Well, one long run has finally come to an end. Well over a year after the first set released, Funimation has finally released the Part 5 Blu-Ray of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, containing the final 13 episodes. I've been very critical of this second Fullmetal Alchemist series since the beginning, but this is a pretty good volume that's up there with the best run of the show (what was released in the "Part 2" set). The battles are satisfying, most of the plot twists are well-executed (aside from a really DUMB nod to the End of Evangelion movie and a really lame plot twist involving Scar suddenly having new abilities he previously just "refused to use"), and the animation is really top-notch.
This is usually the part where I then complain that the ending is a steaming pile of crap because the Japanese usually have no idea how to write satisfying endings, but honestly I really have no complaints about FMA:B's ending. The plot wraps up in a satisfying and fitting manner both logically and thematically, and the writers left about 1 1/2 episodes after the final battle to wrap up loose ends and give the story room to breathe. This is how an ending is supposed to be done.
Overall, Brotherhood is a good series that falls just short of being a great series. Its main problem is that it's slavishly faithful to the original manga, so for a large chunk of the series it comes off as rambling and lacking in the heart and emotion that the first Alchemist series exuded so passionately. Had the folks at Bones trimmed a good 20 or so episodes off the 64-episode run, the show would have flowed much better. It wouldn't have dragged so much with endless dime-a-dozen Alchemy battles and even more endless padding with conversation scenes that serve only to repeat information the audience already knows. Of the two series, I much prefer the original Fullmetal Alchemist as a whole for its emotional execution and pithiness, but Brotherhood is still worth watching due to its better animation and much more satisfying ending.
Incidentally, it's rare that you see these on anime DVDs/Blu-Rays and even rarer still that they're actually funny, but the FMA Part 5 set contains a 7-minute Outake montage that I actually found pretty funny. Check it out sometime if you happen to pick up the set.
Topic: Rate the last TV show you've seen (Read 1200302 times)
