Blogging Brotherhood: Episodes 11-13

I've hit the last stretch of episodes for Part 1 (Or...Season 1 I guess, according to Netflix), so I'll be covering the last three instead of two.

Episode Eleven: Miracle at Rush Valley

Ed, Al, and Winry stop by Rush Valley on the way to Dublith so Winry can get a look at the town notorious for its automail. While there, Ed loses his State Alchemists pocket watch to a pick pocket named Paninya. She leads them to the home of the town's most prestigious automail engineer, where the three kids experience a little more than they were expecting courtesy of a very pregnant young woman.

My first question when this episode began was: "What on earth are all these people doing in this town if 80 percent of them are fitted with automail?" Was there some kind of plague? Are they notorious brawlers? Is there a business, like mining, that has a high risk of losing a limb? Do missing limbs just run in their gene pool??

I guess we'll never know.

This is the first episode, aside from the opening one, to deviate a great deal from FMA. There are two different story lines that this one brings together and in a way that works well. I was wrong when I assumed that there would be a flashback or reference to Ed and Al helping to deliver Hughes' baby like they did in the previous series. Instead, we've got Paninya's surrogate family, the wife of which is pregnant, and it's her baby that they deliver. Or, rather Winry delivers. There's also the plot line where Winry, Ed, and Al go to Rush Valley so Winry can gawk at the Mecca of automail engineering, but instead of arm-wrestling challenges and comments about Ed's automail being inferior, we get Paninya as a pick pocket who steals Ed's SA pocket watch.

While I do like these changes, there is something that's lost because of it: the boys' bond with Hughes. It's obvious by their reaction to this birth that there won't be any other mentions of their involvement with Hughes' kid. I said in a previous blog post that I was okay with that change because honestly, we get enough of Hughes blabbering on about Elysia, but now I'm beginning to wonder why it wasn't replaced with something else of note. They never bring up anything specific as to why Hughes has such a good relationship with them, other than potentially the fact that he's the only one in the military (that we see, other than the Fuhrer I suppose) who has a family and a child. Since Ed and Al are children, it would make sense that he would connect with them, but...it's never made clear, either in exposition or reference, that that's the case. They still get across the same idea of the boys witnessing something that alchemy cannot do--create life--but I'm not sure if sticking a random person into the story is ultimately the best way to do it.

Granted, when you give something up here you get something in return (ha ha). In exchange for the bonding moment with Hughes, we get Winry doing something of note. Which sounds kind of terrible, but one thing that confused me about the original was why people--girls in particular--were so crazy over her character when, aside from fixing Ed's automail, she didn't play any major role in the story, either practically or emotionally. Fixing Ed's automail is an invaluable skill, but in many ways it felt like she could have been replaced with any old mechanic and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. In Brotherhood, she's become much more of an emotional touchstone, a necessary anchor for both of the boys. Whenever she's around, they tend to act more like their age and, since Winry has no connection to anything that they're wrapped up in, her presence lets them escape for a little while.

Some of the best dialogue in this episode is when Ed and Winry bicker; there's something so organic about the way they communicate. Even more impressive is the fact that such natural-sounding dialogue is coming from a translated script--a testament to the skill of whoever was charged with translating it. The voice acting, too, is so damn good that even one or two-word lines are packed with layers. Ed and Winry's relationship is much, much better fleshed out in Brotherhood in general, and I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that Winry is getting that needed amount of time with him (and Al). I kind of wish Ed wouldn't call her an "idiot" as much as he does, but then again he tends to call a lot of people that, so it's not like she's getting any special treatment in that regard.

It's interesting, too--speaking of being an emotional touchstone--that Winry is the one that cries whenever Ed or Al bring up anything regarding their past. After admitting to Ed that she forced open his pocket watch and saw the date he had written in it, she asks him why he needs that. Ed explains and she starts to cry, and when Ed asks her why she's crying she says, "You two won't cry. Someone else should do it for you, don't you think?" It's kind of hard to criticize Al in this case, since he literally CAN'T cry, but even Izumi tells them in the next episode that it's okay to hurt. Ed and Al have spent so much time running from their past, trying to make up for it, and Ed in particular is so hard-headed and stubborn that he refuses to let himself get upset. They're not letting themselves feel anything. Both Izumi and Winry realize it, and while both of them respond differently, they each get the point across.

