Her with the hat
On one hand, a full reread is a great idea. Though, I will admit a certain curiosity to seeing how someone completely new to the series would react to all it's twists and turns.
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I know. I don't mind anybody doing a blind Live blog of FMA. It's would be great to see somebody's first experience.
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
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Okay, so far, I am about 10 or so pages into the first Chapter in terms of progress. This chapter is proving to be the most difficult for me, as I need to note the various things that are established here. It's proving a pain for me, and I honestly can't wait to get things established.
Oh, and I will be taking this series as it comes.
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Grant us eyes
Finally finished! I think I just made a record of the length of time between the announcement of a Live Blog and the actual first post! It was tough getting through this chapter. Expect there to be less of this in the future (Not a guarantee)
Volume 1
- “The theory was foolproof...
- The world just made bigger fools...
- ...US.’
Chapter 1: The Two Alchemists
So the series kicks off as we see a kid screaming for somebody named Alphonse, saying that it “shouldn’t be happening”. He screams “It’s all gone!!” as we cut to the source of the voice, a blond kid who has had his leg removed in a bloody mess. It is at this point that you realize that this is probably not a kids Shonen title. At least they did not get fooled by stuff like this and decide to put the anime on a 7AM block (Still Bitter). We also get this text between the panels:
Punishment without pain is without meaning...
Nothing can be achieved...Without sacrifice...
As you can guess, this will become a main theme.
We now cut to our cover. It’s on older version of the kid and a suit of armor standing next to him, in what appears to be a clock tower. There is also a large runic symbol on the right hand side. Basic stuff.
We finally get into the chapter proper as we see a loudspeaker pole attached to a radio on top (Are there actually loudspeaker poles like this? Please tell me) broadcasting a sermon. It’s about the “Sun God Leto”. As the sermon goes on about how Leto will “Decend from the heavens and purge the world of sin”, we see our town. It’s seems to show a kind of lower district, dark alleys leading to taverns, (One which as a sign labeled “Stray Dog”, a reference to Hiromu Arakawa’s previous work) piping overhead, and a large smokestack spouting factory. Also for some weird reason, there is a road sign with nothing but a spiral on it. Must.......Resist....Urge....To make......Guren Lagann......Joke.....
The sermon transitions into the next scene as we see the armor from the cover stating that they are broadcasting the sermon, to which the blond kid states how weird it is (In response to “Messenger of god”). We show a bartender commenting on how it’s they who are the weird ones (Fun fact: the back of the bar looks like a mess. There are bottles and trash strewn everywhere, and you can see a roast chicken on top of a fridge, and a dead hanging lizard. It’s essentially a health nightmare).
We finally cut to the two people, as he asks if the circus is in town. It’s easy to see why. There is a blond kid with a braided ponytail and a tiny antenna of hair, wearing a red jacket with gloves and a black buttonless shirt. To his right is somebody in a large suit of armor that seems to be modeled after a demon, with the massive sharp toothed jaw and horn.
—>Blondy: Gramps, do we look like a circus act to you? —>Bartender: Every bit ye ways I see it....
We now see that they are at “Food” having Meal. Okay, it’s actually a stand, which has a radio on top. The bartender asks them if they are tourists, to which blondy responds that they are looking for something. One of them asks about the sermon, which the bartender says is Lord Cornello, the founder of the town. Various townspeople talk about him, saying that he came to the town a few years back to preach his religion Letoism, and that he can actually perform miracles. So he is definitely a villain. That’s not a spoiler, I thought that too when I first read this, as he seems like the archetype that is always revealed to be a villain/fraud.
Blondy is unimpressed, saying that religion bores him. I only really get bored with religion during mass, but that’s another story. He and the Armoured guy turn to leave, when Armor Kid bumps his head on the roof of the stand, sending the radio crashing to the ground. The bartender tells him off, but Armor Kid and Blondy say they can fix it. Armor draws a simple runic circle around the smashed radio, raises his hands over it, and one flash of light later, the radio is fixed. The amazed bartender claims that it was a miracle, to which blondy says “As If”. Armor Kid say that they are Alchemists. Alchemy will be similar to Bending or [1] in this series. However, it may be my second favorite magic esq power ever put in fiction (The first being Bending, which I personally prefer). Anyway, Blondy say that they are the Elric Brothers.
The crowd is amazed by this, as they say that the younger brother has a license by the state (We will get to that later). And they come over to congratulate Edward Elric, The Fullmetal Alchemist! Which they assume is the Armoured one. It makes sense, seeing that he performed the alchemy, and he would fit the description of “Fullmetal”. However, he sheepishly reveals that it is actually his brother, to the confusion to the crowd, one of them remarking if it is actually the midget over there who is Fullmetal.
Edward does not take the “midget” comment well.
“WHO WERE YOU CALLING SHRIMP?!”
He angrily states that he is Edward Elric and armor boy is his brother Alphonse Elric (And thank god we know their names now. I was getting so sick of calling Ed and Al Blondy and Armor Kid!). Suddenly a girl shows up at the stand, who’s name is Rose Tyler. For some reason her front hair is white (Pink in both Anime) while her back hair is brown. She is the only character in the entire series that has a bizarre hair coloration. She states that she’s going off to the church to make some offerings. She asks who Ed and Al are, and the bartender states that they are Alchemists, she wishes them luck, saying may Leto light their path and all that. The other people note that Rose is in happier spirits. Apparently, she has no relatives and her boyfriend died in an accident. She was taken out of depression by Leto’s teachings. They say that the miracles they have witnessed prove that Leto can raise the dead. Okay, I know for a fact that Resurrecting the dead is never, EVER in the agenda of a good god. Ed’s continued sarcasm ends the scene.
We finally cut to the Founder himself, Cornello. He is a old bald priest with thick eyebrows (I can’t describe people’s appearances to save my life). His two assistants congratulate him on the sermon when Rose comes in. Cornello thanks her for a job well done at the church (This is confusing because we never see what she did). She begins to sheepishly bring up her Boyfriends possible resurrection (In an manner I know far too well via personal experience), but Conrello sees through it and says that while Leto has been watching her pleas, the time is not right (The most convenient excuse ever), as he comments on Rose having a good heart.....While it shows him in that “Below the eyes” shot. The one that basically says “I am evil!”
So Rose goes into the church where he finds Ed and Al, remarking that they were the people from before, and asks if they want to learn Letoism. Ed responds that he follows no god. (“I don’t believe in god. I only believe in science.”). Rose responds by giving an extremely saccharine “God loves all people and gives you hope” (Complete with sparkles!) speech. She also says in a small panel that Leto could make Ed taller, with Al holding Ed back from giving Rose her routine reaction. (Please note: Having a overly sappy “God Loves you” speach is the fastest way to turn people away from your religion).
We go back to serious mode as Ed scoffs at the thought that anybody would believe that Leto could bring people back to life (Well they could. And that is why Scientology still exists). Rose insists that it can happen. This leads into one of the best moments of the entire series. Ed responds by listing the properties of a human body *.
“That’s the chemical make up of an average human adult. We know that much thanks to science...Yet no sucessful human trasmutations have ever been documented so far. Something was missing. For decades researchers sought to find this “missing link”...But all have come up empty handed. You might say it’s a lost cause , but I think it’s more meaningful than waiting for god to answer your prayers in compassion.
Oh, and interesting trivia for you, all those ingredients can be easily purchased from your local provision store....Just goes to show how cheap we humans really are.”
Carl Sagan actually talked about this. You can see it here.
Rose is pissed by Ed’s trivialization of humanity, saying that humans are the children of god. And that he will incur god’s wrath for his words. (Please Note II: God’s wrath is nonexistent. God will not do such things, and he can’t be made into a kind of guardian. Sorry for this. I just wanted to view my own thoughts about Christianity in regards to this). Ed continues on about how Alchemists are scientists and thus contrary to the teachings of god. A scientists job is to explain the truth about how the world works. And while they do not believe in god, they are conversely close to god than other people, to which Rose disapproves of because of Ed’s arrogance. Although given what we discover later, that last remark may have been a mix of irony. Ed also quotes the Story of Icarus. You know the drill, wax wings, sun, plummeting to doom, saved by Hercules, ect. Why he quotes the story, we see Al’s face in shadows, almost looking sorrowful. Hmmm.....
So we then see the procession with Cornello at the town square, as he is greated by a shower of flowers And turns out he can actually do miracles, as he takes one of the flowers and turns it into a large sunflower. I have to admit, both the 2003 Anime and Brotherhood did this scene alot better (2003 actually had him bringing a Bird back to life, which showed that he could bring living beings back to life, and Brotherhood had him turn one of the flowers into a giant crystal sculpture). However, Ed and Al immediately recognize it as Alchemy. Rose arrives, saying that Cornello really can perform miracles, but Ed and Al state that it’s alchemy and Cornello’s a fraud. But they also point out that it doesn’t explain the law. Rose asks what this is, and Al states the laws of Alchemy. Long story short:
Alchemy cannot create matter out of nothing. Meaning that Alchemy is bound by the Laws of Conservation of Mass, as well as Conservation of Energy which states that Mass or Engery cannot be created or destroyed. This also applies to people who work on the 4 elements (Which Avatar followed, although they kinda dropped that when it came to Firebending) or 3 principle rules. Qualities must be kept competent between the trasmutated forms, and properties in the desired object must be present in the original materials.
