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May 25, 2009 2:31 PM

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I liked this episode. This is where I got into the first anime, though this version presented itself as a more side-note than anything. In the first series, Ed almost killed some people and Scar was there and Al almost died, etc, etc. making Lab 5 more important than it should be.

I'm liking the less angsty feel of this show. :)
May 25, 2009 2:35 PM

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scary Kimblee Kukukukuku , Envy , Barry and Hughes were hilarious
May 25, 2009 2:58 PM
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That was already one of my favourite parts of the first FMA, and it's even better now in Brotherhood. Very good episode, I wait for the "original" parts (uh well manga parts) to start airing now. Oh and I like how all the unnecessary stuff is left behind and we just go to the point in each episode, that's what I call very efficient script and pacing.

In every age, in every place, the deeds of men remain the same.
May 25, 2009 3:05 PM

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noteDhero said:
I think that's the problem, you're talking about it from a human perspective, and I'm talking about it from a literary perspective. Is it possible for those doubts to exist? Yes, of course. Is it possible for those doubt to not have existed? Yes of course. My problem is that as a story, we can't assume that something so big existed without being spoken or even alluded to by some off remark by Al. That's why it's superficial from a writing perspective to me.

I'm saying that if we're talking about a character like Al in the real world (working on what we do know) I'd think that if he had ever questioned his existence then we would have heard it. Al is not the average 12 or 14 year old. Besides the fact that he has gone through a hell that no one can empathize with, he is practically the caretaker of his older brother, providing a rational balance and hesitancy to Ed's rash antics. To me it would take someone as thoughtful as Al to shake his confidence...someone maybe like Scar, or even Shou (if we're going on the psycho side). Not Barry. Besides the fact that it was obvious that Barry was baiting him, I'd think that after much of what Al has seen within the content of the show that he wouldn't take someone like Barry seriously over his brother.

But I could be greatly overestimating Al as a character. Perhaps he is more foolish than Ed.
Interesting, maybe that's why I can easily cry so much from movies, books, tv shows and animes....because I see everything in a empathetic perspective?

I dunno, if you look at everything at a face-value then what is the whole point? Imho, it makes no sense to take it all in..in just a literal level. I mean...why else is there a term out there called "reading between the lines"? When you read a book, there is bound to be a moment when you think "why?!", which in turn makes the reader stop and think and interpret the situation. I think that being empathetic is just being that. I'm sure there are tons of writings and books out there with hidden meanings that can only be understood at a non-literal level.

Your description of Al and Ed is contradictory, here you're interpreting the relationship between Al and Ed. I mean sure, we see moments of Al being the caretaker....but as you mentioned, it's not like it was shown on screen all the time, nor do we see much of the past. Then there is Al's personality...is that not an interpretation also? You can't just take some things at a literal level and then interpret other things...that's just so contradictory.

Continuing with my human and empathetic perspective, even though Al and Ed went through many hardships in which not any average 14/15 year old would've faced, that does not mean that they cannot be vulnerable. A person can still be strong and have vulnerabilities and insecurities. I believe I am a strong person, but I cannot deny the fact that I myself have faults, insecurities and doubts. These aspects do not make a person weak.

I agree with you that Barry was just baiting him, but his bait was logical. If it's logical then I see it as something somewhat thoughtful. And even if it's not as thoughtful as I believe it to be, and Al has "fallen down" to that logic...is it so bad? Just because it seems foolish..is HE foolish?

These two characters are still figuring out their lives and growing each day. Once in a while they will stumble and fall and sometimes do things that are foolish....but that, I believe does not make them foolish or weak.
robbydesuMay 25, 2009 3:11 PM
May 25, 2009 3:30 PM

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I think I confused you. I said literary as in as a narrative. As a story. There is no reading in between the lines if we don't have context. You can assume that Al has had these thoughts, but I can assume the opposite given the same amount of information we've been given. See what I'm saying? But yeah, I don't cry at all in movies unless the narrative really goes there in making the emotional levels of the show heightened, like in Aria the Origination. I'm not going to cry unless I feel like I've really been on the ride and it's just catharsis. Otherwise, I just think a little differently and don't really get why people cry from most shows. I choose empathetic specifically because of how I distinguish it from sympathy. We can't know what Al's gone through because we haven't died and then been affixed to some armor.

