Posts
So, as we all know, Fullmetal Alchemist, also known as FMA, and Hagane no Renkinjutsushi in Japan, is one of the best anime of all time. Done by Studio Bones the series spans 51 episodes and has a theatrical release that takes place after the series. The movie, "Fullmetal Alchemist and the conqueror of Shambala" had a three day premiere in Tokyo when it was released.
For those of you who don't know about the craze that is FMA, I've got to ask, where have you been? But, I'll give you a recap of the series anyway. FMA is the story of two boys, Edward and Alphonse Elric. When they were but children, their father left home, leaving the boys with their mother. A few years later, their mother fell ill and died. Torn by grief, the two turned to Alchemy, the science that allows something to be gained for the exchange of something else. Equivalent exchange, "For something to be gained, something must be lost." The two boys were very good at alchemy already, Ed being a prodigy and Al being quite gifted. Together they decided to break one of the laws of Alchemy and try to bring their mother back to life. It went horribly wrong, costing Alphonse his body and Edward his leg. In an attempt to save his brother, Ed used alchemy again and sealed his brother's soul into a suit of armor, costing him his right arm. With the help of their neighbors Alphonse manages to save his bothers life, and Edward gets Automail. Automail is basically prosthetics, but they work much better then ours do.
Cut to a few years later, and Edward is a State Alchemist. He works for the government doing jobs and investigating the mysterious "philosophers stone", an item that is supposed to negate equivalent exchange. He and Al, who follows his brother everywhere, are hoping to use it to return their bodies to normal. The series follows the boys on their journey, through their trials and tribulations. There is action, adventure, suspense, mystery, all the great elements of an anime.
Not to mention the artwork is amazing! Then again, Bones does fabulous work. The soundtrack is nothing to sniff at either. L'Arc-en-Ciel is just one of the groups that worked on music for the series. FMA is based on a manga by the same name by Arakawa Hiromu. The anime actually splits from the manga about a quarter of the way though, taking the boys on a much different path though the dangers of Alchemy. When the series ended, it was left very open, and many of the questions raised were answered in the movie. Fans were left satisfied with the work, yet still wanting more. Many felt more could be done with the series, but at the same time, there was trepidation about messing with the already finished anime.
Well, the fans have been heard. A few months ago it was leaked that there was a possible FMA2 on the way. Rummors seculated, but nothing was confirmed. Then on January 11, 2009 the news came in that there was in fact going to be an FMA 2. This FMA was going to follow the manga closely, and was going to be entirely separate from the first series. Studio Bones is once again behind the magic with a subsection called D Studio. So far not much has been said about who's voice-acting, but the original voices for the Elric brothers, Romi Paku (Ed) and Rie Kugimiya (Al) are back as the Elric brothers. The series is slated for release in Japan in April, and I'm sure it won't be long before an American company snaps it up for stateside release. (my bet is on FUNimation, since they did the first one and they're putting out a lot of new shows, but I'm sure they're going to have to fight for it)
Then, last week, previews came out (Ok, may have been a bit before that, but I have been busy). Lucky for you, you don't have to go to YouTube to hunt them down. I have them right here, subbed. So, enjoy a preview of FMA2 (I'm uploading the longer video clip, it's better anyway.) And don't forget the check it out when it hits stateside!
*I do not own FMA or anything thereof, if you want more info, check out The Anime News Network page for FMA2 or The Official Japanese page for FMA2
For those of you who don't know about the craze that is FMA, I've got to ask, where have you been? But, I'll give you a recap of the series anyway. FMA is the story of two boys, Edward and Alphonse Elric. When they were but children, their father left home, leaving the boys with their mother. A few years later, their mother fell ill and died. Torn by grief, the two turned to Alchemy, the science that allows something to be gained for the exchange of something else. Equivalent exchange, "For something to be gained, something must be lost." The two boys were very good at alchemy already, Ed being a prodigy and Al being quite gifted. Together they decided to break one of the laws of Alchemy and try to bring their mother back to life. It went horribly wrong, costing Alphonse his body and Edward his leg. In an attempt to save his brother, Ed used alchemy again and sealed his brother's soul into a suit of armor, costing him his right arm. With the help of their neighbors Alphonse manages to save his bothers life, and Edward gets Automail. Automail is basically prosthetics, but they work much better then ours do.
Cut to a few years later, and Edward is a State Alchemist. He works for the government doing jobs and investigating the mysterious "philosophers stone", an item that is supposed to negate equivalent exchange. He and Al, who follows his brother everywhere, are hoping to use it to return their bodies to normal. The series follows the boys on their journey, through their trials and tribulations. There is action, adventure, suspense, mystery, all the great elements of an anime.
Not to mention the artwork is amazing! Then again, Bones does fabulous work. The soundtrack is nothing to sniff at either. L'Arc-en-Ciel is just one of the groups that worked on music for the series. FMA is based on a manga by the same name by Arakawa Hiromu. The anime actually splits from the manga about a quarter of the way though, taking the boys on a much different path though the dangers of Alchemy. When the series ended, it was left very open, and many of the questions raised were answered in the movie. Fans were left satisfied with the work, yet still wanting more. Many felt more could be done with the series, but at the same time, there was trepidation about messing with the already finished anime.
Well, the fans have been heard. A few months ago it was leaked that there was a possible FMA2 on the way. Rummors seculated, but nothing was confirmed. Then on January 11, 2009 the news came in that there was in fact going to be an FMA 2. This FMA was going to follow the manga closely, and was going to be entirely separate from the first series. Studio Bones is once again behind the magic with a subsection called D Studio. So far not much has been said about who's voice-acting, but the original voices for the Elric brothers, Romi Paku (Ed) and Rie Kugimiya (Al) are back as the Elric brothers. The series is slated for release in Japan in April, and I'm sure it won't be long before an American company snaps it up for stateside release. (my bet is on FUNimation, since they did the first one and they're putting out a lot of new shows, but I'm sure they're going to have to fight for it)
Then, last week, previews came out (Ok, may have been a bit before that, but I have been busy). Lucky for you, you don't have to go to YouTube to hunt them down. I have them right here, subbed. So, enjoy a preview of FMA2 (I'm uploading the longer video clip, it's better anyway.) And don't forget the check it out when it hits stateside!
*I do not own FMA or anything thereof, if you want more info, check out The Anime News Network page for FMA2 or The Official Japanese page for FMA2
No comments:
Post a Comment