Welcome to my first review of Full Metal Alchemist. Just for a little background information, there are two versions of this show. This one (which I will call the American version) and Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Japanese version). These shows were made at separate times but the first couple hand full of episode are almost exactly the same because they were based on the same manga. This version (which is older than Brotherhood) got ahead of the manga so it has it’s own separate reality after that where as the Japanese version follows the manga since it was made at a later time.
The show begins by teaching us about the law of equivalent exchange. To create, something of equal value must be lost. This law will be a running theme throughout the show. We see two children, Al and Edward, who are trying to bring back their dead Mother using Alchemy. This is a forbidden form of Alchemy and breaks all of the laws of nature. We soon find out why.
In the process, Al is lost and Ed loses his arm and leg. It’s a bloody mess. When the smoke clears, all that is left is some sort of creature in the form of a woman who looks to be in pain. We now skip to the present, we find Edward and Al (in a giant suit of armor) walking in the desert. The show has an extremely dark and violent opening, but it quickly turns goofy. This happens a lot in anime. It gets more serious and dark as a show progresses.
They come into a town where they believe they see water fountains. Unfortunately, these fountains are filled with wine, not water. A restaurant owner stops them and turns on a radio where some sort of sun worshiper broadcasts a message everyone wants to listen too. This person on the radio can apparently perform miracles, which has captivated the town’s folk. Al bumps his head as he stands up, which knocks the radio off of the stand it was on. He uses his alchemy to fix the radio and now everyone thinks he can perform miracles as well.
They think Al is the legendary Full Metal Alchemist because of the suit of armor he wears. Edward is offended by this and the people commenting on him being short. This is a running joke in the show. People make fun of how small he is and he comes back yelling at them, exaggerating what they said about him (because it’s a sensitive subject for Edward).
