Blogging Brotherhood: Episodes 5 & 6

This is an entry in a larger series that I am working on called Blogging Brotherhood. To understand the premise of these entries, please read the intro here. I've also decided to put in small episode synopses before each entry so that it's easier to put my commentary into context.

Episode Five: Rain of Sorrows

Ed and Al are confronted by the notorious killer of State Alchemists, Scar, and Ed must fight for his life against the man determined to make him pay for his sins.

Okay, far and away the best scene in this series so far is when Al rips Ed a new one after he was willing to let Scar kill him so long as he would leave Al alone.

I don't know, it must be the way that Maxey Whitehead voices Al, but the entire "Oh great! And now my arm's come off because my brother's a big, fat, IDIOT!" line is freaking hysterical. Not in a bad way, either. I'm totally on Al's side with this one, and it's nice to see him standing up for himself and knocking some sense into Ed's stupid, impulsive head. The pair are definitely a sight to see in general, as Hughes even comments on their freakishness off on the side while all of the military just kind of...stands there watching them. Well, Roy is. And Riza.

Speaking of which, the camaraderie between everyone is emphasized here a lot. Hawkeye and Mustang had a solid bond in the original, but I'm really seeing now how much this particular group of characters are connected and that they DO genuinely care about each other--whether it's Roy, Armstrong, Hughes, Riza, the Elrics, or any of the other underlings whose names I can't remember. There was also a nice moment where Riza puts her coat around Ed, and I'm getting the feeling that the writers are trying to establish her as a potential mother figure for the boys. They attempted a father-type relationship with Roy in the original that didn't exactly work, and that may in large part be because he didn't have much screen time. Here, he's been in every episode for various reasons. I'll be interested to see how both his relationship with the Elrics and Riza play out.

Although what I find weird is that, at this point in his life, why wouldn't Roy remember that he's useless when it comes to rainy days? Isn't that the kind of thing he should always keep in mind and learn to, you know, maybe work around? Had Riza not stepped in, his head would have been blown up by Scar. Seems more like they left that in for the sake of a joke...which wasn't even that funny. For me, at least, because I was still rolling around in my head why Roy would make such a stupid decision as to try and create flames in the pouring rain.

Armstrong is still hilarious and weird and loveable. He may be a bit of a freak, but he's definitely useful.

There's a lot in this series that feels like they've gone back and fine-tuned it. The Homunculi, the conflict with Ishval (by the way, I thought THIS ENTIRE TIME that is was IshBAL, not IshVAL...did they change it or am I just deaf?), the imagery...it's all made darker and more violent. Envy was always kind of on the psychotic side, but Lust's dialogue and the way the actress plays her are more intense than before. Part of it might be the animation, which is more detailed (Lust even has slight modifications to her design), and would lead an actor to play her with more, uh, gusto? They're all good changes, though. It almost comes across as though the show is taking itself more seriously or, at the very least, is aware that there are adults watching it.

Funny enough, the complaint I had in the last set of episodes about the religious commentary is actually fleshed out a little more here. It's not so much religion as it is people in general and how predictable, easily manipulated, and foolish they are. Religion, at least here, is a way for some to make themselves feel superior to others or to justify horrendous acts, like Scar does. Yeah, that was a central point of the original, but for some reason I think they do a better job of making clear the sins of the human race in this one. I kid you not, it took me until I was almost through FMA to even begin to grasp why the Homunculi were named after the seven deadly sins--but here, it hit me without much effort.

AND THEY EXPLAIN WHY ED CLAPS HIS HANDS BEFORE HE DOES A TRANSMUTATION. I had no idea that there was a reason he did that; I just thought it was his "thing" that he learned from his teacher. If Roy can snap his fingers and make fire, I guess Ed can clap his hands and...make other things.

This is a side note, but I want to point out how utterly perfect the shot of Ed and Al as little kids in the opening narration is:

It sums the two of them up in one image and I love it.

