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horizonreviews · 7 years

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“Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” Review

Fullmetal Alchemist: An Epic of Sacrifice

Out of all the anime series of the last decade, few are as consistently profound and epic as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Having been produced from a massively successful manga of the same name, the series had an extraordinary set of expectations to live up to. However, the episodes that spanned from February 13 of 2010 to September 24 of 2011 would not only defy expectations, but also prove to be one of the most popular and critically acclaimed anime ever produced.

Episode 1 Summary

The story begins with two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric. They are alchemists that are in service to the military of a nation called Amestris. Their latest assignment is to track down a rogue alchemist named Isaac McDougal, whom specializes in water manipulation, in a matter of days, they find their target inscribing runes across the city in preparation for an alchemy ritual with sinister intentions. The Elric brothers attempt to ambush this man, but he manages to escape and set his plan into motion. When his ritual is activated, it’s revealed to be a massive freezing spell that aims for the center of the city. Edward suspects that Issac is using an exceptionally powerful object called a Philosopher’s Stone, forcing the pursuit to new heights. Assisted by two more alchemists, Major Amrstrong and Colonel Mustang, Issac’s plan is stopped.

Episode 1 Analysis

Right out of the gate, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood immerses us into a world where the practice of magic has been transformed into a scientific pursuit called alchemy. In its most basic definition, alchemy is the art of constructing, reconstructing, and altering matter. However, in order to gain something, an element of equal value must be given. This chief law is called “equivalent exchange” and serves to govern the powers of many characters. When first introduced to the Elric brothers, we find that they both have an incredible affinity for this skill, yet they have suffered a terrible price in practicing it. Since Edward has a metallic arm and leg, it is indicated that he committed the one unforgivable sin of alchemy: Human Transmutation. The reason that this has become taboo among alchemists is that in order to bring someone back from the dead, you must give something else up of equal worth. So the question remains: what could equal the value of a human soul?

After establishing these basic rulings of alchemy, we see that the Elric brothers are also gifted in martial arts. They use of a wide variety of weapons, and they are well read in which criminals have also practiced alchemy. Their mission becomes clear, as they have dedicated their lives to stopping the unholy use of alchemy throughout the nation of Amestris. Their reason for fighting can be found just by looking at them, they have lost their very bodies and they wish to get them back no matter what the cost.

Episode 2 Summary

Episode two begins with the Elric brothers departing the city by train, and reminiscing about their childhood. In a flashback, we see that they learned the art of alchemy from their father’s library. Their prowess in the art of alchemy was something that made their mother smile, and this encouraged their study of the discipline to new heights. However, when their mother died of a sickness, the Elric brothers tried to bring their mother back by committing alchemy’s unforgivable sin: Human Transmutation. The ritual goes well at first, but a power from another realm snatches Edward and Alphonse. Edward sees a creature that calls itself Truth, and in exchange for his left leg, Edward learns some of the most elusive and darkest secrets of alchemy. Arriving back in his world, Edward curses his foolishness when he finds that Alphonse is no longer with him. In a last-ditch effort, Edward bonds Alphonse’s soul to a suit of armor by sacrificing his right arm. His brother is saved, but Alphonse’s body remains floating in another realm along with Edward’s arm and leg.

Shortly after this incident, the exploits of the Elric brothers reach the ears of the military. Yet, when they arrive, they’re surprised to see that a young boy had committed the taboo of Human Transmutation and survived. It was at this moment that Colonel Roy Mustang offered them an opportunity: join the military and continue studying the art of alchemy. Edward contemplates the ramifications behind this deal, and determined to recover what he and his brother have lost, he resolves to risk everything trying to get it back.