Rose, obviously lacking knowledge in Advanced Chemistry, is completely baffled by this (Complete with swirly vortex of confusion surrounding her!). Ed sums it up by saying that it is Equivalent Exchange, that you must sacrafice something to gain something else of equal value. And goes on to state that Cornello’s Alchemy does not respond. However, Cornello’s ring catches Ed’s eye, as he seems to have hit the Jackpot. So he does an instant religious turn-around, with flowers around him and says to Rose that he wants to be enlightened! She instantly believes this, despite seeing beforehand how much of a cynic he is. Ah well.
At Cornello’s palace, his assistant says that a Boy and somebody in a suit of armor is here to see them. Cornello says he is busy at first, until he realizes who the Elric Brothers are. He asks if the boy said he was Edward Elric, and when it is confirmed, starts muttering how bad this is. He tells his founder that Edward is The Fullmetal Alchemist, and that despite his age, he was able to achieve his state license at the age of 12. The assistant says that he could be onto their plan (They’re evil), and Cornello responds by saying “The Dogs of the Military have excellent noses indeed” (This will be explained in Volume 5. As well as a lot of other stuff). He says that they can’t send him away, as that would arouse his suspicions, so they decide on the only other sensible solution.
MURDER.
So the assistant brings Ed and Al into a room, along with two banner holders saying that the founder does not have time for guests, but they can make an exception for them. Ed is saying that it will be quick, as the assistant PULLS OUT A GUN AND BLOWS AL’S HEAD OFF. Wow. I guess Al was a Decoy Protagonist. Strange how there is no blood at all though. The banner holders hold Edward back, as the Assistant explain to a shocked Rose that they are planning to “Undermine the teachings of Leto” (Which given their attitude so far would be a reasonable excuse for them). Rose tries to say that Cornello would not order such a thing, to which the Assistant responds that Cornello himself ordered their execution. He is about to shoot Edward in the head as part of “God’s work” and all that, when suddenly, Al’s ‘’headless body’’ grabs the gun, asking what kind of a sick god Leto must be if this is acceptable. Ed and Al take out the guards, as Ed finishes off the last, fleeing one by throwing Al’s head at it (I bring this up because it will become a reoccurring theme, and using body parts as weapons is always awesome and hilarious for me)
Rose is horrified by the revelation that Alphonse is....You know....A living suit of armor, to which Ed and Al say “It just is”. Errrr.......Anyway, Rose asks how it’s possible, to which they respond that it is because they both committed the most heinous act in the eyes of god. Rose asks what Ed did, but he says to forget it. He asks he what she thinks of Leto know that she knows the truth, but she is still unwilling to believe it, much to Ed’s chargin. He asks if if she is brave enough to handle the Truth.
......No. I am not making that joke. That’s just too easy.
So Ed and Al reach Cornello’s Boss Room location, as he greats them in a kind of suave, Bond Villain style, with “Welcome to the Holy Chruch of Leto. Have you come here in search of enlightenment?” to which Ed responds that he is looking for enlightenment, like how he is using Alchemy to rip off the town. Cornello says that it is a serious accusation, and that his miracles are different from Alchemy, that Ed has to see them for himself. Ed responds that he has seen them, and he can’t figure why they disregard the laws. Cornello continues to say that it is not Alchemy before Ed says that he can accomplish his miracles because his ring is a Philosopher’s Stone!
(Please note: I will not be making Harry Potter jokes, since Arakawa has stated that she has never read any of the books)
Cornello, states that only a State Alchemist could see that, as he confirms that his ring is indeed a Philosopher's Stone, which in this series can transmutate things while reducing the requirements needed by Equivalent Exchange. Ed says that he has been looking for it for a while. Cornello asks what he wants with the stone, as Ed responds by asking Cornello why he would use his religion as a front, when he could transmutate all the Money he wants. Cornello says that money does not interest him, since his followers’ donations have him set. No, what he wants is to make his followers into an army that will dominate all who stand against him, one that will not even fear death! (Because that mindset worked SO well during the Crusades)
Ed is.....Completely uninterested in this. Cornello is shocked by this, questioning why, seeing as Ed is a member of the military, but Ed simply says that military issues do not concern him (Ed comes off as an Uncaring Asshole, but there is a twist to this that we will discover later), and that he just wants the stone. He threatens Cornello with revealing hsi plot to the town, to which Cornello laughs him off, going on a rant about how he has the people of the town under his control and that they will never believe them (He has a very good point there), proudly proclaiming that he has them wrapped around his finger.
Ed applauds at the speech, as Al says that while the town won’t believe them, they will believe....Rose, who has been hiding inside Al this entire time. Damn they’re good. Rose is horrified to find out that Cornello is a fraud, but she seems more concerned about the fact that he Boyfriend can’t come back, than anything else. Errrrr....Well, anyway, Cornello smiles and say that while he may not be a true messenger of the gods, he IS able to use the stone to bring Rose’s boyfriend back to life, as he coaxes her to come to his side. Ed yells at her not to go to Cornello, saying that if she goes down that path, she will never go back (Whether it’s because of morality or raising the dead is your opinion). Of course, seeing as what Rose’s morality up to this point has been, she obviously goes back to Cornello, As she says that hope is the only thing she has left. Well, many of your fellow people are going to die in a hopeless Crusade, but hey! At least you will have your boyfriend back. Who will probably drafted into Cornello’s army as well, come to think of it.
Cornello laughs as he reaches for his Emergency Monster Spawner™ (The switch has the words “Hirake Goma” written on it. Can anybody tell me what it means?), unleashing a Chimera (A Lion combined with what appears to be a Lizard) that he says he creayed using the stone. It advances on Ed and Al, as Ed sighs saying “Why do we always have to do this the hard way?” Huh. He acts like this kind of thing has happened before. So he claps his hands, touches the ground, and transmutates a fancy looking spear from the ground. Cornello is shocked that he can actually transmutate without using a circle, but he says that he can’t beat his Chimera. It instantly slashes through Ed’s spear, and cuts him in his leg, as Cornello laughs, saying that his Chimera can cut through solid steel, but Ed doesn’t think so. Suddenly the Chimera’s claws snap off, as Ed reveals that his leg is made of metal! Cornello orders the Chimera to bite him instead. the Chimera chomps down on Ed’s arm, but he seems to be unable to do any damage. Ed then kicks the Chimera off him, as he says “Take a good hard look Rose....This is the mark of a Sinner! God’s punishment on those who dare encroach upon his domain!” as he says this, his clothes fall apart as we see his metal arm though the rips. Cornello recognizes his limbs as “Automail”, replacement, functioning limbs, hence why Ed is called The Fullmetal Alchemist! We see Ed take of his shirt and jacket, fully revealing his arm. It is really well designed, having a wholly mechanical look with arm and shoulder guards. Also we see that it looks painfully attached, as the point where the metal reaches his skin is almost halfway across his torso, and there are various scars and damaged flesh points surrounding it.
And so our chapter ends with Ed proclaiming: “Alright you amateur! Im’ calling you out! It’s time you knew what a REAL Alchemist is made of!”
This is a great introductory chapter for the series. It manages to establish the themes and workings of the series, and has some fantastic moments of genuine insight into Science and Religion. This chapter takes a seemingly anti religious stance, but as we will see in the next chapter, I find it more of a stance against the corruption that can come from the misuse of religion, as well as not to rely on faith and faith alone.
Edward’s character is also set up very well. We see his personality, and his character quirks very clearly, and it fortifies his character. Edward is my favorite Shonen protagonist. He’s arrogant and cocky, even coming off as an uncaring asshole at first. However, he has real depth to him, and he shows himself to be a genuinely intelligent character. Al’s character is not really established that well in the early chapters. He comes off as the Blue Oni to Ed’s Red Oni. His character is more established throughout his experiences during this series. I am going to get into Rose the next chapter, as her character get’s fully established there.
Thank’s for reading! If you have any advice, suggestions, or comments on this recap, please tell me! I would really appreciate the advice.
edited 19th Sep '10 5:12:10 AM by Emperordaein
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Her with the hat
Wow, that is an incredibly long post on just one chapter.
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That is partly the reason why it took so long to finish.
The other reason is because, as Pika Hikari KT said, it was published monthly. An average chapter of FMA is around 40 pages. In comparison, a chapter of something like Naruto or Bleach is around 17. And ALOT happens in each chapter.
edited 29th Aug '10 5:00:37 AM by Emperordaein
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Well, manga like FMA and Soul Eater are published once a month and thus have two to three times the amount of material that you'd see in a weekly series. Only natural that the summaries would be pretty long.
It is really well designed, having a wholly mechanical look with arm and shoulder guards. Also we see that it looks painfully attached, as the point where the metal reaches his skin is almost halfway across his torso, and there are various scars and damaged flesh points surrounding it.
I absolutely love the detailed art in this series. However, there are a lot of shifts to chibi style throughout the series that can turn fans off (I'm not one of them).
Grant us eyes
So I will be going overseas today. Since I will be unable to bring my Laptop, I will have to put this LB on hiatus for about three weeks. Luckly, since I can bring the Volumes, I might be able to write up the recaps via pen and paper.
