Full Metal Alchemist
Publisher
Geneon/MVM
Director
Seiji Mizushima
Production
BONES, Dentsu, MBS
Country of origin
Japan
Format
Series
Running time
52 episodes
Year
2003
Full Metal Alchemist Volume 5: The Curse Of Living
By otaku_kei
13th Jan 06  Coming up to the halfway point for this show and the frantic pace of the last few volumes has to abate for just a little while so that some of the plot details can be developed. So with both of the Elric's crippled from their titanic battle with Scar they now have to take time to recover from their wounds as well as plan their next step investigating the Philosopher's Stone. But this show strikes the perfect balance between the quiet moments of reflection and the frantic action, with this volume has its fair share of battles for the Elric's to overcome. A bittersweet homecoming awaits Ed and Al at the start of this volume. The StrongArm Alchemist escorts the brothers back to their home town partly to protect them from encountering Scar again, and partly so that they can reconstruct themselves with the help of Winrey and her Grandmother. Ed's once again has to endure the pain of joining with automail limbs before he even contemplates putting Al's shattered form back together again. But with little to do during this time of healing both brothers take the time to reflect on the path of their lives, why they have devoted themselves so totally to the pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone, and take the time to revisit the place of their shared tragedy. The Elrics though will not be defeated by simply being beaten to within an inch of their lives, and are quickly back on the trail of Dr. Marcoh's research into the Philosopher's Stone. But the Stone has many little dirty secrets that will shock Ed to the core and make him question how far he is willing to go to put right the damage done to his little brother and himself. These episodes all deal with the pain of living; the mistakes that people make; and how those mistakes, desires and ambitions drag down our souls into the constant pain that so many people live in. From Scar's tortured life as one of the few surviving Ishbalians, to Dr. Marcoh's guilty conscience at his role in the war, to Ed's guilt and pain at all the damage he has brought into the life of his younger brother. This show continues to deliver some of the most engrossing anime entertainment around. The physical, emotional and comedic balance is fine-tuned and works perfectly, switching between the styles with ease. The characters continue to grow and develop, and the show reflects the costs, both good and bad, of alchemy. This show never shirks from showing how this power can corrupt humanity and how the Elric brothers continually try to deal with this dichotomy of power and greed and seems to infect Alchemists. Full Metal Alchemist: The Curse Of Living is another quality instalment of this great show, and proves just why this show has garnered so many plaudits from fans and critics worldwide!
R2 DVD Notes
Features: English Language 5.1; Japanese Language 2.0; English Language Subtitles; Textless Opening & Closing; Art Galleries
Release information: COMING SOON - 6th February 2006
Notes: This disc demonstrates again the quality of MVm's releases since they partnered with Madman Ent for DVD authoring. The a/v quality is great, and both audio tracks sound great. I did not notice any issues with the subtitles either.
Once again though the extras seem little more than filler, which is a shame given the pedigree of this release. Hopefully over the course of this series more extras will become available for MVM to acquire.
-- otaku_kei 13th Jan 06
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