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Full Metal Alchemist 9: Pain And Lust. Episodes 33-36
01/06/2007 . Source: Joules Taylor 
region2 DVD: pub: Revelation Films. FUN72211. 1 DVD 95 minutes 4 episodes plus extras. Price: £15.99 (UK). Buy Full Metal Alchemist 9 in the USA - or Buy Full Metal Alchemist 9 in the UK  check out website: www.revfilms.com and www.fullmetachemist.com
Preamble (presenting my credentials) If you've already read this bit previously, just scroll down to the review.
My first encounter with the Japanese medium of anime was when I became hooked on 'Marine Boy' when I was a child, back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth. There followed a hiatus of more years than I care to remember until 1994 when I saw 'Akira' for the first time...
At that time, there wasn't a lot of anime (or manga) available in the UK and what was here was usually not that great (Odin, anyone? Dangaioh?) However, the new cable Sci-Fi Channel started showing anime late at night...
To start with I watched everything, gradually deciding what I didn't like: 'Mecha' and soft and fluffy 'Shoujo' (with the exception of 'CLAMP', of course, which still produce some of the most gorgeous artwork this side of paradise) and what I did like: cyberpunk, occult, mystery and straightforward Science Fiction.
In the UK, it's still a little difficult to get hold of some of the more obscure anime, but with the introduction of multi-region DVD players and on-line ordering (and a couple of dear friends who have been happy to feed the obsession!) my collection is, I think, quite respectable and growing, as is my manga collection. Along with absolute classics like 'Trigun' and 'Cowboy Bebop' (in my not at all humble opinion still two of the best series ever made) and works by Miyazaki (god) and Yoshiaki Kawajiri (may his light never die), I have some mainstream. 'Saiyuki' ('Monkey' in anime), 'Vampire Hunter D', 'Fruit Baskets' and 'GetBackers'. Some less well known (the eerie and haunting 'Wolf's Rain', 'NightWalker' and 'Darkside Blues') and some really rather obscure ('Ai no Kusabi', 'Mirage Of Blaze', 'Legend Of The Blue Wolves'. Yes, some yaoi, too. Can't have a decent collection without Yami no Matsuei, 'Fake' and 'Gravitation'...)
My collection is in the hundreds and I'm still buying. An American friend once mentioned a Floridan bumper sticker she'd seen: 'Anime: more expensive than drugs'. To that I'd add and twice as addictive!
'Full Metal Alchemist' is a 51 episode anime (and currently 16 volume manga) set on an alternate universe Earth in the country of Amestris, which is roughly equivalent to Europe. The technology level is early 20th century, with one major exception: alchemy and its use is a major force in this continuum. Only rather than attempting to transmute base minerals into gold or search for the elixir of life, alchemy in Amestris transmutes matter into different forms of matter by using 'transmutation circles' drawn on the ground - although some exceptional alchemists are able to effect the transformation without the circles. Talented alchemists can apply to be a State Alchemist, in which post they are more or less the equivalent of our Special Forces.
Alchemy has a basic law, the Law of Equivalent Exchange: '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 believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.' Alphonse, in the intro to each episode.
Edward Elric and his younger brother Alphonse use their alchemy to do something forbidden, bring their mother back from the dead. The attempt failed and cost Edward his left leg and Alphonse his whole body. Desperate to save his brother, Edward sacrificed his right arm to 'fix' Alphonse's soul in a suit of armour. The brothers' childhood friend and genius mechanic Winry provides Edward with an automail arm and leg, prosthetic metal limbs linked directly to the body's nerves. Edward passes the test to become a State Alchemist and is awarded the title of Full Metal and the three of them set off to search for the Philosopher's Stone which can restore the brothers' bodies. Winry goes along to service and improve Ed's automail.
Along the way, they come into contact (and usually fight, it appears) a wide variety of characters, including members of the military; chimera - humans who have been alchemically combined with animals; homunculi - named after the seven cardinal sins, they are an imitation of life, the product of failed human transmutation and are rather nasty creatures and various other people.
This is no straightforward, simplistic good versus evil story. The anime is satisfyingly complex, with a large cast of flawed and fallible, realistic and mostly well-delineated characters (although I found some of the military types blending together in my mind). Those who appear good are perfectly capable of doing evil, while the villains may act with surprising benevolence. However, without very extensive background reading, it's not possible to follow the series unless you've seen it from the beginning, especially if, as in the case of this volume, the action starts in the middle (obviously the last episode of volume 8 ended on a cliff-hanger!). There are a considerable number of sub-plots as well, some of which are just touched on here.
The artwork is appealing without going overboard into the big-sparkle-eyed mode that can mar a lot of otherwise decent anime and the animation smooth and nicely done. The dub is not at all bad, maintaining the basic characteristics well, particularly in the case of Alphonse, whose Japanese and English voices are those of a young child, which is quite startling since the armour his spirit inhabits is big and heavy and about seven foot tall.
Going on this sample, the anime is likely to appeal to viewers who like a little meat to their story and are prepared to give it due attention. Stop the DVD while making a cup of coffee or you'll probably miss something important to the action!. There's a lot of violence and considerable amounts of gore, so it isn't suitable for a younger audience. I'm undecided as to whether it would be a good choice for the newcomer to anime. I'd need to see the beginning to be able to assess that angle. However, I found it intriguing, oddly exciting and definitely worth watching.
Joules Taylor
http://www.wavewrights.com
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