Episode 2 Analysis

Having established the powers that the Elric brothers wield, it became necessary in episode two for their backstory to be revealed. Yet instead of finding hardened warriors or conjurers in black magic, we find two boys that are content to make their mother smile by using alchemy. This innocent interpretation of the main protagonists serves to immediately grasp the attention of the audience and make us wonder how two innocent boys could commit a crime so awful, it forced them to give up their bodies. We find that after their mother died, Edward and Alphonse had undertaken the task of attempting Human Transmutation, the art of bringing life back into the world after it has been lost. Having only been eleven and ten years old when this was done, one realizes that their actions were in no way malicious. Instead, the most innocent of motivations was applied and the sympathy toward them grows.

This is even more prevalent as we realize that both brothers have been exposed to extremely dark forces during their brief stay “on the other side.” Edward, in a fit of rage, uses his alchemical knowledge to bring back his brother, no matter what the cost. He inscribes a rune on a suit of armor and in exchange for another one of his limbs; he binds Alphones’ soul to a suit of armor. This tale of self-sacrifice is one that is both profound and disturbing, and perfectly sets the stage for the rest of the franchise. Their motivations are simple, but all encompassing. If they gather the power of a Philosopher’s Stone, they believe that they can get their bodies back, and perhaps save their mother as well.

Episode 3 Summary

Episode three begins when the Elric brothers arrive in the nation of Liore. They see a man named Father Cornello performing miracles with alchemy, and he claims to the crowds that witness these miracles that this is because he commands the power of a Philosopher’s Stone. The Elric brothers soon arrange a meeting with Father Cornello and they are lured into a trap. A hideous hybrid creature attacks them (known as a Chimera), and Edward uses his metallic arm and leg in order to beat them back. The Elric brothers retreat and play on Father Cornello’s excessive pride, telling him that even with a Philosopher’s Stone, he’s a second rate alchemist. He retaliates by saying that his followers are “mere puppets,” and Edward broadcasts this insult to those loyal to Father Cornello. In a final battle, Father Cornello and Edward struggle using their alchemical powers, and Edward breaks the Stone like it’s glass, thus revealing that it’s a fake.

Edward and Alphonse head back to Amestris by train, and just before they leave, a loyal follower of Cornello says that she has no hope left. Edward responds by telling her to “walk on your own two feet,” looking at his metal leg, she realizes that Edward is telling her that strength is something you can’t rely on others for. It’s something you must find yourself. The Elric brothers enter the train and they leave Liore behind. Meanwhile, Father Cornello relocates to a clock tower. A woman named Lust and a man named Gluttony wait for him, and they kill him, saying that he’s outlived his usefulness.

Episode 3 Analysis

At the start of episode three, we are exposed to a new set of alchemical skills that are well outside the norm. And what’s more, there appears to be a Philosopher’s Stone in the clutches of a man who is on the brink of controlling an entire nation. The premise itself is captivating, but becomes all the more engaging when Edward and Alphonse stand up to this man.

A trap is laid out for them, and Father Cornello proclaims that by virtue of their alchemical sins, they are subject to the greatest dangers of all. This illustrates that while the Elric brothers gained power from their unholy transaction, they also have become targets of the very people they’re trying to hunt. After all, the ability to cross over to another world and learn the most elusive secrets of alchemy is something that any number of practitioers would kill to get their hands on. To become immortal (much like Alphonse), perform advanced skills (like Edward), or to even call forth the dark powers of another realm, the Elric brothers have made their world a vast times more perilous.

However, instead of simply using brute force, both Edward and Alphonse are shown to have sharp wit when facing their enemies. This is indicated by Edward’s use of the broadcasting station in Liore to reveal Father Cornello as a fraud, and how he was able to defeat him, even with Cornello’s power far exceeding his own. Yet the hunt for the Philosopher’s Stone continues. This indicates that while the Elric brothers do have a massive array of skills and powers, this doesn’t make them perfect. Quite the contrary, they are among some of the most vilified of alchemists, and yet they continue on their path, which makes them admirable figures, as they have good intentions behind their goals.

