Fullmetal Alchemist

The Curse

Review by: Matthew Anderson

51 Episode TV series

Company: FUNimation

Running Time: 105 minutes (4 episodes)

Region: 1,4

Rated: PG-13 (Adult situations, language, gore)

EXTERNAL EXAM

Alchemy is the science of transmuting things from one form to another. By the year 1910, the science had grown so popular, the state started to license alchemists to serve as members of the special forces. Two such "State Alchemists" are the Elrich Brothers, Edward, and his younger brother Alphonse.

When they were young, they attempted to bring back their dead mother through the science of alchemy. Blinded by their own grief, they refused to heed the warnings set by the ancient texts. Instead of bringing back their mother, Edward lost an arm and a leg. Alphonse suffered a much worse fate, his soul was transferred to a suit of armor. The only thing that might be able to change them back to "normal" is the Philosopher's Stone. If found, this mystical jewel not only has the power to save Al and Ed, but it could be used to conquer the world.

As they travel in search of the stone, Al and Ed come across a "holy man" who seems to have the very item they seek. Little do they know that behind him lurks a mysterious group who will stop at nothing to get the stone, and kill Alphonse and Edward, The Fullmetal Alchemist!

DVD VISION TEST

VIDEO: The quality is excellent. There are no pixels or errors noted. The colors are solid, and the motion, fluid.

AUDIO: The English 5.1 is a good mix, with plenty of surround sound effects during the action segments. The music is blended quite well, and does not over power the dialogue.

The English and Japanese 2.0 is pretty evenly matched. It too has a decent surround sound mix. It will depend on your system which is better.

EDITS: The best of both worlds. Thanks to the use of multiple angels, you can watch the open and close with English titles, or the original Japanese versions. All the edits from the Adult Swim broadcast have been restored.

EXTRAS: There are three montage art galleries: once of line artwork, one for backgrounds, and one that consists of full color character models. There is also the clean open and close animations, Japanese television commercials and character profiles. On the non-disc side, we have an 18 page Alchemy booklet with information about the series and a mini poster on the back of the cover.

WIDESCREEN REVIEW

STORY: On the surface, Fullmetal Alchemist appears to be just another "buddy hero" anime. If you pay attention, you will see that the writing staff also looks at current subjects like familial relationships, the horrors of war, the power of faith, and the debate on science vs. religion. This series has a little something for everyone, and plenty of action to boot.

ACTING: The cast is sublime, on both tracks. On the English dub, we have the amazing Vic Mignogna as Edward. Vic is really good at expressing the passion and the anger that his character holds inside. He also has a great sense of comedic timing, able to bring out tons of laughs in even during the most dire situations.

Aaron Dismuke is also a joy to listen too. The sorrow and sadness in his voice fits the character perfectly. He really knows how to tug at the ole heart strings, and he plays off Vic Mignogna very well.

For me, there is nothing sexier than the voice of Laura Bailey as Lust. Exemplifying her name, Laura's sultry, purring voice had me lusting after her. From now on, anything she is in, I will have to buy it, so I can enjoy her sexy tones.

The Japanese cast is also wonderful. Romi Pak and Rie Kugimiya's readings are very intense and extremely powerful. You experience their joy when they do the right thing, and feel their pain when they suffer a great loss. There are many moments where Romi and Rie will leave you weeping.

FAN SERVICE: I'm sure there are plenty of references to the source material, but I could not point them out to you. There is nothing in the "panty" category.

FINAL EXAM

Unless you have been living in the desert, I'm sure many of you have already experienced the joy that is "Fullmetal Alchemist", thanks to Cartoon Network's "Adult Swim" block. However, if your one of the few that can't stay up past "The Venture Brothers", you now have a chance to see what you have been missing.

Like the "Gungrave" anime, "Fullmetal Alchemist" starts in the middle of the story. The first two episodes introduces Edward and Al, two brothers who are looking for "something". The encounter a town who worships Lord Cornello (mmmmmm chocolate and caramel), a holy man who has the power to perform miracles Our two boys meet Rose, a sweet yet naive young woman, who really doesn't understand why Edward is so interested in Cornello's abilities. We also discover that there are two people, lurking in the shadows, who know just about everything. Things quickly come to a head, as Ed and Al move ever so close to discovering who is really pulling the strings.

