Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Part One Review ~ Hall0606 Blogs

Review: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

Released: 23rd August 2010 (UK) (Out Now)

Platforms: Blu-ray/DVD

FINAL OPINION: MUST WATCH / AWESOME

When I first heard of a second Fullmetal Alchemist adaption I was all for it and couldn’t wait to see it. The original Fullmetal Alchemist anime adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist manga was one of the best anime I’ve seen to date. It was full of humour, action, drama, and sadness. The second anime adaption is entitled Brotherhood in order not to confuse people with the first anime adaption of the same name. Long story short the first anime adaption only followed the manga half way since there was no more manga material to adapt into anime form (at that time) the creators Bones were given permission to conclude their own alternative ending to the series.

This is something that made the original anime something special as they were able to come up with something without manga material to work from that was worth watching. This is something that spoils a lot anime as there is no more manga material to work from so they have to come up with fillers which can span a number of episodes till more manga materiel is available for adaption into anime form. Such as Bleach which already spans 200+ episodes and has gotten to the point where I feel the series needs to end but that’s another story.

Edward & Alphonse Elric (Young)

Edward & Alphonse Elric (Curren

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is the story of two Brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric (The Elric Brothers) as they struggle to restore what was lost to them. The story is set in a fictional world where alchemy is the most advanced scientific technique known to man in the 20th century. When their mother fell ill and eventually passed away the young alchemists attempted to perform alchemies greatest taboo human transmutation to try and bring back their mother. Having failed Edward’s left leg and was ripped from his body and his brother Alphonse lost his entire body. In desperate attempt to save his brother Edward Elric was able to attach his brother’s soul to a suit of armour using a blood seal, which also results in the loss of Ed’s right arm. The brothers are visited by a state alchemist of the military who tries to convince Ed to join the military, which in turn would allow him and his brother to use the resources of the military to continue their search for an alchemical substance no known as philosopher stone, which my help them restore their body’s.

Alex Louis Armstrong "Strong Arm Alchemist"

Homunculi - Envy, Gluttony & Lust

Scar

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood DVD/Blu-ray release comes on 2 Discs comprising of 13 episodes. Excluding the first episode which is all new and filler content, these twelve episodes are pretty much a retelling of the first anime adaption’s 26+ episodes. It has to be said that these early episodes will feel rather familiar to those that have watched the first anime adaption, as they both followed the manga at this point. So for some it may feel like money wasted as you revisiting familiar territory. As for others this a good place to quickly get to grips with the story. As for me I haven’t watched the first anime adaption in quite some time so it was refreshing and enjoyable to watch these early episodes. Unfortunately taking 26+ episodes and squeezing them into less than 12 cuts a lot of content from the story not to mention some restructuring has taken place. For those that have seen the first anime adaption this could be a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand the beginning story is speed through quickly getting to the new material sooner on the other hand some character development is lost. For example the Nina and Shou Tucker story has taken a hit as it all happens in one episode; where in the previous anime there was a slow build up, Nina and Shou Tucker where introduced in one episode and we got to know them through to the next episode. Furthermore it took place during Ed and Al’s attempt to become state alchemists not to mention they were younger at the time to, all of which made a greater impact on the story. Unfortunately this little story is rather lacking in the Brotherhood adaption. One of things that love about Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is the characters, and if I was asked to pick a favourite character I would have a hard time doing so. There are some unique and well developed characters within the Fullmetal Alchemist universe that everyone will eventually find someone that they like. From Edward and Alphonse Elric to Roy Mustang, King Bradley, Armstrong, even the Homunculi there is a character for everyone.

Fullmetal Alchemist is presented in full widescreen and the images are sharp clear and very colourful with good details. The animation is also well put together and it really shows throughout the 13 episodes especially the fight scenes better than the first and more energetic and a lot prettier. However I do feel that the level of detail in the characters comes of a little simple in places compared to the first anime adaption. After watching these 13 episodes over and over again I did notice that there is a lot more humour in these early episodes compared to the first anime adaption, such as super deformed characters, comic thought bubbles etc. Not that it’s a bad as Fullmetal Alchemist has always had that humour and along with the humour there are many darker sides to come in the series some of which happen in these 13 episodes.

Maes Huges & Elicia

The music in Brotherhood was composed by Akira Senju and it’s just as good as the first anime. The background music for certain scenes was perfect such as episode five where Ed and Al are outside in the rain and the battle with Scar. These first 13 episodes are accompanied by a great opening and ending themes, Again by Yui and Uso by Sid respectively. These themes alone I could listen to again and again and I have without them getting old. Those that watched the first anime will notice that most of the original voice actors (dub) have returned to reprise their roles, along with a few voice actor changes with Scar and Al. True to the first anime the quality of the voice acting is fantastic and great effort has been put into this. This is something that sets Fullmetal Alchemist apart from other anime; furthermore the English audio is also presented in TrueHD Dolby 5.1 sound. There is also Japanese audio track to choose for the many that are interested.

Blu-Ray Case

The Blu-Ray release I bought came in a slip case with 2 discs comprising of 13 episodes altogether. The front cover art features a full size image of Edward Elric griping the wrist of his right auto-mail arm with his left. Is a shame that not booklet comes with the set detailing the episodes also unlike the US release there are no art cards included. In terms of extras on the disk you the usual text less opening and closing, along with this there is also audio commentary on episode 1 and 10. These audio commentaries I didn’t find too interesting. The voice actors do give their thoughts and feelings on reprising their roles and there’s also lot of laughter between them on these audio commentaries. In conclusion the extras aren’t anything special there are no trailers included and no behind the scenes look at the series, but maybe these will pop up with future releases.

No matter what one my think despite some of the minor short comings when compared to the first anime adaption, it doesn’t change the fact that Fullmetal Alchemist brotherhood is one of the best anime out and these first 13 episodes prove it with a lot more still to the come. Newcomers will love it and those that have seen first adaption my look upon this new series with a bit of neglect. Yes a lot of story and character development has been squeezed into just 13 episodes or 12 excluding the first, but having already watched the series there is a lot more story, plot twists, and character development to come, not forgetting characters that were never introduced in the first anime adaption. This is differently something that needs to be watched by every anime fan out there.