Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood - 19
Oh my god… this was seriously the best episode I have ever seen from Full Metal Alchemist. No question possible. I knew that we could expect fight scenes in this episode, but that it would be this intense, and that it would push the plot into that kind of direction… And to think that nearly the entire episode lacked any sort of presence from Ed, who is supposed to be the main character here.
It was this episode in which the Homunculi made their move on Roy Mustang and the others, in an attempt to spread the knowledge of them from flowing out, but they failed miserably there. Gluttony first fails when Roy finally shows himself as the leader of the investigation behind them, and Lust even gets as far as killed!
But to think that the homunculi in this series are created with Philosopher’s Stones! Now there’s something that I never saw coming, especially considering how the first series had them all going desperate to find them. And to think that they all have the power to regenerate. Those Homunculi sure are on a much different level than they were in the first season, in which they were about evenly matched with Ed, of all people!
And damn. That fight against lust was absolutely beautifully animated. It because an incredibly intense fight due to the amazing animation direction that made just about every frame a visual feast, especially when she was about to die. Seriously, Bones is on fire this season.
I now understand why Full Metal Alchemist is considered as such a great series: both the good guys as the bad guys pull absolutely no punches and are in no single way incompetent or naive, unlike nearly every other anime you see nowadays. That really makes seeing these behemoths going up against each other a scene to behold.
And yeah, Barry gets the award for most pathetic death I’ve seen in quite a while. There’s really something ironic about getting killed by your own body like that. And it’s a bloody shame that he’s gone now. As for the others, they’re probably still alive since we never saw their deaths, though I imagine them to be badly wounded. Al’s role in all of this was also pretty small, but he too made a lot of impact in this episode when he returned to Winry in the end.
Speaking of which… Hohenheim finally made his entrance! I can’t wait to see what his role is in this series. Especially considering how his older clone is the leader of the Humonculi.
Rating: *** (Awesome)
I guess people won’t be saying Roy is useless anymore. ;)
In the first series Roy was more of a supporting character. In the manga I would say he is very much a main character along with Ed & Al. And you will be seeing a lot more of him from here on out.
Comment by Kim — August 9, 2009 @ 20:12
Wow, I was kind of expecting you to like the upcoming episodes (yeah, I thought it would be at least two episodes, so I’m surprised they managed to put it all in just one), but such an extremely positive review is… just wow!!
Comment by kagura — August 9, 2009 @ 20:20
Yeah, I agree with Kim - Roy in manga is all kinds of awsomeness (he’s my second favourite character after Lin), so I really hated what they’d done to him in the first anime, I mean, how they’d turned him into emo-Roy… the whole story of him killing Winry’s parents was just ridiculous :/
Comment by kagura — August 9, 2009 @ 20:26
@kagura
“yeah, I thought it would be at least two episodes”
Well, they did cut out most of the street fight. Originally, I hadn’t even expected them to make it all that far into the lab before the end.
It’s a shame that the envy fight got cut, as I found it pretty enjoyable. Hopefully they will have some way to work it in soon, but the way that the previews focused on Ed and Hohenheim seems to suggest that they just decided to let it drop.
It wasn’t all that important to the plot, I suppose, but it would have been a nice addition.
Comment by rr101 — August 9, 2009 @ 23:39
Mustang is just too awesome. His GARness was overflowing at the end of the episode.
Comment by TJ — August 10, 2009 @ 0:40
i loved this episode! the only small problom i had was cutting out Envy vs Ran fan and Lin vs Gluttony. i was hoping to hear prides voice when he showed up to stop the fight!
Comment by Twilight — August 10, 2009 @ 1:07
@rr101
Well, I haven’t seen the episode yet (I’m still waiting for the subs), so I don’t exactly know what got cut out… from the review I assumed that all the most important stuff was there… but it indeed would be a shame if they decided to just leave out Envy’s fight, since it seemed rather significant to the plot, at least for me, with Envy mentioning his true form and all… maybe it’ll be in the next episode if we’re lucky… and if not, then oh well, you can’t have everything ;)
Comment by kagura — August 10, 2009 @ 1:17
@kagura
Didn’t Envy’s true form get a brief mention in ep 14, or am I misremembering?