Sorry about this.
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Grant us eyes
Well, I am back!
Bad News: I am under a ton of homework, so you may need to wait a while for the next chapter.
Good News: Reading the volumes on holiday has given me all kinds of ideas. Plus, Chapter 2 should be easy to recap! The only dread I have for now is doing a recap of Chapter 5.....Hoo Boy....
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Grant us eyes
Phew! Sorry about the huge delay. In hindsight, I picked a really bad time to do this Liveblog. I am entering the final exams of Year 11, and after my holiday I was buried under five assignments and assorted homework, sapping me of my will to do the Liveblog But the assignments are done now, and I felt so good, I finished Chapter 2!
Before we get started, I would like to acknowledge Linkara's History of Power Rangers series. It has been a huge influence on this liveblog, and I respect Linkara for giving that influence to me with that excellent series!
Without further adu, here is Chapter 2!
Chapter 2: The Price of Life
So we open of the second chapter with Cornello gleefully stating that he knows how Edward could become a State Alchemist, as he and Al committed the greatest crime an Alchemist could commit: Human Transmutation. (Or in other words, they tried to resurrect the dead). We get a close up on Rose’s shocked face, as she recalls Ed quoting the story of Icarus (Which reminds me: Is Greek mythology really a part of this universe? Even though Christianity is not? It’s just weird is all.)
We then cut to a flashback of a younger Ed and Al, as Ed rushes to show Al his human transmutation theory he has created (It’s in the form of a transmutation circle) saying that they can finally bring their mother back. Al starts to narrate how their mother was a kind person, and all they wanted was to see her smile again, and despite knowing human transmutation was taboo, they studied alchemy for the sole purpose of bringing their mother back. While Al narrates this, we see their study, which has piles of books and scrolls everywhere, two suits of armor, (One of which is the one that Al is) a human skull (Uhhh....) and a tiny Mew in a jar (!) *.
However, the next text is put against the Black Background of Ominousness™, as Al points out that something went wrong. See, alchemy kinda frowns upon Necromacy. We see two juxtaposed panels of Ed loosing his leg and Al’s body disintegrating. ‘’Dang’’. Al says that he blacked out for a moment, and that when he came to, he saw Ed’s bloody body, now missing both an arm and a leg.
Alchemy REALLY frowns upon necromancy.
Ed snarkly states that his left arm was only enough to pay for Al’s soul (Despite being on the verge of bleeding to death), as Al responds that he didn’t have to do that. We cut back to the present, as Al points out that even though he had already lost his body, Ed sacrificed his own arm to bring him back. Ed smiles as he says to Rose that he and Al went through all that because they tried to bring a dead person back to life, before yelling to Rose if she has the guts to do it.
Cornello simply laughs at Ed, calling him a joke, saying “Is this the kind of State Alchemists they allow in their ranks now, Edward Elric?”. Ed snaps back at him saying that at least he’s not some wannabe with a fake stone. Cornello says that they would want the stone as it could make human transmutation successful, but Ed responds that they want the stone so they can bring their bodies back to normal, not that they are sure of sucess however, as Ed proclaims. Al gives Cornello one more chance to hand over the stone *.
Cornello simply laughs and prclaims “The fools that fell from grace from venturing too close to the gods.....Salvation shall be granted to thee!” as he trasmutates his cane INTO A FUCKING GATLING GUN. Wow. Say what you want about Cornello, at least he makes things that can get the job done. He opens fire on the Elrics, but Ed blocks the gunfire by Earthbending Transmutating a wall in front of him. *
Ed lashed back with “Thanks for the offer, but god doesn’t want me....Last time I went he slammed the door in my face”. Huh weird comeback. Wonder what he meant by that. Eh. Probably isn’t important.
Al takes Rose out of danger, as Cornello fires at Al. Who apparently is made of 50. Cal resistant steel, as the bullets bounce harmlessly off him. Ed and Al make a beline for the door, as Cornello says that the door will not open unless he commands it to. Ed however, gets around this by making a door, as Cornello exclaims “HOLY CRAP!” (Although his expression does give the impression that there way have been a translation error)
The Elrics burst out of the room with Rose in tow, running down a corridor filled with Cornello’s supporters. Cornello yells at the supporters to go after them, as they start their pursuit, saying that the Elrics must have blasphemed against Leto and that they must not leave alive. One group is in front of the Elrics as they tell them to come along quietly so nobody gets blah blah blah...So Ed simply transmutates his arm into a giant wicked looking blade, scaring the ever loving piss out of the goons. The group ahead of them has their pointman tell them not to let their guard down because they are just kids...As Al boots him in the face in mid run, with Al saying “Excuse me”
They run past, as Rose explains, Cornello’s broadcasting room. Ed proceeds to get a look of pure malevolence, as Al realizes that he’s getting one of his “ideas”.
We cut to a bell tower as the guy there looks at his watch, wondering what all the ruckus from downstairs is, all he superior tells him to ring the bell. However, they notice that the bell is gone....As we see Al making off with it.
On the balcony of Cornello’s palace, Rose is still surprised that transmutation comes at a heavy price, as Al brings up Equivelent Exchange again, pointing out that while everyone considers Ed a genius, he had to pay a heavy price for that repuation. Rose says they had payed a heavy price to get their mother back. But Al grimly says that their mother was barely human, as we see a single arm and several streams of hair sticking out of a pool of blood (The rest being obscured just offscreen, to make sure we get to sleep tonight). In the flashback Al is distraught, saying that the theory should have been foolproof, but Ed simply says “The world just made bigger fools. US.” Back in the present, Al continues that even though they had given up on human transmutation, Ed still wants to get their bodies back, as even Al wants Ed to get his back. But he says that they are going down a difficult road, one with a heavy price, and that they have to take the burden of their sins. He finishes, and tells Rose that she must never go down their path.
As we go back to the broadcast room, Cornello finally finds Ed waiting for him. They banter at first with Ed simply saying that he should give up, as the townsfolk will be onto him sooner or later, but then Cornello goes into a motive rant explaining that he controls all the information, and that the townsfolk are all his expendable pawns, and he could just use the power of the stone to get more followers if the current batch goes down, and that Ed can never stop him (Guess what’s going to happen). Ed simply laughs at Cornello saying “When it comes to deluded Third Rate Alchemists, you really take the cake!”. And after Cornello makes one more boast, Ed reveals that, of course, he has the broadcast switch on. Although cliche, Cornello’s dawning realization is hilarious.
It turns out that Al turned the bell into a makeshift megaphone, and the entire town heard what he said, with panels showing the reaction of the people of Lior. (Highlights include a worshiper facepalimg and the bartender in shock as the coffee he is poring overflows from the cup)
Cornello flies into a rage as he tries to transmutate his cane into a gatling gun again, but Ed simply transmutates a blade onto his automail and cuts the gatling gun in half. Saying that Cornello is way out of his league. Cornello says that he will not yield, as he tries to reconstruct the gun, but he then yells out in pain as we get our first of many example of Body Horror in FMA, as his arm proceeds to mutate into a twisted mutation of flesh and the gatling gun parts. Ed is surprised, but then headbutts Cornello to the ground, yelling at him to see the stone. Ed says that it’s just a rebound and that losing a hand is nothing to whine about (Uhhh.....Ed? You may be used to dismemberment but I don’t think the rest of us are...)
But after Ed says that, the stone cracks and falls off Cornello’s ring before crumbling to dust. Ed is shocked that the stone broke, and says that the stone is supposed to be indestructible. Cornello does not know anything about this and pleads for his life. But of course, Ed is more focused on the realization that the stone is a fake, and that the entire ordeal was for nothing, and then collapses in sadness. In cute chibi style.
But Cornello tries to take advantage of this and prepares to take out Ed with the sharp edge that is on his mutated arm, before Ed exclaims at Cornello that not only did he manipulate the people and try to kill him and Al, and while he is saying this, the room starts to become transmutated, before roaring that now he finds out that the stone was a fake. As he says this, a GIANT FIST comes down from the roof, crashing in front of Cornello, as Ed transmutates a GIGANTIC STATUE OF LETO, towing over Cornello before Ed roars “EAT MY DIVNE WRATH!!” as he smashes Cornello with a fist. Ouch. That was a bit brutal of Edward, to kill Cornello like tha-Oh wait, next panel shows that he just slammed it down in front of Cornello, knocking him out with the shockwave.
Regardless, to quote Shadow Warden:
Edward Elric’s Crowning Moment Of Awesome: ASSIGNE-
No. Actually, I won’t be doing that. See, FMA has so many CMOA’s, I will instead be keeping a tally instead!
Edward Elric CMOA count: 1
- Current: PWNING Cornello with a giant statue
Ed brushes himself off as he proclaims the entire adventure to be a giant waste of time, and that they were so sure that they could bring their bodies back. Al says that Ed should get his body back first, since his Automail must be uncomfortable for him (Aww). As Ed gets ready to move on, he notices that Rose is in the pits after the whole “Her boyfriend will never come back thing” before yelling at Ed for revealing the truth (Huh. Guess she couldn’t handle the truth after all). She screams “What do I have.....To live for NOW?! TELL ME! TELL ME!”. Poor Rose. You can really feel for her in this part, helped by the excellent artwork on her expressions. Arakwa is great with that.
