Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 28 ENGLISH DUB Review

Episode 28, "Father"

"Want to see what's under my robe, little boy?" "I need an adult!"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Alphonse arrives at Father's lair, and is surprised by the appearance of the homunculi's creator. Suddenly, Gluttony bursts, and out of of his fake gate emerges Edward, Ling, and Envy. Father questions the brothers, interested that Hohenheim has sons, and heals the damage to them without so much as bringing his hands together. Ling tells the brothers that he's not normal, and Father tells Gluttony to eat him, as he is not a sacrifice. Ed and Al try to combat Father, but he disables their alchemy, and they are subdued by Envy. Ling is likewise subdued by Gluttony. Father, seeing Ling's determination, decides he will use him as a pawn, and, using a bit of Philosopher's Stone that comes from his body, transforms him into the new Greed. Ling accepts the spirit of Greed for his chance at immortality, and the new Greed inhabits his body. However, the new Greed has no memories of its previous incarnation. Scar and Mei arrive, with Mei and Xaio Mei reuniting. Scar's destructive alchemy and Mei's Eastern alchemy somehow remains working, and they attack Father and his minions, however Scar's destructive arm does no harm to Father himself. Scar, Mei, and Alphonse attempt an escape, and Scar disappears, but Alphonse is taken back into custody. Ed is subdued by the new Greed. Father orders the brothers to be taken to Wrath on the surface.

Comments:

Hark, what is this? Is it, oh, I think it is! Greed, my favorite character, has a new voice actor! That's right, the homunculus who wants everything is now voiced by Troy Baker. And man, is he far, far superior to Chris Patton in the role. If only they could go re-record episodes 13 and 14 with him as the voice. And then the episodes of FMA-1 he was in. While Patton certainly improved from his perfomance in the first series, it was nowhere as colorful as Baker's take on the role. You can hear the attitude in the voice and it feels genuine. Now, I still prefer the deeper Japanese voices for the character, but Baker does a pretty damn good job. I doubt I'm going to miss Patton.

Ling himself, the prince of Xing, is ably played by Todd Haberkorn. Though, to be honest, I had a hard time buying his delivery when Greed first enters his body and he's screaming in pain. It sounded a little fake to me. He definitely tries his best when he's accepting Greed from within, though. There are times he really nails the role, and other times, not so much.

J. Michael Tatum proves my suspicion that if he spoke up, his Scar would be good. It is. I just wish he'd put a lot more power in all of his lines, not just when he's enraged. I really love the way he delivers the lines about sending the homunculi to their deaths. It sounds fittingly intimidating. It's too bad that he goes back to whispering later on. Mr. Tatum, you can do a low-pitched voice without speaking like you're not trying to wake the baby. Scar should sound like a force of nature, and I don't mean a whispering wind.

What really weighs this episode's dub down is Vic Mignogna's usual flatness in scenes that Edward should sound desperate in. It reminds me that the best episodes of this dub are the ones where Edward says very little.

Overall ENGLISH DUB Score: 3.5 out of 5


 

 


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