Episode Six: Road of Hope

After having his automail arm and half of Al's armor shattered by Scar, the Elric brothers head back to Risembool to have their tech fixed by Pinako and Winry. On the way, they run into Dr. Marcoh, a former State Alchemist who Ed believes may know something about Bioalchemy and could help him find a way to get his and Al's bodies back to normal. Marcoh supplies Ed with valuable information regarding the Philosopher's Stone.

Wow, they're definitely condensing a lot of this story. I can't believe Ed and Al's return to Risembool is already here.

Again, I'm not going to say this is a bad thing. In all honesty, it's hard to tell because I have prior knowledge of the story; it's not like I'm coming into it cold and have a bunch of questions. I don't even think that someone who WAS coming into this cold would have many questions at this point. In comparison to the original it just feels like everything is flying by.

I'd also like to say that Al being stuck with a bunch of sheep AND inside of a box like some kind of commodity while riding the train is so funny. I feel so bad for him. Although he doesn't get left at the train station here, so I guess they ditched that whole subplot.

Come to think of it, they haven't brought up Al's fear that he is a made-up person yet. That was a major focus of the episodes where he's stuck at the station and then taken over by a kid who has no idea that the armor has a soul. Granted, I'm still at the beginning so it could show up later on, but it's just something I noticed.

This episode focused a lot on Ed and Al's relationship with their guardian, Pinako, and Winry, something that was missing from the original. I found it all to be enjoyable--I like how the boys' dad was "an old drinking buddy" of Pinako's and she felt obligated to take care of them after the death of their mother. The fact that she says it all to Armstrong is an interesting choice, but it makes sense since he's the only one there who wouldn't know their history. Pinako isn't too sentimental about it, either. She states things matter-of-factly which speaks a bit about her character.

Ed and Winry's relationship is getting much more attention than it did in the original, and by that I mean it's actually getting some attention. They attempted a sort of underlying romance with the two of them in FMA that was, honestly, a bit half-assed and never convincing (and made worse when Envy, while disguised as Winry, tries to tell Al that "he was the one she always loved." Like, that was even supposed to be a thing? Nice try, writers, but no). Winry's personality and Ed's play off each other well. The sequence with him hounding her about his automail and her miraculous amount of patience with him despite not sleeping for three days (then finally booting him out) was a nice touch. I wish we got a little more of her interactions with Al, considering she is some-what of a major player in the overall story, if not from a plot angle than an emotional one, and how she is around Al is of just as much importance.

Overall, I got the impression that Winry and Ed could eventually grow romantic feelings for each other whereas before there was no chance.

What this episode does well, too, is show how different both of the Elric brothers are. Sure, Al spends the show in a giant suit of armor and Ed is a pipsqueak, but they are fundamentally two very different people, and I like that. Al is far more in tune with the feelings of those around him while Ed isn't so much unaware as he is less inclined to take them into consideration when acting. Al's thank you to Pinako and Winry towards the end of the episode is sweet, even if the fact that the group of them are having their pow-wow over the sleeping body of Ed. Which is, you know, kind of weird.

Final Thoughts

Contrary to what the first two episodes lead you to believe, Brotherhood seems more interested in the emotional aspect of the story than the action. Not that there isn't action, because there's plenty, but they are ramping up the impact that certain things have and building on character relationships that were less than three-dimensional in the original.

Not to mention Ed is taking his jacket off and his hair down a lot more, and I can't help but feel like that's erring on the side of fanservice.

I should also probably point out that I'm still not able to see Ed as much of a kid. Al, yes. But--and maybe it's Vic's voice, maybe it's the fact that he's awfully ripped for a fifteen year-old--Ed has never struck me as "child-like." I bring it up because that's something they mention in this episode and have also been beating the audience over the head with since the beginning. Ed may be fifteen, but he's far from a child, between his life experiences and his self-awareness. Yet several characters have said something about it and I'm not buying it. He may be young, but Ed is far from needing protection in that distinctly kid-like fashion that everyone in the military likes to assume he is.