Ed just says to Rose that she will have to figure out what she has to live for herself. Ending with “Stand up....And move on with life. Your legs are still intact after all.” as the Elrics walk away, we are treated to a great shot of a tearful Rose looking up at the sky as the sun sets.
We cut to the palace, as the obligatory angry mob is trying to get to have Cornello’s blood. Cornello is still clutching his mutated arm, cursing how the Elrics ruined his plans. However, we do get a shot of the Chimera from before, which has had alot of it’s flesh eaten away. But then, a voice comes out of the shadows saying that while it would have taken a while to get things running, it was all for naught. We cut to the source, as we see it’s a Woman with long wavy hair, wearing a black dress that ends a bit over half of the way of her cleavage, with matching high heel boots (Really long boots at that). She is accomponied by a fat, almost rounded blob of a humanoid, wearing black as well. They both have what looks likes circuitry lines ending in nodes on their arms.
The woman calls Cornello a buffoon (She’s justified). Cornello simply asks why they gave him a fake Philosopher’s Stone, to which the woman simply asks why she would give the real thing to somebody like him. Cornello says that he was promised that the stone was susposed to make him a king, to which the woman say that Cornello was only needed to create anarchy, mocking him further. The manblob asks if he can eat him, to which the woman responds that he should not, as stupidity gives him indigestion. ICE BURN. Said conversation along gives us the names of these people. The Woman is called Lust, and the blob is called Gluttony. Gee. I wonder what the naming theme for the villains will be.
Engraged at Lust’s final insult (That he wouldn’t taste good anyway), Cornello charges at Lust....Only for Lust to sigh and impale Cornello through the head by extenting her fingers into Wolverine/Lady Deathstrike style claws. I am honestly wondering if that counts as a Darwin Award for Cornello. Lust even says that Cornello has Outlived His Usefullness. As Cornello falls, we get a glimpse of her boobs symbol on her chest, a winged Ouroboros encircling a Hexagon. Lust sighs, saying that they will have to go back to the drawing board. As Gluttony picks up Cornello’s corpse, and we get a shot of the Ouroboros tattoo on Gluttony’s tongue before a fade to black as Lust shouts at Gluttony that she told him not to eat Cornello, thus ending our chapter.
The Lior arc serves as an introduction to the plot, and it does so well. We get a good idea of Ed and Al’s powers, the world they live in, their characters, and their quest, as well as establishing the villains. Lust and Gluttony definately make an omninous first impression, giving us a sense of foreboding as we see that these two are beyond human, and have a very dark agenda. Though, I have to say that in terms of storytelling, both the 2003 Anime and Brotherhood did manage to do it better than the manga. Especially how Cornello gets exposed in the 2003 Anime. Though Cornello’s Batman Beyond esque transformation in Brotherhood was a bit silly and pointless. It did make the statue pounding a bit more epic though.
Those who have seen the first part of Red Letter Media’s Phantom Menace review will remember his talk on the everyman protagonist, how it works in fantasy and Sci Fi to share the facets of the fantastical world that they are in. That is what Rose is used to do. She is the role of the inexperienced rookie who is exposed to the fantastical elements, as her learning about Alchemy, as well as Ed and Al, and even the themes of the series are also learnt by the reader. With all that said, she does the job well, and she is given her own character. While she does have her moments of poor judgement, it’s undertandable, and she makes for a very sympathetic character.
Cornello is simply a patsy to show Ed and Al’s power, Ala Mizuki from Naruto. He’s a bit cliche as a villain, but he mostly serves as a figure for the whole faith vs resolve theme. That theme seems to be more prevalent than the whole Religion vs Science angle. The idea that blindly waiting on gods is not how you should live your life, but that you should use your own resolve and your own ideals and insight to guide you. That said there is the issue of Corrupt Religion, that people can try to twist faith into making people essentially puppets, and using it to create a fake aura of power and divine might.
That’s all for now! Join me next time, as the Elrics take on Authoritative greed in Chapter 3: The Coal Mine Town!
edited 29th Aug '10 4:54:24 AM by Emperordaein
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Alchemy REALLY frowns upon necromancy.
Yeah, this show is kind of a big F you to Dragonball that way. Irony comes in...now.
So Ed simply transmutates his arm into a giant wicked looking blade
Taken out of the first anime, but kept in Brotherhood to everyone's delight. Ed just loves his sadistic automail attacks.
The rest being obscured just offscreen, to make sure we get to sleep tonight
The boys' backstory was delayed for quite a while in the manga. Both anime get right to the Mood Whiplash in comparison (ep 3 for the first anime, ep 2 for Brotherhood).
Although cliche, Cornello’s dawning realization is hilarious.
Indeed.
No. Actually, I won’t be doing that. See, FMA has so many CMOA’s, I will instead be keeping a tally instead!
Good call.
Grant us eyes
I am about halfway through Chapter 3. I kinda stopped work for today after suffering a horrible Pokemon related flashback (You will understand when you see it) and from sadness after my brother showed me the Cyanide and Hapiness video "Waiting for the Bus". He thought it was funny. It was simply a Tear Jerker instead.
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Grant us eyes
Chapter 3: The Coal Mine Town
- The Elric Bros Vs Military Corruption
Last time on Fullmetal Alchemist, we were introduced to the series, as our heroes Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric managed to take down a corrupt religion that had ensnared the tow! Okay, so that may result in some conflict within the city that may spring into civil war, but it’s not like the Elrics set horrible events into motion!
Actually, they don’t really in the manga. It was kinda the case in the First Anime, but here Ed actually did try do something to stop that from happening, but we won’t find out until Volume 5.
I should not that this an the next chapter are the closest thing this series has to Filler. Everything else becomes completely serialized afterwards. And even then, this chapter has some importance later, and the next introduces somebody. Still, for filler, these chapters are entertaining filler, and I personally have a soft spot for both these chapters.
So our chapter begins with the Elrics on a train as they notice the absence of passengers on the train. They talk about it before Ed notes that there is not much to see on the way anyway. Their last stop in the East, as Ed says, is the Youswell Coal Mines. As they arrive at the train station, Ed notes that it’s a “Seedy Place”, seeing as it’s a mostly barren mine town with only a few sorrowful people about. Ed says that they should be a tad livelier and Al notes that they look lethargic.
Their insight on the place is interrupted by a dirty kid with short blond hair and a bandage on his cheek accidentally swings a large block of wood into Ed’s head. As Ed yells at him, the kid identifies him as a traveller and starts bombarding Ed with questions on if he is a tourist, where he comes from and if he has a place to stay. He calls to his dad (Before Ed gets a chance to say anything), saying that they have customers, (Calling them their cash cow, which Ed angrily retorts “Who’re ya callin’ cow?!”. This will make sense later on)
His dad, a muscular blond haired man with rad facial hair, greets them. We also learn that the kid’s name is Kayal, as we cut to the town inn. He says that they don’t get paid for crap, so he runs a tavern to make ends meet. The people in the Inn claim that he’s always trying to get the poor out of debt, with another saying that his wife must be furious. He retorts with “None o’ yer business!”. His wife asks Ed and Al if it will be room for two, as Ed asks how much. The dad says that it will cost him. Ed thinks he has enough, but by “cost” the dad apparently meant, 200,000. *
Ed of course, facefaults at this. He claims it’s daylight robbery (It is, really), as Kayal’s father explains that as they don’t get tourists, they have to milk them for everything they have (Which is a really stupid way to milk money out of tourists when you think about it. It would lose more money then they would gain). Ed does the logical thing and tries to leave, and get accomodation elsewhere, but Kayal’s Dad is less than happy for him to leave with “WHERE DO YA THINK YER GOING CASH COW?!” So not only are their prices unresonably high, they basically prevent people from exiting. I can see why people don’t go to this town. The Kayal points out that the prices are the same evrywhere else in town.
Ed, of course does not have enough money, so he plots to change stone into gold to pay it off. Al points out that that is illegal * and that he could get caught and court marshaled for it. Ed goes face to face with Al (Too close, as Al’s horn is going into Ed’s forehead) to him “Only if we get caught”, to which Ed replies, “Your’re evil bro...”
