FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD
April 28th 2009 02:28
Category: Television
Based on the original manga by: Hiromu Arakawa
Running Time: 25 minutes per episode approx.
The internet, an instrument that can provide things such as mp3 downloads, mindless trivia, online games such as Conan, World of Warcraft but to name a few such games, online gambling, blogs about who overweight people are contributing significantly more to the greenhouse gas emissions (what utter rot) or how you can receive messages from god via the microwave in your kitchen, and let’s not forget porn and numerous pictures of scantily attired girls and guys. You can’t be blamed for thinking that there is nothing but poppycock and pure rubbish on this network of computers continuously and silently communicating to each other through the ether, but delve deeply enough and you can find some true gems, a sparkle of true gold amongst all the dross.
Or in my case you can get an email from Madman Entertainment letting me know that they are now currently streaming episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for free on their website, www.madman.com.au surely there would have to be a catch there I hear you say; hmmm certainly you’d think so wouldn’t you? Free anime, it can’t be possible surely without depriving artists of their hard earned spenduli? Well it certainly seems that it is very much possible, a wonder amongst all the various so called freebies that pop up hither thither and yon upon the internet in much the same manner as noxious weeds.
So one day I managed to organise things so that I could log onto the Madman website and check out their screening room in which I’d be able to watch the episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood available for viewing. So far there are two full episodes available for the discerning viewer to watch with a third on its way, although I suspect that by the time this article is posted on the Green Lantern the third will be up and running. No doubt if that is the case it’ll be episodes four and five that everyone will be waiting for, naturally I suspect that part of this free anime screening would have something to do with selling FMA manga and episodes of the previous series as well as serving as a general means of promotion for Madman Entertainment and their various products, you can’t fault them for that.
Now it was an interesting experience watching anime on the computer, virtually as it were live, certainly the first episode took a few moments here and there to download which was slightly annoying. Strangely though watching the second episode straight after the first there was no problem with downloading, it went rather smoothly. As this is effectively coming fresh from the Land of the Rising Sun these episodes are naturally using a Japanese cast and thus its subtitles all the way with this, which sometimes is a bit problematic as the subtitles do not sometimes keep pace with the talking of the seiyu (voice actors).
No doubt there are some of you out there who have been regularly keeping up with the Lantern (I could be drawing a long bow here admittedly) and are saying hang on a tick, isn’t this ground you’ve covered before? Well certainly I did do a review of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime series just over a year ago, coincidence? But as I possibly said in that original review the initial anime series it differed from the original manga which was still being created and published even once the anime show had wound up and finished. So that series had come to a conclusion, yet the manga which had spawned it was still going and there was a marked difference in the storyline between the two, this series however is attempting to follow the manga in its telling of the story. That is the key point here, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is following the path that has been blazed by the manga and its creator.
This is a series that some have described as steampunk and others as action fantasy, certainly there are elements of both these genres that make up the overall framework of the show although it can be said FMA is also very much a work of tragedy as well as one of intrigue and manipulation. Thus effectively it is a series that does not neatly fit into any category or pigeonhole. Just what exactly is going on here then? Well in the world of FMA (Fullmetal Alchemist) Brotherhood alchemy is a given, although there are apparently rules that need to be adhered to whenever performing an alchemical operation. The two protagonists in this tale are Edward and Alphonse Elric, two brothers who have developed an amazing talent for alchemy.
We first see Ed and Al in Central, the capital city of the nation in which they live, standing on the rooftop of some building about to engage in tracking down the infamous Freezing Alchemist. It seems that this one time veteran of the Ishbalan campaign has taken it upon himself to excise the corruption that has beset the nation, namely in the person of Fuhrer King Bradley. Just what the Freezing Alchemist is on about is not completely revealed, although his incredible power is something that surprises our young protagonists, they are stunned that he is able to raise vast walls of ice without any seeming drain on himself or without the need for a suitable amount of water to freeze. It seems that the Freezing Alchemist has some secret that enables him to bypass certain basic tenets of the practice of alchemy, in particular the Law of Equivalent Exchange…
Something nasty is definitely afoot, although we are not sure precisely what it is – no doubt that is something that will be revealed in further episodes. Watching this was a real pleasure, lets face it watching something on the web for free has got to be savoured, even more so when it’s something that is enjoyable and of good quality. So far I have been unable to track down who has made this show; although I have no doubt that the publishers of the manga Square Enix will have some involvement in it, nor have I been able to find out who the seiyu are, though it does sound like the original cast from the initial series. If you have some time to spare then use it to check out this series, definitely worth doing.
