So that's the opening to Full Metal Alchemist, one of the greatest anime of the last decade. it was so awesome they made it twice. Why twice? Well, it seems anime can be made faster than manga, so when an anime is based on a manga, they tend to catch up with the source material and then they either need to create filler to give the original more time, or just take the story in a different direction. The first time out, FMA did the latter. The manga concluded shortly after the original anime and due to high demand in both hemispheres, they went back and did the anime again, this time following the manga to the very end. Both versions are awesome, and any true fan will watch both of them. Both series start out the same way, the Elric brothers, Ed and Al, learn alchemy like their fathe who abandoned them and their mother, Trisha. Trisha still loves her husband and misses him and encourages her boys to practice alchemy, but then she falls ill and no medicine or alchemy can save her. After she dies, Ed desperately seeks a way to bring her back using alchemy. They attempt the forbidden art of human transmutation, to create a homunculus in Trisha's image. In theory all they need are the basic components of the human body, which they gather after studying under Izumi Curtis, an alchemist who can perform transmutations without drawing a transmutation circle first. The results are disastrous, as it turns out, the law of Equivalent Exchange(to create, something of equal value must be given)demands something more for a human soul, and in this case takes Ed's left leg and Al, and worst of all, the homunculus is still incomplete. Ed tries to get his brother back and ends up sacrificing his right arm to attach Al's soul to a suit of armor. Al carries Ed to the neighbors, the Rockbells, who happen to make automail, anachronistically high tech cybernetics given that the rest of the world appears to be pre-World War II era Germany. Ed now has a mission, to reclaim their lost bodies, or at least Al's. To this end he joins the military as a state alchemist, codename, Full Metal. His special talent to get him in is that he has discovered the secret to transmutation without a circle, when one attempts human transmutation to create a homunculus they must sacrifice somethingan the homunculus still fails, but if the alchemist survives, they gain innate knowledge of alchemy and can be their own circle. By simply joining his hands, he can instantly transmute anything. But there is still one secret beyond even this, the Philosopher's Stone. Many alchemists have sought it but none have found it, a substance which allows one to bypass the law of Equivalent Exchange and perform alchemy with no limits, the key to restoring their bodies. Until then, his signature technique is transmuting his metal arm to have a blade so he can fight. Ed works with some other alchemists, Roy "Flame" Mustang, Alex Luis "Strong Arm" Armstrong, Brigadier "Ironblood" Gran, Tim "Crystal" Marcoh, Solf "Crimson" Kimblee and most disturbing of all, Shou "Sewing Life" Tucker. Tucker had a very short appearance of only a few episodes, but fans know him as the center of most disturbing arc in the entire series. Tucker is assigned to take on Ed and Al when they first arrive in the capitol and they befriend Tucker's daughter Nina and their dog, Alexander. Tucker was known for creating a chimera, a creature made of two or more other animals, that could actually speak in human tongue. Tucker is desperate to repeat this success so he can renew his certification. He does succeed, but then it's too late when Ed hears the chimera call him "big brother" just like Nina did and realizes that his previous success coincided with the disappearance of Tucker's wife. "Where are Nina and Alexander?" You don't even need to hear the answer, you know what happened. After that, you're kind of numb when you find out that the Philosopher's Stone requires the mass sacrifice of human life. The story goes in two different directions from here, both revovling around the homunculi, specifically seven named for the deadly sins. As it turns out, homunculi can be made properly given the use of a Philosopher's Stone, which varies a little bit in exactly how it factors in depending on the series. Instead of going into all the details, I'll just cut the spoilers right there and simply say the primary antagonist in either series is the master of the homunculi and that person is determined to use the Philosopher's Stone to their own ends. Oh and Hohenheim, the father of the Elrics, shows up and it turns out he's tied to all of this too, no he's not the mastermind, but he does have a sinister connection and he's desperate to keep his sons out of it and redeem himself.
This lat video is sung by Vic Mignogna and is otherwise irrelevant. It is attached to a series called One Piece that I will get to eventually. Well next week I'll have a report on Roc Con, see you later!
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