Reviews

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 01 Review

Episode 1, "The Fullmetal Alchemist"

*****SPOILERS***** Synopsis: A man named Isaac McDougal is terrorizing Central, the capital of Amestris, with his use of water alchemy, heating it up to burn his victims or freezing it to freeze them alive. The President, Fuhrer King Bradley, puts Colonel Roy Mustang in charge of capturing Isaac, who fought alongside him in Ishbal. Mustang calls on the help of the Elric brothers, Edward (the "Fullmetal Alchemist") and Alphonse. Isaac plans to kill the Fuhrer using his ice alchemy, which is boosted by a Philosopher's Stone, but it is the Fuhrer who ends up killing him, and the stone in him dissolves before the miltary has a chance to check.

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga vs First TV Series - ROUND FOUR

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga vs First TV Series - ROUND FOUR
In the original manga, Edward is "rescued" by the homonuculi from Laboratory 5 after sustaining injuries in the fight with the Slicer Brothers and given into military custody. In first animated television series, however, the homunuculi attempt to get Edward to use the red water and live prisoners to transmute a Philosopher's Stone. This is the beginning of some of the bigger differences between the anime and the source material. EVENTS: Chapter 13: Fullmetal Body Event(s): Ed is confronted by the homonuculi, who kill the Slicer brothers, and knock him out, then destroy the laboratory. Ed is brought into military custody by Ross and Brosch.

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga vs First TV Series - ROUND THREE

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga vs First TV Series - ROUND THREE
The third volume of the FMA manga covers the Elric brothers' trip back to Risembool to get Edward's automail arm fixed (it was destroyed by Scar), the research at Central's library into the Philosopher's Stone, and most of the Laboratory 5 incident. The first animated series stayed pretty faithful to this portion overall. EVENTS: Chapter 9: A Home with a Family Waiting Event(s): Edward, Alphonse, and Major Armstrong visit Resembool, the Elric's hometown, to get his automail and Alphonse fixed. Episode 17: "House of the Waiting Family" Event(s): Edward, Alphonse, and Major Armstrong visit Resembool, the Elric's hometown, to get his automail and Alphonse fixed. Judgement: Rather poignant in both versions, but slightly more subtle in the anime one.

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga vs First TV Series - ROUND TWO

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga vs First TV Series - ROUND TWO
In this round, I'll cover comparisons between chapters 4-8 and the episodes that correspond to the events in them. It's in this volume of the manga, volume 2, that Scar first appears and menaces the State Alchemists, and it all happens in "present" time, meaning none of it in a flashback like in the anime. The incident where Ed gets his automail broken by Scar comes shortly after the Tucker incident. In the first series, the Tucker incident occurs in a flashback, so chronologically, Scar's main attack in Central doesn't occur until around the time Ed and Al encounter Dr. Marcoh. Also, Marcoh isn't killed shortly after the encounter by Lust and Gluttony in the manga like in the anime. In fact, Tucker and Marcoh seem to switch places.

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga vs First TV Series - ROUND ONE

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga vs First TV Series - ROUND ONE Hiromu Arakawa's long running manga, Fullmetal Alchemist, has had the luxury of not only being extremely popular both in Japan and here in the U.S., but recieving two anime adaptations. The first was helmed by director Seiji Mizushima in 2003, and ran for 51 episodes. The second will air this year, helmed by Yasuhiro Irie. The two series were/are productions of Studio Bones, known for its high quality productions. However, the first television animation began while the manga was still starting to get off the ground. Only a few volumes of the manga were available at the time the production started. The author laid down her plans for the manga's story to the Bones staff, but insisted that they go in a different direction, which they did.

Who watches the Watchmen movie? I did.

A few thoughts on the Watchmen movie (having just seen it today):

- The movie basically got the main players right. My only issue with their depictions are the Ozymandias comes off as being much more villianous than he should be and Rorschach more heroic and noble, even despite the brutality displayed.

- On the same note, much like Ozy, the movie misses out on some of the ambiguity of the novel. Things which are supposed or thought are shown to be blatently true. It's sort of like any adaption of Lolita, because your narrator is unreliable, and for a large space of the comic, your narrator is a paranoid sociopath.

- There are little bits here and there that were fan favorites that were altered or weren't there, almost as if to show the fans it was different. It irritated the hell out of me, but I understood. At least Rorschach got that bit in about the Pagliacci joke.

Quantum of Solace Left Me Shaken, Not Stirred

*SPOILER WARNING*

I just came back from watching Quantum of Solace. I've been a huge Bond films fan for several years, having watched most of them three or four times, or where great, possibly more. Granted, not all Bond films are created equal, though they may seem like it to the untrained eye, the casual fan. This is okay. It's all right if the Bond movies are just an enjoyable romp with gadgets and villains for you. It's all right not to expect much from them, because you likely haven't looked at them as any more than action films. But, for me, I've become somewhat more selective. And so, for the past few Bond movies, I've been somewhat unimpressed.

Bond Reloaded, does Quantum live to expectations?

Maybe Royale gave me far to high expectations, but I was very disappointed in this movie. Warning. Warning. Warning. Spoilers to follow. Read at your own risk.... The major thorn was the plot. It couldn't decide whether to full pull from everything that occurred in Casino Royale or if it should break off altogether and develop a new story line. It is because of this that traditional Bond plot aspects, such as the central villain, suffer. More time is dedicated to Bond and his broken, revenge seeking, heart. While tying into the last film is a good thing using it as a crutch is not. Mr. White should have allowed them to venture off into something bigger. Instead that pending discovery was hindered by the same ghosts of the past. With any luck the third Craig installment will feature a dedicated development of the mysterious Quantum of Solace group. Perhaps the biggest disappointment in the writing was the writing was the lack of cheeky humor.

Batman: The Dark Knight Review (SPOILERS)

Tuesday afteroon I saw the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight, at a local theater. Pre-movie, I scoped out the trailer to Christian Bale's next no-doubt-blockbuster, the fourth Terminator movie (which means now there'll be two too many). I also sat awkwardly through the trailer for the upcoming movie adaptation of Alan Moore's Watchmen, directed by Zack Synder, who also directed the adaptation of Frank Miller's 300. While it does seem like it might make interesting watching, I still think some comic stories are best left on page. Watchmen deconstructed the superhero comic genre, the movie isn't going to do anything so bold. I can see it going over people's heads, that is, even if they do it justice. But hell, who am I kidding? I'll go see it. Sorry, Mr. Moore. Really, I am.


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