Again, I was talking from a narrative perspective, which depends on taking what is given and interpreting it. I don't think it's contradictory to say "this is how I see a character based on what we're given." I don't think anyone is wrong in believing that Al ever questioned his existence; I just think it flies in the face of what we've seen of him so far. I'm of the attitude that if it's not mentioned, it's not important. That applies from full on flashbacks to minor asides. It's fun to debate what we don't know, but ultimately that doesn't change what's being shown.

I'm not saying that Ed and Al can't be vulnerable, or that they are weak (except maybe Ed). What I'm saying is that their vulnerabilities have to be consistent with the character that is shown in the show.

It's bad because Al is sufficiently taking this random crazy's word over his brother. That is the problem I have. If Al were the type of character that doubted Ed's motives and hung around only to get his body back, then fine, his believing Barry words would work for me. But that trust and bond is practically betrayed at the most, and undermined at the least in Al's taking Barry seriously. Yes. That does make Al foolish for believing a random stranger as opposed to someone he's known all his life.

Again, I never called Al weak. I have called Ed weak in previous posts (I think), but that's a different conversation. Seeing characters "stumble and fall" is necessary for development, and I welcome it. My point of contention is that it isn't something that is tacked on, but something weighty and organic from the story.
noteDheroMay 25, 2009 3:35 PM
May 25, 2009 4:04 PM

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Loved it :D
May 25, 2009 4:08 PM

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noteDhero said:
I think I confused you. I said literary as in as a narrative. As a story. There is no reading in between the lines if we don't have context. You can assume that Al has had these thoughts, but I can assume the opposite given the same amount of information we've been given. See what I'm saying?
I definitely see where you're coming from and what you mean, but isn't "narrative" and "story" essentially mean reading something something literally, at a face-value? You read what is given in context, interpreting requires someone to think outside the box; interpret with not just the given contextual ideas and information..
noteDhero said:
I'm not going to cry unless I feel like I've really been on the ride and it's just catharsis. Otherwise, I just think a little differently and don't really get why people cry from most shows. I choose empathetic specifically because of how I distinguish it from sympathy. We can't know what Al's gone through because we haven't died and then been affixed to some armor.
Totally my opinion and based on what I recently learned about compassion, but empathy is sympathy along with the logic and understanding of why a person is feeling a certain way. Sympathy is simply being able to feel a person's emotions maybe due to past experiences. But empathy is when an individual is able to understand and put himself in others' shoes. Just because we never died and had our soul fixed on an armour, does not mean we are incapable of using our imagination and logic...our empathy to feel what Al might have felt.

noteDhero said:
Again, I was talking from a narrative perspective, which depends on taking what is given and interpreting it. I don't think it's contradictory to say "this is how I see a character based on what we're given." I don't think anyone is wrong in believing that Al ever questioned his existence; I just think it flies in the face of what we've seen of him so far. I'm of the attitude that if it's not mentioned, it's not important. That applies from full on flashbacks to minor asides. It's fun to debate what we don't know, but ultimately that doesn't change what's being shown.
Again, I can't really say much to this because I see your way of "interpreting" in accordance to what was just given is considered to be seeing things at a literal level... ><

noteDhero said:
I'm not saying that Ed and Al can't be vulnerable, or that they are weak (except maybe Ed). What I'm saying is that their vulnerabilities have to be consistent with the character that is shown in the show.
What is consistency? Human beings are not consistent creatures...especially when it comes to our personality, behaviour and actions. Of course there is this idea that in essence there is some level of consistency in a personality. And yet again, your consistency is based solely on a very literal level. If you're going to see things in a literal level, of course there is going to be not just one but many things that doesn't seem right and not consistent. It doesn't seem consistent because you're not thinking out of the context and of the possibility of having many sides to a person's personality..

