Our Favorite Things: Full Metal Alchemist by Dillon Jimenez

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

In medieval times,  Alchemy was used as a source for medicine, healing, and the promise of immortality. In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, anime studio Bones and manga artist Hiromu Arakawa bring these concepts to life for today's viewers, with their own twisted story and and their own touch of the "alchemy" we once knew.

Fullmetal is the story of two amazing brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who meet many different kinds of people with extraordinary abilities. Edward is a State Alchemist, a soldier that can use alchemy on an advanced level to protect the country of Amestris. When Edward and Alphone tried to use Alchemy to revive their dead mother, Edward lost a leg and a arm and Aphone's body was destroyed; but Edward took Alphonse's soul and affixed to a badass suit of armor. Together, the two young brothers travel around the country, they continue their research to find a way to reclaim their bodies and restore them to their former glory.

Edward Elric has replaced his limbs with automail parts; advanced machine prosthetics. In order to keep the maintenance on these parts going, he needs an automail mechanic to keep around in between conflicts; that’s where Winry Rockbell, Age 14, comes in! Winry is a long-time friend of Edward and Alphonse, who later becomes the automail mechanic for Edward. She adds flair to the team, but only on occasion; she lives away from them, so she is a second string attached to the main story. However, she still plays a big role and plays Ed’s crush in the series; the two lovers and their squabbles pull a few more people in as they become more interested in each other. Winry is a little emotional at times, so her responses can be big; but you can see she acts out of love for the two brothers after all they have been through.

The story is set in the heart of Amestris, a country in the midst of a conspiracy much bigger than anyone had anticipated. This country is broken into five sections: North, South, East, West, and Central; the beginning of our story opens in Central. Central is a “Washington Senate” state, so to speak. It is the center of the entire nation and is home to all their political and legislative bodies; it is also home to the country’s King: Fuhrer Bradley. This King is more or less a president, but even so, this detail is tiny compared to the rest of what is going on. Central is immediately being attacked by a rogue State Alchemist. Edward and Alphonse have to stop him and his plans to destroy Central. Although I cannot spoil anything for you, the first episode alone reveals many dark secrets; of the boys, and the country itself

Edward and Alphonse's interactions are very true to a family interaction; they fight and wrestle each other, but still look out for each other and can understand each other on a deeper level. Not only this, but it keeps the dialogue fresh and it gives the audience a sense of safety and predictability between the two brothers. This character pairing pulls in a lot of love from the story characters and the actual audience. The combinations of their two personalities keep many things interesting, especially when in dialogue together.

Normally, it seems that people have a tendency to shy away from animated shows, and most animated shows are not set for a mature audience, or they are not appealing to some for the simple fact that it is a cartoon. However, it’s not much different than a normal show. The drawings are just cinematography through the mind of the artist who made it, only being drawn instead of filmed. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood comes packed with plenty of action, even right from the get-go. The characters all have their own stories and come from far and wide; each one being more unique than the last. Since it has many characters over the seasons, the story lines become very intricate, yet surprisingly easy to follow. These storylines takes place not only on the physical level, but also on an internal level as well. 

The adventures they go on are ridiculous and jam-packed full of action that is sure to excite any audience member; they are fast paced and very cool to watch. The story line moves fast enough to keep enough information flowing in between episodes, yet stop at a point that leaves you wanting more. Having a run time of twenty-three minutes, the amount of dialogue and action are very well balanced and the story-line is filled with insane amounts of plot twists. Overall, the cast for the entire five-part series is amazing and very well-put-together. They all have valuable places to hold in the storyline, even if seemingly insignificant in the beginning. The cast plays so well off of each other and the hidden connections between some are sure to amaze. After a solid cast, the only thing left is to make one hell of a story; this, of course, is more than accomplished by Hiromu Arakawa, the writer of the series.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an animated story that is sure to catch you in its intricate and captivating story. One episode and it will have you rooting for the characters in no time. The characters are all unique and fresh, and the story is a mine field of surprises and tense encounters. The ability to manifest objects with alchemy is a crazy concept to watch happen on screen and the fight scenes have enough action to make you still want more. I believe that this animated series is an imaginative and awesome trip that can still manage to take you deep into a dark and complex story. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was definitely worth a watch and I would not mind seeing the story unravel again, time after time.