Review - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 3: City of Heresy
Reviewed by Christopher Pioli on 8.8.2009.
Score: 7/10
First, I just want to say that the opening and ending themes have really grown on me. I love them. This episode brings us to Lior, where the Elric brothers investigate a mysterious priest who is able to do miracle work.
Episode Summary
I have to admit, this episode is difficult to review because its story has already been told at least three times: in the manga's first two chapters, in the first FMA series' first two episodes, and in the videogame
Like I have mentioned, this episode was originally two chapters in the manga and two episodes in the first anime series. It was a smart move to condense the story into one episode, and for two reasons. First, we can move quickly through repeated material by sparing an extra episode. Second, those two chapters could not stand on their own as episodes without filler to keep them at 22 minute lengths. What BONES has done is effectively minimized the filler and skimmed through old material.
The episode begins with a sermon from the local priest of Lior, Fr. Cornello, which is overheard by the two Elric brothers whilst sitting at a diner. After accidentally breaking the cook's radio, Alphonse transmutates it back to its original form. Just like before, everyone confuses the armored Alphonse to be the Fullmetal Alchemist, and once again Ed throws a tantrum over his size. Taking the townsfolk's suggestions to heart, they watch one of Cornello's miracles, which is performed at the doors of his church in front of thousands of eager onlookers. This episode seems to spend more of its time focusing on the humorous aspects than it should. All of the funny material from the two chapters were kept intact, but some dramatic scenes were cut. As a result the episode can feel too childish, especially when considering the dark nature of this series.
Ed and Al enter the church afterward to discuss these "miracles" with the leader of the church, and first run into Rose. Fans of the first FMA series will notice the stark change in Rose's character design, and it should be mentioned that what changes were made to her are common throughout the artwork of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Everyone is drawn with thinner lines, and their figures are more proportioned to Himoru Arakawa's original artwork. The previous series' bright colors have been replaced with drier color palettes and swatches, and the effect matches the tone this series is attempting to take.
The confrontation between Cornello and the Elric brothers is one of the two big changes made to the story. In the manga, Rose hides in Al's armor when Cornello admits to using the philosopher's stone to the brothers. Even hearing the truth about the prophet's "miracles", Rose still follows him because he promised he can bring her lover back to life using the stone. But she never picks up the gun, and she never shoots anyone. In the episode, Rose picks up the gun and shoots Alphonse in the head, and then she learns about Al's "condition". This entire scene had to be rewritten to reflect the changes in Rose, and some good moments from the manga were cut out.
Another issue is the overuse of split panels, which occurred eleven times in my count. It's a cheap way to show two characters' reaction to a change in plot, and feels similar to reading a comic book or manga. It does not belong in an animated feature, however.
After fighting Cornello and his chimera, the brothers grab Rose and hightail it out of the church. While Al and Rose modify a cathedral bell into a megaphone, he tells her about how his soul was put into a suit of armor and Ed lost his leg and arm. Ed waits for Cornello in his office and the two argue over the priest's plans for the city, and Cornello unwittingly broadcasts his desire to control the nation using his followers as pawns.
This is the second of two big changes occurs. In the fight against Edward, Father Cornello's philosopher's stone rebounds and turns his arm into a hulking mesh. At this point, the manga concludes their fight, but the anime transforms the priest into a berserker "Hulk Cornello." The following scene did not occur in the manga, and it is an unnecessary action sequence that disrupts the melancholy tone set in the previous 18 minutes of the episode.
Conclusion
The episode is a decent adaptation, but overemphasizing the humorous parts and fiddling with the dramatic scenes hurts the quality. Additionally, the two large changes are distressing to me, and feel like poor substitutions to the original story. Fortunately, the episode does not suffer that much, and the long-term influence this story has remains unchanged. Folks who have watched the previous Fullmetal Alchemist series will notice the change in this series artwork, and while it may seem to lack the detail of the first series, it complements the series' tone perfectly.
And kudos to BONES for slimming down Lior to one episode. The sooner we can get to the new content, the sooner the studio can prove why it was necessary to begin the series anew.