noteDhero said:
It's bad because Al is sufficiently taking this random crazy's word over his brother. That is the problem I have. If Al were the type of character that doubted Ed's motives and hung around only to get his body back, then fine, his believing Barry words would work for me. But that trust and bond is practically betrayed at the most, and undermined at the least in Al's taking Barry seriously. Yes. That does make Al foolish for believing a random stranger as opposed to someone he's known all his life.
This really all comes down to personal opinion. Sometimes even in the strongest of relationship, where there is a strong bond and trust...there is always a possibility of it being broken. But then again, we haven't seen any confrontation between Al and Ed yet, all we've seen is Al beginning to doubt. So I don't think you can fully say that he's not taking Ed's words..atleast not yet (since we both know what comes after). And I'm not saying that Al had always and fully doubted Ed, there is a possibility though. We all have tons of doubts, but we just repress it because we don't usually believe them. But once in a while, you'll have this ass who brings something out and you stop and think about it and you might develop a doubt on whatever issue it is. I don't think Al's behaviour defines him as foolish. A behaviour and action can be foolish...but I don't really like to call a person/character foolish. That's like saying to your child, "You're stupid" because he did something stupid. That's just cruel..
robbydesuMay 25, 2009 4:12 PM
May 25, 2009 4:37 PM

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noteDhero said:
If Al were the type of character that doubted Ed's motives and hung around only to get his body back, then fine, his believing Barry words would work for me. But that trust and bond is practically betrayed at the most, and undermined at the least in Al's taking Barry seriously. Yes. That does make Al foolish for believing a random stranger as opposed to someone he's known all his life.


Alright, let's assume that Barry was correct and Al was a Living Armor. As a somewhat sentient being created by someone else, who would his loyalty be essentially 'programmed' to? Obviously, the creator would make his Living Armor loyal to himself, in this case, Ed. Thus, if anything, the fact that until this point Al has placed such a high level of trust in a character that we can all admit is brash, headstrong and at times, foolish, might go to create even more doubt in Al's mind. Even in what little we've seen, Al has not seen anyone as empathetic as he is.

Please stop assuming you know everything about a character. You are presenting it in a very cocky light (indeed, the tone you take with robby seems almost condescending) and that doesn't sit well with me. You want your "stated proof" that Al has had problems believing in his existence? Watch this episode again, Al clearly shows that he has doubts about his existence.
May 25, 2009 4:41 PM

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Interpreting doesn't necessarily mean thinking out of the box (and I don't think that assuming Al has had doubts regarding his existence as out of the box). It means taking what's at face value and finding meaning. The problem with Al is that we aren't really given anything more than "This is Ed's brother who lost his body and keeps Ed from going off the deep end in anger." Most of his interactions with other people have been inconsequential to the building of his character, as opposed to Ed who has had stuff with Rose, Cornello, Scar, Shou, The Truth, etc. to get a sense of who he actually is. The only thing we've gotten from Al is that little outburst when he tried to save Ed from Scar. That's why I feel like it's tacked on. I think I'm filling in holes for Al to make me latch onto someone in the show (since I can't do that with Ed), when in reality Al is just a pretty empty character that the writing just felt necessary to use Barry to add some depth.

I actually see the two in opposite ways, in which case I probably got the definiitions confused at some point and meant sympathy.

It's my thought that this is the only way to interpret. You can't have meaning where there is none. All interpretation has to be grounded in what we've seen in the show, that way there is a logical jump from being literal to making interpretations. Otherwise we can just assume anything disregarding characters, right?

This is the problem, you're seeing literary and literal as interchangeable, and they're just not. For the sake of a story you just can't have a character walk around thinking one thing, and then think the complete opposite in a matter of minutes. That is bad construction, plain and simple. Because there can be many sides to someone's personality means that there is an infinite number of reactions that a person can have to a stimulus, and it is the writer's job to make said reaction feel natural. I'm merely saying that based on the way that Al is presented thus far, his reactions in this episode don't feel believable.

For the sake of a story we can't just use the excuse of "these are humans" to do whatever we want in a story. To me, it's abrupt and unacceptable. I think that a person's behavior can define them. For everything that Al has been through, to be taken down by this sarcastic argument is foolish to me. And since this is the first time we've seen him act in the absence of Ed's presence, I take this as truer to the type of person that Al is: a kid needing much more coddling than I even thought that Ed needed.
May 25, 2009 4:43 PM

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Kaidyn said:
noteDhero said:
If Al were the type of character that doubted Ed's motives and hung around only to get his body back, then fine, his believing Barry words would work for me. But that trust and bond is practically betrayed at the most, and undermined at the least in Al's taking Barry seriously. Yes. That does make Al foolish for believing a random stranger as opposed to someone he's known all his life.


