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fmab-liveblog · 4 years

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My boy Al reinforcing that Cornello’s the bad guy, not Rose. He’s even doing a little tilt to address Cornello while he’s headless lklhk

I mean, that was still really messed up of Rose and she probably should’ve had some kind of consequence for attempted murder because someone else said so, but still. She’s not in a good place right now.

Also, it’s really neat how the boys’ pacifism is contrasted over and over and over again. Cornello thought literally nothing of killing them. But it’s not just hardcore villains! Rose had second, third, fourth, fifth thoughts about it, but she friggen shot Al. I dunno. It’s cool to see that decent people can do bad things, but it’s also possible and admirable to stick to what’s most important to you. Good message, show.

Look at the kindness of these two. She literally just shot them and they’re trying to soothe her. Al’s opening up his one weakness (not that she’d know about it) for a gentle explanation. They’re not gloating, not yelling, even though they’d be totally justified doing so. I love them.

Also love their teamwork. Ed grabbed the head for his brother, which you can see in the first image.

OH THERE’S SO MUCH WITH THE CHIMERA - first of all, it’s got alchemy marks over its eyes, eyes being the windows to the soul and all that. Make of that what you want.

Second, it’s a classical-looking chimera - part lion, part lizard, part... dragon? Idk. It looks like most people’s mental image on hearing that word. It’s a clever little bit of misdirection for chimeras throughout the series. It also makes really cool sounds.

Third, that’s such a great setup for Ed’s leg. I’m generally not a fan of anime and the “Haha! I have caught you in my trap” “No, you’re in my trap!!” but this was so fluid and natural and just. Mmph. So good. Gotta bump up the Times not having a meat arm has saved Ed’s ass counter to 2.

You mean the thing you were promising to do for Rose’s bf.

I CALLED IT - HE WAS PROJECTING!!

This and the next line are very interesting. He asks Rose if she’s willing to end up like him. Since he’s flipping back and forth between regret at his choice, tried to go back through the gate when he was with Truth and the conversation he had earlier, I think he has mixed feelings.

I’m gonna try and shorten these up because writing a small essay every day isn’t sustainable lol.

Times not having a meat arm has saved Ed’s ass: Raised to 2

#FMAB #EP03 #fmab liveblog

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fmab-liveblog · 4 years

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Ey there’s that phrase again

Also love that literally everyone assume Al is the fullmetal alchemist lol

I don’t have much to say I just think Al’s total nonreaction is hilarious

Ed straight up beating a man with his own stick. Brutal. Meanwhile Alphonse has ruined a man’s dental work forever

And another bit with Al, dark-eyed, and Ed side by side. I wonder if it’s supposed to mean something thematically. I thought this was just Al’s disapproval face, but maybe not. Both times this has happened, Ed’s been telling a story about a legend. I’m not sure what to make of it.

I’m probably looking into it way too much considering they’ve got this exact pose with Cornello and Ed not ten seconds later

Gotta admire his commitment to a lie

Anywho, knowing the ending of the show, this line is really funny. Truth doesn’t seem to have very strong moral leanings, but they certainly don’t seem to appreciate people called Father messing around with the natural order using soul juice

Did. Did this minor villain parallel the overall plot of the entire series?

This is a clever couple little frames. I just wanted to appreciate it.

Just a pro tip, when someone uses the ‘My will is God’s will’ card, they’re generally lying. Especially when their will is to kill someone.

Just throwing that out there.

ESPECIALLY WITH THE FACE OF MALICE LIKE THIS LJKHG

And just like that, Rose is suddenly very sympathetic. She’s probably not normally a pushy ditz. She’s being manipulated by a very pushy, morally bankrupt man promising her the same thing that the Elric brothers lost their limbs and bodies for. It’s a nice frame - we don’t think any less of Ed and Al for what they did, and that makes Rose look much better than she originally did

Ed why are you staring broodily at the woman holding a gun to your head right after throwing a tantrum about being mistaken for the fullmetal’s sidekick.

ALPHONSE. YOU CAN GET SHOT ALL YOU WANT. WHY DIDN’T YOU LIE AND SAY YOU’RE THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST??? ED’S SQUISHY BRAIN CANNOT HANDLE A BULLET

I’m sorry this face is just sending me. None of my friends can agree on what it means. One suggested “Bitch are you serious”

They draw this particular emotion very well. It’s uncomfortable to watch. 10/10

Damn. That scream is chilling. I’m really picky about dramatic voice acting - normal conversations are fine, but like, even when the English VA for Ed is screaming in some of the scenes I kinda roll my eyes. This is not one of those times.

I’m. I’m very glad she shot Alphonse instead. I wonder whether Ed would’ve encouraged her to shoot if she was aiming at him... I’d hope not. As is, it was a great move. Al’s gonna be fine. Rose, however, is not.

Oh, shit. I wonder if this influences him being so adamant that Winry not kill Scar later.

