Fullmetal Alchemist Anime (Volume 1).
March 6th 2008 22:48
Category: Videos
Original Story by: Hiromu Arakawa.
Director: Seiji Mizushima
Screenplay by: Shou Aikawa et al.
Producers: Hiro Maruyama. Masahiko Minami & Ryo Oyama.
Starring: Rie Kugimiya (Alphonse Elric), Romi Paku (Edward Elric), Toru Ohkawa (Roy Mustang), Megumi Toyoguchi (Winry Rockbell), Shoko Tsuda (Izumi Curtis), Kenji Utsuma (Alex Louis Armstrong), Keiji Fujiwara (Maes Hughes), Ryotaro Okiyau (Scar), Yuuko Satou (Lust), Mayumi Yamaguchi (Envy) and Michiko Neva (Riza Hawkeye).
Produced by: Bones, Mainichi Broadcasting System & Aniplex Inc.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 100 minutes. Rating: M.
The word Alchemy comes from the Arabic term Al-Khemia which in turn essentially means Of Egypt, Khem was the old name for Egypt and during the days of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment Ancient Egypt was often seen as the font of ancient and wondrous mysteries. In fact this attitude was also held by the various Greek and Roman philosophers and mystics of the Classical World as well as those who existed many centuries later during the Christian eras of the fourteenth century onwards. Transmutation is the cornerstone of alchemy and it is believed that many of the historical alchemists, such as Paracelsus, sought the holy grail of Alchemy which was the Philosopher’s Stone, the very pinnacle of alchemical arts. With the Philosopher’s Stone an alchemist could perform literal miracles; heal the sick, brew an elixir of eternal life and naturally transmute base metals into precious ones. As a kid hearing for the first time about the Philosopher’s Stone and its ability to make gold from almost nothing I felt that was a really cool thing, then my mother pointed out what would happen if the market was suddenly flooded with all this gold not to mention that the authorities would be extremely interested in just where the heck my gold was coming from; after these facts it didn’t seem so cool anymore.
So what I hear you say has all this got to do with an anime series? Glad you asked, you see as the title suggests Full Metal Alchemist is very very much about alchemy and there is a significant focus on the Philosopher’s Stone, in fact it would be fair to say that this particular plot device is the entire focus of the whole series. The stone is the literal axis around which the drama revolves, the two protagonists of the series Alphonse Elric and Edward Elric have embarked on the quest that has been a major effort within their own world as well as that of actual bona fide historical figures from the early Renaissance onwards. It is a quest of epic proportions and it has been mooted that the actual point behind historical alchemists searching for the Philosopher’s Stone was not so much to acquire great power and riches but to transform themselves, to purify the human condition and thus rise above the baser and negative instincts that have plagued mankind down through the ages.
The Elric Brothers (Alphonse and Edward) have a more prosaic reason for seeking the stone; they seek to restore their shattered bodies, the result of attempting a process that is forbidden by alchemists. The sons of Trisha and Honehiem Elric the two boys took after their father in their seemingly innate talent for the alchemical arts, as they grew older they managed to acquire more knowledge and skills from their absent father’s extensive library. Both of them became prodigies at the arts alchemical, thus when their mother died from an unknown illness (unknown to the audience anyway) Edward suggested to his brother Alphonse (or Al as he is often called) that they transmute their mother and bring her back to life.
Something’s though are not for man to meddle in, to borrow one of Lovecraft’s many maxims, thus oblivious to the potential dangers the two brothers embark on their scheme and unfortunately it all goes horribly wrong. Edward ends up losing an arm and a leg whilst his brother Al is condemned to be a disembodied spirit bound into a suit of armour, his entire body being disintegrated as a result of this ritual. And you just don’t want to know what the result of the attempt to transform base materials into a human being was, suffice to say it wasn’t pleasant. So this is the situation that the two brothers find themselves in, one is a soul with no body and the other has lost two significant limbs all from the desire and longing to see their mother alive again. They had no real idea what it was they were getting into until it was far too late.
This particular episode in the sage of the Elric brothers strangely is not the opening sequence of the series, instead it’s a flashback, an event related to a young girl name Roze by Alphonse, whilst in Lior City, one of the various places that the brothers have visited in their search for the Philosopher’s Stone. Ed and Al have come to Lior City on the trail of a clue that will hopefully help them in their quest; however what they do find in Lior City is not what they are expecting. After bringing about the downfall of the city’s priest who serves the god Leto and is apparently gifted with a philosopher’s stone the two brothers continued back to military headquarters and their superior Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang; the Flame Alchemist. What they are completely unaware of is the presence of other forces in the city that they leave behind, it seems as if the High Priest has returned despite the efforts of Ed and Al in bringing about first the unmasking of his true intentions and then his extremely dramatic overthrow. In actual fact this is but one move by three rather sinister characters that seemingly have an agenda that involves both the brothers and the world in which they exist.
