Author's note: According to the streaming service that I use, Brotherhood is divided up into four separate parts with about thirteen episodes each. For the sake of keeping things simple, I've decided to continue to number the episodes regularly rather than split them into Season __, Episode __.
Episode Fourteen: Those Who Lurk Underground
The Fuhrer arrives underground to take on Greed. Al attempts to save the life of a chimera and in the process regains a great deal of his memories regarding the Truth.Welp, I was right when I said the plot was going to start deviating from FMA with Part II.
This episode introduces us to the brand-new direction that the story is going to take (or rather, the original way it went according to the manga) and h o l y m o l e y is it an interesting turn.
I mentioned in a previous post that one element of Fullmetal was faith and how religion influences people, whether it's for good or bad. FMA had this, but it was a little more understated than certain moments in Brotherhood. This episode in particular highlights this theme in some brand-new, and very obvious, ways--ways that FMA never came close to approaching.
There are a couple of things that I want to point out, and do this, I'm going to use bullets because I'm lazy:
1. The entire launching/focal point for the protagonists (Ed and Al) to go on their adventure is a sin that they've committed--a grievous one. As punishment for their sin, or in the show's terminology, "in exchange for," Ed loses his leg and Al loses his entire body (effectively taking his life for their mother's). In order to retrieve his brother, Ed sacrifices his arm and Al's soul is bonded to a suit of armor. The two bear the "mark" of their sin throughout the entire series. You could almost view their quest--in light of Christian terms--as their search for healing, restoration, and forgiveness. Having their bodies returned to normal is the manifestation of that achievement.
2. This is similar to Scar, who literally walks around with an X-shaped scar on his face and giant tattoo up and down his right arm. He's the only other character so far to be openly identified by his markings, and he's also the one that's running around killing State Alchemists--committing a heinous sin of his own. Scar is aware that what he's doing is wrong, but he's carrying it out anyway for...well, his motives in Brotherhood are a little less clear at the moment, but in FMA it was for both Ishvala and to avenge his brother's death. His "master" even tells him that his mission is one of vengeance and that he's turning his back on the ways of both God and his people in pursuing it.
3. The Homunculus are all named after the Seven Deadly Sins. Sure, this is obvious and an element of both shows. But it wasn't until Brotherhood that it clicked in my head why they're named after them. Human transmutation is considered the greatest taboo amongst alchemists because, as that horrible opening narration states, "what could equal the value of a human soul?" The show has already established that alchemy cannot create life--it's something that's known only to the Greater Forces in this particular world. Part of the reason for that is because there's no real value to be known for a human soul. You can't find anything to exchange it for. In FMA, Tucker succeeds in re-creating Nina, but she's effectively a puppet; there's no soul. Alchemy can recreate the physical person, but not the actual human inside the body. So when you look at what Homunculus are--artificial humans--they are something that should not exist. They're the embodiment of the sins of humanity, which are often described using the Seven Deadly Sins. They're the antithesis of everything that is good, which is basically what sin is.
4. Look at the depiction of the figure who is in charge of the Homunculus:
That looks an awful lot like God/Jesus. From what I understand so far, he is the one responsible for taking control and ownership over the Homounculus (or the embodiment of humanity's sins) and using them for his benefit after people have initially created them. Despite what they are, he still views them as his children and a piece of his soul. When he destroys Greed, the place that he puts him in is a giant fire-filled tub that is quite reminiscent of our general perception of Hell. He's effectively putting to death that sin, and when he does so, the elements of the Philosopher's Stone ooze out in a reddish liquid that he then drinks from a wine glass. Like communion wine. Which represents a certain someone's blood from a certain sacrifice. This figure--who the Homunculus call "Father"--gives Greed the option to come back and serve him once again rather than stray off onto his own path. When Greed refuses, that's when he is destroyed. This entire concept echoes the sentiments of Christianity: Repent for your sins and serve God or perish in Hell.
A few of the details and things are switched around, but this is, by far, the most shockingly obvious reference to major themes of Christianity that I've seen in a mainstream show. At least in a while. Yeah, Christian imagery can be found in all types of Western media (how many Messiah figures can you name?) , but this is...in-depth. I'm slowly becoming convinced that, given the color of the Philosopher's Stone, the context in which it's created, and what it means for Ed and Al...that it could easily symbolize forgiveness. The Philosopher's Stone will restore their bodies like forgiveness restores the soul. That's just one interpretation; I'm sure there are many more.
WOW OKAY THAT WAS A LONG RANT.
I'm kind of digging this new, hyper-powerful Fuhrer (who is apparently now Wrath instead of Pride). He's even more intimidating than he was in FMA. What's so strange is how they manage to make Greed look tame in comparison to Wrath so you end up rooting for him when they fight. And Greed's the idiot in this situation. Envy's apparently got a brand-new weakness in regards to his/her appearance, and I guess the new thing for the Homunculus to do is emit red lighting when they're pissed? Hm.
Oh, and their extended names? Those are so cool, too! Wrath, the Furious (and he's the Fuhrer ahaha), Envy the Jealous, Lust the Lascivious, Gluttony the Voracious, and Sloth the Indolent. Kind of redundant in some respects, but still have a nice flow to them.
It's a little sad to see that Martel is...uh, eliminated rather quickly here instead of getting an episode or two with her. I'm not sure why stabbing her caused her entire body to gush blood like a geyser, though. That was a bit excessive.
