Another exciting installment is Skye Watches Anime and Tries to Get It Even Though He Usually Doesn't. This time, Full Metal Alchemist. Can it keep the winning streak after Turren Garren fucking whatever the one with the drills won me over last time? let'sseeeeeeeee
Spoiler Not the Brotherhood one, the older one. You can congratulate or scold me for this, but ultimately I don't care. This one has an episode structure while the other was advertised as a "four-parter" so I'm taking this one. English dub (though there was the option for Japanese voice acting, I was drawing in a sketchpad at the time so I didn't want to have my eyeballs on the screen all the time.)
okay so wow that opening was fucking grim. I suppose I should have checked the rating before I went in, but Netflix loves to be obtuse about that. Certainly gathered my interest at least, though it also led to some mood whiplash when it's Ed and Al are goofing around in the desert with some light comedy, just seconds after the whole opening with the lost arm and zombie mother and Ed screaming. Yeesh.
Al's design is very nice. I suppose it's difficult to give a metal suit some form of expression, but the design for the helmet and even some use of body language still gives a good indicator of what the "person" is actually like. Still lost on whether he's a ghost inhabiting the suit or if he's something else, but too early to question that (and it's frankly not that important.)
I thought Sir Cornello was Sir Cornetto when they said it the first time. I imagined a religious zealot who demands ice cream in tributes.
I can't rate Japanese voice acting obviously, given I don't speak the language, though the English dub is, hm, not winning me over. There's something... 4Kids-ish about it. Maybe it's the translations, with Ed saying stuff like "pops" and "geez" and stuff, or maybe just the voice acting itself with the side characters (who sound flat and lifeless) but it's not getting a gold star sticker from me. For the sake of consistency, I'd kept with the dub for the rest of the episode, although I imagine that I'd go to Japanese if there was a next time.
Nice bit of worldbuilding with repairing the radio through alchemy. I like settings where unusual elements are incorporated into everyday life, showing that it's not just for flashy action sequences or philosophical bollocks - it's just the norm in this world and it's used for different stuff. It also explains how the Elrics may have been traveling without jobs, as sort of journeying repairmen (though again, how they got here to the desert village isn't too important.)
HEY LOOK A CHARACTER CALLED ROSE SHE IS PRETTY AND SHE IS NICE AND HERE IS SOME SWEET MUSIC AND EVERYONE HAS STOPPED TO STARE BOY I WONDER IF SHE IS A LOVE INTEREST WOULDN'T THAT BE SUPER. Good voice actress, though.
Yeah, something about that "grin and point towards myself with thumb while posing and describing myself" is giving me an Ash Ketchum vibe from Ed... And not the good kind.
Animation is... okay. It's got that pesky trend of using as few frames as they can for movements, but the designs are alright - Al's metal suit is pretty grand and surprisingly expressive, and Ed's outfit is making me want to cosplay. Background characters are pretty flat though, and it hasn't shown off any backgrounds or camera angles that made me go "ooooooooo" like Gurren Lagann did.
who are you sexy lady in brown cloak and why do your purple eyes attract me more than rose's
"You're short!" joke is getting old and it's only been used twice. Ouch. It's not "WOAH YOU HAVE BIG TITS" at least, but I'm not really finding it funny.
OH BOY ROSE CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO GET ALL CUDDLY WITH ED- oh, dead boyfriend
well
i feel like a total dickhead now
(But wow, potent drama, won't lie. Good choice of the sunset for some excellent coloring, and furthermore, not only does it quickly establish Rose as a character with a clear motivation, but it also shows that Ed and Al are not one and the same - Al is hopeful while Ed is cynical, and I can guess it makes sense given the opening where Al "disappeared" while Ed presumably had the lovely fun of meeting his half-dead zombie mom. Short but powerful scene.)
I love shots in anime where it's literally just a still picture of people looking excited and applause in the background. Because clapping was too difficult to animate.
Okay, elephant in the room, I can already assume that people have discussed the whole "this is portraying religion as wrong or malicious" thing before me, since it's not exactly subtle or anything. So I'm not touching that divisive motherfucker with a ten-foot pole. I will note that I like that it's used as conflict in the show (where Ed doesn't believe, Rose does or at least wants to, and Al is simply open-minded about the possibility) and it also fleshes the characters out a little bit. And then I will move on to the next thing to talk about, because I lack the knowledge to discuss this topic on a show purely from its first episode, nor do I honestly give a shit because I want to get back to talking suits of armor and alchemy and stuff.
