Gah. A post. A mere one day ofter the last one!
So, let's talk about the show that made me believe in anime again. There's always one - I'll be really into anime, then get bored as everything gets samey, and clones of the shows that originally appealed clutter the airwaves, and I drift away - and then someone will say 'you gotta watch this!' and whoops - sucked back in. This time 'round, that show was Fullmetal Alchemist.
Not that promising a title, I think you'll agree. And on initial viewing, the first couple of episodes are kind, 'huh. o-kay. But where is it going?' And then the plot kicks in and you go 'whoa!'. And this is a show with a lot of plot. The kind that keeps you on tenterhooks as it twists and turns, and throws you new curveballs. Also a show that's not afraid to kill off a character or two - even ones who DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE! *sob*
And if you watch the show, you'll know what I'm talking about. And I guarantee you will cry. And wail in disbelief.In fact, it's a show where you're not even sure the
main characters will make it through to the end, and that's what makes it great. It's grim as hell sometimes. Depresses even me, the angst queen. Setting is a vaguely European looking world, wherein there's a limited amount of technology, but the real power lies in the hands of alchemists - people who are able, with the help of a complicated drawn array, to transmute items and release the power in sundry materials. Although this doesn't come for free - you need to exchange something of equal value to accomplish any transmutation. Edward Elric is the youngest ever Nationally Certified Alchemist (ie, alchemists in military service) although he has an ulterior motive for joining the army. Ed, and his younger brother Al, needs the army's resources to hunt down the legendary Philosopher's Stone, an item that perform any transmutation, without the need to exchange any materials or energy. The brothers need this to sort out the massive screwup they made whilst attempting to bring someone back from the dead. Erg. Creepy. This screwup -wherein you find out how difficult it is to come up with the right amount of materials to re-create a human - leaves Ed minus an arm and a leg
(heehee) And poor ol' Al as a disembodied soul bound to a hulking suit of armour. And it just gets weirder from there folks.
I'm not even going to try to go any further into the plot. Suffice it to say, there's a
hellalot more going on than appears at first glance, most of it will leave you yelling OMG! and WTF! at the screen, and the storyline everyone gets caught up in towards the conclusion of the show has been brewing for 400 years. Deep enough for you?
I <3 FMA. I love this show to bits. Even my friends who think anime sucks like this show.
So where can you get your hands on this bounty? Well, the show's been licensed in the states (coming soon to
Cartoon Network) so finding it online is getting tricky. However *adopts best mysterious voice*
it can be done...start at your favourite
Bittorrent site, and go from there. Or wait for the DVDs. (yeah, right. 3 episodes per disc for $30? Na-uh)
The manga can be found online at
Anime Source (chapters 26-39), the work of a tireless one man scanlation demon who translates chapters about a week after they come out in Japan (monthly), and earlier chapters are
here and
here (although you'll have to join a group to get to the ones on MSN) This is also a show where the anime and manga versions diverge quite significantly, so you get double the alchemical fun.
Good fansite for news, reviews and media is
here.
And after you've caught up with the 52 episodes of the anime, the 39 chapters of the manga, and you've become an FMA crackhead like me, fanfiction is
here. LJ community is
here. And don't blame me.
Enjoy.