Conclusion

In all, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an excellent series with several dynamic elements blending harmoniously. With an epic premise, an intricate backstory, and an ever increasing use of tension and plot development, few anime can compare. On its face, it’s the story of magic users fighting for power, but on the individual level, it’s the story of two brothers that have lost everything, and they’re willing to risk whatever they have left to get it back. It is this fierce determination that binds viewers to these characters, and this is why it has become an immensely popular epic since its release.

#anime reviews #fullmetal alchemsit brotherhood #horizon reviews

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hunnybadgerv · 7 years

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Huge List of Vices

writeworld:

BAM Vices!

Addiction - a state of physiological or psychological dependence on a potentially harmful drug

Adultery - voluntary sexual relations between a married person and somebody other than his or her spouse

Aggression - threatening behavior or actions

Alcoholism - dependence on alcohol consumption to an extent that adversely affects social and work-related functioning and produces withdrawal symptoms when intake is stopped or greatly reduced

Anger - a strong feeling of grievance and displeasure

Antagonism - hostility or hatred causing opposition and ill will

Arrogance - the act of feeling or showing self-importance and contempt or disregard for others

Avarice - an unreasonably strong desire to obtain and keep money

Bias - an unfair preference for or dislike of something

Bigotry - when somebody with strong opinions, especially on politics, religion, or ethnicity, who refuses to accept different views

Boastfulness - to refer immodestly to possessions or achievements

Bragging - to talk with excessive pride about an achievement or possession

Brutality - unrelentingly harsh and severe; extremely ruthless or cruel

Callousness - showing no concern that other people are or might be hurt or upset

Chauvinism - unreasoning, overenthusiastic, or aggressive loyalty to a particular gender, group, or cause

Cheating - to deceive or mislead somebody, especially for personal advantage

Conceit - a high opinion of your own qualities or abilities, especially one that is not justified

Condescension - behavior that implies that somebody is graciously lowering himself or herself to the level of people less important or intelligent

Corruption - dishonest exploitation of power for personal gain; extreme immorality or depravity

Covetousness - to have a strong desire to possess something that belongs to somebody else

Cowardice - an absence of courage

Crabbiness - a disposition to be ill-tempered; irritable in character

Crankiness - disagreeable and easily irritated or annoyed

Craziness - not showing good sense or practicality; one affected by a psychiatric disorder

Cruelty - deliberately and remorselessly causing pain or anguish; bringing about pain and distress

Cupidity - greed, especially for money or possessions

Decadence - a state of uninhibited immoral self-indulgence

Deceitfulness - intentionally misleading or fraudulent

Dementedness - completely unreasonable or lacking any sense of the consequences of actions taken; affected by the loss of intellectual functions

Depressive - to make somebody feel very sad or hopeless

Despairing - somebody that makes somebody else feel hopeless or exasperated; to feel there is no hope

Discourtesy - behavior or an action that is bad-mannered or impolite

Dishonesty - the use of lies or deceit, or the tendency to be deceitful

Disloyalty - a lack of loyalty to a person, vow, organization, or state

Disrespect - total contempt; to treat another with disregard

Doubt - to feel unconvinced or uncertain about something, or think that something is unlikely

Egoism - the practice of making personal welfare and interests a primary or sole concern, sometimes at the expense of others

Envy - the resentful or unhappy feeling of wanting somebody else’s success, good fortune, qualities, or possessions

Erratic - not predictable, regular, or consistent, especially in being likely to depart from expected standards at any time

Extremism - the holding of radical political or religious views or the taking of extreme actions on the basis of those views

Faithlessness - not believing in a religious faith; not to be trusted or relied on

Falseness - done with or having the intention of deceiving somebody; treacherous

Fanaticism - a holder of extreme or irrational enthusiasms or beliefs, especially in religion or politics

Fearfulness - nervous and easily frightened

Foolishness - showing, or resulting from, a lack of good sense or judgment

Fussiness - an irritable petulant feeling; unnecessary elaborateness in details

Glumness - quietly melancholic or miserable; gloomy ill-tempered

Gluttony - the act or practice of eating and drinking to excess; to do anything to the point of wastefulness

