Fullmetal Alchemist will be debuting in three weeks, on Nov. 6th at 12 EST. It's one of the most anticipated series this fall.

Summary courtesy of ANN:



I only got to download a few of the episodes before peer-to-peer was banned at my college, but from what I saw and from the rave reviews around the internet, I'm really excited about FMA. It has its light moments, but when it's dark, it's dark.

I like the character designs. Apart from that, I'm afraid this might become another Inuyasha.

In what way? I saw that the final episode was just broadcast in Japan so we won't be waiting years to see the end. 51 episodes, kind of an odd number. I think the manga might still be going.

Yeah, the manga is still going. The anime deviates strongly from it around episode 25. I'm honestly not too fond of the Japanese version, besides the characters having really awesome voices, which will most likely not be the case for the Anerican version. I'll check out the first ep, but I probably won't be watching.

I caught about the first thirty episodes or so (the series got licensed just before I moved to a slower Internet connection, the last episode the main fansubbing groups put out was the last I downloaded) and enjoyed what I saw. I'm definitely planning to watch, though I'll miss Paku Romi's Ed. I love Paku Romi.

I mean that it might become one of those shows that goes on longer than it should, given the premise, and become a fanboy emblem for boys ages 12-16.

I totally understand. That's one of the things I've been fearing since FMA was confirmed to air on AS.



Same here. I love the way she acted out the scenes where Ed goes crazy when someone calls him short. I don't recognize the name of the guy who will be playing Ed in the dub. He's got a long list of credentials, but I either haven't seen the series that he's in, or I can't remember how his character sounded. Haven't been able to pick up the Peacemaker Kurogane DVD yet, so I haven't heard his work as Tatsu. The reviewer at AoD gave him a good review, so here's hoping. I also saw that the actor who played young Akito in the Fruits Basket dub is Al, and Chris Sabat (Since it's obligatory for him to have a role in a FUNi dub) is playing Armstrong.

Oh, don't rule out the fangirls - according to my coworker's 14 year-old, Ed is hot, and it doesn't help that he's always ripping his jacket/shirt off. Heh.

I only got to ep 22 (threw all of my downloading resources into Naruto, which I thought was the Sure Thing to Be Licensed this summer). I'm hoping Funi does well with the dub, their work on Yu Yu Hakusho and Fruits Basket has been good.

I've only gotten as far as episode 4 and I have no cable. So I'm at a loss. (And Naruto better not be licensed anytime soon, or I'll really be at a loss.) I guess I'll just come here to read what you guys think of the dubs and scour for recaps. From what little I've seen, I like this show. And I'm probably the only person to make the obscure observation that Ed and Al remind me of Conan O'Brien and Andy Richter.

I'm a bit wary about the show being on AS too. But I shan't be all judgy yet.(Optimism, people!) I'm just pissed that we will be deprived of "Melissa" and "Ready, Steady, Go!"

I bought the first Kurogane DVD yesterday; I'll have to check out the dub later when I have time to see how he sounds. Hopefully he'll make a deecent Ed.

Something that just occured to me: I wonder if CN will chop the ending theme the way they did with Wolf's Rain, in which case they'll probably cut out a very moving scene that makes up the credits of episode 25. Considering they cut the rather important epilogue to Wolf's Rain ep 26, I'm afraid the episode 25 funeral scene won't have a chance.

Concerning the openings, I read that "Ready, Steady, Go!" will be the opening for all of the episodes on AS. If that's true, I'll be happy, even though I liked "Melissa" the best. And I too was wondering about whether we'll get to see the full endings. Episode seven has one of those special scenes. They really twisted the knife by adding Nina and Alexander to the ending.

I've heard the OPs.

I won't be missing much.

I hope this doesn't start out really promising and great and turn into a kill-em-all freeforfall.

mangaqueen, do you watch Wolfs Rain?

I've heard some rave reviews for this, so I'll be watching. I'm glad I longer have to sit through InuYasha to watch shows at 12:30.

savetheyak: I did watch Wolf's Rain...the series anyway....then I lost interest when they started killing everyone.

I'll catch at least ep 1 and see...

For some reason even though this anime was liscensed, I never really thought it'd be shown on TV. I can't imagine just how much is going to have to be cut so it can be aired on TV. It's a great anime but when I think about the dumb things they cut out of other animes, this one doesn't stand a chance.

And I agree about how great the Japanese voices are, it'll be sad to hear the Emglish replacements. I love Edward's voice.

I think if they can air the crazy fanservice/violence of FLCL and the grisly deaths of Wolf's Rain uncut, they can do something for Fullmetal Alchemist.

