"You can't gain something without sacrificing something else of the equal value. This is the principle of the equivalent trade."
The story takes place in an alternate world from ours in the early 1900's. Two young brothers, older Edward Elric and younger Alphonse Elric, live with their mother Trisha in the small village of Resembool. Their father left home when they were still very young, but Ed and Al inherited his passion for alchemy.
1909. On a fine day, Trisha dies of an unknown illness, leaving her two sons orphans. Ed blames his father for Trisha's death and wants to find a way to bring her back to life. At this time, Ed was 10, Al 9. When Edward finds out about flesh forging in an alchemy book that belonged to his father, he engages in an intense training with Al in order to be able to perform a human transmutation.
On February 1910, the Elric brothers cross the forbidden line trying to resurrect their mom. The attempt ends in a complete failure. In the process, Ed loses his left leg and Al his whole body. In a last try full of despair, Ed uses alchemy to restore his brother's spirit putting it in a suit of mail, at the further cost of his right arm. When Al wakes up in the armour, he suddenly realizes what happened and takes his unconscious injured brother to the neighbours, the Rockbells.
After that day, the two decide to embark on a journey to find the legendary Philosopher's Stone, rumoured to create anything from nothing, in hopes of getting back their original bodies.
Story & Characters
When an anime graces the channel known as Cartoon Network, I almost find myself jaded by it regardless of it's merits.
Ultimately, I hate that a show that isn't all that good can get such a blind dedication of out people. Trigun,
Dragonball Z and even Cowboy Bebop weren't all that good in my humble opinion. But if I were to ever mention my dislike
for these particular shows, I would be met with the most hateful and ignorant insults imaginable. Problem was any show
that crossed that network ended up having a violent cult following around it. Because of this I would find myself
either dodging the show entirely or going into it with a bit more of a closed mind than I usually do. Well for once I
must concede that one show has proven itself to be quite worthy of high praise... for once. That show of course,
Fullmetal Alchemist; taking everything you know about chemistry and making it cool. Wait, what!?
Edward and Alphonse Elric live a happy life with their mother in a village named Resembool. Ed and Al show at an early
age that they have a talent for alchemy, Ed more in particular. As they grow up they continue to excel at their
alchemical abilities and live out their lives devoid of the father that they are compared to. One day, Ed and Al's
mother dies and this heartbreaks them to the point of attempting something forbidden in alchemy, Human Transmutation.
The two kids try to bring their mother back from her grave and this attempt goes horribly wrong. Ed loses one of his
arms and legs and his brother Al is so badly injured that Ed has to transmute Al's soul into a nearby suit of armor just
to preserve Al's being. After this tragedy Ed and Al vow to become better alchemists and return their bodies back to
normal. For this they require the Philosopher's Stone.
The plot is easy to follow early on. Ed and Al go from place to place seeking clues about the Philosopher's Stone.
Along the way hints are dropped of a more sinister goings on in the shadows. Eventually you have a secret sect within
the military that arises. The truth behind the Philosopher's Stone. Human-like beings named after the 7 deadly sins.
Much more that proves to create a very engaging and wonderful story. The great thing is, nearly every character you see
will eventually play a much larger part in the end. Definitely a fun ride and well worth the score of a 9.
Oh wait, I gave the story an 7 didn't I? Well that's because Fullmetal Alchemist couldn't escape the anime pitfall of
the poor ending. The story throughout the show was an original and coherent story with a wonderful flow. The ending
decided to take it in a different and completely outlandish direction. Talk about gates and other worlds and other
bodies in other worlds. It actually took away from the suspense and anxiety that had built up from a wonderfully told
story, and decided to take an Evangelion-esque approach to the ending. Needless to say, it didn't work and sad to say
that a few episodes can ruin what was a fantastic experience.
Rating: 7
Art
The animation quality in this show was an absolute must. There was far too much action and too many different
characters for this show to have been flat in the animation department. Thankfully it did a great job. The animation
throughout the show was extremely fluid and was especially evident during the numerous action scenes during alchemical
battles. The background designs and things like city creation was on point. But the main attraction was the character
designs. They weren't exactly original in their makeup, but creative to fit their respective personalities. The best
example of this was in the 7 deadly sin characters. Gluttony was a fatso with an insatiable appatite. Lust was a
dark-haired vixen. It actually gave the characters much more of a personality. Of course it also had the hand drawn
feel to it the entire time, which is a big plus in my book. In fact the only obvious CG work was in the 4th opening
sequence. There isn't much better out there in animation.
Rating: 9
Sound
Being one of those 50+ episode monsters, this show was able to have multiple opening and closing songs. The majority of
the songs used were not great but simple musical standards, but were made much better by the animation sequence that
accompanied them. Admittedly though "Ready, Steady, Go!" by L'Arc~en~ciel and "Kesenai Tsumi" by
Nana Kitade were both fantastic songs even on their own. On a show of this length, I tend to skip the openings and
closings after hearing them once, but not those two. As for the BGM of the show, it accomplished what needed to be
done. There is no real need to purchase the soundtracks, unless of course they came with your DVD's like they did mine.
But the soundtrack does help with what is going on on screen quite effectively.
The voice acting was fantastic. The majority of the time, you follow Ed and Al. And although I find it odd to hear
such a young voice out of a giant suit of armor, it was done nicely. In fact I think the actors for Ed and Al had a
wonderful chemistry and actually gave me the impression they were real brothers. There were no real weak links in the
voice acting chain on this show, and no real reason for me to do my usual of picking the best voice acting job. They
all did a great job in bringing the story to life.
Rating: 8
Presentation
It seems almost pointless to write a review of a show that pretty much everybody on the planet Earth has seen, but I'm
gonna do it anyway. This show is probably one of the biggest fan favorites in animation history, and with good reason.
I certainly think there is better out there that many may never see, but there isn't much. The only things I can knock
the show on is the missed ending and the drawn out episode count. If a bit had been skimmed off and made into say a 39
episode show, then maybe it would have had much more of an impact. I give credit where credit is due. The show had a
wonderful story with characters to love and hate. Great and unforeseeable plot twists. Solid animation and sound. And
there wasn't any flashback episodes (which I despise). In all honesty it was just a few things short of being
considered amazing.
I can recommend this to virtually anyone that watches anime. I don't think I've seen a single person not like this
show. In fact I may be one of the lower raters. If you haven't seen it, take some time out of your busy schedule to
watch it. It
ll be a fun ride even with its minor flaws.
Also of note, I did not incorporate the movie "Conqueror of Shambala" into this review. I personally thought
the movie was a disaster, and that would have dropped the overall score quite considerably. I would rather leave it out
of the review entirely and judge the series on its own merits rather than an hour and a half that should have never
happened.
Rating: 7
Final Verdict
7.50 (good)
Reviewed by shoujoboy, Apr 09, 2007