Alright, let's assume that Barry was correct and Al was a Living Armor. As a somewhat sentient being created by someone else, who would his loyalty be essentially 'programmed' to? Obviously, the creator would make his Living Armor loyal to himself, in this case, Ed. Thus, if anything, the fact that until this point Al has placed such a high level of trust in a character that we can all admit is brash, headstrong and at times, foolish, might go to create even more doubt in Al's mind. Even in what little we've seen, Al has not seen anyone as empathetic as he is.

Please stop assuming you know everything about a character. You are presenting it in a very cocky light (indeed, the tone you take with robby seems almost condescending) and that doesn't sit well with me. You want your "stated proof" that Al has had problems believing in his existence? Watch this episode again, Al clearly shows that he has doubts about his existence.
Awww~ thanks Kaidyn :) that's okay, that's how noteDhero talks~ I've talked to him before hahahaha - but yea it took me a while to get used to it :P

I really like your perspective on this :D especially when you put into perspective of Al's personality if he is a created "doll"
May 25, 2009 4:50 PM

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Kaidyn said:


Alright, let's assume that Barry was correct and Al was a Living Armor. As a somewhat sentient being created by someone else, who would his loyalty be essentially 'programmed' to? Obviously, the creator would make his Living Armor loyal to himself, in this case, Ed. Thus, if anything, the fact that until this point Al has placed such a high level of trust in a character that we can all admit is brash, headstrong and at times, foolish, might go to create even more doubt in Al's mind. Even in what little we've seen, Al has not seen anyone as empathetic as he is.

Please stop assuming you know everything about a character. You are presenting it in a very cocky light (indeed, the tone you take with robby seems almost condescending) and that doesn't sit well with me. You want your "stated proof" that Al has had problems believing in his existence? Watch this episode again, Al clearly shows that he has doubts about his existence.


It doesn't matter what we want to assume, because the fact is that Al is a real person. Just because he hasn't met anyone as empathetic as he doesn't make him any less human.

I never said I knew everything about a character. As a matter of fact, that is the point that I was making: I don't like to jump to conclusions that aren't supported by previous episodes. I honestly don't think I'm presenting anything in a cocky light, because I make sure to say "this is how I feel/think" and I don't bash or talk down to anyone, especially robby, who I feel like we've talked a lot in other discussions on other topics. In fact, if memory serves, I think this is the first real disagreement that we've pursued in discussion.

Please don't think that you can just float in on a high horse with the tone that you accuse me of having and think that I won't say anything.
May 25, 2009 5:04 PM

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noteDhero said:
Interpreting doesn't necessarily mean thinking out of the box (and I don't think that assuming Al has had doubts regarding his existence as out of the box). It means taking what's at face value and finding meaning. The problem with Al is that we aren't really given anything more than "This is Ed's brother who lost his body and keeps Ed from going off the deep end in anger." Most of his interactions with other people have been inconsequential to the building of his character, as opposed to Ed who has had stuff with Rose, Cornello, Scar, Shou, The Truth, etc. to get a sense of who he actually is. The only thing we've gotten from Al is that little outburst when he tried to save Ed from Scar. That's why I feel like it's tacked on. I think I'm filling in holes for Al to make me latch onto someone in the show (since I can't do that with Ed), when in reality Al is just a pretty empty character that the writing just felt necessary to use Barry to add some depth.

I actually see the two in opposite ways, in which case I probably got the definiitions confused at some point and meant sympathy.

It's my thought that this is the only way to interpret. You can't have meaning where there is none. All interpretation has to be grounded in what we've seen in the show, that way there is a logical jump from being literal to making interpretations. Otherwise we can just assume anything disregarding characters, right?

This is the problem, you're seeing literary and literal as interchangeable, and they're just not. For the sake of a story you just can't have a character walk around thinking one thing, and then think the complete opposite in a matter of minutes. That is bad construction, plain and simple. Because there can be many sides to someone's personality means that there is an infinite number of reactions that a person can have to a stimulus, and it is the writer's job to make said reaction feel natural. I'm merely saying that based on the way that Al is presented thus far, his reactions in this episode don't feel believable.

For the sake of a story we can't just use the excuse of "these are humans" to do whatever we want in a story. To me, it's abrupt and unacceptable. I think that a person's behavior can define them. For everything that Al has been through, to be taken down by this sarcastic argument is foolish to me. And since this is the first time we've seen him act in the absence of Ed's presence, I take this as truer to the type of person that Al is: a kid needing much more coddling than I even thought that Ed needed.
Of course I based my opinion on something that is given, to me it makes perfectly sense for Al to feel insecure especially when he remembers Ed saying "I have always been afraied to tell you something..." - connecting that and the logical bait that Barry gave to Al = omgwhatifit'strue?! Regardless of the seemingly weak or foolish behaviour/actions that either Al and Ed find themselves doing...I don't see a big problem to that. I mean yea, of course some things are unacceptable and surely I"m not just going to brush it off. I'm just trying to be in an empathic and not sympathetic perspective. I think you know me well enough that I'm that sort of person :P

All of your arguments make sense and everything...but I really don't know what else I can say without sounding too redundant at this point XD And by the way Kaidyn's point makes a lot of sense. Clearly in this episode we saw an unexpected and never before seen side of Al's personality - so I don't think that's really that outrageous or hard to believe....I'm starting to not make sense anymore..please noteDhero..spare me! :D
May 25, 2009 5:11 PM

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Yeah, I get that the comment makes it all the more acceptable for Al to go into panic mode, but hopefully it will be handled better than in the first show where I just felt like the whole ordeal was way too forced. I guess I'm just anticipating that we'll get what we saw in the first series.

Same here, were talking in circles to each other, but it was fun for me. Yeah, we did see something unexpected in Al, I'm just disappointed in the way that it's come about, not necessarily what has come about.
May 25, 2009 6:37 PM

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As usual, great quality, well done.
May 25, 2009 7:32 PM

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I love this episode! Alphonse begins to doubt the very existence!
May 25, 2009 7:45 PM

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Liked the episode. The fight was better in FMA1 (mainly because the music created a better atmosphere). The scene where Ed's automail drops and Lust says "It seems broken" with Envy coming forward saying "Lucky me" was one of the funniest moments so far xD. I liked the way Barry's story was shown too.

Btw, I don't like the voice acting during the recap. I would have liked to hear some character in the series say it, maybe Al.
SaptaMay 25, 2009 7:52 PM
May 25, 2009 9:46 PM

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Fight scene animation was superb! Is it just me or does Envy seem more masculine in this series?


May 25, 2009 10:03 PM

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ColdBeans said:
Fight scene animation was superb! Is it just me or does Envy seem more masculine in this series?


because some n00bs still think that he is a girl D: that's why they made him MORE masculine
May 26, 2009 1:15 AM

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noteDhero said:
Yeah, I get that the comment makes it all the more acceptable for Al to go into panic mode, but hopefully it will be handled better than in the first show where I just felt like the whole ordeal was way too forced. I guess I'm just anticipating that we'll get what we saw in the first series.

Same here, were talking in circles to each other, but it was fun for me. Yeah, we did see something unexpected in Al, I'm just disappointed in the way that it's come about, not necessarily what has come about.
I'm gonna throw you guys a curveball, it's probably a really stupid ball but whatever...

Do we know Al is alive? I mean, we've only seen him 'alive' so far in Ed's flashbacks. It's not that big of a stretch to assume that he made himself a brother to get over the loss of his mother, and had to give up an arm to create a walking talking armor with similar memories to his own.
I'll word it differently, how do we know Al is or was alive?

Yes, I put myself in Barry's shoes.
May 26, 2009 2:04 AM
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kuroshiroi said:
noteDhero said:
Yeah, I get that the comment makes it all the more acceptable for Al to go into panic mode, but hopefully it will be handled better than in the first show where I just felt like the whole ordeal was way too forced. I guess I'm just anticipating that we'll get what we saw in the first series.

Same here, were talking in circles to each other, but it was fun for me. Yeah, we did see something unexpected in Al, I'm just disappointed in the way that it's come about, not necessarily what has come about.
I'm gonna throw you guys a curveball, it's probably a really stupid ball but whatever...

