Search - Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 4: The Fall of Ishbal (Episodes 13-16) on DVD

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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."

The Brothers Fight

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

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In my reviews of the last volumes, I made it quite clear that I love almost everything about Fullmetal Alchemist, including the story, characters, soundtrack, and animation. For this review, I've decided to concentrate on the action of the series, especially since in this volume, the Fall of Ishbal, the action is heavy.

In the first episode, Edward Elric faces off with Mustang in the hopes to earn some valuable information as well as to find a home for an abandoned kitten that Alphonse has found. This fight is nothing short of hilarious, yet still contains a lot of explosive action. In episode two, Destruction's Right Hand, the Brothers Elric find themselves the target of a mysterious, scarred man who has the power to shatter brains from the inside. All of the fights with this character are amazing, and these battles continue on into the third episode. Finally, though, the action stops as the brothers must journey back to there hometown for general R&R.

Though the entire series had quite a few impressive battle sequences, this volume contained the best so far. I was floored by the battle in the first episode on this DVD between Fullmetal and the Flame. The detail and the break-neck pace was breath-taking, and not only that but it stayed light and funny, adding elements of comedy while keeping the intensity strong. And since it's still relatively early in the series, the promise of a lot more action is just another thing that keeps me hooked. FMA is turning slowly into one of the greatest anime ever created (but not yet, at least in my view)."