Review - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 4: An Alchemist's Anguish
Reviewed by Christopher Pioli on 9.7.2009.
Score: 9/10
The production team has skipped two chapters: the Youswell and hostage train chapters were not included the anime. I honestly have nothing to complain about - aside from minor characters and tweaks to their plot structures, the first series' adaptation of these chapters were identical to the manga, so this second series is minimizing unnecessary or redundant work and putting more focus on the rest of the series. Unfortunately, this means one important supporting character that re-appears later in the series will go without a proper introduction - the new audience will not get an introduction to the slimy Yoki, but since he is demoted to comic relief and a supporting role in his later appearances, there isn’t much to say about him.
This episode adapts one of the hallmark chapters of the manga, one of the most gripping stories in the first half of the series. Before watching this, I felt the first series' adaptation of this episode was perfect, but a lot of important details involving the supporting characters were changed from the canon to fit the first series' altered narration storyline. Brotherhood's episode is a true adaptation and stays true to the manga, so it will be interesting to see where it goes.
Episode Summary (spoilers ahead, skip to the conclusion for a spoiler-free analysis)
The first thing we see after the introduction is Brigadier General Bass Grande - the Iron Blood Alchemist - confronting Scar. This is something of a surprise - although the manga mentioned the general died at the hands of Scar, there was no elaboration or narration. The original FMA series depicted the murder, but at that point the story had deviated so far from the manga it cannot be considered an accurate adaptation.
I am surprised to see the production team take an opportunity to fill in some of the blanks left behind in the manga. Unlike the previous episode's "Hulk Cornello" change or the entire first episode, this scene was to my liking. It was a short skirmish with Scar illustrating the strengths of the Brigadier General's alchemy; the manga didn't elaborate on his skills until early in the second half of the series. Additionally, this is an exciting alternative introduction to Scar - his fighting style and demeanor are quiet and reserved, but agile and strong when immediate danger is present.
This episode’s first four minutes introduce Scar and Brigadier General Boss Grande – The Iron Blood Alchemist – confronting each other with their respective skills. Of course, Scar comes out the victor despite the heavily improvised artillery created by General Grande’s alchemy. Scar, on the other hand, has a quiet and reserved fighting style – striking hard and fast when he spots that one moment of vulnerability.
The addition of this scene came as a surprise to me: unlike the catastrophic “Hulk Cornello” deviation or the entire first episode, I enjoyed the fight. Also, this scene was not even depicted in the manga. Although we were told the general died at the hands of Scar, no frames were drawn to depict what had occurred, nor was any secondhand narration given by any of the characters. The first series’ depiction of Bass Grande was quick and lame, but that’s the price paid when trying to adapt a story so early in its development. This second series benefits from later depictions of Bass Grande in the manga, and he is definitely badass.
The next morning serves as an introduction to the rest of Col. Mustang's crew - Tactitioner and canine-phobe Heymans Breda, calm encyclopedic Vato Falman, gentle mechanic Kain Fuery, and womanizing sharpshooter Jean Havoc - working on the piles of paperwork generated from the Elric Brothers' numerous accomplishments and reports. Falman and Havoc both have new seiyuus in this series. Again, Yoki is briefly mentioned here, too, but it isn't enough for a proper introduction - I have a feeling newcomers to the franchise will watch a future episode and ask, "Who the heck is that Yoki guy?"
In return for handling the Liore incident, Colonel Mustang introduces the Elric brothers to the Sewing Life Alchemist Shou Tucker. When they arrive at Tucker’s living quarters, Edward is given a huge welcome by the family dog Alexander, and Tucker’s four-year old daughter Nina. Tucker welcomes the Elric brothers and inquires on their love of automail and medieval armor. After reaching “equal terms” with the brothers, Shou Tucker welcomes the two brothers into his library to pour over all his notes and research.
The brothers do not spend all their time at the house, unlike the first series which treated Tucker as more of a sponsor and mentor to the two boys. Edward and Alphonse have their own living quarters and travel back to the Tucker estate as needed. But as dedicated as they are to their studies, they can’t escape Nina and Alexander’s playful charm. By the end of the day, they’ve found two reasons to travel to the Tucker estate: research and playtime. Thanks to clever perspective drawing and excellent seiyuus, Alexander and Nina are much cuter than in the previous series.
Nina loves talking with Ed and Al, and discusses everything including her mom and her dad’s dedicated research. The brothers can easily relate to this, as the episode flashes to a brief memory involving the two brothers peeking through the door, watching their dad pour his attention over his research. Sympathizing with the poor girl, Ed makes an excuse to get up and get physical exercise with Alexander and Nina.
But what has just occurred to me in this – my most recent viewing – is that the story doesn’t call as much attention to these relationships as the previous FMA series. The audience is responsible for picking up these small details in this episode, and in comparison the first series almost smothered these relationships in our faces, as if saying “Look! Look! They’re having fun! They’re having fun!” This series, and the manga as well, acknowledge the audience’s capability to surmise the development between these characters, and let these relationships happen without calling too much attention to them.
Of course, Tucker’s certification hangs in the balance, and the fallout of the Bass Grande murders is emerging; flashbacks to the Ishvalan War appear, and all the machinations of the grown-up world come bearing down on the Elric brothers and Nina, amidst their playtime and bonding...
The next and final day Ed and Al appear at Tucker’s estate, the alchemist introduces them to his latest creation – another chimera that can speak human language, with long chestnut hair and white fur.
“Where did Nina and Alexander go?”
The confrontation between Shou and Edward is given more emphasis. You can feel Ed's rage and frustration as he throws each punch at Shou, and you can feel his exhaustion as he hears the chimera call out for its father, as it asks "Let's play", as the choir music plays over the tragic scene. It's heartrending without the emo gravitas being thrown at us. It's gentle, it's simple. It's non-drama queen. It doesn't give us a leg to stand on; we're not left with closure after this. It's even more painful because the chimera has to witness Scar murder its own father at the end.
Conclusion (spoiler free):
The first anime adaptation loved to dangle the Shou/Nina incident in front of us periodically throughout the series. That won't happen this time. It's not meant to happen. This is one of the episodes that has to be retold for the sake of the series. And it's at times like these we're promised that this series will be different from the previous adaptation.
It's cold and unforgiving, brilliantly culminating and concluding in the way that Hiromu Arakawa intended it to. It feels like a friend has died, and you wish that you had a better opportunity to know them. The episode doesn't give you the time to mourn or lament on it. It happens, and you are forced to move on. In this way, the second series captures the mature tone of the manga.
A lot of the animation is very nice, especially the in the way it depicts subtleties: the way Alexander’s tongue presses against Nina’s face as he kisses her, the way Scar blocks Bass Grande’s harpoons in the melee at the start of the series. These details are what animation is really about: depicting the small details of movement we find in everyday life. Anything else is simply a bunch of images jittering up and down like a kid’s drawing.
What’s unfortunate is that there are not enough decent pieces of animation – true animation – in this episode. For that, this episode loses one point on my scoreboard.