Their conversation was apparently too loud as Kayal was sitting between them the entire time and promptly tells his father that Ed is an Alchemist. One display of Pickaxe Fixing later, the townspeople have warmed up to them. The father says that he used to study Alchemy in the past, but quit as he wasn’t that good at it. He decides to give Ed a discount. Unfortunately for Ed, it’s a 50% discount. He asks for Ed’s name, but when Ed says “Im’ Edward Elric”, Kayal’s father takes his food away. Then asking if he is Edward Elric the State Alchemist *
When Ed says yes, his drink gets taken away and he and Al get booted outside. When he protests they say that they don’t want to serve any military dogs. Al proceeds to leave Ed in the lurch by saying that he is just a normal citizen and not part of the military. Way to be a jerk Al, re-Oh god. OH GOD!! Getting horrible flashbacks of that awful Pokemon episode where Ash gets booted out of the Celedon Gym just for not liking perfume!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!! AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!-
- Technical Difficulties. Please stand by*
Back in the tavern, the people there are still fuming about the fact that Ed is a military dog. Apparently it’s because the greedy money grubbing Lieutenant Yorki *. Apparently he owns the mines and is giving them shit all for pay while working them nonstop, which he can do becuase he had the army backing him. Kayal’s father then states that while he was learning Alchemy, he was taught that “Alchemists live for the sake of the people” and that people who sell their souls to the military There happens to be an incredibly ironic twist to this phrase upon later revelations
Back outside, Ed is starving due to being abandoned. However, Al comes to him with food and drink that he snuck out. *. Ed responds by changing his allegiance (Which is not lost on Al) and giving Al a gratification hug. Al tells him all about Yorki. Ed fumes that he is being condemned by the people via Guilt By Proxy, and says that even he is pissed at the military (Which does not make sense considering that We find out that he never cared much for the military at all.) He continues to lament that when he became a state Alchemist, he was prepared for backlash, but being hated by an entire town is a new low. Oh come on. All heroes get hated by at least one town in their adventure! You even got hated by more than one during the First Anime!
Al wonders if he should also get a state licence, but Ed waves it off saying that one person baring the sin is more than enough. Ed feels that he can’t argue with being named a military dog. And also considers the results of their journey into alchemic necromancy. They wonder what their sensei would say if she knew about it all. They take a moment to consider it before breaking into an ‘’utterly terrified’’ state saying that she would kill them. Oh I am sure that their sensei is nowhere near as terrifying as they make her sound! She is far far worse.
Their PTSD episode is broken my the arrival of Lieutenant Yorki, a snobbish, uptight man with short balding hair and a Waluigi mustache, flanked by his two bodyguards. He remarks about the Inn being “as filthy as ever”, to which Kayal’s father responds “Nah... The place just stinks because of the company we get around here”. Yorki says he’ll ignore that. Yorki states that the town has been slacking on their payments. Kayal’s father complains that they can’t pay much as they are being paid shit all to begin with. But Yorki points out that they are still able to enjoy a round of booze. So he decides upon cutting their wages further (Because that presumed extra dollar is so important to Yorki). The bar company reacts as you would expect, as Kayal throws a napkin at Yorki (Although I am quite surprised that nobody else threw something heavier at him). Yorki decides hat he will not ignore this before bitchslapping Kayal, and ordering his men to go at him with a sword. Well, the flat of his sword by the look of it but still.
Of course, Edward comes in and blocks the hit, making the sword snap cleanly in half, instead of, you know, bending *. As Yorki loundly asks when Ed came from, he cooly replies (While sipping coffee no less!) that he was just passing by. Yorki yells at him to leave, but Ed simply shows Yorki a silver watch with a Lion in the middle of a pentagram emblazoned on it. Yorki recoils in horror that it is the President’s emblem. Well that got hi-
President’s emblem.
PRESIDENT’S emblem.
Okay, this is the first of some of the various translation inconsistencies in the Madman translation. This is not supposed to be the President. The leader of the country actually holds the title of Fuhrer (And do NOT make ANY references to Godwins Law, because this country, Amestris as we find out much later, is intentionally based on 1930’s-40’s era Germany. I will allude to that but NOT the Nazi party. No discussion about that, alright?) Regardless, I am starting a new count:
Translation Errors: 1
Anyway, one of Yorki’s men asks who the brat is (That’s not the short joke. It’s coming), but Yorki twats him on the head whispering that it’s a State Alchemist, who answer to the Fuhrer himself (And this makes the previous translation error even more baffling). His body guard remarks that the pipsqueak (There we go) really is a state alchemist. Yorki realizes that if he sucks up to him he can get further up the ranking ladder. While Ed’s is a bit tweaked from hearing the word pipsqueak, Yorki sucks up to him and allows him to stay with him for dinner (To which Kayal is voicing his displeasure in the background). Ed accepts this saying “This stingy old Inn Keeper should really learn from you!”. Yorki makes one more threat at the bar people before leaving, sending the bar into a fit of rage.
At Yorki’s manor, Ed’s dinner apparently consists of two ribs and eggs (Or some food that I can’t remember the name of). Regardless of appearence, Ed thinks it’s quite a spread, considering that the townsfolk are starving (Weren’t they just low on pay?). They discuss for a bit about Yorki’s difficulties with collecting taxes. Ed compares it to Equivalent Exchange, as “With rights come duties” (I don’t think Yorki is balancing his equivalent exchange well, but that’s beside the point). It ends with him offering Ed a small sack of Gold coins, as Yorki makes it clear that he wants to move up, and away from Youswell. So he’s been putting the whole town into the shitter just to get higher up. Like stepping on an Ant hill.
After Edward is escorted to his room, one of Yorki’s guards tells him that the workers have been “Voicing their discontent”. Yorki is fumed saying that they were against him from start. Oh really? You mean the many, many complaints and the various insults and napkins thrown at you during your last visit didn’t tip you off? In any case, Ed overhears Yorki’s order to burn down the place.
One act of Arson later and we see the next moring, where Kayal’s father and his wife are standing in front of the ashes of the inn, as Kayal says that he saw Yorki’s men around the place last night, and that he didn;t think they would sink that low. He laments that if his father knew proper Alchemy that he would fight to save the town, before asking Edward to transmutate gold to save the town. Ed refuses, talking about Equivalent Exchange, and that they have done nothing to earn it. Kayal, pissed as hell, grabs Ed’s jacket yelling at him saying “AND YOU CALL YOURSELF AN ALCHEMIST!?”. Ed calmly responds that even if he did create gold, it would just go into the tax collection fund. So he tells them to move out of the town if things are this bad (I really don’t think Yorki would let them go however). But they all respond that the town is their home, and they will live and die there, with a lovely back shot that gives a sense of Empathy. Ed starts to think on this.
We cut to a yard where Edward is strolling over to a mine cart full of Tailings, he asks Al how much they weight. Al says it’s about one or two tones and asks why. Ed responds that he’s about to break the rules. Al asks if he is supposed to be an accesory to it and Ed says why not. Al realizes it’s futile as he’s going to do it no matter what he says, and also says that it can be a pain having him as a brother, as Ed transmutates the tailings into gold bars.
Now here was where I got confused the first time reading this. How could he do that? Was the elements for gold in the tailings themselves? Okay, in the first anime, it shows him spilling the bag of gold coins he got from Yorki onto the tailings, before trasmutating them, so what ever.
Back to Yorki’s place, he and his men are in stunned amazement as they see Ed and Al surrounded by several piles of Gold Bars (One wonders how they even got them to Yorki’s office, although I suspect that Ed transmutated a trolley or something), with Ed saying that he wants to buy the mines. Yorki is overjoyed as he realizes that he can bribe his way into the high office with the bars (If he means the top brass [[spoilers: he may have a nasty surprise]]). Ed tells him that he will indeed mention him to command, (With a sparkle on his face), but he requests Yorki to edit the contract to say that he has turned over the mines to Edward for free. Both Yorki and Ed congratulate each other on their deal (Al says that their like birds of a feather. Which they are not in the slightest).
Meanwhile, in the town, Kayal’s father is resfusing to have the townsfolk have their way, as they are about to attempt open rebellion against Yorki. Kayal’s father is refusing as he does not want anybody there to become a criminal. This is interrupted by the arrival of Ed in a delightfully smug and happy greeting. The townsfolk respond with a look of pure loathing and misery. It does not take long for Ed to reveal that he now technically owns the mines, much to the collected shock of the bar. However, since the Elric’s are wanderers, the deeds are useless to them and they want to sell them away (Can you see where this is going?). Kayal’s father asks how much, before Ed goes on about the value of the paper and it’s container itself (Like, he talks about the value of the silver container and the KEY THAT OPENS IT), before soming down to, of course 200,000 centimes. Kayal’s father roars with laughter as he accepts. However, Yorki comes in at that exact moment as he comes complaining about a certain matter. He says that he just sold the deed to the town, as Yorki says that the gold he received turned into stone. Al whispers to Ed when he changed it back, and Ed responds that he did it right before they left. Ed says to Yorki that he never gave any gold bars to him, because, as it says in the contract, ‘’he gave it to them free of change’’.
In his rage, Yorki orders his body guards to confiscate the deed, but they are stopped by a giant townsperson, as they point out that he is technically on their property. Yorki wants to take it by force. Before they proceed to crack their knuckles, brandishing tools. Yorki and his guards have about five seconds to realize their predicament before being beaten senseless. Well, his body guards, Ed simply uses his Coup de grâce, as he tells Yorki, in a happy, sparkly tone that he will give a full report of his incompetence back to Grand Central, as he’s sure the brass will love it (Yorki’s expression to that last line is just perfect) as Yorki collapses into a pile of despair. The townsfolk celebrate by declaring “Bring on the Beer!”. As the patry begins (With them pouring beer on Edward, and trying to get him to drink and man up) Kayal realizes that Ed really didn’t sell his soul to the military. After that our last shot is the aftermath of the party with everyone on the floor, as Al yells to an unconsious Ed not to sleep with his tummy exposed. Al, just be thankful that Ed still HAS a shirt. Or pants for that matter.