Anyway, this show does a great job of not falling into that annoying trope where you have people committing horrible acts of violence, hesitate to shoot someone, and then are perfectly fine afterwards. This entire exchange is someone who is clearly unused to violence, does not want to be here, is doing it anyway and has immediate regret. I normally have a hard time relating to these kinds of characters because they’re rarely done well, but damn. I have a whole new appreciation for Rose

And that’s a great cliffhanger! Will have more tomorrow

#fmab #fmab liveblog #ep03 #rose #Edward elric

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fmab-liveblog · 4 years

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Well this explains why it’s important for both of them to get their bodies back.

Let’s Talk about Edward’s Disability

Automail - A Means to an End

So I’m noticing some misconceptions when it comes to Edward’s automail and I just wanted to clear things up for how the world works at the least for my individual take on Edward.

So the thing I need you to remember when dealing with my Edward is that he is disabled.

I know Edward can run and jump and flip and kick and do all of these amazing things.

That doesn’t stop him from being disabled.

Please also remember that Edward feels everything lopsided, as on the right side he can feel next to nothing from the entire length of his arm - shoulder to the tip of his fingers, and on the left side of his lower body he can feel next to nothing from the mid thigh all the way down to the tips of his toes.

I said next to because at the base or ports of his automail Edward can feel the connection of his nerves to the machine. That’s why he’s able to tell Winry that “his shoulder feels numb” in Star of Milos or one of the reasons during lab 5 he could identify that something was wrong with his shoulder.

However when it comes to Edward’s arm his sense of “feeling” relies heavily on weight. His right side has become dependent on knowing how much something weighs. Edward can’t feel what’s in his hand despite how it may appear. He really just has to trust the object is in his grip whether that be by sight. the sound of the metal gripping or by the weight of it that it adds to his shoulder.

Edward’s right shoulder and port are the running engine of his automail. If you’ll look at how it’s connected to his body, you’ll see that the port of his shoulder actually takes up a decent portion of his chest. It covers almost his entire right pectoral and moves into his right shoulder blade.

|| Please get used to these pictures I’m going to use them a lot. ||

Ed’s automail doesn’t just effect his arm - like series constantly pushes. He only lost his arm but in order to even be able to have an arm again he had to sacrifice even more of his body so it had a place to connect.

If you really look at him you’ll see all the scarring that occurred because of the surgery - surgery that is said to make a grown man scream out or cry in pain over.

Ed was 11 when they did this to his body. Look at his shoulder before the surgery.

It’s there. It’s all there. His chest was unharmed by Truth and so was his shoulder. He ONLY lost his arm, and the series like’s to push that fact but what it doesn’t push is the amount of alterations he had to have done to his growing pre-teen body in order to have that famous automail arm.

He has bolts grafted into his body - anchored right into his bones to keep that port on his body.

Three on his chest - two into his side and one into his collar bone

and three into his back - two into his side again and one into his shoulder blade.

I want you to right now - as you’re reading this - roll your shoulder slowly. Feel your shoulder blade? Edward’s got a bolt there. Do you feel your collarbone as you slowly drop your shoulder forward? Edward’s got a bolt there. Bolts drilled right into his bones.

His Automail hurts. Al says in the beginning of the series, that he wants to get Ed’s body fixed first because Edward’s automail is hard on his body.

The dub line is actually “No Brother, you first - that automail is so tough on you.”

It’s like this because as I said it’s been grafted into his skeletal structure.

So when Ed moves, it moves, but don’t forget that automail has no outside power source. it’s connected straight into his nervous system - each nerve, each and every nerve is anchored right into this machine that’s powered through the electrical pulses that come from those nerves. It regulates the power to the pneumatic actuators and electrical motors inside of it. Ed is it’s power source.

^ It looks like this under all that pretty plating after all ^

Basically, Edward’s brain is still firing the signals to move his right arm / hand - the lost limb(s) and left leg)) So his arm still moves as fluid as it would if it was still flesh and blood because his automail receives the signals sent out by his brain and when his nerves react, his arm amplifies the signals and does the motion his body was trying to tell the lost limb to do.

But it took rehabilitation to do this. Rehabilitation to be able to use his limbs in the first place - that was supposed to take a whole three years to complete and Edward cut down to one. I have no doubt that he pushed himself. He had to push himself. He had to push himself so ridiculously hard to get himself up to running condition - enough to be fighting his brother - in a year. I bet he tried to fight his brother in shorter than a year and I bet he was spitting blood just like Pinako said he would be.

So when I say Edward is in pain constantly, this is why. It’s not a hard pain. It’s nothing that drops him. No it’s like this constant ache that rests between his shoulder blades from his small frame trying to carry enough weight that it’s stopping him from growing.

Edward’s arm literally puts so much stress on his body it hasn’t been able to grow. His now teenage maturing body got stuck in a time loop basically because there was too much weight bringing it down. He carries that weight on his shoulder every day.

