Based on the fantastic manga by Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist the anime is doing wonderfully on 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 by their friend Winry 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.

On volume seven, tragedy struck as Mäes Hughes was murdered in cold blood by the Homunculus Envy. Without knowing what happened to their friend Ed and Al made their way back to a shadow of their past. They found themselves in the presence of their alchemy teacher Izumi and had to pay the price for the mistake of human transmutation. As part of their punishment (or lesson if will) they were stranded on a deserted island called Yock. When the two were younger they were placed on the same island as part of their training and we got to see a lot of flashbacks regarding their past. As part of a mysterious cliffhanger at the end of the episode the Elrics discovered that they were not alone on Yock. There was a demented and freaky looking kid living there as well which is right were the eighth volume picks things up.

Things start off with the weird little kid facing off against Ed, Al, and Izumi. He does something unexpected though and uses alchemy to transmute his hand with a rock. Something about this kid is fishy so the group takes him back to Izumi's place for further studying. We soon learn that the kid isn't quite human and in fact there's something strange about his right arm and left leg; they are Edward's! Needless to say things get interesting from here and as we discover more about the child an event from Izumi's tragic past is unveiled. Let's just say it seems that the Elrics aren't the only alchemists who made mistakes in the course of their lives.

As the volume progresses the Homunculi appear and more of them are introduced. A few of the villains we see this time around are characters that we actually met in the past at some point. One such character is the corrupt general from "Be Thou for the People" from volume three. You remember the guy, the one that Ed made gold for to buy that mining town? Yeah, well he's living in a refugee town and when Scar and the rest of the Ishabalans arrive he sees it as an opportunity to get his career back. He calls headquarters and they ship out Mustang and the gang to capture Scar, but things don't go exactly as planned. Come to think of it, does anything ever go as planned in this series? Yet another cliffhanger ending hits with this volume as Al is about to be captured and Ed is unconscious in the presence of Homunculi.

Even with eight volumes under its belt Fullmetal Alchemist is still going insanely strong. This is one of the best anime that I have watched in a long time and I am in love with just about every episode. I can't wait to see what happens next and the events in this volume explain many of the questions that I have had such as how Homunculi are created. If you've been watching the show to date then you owe it to yourself to pick this one up, but if you haven't checked it out yet do yourself a favor and get started with the first volume.

Fullmetal Alchemist is presented with a 1.33:1 full frame ratio and features an absolutely fantastic 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. My only wish is that the series was presented with an anamorphic widescreen transfer but you have to take what you can get sometimes.

There are three separate tracks to choose from, including Japanese and English 2.0 stereo and English 5.1. 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. That's usually not the case for me but the caliber of actors here is unbelievable. Overall the audio treatment for Fullmetal Alchemist is top notch compared to other anime. I particularly enjoy the musical direction for this show to the point that I actually wouldn't mind picking up the soudntrack.

As with every FUNimation release the disc starts out with a forced preview. This one is for Dragon Ball and Mr. Stain. I don't understand why they do this because there are also some previews available through the extras menu for some of their other shows (and FMA card game). As far as actual bonus content goes there are textless songs as you'd expect, some production art with various backgrounds and character sketches, and some character profiles too. I was hoping for a commentary track like past volumes offered but alas nothing like that is here on the disc.

I simply can't get enough of Fullmetal Alchemist. The show has the perfect balance between humor and action, and each volume propels the story forward in ways that few anime can. These episodes spend a great deal of time explaining some of the mysteries about the Homunculi so if you have been following the show to date you'll want to pay attention. It's also interesting what happens with that kid from Yock Island and I can't wait to see what happens next. Another great volume for a great show. Highly Recommended

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