Tag Archives: Fullmetal Alchemist

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode 47

Saturday, October 20, 2007 – 3:42 pm

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode 47Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #47 is now online! In this podcast, I review the movie Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie: The Conquerer of Shamballa.

This week’s Podcast Stats:

Time: 22:28
Download Size: 15.4 MB

Opening theme:
“Virgin’s High” by Mell
Opening theme to Sky Girls

Ending theme:
“Lost Heaven” by L’Arc~en~Ciel
Ending theme to Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie: The Conquerer of Shamballa

You can listen to my podcasts in the following ways:

Flash Player:

Directly: http://www.joshsanimeblog.com/podcast/JABPEpisode47.mp3

You can also download or add my podcast-only RSS feed to your favorite reader or add my podcast using iTunes.

Enjoy!

By Josh | Posted in Podcasts | Tagged | Comments (1)

Two years of Anime

Monday, August 6, 2007 – 2:18 am

Two years ago today, I received the first disc in my then-new Blockbuster Online rental subscription. I stuck the disc into my DVD player, not really knowing what to expect. This was my first time, after all.

U.S. Manga Corp’s animated M.D. Geist flashed on the screen and then the music of Blurry Eyes by L’Arc~en~Ciel started playing on the DVD menu for Volume of DNA2, and thus my journey down the road of anime began.

I went back and looked at some of the stats I wrote up in the One Year post I did, well, one year ago, and this is what I came up with:

So, how far have I gotten in 1 year? I’ve rated 17 anime series or movies (of course, this site has only been up for the last 6 of those 12 months). I’ve completed 14 others, and I’m currently watching 9 more.

If my counting is correct, in the past year I have watched 503 anime episodes or movies for a total of something around 200 to 215 hours of shows (or between 8 and 9 days).

I own 9 anime series and part of another as well as 2 movies

Well, that list of 17 reviewed series has now turned into 55 reviewed series. 31 completed anime series has turned into 67 completed series, and the 40 series that I’ve seen in whole or in part has expanded to 83 series (not including series I’ve only seen 1 episode of).

My anime library’s has continued to grow as well, going from the 9 series and 2 movies from a year ago to 21 complete series and 4 movies with 2 series in progress.

At this time last year, I estimated I had watched 503 episodes or movies, for a total of 200 to 215 hours of total shows watched. Now, I estimate that I’ve seen (if my math is correct, and not counting series I’ve only seen one episode of) 1,167 episodes or movies for a total of 470 to 475 hours (or 19 to 20 days) of total anime hours (not counting watching a series more than once).

Actually, at this pace, within 2 or 3 full season series, I should break 500 hours of non-repeated anime hours watched. I’m not sure I should be happy or sad about that though lol.

In any case, I also came up with this list last time around too:

There are also several shows on my to-get list:

Not finished, but I know I’ll buy it
Cardcaptor Sakura - Sakura Book
I”s Pure

It’s either still too expensive or I just haven’t gotten around to buying it
Howl’s Moving Castle
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away

Licenced but not released
Rumbling Hearts (Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien)

Not licenced yet
I”s Pure
Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya

Well, obviously Melancholy has been licensed, and so has Kashimashi, and those, incidentally, are the two series I’m in the middle of collecting. I”s Pure still hasn’t been licensed, and I have indeed bought the rest of the Cardcaptor Sakura series, as well as Rumbling Hearts. I still haven’t bought any of those 2 movies, though (the two new movies from last year are the two CCS movies).

At first, I thought my list this year would be smaller, but I guess it’s not, really:

I’m not sure if anything is in the “not finished but I know I’ll buy” category. If I had to pick a couple, I’d say Moonphase and Idolmaster Xenoglossia.

Other than that, in the “not licensed yet” category, I’d definitely put Kanon 2006, and I”s Pure would stay there, of course.

In the “too expensive to buy” category, I’d probably put Fullmetal Alchemist and Shakugan no Shana, and I just as well throw in Ah! My Goddess and Kaleido Star New Wings as well (though New Wings is coming out in a thinpack box set in September, so I should be able to afford it then).

In any case, that is my two year of anime wrapup post. I’ll probably put another post like this up next year…which will actually be the day before I would leave to go to Otakon 2008, now that I think of it. Otakon 2008 will essentially be a 3 year of anime celebration for me I guess.