This was a fun little chapter that introduced some themes. Not much to talk about here, but really, what makes this chapter memorable is Ed’s deception of Yorki. That is simply glorious to read. But it’s not ‘’quite’’ a CMOA so I won’t count it. BTW, if you want me to use the Viz names I am happy to oblige.
NEXT TIME: The Elrics face off with a train crisis, led by Naked Snake!
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Grant us eyes
Good News!: My exams are over and my holidays are about to begin, so I will have more time to work on this Live Blog!
Bad news: Unfortunately I now have Majora's Mask and Super Mario Galaxy 2 as distractions.
Grant us eyes
Chapter 4: The Great Railroad Heist *
The cover for this chapter is simply a picture of Edward slumped over a desk covered in books and papers. Hey, it’s just like whenever I try to study or do schoolwork for anything!
We cut to a train on the rails as a compartment with a man in a waist coat, short hair and hardened face is with his daughter, son and wife. The daughter is, of course, enjoying the train ride by looking out the window (The only thing keeping train travel from pure monotony). The man talks with his family, and how his daughter promised him to find somewhere fun for them, that he can take some time off work. Ahh, a true family vacation. So it’s only fitting that some assholes come in to ruin it by pointing Lugers and MP-40’s at them (Which further cements the whole 1930’s Germany thing). Their leader comes out of the shadows, revealing himself as.....Naked Snake?! * Anyway he says “Family vacation’s over, but don’t worry....We’ll make this a memorable experience.”
We cut to a building with a staircase adjoured with twin lion statues, as a voice talks about the situation, and that the attackers are East area radicals named the “Blue Force”, * and that the man is named General Halcrowe The voice continues as it notes that they have written their demands, but her apparent superior dismisses it as we get to see their faces. The military uniforms in this series are based on late 19th century uniforms, blue, fancy uniforms. Can’t really describe them properly. Anyway, the voice is from a Blond haired assistant who has her hair done up at the back. Her dismissive superior is a man with black hair. He and the other officers in the area start discussing the heist, who include Harry Potter, Spock and Kittan * . The black haired colonel is more worried about the fact that it’s interfering with his planned date. He tosses about the idea of just leaving Halcrowe for dead (To which Furey simply dismisses him). He sees that Halcrowe has his family on board much to his frustration, before seeing one thing on the paper. A smile breaks over his face as he realizes that they don;t need to do anything, as the Fullmetal Alchemist is on board. What a coincidence! * So yeah, you can probably guess what the plot is going to be
We then cut to Ed sleeping on the seats as two thugs are holding the passengers hostage. one of the thugs is amazed that he could sleep at at time like that. He tries poking him with his gun, but when that fails he yells at him and calls him a shrimp in the process.
Ed wakes up with the mood you would expect. He proceeds to grab the guy’s gun and transmutes the barrel into a trumpet. Oh come on Ed, that’s way to reckless. Trumpets can easily be used as guns! *
After kneeing the guy in the face, his partner points a gun at Ed (naming him small fry in the process), but Al lifts his hand up and tries to settle this in a calm way. Ed however, just beats the shit out of the guy. Al points out that he will kill the guy at the rate he’s going ( *). Ed stops before going “And who’s this guy again”. I find that utterly hilarious, since It reminds me of this.
We then see the bound thug spilling his guts about the other hijackers on the train, since is is now visibly terrified of Ed. The news about the other hijackers puts the other passengers in a state of concern, as Al comes down on Ed for losing his temper. So the Elrics decide to take matters into their own hands, as Al takes the direct route through the train, and Ed will take the roof. As the other passengers ask who they are, the Elrics respond; “We’re Alchemists!”.....Riiiight before Ed is almost blown of the outside of the train due to turbulence.
Ed manages to right himself and move off. Inside the train, one of the thugs remarks about how the guys at the back are not responding. Moving forward, he runs into Al. His reaction is one of gunfire, while Al tells him not to shoot, as the bullets might ricochet. And then do. Into the guy’s leg. His partner comes in and has the same reaction and subsequent result. At the front carrage. The gang starts panicking about the lack of response from the other members. Halcrowe takes the time to mock them on how weak and disorganized the gang is, which I guess makes sense, being a senior military officer and naturally against stuff like this. Snake Blood simply blows a chunk of Halcrowe’s ear (‘’Ouch’’) as he proceeds to reveal his automail arm cannon, threatening to send the next shot up Halcrowe’s rear (‘’’Ouch’’’)
Blood suddenly hears footsteps on the roof, and just fires his cannon up, and apparently scores a hit. Blood says “A rat” (Rats don’t have foot print sounds) and the other thug goes to check it out. Ed coils back, as it turns out that the bullet just hit his automail leg. This apparently make it personal. We cut to two thugs holding the coal shovelers at gun point, but Ed throws the bullet into the carrage as a distraction as he leaps in and kicks one of the thugs into a pipe. Before the other thug can respond, the shovelers whack him over the head and then go to town on both thugs with their shovels. Which looks ‘’painful as hell’’.
Ed leaps back onto the train, telling the shovelers that he can handle it, before seeing Blood’s goon aim his rifle at him. Ed dodges the shot, and retaliates by transmutating a cannon which fires a huge cannon ball at the guy (Somehow....), missing him, but sending him careening down the hatch he came from. One of the shovelers yells at him to keep off the tender. Ed thinks about the tender (The fuel carrage which is water and coal) *
Down in the carriage, the thug yell “Blood! That’s no rat!” *. One of the other thugs hears the other members screaming about a suit of armour, before hearing gunshots I assume they met the same fate as the other two guys) as the line goes silent with the thugs moaning “Help...Us...” *
Suddenly, a PA loudphone shaped like a chibified Ed gets trasmutated onto the wall, as Edward’s voice threatens that the entire train is under their control, and to release the hostages or get subdued with extreme prejudice. Blood dismisses him so Edward responds by telling the hostages to hang on tight as he trasmutates a pipe into the wall and floods he carriage with water from the tender. The entire group (Save Blood) gets washed out the carriage where Al is there to greet them. With pain.
Blood gets up yelling that it’s not over yet, but Edward drops down and transmutates his automail blade. Blood charges at him, only to have his arm cannon impaled by Ed who says “Cheap goods. Go figure”. Al appears behind Blood and both he and Ed take down Blood, with Al whacking him over the head and Ed slicing his arm cannon clean off (Which appears to be hollow. Guess it really was that cheap)
The train arrives at the station, as Ed is greeted by the Colonel, who Ed is not happy to see at all. He notes that he hasn’t gotten his limbs back yet. Ed says that he has been working on a way, spending all night studying, and going from city to city, but they have been finding it very difficult, and they have been constantly been coming up empty handed. The colonel states that Ed has been getting a name for himself.
—> Ed: “Nothing escapes you does it?” —> Colonel: “You’re the one keeping a high profile.” (Al nods in the background)
The cold reunion is broken up as Blood escapes from his ropes, stabbing two soldiers in the process with his hidden blade, and a look of pure malice on his face. Ed is more annoyed than anything. The colonel’s assistant asks to take blood down, but the Colonel take matters into his own hands. As Blood charges at him, the colonel snaps his fingers, sending a spark alongside transmutation energy, which then explodes into a fireball, sending Blood into a smoking heap on the ground. The colonal strolls over to him and says: “I’ll spare your life this time. Pull that stunt again and you’re barbeque. Capish?” *
Our chapter ends with Blood asking who he is, to which the colonel responds:
“'’'Colonel Roy Mustang. Better known as... The Flame Alchemist'''. It’ll do you good to remember it.”
....Okay. I know what to do.
Roy Mustang CMOA count: 1
- Current: Showing everyone why he is the goddamn Flame Alchemist.
That was in his SECOND APPEARANCE. Roy Mustang is awesome. So awesome, that as he says on the bonus panel, he is taking over next volume of “The Flame Alchemist!”
Alright. Not really. But as we will see, Mustang would make a great protagonist.
One last thing, I have to say that this story was done much better in the First Anime. It was done at a different point in cannon, which made it fit the story better, we had an Early-Bird Cameo in the form of Mae Hughes and the villains were made to be more threatening. The only bad thing was Blood giving a nonsensical speech to Ed about his metal arm getting him prosecuted or some crap.
So that’s it for Volume 1! Now before anyone asks, I will not be doing any of the Omakes at the end of each volume, as they really can’t be recapped. There are several bonus chapters but I am only doing two of them, as they introduce two minor characters.
Oh and on the spine on each volume (The Chuang Yi editions), Arakawa does sketches of characters that have died, rising up into the sky as angels. It's a little quirk of hers that stems from the general Dark Humor of the series. This is something I will be keeping track of.
- Current Body Count: 1
- Volume 1 casualties: Cornello
Volume 1 was mostly covered in my analysis for the Lior arc and the intro to Chapter 3. It’s simply an introduction to the Elrics and the world they live in. Nothing really to say. But from this point on, there is no more filler. The series will become a heavily serialized one, so it should be easier to fit into a groove. Volume 2 introduces some key themes, and establishes some major characters. It is also, in my opinion, the darkest volume of all.
