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Wednesday, 17 June 2009 00:00 |
 The Full Metal Alchemist reboot continues, and we're finally getting to see the full, gory truth about the boys' attempt at human transmutation. Expect to be at least mildly disgusted...
Edward and Alphonse had thought they had mastered the art of alchemy when they tried to resurrect their dead mother, but the basic principle of alchemy - the Principle of Equivalent Exchange - was quick to prove them wrong. Their attempt left Al's soul trapped in a suit of armour, his body destroyed, while Edward lost and arm and a leg. As for their mother... well, let's just say that sometimes partial success is no success at all. It was shortly after this that the boys were found by Mustang, who dangled the advantages of becoming State Alchemists in front of them and waited for them to bite - enough of an incentive for Ed to go through the painful and time-consuming process of having his missing limbs replaced with automail, followed by the demanding State Alchemist tests...
For those of us who have seen the original FMA series, this will be familiar territory, with the episode covering the same material as roughly the first half of the previous show's first episode - if you missed it, that's the background covering the brothers' attempt at human transmutation, and the rather gruesome consequences of it going horribly wrong. Where this version of events comes out ahead is in the level of detail it's able to go into: with twice the time devoted to the tale, you get a whole lot more information here, particularly covering Ed's time inside the "gate" and his first encounter with what appears to be one of the homunculi. If you're a fan of backstory - and I am - then this is particularly interesting to watch, as it gives a better idea of the trade that Ed did to get Al's soul back, and of the power that's available to those alchemists willing to experiment in the darker side of their art. It certainly explains why there are so many of them.
But it is also strange seeing the same events unfold in a slightly different way. With the opening scenes being set on a train bound for Liore, I kept expecting the episode to skip forward to the events in the city and the boys' first meeting with Rose, but that story has been kept over for next time. Some other items are handled very differently - Ed's State Alchemist exam is shown, but is almost unrecognisable from before and includes a great little scene where Ed attempts to show how lax King Bradley's security is - only to be shown in no uncertain terms that he's not as smart as he thinks.
Overall, then, this is another good scene-setting episode. It's a little strange to see if you've seen the first FMA series, as it's the same tale only different, but even if you haven't it should still have plenty in it to keep you entertained. Good stuff - but then I expected nothing less...
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