| |||||
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
The Fullmetal Alchemist series is a Japanese anime title that focuses on the exploits of two young boys who are searching for the mythical Philosopher's Stone. It has been shown on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block to great success.
In the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, alchemy is real. While some people show a natural affinity for the practice, it is a science that can be learned and perfected through practice and study. Ed and Al showed great promise as young alchemists. At the extremely young ages of 10 and 12, they delved into forbidden human alchemy after the death of their mom. Their pain was so great, they were willing to face any consequences to bring her back to life. However, the alchemic reaction spiraled out of control, and Edward lost an arm and leg. Even more shockingly, Al's very soul was torn from his body, and he now only exists as a soul attached to a suit of armor. From this unconventional beginning, the two brothers set out on an intense journey to try to find the Philosopher's Stone to try to return their bodies to normal. As they embark on this personal journey, they find themselves wrapped up in the larger machinations of the state military and the problems of an outcast ethnic group known as the Ishbalans.
Volume 10 starts off with episode 37, "The Flame Alchemist, The Bachelor Lieutenant, and the Mystery of Warehouse 13." This is a fan favorite because it's primarily a purely humorous episode focusing on the antics of the peripheral characters in the military. A few small plot advancements keep it from being purely filler, but this is the kind of episode you watch when you just want to have a few laughs.
The other three episodes on the disk: episode 38, "With the River's Flow," episode 39, "Secret of Ishbal," and episode 40, "The Scar" continue the plot that has been building steadily throughout the series. Since this is a 51-episode series, viewers are really entering the homestretch, although there are still plenty of revelations yet to come. Of particular interest are the new revelations about the Ishbal Massacre and the return of Rose and her town of Lior from the very first two episodes of the series.
The extras on this DVD aren't too impressive. There are textless songs, which are standard fare on anime releases. So are the production art, image gallery, and character profiles. I'm not saying they're bad, but they really have limited appeal beyond scrolling through them once to check them out. Of course, we've also been spoiled because two past DVD volumes included commentary tracks, something that's practically unheard of in the world of anime, at least to my knowledge. Another DVD volume even included the first episode of another series to try out. Now those were noteworthy DVD extras. The trailers are worth a peek because Funimation has been producing some good work lately, and you might want to check out another one of this production company's releases.
The Fullmetal Alchemist DVD series is typically packaged nicely, and volume 10 is no exception. Riza Hawkeye is the featured character on the cover. The image on the DVD cover is repeated as a textless mini poster on the reverse of the cover. But the best part of the packaging is definitely the booklets each DVD comes with. One word of warning, though - if you haven't seen the show before, wait until after you've watched the DVD to read through it. Spoilers abound in character descriptions, reproduced snippets of dialog, and even memorials to characters who don't make it to the end of a particular DVD volume.
Volume 10 is also available in a special edition with a collector's box that can be used to store the remainder of the series. I've never been one for storing my DVDs in a series box, so I didn't bother getting it, but they do seem quite nice. They're made of tin instead of the usual thick cardboard you're asked to collect other series in. There have been several tin boxes released throughout the course of the series rather than one big box for everything, and the earliest boxes have actually become rare and highly collectible.
6:48 PM Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home
Archives:
April 2006
May 2006
June 2006
July 2006
August 2006
Consumer Electronics
Resources
Electronics
Most Watch Electronics Auctions
iPod at Sduf
Shops:
