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Dec 4, 2010
Fullmetal Alchemist fans are a lucky bunch. Not only did they score one television anime based (for the most part) on Hiromu Arakawa's amazing manga series, but the same studio who made that one, Bones, decided to later do an even longer series based even closer to the manga. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was one of those things that I thought was just going to be summarily dismissed as a novelty for the manga readers. I personally didn't care whether there was an accurate version of the manga in anime form. I loved (and still love) the first series and movie, and if I want the
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manga's story, I can read the manga. Fortunately, Brotherhood was damn good enough to keep watching from beginning to end, and it isn't necessarily because this show is significantly superior to the first (it isn't at all), but because it's just a very good show in itself.
So, basically, the story is a quest of restoration. The Elric brothers lost their bodies and are looking for a way to regain those things. The journey of the Elrics takes them to various places, meeting various people, and with various plot twists and turns, ultimately leading them to the final confrontation with said Big Bad, and somehow regaining (most of) what they lost.
My one objection to the treatment of the narrative is that, much like in the original manga, it relies on these big sensational "moments", which are cool to read/watch, but ultimately take away from the verisimilitude of the work as a whole. All you end up getting are a bunch of puncuations that take away from the subtlety of the themes.
For the most part, we get a variety of interesting, and examined characters. The short-tempered but honest Edward and his more composed brother Alphonse. The ambitious and snarky Roy Mustang. His loyal subordinates. The over-the-top, larger-than-life Alex Louis Armstrong and his vicious, tough-as-nails older sister, Olivier Mira Armstrong. The affable, but wicked Greed (my favorite character). The king of trolls, Envy. The badassery-oozing-from-every-pore King Bradley. The adorable May. The butt monkey Yoki. The distant father with the weight of the world on his shoulders, Hohenheim. Some great characters.
The art and animation in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is pretty good, and what one would expect of an anime of this generation. The character designs are much closer to Hiromu Arakawa's art in Brotherhood than they were in the original series. The backgrounds and foregrounds can be quite beautiful, if oddly like watercolor paintings at times.The animation is mostly pretty good, though there are times when it noticeably isn't, and it's pretty clear certain episodes have a much higher quality animation than others.
A large part of bringing the characters alive in an animated television series or movie is the voice acting. In the manga, you just imagine the voices, but in animation, voices are provided, and ideally, these are voices that you will closely associate with the characters, so a strong cast is valuable. Fortunately, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has an excellent cast.
The music in this series is excellent. Senju makes use of sprawling, almost pastoral, European-sounding tracks, establishing leitmotifs and conjuring up very operatic pieces for the most dramatic moments in the series.
It's not a flawless series, mind you. It seems overly drawn out at times, there are a few plot snags, some characters I don't care for, and adaptation missteps (Dublith/Greed arc, the Ishbal massacre). But, on the whole, looking at the big picture, it's absolutely more than just the sum of its parts
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 4, 2010
There are few anime I've watched that actually feel enriching, like I've read a well-written novel by a classic novelist. After watching Legend of the Galactic Heroes, the story-telling and characters in a lot of other anime pale. It was an experience that impacted an anime fan that was growing a little more than jaded.
One of the things viewers will notice is, you don't find yourself pulled in right away, but somewhere along the lines you find yourself feeling like you're witnessing a real history and enthralled in the lives of the people in the show. Eventually, you're so enthralled in the happenings of
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the program, you can hardly pull yourself away.
As the name implies, it's the story of "heroes". But heroism is a tricky thing. These people are heroes in that they risk and, even at times, sacrifice their lives for their beliefs, and in the service of their respective nations. You'll find few who are wholly good, though, or wholly evil. As the character Yang Wenli notes, "There are few wars between good and evil; most are between one good and another good."
Make no mistake, this is a show with wars. The show is about the constant battles between two nations, a crumbling democracy and a top-heavy aristocracy. It doesn't take sides. It doesn't make one group noticably more noble than the other. There's rot on both sides and potential for greatness for either nation. A hundred episodes in, the battle lines have changed shape, but they're there. Battles can be brutal and fates unforgiving. Nobody comes out unscathed in this tale.
This show is a grand masterpiece of Japanese animation. It's an impressive blend of politics, philosophy, and tactics examination, set to classical music. The cast is a who's who of voice talent. The space battles can be a bit dull, but any dullness is offset by the charismatic characters that take part in them. Truly an epic space drama. Not to be missed.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Nov 27, 2010
Frankly, I'm not sure how I can do a show like Cowboy Bebop justice in reviewing it in such tiny space. I think Cowboy Bebop is absolutely a product of genius. I think genius minds conceived and executed the concepts, story, and production of this series, and I believe it will always mean a great deal to me. I say this with the utmost concern for nostalgia and trying to disappate it, judging the show by its merits and not for the time at which I watched it and how radical it was at the time, but rather for what it continues to be based
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on its true merits.
For one, I can see why others may dislike elements of the show, but those are the same elements I think are justified. The show is episodic, yes, but rather than being a bunch of completely unrelated adventures that just feature the core cast in different situations, the episodes are more like a series of short little films that each reveal a little more of the bigger picture, not necessarily of the main underlying plot, but something much more important, which is the world and atmosphere, the environment and attitudes which are pervasive in the show. The very lives of the characters are "episodic", but an episode rarely ends without having made some headway in unveiling more of the tapestry of this world the characters live in.
The main plot, the plot of Spike's past with the Red Dragon, that's something that keeps together the threads, but ultimately only exemplifies- well, perhaps more than that, epitomizes- the grander attitude of the entire work. Given more time to breath, perhaps a more traditionally strong narrative would have worked its way out, which is probably the only flaw I can find with this show. However, it's barely a flaw, because it serves as a great and tragic sword of Damocles over the throne of the viewer. However, unlike that sword, it does certainly strike, and surely, and with consequence.
The production values are quite breathtaking, some still by today's standards. The music is especially spellbinding. The show is very stylish, and so more cynical folks may be lured into believing the show is "style over substance", but the style becomes part of its substance, much in the way a Tarintino film both indulges in and skewers pop art culture.
It's a show that feels almost as new every new time I watch as it did the first time. Sure, now I've been exposed to several anime that closely rival its greatness. But none of them quite manage to match or surpass it.
Cowboy Bebop is a stellar series. Perhaps the most representative of what anime can accomplish, It is both entertaining and provocative. It's a rousing jazzy ballad of the bizarre and the sorrowful. It's a must see for anyone.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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