Review of Full Metal Alchemist: Volume 4

Introduction

Alchemy is the art of the transmutation of matter by means of an incantation, a mystical circle, or sheer willpower alone. For centuries charlatans and the deluded pursued the creation of gold by alchemical means but to no avail. But in Full Metal Alchemist, alchemy is a realised science. Set in an alternative world during the early years of the twentieth century, the transmutation of elements is indeed a reality, and the state regards such talent highly indeed. Full Metal Alchemist tells the story of brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, two precocious alchemists who are on a quest. The young brothers had attempted the unspeakable, resurrecting their mother. But the Law Of Equivalent Exchange 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, 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 prodigious facility with alchemy that has earned him the name, Full Metal Alchemist. Now they search for a means to restore their bodies.

The previous volume saw Edward`s first mission as State Alchemist accompanied by his brother Alphonse, and then brought us up to date with the adventures that followed their visit to Liore three years later. Volume 4 sees them return to East City to report to Colonel Mustang. The State Alchemists are in danger though, as also heading for East City is Scar, an enigmatic man with a grudge and the ability to act on it. There are 4 more episodes on Volume 4 of Full Metal Alchemist: The Fall Of Ishbal.

13. Flame vs. Fullmetal
Ed and Al finally arrive in East City to report, having just missed out on the Philosopher`s Stone yet again. There`s hardly enough time for a debriefing though, as the Brigadier General shows up to take command of the outpost, and with him is none other than the Fuhrer himself. Meanwhile Ed is trying to find out more about Dr Marcoh, the mysterious healer who had helped the inhabitants of Xenotime years previously (eps 11 & 12). It seems that Mustang knows something, but the only way to find out is for Ed to challenge him. Fortunately the yearly Alchemist evaluations are just around the corner.

14. The Right Hand Of Destruction
It turns out that the Fuhrer and his retinue had headed east as a serial killer was preying on State Alchemists in Central. Now that most of them are in East City, it isn`t long before Scar shows up, looking for his pound of flesh. Meanwhile, Ed and Al locate Doctor Marcoh, a fearful man who tells them of the atrocities committed by the State Alchemists in Ishbal, an event that caused him to desert. Before Ed can ask about the Stone, the Brigadier General bursts in and arrests Marcoh, confiscating his research. Ed isn`t about to let the military cover this up, and chases after the Brigadier`s car. Only Scar shows up first.

15. The Ishbal Massacre
Marcoh and the brothers escape from Scar, and also avoid the soldiers who are searching for the Doctor. It`s apparent that Scar is an Ishbalan, and Marcoh explains to the brothers the horrific events of the Ishbal massacre, when the Isbalans had rebelled against the government. It`s a tale of ethnic cleansing carried out by the state alchemists using the Stones created by Marcoh. When Ed offers him sanctuary in their hometown, Marcoh`s fear takes hold and he flees. There is still a darker secret that he holds within. Ed and Al follow the fleeing Marcoh, straight back into the path of Scar.

16. That Which Is Lost
It isn`t going to be easy for Ed and Al to recover from the damage suffered at the hands of Scar, and it will involve returning home and to the workshop of Winry. It`s the first step on a longer journey, as Marcoh left them a note pointing them to the library in Central. But accompanying them on the first leg of the journey is The Strongarm Alchemist, Alex Louis Armstrong. It isn`t an uneventful journey, as the battered form of Al is mistaken for luggage and deposited at the wrong station, where the armour is promptly stolen. When Ed goes after his brother, he runs into a young girl who takes a liking to his leg, and steals it too. Meanwhile, Lust`s minions show up in the aftermath of Scar`s attack on East City.

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.

However, I did have a problem with my review copy. In my player, the disc froze at the beginning of the third episode, just after the multi-angle credits that opened the show. A quick press of frame advance resolved the situation, and the next chapter played normally. It happens at the transition between the multi angle sequence and the episode proper. The problem didn`t repeat itself on my PC however.

Audio

You get a choice of DD 5.1 English and DD 2.0 Japanese. I chose the original language track for preference, and the Japanese track is indeed clear and dynamic enough for a stereo track. Full Metal Alchemist also has some stunning music, and on this disc, the episodes get new credit sequences with new music to accompany them. 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 watch in.

You can see the new 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 two slideshows, showing Models and Illustrations. The total running time is around 3 minutes.

Finally there is a music video. L`Arc-en-ciel sing the new opening track that debuts with this disc, and you can see the full music video for `Ready, Steady, Go`.

Conclusion

Full Metal Alchemist continues with its own blend of light and dark, taking the viewer from laugh out loud comedy to heart-wrenching bleakness and back again in the space of a few minutes. It`s also tells an entertaining and convoluted story along the way. Watching this disc, it`s apparent that Full Metal Alchemist is not for the casual viewer and will really reward those who stick with it from the beginning. While most anime have an ongoing storyline and character threads running through them, I was surprised to see just how intricate and interconnected the plots are in Full Metal Alchemist. A throwaway line in episode 2 may set up a plot twist 10 episodes later, flashbacks are common, and it becomes apparent that nothing exists in isolation in the Full Metal Alchemist universe. While that pays dividends to those who have kept up with the releases thus far, it makes it impossible to recommend this disc as an entry point.

We start off again in a lighter vein with Flame vs. Fullmetal, as Ed has to report to Col. Mustang. He`s trying to find out about the Dr Marcoh mentioned in the previous episode, and ends up challenging Mustang for the information. It`s the beginning of the story`s decent to the darker side of things, as this information involves revealing the atrocities committed by the State Alchemists in Ishbal, which ties up with the arrival of the vengeance-seeking Scar introduced in Volume 2. The Right Hand Of Destruction continues the revelations about Ishbal, although this is paralleled by vignettes from Liore as Rose (episodes 1 and 2) has to deal with the aftermath of rebellion in her homeland occurring now, just as the rebellion in Ishbal had taken place years previously. The truth is revealed in all its horror in the Ishbal Massacre, which adds to Winry`s backstory, established in the third and fourth episodes. A tangled web is being woven, and it would be easy to lose track, were it not that the story was so enjoyable and the characters so compelling.

After the more comedic third volume, this fourth volume mixes things up again, but it doesn`t approach the stomach churning intensity of Night Of The Chimera`s Cry. The way the characters are being fleshed out is interesting though, this is no simple world of good guys and bad guys, and everyone has something hidden in their past that haunts them. The story is simple enough, but the way it unfolds is intricate and well constructed. It makes waiting for the next volume almost interminable. Hopefully the glitch I encountered was restricted to the review disc (or just my player). For fans this is an easy purchase, for the curious, may I direct you back to volume 1.