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tori_reviewsThis one's a little short for being the only time this week I remembered to post, but doing these alternating means two reviews rarely go together well. Maybe I'll give that some more thought at some other point,
FMA’03 - episode 2: Body of the Sanctioned
I’m…not sure what I think of this episode. It’s pretty much a nothing episode, which kind of makes sense as it’s padding out what took about six minutes in the other version of this adventure.
I’m also very confused because I don’t understand how the stone or metal puppets work; that doesn’t track with my understanding of alchemy. Which in turn makes me start questioning certain alchemic acts that I normally let the show get away with. Like the fact that Armstrong can launch stones at people; that’s adding energy instead of just shifting matter. Also, was Envy able to revive the birds at the end? That doesn’t seem like something the homunculi can do. Maybe they were just new birds…not sure that makes any more sense, but the people in Liore do seem easily fooled.
Considering what this show is going to go on and do with Ed and Rose (which you can tell from the subtitles was conceived as the two syllable Rosè (we’ll see if the accent comes through), I think they have less chemistry in this version than they do in the Brotherhood version where they never see each other again. Even into his final parting shot at her; in Brotherhood, it seems like he’s sympathetic but imparting a hard lesson that he’s had to learn about keeping moving forward; here it just seems mean and like he can’t stop talking down to her.
I’ll say that in some ways I do prefer this version of how they reveal Cornello’s real intentions. It makes a bit more sense that he didn’t expect the microphone to be behind Ed in what appears to be solid wall than that he just doesn’t notice it sitting on the floor in front of him. That said, the timing seems far more convenient, Ed and Al are working on a shared timeline in Brotherhood where here they had no way of knowing when they should start broadcasting the cell audio.
Remember how I was willing to give something of a pass last ep to the people of Liore falling for Cornello’s tricks since he can back it up with what look like miracles? Yeah, here they just seem like really stupid sheep. Because, paradoxically, they’re not fired up enough when told that this kid tried to kill Cornello. If they believe whole-heartedly enough to go back to believing Cornello’s claims after what they saw, then they should have rioted at the earlier danger.
But overall, I guess I find this episode rather childish. It feels like a Saturday morning cartoon, with both the hero and the villain. I think this is a little true in Brotherhood too, but…I think I’ll save the comparison for after I watch the other version with this question in mind.
The fact that there isn’t enough material in this adventure for a two part story hits this episode harder than the first. In fact I think we get less character work than we do in those six minutes of Brotherhood, because in Brotherhood they can already reference the backstory more openly. Yes the first few eps of Brotherhood can get redundant reexplaining what happened to Ed and Al, but because we already had the backstory given before Liore, when Al tries to explain what happened to them to Rose, it’s able to have a lot more heart and openness. Same goes for Ed’s bit at the end.
Between what I kind of remember about this show, and the impression this ep left me with, this series is looking pretty nihilistic. As much as this version of things glorifies Ed’s actions and definitely abilities, in the end it means nothing because the people just go right back to believing the lies they’re being fed. I think Al’s parting words to Rose are meant to convey that hope comes from within not something someone else’s actions give you, or something like that, but it doesn’t work at that being a hopeful message. It almost turns back on itself and makes the Elrics as desperate for hope and as blind to the failings of it as the people of Liore. And…I’m not sure how to feel about that. It’s the difference in having the get up and walk, keep moving forward be about determination to not give up, and having it be more akin to if I look back I’m lost.
It seems almost a little early to state that I won’t be surprised if this becomes a key difference between these two series, especially when watched side by side. Of course I may end up taking this back as the story progresses, but that’s where I’m sitting at the moment.
(Ship brain alert, writing the above bit about where one’s hope comes from, really gave me Riza thoughts. Actually it ties into my comments on the last Brotherhood ep about Riza’s reasons for following Roy being an interwoven ‘want to’ and ‘have to’ cause. But it may be worth a thought comparing Rose when Ed destroys her faith in Cornello, and Riza when Roy almost destroys her faith in him. I just don’t think I have the proper brain setting to get into it in this review.)