Eventually the drama moves from the actions of the Elric brothers in Lior City and instead returns back to the very beginning of their journey, to a time where they were two young boys living with their mother, Trisha, on a small farmhouse in the village of Resembool. Here life is relatively calm and peaceful despite the wars going on in other parts of the world. Their father, Honeheim has vanished on some mysterious trip; they have become interested in alchemy and apart from the lack of a father figure all seems well in their world. Tragedy however lurks around the corner and it is the start of the long journey that the brothers will undertake. The failed transmutation of their dead mother is but one step on this journey and the sudden appearance of the mysterious Lt Col Roy Mustang is a pointer in the direction in which the two must travel if they’re to be able to achieve their final goal – to return their bodies to their normal state.
Having read (and reviewed) the original manga on which this series was based I have to say that I really enjoyed watching it, it certainly brought the characters to life and did justice to the work of Hiromu Arakawa. There are a few interesting differences in the story, for example in the manga Lt Colonel Mustang arrives in Resembool village with Lt Riza Hawkeye whereas in the anime he arrives on his own in the pouring rain and he actually observes the lightshow of the failed transmutation ritual from afar, another thing which as far as I’m aware of isn’t in the manga (though I’ve been known to be wrong before). Fullmetal Alchemist makes great viewing and its story is captivating with the right amounts of drama, humour and pathos to keep things moving along and not get stale. The various principles of the alchemy within the series is also very interesting and it would seem that both the creator of the manga and the production team of this series have gone into some detail concerning precisely how alchemy works within this universe and what the rules are that govern this art. Of course it seems that some of these rules can appear to be broken, or if not broken then bypassed.
Once the brothers have got back onto their feet Ed decides that the course of action they must take is to take up Lt Colonel Mustangs offer to go to Central City and sit the examine for State Alchemists. Boarding the train to Central City from their home village opens them up to the wider world as they make their way to the State Alchemists examine, it seem practicing forbidden transmutations and experiments is not solely restricted to two young grief stricken boys in some remote farming village. Nor are Lt Colonel Mustang’s motives entirely focused on the benefit of the Elric brothers, he knows they both have immense potential and he intends to help them but he also intends to further his own ends and agendas through their talents and abilities. Intrigue and action abound, and the Elric brothers swiftly realise that their lives are no going to be a lot more intense than what they’d experienced back in the village of Resembool.
As Obi Wan Kenobi was once known to say “You’ve taken your first step into a larger world” and this is certainly the case with the Elric brothers and their unfolding saga.
Director: Seiji Mizushima
Screenplay by: Shou Aikawa et al.
Producers: Hiro Maruyama. Masahiko Minami & Ryo Oyama.
Starring: Rie Kugimiya (Alphonse Elric), Romi Paku (Edward Elric), Toru Ohkawa (Roy Mustang), Megumi Toyoguchi (Winry Rockbell), Shoko Tsuda (Izumi Curtis), Kenji Utsuma (Alex Louis Armstrong), Keiji Fujiwara (Maes Hughes), Ryotaro Okiyau (Scar), Yuuko Satou (Lust), Mayumi Yamaguchi (Envy) and Michiko Neva (Riza Hawkeye).
Produced by: Bones, Mainichi Broadcasting System & Aniplex Inc.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
The word Alchemy comes from the Arabic term Al-Khemia which in turn essentially means Of Egypt, Khem was the old name for Egypt and during the days of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment Ancient Egypt was often seen as the font of ancient and wondrous mysteries. In fact this attitude was also held by the various Greek and Roman philosophers and mystics of the Classical World as well as those who existed many centuries later during the Christian eras of the fourteenth century onwards. Transmutation is the cornerstone of alchemy and it is believed that many of the historical alchemists, such as Paracelsus, sought the holy grail of Alchemy which was the Philosopher’s Stone, the very pinnacle of alchemical arts. With the Philosopher’s Stone an alchemist could perform literal miracles; heal the sick, brew an elixir of eternal life and naturally transmute base metals into precious ones. As a kid hearing for the first time about the Philosopher’s Stone and its ability to make gold from almost nothing I felt that was a really cool thing, then my mother pointed out what would happen if the market was suddenly flooded with all this gold not to mention that the authorities would be extremely interested in just where the heck my gold was coming from; after these facts it didn’t seem so cool anymore.
