|
|
Home
|
R2 DVD Reviews
|
|
Written by maehara
|
|
Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:00 |
 Full Metal Alchemist returns, and not that long after I raced through the last volume, either. I'll admit it, I'm now an FMA junkie. As the true cost of obtaining & using a Philosopher's Stone becomes clear, it's all change in the various groups that are seeking the Stone, as more than one person begins to wonder if it's all worth the consequences...
45 - A Rotted Heart
400 years ago, during an outbreak of the Plague, Dante and Hohenheim made use of the chaos of the times to create a Philosopher's Stone. With Hohenheim seriously weakened by the act of transmutation, Dante sealed his soul into another body - the first in a chain of such hosts for both of them over the intervening years - but shortly afterwards, Hohenheim left her, a decision Dante has never really understood. Now Dante's got her wish, and they're reunited - but Hohenheim's no longer the person she once knew. Back in Central, Mustang is called to explain why he put a stop to the search for the brothers, but he's more interested in determining if Al's assertion that the Fuhrer is a homunculus is true. Ed, meanwhile, leaves Resembool once more, in search of whoever is controlling the homunculi...
46 - Human Transmutation
Al pays a visit to Tucker - turns out the chimera knew all about King Bradley and the homunculi, and has just been waiting to get his hands on a Philosopher's Stone to be able to give them what they want. And to try and resurrect Nina in the process. Now, with Al on hand, he has what he's been looking for - but he wasn't expecting Al to actually be the Stone. Ed, meanwhile, goes back to see Izumi, and learns some of the truth about Dante and her connections to his father. Izumi's done some of her own research, uncovering in the process some evidence of Dante's and Hohenheim's true ages and the possibility that Dante may be leading the homunculi - but will Ed believe her? He also finds an unexpected new ally in his quest - Lust, who has decided she can no longer trust Dante and her homunculi brethren...
47 - Sealing the Homunculus
Ed heads for Tucker's lab, where with a little help from Lust he's able to partially seal Sloth away - a little experiment to make sure the technique works, but Al intervenes to stop him from completing the seal. He still sees at least something of his mother in Sloth - she was created from their failed transmutation attempt, after all. Wrath's arrival on the scene, and Sloth's attempt to seek refuge inside Al's armour, only complicate matters...
48 - Goodbye
Having been sent to the North by the Fuhrer, Mustang heads back to the city under cover, leaving Armstrong to announce to the troops under his command that they're going to return to Central and seize control of the military command - in other words, revolt. Only one problem: his men are loyal to the Fuhrer, and so few of them decide to take his side that those who remain with Armstrong soon find themselves surrounded. Ed's battle with Sloth and Wrath ends when Sloth is destroyed - but in the process, Al is captured and taken to see "You-know-who". Not knowing where Al's been taken, Ed decides to confront the one homunculi he can track down: the Fuhrer. Meanwhile, the Tringham brothers are in town, and quickly discovering that posing as the Elrics in Central isn't the wisest of ideas...
After the last volume of Full Metal Alchemist, I was waxing lyrical about how good the series had become. This volume doesn't quite match the sheer awesomeness of the last (I hate that word, but this is one of those rare occasions when it's deserved), but there's still plenty going on here to keep you entertained. What's missing compared to volume 11 is the steady stream of revelations - there are still some surprises thrown into the mix here, particularly about Dante and Hohenheim and their shared pasts in episode 45, but for the most part we're left picking up the pieces of all that was revealed before now.
The theme of the disc seems to be disintegrating alliances. Between Lust turning her back on the other homunculi, Hohenheim turning his back on Dante, and Mustang turning his back on the military, there are a lot of people deciding that their situations have changed enough that they need to seek out a new direction for themselves. For two of that three, it's a decision that seems to lead to their doom; for the third, the jury is still out, but I'm beginning to feel that Full Metal Alchemist isn't leading us towards a happy ending. I'll admit to having been spoiled about one event that's yet to come that I'm really not looking forward to seeing, and I doubt the dark moments will end there.
As ever, there are also a few little nice touches thrown in that, while they may not impact directly on the story, certainly add to it. On this disc, Tucker's transmutation of his daughter (be careful what you wish for, lest you get it) and some details that slip out about the setting are good examples - I'll say no more and leave you to find out the details for yourself, but it's attention to detail like this that really helps FMA stand out from the crowd.
It's not all perfect, mind you - Archer's reappearance, in a form that would probably be more suited to The Terminator, is a little bit of a stretch. It's all very well bringing characters back to play a key role in the story, but there are some occasions when people should just stay dead, and for my money Archer's one of them. There are also one or two other sequences that didn't quite ring right with me, but we're not talking anything serious here - this is still a good volume, regardless of a few minor flaws.
So. Come the end of the disc we're down to 4 surviving homunculi, 1 would-be immortal, 1 Philosopher's Stone and a boy named Edward who's increasingly wondering if he's doing the right thing. Time's running short for him to figure that out, and with the body count increasing while the various parties continue to fight it out, the ending - next volume, don't forget - looks increasingly likely to be messy. Bring it on...
|
|