By Josh | Posted in Shakugan no Shana, Various | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #34

Saturday, July 21, 2007 – 11:49 pm

Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode 34Josh’s Anime Blog Podcast Episode #34 is now online! In this podcast, I re-review the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist.

This week’s Podcast Stats:
Time: 16:29
Download Size: 11.3 MB

This week’s opening theme:
“Ase e no Brilliant Road” by Angela
Opening theme to Stellvia

This week’s ending theme:
“Motherland” by Crystal Kay
Third ending theme to Fullmetal Alchemist

You can listen to my podcasts in the following ways:

Flash Player:

Directly: http://www.joshsanimeblog.com/podcast/JABPEpisode34.mp3

You can also download or add my podcast-only RSS feed to your favorite reader or add my podcast using iTunes.

Enjoy!

By Josh | Posted in Podcasts | Tagged | Comments (0)

Studio BONES

Sunday, April 22, 2007 – 2:17 am

BONES is well known to have many quality anime productions come out of it’s offices, many of them I’ve seen, and many of them I plan on seeing. This is just kind of a “I wanted to find out about this” post, but here is a list of anime series they’ve produced (not just did animation production, but the actual production as well), and the scores I gave them If I’ve reviewed them:

Escaflowne: The Movie (June 2000)
Clockwork Fighters Hiwou’s War (October 2000 - May 2001)
Angelic Layer (April - September 2001) - 91%
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (September 2001) - 85.6%
RahXephon (January - September 2002)
Wolf’s Rain (January - July 2003)
RahXeopon: The Movie (April 2003)
Scrapped Princess (April - October 2003) - Watched but haven’t reviewed
Fullmetal Alchemist (October 2003 - October 2004) - 90.5%
Mars Daybreak (April - September 2004)
Kurau: Phantom Memory (June - December 2004)
Fafner (July - December 2004)
Ouran High School Host Club (April - September 2006)
Ayakashi Ayashi (October 2006 - March 2007)
The Skullman (April 2007 - )

So I’ve watched 4, and reviewed 3 with an average score of 89%, with at least one more on my imminent watch list. BONES has almost become to anime like CLAMP has become to manga - I almost get attracted to a series based solely on who creates it and not necessarily what I’ve read about it. So far, that’s worked out reasonably well.

By Josh | Posted in Various | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Anime Review: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - 91.7%

Monday, February 12, 2007 – 12:00 pm

The Essentials

Fullmetal Alchemist - The Movie: Conquerer of ShamballaName: Fullmetal Alchemist - The Movie: Conquerer of Shamballa, Gekijouban Hagane no Renkinjutsushi - Shanbara wo Yuku Mono
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: N/A
Released: July 23, 2005
Based On: sequal of Fullmetal Alchemist anime
Director: Seiji Mizushima
Produced By: Aniplex, Shochiku Film
US Distribution By: FUNimation

Major Japanese Cast

Edward Elric: Romi Paku
Alphonse Elric: Rie Kugimiya
Noah: Miyuu Sawai
Fritz Lang: Hidekatsu Shibata
Dietlinde Eckart: Kazuko Katou
Alphonse Heiderich: Shun Oguri
Roy Mustang: Toru Ohkawa
Alex Louis Armstrong: Kenji Utsumi
Winry Rockbell: Megumi Toyoguchi
Riza Hawkeye: Michiko Neya
Rudolf Hess: Rikiya Koyama
Envy/Dragon: Mayumi Yamaguchi
Wrath: Nana Mizuki
Officer Hughes: Keiji Fujiwara
Karl Haushoffer: Masane Tsukayama

Major English Cast

Edward Elric: Vic Mignogna
Alphonse Elric: Aaron Dismuke
Noah: Leah Clark
Fritz Lang: Ed Blaylock
Dietlinde Eckart: Kelly Manison
Alphonse Heiderich: Jason Liebrecht
Roy Mustang: Travis Willingham
Alex Louis Armstrong: Christopher R. Sabat
Winry Rockbell: Caitlin Glass
Riza Hawkeye, Rose Tomas: Colleen Clinkenbeard
Rudolf Hess: Jason Douglas
Envy/Dragon: Wendy Powell
Wrath: Luci Christian
Officer Hughes: Sonny Strait
Karl Haushoffer: John Swasey

Scores

Animation: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: 8/10 (x 1 = 8 pts)
Gut Score: 9/10 (x 5 = 45 pts)

Total: 165/190 (91.7%)

Review

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie picks up where the TV series left off. Ed is in our world living with it’s version of Alphonse researching rocket technology. Meanwhile, the Alphonse in Amestris continues on his quest to find a way to bring Ed back to their world. Along the way, Alphonse arrives in Lior where Alex Louis Armstrong is helping to rebuild the city. However, suddenly a whole bunch of suit of armor pop out of a suddenly-created hole in the ground and start attacking, but Armstrong and Alphonse are able to beat them back.

