Search - Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 2: Scarred Man of the East (Episodes 5-8) on DVD

I See Now What Everyone's Talking About

Antonio D. Paolucci | Beaver Falls, PA | 06/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It took me a long time to find my way to Fullmetal Alchemist but eventually, after getting so many recommendations and reading all of the many, many reviews, I decided to take the chance on what I had thought appeared to be a childish series. Now, two volumes in, I have no regrets. FMA has proved to me with these four episodes that it has everything that makes an anime great, including a good story, lovable characters, fluid animation, with an emotional soundtrack backing all of this. This series certainly is shaping up to be everything that the critics say, and I can't wait to hurry on to the next volume in line.

First, however, the review for Fullmetal Alchemist: 2: Scarred Man of the East.

In volume one, the story begins with the Elric Brothers journeying to find the Philosopher's Stone, but soon after it takes a trip into the brother's dark past. This volume continues along in that thread, showing the history of how Edward and Alphonse became associated with the State Alchemists, and of Edward's first missions as a government appointed alchemist. After the explosive start to this series, I remained somewhat skeptical. Good starts for an anime never mean the anime will stay good (Tenjho Tenge and Desert Punk are two examples). But this volume was able to keep up with what the first volume presented. The story was still as dark as it was earlier, and the characters become even more lovable as we see just how strong-willed Edward is, and how kind-hearted the cursed Alphonse is.

To be completely honest, I'm in love with this series. Don't judge a book by its cover, as the cliche goes, and in this case it's definitely true. While not so mature as to scare away children, this series contains just enough maturity within the story to entertain adults. Plus, when it calls for comedy, FMA delivers in loads. I highly recommend this volume and this series to anyone who wants to see a good anime. From what I hear, this series has an amazing ending, but for now let's start with the amazing beginning."

Best of the best

A. G Primack | Hamilton, Ohio United States | 02/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am not a spring chicken, so I get introduced to anime through my daughter. Some of it is fluffy love stories or improbable characters or situations that appear from nowhere to solve the day. Full Metal is none of these. The characters are believable even when they are a talking metal suit of armor. Ed and Al are young boys. Their mother dies. They desparately want her back. They do something forbidden. They pay. And they learn what the costs are. The world is a confusing place. They navigate, sometimes on their own and sometimes with people who they meet along the way. Not everyone is who they seem at the start. Finally they confront the costs of their and other peoples violations of the rules. Through the story there is humor and growth. The story is told from their point of view. They do not give in to the tragedies that surround them and keep fighting for the truth and for each other. I highly recommend this series for young teens and old fogies (that's me). Much better than most things available for teens these days. I rank this up with Dante and Faust as literature about pacts made by people not understanding the full consequences of their actions fighting to restore the balance of their lives."