The above is one of the main things I’m already loving about the new Fullmetal Alchemist anime. This is one of the eye catch images that was shown when the ad break came during the premier episode of the series.

Another thing I love about the new series? This:

ETA (later): Stupid Sony music pulled the vid for copyright reasons. It was just the OP guys, geez!

I actually gasped out loud when I saw this opening. It’s so gorgeous, and the song is perfect. It’s called “Again” by a singer named YUI. Very fitting title as, right now, the series has to do episodes that we’ve already seen before. So we’re watching things we’ve already seen – again.

This episode, however, wasn’t something form the first anime series – or the manga for that manner. Some fans seemed to have a problem with it, but I liked it. I thought it was a great, original way to start the series instead of going with what we’ve not only seen, but read in the manga before. I think, at this point, if you’re watching the second anime, you’ve probably watched a bit for the first one and already know the big deal about Ed and Al, which is what the first few chapters of the mange and the first three episodes of the anime focused on.

My only real complaint is that the episode seemed to go by a little too quickly. But maybe that’s a good thing, as I guess it means that I wanted to keep going and see more right away.

So for now, even though it’s only the first episode, I’m happy so far. Promising start, and I’m looking forwards to seeing more manga stuff that didn’t end up in the first series finally being animated.

Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy’s First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believe that to be the world’s one and only Truth.

This quote, based on the First Law of Thermodynamics, sets up the saga that has spanned not only an ongoing Manga series but one of the most popular anime series’ ever, with another new anime series based on it that will begin airing Sunday, April 5th.

It’s hard for me to even know where to begin discussing the Anime that truly made me into a full-out Anime-fan. The premise of the show, at first glace, is quite simple: Two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric commit a taboo of Alchemy when they try to resurrect their dead mother. In the process, Ed loses his left leg and his right arm, and Al loses his whole body. In order to put things right and regain what they lost, the two brothers go in search of The Philosopher’s Stone, which allows a person to bypass the Laws of Alchemy (the Equivalent Exchange principle mentioned above).

That is the basic overall story of the series. However that is only one of the many over-arching stories going on in this series. The story here is much more complex, interwoven and epic than the initial premise I outlined. The complexity of the story is such that its easy – when you watch it – to understand why Fullmetal Alchemist is considered one of the best animes ever made.

Continue Reading →