the movie in right after #51 finishes. :animeswea

Among other things, I'm looking forward to finding out how Ed works around [spoiler]being dead.[/spoiler] One would think that it'd throw an itty-bitty wrench in his plans.

~Dagger~

[EVA Unit 100]

That... was... AMAZING!

Fullmetal Alchemist might not be the best TV show ever, but it was certainly the most "OMG! MUST SEE NEXT EPISODE!!!" TV show in recent memory. People have complained about the show deviating from the manga, but I don't see what's to complain about. I never saw what was so great about the manga. It just seemed to rush from plot point to plot point with not much real depth to the characters.

And the characters certainly are the best aspect of the FMA TV series. They have very funny personalities (Edward's Napoleon Complex, Al's driving of the phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover" to rediculous extremes, Hughes' obsessiveness over his daughter, Cheska's obvious charicature of the manga author, etc.), but none of the characters are there simply for comic relief. You can relate to them (not that you really want to relate to all of them). They have a real dynamic. In particular, Ed's feeling of responsibility over Al while Al is feeling utterly worthless provides tons of sweet moments. If this show can make you cry over the death of a character whose defining qualities are greed and soullessness, then the writers of this show must be doing something right.

Plotwise, the show is by far the strongest of the "shonen" genre (although I personally consider FMA to be more of a seinen show or at least in the much older segment of the shonen audience), although not without its flaws. Some of the more episodic first season episodes were a bit generic, while the inconsistant pacing in season 2 made some plot twists like the story with Wrath too predictable compared to some real shockers like, say, Al becoming the stone. However, no episodes of the show were completely pointless filler, all of the loose plot ends were resolved in the end, and you always had a reason to watch. Compared to, say, One Piece, an excellent series in its own right, where there isn't much to grab you until around episode 31, FMA gets going right at episode 3 and keeps you hooked for the remainder of the series.

As for the episode in particular, what an ending! I have no complaints whatsoever. I actually teared up a bit throughout it. The last few minutes, which seem to be criticized as a "see our movie!" ending, I didn't find to be that inconclusive. I know this is a wierd comparison, but it reminded me of Voices of a Distant Star in that it forces you to imagine what happens afterward. And any show that can provoke imagination after it's over has to be worth something in my book. One question, though: why does AS decide to make special disclaimers for some shows (this, GitS S1) but just use an MA rating for others (EVA, GitS S2)? It seems a bit inconsistant.

This episode gets an A+, and the series as a whole gets an A. Now I must find a new obsession...

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=EVA Unit 100]
As for the episode in particular, what an ending! I have no complaints whatsoever. I actually teared up a bit throughout it. The last few minutes, which seem to be criticized as a "see our movie!" ending, I didn't find to be that inconclusive. I know this is a wierd comparison, but it reminded me of Voices of a Distant Star in that it forces you to imagine what happens afterward.[/QUOTE]
It also reminded me strongly of Soukyuu no Fafner's ending, which takes a similar [spoiler]"waiting for each other in different worlds" tack (although in Fafner's case, it's more like different planes of existence).[/spoiler]

I, too, was satisfied with the ending. Obviously I'm still excited about watching the movie, but I thought the final few scenes were amazingly well done. Although there was a lot that could have gone wrong in that episode, they somehow managed to get all of it right. The rollercoaster sequence of [spoiler]now he's dead, now he's not, and all the different sacrifices and resurrections[/spoiler] could easily have seemed like too much, but it worked out almost perfectly.

Even the [spoiler]time jump[/spoiler] was handled with surprising finesse. I particularly loved how the writers sort of checked in with all of the characters, even minor ones. And the background music got even better! Good grief!

I'm assuming that [spoiler]Dante and Gluttony destroyed one another.[/spoiler] That would leave [spoiler]Wrath[/spoiler] and possibly [spoiler]Envy (it wasn't really clear whether he made it to the other side of the gate or not--I hope he did, if only for the drama!) as the last remaining Homunculi.[/spoiler] I have to question whether [spoiler]Wrath will ever be able to function as a normal member of society; I'm surprised that he hasn't flown off into another homicidal rage yet. He was very unstable to begin with, and even having him turn into a kind of aimless wanderer is stretching it a little, I think.[/spoiler] But it was kind of neat that he ended up getting [spoiler]automail limbs.[/spoiler]

I'll post my thoughts on the movie sometime tonight.

