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Episode summaries and thoughts. Major spoilers!!! Go away if you don't want to know!
The world of Fullmetal Alchemist (yes that's how you spell it), is set about 100 years from now. The present year is
1914. The countryside is a mix of American and European. You'll see radios, cars and guns, all in an antique style. The government
is felt to be oppressive, and the army is called the "government's dog." As a National Alchemist, Ed is under obligation to
follow orders from the government, which also means he must use his alchemy to kill if told to do so. However, it seems like
he and Al wander wherever they want in their search for artifacts.
Commercially: Damn! All the collective owners of Hagaren are really pushing this product. Numerous manga have already
been made, and still are printing. Based off the manga, 2 TV seasons are made (surprising in the newly very conservative
Japanese market), 7 video games are made by Square-Enix and Bandai, novels are written, calendars, CD-ROMs, plus
soundtracks by big name Japanese bands. And no wonder why: Sony is involved! A lot of faith has been put into this series.
Doujinshi are already to be found. You know, shounen-ai is making an appearance as Roy x Edward. Watch out!
*And let's not forget the movie, opening in 2005. Official site for the HagaRen
movie has opened. Ed has a new set of clothes at long last! Makes him look taller. Here is a link: http://www.shochiku.co.jp/hagaren/top.html See the bottom of this page for more official links.
My webzine review of the first Fullmetal Alchemist box set from Bandai is funny reading, according to some...
At Anime Next 2005, according to Vic Mignogna, voice actor of Ed, Fullmetal Alchemist is doing something unprecedented
on Japanese TV: rerunning. Yes, in Japan, anime series don't usually ever rerun their episodes. Once the series is over, it
does not air on TV again. FmA rerunning on Japanese TV is testament to its popularity.
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Episode 1:
Edward and Alphonse Elric travel through the desert and arrive at a blessed city, complete with a fountain of wine
from which Ed is not allowed to drink. The townspeople tell the brothers about Cornello, the head priest in the church of
the sun god Leto. Cornello is able to perform "miracles." Ed and Al think he's just doing alchemy. A devout follower, Rose,
completely believes in Cornello, and hopes that her dead boyfriend will be restored to her by Cornello's power. The Elrics
investigate the "miracles" and find that Cornello is in possession of the Philosopher's Stone, a powerful artifact which amplifies
an alchemist's power. Ed offers to relieve the priest of the Stone in exchange for not telling the townspeople how the priest
is scamming them. The priest refuses, and attempts to kill Brothers Elric.
In the very first episode we discover:
-Ed is a famous National Alchemist
-there is nothing inside of Al's armor
-Ed has an Automail arm and leg
-this is their "punishment" for trying to be god
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Choose your episode:
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