[fma] delayed reaction: new anime
SO, the first episode of the NEW FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST anime is out. Guess it's time to brush off my FMA-hat and put it back on, because I look so very good in hats.
There ... isn't a lot to react to in this first episode. At least the first 10 episodes of the new series will be going back over old ground, I'm sure. I think the anime is set to run the full 52 episodes, so we have a whole year of fresh-ish material to look forward to, but 19 hours isn't really a lot of time to cover the entire manga in. I'm curious how they'll do this, what will get cut and what will get added in, etc.
In short, the first episode is ... a filler.
First of all, the animation in this is great. Very, very nice. Very smooooth like butter on ... something hot. I'm not sure if I'm in love with it, though. I'm slightly jarred by the colors being muted in this new series, or maybe I'm just remembering the original series as brighter than it actually was. I'm just grateful for the high budget and the fight scenes are actually faster than in the old series, but more intense in a way.
As moonsheen mentioned to me earlier, the new anime has a lot more sight gags and a lot more short jokes (not just about Edward's height) than the old series, keeping more in line with the less-than-serious (most of the time) tone of the manga. The Roy-Is-Wet gag, played twice in this episode, made me laugh both times, though.
And speaking of Roy, he's now voiced by Miki Shinichirou! I'm ... not sure how I feel about this! I mean, it works, but. Weird!
But back to the episode. It was ... a filler episode. No, really! They made up a somewhat lame villian who transmutes water (think Katara). I was kind of confused where he was getting his water from sometimes. He killed people by freezing them or boiling them, both of which made me cringe. Anyway, he's trying to destroy Central because he's an ex-State Alchemist disillusioned over the Ishbalan War, blah blah blaaaaaaah. He's only there to tie everyone together so we can get introduced to everyone at once. And we get just about everyone. Ed and Al, of course. Roy, Hawkeye, Hughes and his family, Major Armstrong, Kimbley in his jail cell, Lust, Gluttony, and even the Fuhrer King Bradley. And a special sneak peek at a character that I will mention further down to avoid spoiling those of you who have not been reading the manga.
They get out all the necessary first-episode thingies you need for an FMA series: the revelation of Ed's automail arm (how much do I love that when Ed's coat is 'ruined' he just fixes it with alchemy, haha!), the pointy-stick he used in episode 1 of the first series, mentions of Liore, a glimpse of the Elric Bros. Gruesome Past, epic transmutation-circle-less alchemy with a mention from the villian, short jokes, the nature of Al's body, the Philosopher's Stone, etc etc. I found it a little trite but then again when I watched the first anime I was totally drawn in by all the revelations that are old-hat to me now.
My main gripe with this episode is actually the pacing, not the villian. In an effort to get everyone in on the act, they went abruptly from fighting to OMG ELYSIA U R SO CUUUUUUTE to Roy being ribbed on/ribbing Ed to more fighting to EPIC ANGST to more fighting and then High Pressure Blood death. It felt choppy and uneven, which is unfortunate, and they failed to show the Pure Awesome that is the Brothers Elric in proper fashion. Ah well, can't have it all? Well, next week we're jumping straight into the Gruesome Past for an entire episode, so stay tuned, just in case you missed all the angst three years ago.
And now, SPOILERS:
SO THAT GUY WHOSE EYES WE SAW OPENING AND CLOSING? THAT WAS NOT HOENHEIM. THAT WAS 'FATHER'. I AM FREAKING OUT NOW BECAUSE FUUUUUUUUUUUCK YES!
What was he opening his eyes over? Well, Mr. Freezy Alchemist is about to disrupt his plans for world domination his science fair project destroying Amestris, so he gets Bradley to kill him. Then he goes back to sleep. And I SQUEE like a little girl.
Also, how much do I love that young!Hoenheim is in the opening credits? NO WORDS, KIDS, NO WORDS.
On a final note, I watched this episode on Funimation.com, which I am ... really excited about, actually! Because you know. Official website releasing anime for free, faster than fansubbers? They've gotten smart, Funimation has. I'm curious whether they will continue to release episodes for free straight to the internet, or if they will start to withhold them or what. In the meantime, I think they've found the best way ever to circumvent the fansubbers that supposedly destroy their business: by doing their job for them. Smart for them. Hopefully it won't leave the rest of us screwed over.