The Elric Brothers (Alphonse and Edward) have a more prosaic reason for seeking the stone; they seek to restore their shattered bodies, the result of attempting a process that is forbidden by alchemists. The sons of Trisha and Honehiem Elric the two boys took after their father in their seemingly innate talent for the alchemical arts, as they grew older they managed to acquire more knowledge and skills from their absent father’s extensive library. Both of them became prodigies at the arts alchemical, thus when their mother died from an unknown illness (unknown to the audience anyway) Edward suggested to his brother Alphonse (or Al as he is often called) that they transmute their mother and bring her back to life.
Something’s though are not for man to meddle in, to borrow one of Lovecraft’s many maxims, thus oblivious to the potential dangers the two brothers embark on their scheme and unfortunately it all goes horribly wrong. Edward ends up losing an arm and a leg whilst his brother Al is condemned to be a disembodied spirit bound into a suit of armour, his entire body being disintegrated as a result of this ritual. And you just don’t want to know what the result of the attempt to transform base materials into a human being was, suffice to say it wasn’t pleasant. So this is the situation that the two brothers find themselves in, one is a soul with no body and the other has lost two significant limbs all from the desire and longing to see their mother alive again. They had no real idea what it was they were getting into until it was far too late.
This particular episode in the sage of the Elric brothers strangely is not the opening sequence of the series, instead it’s a flashback, an event related to a young girl name Roze by Alphonse, whilst in Lior City, one of the various places that the brothers have visited in their search for the Philosopher’s Stone. Ed and Al have come to Lior City on the trail of a clue that will hopefully help them in their quest; however what they do find in Lior City is not what they are expecting. After bringing about the downfall of the city’s priest who serves the god Leto and is apparently gifted with a philosopher’s stone the two brothers continued back to military headquarters and their superior Lieutenant Colonel Roy Mustang; the Flame Alchemist. What they are completely unaware of is the presence of other forces in the city that they leave behind, it seems as if the High Priest has returned despite the efforts of Ed and Al in bringing about first the unmasking of his true intentions and then his extremely dramatic overthrow. In actual fact this is but one move by three rather sinister characters that seemingly have an agenda that involves both the brothers and the world in which they exist.
Eventually the drama moves from the actions of the Elric brothers in Lior City and instead returns back to the very beginning of their journey, to a time where they were two young boys living with their mother, Trisha, on a small farmhouse in the village of Resembool. Here life is relatively calm and peaceful despite the wars going on in other parts of the world. Their father, Honeheim has vanished on some mysterious trip; they have become interested in alchemy and apart from the lack of a father figure all seems well in their world. Tragedy however lurks around the corner and it is the start of the long journey that the brothers will undertake. The failed transmutation of their dead mother is but one step on this journey and the sudden appearance of the mysterious Lt Col Roy Mustang is a pointer in the direction in which the two must travel if they’re to be able to achieve their final goal – to return their bodies to their normal state.
Having read (and reviewed) the original manga on which this series was based I have to say that I really enjoyed watching it, it certainly brought the characters to life and did justice to the work of Hiromu Arakawa. There are a few interesting differences in the story, for example in the manga Lt Colonel Mustang arrives in Resembool village with Lt Riza Hawkeye whereas in the anime he arrives on his own in the pouring rain and he actually observes the lightshow of the failed transmutation ritual from afar, another thing which as far as I’m aware of isn’t in the manga (though I’ve been known to be wrong before). Fullmetal Alchemist makes great viewing and its story is captivating with the right amounts of drama, humour and pathos to keep things moving along and not get stale. The various principles of the alchemy within the series is also very interesting and it would seem that both the creator of the manga and the production team of this series have gone into some detail concerning precisely how alchemy works within this universe and what the rules are that govern this art. Of course it seems that some of these rules can appear to be broken, or if not broken then bypassed.
Once the brothers have got back onto their feet Ed decides that the course of action they must take is to take up Lt Colonel Mustangs offer to go to Central City and sit the examine for State Alchemists. Boarding the train to Central City from their home village opens them up to the wider world as they make their way to the State Alchemists examine, it seem practicing forbidden transmutations and experiments is not solely restricted to two young grief stricken boys in some remote farming village. Nor are Lt Colonel Mustang’s motives entirely focused on the benefit of the Elric brothers, he knows they both have immense potential and he intends to help them but he also intends to further his own ends and agendas through their talents and abilities. Intrigue and action abound, and the Elric brothers swiftly realise that their lives are no going to be a lot more intense than what they’d experienced back in the village of Resembool.
As Obi Wan Kenobi was once known to say “You’ve taken your first step into a larger world” and this is certainly the case with the Elric brothers and their unfolding saga.
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