Review of Full Metal Alchemist: Volume 1

Introduction

For centuries, alchemy was the holy grail of philosophers. Motivated by greed, the aim was to turn base metal into gold, an unlimited source of wealth. Medieval scientists didn`t have a good grasp on economics, and it was a false dream of course, although kingdoms were beggared in the pursuit of the pipe dream, and careless charlatans soon became parted from their heads. The pursuit of the fantastic did have the side benefit of advancing the science of chemistry though, as would be alchemists made discoveries that they weren`t expecting. Still, by the last century alchemy was a joke, patently impossible. That was until Einstein came up with the deceptively simple E equals em-cee squared. In modern science, Alchemy, the transmutation of elements is indeed possible, simply because energy can be considered equivalent to matter. Given the correct know-how, it is indeed possible to alter lead into gold. We just don`t know how. The fact is that elements are transmuted every day in the heart of nuclear reactors, and physicists create new elements by bombarding large atoms with smaller atoms. It`s just so astronomically expensive to do so that it`s easier to dig up the gold from the ground, extract it from seawater, or hope for a passing jackdaw to drop a nugget on your head.

But what if it were indeed possible for people to alter the nature of matter through incantations, mystical pentagrams, or sheer willpower alone? Full Metal Alchemist finally makes it to Region 2 DVD, a show based on the arcane art of alchemy. Set in an alternative history around the start of the twentieth century, Full Metal Alchemist tells the story of brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, two precocious alchemists who are on a quest. Four years previously, the young brothers had attempted the unspeakable, resurrecting their mother. But the laws of science cannot be flouted, only objects of equal mass can be transmuted, and the dead cannot be brought back to life. The attempt failed disastrously. Now four years on, Alphonse is a disembodied spirit bound to a suit of animated armour, while Edward has replaced his leg and arm with metal automail, but it`s his precocious talent at alchemy that has earned him the name, Full Metal Alchemist. Now they search for a means to restore their bodies. The first disc in the series presents four episodes, as well as a smattering of extra features.

1. He Who Would Challenge The Sun

It`s 1914, and Edward and Alphonse make their way through the desert to the town of Liore. The inhabitants worship the sun god Leto and pay homage to his representative Cornello. The priest regularly performs miracles like turning water into wine, and his presence has guaranteed the towns prosperity even in the middle of nowhere. The brothers` alchemy initially marks them as miracle workers, but they are ready to denounce Cornello as a charlatan alchemist. This isn`t easy for local girl Rose to hear, who expects Cornello to restore her love to life. But Edward and Alphonse have ulterior motives of their own, the mystical source of Cornello`s power.

2. Body Of The Sanctioned

It`s not easy to take on Cornello in a city of believers, and the townsfolk pursue Edward and Alphonse. Meanwhile Cornello apparently performs the impossible and resurrects Rose`s love. Things look bleak as Edward is captured and placed in chains, but the brothers are planning a trap for Cornello. The priest may still have a trick up his sleeve however. All the while, a mysterious dark woman watches proceedings.

3. Mother

This episode takes us back to the beginning, and we see Alphonse and Edward`s childhood, as they grow up with an absent father and the spectre of war. We meet their friend Winry and we watch them develop their alchemical talents, inherited from their father. This idyllic childhood ends though, when their mother sickens, and eventually succumbs. Ed and Al take their precocious talents, and attempt to do that which is prohibited in order to restore their mother to life.

4. Transmutation Of Love

1910, and Ed and Al decide to leave town after the disastrous events in the last episode. Now they aim to use their alchemical talents to restore their bodies, but it is a procedure that is as equally proscribed as resurrection. This time they will be ready, and that means first becoming State Alchemists so that they can receive the necessary training. But on the first leg of their journey, they learn of a village where the dead are rumoured to come back to life. It couldn`t be this easy, could it?

Video

The picture for Full Metal Alchemist comes in a 4:3 transfer and it is clear and sharp throughout, without any hint of artefacts. The anime looks gorgeous, with distinctive characters, detailed retro world design and atmospheric animation. Once again, an anime blends traditional line animation with 3D design and the results are exciting and vibrant.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 5.1 English and DD 2.0 Japanese. You can guess what I am going to say, and the Japanese track is indeed clear and dynamic enough for a stereo track. Full Metal Alchemist also has some stunning music, most noticeably in the opening and closing themes. The English dub is something I just spot-checked, and while the main character voices are pretty good, the same cannot be said for the voices of the incidental characters. The surround is pretty good, with a fair bit of ambience and it reflects the action well. You have a choice between dubtitles, translated subtitles or a track that just translates the signs.

Features

MVM once again include a small number of extra features with their anime releases. You get the usual jacket picture as well as multi angle credit sequences depending on which language you listen to.

There are 9 minutes of trailers for Full Metal Alchemist

You can see the textless opening and closing sequences, in a nice twist, they are subtitled both in English and Romanji Japanese, so you can sing along if you feel like it.

In a section called production art, you can find three slideshows, showing Line Art, Character Art and Illustrations. The total running time is 5 minutes.

There are trailers for Blue Gender and Kiddy Grade.

Finally there is an Easter Egg to be located, blink and you`ll miss it.

Conclusion

I feel like we are in a Golden Age of anime at the moment, with exciting series being released on an unprecedented basis. In recent weeks and months, shows like Haibane Renmei, Gungrave, Trigun, Chobits, have been released, all quality anime that are hard to resist. Add to that the cream of the crop, Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex, and fans are spoilt for choice, even if we lag behind our US counterparts in terms of release dates. Now Full Metal Alchemist makes its DVD debut in the UK, and prepare for your wallets to be dented once more, and as these are the first four episodes out of 51, expect the dent to be deeper than usual.

The opening episode starts dark and moody during a stormy night. Two young boys sit around a mystical pentagram, prepared to work forbidden alchemy. It all goes horribly wrong, and what we see of the aftermath causes the skin to crawl. It`s perhaps one of the most effective openings to a series that I have seen, and I was all set for a dark moody series, which made the next scene all the more shocking in contrast. It is played for laughs as the two brothers trudge wearily through the desert, and the metallic Alphonse starts to sink into the sand. In these four episodes, Full Metal Alchemist shows a deft blend of drama, comedy, tragedy and action, with a goodly amount of eye-candy to boot, unsurprising when you see the name Square-Enix in the end credits. (Square-Enix is the company behind the Final Fantasy games and the movie.) Indeed the alternate history, and the lightshows that accompany the work of the alchemist wouldn`t be out of place in a Final Fantasy game, but what surprised me was the depth of character and interesting stories presented here.

The series begins by throwing us into the deep end, with just a hint of the brothers` past. We get to see the alchemists in action as they go up against the fraudulent priest Cornello. The story is exciting and there`s plenty of mystery to tantalise. There are one or two hints dropped regarding their past, and I fully expected for the last two episodes to continue in the same vein. It`s an anime staple that the hero`s past will be a mystery that`s revealed as the series progresses, but Full Metal Alchemist turns that cliché on its head with the third episode, Mother, which is set four years previously. We explicitly learn what caused the brothers to sacrifice so much, and why it all fell apart. The final episode continues on from this and we see the beginning of the quest that almost but not quite culminated in the first two episodes.

This first disc of Full Metal Alchemist sets the stage for an exciting series, with entertaining characters and exciting stories with some of the most atmospheric animation I have seen in a serial anime. The image on this disc does that animation full justice, and I can`t wait to see how the story and the world are developed further. I really do want to give this a higher mark, but I get the sneaky suspicion that Full Metal Alchemist will only get better. Go talk to your bank manager and set aside a few notes for another unmissable anime series.