Do we know Al is alive? I mean, we've only seen him 'alive' so far in Ed's flashbacks. It's not that big of a stretch to assume that he made himself a brother to get over the loss of his mother, and had to give up an arm to create a walking talking armor with similar memories to his own.
I'll word it differently, how do we know Al is or was alive?

Yes, I put myself in Barry's shoes.


Well, we do know this because of later chapters....
May 26, 2009 3:16 AM

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Capellabun said:

Well, we do know this because of later chapters....



But not now.

The only one who knows that it is really his brother is Ed himself, because of the Truth knowledge he attained beyond the gate. Others, anyone, anywhere, if they knew what happened, could form a similar chain of thought as Barry did.
May 26, 2009 5:23 AM

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Fai said:
Capellabun said:

Well, we do know this because of later chapters....



But not now.

The only one who knows that it is really his brother is Ed himself, because of the Truth knowledge he attained beyond the gate. Others, anyone, anywhere, if they knew what happened, could form a similar chain of thought as Barry did.
holy crap what?!?!?! I will pretend not to see this, ever heard of spoiler tags :(
May 26, 2009 6:28 AM

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man i loved this episode <3 and envy was soo cool and cute inn this one i liked it whene he ran to ed and sed LUCKY ^^ this epiosde was the best too now of FMAB :3
Edward Elric <3 Lavi <3 Fai. D Flourite <3 Shizu-Chan <3 Sause Uchiha ! <33
http://myanimelist.net/clubs.php?cid=11018 - FMAB fan club. for thoses who wants to join ^^

May 26, 2009 6:57 AM

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Exciting episode~
May 26, 2009 8:37 AM
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robbydesu said:
Fai said:
Capellabun said:

Well, we do know this because of later chapters....



But not now.

holy crap what?!?!?! I will pretend not to see this, ever heard of spoiler tags :(


It probably was best to put that in spoiler tags, that's kind of why I only said so much in my post.
May 26, 2009 8:49 AM

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robbydesu said:
Fai said:
Capellabun said:

Well, we do know this because of later chapters....



But not now.

The only one who knows that it is really his brother is Ed himself, because of the Truth knowledge he attained beyond the gate. Others, anyone, anywhere, if they knew what happened, could form a similar chain of thought as Barry did.
holy crap what?!?!?! I will pretend not to see this, ever heard of spoiler tags :(


Well I did not say anything what is not known.

Its all shown in Episode 2, god damnit and unless I should spoiler EVERYTHING from previous 7 episodes, I see no need to spoiler this one.

Its a given that he used what he found out to do that to attach Al's soul to an armour, so only he who knew how to do that would know that he succeeded and anyone else could question that

EDIT: ok wtf with double post o_O
AhenshihaelMay 26, 2009 8:55 AM
May 26, 2009 10:40 AM

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Yeah, when Barry is talking about Al being a mechanical doll, I see that as laughable because when I think mechanical doll I think a big human-form automail, and we all know Al is hollow inside.
May 26, 2009 11:37 AM

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LOL as a person who know nothing about FMA I am on the same boat with noteDhero. In this episode I feel like I am being force to believe so. In these past episodes I don't see Al shows any sign of doubt about himself as a doll and I don't remember somewhere in these past episodes telling me about Al didn't remember his past either.


"A Legend is but a tale of a beautiful lie."
May 26, 2009 2:15 PM
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Well, all I can say is that this is just how the story goes. It was the same in the manga and the first series as it was in this series. Personally, it was easy for me to believe that Al would have doubts about himself. Even though Barry is some crazy he IS physically just like Al so maybe that could be one reason why he believed him?

