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Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 7 - Reunion on Yock Island
Based on the popular manga, Fullmetal Alchemist the anime is doing wonderfully on Cartoon Network and has found its way onto DVD. The show tells the tale of two brothers in search of the Philosopher's Stone to undo a mistake from the past. When Edward and Alphonse Elric were younger the disobeyed basic fundamental rules of alchemy and attempted to bring their mother back from the dead. The process literally claimed the brother's lives but thanks to the magic of alchemy and some nifty machine work the two pulled through.
Unfortunately they weren't able to escape the tragedy completely unscathed and as a constant reminder of the blunder their bodies were altered. Edward lost his right arm and left leg forcing him to have them replaced with mechanical limbs called automail. Alphonse lost his body all together but his soul was saved (thanks to Ed) and fused to a nearby suit of armor. Up to this point in the series we have seen the Elrics come closer to their goal of redemption though the road hasn't been an easy one.
In the last volume Ed and Al butted heads thanks to questions about Al's existence raised by his battle with number 66. The Homunculus came back into the spotlight again with a confrontation between Edward, Scar and them. It seems that the quest for the Philosopher's Stone will never end and each time the brothers get closer they have another roadblock put in their path. The story up to this point has split into a few different directions. One obviously follows the Elrics' journey, another centers on the development of Scar and the last features what's happening with the State Alchemists that we have gotten to know up to this point.
This volume starts out with an episode that sets a very depressing tone with one of the major (in my opinion anyway) characters getting killed. I'm not going to delve into who it was because I obviously don't want to spoil anything for you, but all I can say is that I really want to see the Homunculus get theirs in the end. Ed and Al are away when this tragic event happens and the aftermath is handled appropriately and emotionally. If you do buy into this volume, here's a word of warning; don't look at the booklet that comes with the disc before you see the episode. There is a spoiler in the reading material about who bites it as well as a little memorial dedication to the character.
The episode that follows that one is far less interesting with the brothers and Winry taking a trip to a town known for making automail. Naturally Winry is in heaven, but when Ed uses alchemy to win a automail arm-wrestling match she gets ticked off with him. She befriends a rebellious girl with a lot of spunk and something to prove and that eventually lead to a confrontation. Another subplot in this episode focuses on a mysterious man and woman that are looking for the Elric brothers. It turns out to be not so strange when we learn that the woman is in fact Ed and Al's alchemy teacher. It gets really funny when the boys have to explain what happened to them.
If you thought that you had abusive teachers growing up, you haven't seen anything. Their teacher beats the snot out of them, ties them up and drops them off on a deserted island to learn a lesson. It was all part of their training before, but now it's a form of punishment for breaking the fundamental rules of alchemy. This set of episodes provides a lot of interesting background material for the Elrics but not a lot of drama or action. The only suspenseful bit that stems from it all is a "cliff-hanger" ending that involves a strange kid living on the island with the brothers.
With a whopping 23 episodes remaining the journey of the Elrics is far from over. Up until this point the series has provided a lot of fast paced action, genuine humor, touching sentiment and a constantly driving sense of intrigue. This volume takes a step back and really reflects on the upbringing and history of the brothers as well as takes a look at a moment from their past. I'm sad about the character that died because I felt that they added a lot of personality to the show, but it didn't seem like a senseless death at least. Fullmetal Alchemist is constantly proving itself to be a unique show with a lot of quality in every regard. I can't recommend this series enough to newcomers and if you've been watching up to this point then you already know what I'm talking about.
Fullmetal Alchemist is presented with a 1.33:1 full frame ratio and features an absolutely stunning transfer. The image is very clean but there is a little bit of grain in some parts that appear in darker more shadowed areas as well as a tad bit of aliasing at others points. This is an extremely vibrant looking show with some great character designs, fluid animation and strong use of color. It is easily one of the more attractive anime to come along in a while and I can't get enough of the artwork.
There are three separate tracks to choose from, each with optional English subtitles. There are Japanese and English 2.0 stereo tracks as well as an English 5.1 for all your surround sound needs. The 2.0 tracks are competent enough if you don't have a home theater set up and the 5.1 option features some nice directional sound and distribution. Unlike other anime, I can honestly say that when it comes to this show I prefer the English dubbing over the original Japanese. Overall the audio treatment for Fullmetal Alchemist is top notch compared to other anime. I particularly enjoy the musical direction for this show and feel it matches the many dramatic moments perfectly.
This seventh release of Fullmetal Alchemist features a forced preview when you load the disc for Baki the Grappler as well as the usual textless opening and closing animations. It also features production art with streaming illustrations, line art and character model galleries for locations and people found in the episodes houses here. There are also a few character profiles which have little snippets of information for Sciezka, Envy, Elicia Hughes, Paninya and dominic le Coulte. There is also an audio commentary for "Words of Farewell", which is the episode where someone bites it. I was pleased because these commentaries always prove to be hilarious, but we haven't seen one since the fifth volume. The disc case contains the seventh little Alchemy booklet that spoils the death of a character in the first episode.
I simply can't get enough of Fullmetal Alchemist. The show has the perfect balance between humor and action, but this volume spends most of its time in quiet contemplation. There are a few moralistic points that are touched upon and there is a lot more development for the characters. Of course the biggest thing that happens in this volume is the death of a major character, which really caught me by surprise. If you've been following the show you owe it to yourself to grab this disc when you can. There is still a lot of show left for the Elrics to go through and I am still on the edge of my seat waiting for more. Highly Recommended
Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!
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