(no subject)
Grrr. I should know better than try to post something directly without saving it somewhere else first. "Oops, an error has occurred, would you like to go back to the previous page, where Gather has eaten your entire post?" Oh yes, please, that would be just peachyj. Not.
Guess I'll just retype in my LiveJournal client for safety. Anyway, what I was going to post...
There was a recent post expressing excitement over the new Fullmetal Alchemist series now airing in Japan. What's fun is now you can actually watch it without waiting for it do be picked up by Adult Swim or come out on DVD. It's being streamed (in Japanese, with subtitles) on a couple of different websites about two weeks after its actual airing. The original series outpaced the manga that was being written at the same time, and the creator allowed the anime writers to take the story in their own direction. This series is supposed to follow the manga storyline more closely.
Funimation's description:
"Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric hoped to resurrect their mother’s corpse when they attempted human transmutation, but their reckless defiance of alchemy’s Law of Equivalent Exchange resulted in no miraculous reunion. Their experimentation with forbidden science plunged the boys into a hellish nightmare; half of Ed’s limbs were torn from his body, and Al awoke to discover his young soul transferred to a suit of armor. There is but one way the Elrics can restore what was lost - find the fabled Philosopher’s Stone. In a land marred by war and persecution, where truth comes only with tragedy, they undertake their desperate search. Every step closer to the mythical Philosopher’s Stone brings the broken brothers deeper into the darkest shadows of reality. Sinful abominations, both unnatural and human, will try to keep the boys from their redemption - but the Elrics must forge ahead if despair is to be transmuted into peace."
While that summary sounds pretty grim, the original series had many moments of humor and warmth interspersed, so I would hope this series would do the same. I've watched up to episode five so far, and while the storyline is similar, it's compressed and there are differences (an example is the bit about Shou Tucker and his daughter Nina takes place in a single episode and ends slightly differently), maybe because the story is due to go off in a different direction; and hopefully, it will be richer when it does so. It seems a bit rushed because of this, as maybe it's assuming the viewer already has some background. However, the artwork is gorgeous, and it's lovely to look at.
Interestingly, the first episode features a "water alchemist" as a villian, whose moves and water manipulation are very reminiscent of Katara the Waterbender in Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American show that borrowed a lot from anime in its art style. Maybe FMA is borrowing a bit back? Also, Major Armstrong's sparkles are orange now, instead of pink (I think I preferred pink, it was more incongruous).
Anyway, if you care to watch, they are hosted at Hulu.com and Funimation's website. Hulu is up to episode 5 and Funimation is a bit farther ahead to episode 7. However, Hulu seems to have much smoother streaming, at least on my machine, while Funimation wants to buffer every 30 seconds or so - it's extremely annoying unless you hit pause and leave the whole thing to load by itself for awhile.
FMA: Brotherhood links:
Hulu.com website - First episode will play by clicking on the main picture.
Funimation website
Lots of other anime to view on those sites as well, and all legal! Enjoy!
Guess I'll just retype in my LiveJournal client for safety. Anyway, what I was going to post...
There was a recent post expressing excitement over the new Fullmetal Alchemist series now airing in Japan. What's fun is now you can actually watch it without waiting for it do be picked up by Adult Swim or come out on DVD. It's being streamed (in Japanese, with subtitles) on a couple of different websites about two weeks after its actual airing. The original series outpaced the manga that was being written at the same time, and the creator allowed the anime writers to take the story in their own direction. This series is supposed to follow the manga storyline more closely.
Funimation's description:
"Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric hoped to resurrect their mother’s corpse when they attempted human transmutation, but their reckless defiance of alchemy’s Law of Equivalent Exchange resulted in no miraculous reunion. Their experimentation with forbidden science plunged the boys into a hellish nightmare; half of Ed’s limbs were torn from his body, and Al awoke to discover his young soul transferred to a suit of armor. There is but one way the Elrics can restore what was lost - find the fabled Philosopher’s Stone. In a land marred by war and persecution, where truth comes only with tragedy, they undertake their desperate search. Every step closer to the mythical Philosopher’s Stone brings the broken brothers deeper into the darkest shadows of reality. Sinful abominations, both unnatural and human, will try to keep the boys from their redemption - but the Elrics must forge ahead if despair is to be transmuted into peace."
While that summary sounds pretty grim, the original series had many moments of humor and warmth interspersed, so I would hope this series would do the same. I've watched up to episode five so far, and while the storyline is similar, it's compressed and there are differences (an example is the bit about Shou Tucker and his daughter Nina takes place in a single episode and ends slightly differently), maybe because the story is due to go off in a different direction; and hopefully, it will be richer when it does so. It seems a bit rushed because of this, as maybe it's assuming the viewer already has some background. However, the artwork is gorgeous, and it's lovely to look at.
Interestingly, the first episode features a "water alchemist" as a villian, whose moves and water manipulation are very reminiscent of Katara the Waterbender in Avatar: The Last Airbender, an American show that borrowed a lot from anime in its art style. Maybe FMA is borrowing a bit back? Also, Major Armstrong's sparkles are orange now, instead of pink (I think I preferred pink, it was more incongruous).
Anyway, if you care to watch, they are hosted at Hulu.com and Funimation's website. Hulu is up to episode 5 and Funimation is a bit farther ahead to episode 7. However, Hulu seems to have much smoother streaming, at least on my machine, while Funimation wants to buffer every 30 seconds or so - it's extremely annoying unless you hit pause and leave the whole thing to load by itself for awhile.
FMA: Brotherhood links:
Hulu.com website - First episode will play by clicking on the main picture.
Funimation website
Lots of other anime to view on those sites as well, and all legal! Enjoy!