[QUOTE]Now I must find a new obsession...[/QUOTE]
Eureka 7? Noein? Fantastic Children? :animesmil

~Dagger~

[hey_love]

[size=1]My goodness, am I sad about the show ending or what! After watching this series, everything makes plenty more sense now. All of the loose ends brought throughout the show, the details that I thought would be useless or not needed were indeed something that pulled together in the end. I think for a last episode, this beats quite a few last episodes that I've watched.

In this episode, it had so much going on within such a timespan! I mean, with [spoiler]the ressurection of Edward[/spoiler] and then [spoiler]bringing back Alphonse in his ten-year old form.[/spoiler], I think it was well put out.

The fight scene between [spoiler]Mustang and the Pride[/spoiler], that was just... wow. But I must question, [spoiler]Mustang ends up getting an eyepatch at the end, but I never saw his eye getting injured. Is it because there were many cuts around his eye?[/spoiler]

This episode also gets an A+ in my book. I think this whole series would be an A as well. :animesmil [/size]

[Dagger]

[QUOTE=hey_love][size=1]
The fight scene between [spoiler]Mustang and the Pride[/spoiler], that was just... wow. But I must question, [spoiler]Mustang ends up getting an eyepatch at the end, but I never saw his eye getting injured. Is it because there were many cuts around his eye?[/spoiler] [/size][/QUOTE]
I was wondering about that too. I have two guesses: either [spoiler]the injuries near his eye became infected (or too much blood got in it, etc.), or Archer somehow managed to shoot him while the scene switched to Liza's point of view and she was shown running up toward them from behind.[/spoiler] I think the second one is more likely to be correct, since she found [spoiler]Mustang lying face-down with a large pool of blood around his head.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Fyxe]

[QUOTE=Dagger]I was wondering about that too. I have two guesses: either [spoiler]the injuries near his eye became infected (or too much blood got in it, etc.), or Archer somehow managed to shoot him while the scene switched to Liza's point of view and she was shown running up toward them from behind.[/spoiler] I think the second one is more likely to be correct, since she found [spoiler]Mustang lying face-down with a large pool of blood around his head.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~[/QUOTE]

[size=1][color=slategray]Yeah, [spoiler]he was shot right before she got to him. Otherwise, I don't think he would have collapsed on his own, because he seemed to be coping with the wounds Pride inflicted upon him just fine.[/spoiler]
Anyway, wow, that ending last night. It's weird... I feel somwhow fulfilled, but I'm left needing more. It's like a close came to the story, but a whole new part opened up. I guess we'll just have to keep guessing about the Elric brothers.
[spoiler]Someone who watched fan subs of FMA before Adult Swim ever shed any light on the show told me that Edward like, died for sure. Maybe she was just talking about the second to last episode. At the time, I didn't really care, but when I remembered what she said after I had gotten into the show, I started freaking out. "Edward is gonna die, he's gonna diiieeee!!!" Because, well, I love Edward quite frankly. So, I'm really glad that she was wrong. Woman lied to me. XD
Man, with what happened with Al... wouldn't that be sort of depressing if you were Edward and you found out he didn't remember anything from those years? Then Al would just go and try to get Edward back and end up losing his body again or something. It's a never ending cycle. @.@[/spoiler][/color][/size]

[Ikillion]

[QUOTE=Lix][size=1][color=slategray]
[spoiler]Someone who watched fan subs of FMA before Adult Swim ever shed any light on the show told me that Edward like, died for sure. Maybe she was just talking about the second to last episode. At the time, I didn't really care, but when I remembered what she said after I had gotten into the show, I started freaking out. "Edward is gonna die, he's gonna diiieeee!!!" Because, well, I love Edward quite frankly. So, I'm really glad that she was wrong. Woman lied to me. XD
[/spoiler][/color][/size][/QUOTE]
[COLOR=DarkSlateGray][SIZE=1][FONT=Comic Sans MS]Heh don't worry. I was also told the exact same thing and when I first was told this I felt. "They are going to have the main character[spoiler] die?[/spoiler] How can they do that? is it even legal?! I mean...WTF!" because then the though came into my head that [spoiler]Ed would never be able to get Al's body back and the whole story would just basicly flop to a close. Good thing he is still alive though. I was worried for a moment when I saw him dead on the ground like that.[/spoiler]

It felt wierd for me though since I saw the movie before the ending of the series. The only question I had was [spoiler]for those of you who have seen the movie. How did Gluttony get so...deformed and such? Was it what marco did to him in that one scene in the elevator? Because I am only drawing up WTF's[/spoiler][/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[hey_love]

[size=1]Hah, one of my friends was watching Adult Swim last night, and after Stroker and Hoop came FMA, of course. He never watched anime, so he thought he'd give it a try.

