Anime Review: FMAB Part 5
After waiting so long, I finally got my copy of the last episodes of a series that has been an all-time favorite. Today’s post is a review of FMAB Part 5.
What is the show about? Two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, have committed a grave mistake and paid for it dearly. Edward lost an arm and a leg, while Alphonse lost his whole body. Now, the two have set out in search of the Philosopher’s Stone, even if it means joining the military. However, they are not the only ones seeking the stone.
In this set, Colonel Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, finds out exactly who killed his friend, Hughes, which causes him to go on a pursuit of revenge. When Mustang regains his senses, the group heads beneath Central to prevent the demise of the nation of Amestris by a being who had done the same thing to the nation of Xerxes. Elsewhere, Greed and the Briggs soldiers are trying to keep control of Central HQ, but suffer major causalities against Fuherer Bradley. Finally, the final battle against Father takes place.
What did you like about this set? I pretty much liked it all. The death of Envy was interesting, but nothing compared to Pride’s defeat. The characters all sounded good and unlike the last set, there were no references to past voices after an actor got replaced (only one actor was replaced anyway during the dubbing of this show). I also enjoyed how Roy was the one being lectured about revenge this time by Scar, instead of the latter being lectured by his own people. It shows how much Scar really learned from his mistakes, even though his hatred for Amestris never really disappear. Greed’s demise was a bit sad, when he had finally become content with the friends he had gain. Last of all, I enjoyed the ending of this series way more than the original Full Metal Alchemist anime. In the latter, it did not seem like the Elric brothers learned anything, whereas Ed finally realizes that even with Alchemy, he is just a normal human and that he can accomplish things without it. The series had a very enjoyable end, as well as nice fights.
What did you not like about this set? There is not much to say that is wrong with the product that was released by FUNimation. However, there is one thing that kind of annoys me, but that is mainly Bones Studio’s fault. The end of FMAB should have been an hour long episode, just like the manga ended with only one chapter, instead of two. Not only is it because the ending of the manga is only one chapter, but the closing credits to episode 63 was something that would have worked better as the final ending of the show, instead of the picture montage we get in episode 64. Outside of that, my only other problem is something that has become a normality. The ending could have been better as an hour long episode, but the annoyance of it is not that big to take the series down too much, especially since it is Japan’s fault.
Despite the fact that the final episodes should have been combined into an hour long special, the set is still a pretty good release and has a satisfying conclusion.
Overall, I recommend people watch the episodes on this set, as well as the series, no matter whether they are newcomers to the FMA franchise or long-time fans. The story has the most unique ideas of alchemy and the Philosopher’s stone in almost any medium and the humor is pretty good.
What is your opinion? Feel free to comment.