Well, that depends on who's doing the editing this time. When FUNi edited Blue Gender, they took out a lot of things that other shows on AS got away with. I don't think they're doing their own editing for FMA, though.

Adult Swim's site has an interesting little feature up right now. Swimtorrent (One of the mods at the AS boards) went to visit FUNi, and there are some video clips to watch and interviews to read. I wish I could watch the clips, but Real Player seems to hate playing in my browser.

They're showing FMA on Adult Swim? I figured this show would be geared more toward younger boys. Or would they show a cut version of it earlier in the day like they've done with other animes? (I really don't know, since I'm in Canada and I don't get the Cartoon Network.)

Nope, it's an AdultSwim only show.

This show has become my friend's new obsession; she obsessed about the characters, the costumes, the music and the HoYay. Of course, she was the one bugging me endlessly to watch Wolf's Rain; I don't think I've kicked her down the stairs yet, for that one.

And learning that FMA will have "special" endings and openings also worries me.

So, I'll be approaching this one with a lot of caution.

There's HoYay! ? Between who?

Roy/Ed is popular (And my personal favorite pairing). I've also seen Roy/Hughes and Ed/Al. Oh, and Ed/Wrath.

[image searches]

Oh, Roy/Hughes would be quite pleasant.

[watches the show]

I've watched all 52 episodes of the anime, and read all the manga I could find, and I can't help but wish the two hadn't diverged. I mean, the latest chapters of the manga are full of scenes that made me go, "How cool would this look animated? Wait, not going to happen now!"

The anime does have some cool ideas though, such as having the homunculi be the results of failed human transmutations - more Angst!Ed for me! Mmmm... angst...

*bump*

Good start! I do think that Ed sounds too old in the flashbacks, though. He's only 11, FUNi. It's even weirder to have him sound that old when Al's voice is practically still the same at age 14. Otherwise, I think Vic did a good job with Ed's voice. He's kept the spazziness. Al sounds good, too, though his delivery is a bit wooden. But it's only the first episode, so here's hoping the VA gets more comfortable with the role.

Wow, Laura Bailey's doing better as Lust than I would've thought.

Mmm, Ed. Mmm, Roy cameo.

What the hell did they do with the ending?! They played the second opening, 'READY STEADY GO' with scenes from the first opening sequence. What. the. hell.

I missed the first fifteen minutes, but it seemed enjoyable enough. I like the robot boy's (Al?) voice - it has a really nice combination of child and non-human to it.

I laughed out loud when Ed ripped his shirt off at the end. It was so over the top! All that talk about not tampering with forces larger than you, while showing off his shiny metal arm and tight pants. Hee! Eh, it was amusing enough for me to keep watching, anyway.

Yep, his name is Al. Alphonse Elric, to be exact. His suit of armor body will be explained in episode three.

If you don't stay up for the second showing tonight, you can catch the first fifteen minutes during the rerun on Thursday night. It'll play at 12:30 EST.

Ooh, thanks. There's no way I can stay up tonight, but I'll catch it on Thursday. It doesn't look like I missed all that much, but I'd like to get the full story.

Scratch the time I gave for the Thursday night rerun. It's on at 12:30 EST, not 1:30. I saw that Ghost in the Shell was being rerun at 1:00, and assumed that FMA would follow. Sorry about the mix-up.

It's interesting, to say the least. I think it's more like "Trigun"...heavy philosophy mixed with a dash of wackiness. And Alphonse seems to be well-adjusted, given that he's a soul in a suit of armor.

'Reversioned by Funimation'

Eh, what exactly is that supposed to mean?

Ok so far, I'll keep watching. Alphonse sounds more like a 12 year old than 14. I don't recall radios being widespread in 1914, but they didn't have certified alchemists either so fine.

Shouldn't Ed really be a halfmetal alchemist? Or a quarter, with only two limbs gone?

I like how Alphonse isn't all angsty about his predicament, though really, I guess he has every right to be. And I also love the voice actor. It's hard to find a suit of metal armor all cute and cuddly, and yet, I do.

As for the voice sounding too young, I assume Alphonse, being essentially a ghost, is stuck at the age at which he died.

Tee hee. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it, though, does it?

Thanks, Leanan. Hopefully I'll remember to catch it on Thursday.

Word to Lantern7 on the Trigun-like vibes.

Wow. Ed is one mouthy sonuvabitch ain't he? Glad Alphonse is around to keep him grounded, and keep us up to speed on how "alchemy" works in this show.

