New Transmutations


The Elric Brothers return in a new incarnation... Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

I've seen a lot of great anime series through the years, but only a few have made a real imprint on my grey matter. One of them was the fantasy-action drama Full Metal Alchemist. FMA had all the traits of the best anime- an unusual and kinda twisted premise (two brothers who lost their body/body parts while trying to resurrect their dead mother embark on a quest to recover what they lost), lots of action that doesn't shirk away from getting bloody, sexy babes, multi-layered conspiracies, hidden agendas, interesting characters, betrayals and plot twists aplenty... you name it, FMA had it. 52 episodes and a couple of movies later, FMA ended (well, the anime did while the manga went on) on some decisive, if not altogether happy, resolutions. Neither Elric brother ever did get to end up with Winry, you don't really know what happened to the nation after the war, and lots of characters (particularly Mustang and his comrades) didn't get enough development as they should have. Still, FMA was awesome and I remember it fondly.

This month, all that I have known that is Full Metal Alchemist is set to be rocked and thrown off the board with the all-new interpretation that is Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. This new series will supposedly reboot the series and reintroduce Edward and Alphonse Elric as anime fans have never seen them before. The new episodes may also be more faithful to the source manga, thus ensuring that we will be seeing a new master villain, and more pronounced roles for Roy Mustang and Company. Some things though will remain the same- most of the major vocal cast, notably Romi 'Edward Elric' Paku will be reprising their beloved roles.

FMA:Brotherhood will be premiering this month on Animax on cable, supposedly the same time as Japan (along with the series Tears to Tiara), so that's cool... although I will probably be looking for fansubs or downloads online on my own. Whether the new series turns out to blow the old FMA away or not, I am looking forward to more transmutations and transformations this April. Awesome.