Back on Earth, we find that the Nazi’s, in preparation to take over Germany via the ultimately failed Beer Hall Putsch, along with the Thule society are attempting to reach Amestris, which they believe to be the ancient fabled land of Shamballa, in order to take it’s power for themselves. (And indeed, the Nazis were in fact interested in discovering Shamballa - having sent several teams to Tibet to find it in the 1930s).

Meanwhile Edwards gets tangled up both with a gypsy named Noah, as well as an aspiring director called Fritz Lang which ultimately gets him entangled with the Nazi’s plot. Edward then must find a way to save Amestris from the eminent Nazi invasion.

The movie is primarily about Edward trying to figure out what the Thule Society is up to while Alphonse attempts to find away to bring Ed back. Unfortunately, both Edward and Alphonse unwittingly enable the leader of the Thule Society - the movie’s title character, The wannabe-Conquerer of Shamballa Dietlinde Eckart - to open the gate. Once open, it is up to Edward, Alphonse, and all of the state alchemists to defeat the intruders.

I thought this movie was pretty good, though given that most of it is set on earth, it is a different type of story than what progressed through the TV series. Sometimes I hate it when people mix a fictional story in the middle of historical events, but I think it worked well in this case, both because it took place during a little known event in pre-Nazi Germany known as the Beer Hall Putsch, and the fact that, besides the events of the story, the history of that event was, as far as I can tell, accurate.

I liked how they had a flashback to a story about Ed and Alphonse at the start to get people reoriented to the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, though admittedly, if you hadn’t watched the series, you probably wouldn’t understand much of what was going on anyway. Like the TV series, the movie has excellent animation quality and good music.

There isn’t much I could find wrong with this movie, though I do think that some of the leftover questions from the TV series weren’t sufficiently answered, and it almost begs for a sequal, even though there probably won’t be one. If you liked the Fullmetal Alchemist series, you’ll probably enjoy the movie. If you haven’t seen the TV series, watch that first, then come back to this.

First Watched: December 2006
Do I Own: No
Do I Recommend: Yes

By Josh | Posted in Anime Reviews | Tagged | Comments (0)

Anime Review: Fullmetal Alchemist - 90.5%

Thursday, January 11, 2007 – 9:17 am

The Essentials

Fullmetal AlchemistName: Fullmetal Alchemist, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Episodes: 51
Released: October 4, 2003 - October 2, 2004
Based On: Fullmetal Alchemist manga by Hiromu Arakawa
Director: Seiji Mizushima
Produced By: Aniplex, Bones, Mainichi Broadcasting
US Distribution By: FUNimation

Major Japanese Cast

Edward Elric: Romi Paku
Alphonse Elric: Rie Kugimiya
Winry Rockbell: Megumi Toyoguchi
Roy Mustang: Toru Ohkawa
Riza Hawkeye: Michiko Neya
Alex Louis Armstrong: Kenji Utsumi
Scar: Ryotaro Okiayu
Lust: Yuuko Satou
Gluttony: Yasuhiro Takato
Envy: Mayumi Yamaguchi
Maes Hughes: Keiji Fujiwara
Sheska: Naomi Wakabayashi
Izumi Curtis: Shoko Tsuda
Fuhrer King Bradrey (Pride): Hidekatsu Shibata
Juliet Douglas (Sloth): Yoshino Takamori
Wrath: Nana Mizuki
Shou Tucker: Makoto Nagai
Lyra: Yumi Kakazu
Hoenheim Elric: Masashi Ebara
Rose Tomas: Houko Kuwashima
Pinako Rockbell: Miyoko Asou
Greed: Junichi Suwabe