If anything, the first acknowledged appearance of Pride is one of the most important points that would be missed if they cut the envy fight.
Still, I went back and looked at the manga for it again, and it can stand fairly well on its own, so they might get at least some of it in next week. Probably an abridged version, but enough to get the core of it.
Judging by the pace of the show and the preview scenes, I’m guessing that next week will cover everything up until:
***spoiler***
Ed decides to face down Scar in order to draw out the Homunculi.
****endspoiler****
Comment by rr101 — August 10, 2009 @ 1:59
The fight with Envy also introduced Ling and Ran Fan’s ability of detection which leads into another fight. So I would say that fight was important. It also doesn’t look like they will be including it in the next episode considering how much they are already including (scenes from chapters 42-44 were shown in the preview)
Comment by Kim — August 10, 2009 @ 2:10
@rr101
If I remember correctly, in episode 14 Greed was only making fun of Envy’s current form (saying that it was “lame” or something), but nothing more. And I didn’t really want to mention Pride since I considered it to be too much of a spoiler (and then, after posting my comment, I noticed that the comment above mine had already mentioned Pride :P), but I agree, it would be strange if they cut out such an important thing completely…
Comment by kagura — August 10, 2009 @ 2:56
Great how about posting a url to the episode to download you stupid bitch >>…
Comment by Elliey — August 10, 2009 @ 5:12
>>Elliey
It’s called Google, you lazy twat.
Comment by Ebod — August 10, 2009 @ 6:40
Eilliey, that was completely inappropiate and rude. >:(
Comment by Amikit — August 10, 2009 @ 8:47
I’m not going to read any of the other comments because there’s sure to be spoilers again, just wanted to say:
OMG. The entire episode had me lookinglike O_O. Apart from Lust doing a pitiful job at finishing Roy off, there was nothing I didn’t absolutely love. It almost made me cry, made me laugh a few times and it was just an incredible strong episode - I think it’s safe to say this is my favourite FMA episode ever.
Lust was absolutely terrifying and I honestly thought Hawkeye was going to die at the start.
Comment by tealovertoma — August 10, 2009 @ 12:37
Um… wasn’t Pride’s identity supposed to be the biggest spoiler in of the entire story?
It’s nice and all of you to have this discussion, but PLEASE keep the spoilers a bit under control.
Comment by psgels — August 10, 2009 @ 12:51
Lol, don’t worry psgels, I don’t think anybody here is stupid enough to reveal Pride’s true identity to you. It’ll be a big surpsrise, you can be sure of that.
And as for the cut out manga scene that we’re talking about, it’s not like Pride appeared in it physically - only he’s voice was heard, so even if they left this scene, it would still tell you nothing about his true identity.
Comment by kagura — August 10, 2009 @ 13:59
WOW. roy kicked major @$$ in this ep LOL!!!
love how he absolutely pwned gluttony out of nowhere, then the fight with lust, just wow.
(btw would it kill mustang to actually tattoo his alchemy circles on his hands beforehand like kimbley and carry some flint or a lighter ALWAYS instead of resorting to the gloves? the whole wetness thing is a major weaknesses for such a powerful character. just my .02)
i don’t think they’re skipping the envy pwnage either (at least i hope not), there’s elements of that fight that affect later storylines, so i just think they concentrated on resolving the death of lust.
btw the moral of lust’s story: PLEASE ensure that a (POWERFUL) opponent is actually, um, y’know, DEAD before walking away, it could come back to burn you in the backside in the end - VERY sloppy. looks like poor havoc’s gonna need to find some new big breasts to fawn over LOL.
looks like next week’s another “talky” episode: “deadbeat dad: child support”
Comment by Bobby — August 10, 2009 @ 13:59
Really great episode. The Mustang/Lust fight is really good in the manga, but it reaches a whole different level of intense here. Man, if I weren’t already one, I would be a 100 percent confirmed Mustang fanboy after this episode.
Comment by Shinmaru — August 10, 2009 @ 18:59
Cutting out Envy was a very stupid thing to do. And by doing that, they created a plothole. If Gluttony regenerates, why doesn’t he just go and help Lust?