Greed - an overwhelming desire to have more of something such as money than is actually needed

Grouchiness - easily upset; angry; tending to complain; habitually bad-tempered and irritable person

Grumpiness - a fussy and eccentric disposition; bad-tempered or sullen

Hastiness - to do things or act in a hurry because of impetuosity or lack of time

Hatred - a feeling of intense hostility towards somebody or something

Haughtiness - behaving in a superior, condescending, or arrogant way

Heartlessness - having or showing no pity or kindness

Hedonism - a devotion, especially a self-indulgent one, to pleasure and happiness as a way of life

Hubris - excessive pride or arrogance

Hypocrite - somebody who pretends to have admirable principles, beliefs, or feelings but behaves otherwise

Hysteria - being impossible to hold back or control; to be afflicted with a state of extreme or exaggerated emotion such as excitement or panic, especially among large numbers of people

Idiocy - extreme lack of intelligence or foresight

Idleness - lazy and unwilling to work

Impatience - tending to be annoyed at being kept waiting or by being delayed; unable to tolerate a particular thing and easily annoyed by it

Impetuosity - to act on the spur of the moment, without considering the consequences

Inanity - meaninglessness or senselessness that suggests a lack of understanding or intelligence

Incompetence - lacking the skills, qualities, or ability to do something properly

Indolence - lethargic and not showing any interest or making any effort

Infidelity - unfaithfulness or disloyalty, especially to a sexual partner

Inflexibility - firmly established and impossible to change; adhering firmly and stubbornly to a viewpoint or principle

Injustice - unfair or unjust treatment of somebody, or an instance of this

Insanity - extreme foolishness, or an act that demonstrates such foolishness

Insolence - showing a malicious or aggressive lack of deference in speech or behavior; the quality of being boldly rude or disrespectful

Intemperance - having or showing a lack of self-control, especially in expressing feelings or satisfying physical desires

Irritability - easily annoyed or exasperated; extremely sensitive, especially to aggravation

Jealousy - to feel bitter and unhappy because of another’s advantages, possessions, or luck; to feel suspicious about a rival’s or competitor’s influence, especially in regard to a loved one

Languor - a pleasant feeling of weariness or weakness; listlessness and indifference in speech or behavior

Lavishness - given or produced in abundance or to excess

Laziness - unwilling to do any work or make an effort

Lethargy - a state of physical slowness and mental dullness resulting from tiredness, disease, or drugs

Lewdness - inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious; obscene or indecent; salacious

Liar - someone who does not tell the truth

Licentiousness - pursuing desires aggressively and selfishly, unchecked by morality, especially in sexual matters

Lunacy - behavior that is regarded as unintelligent, inconsiderate, or misguided, or an example of it

Lust - the strong physical desire to have sex with somebody, usually without associated feelings of love or affection

Madness - rash or thoughtless behavior

Malice - the intention or desire to cause harm or pain to somebody; or to wish for someone to feel pain

Manipulative - using clever, devious ways to control or influence somebody or something

Melancholic - feeling or tending to feel a thoughtful or gentle sadness

Mercilessness - very harsh in the judgment and treatment of others; showing no compassion toward somebody or something; to continue at a high level of violence or unpleasantness without pause or relief

Moroseness - deep sadness; showing a brooding ill humor

Moodiness - having temperamental and changeable moods; tending to change mood unpredictably from cheerful to bad-tempered

Murderous - capable of, guilty of, or likely to commit murder

Narcissism - excessive self-admiration and self-centeredness; overestimation of one’s own appearance and abilities and an excessive need for admiration

Obduracy - stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing; not repentant

Obsessive - a particular action or thing occupies one’s thoughts constantly and exclusively; worrying compulsively about something or things generally

Obstinacy - stubbornly adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course, usually with implied unreasonableness

