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R2 DVD Reviews
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Thursday, 02 July 2009 00:00 |
 Seems a bit strange coming back to this now that the remake's on the scene, but there you go. Full Metal Alchemist is one of those shows that impresses more and more as it goes on, and this closing set boosts it into one of the best anime series I've watched - and I've watched a lot. Throw away your preconceptions about who's good and who's evil, as the series kicks into high gear...
The first disc in the set sees the boys reunited with their father, Hohenheim - he seems to know exactly what's going on, but he's also equally happy to just sit on the sidelines and let it happen. It's only because his sons are up to their neck in events that he eventually gets involved, and even then it's not in a way that would have much of an impact beyond keeping the boys safe. There are also a few rather blunt hints that he's not exactly your normal human being (the first being his suggestion to Al of how he could regain a human body for himself), and that he's not the only one of his kind on the loose - there's one identified by the end of the disc, and you wouldn't bet against there being more.
The boys also finally get their Philosopher's Stone - but not quite how they expected to, and once they have it they're not entirely sure what to do with it. To be so close to the end of their journey - they started off simply seeking the Stone, after all - and not be able to complete it because of everything else that's going on around them must be a real killer for them, and with Edward so set against taking anyone's help now that he no longer really knows who he can trust, times are just getting harder for them.
Once again, it's the homunculi who are in control - or at least, the person who is controlling them, whose identity came as a complete surprise to me. Lust, Envy, Pride, Gluttony and co provide such a good range of Bad Guys - and with a motivation (to become human) that you can just about sympathise with - that they're almost the highlight of the show. While their methods are undoubtedly evil, they're also not without a human touch (Lust particularly, especially when it comes to Scar), and that makes them so much more than cookie-cutter villains. As for the other villains of the piece, it seems that it's the ones you thought were the good guys that you really have to look out for. This really isn't a series where you can take anyone's allegiance for granted.
Except perhaps for Mustang, who proves his loyalty to his men at least - and that includes Edward. Mustang's one of those characters where you were never quite sure what side of the line he fell on, especially after learning he was responsible for the deaths of Winry's parents (explained here), but he always seems to come through in the end. He's not entirely believing of Alphonse's insistence that the Fuhrer is a homunculi, but he's willing to at least look into the matter - and he may not like the results of that little investigation...
The second disc in the set cuts back on the steady stream of revelations - there are still some surprises thrown into the mix, particularly about Dante and Hohenheim and their shared pasts in episode 45, but for the most part the show starts to pick 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. How that turns out leads to a definite feeling that Full Metal Alchemist isn't leading us towards a happy ending.
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, of course, but come the end of the final disc in the set - and in the series - there's only one word that can be used to describe it: awesome. The final three episodes form a full ending to the series, one that stands well enough on its own to be considered a "proper" ending regardless of the existence of the follow-on movie. Yes, there's one noticeable issue left hanging that the movie resolves, but you won't feel at all cheated or that you've been left on a cliffhanger here.
The two main threads followed are Mustang's efforts to deal with the final homunculus, who he sees as his own responsibility to purge from the world, while Edward deals with Dante and her plans. Dante doesn't see herself as the "evil" one, and there's some logic in her viewpoint - by using the power of the Philosopher's Stone to keep herself alive & by manipulating people around the Stone in particular ways, she (and Hohenheim, up to a point) have played a role in demonising the Stone and in keeping mere "mortals" away from it. The end doesn't outweigh the means, though, and Ed's determined to make her pay a price for all the people she's directly or indirectly killed over the past 400 years or so. The Law of Equivalent Exchange demands it, if nothing else. Except that the Law isn't absolute, as Ed's about to find out.
There were some hints dropped a few episodes back that the world of FMA may have some connection with "our" world, and that's finally clarified here, with Edward passing through the gate to find himself in a war-ravaged London, and later in pre-World War Two Germany. The explanation of this, and how the connection between the two worlds provides the power that keeps alchemy working in Ed's world, is intriguing, and also provides the one lose end that the series leaves hanging.
In the end, what's not to like about Full Metal Alchemist? I really can't think of anything - the early episodes were a bit misleading in that they felt like irrelevant stand-alone stories when in hindsight they clearly weren't, but since then the story has moved forward at a consistently fast pace that has left very little time for the viewer to be distracted. Usually with a series this long there's at least some filler to pad the story out, but that's not the case here - it's perfectly paced and thoroughly engrossing throughout. Perhaps a little less of Edward's moodiness at some points would have been welcome, but really that's about it as far as serious criticism goes. With the individual releases, cost was perhaps the main issue - you were looking at around £200, even after online discounts, but the release of the half-season sets has brought that down to around £100, if you look around. Is the series worth that? Absolutely. This is one of those rare series that deserves a place in any collection. Go get.
For full episode summaries and screenshots, check out the reviews of the individual releases:
» Volume 11: Becoming the Stone
» Volume 12: The Truth Behind Truths
» Volume 13: Brotherhood
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