Running Time: 25 minutes per episode approx.
The internet, an instrument that can provide things such as mp3 downloads, mindless trivia, online games such as Conan, World of Warcraft but to name a few such games, online gambling, blogs about who overweight people are contributing significantly more to the greenhouse gas emissions (what utter rot) or how you can receive messages from god via the microwave in your kitchen, and let’s not forget porn and numerous pictures of scantily attired girls and guys. You can’t be blamed for thinking that there is nothing but poppycock and pure rubbish on this network of computers continuously and silently communicating to each other through the ether, but delve deeply enough and you can find some true gems, a sparkle of true gold amongst all the dross.
So one day I managed to organise things so that I could log onto the Madman website and check out their screening room in which I’d be able to watch the episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood available for viewing. So far there are two full episodes available for the discerning viewer to watch with a third on its way, although I suspect that by the time this article is posted on the Green Lantern the third will be up and running. No doubt if that is the case it’ll be episodes four and five that everyone will be waiting for, naturally I suspect that part of this free anime screening would have something to do with selling FMA manga and episodes of the previous series as well as serving as a general means of promotion for Madman Entertainment and their various products, you can’t fault them for that.
No doubt there are some of you out there who have been regularly keeping up with the Lantern (I could be drawing a long bow here admittedly) and are saying hang on a tick, isn’t this ground you’ve covered before? Well certainly I did do a review of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime series just over a year ago, coincidence? But as I possibly said in that original review the initial anime series it differed from the original manga which was still being created and published even once the anime show had wound up and finished. So that series had come to a conclusion, yet the manga which had spawned it was still going and there was a marked difference in the storyline between the two, this series however is attempting to follow the manga in its telling of the story. That is the key point here, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is following the path that has been blazed by the manga and its creator.
This is a series that some have described as steampunk and others as action fantasy, certainly there are elements of both these genres that make up the overall framework of the show although it can be said FMA is also very much a work of tragedy as well as one of intrigue and manipulation. Thus effectively it is a series that does not neatly fit into any category or pigeonhole. Just what exactly is going on here then? Well in the world of FMA (Fullmetal Alchemist) Brotherhood alchemy is a given, although there are apparently rules that need to be adhered to whenever performing an alchemical operation. The two protagonists in this tale are Edward and Alphonse Elric, two brothers who have developed an amazing talent for alchemy.
We first see Ed and Al in Central, the capital city of the nation in which they live, standing on the rooftop of some building about to engage in tracking down the infamous Freezing Alchemist. It seems that this one time veteran of the Ishbalan campaign has taken it upon himself to excise the corruption that has beset the nation, namely in the person of Fuhrer King Bradley. Just what the Freezing Alchemist is on about is not completely revealed, although his incredible power is something that surprises our young protagonists, they are stunned that he is able to raise vast walls of ice without any seeming drain on himself or without the need for a suitable amount of water to freeze. It seems that the Freezing Alchemist has some secret that enables him to bypass certain basic tenets of the practice of alchemy, in particular the Law of Equivalent Exchange…
Something nasty is definitely afoot, although we are not sure precisely what it is – no doubt that is something that will be revealed in further episodes. Watching this was a real pleasure, lets face it watching something on the web for free has got to be savoured, even more so when it’s something that is enjoyable and of good quality. So far I have been unable to track down who has made this show; although I have no doubt that the publishers of the manga Square Enix will have some involvement in it, nor have I been able to find out who the seiyu are, though it does sound like the original cast from the initial series. If you have some time to spare then use it to check out this series, definitely worth doing.
| 19 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