While in the manga, Pride stops both Envy and Gluttony, but here, he’s just left…not doing anything.
Comment by Cornwiggle — August 10, 2009 @ 19:24
I think BONES will work out the Xing stuff in a decent way. It’s clear to me they left it out of this episode because it would be WAY too loaded and create WTF Code Geass pacing. Doesn’t appear that the next episode will address it all too much (unless it uses that action to break up the Hohenheim/Ed stuff), so I guess we’ll see in a couple of weeks.
Comment by Shinmaru — August 10, 2009 @ 19:52
Wow!!! That was most definately burningly cool…I love bones animation skills.
Let’s make a bet Mustang tried to save Havoc the same way he saved himself. Burning the wound…must have hurt, and I can’t imagine all the pain those Homunculus’s go through. Just looking at Lust burning over and over again…
I’m going to look very much forward seeing the next episode. Ed and Hoenheim. :)
Comment by Tuuli — August 10, 2009 @ 19:54
Awesome episode, made me look like O_O too.. But I’m not sure Barry’s dead - of course I didn’t read manga so I don’t know original plot, but in #19’s end there’s not his death on a screen. Nevermind.. It’s important that Roy is such powerful and finally get his ass up from chair ;) Can’t wait next sunday.
Comment by Wirone — August 11, 2009 @ 0:20
@Bobby
“btw would it kill mustang to actually tattoo his alchemy circles on his hands beforehand like kimbley and carry some flint or a lighter ALWAYS instead of resorting to the gloves? the whole wetness thing is a major weaknesses for such a powerful characte”
As I understand it, the gloves are used to create the initial spark needed for the flames. The transmutation circle on the gloves functions just fine in water.
Of course, that still makes you wonder why he wouldn’t just carry around a lighter, or some sodium, or some other means of sparking the fire if his gloves got damp.
Comment by rr101 — August 11, 2009 @ 1:32
I’m a long time fan of the original series, and have been following Brotherhood now for a couple weeks. This shit just got real.
The fight with Lust is breathtaking. I was in awe over the repeated burnination. Haven’t read the manga, myself, but I’m not convinced Barry’s dead either. It’d be quite a stretch to me for his soul to transfer just by touch but I wouldn’t doubt it.
Sadly, now I have to anxiously wait each week for the next episode. Catching up all at once is so much more fun.
Comment by Dobbs — August 11, 2009 @ 7:15
>>Bobby and rr101
I think the reason is that not only does he not smoke, but if the lighter ran out of fuel, he’ll be stuck back on the gloves anyways. xD
You’ll also find out a lot more to his alchemy, so I’m keeping quiet on that.
Comment by Ebod — August 11, 2009 @ 7:37
@Wirone and Dobbs
Sorry to let you two down but Barry is gone for good! And you needn’t have to know the manga to know that. In this kind of alchemy which transmutes a soul to an object, if the blood seal is destroyed, then the soul will leave the object and is lost forever, which means…dead! And at the end of this ep, the blood seal was obviously destroyed by Barry’s real body.
Comment by ntd — August 11, 2009 @ 9:16
the villain so incompetent, as she incapable to terminate someone thoroughly . I get tired seeing this stuff . as long the good guy win, no one give a shit about this.
Comment by reverse — August 11, 2009 @ 9:30
@reverse
Lust was obviously twisted and evil, not that she was incompetent to finish him off, she wanted him to suffer and bleed to death, knowing his alchemy wasn’t advanced enough to heal such a wound. Who’d think he’d have the strength to burn his own flesh and stay conscious all the while..
Comment by Moo? — August 11, 2009 @ 10:20
@Moo
I agree, If lust really wanted to kill him at the spot then she would have done so. I guess another reason why she left him to bleed to death is that she got way too cocky. She tought that by simply taking his alchemy gloves he would be rendered useless. Unfortunately for her this was not the case.
Comment by Rika — August 11, 2009 @ 12:58
Don’t worry, spoiler spoiler spoiler spoiler.
Comment by Yes — August 11, 2009 @ 16:16
STOP SPOILING THINGS.
Is it really that hard not to mention any of the things that you know are to come?
