Posted by Richard Brownell
at 01:36:41 PM EST on 11.6.2004.
Previewed by Ashton Liu.
People cannot gain something without sacrificing something else. In order to make something, something else of equal value must be offered. That is the Law of Equivalent Trade in Alchemy. At the time, we thought it to be the ultimate truth of the world…
Thus begins one of the most enthralling and epic stories ever to grace an anime series. Full Metal Alchemist has just finished its successful 51-episode season in Japan, with a comic series and video games still going strong. FUNimation aims to reproduce this success in the U.S., and will be airing Full Metal Alchemist on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim starting November 6, as well as releasing the first volume DVD in both a normal edition and a limited edition set.
Full Metal Alchemist follows the journey of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, living in a world where instead of physical sciences, the art of alchemy has progressed as a science itself. In an attempt to perform a forbidden ritual to bring their mother back from the dead, Edward lost an arm and a leg, and his brother Alphonse lost his entire body, his soul becoming sealed within a suit of armor. They then decide to seek out a way to recover their original bodies, discovering along the way a terrible secret behind the science of alchemy.
Full Metal Alchemist has a superb plot that is matched by the quality of its animation; battle scenes are animated quite fluidly and the transmuting sequences will leave many viewers in awe. Equally superb is the music; Full Metal Alchemist has possibly one of the best soundtracks ever featured in an anime, with four different, but all aurally pleasing, opening songs.
With a great cast of characters, an enthralling story, and some of the best animation and music in an anime thanks to Studio BONES, Full Metal Alchemist is sure to please even the pickiest of anime viewers. FUNimation has a surefire hit on their hands if the English voice cast can match their Japanese counterparts.