We're also changing things up a bit with Al recovering his memories after Martel's blood gets on parts of his seal. They don't give us much information as to why that would interfere with his memory, but I'm assuming those answers will come at some point in the future. Even so, the memories don't do much for either of them and I'm still left a bit in the dark. The only sure thing is that something really messed up is going on and Ed and Al are not unwilling to dig to get to the bottom of it.
Which means they're probably going to get into a lot more trouble than they already have.
Episode Fifteen: Envoy From the East
Ed and Al make a pit stop at Rush Valley so Winry can fix Ed's automail. As they wait for her to finish the repairs, the brothers run into a prince from the land of Xing, Ling Yao, who is visiting Amestris in search of information regarding the Philosopher's Stone. Meanwhile, Scar gets a new companion in the form of a little girl named May Chang and Mustang and his crew interrogate the rogue Number 66 as they look for answers to Hughes' death.Aw, boo I'm not as crazy about this opening as I was the last one. The first opening to this series is fantastic--the music (and even the lyrics, to a large degree) fits the show well and the animation backing the song is interesting and engaging. FMA had some pretty lackluster openings, but Brotherhood's first one was a solid favorite of mine. That isn't to say the second one is bad; it's still better than any of FMA's, it's just not as...I don't know...exciting?
But onto other things.
Like how much I can't stand Ling.
Actually, let me back up. I love that they're expanding the world and giving an actual title to the place that Ed an Al live. I don't believe Amestris was ever named in FMA. It's cool to see the map of the different kingdoms or countries or whatever they're supposed to be and to get a little more info into the political climate that all of these events are taking place within. It makes the world feel so much bigger and more fleshed out instead of just Amestris and Ishvala. I'm not even a big fan of Chinese culture or history and I like the inclusion of a "land in the East" or Xing a lot, which is clearly modeled after China. May Chang is a cute addition to the cast, even if Monica Rial's voice is a little...distracting. I want to see if they get more out of her than what they've given us so far; if her character becomes a unique and important one later on rather than just a cutesy kid character to stick in for the heck of it.
Her perception of the great Fullmetal Alchemist is hysterical, though. I'll say that.
The addition of alkahestry is interesting as well, as it seems to be a little bit different than alchemy with more emphasis on healing than strictly science or military-based usage. That's something I never thought about before--how the use of alchemy has been largely militarized as of late and people don't even really see it being used outside of warfare. I guess it's kind of like the difference between medicinal healing and more advanced technology: One is more closely associated with the government or major networks than the other, which leans towards pedestrian use through the influence of knowledgeable individuals. It adds another layer to this particular world that we've come to know and perspective is starting to shift.
Now. Back to Ling.
They'd better make this idiot useful because as of this episode I want to throw him over a cliff. He feels like one of those characters inserted into the story for the sake of having a wacky, goofy person to add to the ensemble of people, but in reality isn't all that funny. He's very...Jar Jar Binks-ish to me, even if he has more of a brain than that character could ever hope to possess. Also, I have no idea if Japan just likes to riff on Chinese people or if there is supposed to be genuine commentary going on here, but why is that the two Chinese characters I've run into so far are both drawn with their eyes closed and have shifty, less-than-reliable personalities? Look at Lau from Black Butler:
He's an interesting character, for sure, but I can't help but wonder if this meticulous, somewhat conniving personality for a Chinese person is a trope found in anime or if I'm painting this to be more than it is. They even have the same type of humor, where they lead everyone around them to believe that they know what's going on and then ask a question or make a statement that shows that they were just using that technique to get information which they don't actually know.
There's also that line where Ed asks the assassin he's fighting what they want: "You and your boss with the freaky closed eyes."
I'm honestly surprised they left that in there. Nowadays that sort of thing could potentially cause a lawsuit. Regardless, Ling comes across as much more of an irritation than anything resembling funny, and lucky for me he's going to be around for at least the next episode or two. It's fun to hear Todd Haberkorn's voice again, but at the same time I can't get Hikaru's face out of my head whenever Ling speaks. Which is kind of a shame, because they're nowhere near the same character.
On a positive note, we get to see Hawkeye and Mustang in regular clothes rather than military uniforms, which is fun. But what's even more interesting is if you look at what they're wearing:
...it's not exact, but it's reminiscent of early twentieth century clothing. Looking back at both the map that was shown during Ed's explanation of the political climate as well as what ended up happening in FMA...I'd be interested to see if there really are parallels between "our world's" version of WWI and theirs. After all, according to Trisha Elric's grave, she died in 1904 and that looked to be close to ten years prior to when the events of this story take place. WWI started in 1914. So it's possible, I suppose.
Hawkeye is still badass as ever. I love how Barry does everything he can to scare the crap out of her and all she does is continue to shoot him. I can't even remember why Barry is running around free in the first place. Blow his metal head into pieces, Hawkeye. It's okay.
At this point they're starting to weave a large collection of plot threads into each episode. We've got Roy and his team who are both trying to get him to the position of Furher as well as find out who killed Hughes; Ed and Al and their regular journey; May Chang, Scar, and whoever that other guy is (why is HE running around with Scar? I don't remember that, either) with their own mission; and the Homunculus popping in and out. So far they've done a good job keeping things coherent and giving enough time to everyone without overshadowing Ed or Al, but the trick is keeping that balance up and finding a way to bring it all together.
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