Comment by tealovertoma — August 11, 2009 @ 20:28
Oh, that’s it. From this point I’m going to be much stricter on those spoilers. It’s really gotten way out of control right now >.<
Comment by psgels — August 11, 2009 @ 20:35
Did something get deleted?
If not, I’m not seeing what big spoilers are here. The only things I noticed being discussed that could be spoilerish are confirming Barry’s death (which was explainable with just what has been seen so far in the show), and questions on whether or not they are going to show a fight that was set at the same time as the one from this episode.
Comment by rr101 — August 11, 2009 @ 21:27
Yes, sorry. I edited Yes’s comment a bit after he started talking about events that happen in the future of this series.
Comment by psgels — August 11, 2009 @ 21:38
Psgels you are giving way too much credit to this new version of Full Metal Alchemist. BUT this is the first episode that I really liked and didn’t totally knew how was going to end (didn’t read the manga). First good episode of this season.
Comment by Patrick — August 11, 2009 @ 22:01
Jesus.
Nazis.
What did I spoil? We know Barry’s dead and GEE Ed and them go back to Lab 3 EVENTUALLY. Wow! I NEVER WOULD HAVE GUESSED THAT.
Did I say anything about WHY or WHEN or even WHO was with him? No…All I said was someone uses Barry’s weapon there.
I’ll say it again: Nazis
Comment by Yes — August 11, 2009 @ 23:14
Yes: sorry, it’s not personal but I’ve gotten tired of everyone trying to drop hints of what’s going to happen next. You just happened to be that last straw.
It’s of course okay to sometimes drop small hints, but when EVERYONE does it, it really gets annoying. That joke you mentioned could have been cute if you didn’t spoil it and when everyone starts telling the jokes before they were even made, the fun quickly dies.
Comment by psgels — August 11, 2009 @ 23:23
Wow, in two days there are a lot of comments!!!
This was my favorite part of the manga. There was a part that was skipped, which I hope that they will animate later. Other than that, very thing was perfect.
Lust should not have left Mustang without assuring his dead, but from my impression of some of the Homuculi, they are very cocky and under estimate humanity.
The only wish I have about this FMA is that they would slow down. There are a number of fun parts in the manga that I wish they would animate. I am not picky about what gets into the adaptation, but it seems that the animators are in a rush to finish this series.
Comment by pgal — August 12, 2009 @ 1:04
~ Lust ♥ :(
Comment by Anon — August 12, 2009 @ 2:01
@Yes
Godwin much?
Comment by rr101 — August 12, 2009 @ 7:10
I’m not sure sure about Barry’s death at all, even if it was told in first series that destroying blood seal is equal with death of the soul. If it’s not in manga, it’s not certainty. It’s special situation, because seal is destroyed by the Barry’s original body, which COULD BE a “salvation” for his incarcerated soul. Don’t know it, but can’t dump it - I’ll repeat - if it’s not in manga. If is, we know for sure ;)
Comment by Wirone — August 12, 2009 @ 13:11
I agree with your comments on this episode.
I had read a good amount of the manga way back when, when it was first being scanlated, and I remember this scene fairly well. So seeing it animated, and animated so effing well…blew my fricken’ mind.
I loved the manga and this is one of the reasons why I was so glad to hear that FMA was going to be re-animated to follow the manga plot. A lot more awesome things to come.
Comment by T-chan — August 14, 2009 @ 2:33
The episode was so awesome i completely forgot the fight with Envy. Didn’t expect it to cover Lust’s death too.
The animation was splendid. I already knew Mustang was alright but Liza’s breakdown was so well done i wanted to cry. I’ve always thought the remake was good in animation but it lacks some good soundtracks. However, it was present in this episode. :)
Hope they’re going to put what they skipped in another episode.
Comment by Kamisura — August 17, 2009 @ 6:56
good review
Comment by violinrocker — September 29, 2009 @ 15:42
never been better I love Watchingit……..
Comment by thedrifter — October 4, 2009 @ 21:16
I hated this episode..
Lust isnt supposed to die like that…
and screw Hoenheim..
I seriously. hated it.
Lust was one of my favorite characters and I almost cried, I didn’t expect ANY of that.
Nor did I expect Havok to die.
Comment by Lunarian Cj — June 20, 2010 @ 7:00