Full Metal Alchemist was and very much still is THE big thing in anime circles. The next big thing could be Death Note, or Black Lagoon, but in the UK market, it’s currently FMA, all the way. Two things worried me while writing this review. Firstly, how to review the big thing in anime when so much has been written already? Secondly, how to do this without sounding like a drooling fanboy?   Therefore, I’ve tried to write this review so it could be read after the dust has settled or after the backlash, when its impact on the fanbase and the medium can be judged. Is it another Evangelion? A excellent but mentally scaring flawed classic? Or do we have another Trigun, a popular but not brilliant anime? I’ve tried to answer these questions.

The Basic Plot

In a world were alchemy works; the Elric brothers Edward and Alponse are orphaned.  Their father absent, the pair decide to resurrect their Mother though alchemy. It goes badly wrong, crippling Edward, and leaving Al a spirit bound to a suit of armour.  Alchemy is based on the principle of Equivalent Exchange, and they couldn’t pay the piper. There is however one exception, the fabled Philospher’s Stone, which ignores this rule. The pair set out to find it, not to try again, but to restore their bodies. Edward is forced to join the military to further this mission, gaining the title of Full Metal Alchemist. However, they aren’t the only ones seeking it. 

An Actual Plot

Some phrases have become so cliché they can no longer be used in their original context; one is the claim that a story will make you both laugh and cry. Hollywood hacks, art house cynics and repetition, mean that it’s almost impossible to view it as anything other than a joke or a lie. Full Metal Alchemist is the rare exception, with the capability to perform comedy and tragedy without either coming into conflict. We’ve seen animes that start out funny and turn dark (Mai Hime, Trigun), or that change tone sporadically (Cowboy Bebop, R.O.D TV). FMA doesn’t work like that, within the first 5 minutes we see both the botched attempt at human transmutation, and then a comedic scene in a desert.  It’s a bold move to even consider doing this before the characters are even established, but it pays off, and it keeps paying off.  This is bound together by a combination good writing, voice direction and animation. It’s a rich tapestry, being tricky pick out the one thing that makes the anime special, and even harder to pick something that constitutes a real flaw.  During a pub talk, Felixstowe hit it on the head; it’s the story more than anything else. FMA is about Edward Elric, but its an ensemble piece, with many memorable characters each with their own plot threads. The story could just have been him and his brother messing about until reaching their goal in the last episode, but there’s far more going on than I dare mention below.

The earlier episodes introduce the characters and set the format of the show. The first two episodes are out of chronological order, in what may be considered a typical adventure for the Elric brothers. The story actually starts in episode three, several years before, with the traumatic and quite gory transmutation, and we don’t actually catch up with events of the first two episodes until roughly a quarter of the way though the series. Edward joins the Military under the manipulative, but driven, Roy Mustang. A recurring theme here is the dangers of obsession combined with Alchemy, while the mysterious figures of Lust and Gluttony lurk in the background.  One actually shocking episode sees this taken to extremes, as we learn what one man will do for a title as State Alchemist. The direction of the series starts to change with the addition to the cast of one of its most ambiguous characters, the man known only as Scar. He is first characterised as a religious fanatic, murdering state alchemists, but he is revealed to be an Ishabelite. This race of dark skinned spiritual people has suffered genocide at the hands of the military, especially at the hands of state alchemists, and Scar soon makes an enemy of Edward.  Scar is not a true villain, but the panic he causes in the military soon leads the Elric brothers to their first real lead. The series, which had been flirting with the horror genre, now shifts into the realms of conspiracy thriller.  Its interesting that the apparent goal of the series, the Philosopher’s Stone, actually appears before its halfway point, in a secret lab with ties to the military.  Its also interesting to see that characters we thought were one episode bit players return in unexpected ways, something when happens throughout the series. Edward gets captured, realises that he has been manipulated from the start, and the cost to create the Philosopher’s Stone is both high and horribly familiar. Other factions in the military, apparently more benign ones, attack the lab and rescue the brothers, but once again the state of play changes, moving into more sedate territory.  The brothers leave the city, seeking the Ishabal people and the knowledge they hid about alchemy, only for them to run into their mentor, Izumi. It’s a period of introspection for both brothers, as they revisit their days learning alchemy. This soon leads to the first revelations about their attempts at human transmutation, and the origins of the Lust, and her sin themed band of creatures. Once again we see the dangers of obsession mixed with alchemy, as someone close to the brothers shares their sin, and factions in the military and lab escapee Greed soon take an interest. However, its probably true to say there was a slight loss of direction at this point as the series tries to set up the real plot, the identity of those responsible for the laboratory.  While these small scale and personal battles are fought, more worrying events happen without the Elric brother’s knowledge, soon changing the tone of the series once more, this time to full scale war. There’s evidence that the conspiracy in the military is continuing, while it brutally suppresses a rebellion Scar is involved in. Roy Mustang climbs further up the chain of command, getting closer to the truth. Ed learns what’s going off, he rushes off to confront Scar, only to discover that war has descended on a city he saved many episodes ago. As the bloodshed peaks, Edward and Al once more come into possession of the Philosopher’s stone. The tone of the series shifts again, as the pair goes on the run, chased by all sides. The third act of the series begins here, events move toward the ultimate truth behind alchemy itself and the corruption behind the military. Suffice to say, its a surprise, with the long overdue appearance of their father, and where exactly he’s been of late. 