I don't know, watching it the first time and the second time it didn't bother me and I didn't feel like I was being forced to believe anything. What if Al did have previous doubts about himself? I don't really need to see it in previous episodes to believe that and just because they don't show it doesn't mean that he didn't.
May 26, 2009 2:17 PM

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Capellabun said:
I don't know, watching it the first time and the second time it didn't bother me and I didn't feel like I was being forced to believe anything. What if Al did have previous doubts about himself? I don't really need to see it in previous episodes to believe that and just because they don't show it doesn't mean that he didn't.
My point exactly!! Ugh, you're so wonderful! Able to sum it up so clearly XD..unlike me
May 26, 2009 2:49 PM

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loved the ep, great fight, tough really rushed, and about hughes i think there's much less of him than in the first series at all, so it was nice and funny to see him..

also i noticed that end of arc differs than at previous anime, so is this turning point where story will be completely different from previous anime or how?
May 26, 2009 3:00 PM
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robbydesu said:
Capellabun said:
I don't know, watching it the first time and the second time it didn't bother me and I didn't feel like I was being forced to believe anything. What if Al did have previous doubts about himself? I don't really need to see it in previous episodes to believe that and just because they don't show it doesn't mean that he didn't.
My point exactly!! Ugh, you're so wonderful! Able to sum it up so clearly XD..unlike me

Yeah, it really isn't like they threw nonsense at us because of that where true I would probably be agreeing with the other posters. However, it wouldn't be impossible for Al to have doubts about himself and I don't believe just because Barry is crazy that he wouldn't believe him. I mean he didn't believe him right away, he seemed pretty insistent that it wasn't true. With some of the things Barry said, I could see why he would believe him though, that and remembering Ed's comment probably reinforced his doubts even more.

All in all, it wasn't an issue for me in either series (or the manga) and I don't feel that it's impossible to believe.
May 26, 2009 4:00 PM

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noteDhero said:
Yeah, when Barry is talking about Al being a mechanical doll, I see that as laughable because when I think mechanical doll I think a big human-form automail, and we all know Al is hollow inside.

That stood out to me as well. That particular subbing group is going for a more direct translation, thus resulting in the translation of "mechanical doll". That isn't quite how a Japanese person would perceive it though. The English dub of the first series had a slightly different way of putting it, they used a much looser translation (however they worded it, it felt correct).
May 26, 2009 4:10 PM

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I don't remember how they said it in the dub either, now that you mention it, but I don't remember thinking what I do about the phrase this time around.
May 26, 2009 8:14 PM

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Great episode... clearly we are already seeing some differences in the story content between FMA 1's direction and the Manga with this episode.

Anyways...

loved the fights at Lab 5...

Always love Hughes and Mustang's conversations XD

Lust and Envy seem to be a lot more "darker" than their previously animated incarnations, and even though we have only seen Gluttony a couple of times, he seems so much more ravenous than "stupid-hungry-glutton" IMO.

LOVE IT ALL!
May 27, 2009 1:06 AM

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Unlike other shonen anime where talks/explanations are boring during fights, the case here isn't. Love this ep as well.
May 27, 2009 4:20 AM

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Superb episode. Well done.
May 27, 2009 6:39 AM

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Well, so how do you explain relationship between Al and Edward in this past episodes? From my point of view I thought that Al knew all about his past rather than he was told after getting in that armor. It is not like I don't believe Al shouldn't have a doubt about Edward being his brother or not. But the point is that Al seems to accepted everything about Edward which has been shown in 7 episodes and why it is just happened now out of nowhere? Well that is just how I feel it and I don't want to say who is right or wrong here either.


"A Legend is but a tale of a beautiful lie."
May 27, 2009 7:33 AM

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Siva said:
Well, so how do you explain relationship between Al and Edward in this past episodes? From my point of view I thought that Al knew all about his past rather than he was told after getting in that armor. It is not like I don't believe Al shouldn't have a doubt about Edward being his brother or not. But the point is that Al seems to accepted everything about Edward which has been shown in 7 episodes and why it is just happened now out of nowhere? Well that is just how I feel it and I don't want to say who is right or wrong here either.

I can see how that might be somewhat unclear if you have not seen the first series nor read the manga. Well, to simplify it: Al remembers his past just like any child does, there is just a possibility that they could all be implanted memories. (Additional info: In the first series, Al does not remember what happened while they tried to bring their mother back -- not sure if that was in the mangas storyline though).