He watches FMA, and the scene after the commercial break, he gives me a call going "What just happened? Isn't he the main character?" And at the end of the episode, he says he really likes the show and wants to watch more.

I didn't say anything. I just told him that it was the last episode and to start watching on weeknights when it replays the whole series. He thought I was kidding, but of course, I wasn't.[/size]

[eleanor]

[QUOTE=hey_love][size=1]Hah, one of my friends was watching Adult Swim last night, and after Stroker and Hoop came FMA, of course. He never watched anime, so he thought he'd give it a try.

He watches FMA, and the scene after the commercial break, he gives me a call going "What just happened? Isn't he the main character?" And at the end of the episode, he says he really likes the show and wants to watch more.

I didn't say anything. I just told him that it was the last episode and to start watching on weeknights when it replays the whole series. He thought I was kidding, but of course, I wasn't.[/size][/QUOTE]

[color=darkslateblue] Another reason as to why I howl and scratch the walls whenever I poke my nose into the FMA community from time to time. I am dying for the movie. I'm keeping up with the manga, which is excellent, but I still need that closure for the animated series. >_>[/color]

[Dagger]

Just finished the movie. First off, any anime in which frigging [spoiler]Fritz Lang[/spoiler] is a character has got to be pretty sweet. Secondly, it was easily the best series-related movie I've seen yet; it did a great job of capturing and improving upon the tone of the TV show. A lot of movies of this type seem to have trouble with that--they may be well-done, but somehow the two-hour format makes them lose something they had when they were made up of thirty-minute segments.

Besides, I normally lack the attention span for full-length movies; even Ghibli films give me a bit of a headache if I try to watch them in one sitting. But that wasn't at all a problem with The Conqueror of Shambala (tangent: is it supposed to be Shambala or Shamballa? The R2 packaging & subs used Shamballa, but everyone else seems to use Shambala; well, whatever).

To get to the point, HOLY **** WAS THAT AWESOME.

In fact, the only real complaint I have about the movie is that the CG [spoiler]suits of armor[/spoiler] looked downright horrible. I don't know whether BONES suddenly got jealous of Stand Alone Complex or what, but it was some of the worst-integrated CG I've seen in a long time, especially in a production of this caliber. Well, everything else had gorgeous, fluid, BONES-style animation, so it's not something I can harp on too much.

Never mind that, I actually have one other nitpick. I would've so loved to see a [spoiler]nice brotherly hug between Ed and Al--the suit of armor grappling session just doesn't count.[/spoiler] Also, [spoiler]Al should have been the first one to greet Ed, not Winry.[/spoiler]

Some highlights...

Why did the image of [spoiler]Envy holding Hohenheim in his jaws[/spoiler] bring End of Evangelion to mind? Specifically, the very last scene of EoE. Something about their situation instantly made me think of that; I guess it just had the same kind of atmosphere. In a twisted way, I can say that I'm happy for both of them.

After witnessing the [spoiler]Wrath/Gluttony[/spoiler] battle, I'm willing to forgive [spoiler]Wrath[/spoiler] for everything he ever did that annoyed me.

Al's character development was particularly well-executed. The writers did a wonderful job of capturing what he [spoiler]would have been like as a thirteen-year-old without the experiences he'd had with Ed over the past four years.[/spoiler] The scene in which he saw [spoiler]the dead child's hand and reflexively tried to perform a human transmutation[/spoiler] was very telling and felt incredibly real.

I probably should have been able to guess what would happen, but I honestly thought that [spoiler]Ed and Al would be stuck on opposite sides of the gate.[/spoiler] That reminded me of The Amber Spyglass, by the way, and it succeeded in getting a tear or two out of me. I was very thrilled and happy with how the movie ended, anyway. It was [spoiler]a good, positive ending, which I had desperately wanted for Ed & Al, but it was just bittersweet enough to fit in with everything that had happened in the series.[/spoiler]

The movie-only characters were blended well with the main cast, as were the [spoiler]doppelgangers of Shambala-dwelling characters.[/spoiler] They could have gone down the cheap route and [spoiler]made Hughes a loveable goofball,[/spoiler] but instead, they depicted him as a basically good yet misguided man, and did so with painful accuracy. It was great to watch him shake in fear as he [spoiler]took down the main villain.[/spoiler]

There's a lot more I could witter on about, but I'll stop there. For now, suffice it to say that the film is more than worthy of the series.