FMA’03 - episode 2: Body of the Sanctioned
I’m…not sure what I think of this episode. It’s pretty much a nothing episode, which kind of makes sense as it’s padding out what took about six minutes in the other version of this adventure.
I’m also very confused because I don’t understand how the stone or metal puppets work; that doesn’t track with my understanding of alchemy. Which in turn makes me start questioning certain alchemic acts that I normally let the show get away with. Like the fact that Armstrong can launch stones at people; that’s adding energy instead of just shifting matter. Also, was Envy able to revive the birds at the end? That doesn’t seem like something the homunculi can do. Maybe they were just new birds…not sure that makes any more sense, but the people in Liore do seem easily fooled.
Considering what this show is going to go on and do with Ed and Rose (which you can tell from the subtitles was conceived as the two syllable Rosè (we’ll see if the accent comes through), I think they have less chemistry in this version than they do in the Brotherhood version where they never see each other again. Even into his final parting shot at her; in Brotherhood, it seems like he’s sympathetic but imparting a hard lesson that he’s had to learn about keeping moving forward; here it just seems mean and like he can’t stop talking down to her.
I’ll say that in some ways I do prefer this version of how they reveal Cornello’s real intentions. It makes a bit more sense that he didn’t expect the microphone to be behind Ed in what appears to be solid wall than that he just doesn’t notice it sitting on the floor in front of him. That said, the timing seems far more convenient, Ed and Al are working on a shared timeline in Brotherhood where here they had no way of knowing when they should start broadcasting the cell audio.
Remember how I was willing to give something of a pass last ep to the people of Liore falling for Cornello’s tricks since he can back it up with what look like miracles? Yeah, here they just seem like really stupid sheep. Because, paradoxically, they’re not fired up enough when told that this kid tried to kill Cornello. If they believe whole-heartedly enough to go back to believing Cornello’s claims after what they saw, then they should have rioted at the earlier danger.
But overall, I guess I find this episode rather childish. It feels like a Saturday morning cartoon, with both the hero and the villain. I think this is a little true in Brotherhood too, but…I think I’ll save the comparison for after I watch the other version with this question in mind.
The fact that there isn’t enough material in this adventure for a two part story hits this episode harder than the first. In fact I think we get less character work than we do in those six minutes of Brotherhood, because in Brotherhood they can already reference the backstory more openly. Yes the first few eps of Brotherhood can get redundant reexplaining what happened to Ed and Al, but because we already had the backstory given before Liore, when Al tries to explain what happened to them to Rose, it’s able to have a lot more heart and openness. Same goes for Ed’s bit at the end.
Between what I kind of remember about this show, and the impression this ep left me with, this series is looking pretty nihilistic. As much as this version of things glorifies Ed’s actions and definitely abilities, in the end it means nothing because the people just go right back to believing the lies they’re being fed. I think Al’s parting words to Rose are meant to convey that hope comes from within not something someone else’s actions give you, or something like that, but it doesn’t work at that being a hopeful message. It almost turns back on itself and makes the Elrics as desperate for hope and as blind to the failings of it as the people of Liore. And…I’m not sure how to feel about that. It’s the difference in having the get up and walk, keep moving forward be about determination to not give up, and having it be more akin to if I look back I’m lost.
It seems almost a little early to state that I won’t be surprised if this becomes a key difference between these two series, especially when watched side by side. Of course I may end up taking this back as the story progresses, but that’s where I’m sitting at the moment.
(Ship brain alert, writing the above bit about where one’s hope comes from, really gave me Riza thoughts. Actually it ties into my comments on the last Brotherhood ep about Riza’s reasons for following Roy being an interwoven ‘want to’ and ‘have to’ cause. But it may be worth a thought comparing Rose when Ed destroys her faith in Cornello, and Riza when Roy almost destroys her faith in him. I just don’t think I have the proper brain setting to get into it in this review.)