Major English Cast

Edward Elric: Vic Mignogna
Alphonse Elric: Aaron Dismuke
Winry Rockbell: Caitlin Glass
Roy Mustang: Travis Willingham
Riza Hawkeye, Rose Tomas: Colleen Clinkenbeard
Alex Louis Armstrong: Christopher R. Sabat
Scar: Dameon Clarke
Lust: Laura Bailey
Gluttony: Chris Cason
Envy: Wendy Powell
Maes Hughes: Sonny Strait
Sheska: Gwendolyn Lau
Izumi Curtis: Christine Auten
Fuhrer King Bradrey (Pride): Ed Blaylock
Juliet Douglas (Sloth): Lydia Mackay
Wrath: Luci Christian
Shou Tucker: Chuck Huber
Lyra: Monica Rial
Hoenheim Elric: Scott McNeil
Pinako Rockbell: Juli Erickson
Greed: Chris Patton

Scores

Animation: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: 8/10 (x 2 = 16 pts)
English Dubs: 8/10 (x 1 = 8 pts)
Gut Score: 9/10 (x 5 = 45 pts)

Total: 181/200 (90.5%)

Review

Fullmetal Alchemist is a story about the Elric brothers, Edward and Al, who, after their mother died, attempted to bring her back to life using alchemy. However, attempting to resurrect the dead is one of the forbidden taboos of alchemy, and for good reason. The devastation that resulted included the body of their mother returning as a soulless glop of flesh and Edward losing an arm and leg and his brother Alphonse losing his entire body, with Edward having to bind soul to a suit of armour.

As a result of this, the two brothers set out on a quest in an attempt to find the philosopher’s stone - a legendary substance in the alchemich world which is supposed to allow one to transmute anything - even humans - in an attempt to get their bodies back. On the way, the two brothers learn more about alchemy and the philosopher’s stone than they ever wish they knew, and have to ultimately face up to the sins of their past.

The apparent goal of the two brothers - and thus the plot-line - shifts throughout the series, though that is probably to be expected of a 51-episode series. However, it never does so without reason, and there are very few episodes that occur in isolation from other episodes. Also, there appears to be a fair amount of foresight in the planning of the series, with events occurring as early as the first episode dictating events that occur far later in the series.

The story itself is compelling, with several turns and plot twists. It rarely gets boring, and always keeps you wondering what is going to come next and what the brothers are going to discover next. The cast of secondary characters are also compelling in their own right, making one care about the stakes that each of them ultimately face as well.

Overall, I would rate the story excellent and the coherence of the story over 51 episodes as above average. Animation is fantastic and the music is pretty good as well. It’s hard to find a weakness with the series except for two, somewhat minor things: the first is, taken in isolation, the ending of the series is left wide open, with several plot lines left unresolved. However, one must take into consideration that the story is continued in the Fullmetal Alchemist movie. The second item is that the series may have drug on a little too long. They may have been able to cut out 5 to 10 episodes if they really wanted to, but it’s not a really big deal.

Fullmetal Alchemist is definitely a series that a great deal of anime fans, regardless of their preferred genre can enjoy, and I would definitely recommend it to just about anyone.

First Watched: June - December 2006
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes

By Josh | Posted in Anime Reviews | Tagged | Comments (0)

Anime Credits - Fullmetal Alchemist Opening #1

Friday, October 13, 2006 – 12:04 pm

By Josh | Posted in Anime Credits | Tagged | Comments (0)

I’m in Fantasyland! (and long-ass series land too!)

Thursday, August 31, 2006 – 10:36 am

I appear to suddenly find myself in the middle of watching several long anime series at the moment, despite the fact that I wanted to restrict how many long series I’m watching at the same time. Also, I’ve found that several series I’m watching or just finished are more in the fantasy genre.

Long series I’m currently in the middle of include:

- Fullmetal Alchemist (52 episodes + movie)
- Fushigi Yuugi (52 tv episodes + 13 OVA episodes over 3 releases)
- Magic Knight Rayearth (49 episodes over two seasons)
- Kaleido Star (51 episodes + 3 OVA episodes)

Of course two and perhaps 3 (Fushigi Yuugi, Magic Knight Rayearth, and perhaps Fullmetal Alchemist) could be considered fantasy series. On top of this, I just finished Legend of Himiko which is also in the fantasy genre.

So, at first it was largely sci-fi anime (DNA2, Chobits, Last Exile, Angelic Layer - if you could call it sci-fi) then it was romance comedies (Ai Yori Aoshi, Fruits Basket, The World of Narue, His and Her Circumstances) and now I’ve moved into fantasy.

It’ll be interesting to see where it goes from here.

By Josh | Posted in Various | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)