...
Okay, the scene afterwards is Ed doing the whole "it's all bullshit, let me list the elements of the human body" thing. Again, avoiding the big awkward topic, but I'll say that Ed is being a total asshole right now, and I'm not sure that was intentional or not. I mean, sure, Cornello is obviously evil, but Ed doesn't know that and he really has no reason to be tormenting Rose like this other than "for the lulz." Or because he thinks it's right? They're not giving me the right cues to tell - just the fact that he's kind of stalking her and his casual body language and expressions suggest that he's all relaxed and enjoying himself when he takes her dreams and snaps them in half. At least Al sort of confirms that he's meant to be interpreted as too cynical and sort of harsh right now, but it's not softening the blow for me that much. I just want him to shut up and leave Rose alone.
*sigh*
I miss Kamina...
Rose gets some points for having a realistic reaction to meeting someone without a head. I was expecting the usual "huh, okay" reaction that anime characters give to unusual stuff, but Rose reacts like most human beings would. I like it. No, but really, her voice actress is great. She's carrying the rest of the so-so actors.
So yeah, Cornello is kind of a massive tool for manipulating Rose and lying to the town and ordering assassinations, no doubting that. But, as he says when he faces off with Ed and Al, he is helping the town, and taking the stone from him would probably cause a lot of harm to the place. Still, he's a douchebag, so I'll chalk that up to three-dimensional villainy and call it a plus (or at least accept that Ed is the lesser of two evils here.)
"You can't draw transmutation circles in soft sand!" uh have you ever been to the beach because i drew lots of pictures in the sand so what the fuck are you talking about
(Does he mean he'll just shift the sands again if he tries? Whatever.)
Is combining animals really the most "depraved" alchemy around? Maybe I'm just heartless, but I think of a lot of twisted shit you could do with alchemy. "Putting a lion and a crocodile together" wasn't even on my top ten.
Combat is pretty good, though not spectacular. Points for cool designs again (that spear looks fancy) and nice sound effects, though deductions for speed lines and some lazy animation (aaaaaah theyre zooming in on the perfectly-still chimeras face it really looks like its coming right at me aaaaaaah)
Okay, that reveal of the metal arm where he kicks the chimera in the face? Pretty damn cool.
oh hi sins what are you doing in this scene oh you had nothing to do with it okay see you later i guess
That title drop was pretty lame.
And cliffhanger, followed by annoying pop sequence. Meh.
TL,DR: It was... alright. I was expecting a bit more, though I suppose being around a decade old will show wrinkles. The designs are cool, the "world of alchemy"setting has some nice potential and is explored subtly rather than being thrown in your face, and exposition is handled well as the backstories or motivations of characters are shown through multiple ways or just given the right amount of focus without taking too much. What it lacked in comedy, it made up for with brief but strong drama, and the fighting was simple but still entertaining. It's also good at keeping focus, showing snippets like the introduction with Ed and Al doing their "mother revival" and showing Rose at her boyfriend's grave, which gets the necessary information across while also moving the plot and leaving more questions to be answered in the future. However, the show doesn't hook me for a few reasons. With the exception of Rose and arguably Al, the voice acting is pretty mediocre, the animation is noticeably flat and pretty damn lazy at some points where they decide one frame is enough, but perhaps most importantly, I don't like the characters. Ironically, I initially liked Ed and disliked Rose, but then Rose is given a backstory that explains her faithful personality and what her motivations are, while Ed gradually becomes... well, a bit of a dickhead. His motivations seem selfish, his cynicism gets on my nerves, and the way he seems to take a delight in upsetting Rose is uncomfortable for me - even if it's just one scene and not core to his character, it made me a lot less sympathetic to him. Maybe Brotherhood presents them better, or maybe watching it in Japanese is better, or maybe the second episode is better, but for now, I'm not that motivated to keep watching. So it's a three-star for me. That's my two cents, at least.
On the plus side, it means I'll probably try more Garren Lagann again.