NEXT TIME: The Elrics have an experience they will never forget. *
edited 13th Dec '10 8:00:31 PM by Emperordaein
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Grant us eyes
Okay, Chapter 5 shall be done soon. Probably tomorrow. Also, as we are going deep into story and continuity, there are some facets that I want to analyze before we see the full extent of where the plot point goes, so I will be putting them in hottips with warnings attached.
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
Grant us eyes
Volume 2
“Behold! A chimera that speaks the human tongue!”
Chapter 5: An Alchemist’s Anguish LB Title
The chapter starts where the previous one left off, as a soldier is amazed at what he just saw. Havoc asks if it’s his first sight of Mustang’s handiwork, to which he replies that it is. Another soldier asks how he does it. Havoc explains that Mustang’s gloves are made of a combination of Rayon and Asbestos, and that rubbing them together will cause a spark, which, if the air conditions are right and it comes into contact with a flammable object, then things end up like Blood from last time. Only more burnt and crispy. If Mustang wants. The soldier is wondering how that can be possible, but Havoc says that it’s Mustang’s alchemy that helps it along. I love how Arakawa explains details like these, showing off her knowledge in chemistry and science. Even though my limited knowledge of chemistry prevents me from grasping the true logic behind it, it’s easy to understand. It’s like how in Avatar, the Firebenders use their body heat as a source to perform their firebending *
Havoc also says that it was Edward who took out the train thugs, and that he is a State Alchemist to boot, much to the soldier’s disbelief. They sate that both Ed and Mustang don’t seem human. Which is a wonderful way of showing how the kind of impression and how imposing Alchemists in general are to normal people.
Ed is now in Mustang’s office with the smuggest grin imaginable on his face telling Mustang that he owes him one. Mustang is smirking with “Yes.....How.....Unfortunate...”. He sighs and tells Ed to name his reward, which is a source of information that is related to biological transmutation. Mustang chides Ed was his impatience, to much Ed snaps back by retorting “YOU try getting stuck with this and see if you’ve got patience!”. Mustang says “And here I was thinking that we could chat over a cup of tea” . Ed responds, saying “Tea with a GUY? Where’s the fun in that?”
.....You know what? Im’ not gonna even comment on that.
So Mustang pulls out some dossiers and manages to pick out Shou Tucker, The Life Sewing Alchemist. Mustang drives the Elrics to Tucker’s house as he explains more about him. Apparently Tucker obtained his status after creating a talking chimera, much to Ed’s shock and amazement. * While Mustang says that he never got to see it for himself, the report says that it was fully capable of understanding human speech, and even able to speak it. However, the only thing that it said, as shown in a panel displaying the Chimera in silhouette, which seems to be a hairy, bipedal creature with what looks like paws, was “Let me die”. It refused to eat before starving to death. And nobody found anything...Suspicious about this...? WARNING! FUTURE PLOT DETAILS
They arrive at Tucker’s house (Which Ed notes his huge), and as Mustang rings the doorbell, Ed is immediately blindsided by a gigantic Golden Retriever, as it lands on him with it’s pure doggy love. This is know far to well (Although my dog is a West Highland Terrier so I can’t exactly account for the sheer crushing sensation.....). Tucker himself comes out of the house after chiding the dog (Alexander) for being bad, and tells his daughter that he told her to tie him up. Tucker is a tired looking man with balding hair and glasses, with a bit of a shadow on his jaw. His daughter Nina, is a four year old girl * with some damn long pigtails that almost go down to her legs. Tucker lets them inside his cluttered house (Which he says has been like that ever since his wife died). Mustang tells Tucker why the Elrics are there, and so Tucker asks (Citing Equivalent Exchange as a justification). Mustang tries to make an excuse, but Ed decides to come clean about him and Al, revealing his Automail arm to Tucker. One off screen exposition later, we see that they have been having tea with a guy (Okay, it was probably just Mustang and Tucker having tea while Ed exposited). Tucker is sympathetic to them, saying that it must have been hard on them. Mustang says that his superiors are under the impression that Ed lost his arms during the East Area Civil War, (Which will be explained later) and asks Tucker to keep the truth between them, to which Tucker agrees.
Tucker decides to take the Elrics around his lab, but apologies when they enter as we can see his experiments in jars, including a Cobra/Crocodile, a two headed monkey, a lemur with a stitch patch over his eye, and what vaguely looks like a Blobfish with bits of metal welded to it (In case you are wondering, THIS
◊ is a blobfish) Tucker explains that while he is said to be the best in his field, he still has a long way to go in perfecting the process. He leads them into his library, which, as Edward’s expression tells us, is huge. Tucker lets them at it. Mustang says that he will pick of the Elrics before sundown, before Ed gets stuck into the books. Tucker comments on this saying that with such concentration, Ed probably can’t even here them (Like me when I am playing games). Mustang just says that the fact that he obtained his state alchemist license proves that he is no idiot. We get a close up of Tucker as he says “Yes, he’s what you would call....A Prodigy”. His facial expression seems to indicate a tone of sorrow, almost envious.
We cut to late in the afternoon, as Edward states that he lost track of time. He calls for Al, only to be given the Balrog treatment from Alexander *. Al comes in with Nina on his head, and Ed yells at him saying that he was supposed to be helping with the books, and Al says that he was doing it, but got side tracked when Nina said she wanted to play (This panel is Chibi Nina on Al’s head is one of the cutest things I have ever seen). Nina says that Alexander wants to play with Ed as well (To which Alexander licks the hell out of Ed’s face, which again, I know far to well). Ed proceeds to wipe the dog saliva off his face before saying: “You know how lions like ‘playing’ with their prey before devouring them, don’t ya.....VERY WELL YOU MANGY MUTT!! IF IT’S PLAYTIME YOU WANT, I EDWARD ELRIC SHALL OBLIGE YOU!”. Nina bursts into laughter while Al sighs, thinking “How immature...”. Says the kid who has a four year old riding on his head.
At sunset, Havoc comes to pick up the Elrics, as we see how well Ed’s game with Alexander went for him *. Havoc asks what Ed is doing under a large dog, and Ed quickly gets up and says that he was just taking a short break from reading (Which is kinda true....I guess...). Tucker asks if he found anything useful, before Alexander puts a paw on Ed’s head as a sign of love/”You’re coming back tomorrow, bitch”. Tucker says that they can come back tommorrow, much to Nina’s delight. Before leaving, Havoc tells Tucker that Mustang wants him to remember that the Annual Performance Assessment is coming. We see Tucker with a simple look, yet one that gives vibes of fear and worry *
Nina asks her father what the Performance Assessment. Tucker explains that every year, State Alchemists are assessed on their progress in their fields, which can result in a loss of license if the Alchemist scores low enough. I am sure that’s just for researcher Alchemists as with other State Alchemists such as Mustang are employed by the military and thus contribute in different ways. Tucker tells Nina that the heads were not impressed with him last year, and thus he is in danger of loosing his license. Nina is distraught saying that he has been working hard. She and Tucker embrace as Tucker says that he will have to work harder, saying that there is no turning back for him, his face shown in shadow. Something tells me that there may be something a BIT wrong with Tucker.
The next day, Nina (While resting on Alexander) tells the Elrics about how two years ago her mother “Went home to her family” (Oh boy). Wait. That was the same time as when he made his first taking chimera.....Im sure that that’s unrelated! Al asks if she feels along in such a big house, but she says that she has her father and Alexander to keep her company, but she does say that her father’s time in the lab has been leaving her a bit lonely. After a reading session, Ed decide that he needs some exercise, so he decides to play with Alexander. Al decides to join in with Nina. We see Edward and Alexander playing outside (For the record, it results in Alexander: 4, Edward: 0). From inside the house, we see Tucker crumpling up another sheet of paper in the darkened room, in sheer despair.
The next day, Ed and Al arrive at Tucker’s house as rain clouds start rolling in. The first sign that something may be wrong is the Atmosphere of Ominousness TM. Ed and Al call out for Tucker and Nina, before coming across Tucker in his darkened Lab, a twisted smile on his face. He says he has created his finest transmutation yet, a Chimera that can speak english! Which looks like a dog with.....long.....female....hair......
Tucker tells the chimera to talk and it says Edward’s name, but in fragmented chunks. Tucker continues to pride himself on it’s creation, but Ed is still looking at it, as it mutters more words...But then it says “Bro...ther....Ed..” and......
The look on Edwards face shows that he realizes what it is.
Edward proceeds to ask Tucker when his wife died. He responds, “Two years ago”. Ed also asks him when he made his first talking Chimera. Again, two years ago. (I wonder why Tucker hasn’t caught on yet). Then Edward asks one more question:
“Nina and Alexander......WHERE ARE THEY?”