I was a little thrown off, early on; the show goes from dark and somewhat gory to zany and goofy, at the drop of a hat. I never liked it it when an anime does that. Hopefully, that's not going to be a trend, but a gut feeling tells me it will be.

I think I'll ride this one out. It's not like I can go and pick up the DVD now anyway. We'll see.

The priest was evil. What a huge surprise.

I agree, bossu. The reincarnation scene scared the hell out of me, but the "I am not short!" rants were just bizarre.

The show is suspenseful enough to make me eager for the next episode. I think that's because it ended so suddenly.

Looks like an interesting show. Hope they give us more background as we go along. Ok we have a philosophers stone and a chimera in the first episode, why was Harry Potter flashing into my head--- though this probably came first.

I loved the "I'm not short" rant.

I'll keep watching.

RE the Philosopher's Stone and chimera. The neat thing about FMA, is that it draws from actual information on alchemy throughout history. Even the show's logo has a background in alchemical history. This site has some interesting info on the flamel symbol and the chimera symbol (Which is the show's logo), along with the recipe to make your own false human. Go to Information, then Background.

Background is coming. Just wait for episode three.

It's an enjoyable enough show, with a lot of promise, I'm glad I didn't let the crazier factions of the FMA fandom influence my decision to not watch it, like I did with a few other shows...man like how the American version was done or not, but some people out there were so upset that FUNI got FMA...I mean really beyond all reason upset...a lot of overheated wailing about NOW WE MUST MOURN FMA DESTROYED BY CN AND FUNIMATION

But yes, from what I've seen FMA is an enjoyable show and a decent addition to the Adult Swim lineup which was desparately in need of some new material.

Oh man, this show totally hooked me. I think it's awesome! The gothic/science/religious vibe is fantastic, and totally fits. I love how there's this massive backstory to the lead characters that we have to discover.

I LOVE the big armor (younger brother's) voice - it sounds like a peanuts character and that's what makes it so cute. It's such a dichotomy, this big hulking suit of armor with this litte boy's voice.

Plus, I'm really digging the intensity/silliness of the main character. When he's serious, he kicks butt, but he can be funny too. I also really like the "rules of equality" and all that. I'm totally getting this all wrong, but I watched both showings last night and I'm totally hooked. I may even record this one and that's totally only reserved for Inuyasha, heheh. This was so much better than that Ghost in the Shell series too. I'm jazzed man, majorly. Could you tell? :)

I assume you're talking about Linus. Yes I thought that too. A young boy's voice that speaks with a mature intellect.

Yes, I'm also picking up the Trigun vibe. All I can say is if I find myself eager to find out what happens next, then that means I like it.

After being worried in regards to the dialogue-free promos, I was glad to see that FuNi didn't frell up the show as much as I thought they would. I did think Ed sounded too old as well and also that Al sounded too young (can anyone hear that voice and think that there's a child big enough to be walking around in that suit of armor?).

And word to the over the top-ness of the shirt ripping. Somehow it never hit me as being that over the top. Anyway, it's my Lust and Envy love that's keeping me hanging in there.

Although those ending credits were just a slap in the face.

Al's voice sounding 'too young' doesn't seem to bother me. Maybe it's because I feel that it would stop aging after he lost his body and ended up in the armor. No physicality means no aging... at least as far as I'm concerned.

I guess it's more the dissonance between Ed's voice and Al's that makes it stand out more in my mind. The age difference between them is supposed to be what, one or two years?

That would be my assumption, too.

ITA. That's immediately what I thought, but I'm wondering how his soul survived without a body. Maybe that'll be explained in future episodes.

I'm with the evil priest. How did Ed make that weapon without a transmutation circle?

So good so far. The first ep wasn't edited to death, although some of the background score had me thinking I was watching Detective Conan, ::ahem::, I mean Case Closed.

I really like Al's voice paired with the armor, plus it sounds like they got an actual kid to do it (if it's an adult, though, then I'm more impressed with the voice than the acting). I assumed the "no aging" thing with him, also. But Ed sounds too old to me, though the VA does a really good job with the character. Part of the Trigun vibe for me is that Ed resembles some sort of alternate universe mini-Vash in his incredibly-spastic-yet-highly-competent way.

I REALLY liked this. I never saw the fan subs and I never really paid attention to all they hype but I watched it and I liked it. I even taped it and watched it again :-P It took me a lot a begging to get my brother to watch it with me though, he really wasn't intrested at all. He ended up liking it too though, I could tell he started getting interested in it when Al dumped the sand on Ed in the desert. So yeah I can't wait for more!