There ... isn't a lot to react to in this first episode. At least the first 10 episodes of the new series will be going back over old ground, I'm sure. I think the anime is set to run the full 52 episodes, so we have a whole year of fresh-ish material to look forward to, but 19 hours isn't really a lot of time to cover the entire manga in. I'm curious how they'll do this, what will get cut and what will get added in, etc.
In short, the first episode is ... a filler.
First of all, the animation in this is great. Very, very nice. Very smooooth like butter on ... something hot. I'm not sure if I'm in love with it, though. I'm slightly jarred by the colors being muted in this new series, or maybe I'm just remembering the original series as brighter than it actually was. I'm just grateful for the high budget and the fight scenes are actually faster than in the old series, but more intense in a way.
As moonsheen mentioned to me earlier, the new anime has a lot more sight gags and a lot more short jokes (not just about Edward's height) than the old series, keeping more in line with the less-than-serious (most of the time) tone of the manga. The Roy-Is-Wet gag, played twice in this episode, made me laugh both times, though.
And speaking of Roy, he's now voiced by Miki Shinichirou! I'm ... not sure how I feel about this! I mean, it works, but. Weird!
But back to the episode. It was ... a filler episode. No, really! They made up a somewhat lame villian who transmutes water (think Katara). I was kind of confused where he was getting his water from sometimes. He killed people by freezing them or boiling them, both of which made me cringe. Anyway, he's trying to destroy Central because he's an ex-State Alchemist disillusioned over the Ishbalan War, blah blah blaaaaaaah. He's only there to tie everyone together so we can get introduced to everyone at once. And we get just about everyone. Ed and Al, of course. Roy, Hawkeye, Hughes and his family, Major Armstrong, Kimbley in his jail cell, Lust, Gluttony, and even the Fuhrer King Bradley. And a special sneak peek at a character that I will mention further down to avoid spoiling those of you who have not been reading the manga.
They get out all the necessary first-episode thingies you need for an FMA series: the revelation of Ed's automail arm (how much do I love that when Ed's coat is 'ruined' he just fixes it with alchemy, haha!), the pointy-stick he used in episode 1 of the first series, mentions of Liore, a glimpse of the Elric Bros. Gruesome Past, epic transmutation-circle-less alchemy with a mention from the villian, short jokes, the nature of Al's body, the Philosopher's Stone, etc etc. I found it a little trite but then again when I watched the first anime I was totally drawn in by all the revelations that are old-hat to me now.
My main gripe with this episode is actually the pacing, not the villian. In an effort to get everyone in on the act, they went abruptly from fighting to OMG ELYSIA U R SO CUUUUUUTE to Roy being ribbed on/ribbing Ed to more fighting to EPIC ANGST to more fighting and then High Pressure Blood death. It felt choppy and uneven, which is unfortunate, and they failed to show the Pure Awesome that is the Brothers Elric in proper fashion. Ah well, can't have it all? Well, next week we're jumping straight into the Gruesome Past for an entire episode, so stay tuned, just in case you missed all the angst three years ago.
And now, SPOILERS:
SO THAT GUY WHOSE EYES WE SAW OPENING AND CLOSING? THAT WAS NOT HOENHEIM. THAT WAS 'FATHER'. I AM FREAKING OUT NOW BECAUSE FUUUUUUUUUUUCK YES!
What was he opening his eyes over? Well, Mr. Freezy Alchemist is about to disrupt his plans for world domination his science fair project destroying Amestris, so he gets Bradley to kill him. Then he goes back to sleep. And I SQUEE like a little girl.
Also, how much do I love that young!Hoenheim is in the opening credits? NO WORDS, KIDS, NO WORDS.
On a final note, I watched this episode on Funimation.com, which I am ... really excited about, actually! Because you know. Official website releasing anime for free, faster than fansubbers? They've gotten smart, Funimation has. I'm curious whether they will continue to release episodes for free straight to the internet, or if they will start to withhold them or what. In the meantime, I think they've found the best way ever to circumvent the fansubbers that supposedly destroy their business: by doing their job for them. Smart for them. Hopefully it won't leave the rest of us screwed over.