I also want to point out that I am a big fan of Winry's outfit. It hits a nice balance between "tough mechanic" and "teenage girl." The colors are very muted but she's got on a tank top and a skirt, which couldn't get any girlier if it tried. Her interests are (stereotypically) masculine, but the way she responds to them is distinctly feminine, and I appreciate that. I get tired of seeing "strong female character" synonymous with "a boy in everything but biology." She's the one that takes control when the wife goes into labor, and what's interesting is that they don't turn to her because she is a woman--Ed and Al's reasoning is that "her parents were doctors." I just find that interesting, even though my reaction to that situation was "Oh, Winry's the responsible woman in this scenario, duh she's going to take over." Because, you know, screw Paninya.

On a more shallow note, I'm not sure why the artists decided to give Ed the amount of muscles that they did. I don't see him doing a lot of exercise, and God knows he's not drinking enough milk to build those strong bones and muscles up. I don't know, to me sculpting what is essentially a fifteen year-old boy just looks weird, and it looked weird even in FMA.

Granted, it looks better in the show than in whatever the hell this is:

which...frankly, is so ridiculous it's bordering on gross.

This was a solid episode, though. It had plenty of good character moments as well as comedic ones. I'm curious if Winry and Paninya will develop any kind of friendship while she spend some time in Rush Valley.

Episode Twelve: All is One, One is All

The Elric brothers arrive in Dublith and are welcomed back into their old teacher, Izumi's, home. Ed and Al recall the time spent on the island as boys where they learned the basic principle of both alchemy and life: One is All, and All is one. In present time, it doesn't take long for Izumi to figure out what the boys have done, and she shares with them her own experience with human transmutation.

LITTLE BABY ED AND AL ARE SO FREAKING CUTE.

Yeah, I'm going to be honest and say that the primary reason I loved this episode to pieces was because a large portion of it involved Ed and Al as precious little babies. I spent the majority of my time squealing like a pre-teen girl. I mean, how can you resist these faces?

HOW, I ASK YOU.

And when they're running around on that island wearing freaking leaves like they're badass hunters or something?

Or when they're hanging on Izumi's arm begging her to take them on as students because they literally have nothing else in their lives to cling to.

You're right, Izumi, how are you supposed to say no to that?

I also think it's hilarious that Ed takes Al to the bathroom when they're little. I don't know why that makes me laugh, since it's not meant to be humorous, but it does.

In all seriousness, though, a large focus of this episode is on family: Between the flashback with their father walking out on them, the time spent with their mother, their bond with Izumi, and the entire shenanigans on the island, this whole thing is oozing with emotions and familial bonding. We get a good amount of time to see how Ed and Al interact one-on-one without anyone else around, and like Ed's conversations with Winry, there's something so organic and natural about both their relationship and their dialogue. As much as I enjoyed Aaron Dismuke's voicing of Al, Maxey Whitehead manages to get a little more range of emotions into her line deliveries. Al's personality is shining in ways that it didn't before and a lot of that comes down to the way Whitehead plays him.

The downside, however, is that their time with Izumi is cut really short and we don't get to see how she takes charge of a lot of the neighboring children almost as a way to cope with the loss of her own child. Sig gets some more dialogue, which I like, but Izumi's role almost seems down played here. She had a whole slew of episodes in FMA and I liked the way they built up her character. They also took a lot more time with her own experience in human transmutation whereas here it's like, a 60-second flashback. Not to mention they make a lot of jokes about her throwing up blood which...kind of clashes with the serious nature of the problem. It's one of those things I laughed at because it was so bizarre rather than because it was actually funny.

But that scene where they try and brush off their mother's death and their attempt at transmutation and Izumi is like, "You darling little idiots?" TEARS. JUST. TEARS.

I mentioned above that her and Winry are the only people so far to point out that Ed and Al brush their emotions under the rug and refuse to let themselves feel anything in regards to that part of their past. It's especially poignant that it's the women of the story who see that, as this common flaw is something woman are more apt to pick up on, I think.

And speaking of women, the flashback with their mother is a great moment. It's not that FMA didn't have them, it's just that they were in a different order and contained different things. Ed's repetition of "Mom!" going from a tone of trying to get her attention to a scream of shock when they find her collapsed on the ground was a nice touch.