Why Al is so quick to doubt that his memories are real in this series feels somewhat unrealistic, because in the first series he is quick to deny it in this same scene. And also in the first series, it takes another scene of convincing to make him doubtful (which felt much more realistic).
DunkyMay 27, 2009 7:42 AM
May 27, 2009 7:40 AM
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I have to disagree, it was about the same in both series and honestly it felt the same to me. Al was just as quick to deny it in both and I don't believe having another quick scene would have made it any more realistic for those who feel that Al shouldn't of had doubts about his brother.
May 27, 2009 7:45 AM

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Hmm, there could have been a difference in the dialogue between the Japanese and English versions. Just last week I rewatched this section on the English dub, perhaps the dialogue is slightly different from the Japanese? Not sure which language you saw it in though.
May 27, 2009 7:55 AM
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Deadpool135 said:
Hmm, there could have been a difference in the dialogue between the Japanese and English versions. Just last week I rewatched this section on the English dub, perhaps the dialogue is slightly different in Japanese? Not sure which language you saw it in though.

Well I've watched the first series in both Japanese and English. The dialogue could be different since Funimation does tend to take a few liberties with script even though it's basically saying the same thing.

Though again, I'm not sure an extra scene of dialogue would have helped with the issue of Al's doubts. The main thing I guess with everyone is that Al hasn't previously shown having any doubts and with his character it's hard to believe that he would believe Barry in the first place.
May 27, 2009 8:07 AM

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Capellabun said:
The main thing I guess with everyone is that Al hasn't previously shown having any doubts and with his character it's hard to believe that he would believe Barry in the first place.
Not everyone :( I truly don't find it that hard to believe. I mean if you're like noteDhero-san who looks at the anime in terms of what is purely given then it's mostly likely hard to believe. But even in terms of that, I still think it makes sense especially when Al thinks back to what Ed had said.

In my personal opinion, as displyed in several of my previous posts, I truly don't think it makes sense to understand the anime in terms of what is JUST given.

There has got to be a period of time when once in a while you'll have to make an assumption of a character. And this is coming from a person who abhors the concept of assumptions. My opinion isn't enitrely based (that it's not that surprising or abrupt for Al to have these doubts) upon thin air...I mean if we just think about the circumstances of what he went through and the fact that he is still a 14 year old boy who's growing...does it really seem that out of place? I mean sure Al can be considered strong in terms of what he went through at such a young age, but in a very human and empathetic (not sympathetic) perspective which I always seem to have, it's easy to understand that a human being especially a child can be vulnerable and have insecurities and doubts.

Besides, it's not like Al completely doubts about his existence at this point. In this episode all we see is the beginning of his doubting and the true fear of "what if it's true?" that was influenced by Barry.
robbydesuMay 27, 2009 8:16 AM
May 27, 2009 8:08 AM

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I see, you have a good point -- that probably is the main reason someone would find it hard to believe. In the first series, I think Al having been familiar with Barry the Chopper helped make it a bit more believable (even considering the circumstances of how he was familiar with him).
DunkyMay 27, 2009 8:13 AM
May 27, 2009 1:39 PM

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Awesome episode, great animation quality. Also, I really like this part of the story, so - can't wait for next week. :)


May 27, 2009 2:34 PM

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Yey re-watching FMA season 1... You can say what you wish but imho this season is just equal to the first one... Waiting for the manga to start to seriously kick in and change the story.
May 27, 2009 2:51 PM

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It's an ok episode. Not looking forward to the next one where the brothers will fight about something trivial.

I'm glad to see Hughes being how he normally is.
May 27, 2009 9:07 PM

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that barry pretty much asked a plato type lie about al's existence, very effective psychological warfare, and very different from the first in regards to what happens in the lab, meeting the homonculi like that
the only way to stop a gamer from playing is either: beat them, or wait until they get bored (though 2% percent suffer seizures
May 28, 2009 4:55 AM

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Static said:
Yey re-watching FMA season 1... You can say what you wish but imho this season is just equal to the first one...


Then you must be blind to NOT notice the already existing differences.
May 28, 2009 5:07 AM
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Ugh...I know its a minor fact, but it always bothers me when main characters are alive solely because they're main characters.

Prior to showing up in front of Ed, Lust and Envy spent 5 minutes saying how Ed could be trouble if he learns too much, or something along those lines, then go on and save his life. Wow. If he was anyone BUT the main character, he would've died.

I'm not singling out FMA by any means, this shtick always bothers me no matter what it is (movie, show, book), but I usually get over it soon enough. I just hope this kind of thing doesn't happen too often.
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