Full Metal Alchemist S1 review

Sup,

Full Metal Alchemist is one of those anime's that came out ages ago and for whatever reason I put off watching. I'd always heard good things about it but had never really been interested, probably because at the time, I thought it was one of these new wave 'teen animes' that was only here to flood the western market and sell some dvd's to kids who'd never heard of the old stuff like Macross, Gundam and Captain Harlock. I guess I was a bit too shallow minded to give the newer stuff a try.

So the other week I was in the local HMV dvd store when I spotted the two Full Metal Alchemist dvd box sets, released not so long ago by Funimation (Dragonball, Z, GT etc...). Season 1 - part one and season one - part 2. £30 each. Bargain? I should think so.

If you know me at all, then you will know that I am a sucker for a box set. Especially when the box sets are this sexy.



Both boxes, as you can see not only come in super shiny boxes, but they each come with episode guides/ art books, one to accompany each dvd. SWEET!

But anyways, on to the actual series.

Edward and Alfonse Elric are brothers and alchemists. While trying to bring their dead mother back to life through alchemy, Alfonse, the younger of the two, has his soul trapped in a suit of armour, and Edward looses a leg and an arm. And so begins the first episode.
FMA follows the two boys on their quest for the fabled philosophers stone, which will allow them to return their bodies to normal.

A gruesome, yet engaging opening. I love it when an anime grabs me from the word go, it means that it has my attention and I'll want to watch more. FMA grabbed me in episode 1 and didn't let go untill episode 28. It was here that Funimation let me down.

Ok, so I don't mind that the story continues in 'season 2', and I don't mind that season 2 isn't released in a box set yet. I do mind when the story is left just dangling, what happened to cliff hangers??? What happened to suspense??? I also mind when seasons 1 and seasons 2 aren't actually seasons, but instead they are one series that has been just cut randomly in half, or at least that is how it seems.

That aside, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the first half of FMA. It somehow manages to get the mix of comedy and deadly dark seriousness just right. The animation is beautifully done and the characters are memorable. The dvd's are dual audio with English. I watched the dub which was very well done. English voice actors include Vic Mignogna (Aura Battler Dunbine - Neal Gibbons), Travis Willingham (Code Geass), and Caitlin Glass (Gunslinger Girl).

Now, I've only had the time to plow through this once, but I will rewatch 'season 1' again before I buy 'season 2'. I highly recommend Full Metal Alchemist to both the newcomer to anime and the hardened anime veteran, like myself.

I'm currently rewatching Silent Mobius. Boy is it a chore. It's not as good as I remember.

Thanks for reading!

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