Family Values

The story is supported by solid characterisation.  There is a risk is basing a series around a single character named in the title, either it will become a one-man show, or that character will become secondary, but both fates are avoided. At the most basic level, the anime is about Edward and Alphonse growing up and their relationship as they deal with what is often a tragic life. Edward, as the older brother, leads the pair, determined to undo what they have done. He  is dedicated, opinionated, and occasionally petulant, but moral. Alphonse, the younger brother is more passive, calmer, and content to be loyal and follow his brother. The two contrast with each other, but aren’t polar opposites, both being intellectual and skilled in alchemy. A lot of the series’ humour comes from how the pair act, Edward often loosing it because of some comment on his height, while Alphonse tries to hold him back. However, its true to say Edward matures faster, while Alphonse retains his innocence, to due to the subtly of writing and performances.  The character of Edward is very extroverted, while Alphonse is submissive, so while we see how Edward changes, Alphonse is more of a mystery. This does not detract from the success Alphonse represents, in that thanks to voice acting and dialog, we are so convinced that Alphonse is a little boy that we forget that he is a soul bound to a completely empty suit of armour. 

Fortunately, the series doesn’t rest on this character dynamic. Clever writing, while often using humour, builds up a varied and interesting cast. These characters drop in and out of the series periodically, giving rise to many small “sagas”.  Two of the more notable characters are Roy Mustang, a career soldier, and Scar, a rebel. While these two operate on different sides and only meet briefly, they are more similar than they first appear, in fact they could be said to represent the possible fate of the Elric Brothers. Both have been marked by Alchemy and guilt in the Ishabal War, one opts to change the military from within; the other instead seeks to bring down alchemy and the military.  Between them, Roy and Scar drive the major subplot involving the Ishabal war, which has enough meat for a series in of itself.  Another important character is  the brothers’ mentor Izumi, a strong willed and short-tempered woman who is probably Edward’s female equivalent. Her presence is important to the story as she provides a lot of groundwork for later plot threads, as well as providing a contrast to Ed and Al’s indiscretion. 

While there is a lot of character development, it’s fair to say some fare better than others. For the most part the characters are realised effectively from their first appearance, but it often feels their personalities are static; you are only getting to know them better. But, to be fair, to say that is reaching for something to complain about. The only two-dimensional character is ironically its most popular bit player, Alex Louis Armstrong, a kind of camp Victorian bodybuilder prone to ripping his shirt off.  A slightly more valid observation would be to comment on how the series handles the women. There is no female lead as such, the closest thing being Winry, the childhood friend of the Elric boys, who seems to represent the innocence and normality they have left behind. However, like a great many characters, she drops in and out of the series.  There are instead a number of women and girls who fit various archetypes. One does wonder if this is a reflection on the director’s intent, perhaps to shift attention to the relationship between the brothers, or to avoid complicating events with a romantic subplot. Then again, its questionable if Ed would bother with romance, being young, intellectual, and having more mother issues than most.

Land of Hope and Glory

Another thing in the series favour is a distinctive, but understated world. We have seen quasi-European animes before, such as the classic Orguss 02, and more recently Last Exile, but it’s not a very common style at the moment. That may change, see Pumpkin Scissors.  FMA’s style borders on an alternate history approach, with a believable early-industrial society. There’s a lack of the usual anime flash, characters wear identical uniforms for example. The concept of Alchemy, which is magic for most practical purposes, is similarly understated, and based loosely around science. The use of symbols as focal points and the idea of Equivalent Exchange make for characters with interesting, but not overpowered, abilities. The same is true of the bionic limbs in series, which aren’t depicted as being any better than real limbs (with the exception of one heavily rebuilt individual).  So sure, the State Alchemists do things that belong purely in the realm of fantasy, but there are consequences and limitations. If you want to find deeper meanings to this anime, you have to start from that thought, as time and time again the past comes back to haunt the Elric Brothers and anyone touched by alchemy. This begins with the Principle of Equivalent Exchange, but it’s very much about the personal costs of things, from Edward’s attempt at human transmutation, to Roy’s guilt, Scar’s tragic destiny, and the many who seek power for selfish reasons. Its easy to pigeonhole the series as a coming of age story, but that would be like describing Lord of the Rings as a story about halflings. Accurate, but you are oversimplifying; an ocean is not just a big lot of water.  FMA Is about consequences, sacrifice, and ultimately family. It does not attempt to gloss over life, best evidenced by the Ishabal plot thread, but it is not an exercise in tragedy.  It does this by dealing with the consequences of characters actions, rather then using bad events in a heavy-handed attempt to add drama (see Evangelion). Full Metal Alchemist features a real world, and sets out to give us real people. The anime is about how two boys mature in circumstances that most would consider far too dangerous for anyone, and figuring out how the world actually works. And it does that without a hit of pretension.  

Conclusion

At the start of my review I said I’d try to judge this anime on its merits, in the hope this article will not age especially badly. This has proved very difficult, as I’ve found positives outnumbering the negatives. Its as deep and tragic as Evangelion without going down the same route of relentless suicidal mindscrew. Its clearly as amusing as Trigun, without suffering from second half syndrome. It crosses as many genre boundaries as Cowboy Bebop, but without the same visible seams. So in short, its a class act. However, the method of storytelling could conceivably hamper your enjoyment, as this is a series that plays the long game. While the series really only has one “filler” episode, its an anime I can certainly see people loosing patience with. When the end to the story finally comes, it’s perhaps a disappointment. That said, it’s an excellent ride getting there. 

9/10