From there, we go into flashback territory. Not only do we get to see the sad story of Al and Ed's horrific early life, we get to learn about the time they live in. While we don't know exactly what country they are in (and the time line gets a little muddled as well) we do know that where they live, the state grants licenses to those who study the science of Alchemy. Like the GI Bill, if you are licensed by the government, then you wind up working for them. Like most members of the military, they are viewed with suspicion or thinly veiled disgust by the populace. Many feel that state alchemists are nothing more that government dogs, bullies with awesome powers. It also doesn't help that there is a war going on, and the alchemists are viewed as the ones responsible for all the death and destruction. Yet, they have the money, the resources, and a library of knowledge that few have seen. Because of the knowledge the government has, Edward and Alphonse decide to go off to join the military, and that's where the journey begins.

While FMA is supposed to be set in the early "1900's", many of the story lines have a very modern feel about them. The horrors of war, the distrust of the government and the military, feelings of abandonment, the grief experienced by the loss of a parent, organized religion, and even cloning are addressed in some fashion.

The first two episodes look at the age old battle of science versus religion. Edward, representing science, is pure and rock solid in his knowledge and thinking. On the side of religion is Rose, a devout follower of Lord Cornello, who takes his teachings about kindness and fidelity to heart. Because of his devotion to the science of Alchemy, he finds Rose's blind devotion puzzling. As far as Edward is concerned, science is the answer to everything. Rose feels differently, asking Ed why is proving Cornello a fraud is so important. Reflecting the views of many, she wants to know what is wrong in believing in something that science can't explain. The end of the story doesn't give a clear cut answer, leaving the watcher to ponder whose point they agree with.

The second half deals with war, and how effects not only those who fight, but those who survive. Thanks to the war, many of the people from Ed and Al's village are gone. Some have disappeared working for the state, others have died, perhaps as the hands of state licensed alchemists. Resentment toward the military, the grief experienced by surviving family members, and the positive benefits that the military life offers are all addressed, some more obviously than others. There is even an ongoing parable about cloning, if you pay close attention to the arguments about Edward and Alphonse's plan to bring their mother back. It's these philosophical and ethical questions that makes "Full Metal Alchemist" more than just a simple "buddy flick". Don't worry though, there is plenty of action to keep you happy!

The acting on the English dub is a big reason why FMA is so wonderful. Vic Mignogna and Aaron Dismuke are perfect for our two leads. You can really feel the sibling rivalry and utter devotion the two of them share. During the scenes in episode 3, where Ed and Al must deal with the consequences of their horrific act, Vic brought tears to my eyes with his total helplessness and cries of sadness. Then, Aaron rammed the point home with his pleas to help save his brother. It was one of the most intense scenes in anime since Harlock's homecoming in "My Youth in Arcadia". Major props to them and ADR directors Colleen Clinkenbeard and Mike McFarland (who directed the superb episode 3), for bringing out the best in these wonderful actors.

One of the things that may throw people off is the differences between the English dub voices for Ed and Al and the original Japanese cast. For Edward, Vic Mignogna's voice sounds more like a mature 15 year old, while Al (Aaron Dismuke), is only a year younger, sounds age appropriate. When you switch over to the Japanese dub, Romi Pak has Edward sounding like a tough 9 year old. Al sounds even younger, thanks to Rie Kugimiya's high pitched voice. While the disparity between the two voices may be jarring, it doesn't mean that either group is bad, or the tone of the voices are wrong.

In Japan, the voice is supposed to represent maturity, not age. If Edward was more mature, then the Japanese voice would have sounded more like....Vic Mignogna's. Al is even younger in maturity, so naturally his voice will sound like a little kids. For most in the States, hearing two female voice actors play teenaged male characters would have made it tough to figure out if they were boys or girls. Fortunately, both versions have fantastic actors, so either one will be simply perfect, and fit the character like a white glove.

The presentation of the disc is well done, if not a little simple. The video looks great, the audio mix is done very well, and the extras are interesting. There are a couple of things you need to watch out for. One: If you don't want to know some of the upcoming plot points, do not read the character bios. You will find spoilers there. Two: depending on your DVD player, during the segments that have alternate angles, the sound will drop out, or your DVD will freeze for a second at the very beginning of each episode. I'm not sure exactly why this happens, but I have heard it's a syncing problem. Once I find out why, I will let you all know.

One of the jewels of 2005, "Fullmetal Alchemist" is going to be one of the best anime titles of the year, and a sure fire contender for "Best Anime" for our annual "Vision Awards". The intelligent writing, combined with superb acting will appeal to just about every kind of fan out there. If you have to, turn lead into gold so you can buy this anime!

Return to Top

Back to the DVD Review Page