They're also playing up the "creepy asshole dad" thing with Hohenheim. He glares a lot in this show, even in the opening. He's also got glasses which--as this show has so far pointed out--typically means you're either quirky or off your rocker in some way or another.

At least Hughes had a likeability factor going for him. That, and he's the only hero with glasses, other than I guess Pinako.

Episode Thirteen: Beasts of Dublith

After learning that her students have committed the ultimate taboo and tried to transmute a human, she expels them. Ed and Al, now able to speak to her as an equal, insist that she give them information that could help get their bodies back. Al is later captured by a gang of chimeras and the boys have their first official run in with Greed, one of the seven Homunculus.

This show really does not give two turds for tone, does it?

What I find interesting is how a common complaint against Black Butler was the constant insertion of comedic moments in the middle of serious situations, and holy crap that's all this show does.

To be fair, I noticed this way back in like, episode two, and it was prevalent in FMA as well. I think Brotherhood has taken it a step further in some regards, but lack of humor was something this show never suffered from. Most of the time it doesn't bother me. It didn't bother me too horribly in Black Butler, either. But why on earth did they decide to throw in a joke in the middle of the explanation of the Truth that Izumi and Ed are giving Al?

They straight up turn into weird octopus creatures and freak the heck out, and it shoots the moment right into the ground.

Maybe I'm annoyed because the concept of the Door and the Truth was one of the hardest for me to wrap my head around in the original and to see a real explanation of it turned into the punchline of a joke is frustrating. I will say that I'm glad they're finally focusing on getting Al's body back in a concrete way. We're given some more information through Izumi, specifically how he must have seen more of the Truth than they did if it took his entire body. It places a bit more of a priority on Al and his memory/body restoration and also makes his role in the story a little more important.

Now I will say a place where a joke does work is when Mustang gathers all of his men (and Hawkeye) that he wishes to take with him when he transfers and he tells Havoc to just dump the girl that he's dating so he can go with him. That was funny. Plus the shot afterwards of everyone comforting him--Fury crying and Hawkeye patting his back--is even better.

We're getting a little more information regarding Scar, and his meeting with his "Master" was interesting. He's got a lot more resentment and anger in his character, and I don't mean the voice acting (though Tatum does play him with a pretty angry and whispery voice). Even the way he's animated is more intense. He kills the two goons who came to collect him for the bounty in front of a bunch of Ishvalans. That's...hardcore.

This episode also introduces us again to Greed and his collection of miscreants, the chimeras. I have to admit that Greed was never my favorite Homonculus, as entertaining as he can be and as solid as his performance is. The chimeras--in particular Martel the snake girl--are more intriguing to me. They do a great job of making all of them resemble, at least in part, the animals that they're blended  with in the character designs:

I do have a question, though: Why did the military decide to mix someone with a cow? I mean, cows are great and all, but what purpose would that serve? Not to mention that cows are female, and I can't imagine those genetics mix well with a guy. It just seems like an odd choice when you've got a lizard, a snake, and a dog, all of which have features that could potentially be helpful in military-type situations.

But a cow? Okay.

What this episode does start to set up is the underworld of the military and the kind of power that it has. Al's naivety allows Greed's little bit of exposition to not feel that awkward. The fact that Greed has collected a bunch of chimeras as his henchmen and dismisses the other Homunculus implies that there's a lot more going on than anyone realizes. We're beginning to see the buds of the overarching plot forming, which means that I'm sure action sequences and a faster pace are likely to follow.

In a not-at-all-surprising turn of events, Ed faces and figures out how to defeat Greed in a relatively quick amount of time. Given that everything involving Dante is probably going to be eliminated from the story, I guess it makes sense that this fight would hit it's peak now rather than later. I'm assuming that, since I'll be heading into Part II, the story is going to start deviating a great deal from FMA and I'm ready to see what direction this thing goes in.

Thoughts on Part I

For the most part, my opinion of Brotherhood so far has remained high. There are things that I love and things that could have been better, but overall I'm finding it to be even more enjoyable of an experience than Fullmetal Alchemist. A lot of the trimming down of plot points helps keep the story more centralized and focused, and for someone like me, who tends to get lost in swarms of details and subplots, this approach is helpful. I'm not confused about anything so far. Based on what I've seen in these past thirteen episodes, the goal of this section was to set up the characters and their relationships and lay the groundwork for the plot that I'm sure will pick up once Part II hits.

I'm looking forward to it.