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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Tuesday, 03 April 2007 17:00 |
 It's almost the gathering of the clans as Full Metal Alchemist continues, and a number of the people who Ed and Al have encountered on their travels gather in the city of Liore. Alchemists, soldiers and homunculi, oh my - and with bloodshed apparently on the minds of a number of people in the city, will Ed be able to prevent disaster..?
37 - The Flame Alchemist, The Bachelor Lieutenant, and the Mystery of Warehouse 13
Forget Ed & Al, it's the Flame Alchemist show, as Mustang becomes the centre of attention - his superiors seem to be getting suspicious about his ambitions, and have placed him under surveillance. Lt Havoc has been placed in charge of the operation, but he quickly loses interest after learning that the woman he's had his eyes on has fallen for Mustang. The ever-observant Flame Alchemist notices the change in his subordinate's behaviour, and orders his men to find a way to cheer him up - perhaps by finding him a woman. First candidate: Major Armstrong's sister, Catherine... Later, a trip through the city's warehouse district ends in horror when the legendary 13th warehouse appears - quite a feat, when there are only 12 warehouses. Mustang's not the superstitious type and doesn't believe his mens' tale, but his tone soon changes when he's asked to go to the warehouse district himself...
38 - With the River's Flow
Ed and Al continue their journey to Ishbal - not the easiest of trips, as most routes into the province are either closed or heavily guarded by the military. Al's beginning to doubt his brother's motives - Ed seems obsessed with Scar at the moments, while Al would rather they got back onto their original mission of finding a way of getting their bodies back to normal, but Edward doesn't seem to be in any mood to listen to others. Back in Central, Winry and Sheska meet up to talk about what happened to Hughes - they're both convinced there was more to it than what the official reports say, and neither of them trust the military to tell them the truth, so they join forces to try and resolve the mystery themselves - a decision that almost has deadly consequences...
39 - Secret of Ishbal / Civil War in the East
Lt Ross may have probably saved their lives, but Winry and Sheska still aren't about to tell anyone in the military what they've discovered about 'Juliet Douglas'. What they've learnt still hasn't given them proof that Hughes was murdered, and Winry's not about to make waves until they have that proof, so their investigations continue. Mustang, meanwhile, is on his way to Liore with Archer's unit, and isn't at all pleased at some of the people Archer has chosen to bring along with him. Ed and Al are on their way to Liore as well, along with Martel - who's all too familiar with the truth behind the Ishbalan uprising, and fills them in on the details. Let's just say the official version of events isn't entirely accurate...
40 - The Scar
When Martel catches sight of Kimbly, her desire for revenge kicks in and she immediately attacks, despite Al's best efforts to restrain her. For Kimbly, seeing the comrade he betrayed is just an excuse to let his bloodlust have some fun, but while Al's not willing to see Martel kill him, he's not beyond seeing Kimbly incapacitated. Back in Liore, meanwhile, Ed and Scar confront each other over their plans, but their meeting is interrupted by the arrival of Lust and Gluttony, and of Rose and Lyra. It seems Scar has a tale to tell, and Ed needs to hear it...
The first episode here is pure comedy filler, with Mustang and his men being the stars of the show (and yes, there's even a little Flame Alchemist™ bumper ahead of the proper opening credits). Its main purpose seems to be to lull you into a false sense of security before the heavy stuff kicks off in episode 38, and it fills that role nicely - just don't expect too much more in the way of humour for a while after it. There are also a few little revelations thrown in for good measure towards the end of the episode, as the Fuhrer, who up until now has almost come across as a good guy, begins to become something more ominous.
Episode 38 sees the return of Sheska, just one of several characters who make a return on this disc after a while out of the spotlight. While she's convinced Hughes was done away with, her theory as to why is just a little off-base - fortunately she has Winry to bring her back down to Earth as the two try and uncover what's really been going on. They're meddling in areas that they really shouldn't, and you just know it's going to end in something bad happening to them - which I thought was about to happen towards the end of the episode, when they're caught spying on 'Juliet' and almost meet a sticky end, but on this occasion they live to snoop another day. They are being useful, though, in their own way - with all the various plot threads now coming together, it's becoming clearer that the military and the Fuhrer are far from spotless. Whether that's a result of homunculi interference & manipulation, or whether the Fuhrer's just a nasty piece of work, remains to be seen - although I suspect the writers wouldn't have used the term "Fuhrer" unless they wanted you to draw certain comparisons.
Which brings us nicely to Liore, and the final two episodes on the disc. Take Scar, Rose, Lyra, Ed, Al, Mustang, the Fuhrer, and a collection of assorted homunculi and chimera, put them all in one place, and you know you're reaching the climax of the story - although with 3 discs still to go after this one, it's obviously going to take a while to play out. Once again, the way that FMA keeps bringing back what you thought were bit-characters and making them something more has really impressed me, with Rose now making a return after a long absence. A lot of time is spent here explaining Scar's past and the beginnings of how he, Lyra and Rose came to be on the same side. Scar needs a Philosopher's Stone; he also has just cause for seeking revenge against the military; and creating a Philosopher's Stone needs a significant human sacrifice. No prizes, then, for guessing what he has in mind - and after learning the truth of the Ishbalan Massacre, and what happened to Rose while she was in the military's tender care, I wouldn't be surprised if Ed left him to it.
So the pieces are in place for what should be an impressive confrontation between Ishbalan and military. But they aren't the only two sides in play here, and there are 101 possibilities for how things could play out from here. I know, I spent a good while after watching this disc running through them in my head - which is one indication of just how good this series has become. I wasn't overly impressed with Full Metal Alchemist when it began, but it's just got better and better along the way, to the point where it's a real frustration waiting for the next volume. A rare essential purchase.
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