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R2 DVD Reviews
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Written by maehara
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Thursday, 06 April 2006 00:00 |
 I distinctly recall some series baddies being introduced over the past two volumes, but they're notable by their complete absence from these episodes. In their place, this volume of Full Metal Alchemist serves up an extremely cute alchemist, an extremely sexy alchemist, and two extremely devious alchemists, along with a fair amount of scheming and some progress towards the elusive Philosopher's Stone. Sounds like a fair trade to me...
9 - Be Thou For the People / The Dog of the Military's Silver Watch
Mustang has another job for Edward - to investigate a mine at Youswell. It's fairly routine stuff - alchemists need to have a knowledge of minerals, so who better to check out mining possibilities? - but when he arrives in Youswell town, he finds the locals are no fans of the military. Lt Yoki, the officer in charge of the mine, is quite the little tyrant and has been milking the locals for every cent he can, with the help of his pet alchemist Lyra. That doesn't sit at all well with Ed, and he has a plan to put things right...
10 - The Phantom Thief Psiren
After seven episodes in the past, we're back to the present, and Edward has to report back to Col Mustang that his latest attempt to recover the Philosopher's Stone (from Carnello in episode 2) has ended in failure. Trying to delay the inevitable meeting, Ed & Al take a little stopover in the city of Aquroya. The police there have been having problems with an alchemy-using phantom thief, so no sooner has Ed arrived than he's hauled in by the police for questioning. After a little bit of persuasion finally convinces the authorities that he's not the culprit, Ed finds himself being asked to help track down the thief, but while finding her proves simple enough, dealing with her abilities is easier said than done...
11/12 - Earth of Gravel / The Other Brothers Elric, Parts I & II
Still on the trail of the Philosopher's Stone & acting on a tip-off from Clara, Edward and Alphonse arrive in Zenotime, a mining town that's fallen on hard times after the gold was all mined out. Just the place where someone could be tempted to use the power of the Stone to keep the gold flowing, and the townsfolk are quite open about the plan their local landowner, Mugwar, has to create a Philosopher's Stone of his own. The strange thing is, there are already two people calling themselves Elric in town...
The first two episodes on this volume are played just for fun, really. In episode 9, Yoki gets exactly what he deserves when Ed decides he's abusing his position, while there's a little moral lesson on what it should mean to be an alchemist when Ed has to deal with Lyra. Episode 10 is also pure fun - how could anyone take a bunny-suited thief seriously? - and has even less in the way of serious moments. Between these two episodes, you're pretty much guaranteed to move on to the serious stuff with a smile on your face.
And you just know that any episodes dealing with the Philosopher's Stone are going to be on the more serious side. Ed and Al aren't particularly happy about being impersonated, and the townsfolk of Zenotime are quite happy in their belief that the first people to use the name are the real ones, so there's a lot of hostility in town for Ed and Al to deal with. It's not so much that they want to prove who the impostors are, though, but rather find out what they're up to - with the Philosopher's Stone being involved, it's like waving a banana in front of a monkey: there's no way they're just going to pass the opportunity up.
These episodes lack the emotional impact that some scenes in Volume 2 had, so overall I don't think it's as good, although the funnier episodes at the start of the disc are definitely worthwhile. The closing two-parter was stretched out too long - it was like the writers had enough story for an episode & a half, but rather than squeeze it into one they stretched it into two, which wasn't the right decision. Overall, there's also no real feeling that the series has gone anywhere with these episodes, which leaves you wondering a little why you bothered. The verdict: good, but Full Metal Alchemist has already shown itself capable of being better.
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