Tucker mutters “Curse those damnable instincts of yours....” as Ed proceeds to slam him into a wall in pure rage, managing to spell out that Tucker, indeed, fused his daughter with Alexander. MAJOR SPOILERS If you had any sympathy for Tucker, it’s already circling the drain, and the next part will obliterate anything left of said sympathy. Ed yells out that since animals have their limits, he needed to use a human for a better chance of success. Tucker basically makes a justification for his actions that can be summed up as: “FOR SCIENCE”. Ed shoots it down saying that he’s just using science as a justification to toy with human life. However, Tucker says that’s precisely what he is doing, and he proceeds to give Ed a Not So Different Speech when he says that it’s big talking coming from the Fullmetal Alchemist, the person who lost his limbs and his brother by trying to toy with human life! Hey, Tucker? They were twelve, had no idea what they were in for, and were doing it out of love for their mother, while you are a full grown man who knew exactly what the hell you were doing, and did it just so you could keep your job. TWICE. You don’t deserve that kind of comparison (Although he is essentially out of his mind at this point). Ed just completely looses it, beating the everloving shit out of Tucker (which, quite frankly, he deserves every bit of), all the while, Tucker is still going through the Not So Different Speech, until finally Al holds Ed back, saying that it won’t accomplish anything. As they walk away, Tucker begins to mock Ed on his views of Idealism, but Alphonse just turns around and says “Mr Tucker.....Keep at it....And you’ll be answering to ME next” with a vibe of pure malice and fury
Alphonse Elric CMOA count: 1
- Current: Shutting up Tucker’s ranting and showing why you should NEVER mess with him
Al goes over to Chimera Nina saying that they are not skilled enough to change her back, and says “Im’ Sorry” to her. Chimera Nina mutters “Lets Play......Lets Play.....” *.
Outside as the rain falls down, Riza Hawkeye (Mustang’s blonde assistant. I kinda forgot to tell her name 
) is talking about it being “The Devil’s Handiwork”, but Mustang dismisses it saying that as living weapons in the employ of the military what they did and what Tucker did is hardly different, as their powers effect human life in the same way, and while Ed may think he’s mature about it, he is still just a kid at heart, and as part of the path he has taken, he must move on. This is another great example about how Arakawa manages to blend her themes together. Mustang asks Ed, sitting in sadness on the rainsoaked steps, how long he is planning on staying there. Ed just says “Bite Me.” Mustang states that when he walked down the path of a State Alchemist, he made himself labeled as Military Dog or Devil, and that they are using that path to regain their bodies. He asks why they should care about something so significant (HARSH, Mustang. Although like alot of his actions we gain more understanding of them upon later revelations). Ed says that he doesn’t care about being labeled a military dog or a devil as long as they can get their bodies back, but he says that they are neither a god or a devil: “’’’We’re just human beings!! Incapable of saving a little girl!!’’’ We’re nothing but insignificant human beings...!” *. Mustang just says to get out of the rain and get some rest.
Meanwhile, outside the Tucker residence, two soldiers (Who I will name name Reed Shir Thomas and Dean Mett) are standing guard. Suddenly a man approaches the place. Reed states that the place is off limits, and that he will have to leave. However the man holds up his fist saying “No.....after you”. Reed and Dean have only a few seconds to understand why he said this. Inside the house, Tucker is saying to Chimera Nina “Why doesn’t anyone understand...” *. The man from before walks in, revealing himself to be a dark skinned man with sunglasses, short, white spiky hair, and, most strikingly, a huge, cross shaped scar across his eyes. He says “Shou Tucker, I presume?”. Tucker wonders who he is, and quickly identifies him as not being from the military, then wondering how he got in past the guards, as we see the bloody corpses of poor Reed and Dean. Scar pulls back his hand before announcing “Alchemist who strays from the path of god.....’’’Judgement is upon you!’’’”
He grabs Tuckers head and then uses what appears to be Alchemy to basically implode Tucker’s head (It doesn’t cause any outside scars, but blood spurts erupt from most of his upper torso), as his body collapses in a bloody mess. Good riddance. However, Chimera Nina looks at the corpse and then starts droning “Daddy....Daddy....” as tears stream from her face *
The man looks at Nina with a genuine look of heartfelt sadness in his eyes. “Poor thing” hey says. He says it’s already impossible to cure her condition, but he can at least end her torment. Oh, now that’s going a bit too far. I mean, she can get better! There are talented alchemists who could do it right? I mean, it’s not like this series would be cruel enough to-
The man leaves the two bodies behind as he says a prayer to god to have mercy on their souls and to grant them everlasting peace *. As he leaves the place, he takes of his sunglasses to reveal his red eyes, * Juxtaposed with a panel of Ed on his bed in sadness.
........
I think I will go cry myself to sleep now.....
edited 2nd Oct '10 5:22:11 AM by Emperordaein
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
A real tearjerker, this chapter. Shou Tucker is one of the most despicable characters I've come across. And these events seem to leave their mark on Ed and Al for the rest of the series.
My theory: making a talking chimera that doesn't use human components would be a major breakthrough. Also, no-one in the military command who knows about human chimeras wants to expose Tucker, as there's a risk of being thought to know too much about such things, and they are callous enough not to care about Tucker's victims.
Grant us eyes
^Oh yes. The impact of these events was something I was going to bring up when I got to my end of Volume analysis.
My theory: making a talking chimera that doesn't use human components would be a major breakthrough. Also, no-one in the military command who knows about human chimeras wants to expose Tucker, as there's a risk of being thought to know too much about such things, and they are callous enough not to care about Tucker's victims.
Which is what I was trying to say.
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
...Ninaaaaa...
Also, these summaries could do with some proofreading. And Alexander appears to be a Great Pyrenees which would make more sense given his size.
In the first anime, Shou (a rare case where the dub MISPRONOUNCES his first name, both anime) ends up LIVING for a majority of the show (instantly making him The Scrappy). Ninaxander still gets killed.
edited 2nd Oct '10 4:23:51 AM by PikaHikariKT
Grant us eyes
Proofreading has always been a weakness of mine
In the first anime, Shou (a rare case where the dub MISPRONOUNCES his first name, both anime) ends up LIVING for a majority of the show (instantly making him The Scrappy). Ninaxander still gets killed.
Oh yes. I did not buy any attempt to make him sympathetic, since in the First Anime, he gleefully states that he did it just because he could. You can honestly not make any attempt at symphony after that. Also, he reminded me too much of Dr Smith from the god-awful Lost In Space movie (SPIDERSSSS). Hell, he actually SURVIVES the seres! Also, Nina's death in the First Anime just seemed off to me. It felt like too much of a Contrived Coincidence that she should just HAPPEN to go to the very ally that Scar happened to be in.
edited 2nd Oct '10 5:18:52 AM by Emperordaein
A corpse should be left well enough alone...
I thought he lived to see the end...it's been a while since I saw the first anime.
I'm glasses.
It's true that Tucker survives until the end of the first anime, but honestly, in a form like that, I'd think he'd be better off dead...
Always, somewhere, someone is fighting for you. As long as you remember them, you are not alone.
insert title here
I'll tell you, never has an episode of anything caused me to go from :D to D: quite as fast as this one(the original anime).
edited 4th Oct '10 12:58:58 PM by Blissey1
XP granted for befriending a giant magical spider!
Q: Why are you doing this series for an LB?
Full Metal Alchemist is my personal favorite series. It has great characters, great story, gripping action, and an excellent universe. It is also a manga that relies on logic within it's own rules, and manages to pull it off very well. It is a series I have become very passionate about. This month, Fullmetal Alchemist will end, at 108 chapters. Since this is also my birthday month, and I have had my birthday today, I want to honor this series.
Q: Why aren't you doing Brotherhood?
The thing is that I find it harder to focus on shows rather than graphic novels. Manga gives me a chance to read over it properly and easily pick out details. While I may allude to Brotherhood now and then, I will focus on the original manga.
Q: Weren't you already doing a Lets Play of Fire Emblem VI?
Sorry, but I have decided to end the FE 6 LP. for a number of reasons:
1. It was too tedious. To properly publish a single episode I needed to play the game, take the screen shots, and write the episode around the chosen shots, and then upload the raw episode into my blog's posting bar. Since the images would be corrupted, I needed to upload each image, five at a time, sorting them out from a massive pile. It was a long and dull task, and it would only get worse over time. I really hated doing it.
2. I felt that my skills were not suited to LP's. I glanced over the unit stats, shops, and all the other little bits. They were a pain to record for me. There were also issues with my writing and presentation. I just don't think I am cut out for LP's like Fire Emblem.
3. This is much easier to do. Like I said, I can focus more on stuff like the FMA Manga. Not only that, but it's easy to go though only on chapter at a time. It also allows me do do some insight, background information and analysis.
I guess it ties in to one of the main themes of the series, Equivalent Exchange. Sacrificing Lets Play Fire Emblem VI for Lets Read Fullmetal Alchemist.
Q: How will you be getting your material?
I am such a huge fan of this series that I actually brought the Manga Volumes. Currently, I am up to Volume 22, and will be pre ordering Volume 23 soon. I should note that I will be using the Australian Translation of the Manga, since that's all I have. If push comes to shove, I might have to resort to using the Internet Scans.
Oh, and please take spoilers into consideration. When Chapter 108 comes out, ONLY NOTIFY ME. Lets not talk about it here. That's for the FMA Manga thread. We can talk about it when we get close to the final arc.
I will be uploading the first Chapter soon. Tomorrow may be a bit busy, but I will do my best. This is my first time doing something like this, so I may be a bit shaky. But again, I will try my best. I don't want to put this series to shame.
So let begin where it all started: Two Alchemist Brothers, on a mission.....
edited 6th Jun '10 6:22:36 AM by Emperordaein
A corpse should be left well enough alone...