Overview

I'm sure that fans of Cartoon Network will recognize this series, and now that it's finished its run on CN, I figured it'd be a good time to review it. For those that don't have cable - or won't touch CN with a ten foot pole, the series in question is Fullmetal Alchemist. Now, FMA actually qualifies as one of those series that's fun to watch, but not really worth watching. I'm sure that I've just pissed off a fair number of fangirls - probably a few fanboys too - but I'll explain as I work my way through this review. For the uninitiated, FMA follows the fortunes of Edward and Alphonse Elric, a pair of brothers with a deadbeat dad and a mother who grows ill and passes away early on in their life. The world that they live in, though, is a world of Alchemy rather than one of science - I'll come back to this later - and so, after going out into the world for a few years and training with a teacher, they come back to their hometown and try to bring her back to life through alchemy and its first law, that of equivalent exchange.

Review

Of course, as anybody born here in the real world should know by now, there is no such thing as equivalent exchange - at best, there's fair exchange, and that's rare enough to qualify as a minor miracle these days. Nowhere is this truer in Ed and Al's world than in human alchemy, as they soon discover - at the cost of Ed's right arm and left leg, and Al's entire body. For those of you worried that I'm spoiling, don't - this is basic stuff that's covered in the first couple of episodes. The rest of the series - some fifty episodes in all - deals with the boys trying to deal with the consequences thereof. There's some decent action, a reasonable amount of character growth, some great fan service, and enough drama to earn the series a spot on TNT. By now, some of you are probably wondering why I don't sound all that thrilled.

Well, to tell you the truth, in the end, I'm not. FMA is a good show, don't get me wrong. There's a good variety of characters, something always to be respected. And the storyline, overall, is original and well written enough to be worth sticking around for, something that is often untrue of such a formulaic plot. Actually, the variety of characters is on of the strongest points for the series. From the seemingly narcissistic Alex Louis Armstrong to sultry and alluring Lust (quite aptly named, mind you), the insatiable Gluttony to playful and nose-bleed HOT Psiren, FMA has somebody for just about everybody. So why is it, then, that the two central characters are so... simplistic? Ed and Al may be children - 14 and 12, for the main part of the story - but the events that they go through should have been enough to turn both of them gray. Yet instead of true growth, they wind up needing to relearn the same lessons over, and over, and over again, the only difference being the circumstances leading up to the object lesson. Incidentally, Ed turns out to be quite a happy little sociopath in his own way, and while that is, to great extent, a result of the world he lives in, I just can't press the "I believe" button hard enough to think he'd still be able to sleep with himself.

As long as I'm on the subject of the "I believe" button, can I add that the general populace of FMA has got to be an entirely new race of Lemmings? Maybe Ed and Al are the ones with the real inside information, but I just can't possibly believe that the entire nation was so utterly blind to the goings-on - if not with what was happening in Central, than at least with the fact that Ed and Al were seldom harbingers of great joy for a region. But the story isn't about the general populace, so we'll leave them heading for their cliff and move on with the review. Setting aside the blandness of Ed and Al, I think that it's time to mention one of the most believable and likable characters in the series - that being Lust. Now, I'm sure that there are those of you that are groaning right now and thinking that the only assets to FMA about Lust were the ones on her chest. I'll grant that at least part of the reason that I liked her is that she was a babe, and not afraid to flaunt it. She also wasn't afraid to do exactly what she thought she needed to do - and that's the clincher folks. Not many people like the concept of a strong woman - I do. I liked Psiren for much the same reason as Lust - neither of them play the standard "I'm a hot babe here to look good and kill/steal as needed, but for the most part I'm just eye candy" role.

Moving along, lemme give brief kudos for the voice acting. The English dub was good. Not great, but good, something that can often escape even good Anime. Though to be fair, English dubbings have been getting better and better of late. Even so, FMA's deserves the mention. Music was pretty good too, mixing in some familiar classical pieces along with original themes. Never really picked up on anything particularly annoying, so all in all, the audio was good. Animation was excellent, one of the series's strongest points, and the character design is original and suits the world that's seen.

Since I've mentioned it a couple times, let me deal with the world of Fullmetal Alchemist. This is a world in which one particular science - note that I'm using the term loosely, as it's more fair to call alchemy the forerunner of science than a science in and of itself - presides over all. It's for a good reason, too - after all, the alchemist can do practically anything with the proper ingredients and a little imagination. Throughout the series, you see everything from using a radio that's been smashed to bits to create a new and fully working one to changing the composition of air itself into what amounts to a fuel-air bomb, as well as many considerably more fantastical sorts of things. But this is where the world runs into a serious problem.

You see, for all appearances, the world of FMA is at best early steam-age in terms of technology, yet among other things there are modern tanks, widely available electrical power, radios and the broadcasting stations to go with them, and, to top it all off, they've apparently PERFECTED (!!) artificial limbs to the point of the loss of arms and legs being a superficial event. This is something that many RPG's fall prey to - technology that is not, and quite frankly can not be supported by the world. Every single one of the items that I've mentioned would require a certain technological capability, a technological capability that is simply not seen in the show. The best example of this is that of automail, those perfected artificial limbs I mentioned. At the very least, such a creation would mandate a level of health care surpassing that of our own world, yet not only is that not found, but health care in the world of FMA is more on a level of town Wisdoms and the occasional traveling, trained doctor. A half-hearted attempt at fixing this problem is made by the fact that 'mechanics' - makers of automail - seem to play a split role of both technician and doctor, but the FMA world is rife with similar problems. Again, that "I believe" button simply can not be pressed hard enough. Alchemy alone can't possibly explain the technological advances, especially considering what they DON'T have available.

Overall

Now, as poorly as I've painted it here, it has to be admitted that Fullmetal Alchemist is a fun series to watch, and while it has problems, the series strong points are for the most part enough to cover them up. You'll get tired of Ed's constant angst fairly soon, but the action and strong secondary characters really do carry the series. The ending smacks of the trend in recent anime to be a new beginning rather than just letting the damn show END!, but the trip to it is good enough to make it worth while. Still, I'm not sure that I can recommend this one for purchase with a clear conscience. You're better off catching it on CN, or at the very least renting it from somewhere first to see if you actually like it. If you don't like shows that repeat a central theme over... and over... and over... and hell, one more time, stay away. If you can watch a series for what it is without letting the low points get to you, then give it a shot.