5.0

Alternate Titles: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi 鋼の錬金術師 (Japanese)

Original Japanese Release Date: 2003-10-04

Episode Length/Run-time: 51 Episodes

Summary:

Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse have committed the unthinkable: human transmutation in attempts to bring their mother back from the dead. The result has left Ed without a left leg or right arm and Al without any body at all. But with alchemy as their guide, they embark on a journey to find the philosopher’s stone, a piece of alchemic history that might be the only thing able to make everything right again.

Review:

This was my first encounter with a fifty-one episode series. It seemed impossible, at the time, to think that so much information, questions and answers and plot and detail, could be strewn about this series so seemingly uninvolved only to have it come to a perfect and beautiful fruition, every plot device coming full circle, every concern covered, every twist well played. FMA had a way of asking a question in episode one, leaving it alone from arc to arc until you’ve either forgotten or given up, and then coming back around to answer it in episode forty-two. It was brilliant in so many ways, and is hardly ever done or accomplished nearly as well. But that aside, it goes without saying that the plot in and of itself was enthralling, following Ed and Al on their journey as kids, going through things that no one their age could handle, until they get older and their trials become that much worse, their bond as brothers only ever strengthened. They manage to hold on to this simple but wonderful theme even in the hardest of times: there is nothing more important than family, no matter what it takes to keep it. It’s awe inspiring and surprisingly believable.

But their characters aren’t the only ones who leave an impression. Supposedly unimportant characters continuously find their way back into later episodes, surprising even the most religious watcher with their importance to the overall plot. Like Rose for instance, showing up literally for the first two episodes, vanishing for half the show, coming back for a cameo in the middle, vanishing again, and then returning in the end as a catalyst to the final plot. It becomes a game of sorts, to figure out which characters might actually matter later on.

Though it strays a little from the original manga animation, the style suits the feel of the overall series. It manages to balance itself between realistic and outlandish, keeping the fight scenes detailed and crisp while offering some softer, lighter animation for more humorous scenes. Which is something this anime also does well: keeps the line between serious and funny continuously blurred in the best of ways, having you crying one minute and laughing the next. The music in no way diminishes the atmosphere either, and orchestral score that manages to be both powerful and touching during intense moments and lighthearted during more playful moments as well.

The ending was beyond words, taking me on an emotional rollercoaster to say the least, but it was intense and well played and perfectly suited to everything the boys had been through. All and all, I was perfectly satisfied, though left reeling from the up and down emotional onslaught. It’s worth a 5/5 in my book, bar none.

[starrater]