Offensiveness - causing anger, resentment, or moral outrage, sometimes to the point of physical repugnance

Perversion - deviating greatly from what is accepted as right, normal, or proper, relating specifically to sexual activities considered unusual or unacceptable

Petulance - ill-tempered or sulky in a peevish manner

Pitilessness - showing no mercy or compassion for the suffering of others

Pomposity - an excessive sense of self-importance, usually displayed through exaggerated seriousness or stateliness in speech and manner

Pride - a haughty attitude shown by somebody who believes, often unjustifiably, that he or she is better than others

Prejudice - an unfounded hatred, fear, or mistrust of a person or group, especially one of a particular religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual preference, or social status

Preposterousness - going very much against what is thought to be sensible or reasonable

Pretentiousness - acting as though more important or special than is warranted, or appearing to have an unrealistically high self-image

Profligacy - extremely extravagant or wasteful

Promiscuity - behavior characterized by casual and indiscriminate sexual intercourse, often with many people

Rage - sudden and extreme anger

Rashness - acting with, resulting from, or characteristic of thoughtless, impetuous behavior

Recklessness - marked by a lack of thought about danger or other possible undesirable consequences

Resentfulness - annoyed or bitter about having been badly treated, or characterized by such a feeling of annoyance

Rowdiness - a rough and noisy person who often causes disturbances

Rudeness - disagreeable or discourteous in manner or action; offensive to accepted standards of decency

Ruthlessness - having or showing no pity or mercy

Secrecy - unwillingness to reveal information

Self-importance - an unrealistically high evaluation of your own importance or worth

Self-indulgence - lack of self-control in pursuing your own pleasure or satisfaction

Self-pity - the self-indulgent belief that your life is harder and sadder than everyone else’s

Selfishness - concerned with your own interests, needs, and wishes while ignoring those of others

Senselessness - apparently or really without purpose or meaning; demonstrating a lack of reason and intelligence

Short-Sightedness - doing or determining without taking the future into account

Sloth - a dislike of work or any kind of physical exertion

Snobbishness - displaying an offensively superior condescending manner

Spite - a malicious, usually small-minded desire to harm or humiliate somebody

Stingy - not generous in giving or spending money

Stubbornness - unreasonably and obstructively determined to persevere or prevail

Sulkiness - a sullen moody resentful disposition; in a bad mood and refusing to communicate because of resentment for a real or imagined grievance

Sullenness - dourly disposition; showing bad temper or hostility by a refusal to talk, behave sociably, or cooperate cheerfully

Tetchiness - oversensitive and easily upset or annoyed

Thieving - to steal something, or steal things

Thoughtlessness - showing a lack of planning or forethought; showing a lack of consideration for other people or for consequences

Treasonous - one willing to betray the allegiance owed by somebody to his or her own country

Triteness - one who overuses common phrases or conversation topics and consequently makes them lack in interest or originality

Tricky - likely to cheat or outwit somebody

Twisted - morally unacceptable; badly affected by unpleasant experiences or constant disappointment

Unfaithfulness - engaging in sexual relations with somebody other than a spouse or partner; untrue to commitments, duties, beliefs, or ideals

Unloving - not giving or reciprocating affection

Untrustworthiness - the trait of not deserving trust or confidence

Vainglory - excessive pride in or boastfulness about personal abilities or achievements

Vanity - excessive pride, especially in personal appearance

Vengeful - having or showing a strong desire for revenge

Voracity - unusually eager or enthusiastic about an activity

Wastefulness - using resources unwisely

Weakness - lack of strength, power, or determination

Wildness - overwhelmed by a strong emotion such as anger, grief, or desire; not tame; living or having lived in the wilderness

Wrath - strong anger, often with a desire for revenge

Zealousness - actively and unreservedly enthusiastic to the point of fervor

#Character Building #Character Development #Characterization #Character #Characters #Vices #List of Vices #Huge List of Vices #Writing Resources

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