~Dagger~

[Meggido]

Saw the movie bout a week ago. watched it twice more since and even though I don't think it's as good as the series I love it to bits.

My only problem was the fact that it was kind of left open for a sequel. [spoiler]I mean with the Uranium Bomb still at large and it ending with them going in search for it. But if they did make a sequel film it would be pointless because it would have like 0 alchemy.[/spoiler]

was it only me or did Noah seem like the our world equivalent of Rose? I mean the misguided female character.

[Dagger]

I was a little confused about that, actually. It seemed as if everyone else--like [spoiler]Hughes, Lust, Scar, etc.--had exact equivalents. I thought that Noah was Rose the instant I saw her, but she just didn't seem to line up with her Shambala counterpart in quite the same way.[/spoiler]

On the other hand, this kind of confirms my belief that [spoiler]Rose is closer to being a real love interest for Ed than Winry.[/spoiler]

To what extent is [spoiler]alchemy possible in "our" world? Does it only work if you're trying to do stuff involving the Gate?[/spoiler] What confused me was how the [spoiler]big transmutation circle activated after Ed accidentally got some blood on his hand and touched it.[/spoiler]

~Dagger~

[Raphael]

[quote name='Meggido]My only problem was the fact that it was kind of left open for a sequel. [spoiler']I mean with the Uranium Bomb still at large and it ending with them going in search for it. But if they did make a sequel film it would be pointless because it would have like 0 alchemy.[/spoiler][/quote][FONT=Palatino Linotype]That's what makes it something worth to wait right? Keep wondering in what way the story would goes. :animesmil[/FONT]

[quote name='Dagger]I was a little confused about that, actually. It seemed as if everyone else--like [spoiler']Hughes, Lust, Scar, etc.--had exact equivalents. I thought that Noah was Rose the instant I saw her, but she just didn't seem to line up with her Shambala counterpart in quite the same way.[/spoiler][/quote][FONT=Palatino Linotype]For some reason, I sees her ([spoiler]Noah[/spoiler]) quite had the same characteristic with her counterpart in Shambala. Bot of them are easily confused and manipulated, and both of them annoys me so much. :animesigh

Btw, I kinda relieved seeing [spoiler]Hohenheim's dead[/spoiler] on FMA movie, it's just that he annoyed me too much. Wherever he go, trouble always came :nope: and who'd do you think would clean up after his mess? It's Ed....poor Ed. :(

I hope I won't make any of his fans upset. :animesigh[/FONT]

[Slade]

Saw the the last episode....it was fantastic!
question though....it left a lot open for a sequel however I havent seen the movie yet so I wonder in the movie does it close up the FMA chapter? or is there a chance of a sequel?

[Dagger]

The movie offers more closure than the TV series, but I guess you could say that there is still room for more plot developments (although that kind of depends on your point of view, to be honest). Even so, I wouldn't get your hopes up--the movie is almost certainly the end of the line for the animated version of FMA.

~Dagger~

[hey_love]

[size=1]I just finished watching the movie. It was great, overall. I'd rate it an A. I loved how in the end, [spoiler]Ed and Al end up being together.[/spoiler] Although, I find it sad that they are [spoiler]now living their life in the world of Europe now and not the world where alchemy is used. They once again left their home and have no place to return.[/spoiler] I got kind of sad how Al's hair is shorter. Oh well. :animeswea

I think Wrath definatly redeemed himself [spoiler]during the fight with Gluttony and bringing Al to the undergrown deserted city to sacrafice himself in order to open the gate. I'm kind of glad myself that their father died by Envy's hands. Or mouth.[/spoiler]

And I think the bomb being unfound and [spoiler]the movie ending off with the two searching for it continues on into WWII. Throughout the movie, it showed that the other world beyond the gate takes place during WWII and the Nazi and Hitler, so that means that the Uranium bomb could in fact be the infamous bomb set in Japan? That is what I'm guessing.[/spoiler]

Because I hadn't watched this series in Japanese, I believe the voices matched up really well. It sounds rather similar to the English version, and it wasn't a sore to my ear when I was listening.

Overall, it was a great ending.[/size]