FULL METAL ALCHEMIST
Reason number 347 that Funimation is a bitch
Review by: James "Turn lead into jam" Harrington
Length: 51 episodes
Genre: Adventure, fantasy
Watched: 51 episodes
About a year back, I didn't have any more series to download. So, I started looking around for the most popular series available for download, figured I'd take a chance and hoping that it wasn't another Naruto (which we will *never* review on this site due to length issues and its eerie similarities to DBZ). When I read the summary, I was pretty interested and when I saw the group who produced it, Square, I was even more interested. I remembered the so-so effort that they gave Final Fantasy Unlimited and figured they could only learn from their mistakes. Turns out, they not only did that but went as far as surpassing the majority of series in quality.
Plot summary: Alchemy is the study of nature and how to change substances from one form to another. There is one law that governs all alchemic reactions, the Law of Equivalent Trade, which says that in order to gain something, something of equivalent value must be lost. There are also two taboos in alchemy, one against producing gold with alchemy and against human transmutation. Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric are young aspiring alchemists with a famous alchemist deadbeat dad. After their mother dies from an illness, the two of them decide to take training in order to resurrect their mother through alchemy. As could have been predicted ("Wow, 'breach hull, all die!' Even had it underlined!"), they fail and are left short an arm and a leg and a body. Ed has to transmute Al's soul into a suit of armor to save him, and his arm and leg have to be replaced with automail. They decide to search for the legendary alchemy-enhancing device, the Philosopher's Stone in order to set their bodies back in working order, but the path is full of obstacles, including a shady group who seems to be following their every move.
Artwork: If you remember Final Fantasy Unlimited, you'll remember the clunky, boxy CG placed in the middle of cel images, and you'll think "man, that was pretty crappy!" Well, seems Square wised up, because they went with Studio Bones for the animation. This resulted in a much more crisp and colorful rendition than they would have gotten from that other place. The backgrounds are well-done, the character designs are distinct (other than some of the soldier main characters), and the action sequences are beautifully animated.
Music: As is the case with most series, the music that plays during an episode is pretty much only appropriate for the episode and doesn't work on its own as well as in the show. Even then, it's pretty good in the episode. As for the opening and closing themes, well, you have to download them. They sum up the mood of the show very well and just sound really nice on their own. Some of them might not sound good right off the bat, but they do grow on you. The only complaint that I have is pretty much the same as every series that has multiple themes. They sometimes changed them too soon, just as soon as I got used to them (except for the third theme, which seemed to last about 20-something episodes).
Characters: Okay, the long section. Start with the Napoleonic main character, Edward Elric. Ed is an enthusiastic, passionate alchemist with the unusual ability to perform alchemy without drawing a transmutation circle. He cares deeply about his brother and will usually go to great lengths to keep Al safe, but he sometimes worries too much about how Al feels. He's also got a "little" problem with being called short, even though he really, really is. Alphonse Elric is the big suit of armor that Ed calls brother (Which is why I think the opening theme should be "He's Not Heavy, He's My Brother" at least once). Al is very similar to his brother in his love of Ed and his passion to restore Ed to his normal form, but he's a bit more naive to the workings of the world and somewhat self-conscious about his present situation. Winry is 
Ed and Al's childhood friend and mechanic. She cares greatly for her work and doesn't like when he mistreats it, although she cares deeply for Ed. She's got a weird thing about tools and machines and doesn't like the idea of alchemy interfering with her work. Roy Mustang is Ed's superior when he joins the military and uses his inside ties to his own advantage. He wants to become the Fuhrer some day and is willing to use any means to get that power. Maes Hughes works for the Intelligence section of the military, and seems to be closely tied with Mustang when it comes to things going on around them. He's a very proud father (carries pictures in his wallet and makes everyone look at them) and a loving husband. Scar is from the dead city of Ishbal and has a tattoo on his arm which looks oddly like a transmutation circle. He uses this to splat people he doesn't like, which he does very well (being the show's resident badass). There are also a band of people in black with odd tattoos on their bodies who follow them around and have special powers that aid them in their objectives, like eating people or having extendo-fingernails.
Plot: This series has easily the best and most complex plot of any series I've ever seen. It's not so complex that it confuses you, but it's intellectually satisfying in its scope and it actually goes on for long enough (as opposed to NGE on the first count and Trigun on the second). The plot twists are sometimes enough to leave you gaping and sometimes enough to leave a lasting response, which is the sign of a well-written series. Plus, the emotions that the characters feel are genuine and strong enough to make you sympathize with them. The only complaint that I have in this respect is the pacing near the end of the series, which sometimes goes too quickly. The writers developed such a complex plot and only had so long to resolve everything, so some things were rushed nearer to the end. I personally think that two or three episodes more wouldn't have hurt them that much, and would have actually allowed them to work out some of these issues at a better pace (then again, that seems to be what the movie is going to be for).
CHICKS!! Although this series is kind of focused on the guys and their travails, it still makes time for the ladies and provides a nice variety of eye-candy. Start with Winry. She's got a great figure, and mostly wears something that shows it off really well, like a tanktop or a tight military uniform. Plus, she's obsessed with tools and machines, which intrigues me as to the possibilities of what she's got waiting for whatever guy she takes to bed with her (kind of brings all new meaning to the title "Full Metal"). She has a great capacity for caring and is willing to wait for long periods of time, which is a great thing. I just think you'd have to lose a limb before she paid any attention to you. Sczeiska is the bookworm with glasses Yomiko Readman wannabe, who is a bit shy and awkward around anything without pages. Plus, she's got a great memory, which means that unless you want to be remembering "two year, three month, twelve day, five hour" anniversaries, you might be kind of leery. Lisa Hawkeye is a strict taskmaster, but is very loyal to the one who matters to her. Plus, that military outfit that she wears would be a nice prop for roleplaying. Oh, she can haze me *anytime!* Finally, Lust is one of those girls for guys who liked Cz from Scrapped Princess. If you don't mind risking life and limb to possibly get a peak under that black dress, then more power to you.
Overall: This series caught my interest from the second episode and kept it for about the entire 51, only stopping once or twice for a filler episode and then going back off on its roller coaster ride. Even then, they usually find a way to make the filler episodes have some importance to the main plot through revealing important information or providing the next path that main characters end up following. This series was also engineered to be a multimedia franchise, similar to the .hack series, with an original video game coming out soon and a movie planned for the beginning of 2005, so you might want to be willing to put down some cash for it. It's a hard thing for me to say, but this series has surpassed Cowboy Bebop and Trigun for my personal favorite series. It's one of the most addictive that I've seen, and with its 51 episode length, it has enough to satisfy the addiction. I'd recommend that everyone watch this series, if you like fantasy or not.
IN A NUTSHELL:
+ Wonderful artwork
+ Memorable, entertaining characters
+ Real emotions
+ Not much filler
+ Decent soundtrack with kickass opening/endings
- Pacing problems near the end
Final grade: 9.5/10
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