Personally, I believe his arm has to weight something close to 20 - 25 lbs with his leg weighing about the same. But then like I said, this is for my own personal take on him. I personally believe that his automail adds about another 50lbs to his body weight - making him a firm 160 - 170 lbs.

(His own body has to be a decent weight considering all the flips and jumps and kicks and stuff he can do because he has to have a lot of muscle on his body to be able to jump high enough to kick his 7′3″ armored brother in the face. Ed alone probably weighs 110 /120 lbs even at 4′11″. )

Now when we you look at this leg, you can see that it’s still partly there.

His automail only comes up to mid-thigh / just above the knee. So he didn’t even lose the whole thing, but he did lose enough that it puts pressure on his hip / pelvis to move it. This port however is different from the shoulder port in the fact it houses the main support rod of the leg in a different way but it’s still bolted into his body.

The thing you see in the top picture is the outer plating that protects the port, where as this is the actual place of connection and it is attached into Edward’s leg with one large bolt driven into each side. They have to be large in this case, and heavily reinforced because these bolts don’t just keep the port in place and the leg attached to his body but they also have to be weight bearing. If the bolts in this port snap - not only does it break the port’s connection and Edward loses his leg taking him down with it - but he’ll feel those bolts snap inside of his leg and they could cause more internal damage that might prevent him from having an automail leg in the first place.

Also as I said in the sections about his arm, I personally believe that each piece of his automail weighs around 25lbs - so that means his exceptionally small frame is trying to move something with that kind of weight. It strains his pelvis leaving him with sore hips and he has to readjust himself a lot to find the most comfortable position for him to set for long periods (or if he’s been on it a lot - for him to set at all.)

But that weight is also where the lopsided feeling I mentioned comes into play. Edward naturally ( at this point) has more strength in his right shoulder and left hip due to having to move these solid pieces of steel around for years and years.

But all and all, it’s set up much like his arm in the way that it turns the firing of messages to his lost leg into energy and instructions for his automail. He just has to train his body constantly to keep himself in proper shape in order to be able to move it.

On that subject. I have mentioned in other headcanons / things about Edward that the boy suffers from mass pain during rain or thunderstorms.

Now this is mentioned in the manga / brotherhood, when he goes out with Pinako to dig up the grave of the thing he transmuted - and he ends up on his knees, throwing up he’s in so much pain. And that’s just a heavy rain storm.

Now while I think this has something to do with the fact that he just has old injuries and old injuries hurt in weather changes, whether they’re broken bones or what not, I also think this has something to do with the fact that he rushed his rehabilitation by two years. I wouldn’t be surprised if part of it didn’t heal correctly so it lead to him having extremely painful reactions during poor weather or extreme cold. So when thunderstorms roll around the the barometric pressure in the air changes he wants to throw up from the pressure it puts on the ports in his body - the bolts in his body.

Automail does not change that Edward is a double amputee. When poor weather hits, he would have adverse reactions regardless - but with so much metal in his body and his nerves literally connected to a machine that picks up the smallest reactions out of them - thunderstorms and heavy weather just destroys him.

Edward has also woken from a nightmare during a storm and the first thing he did was hug his leg and declare “It hurts.”

In no way, shape or form does Ed’s automail give him a magical pain free cure to fix all of his problems. Honestly, it made it so he was a complete person again and he could function mostly independently. It gave him him hands-free alchemy but it also gave him a ton of new problems.

I know people rag on Al for ‘mothering’ him throughout the series, but honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a lot more than just “You’re sleeping with your tummy out.” It’s probably holding his hair back when he can stop puking, and making sure he stays in bed when he’s so dizzy from pain he falls over. Al has probably carried him countless times - conscious or unconscious. I wouldn’t be surprised if Al has also had to go in Ed’s place or call in Ed’s place to refuse summons from Mustang - lightly explaining things like ‘He’s not feeling well’ or coming up with every other reason he can so no one else knows how bad it is. Because Al knows that would destroy him. He knows his brother is trying to be as strong as he possibly can for this - for them - for him so he’d never let anyone know just exactly what that automail does to Edward.

Because it does a lot more than just give him an arm and a leg.

#I take back that thing I said #rare reblog #fmab #Edward elric

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fmab-liveblog · 4 years

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Didn’t Truth/God rip your leg off

Jokes aside, I just went back and checked the dub. Ed says he’s ‘not really the religious type.’ It’s interesting because atheist, agnostic and areligious all have slightly different meanings - atheist typically means ‘there is no god’, agnostic means ‘could be a god, maybe not. I dunno’ and areligious just means ‘not religious’ or ‘not the religious type’. That depends a lot on his definition of religious. I say this because the only thing I had seen of FMAB before I watched it was the funny joke about Ed seeing God and still being an atheist. That’s hilarious and I’m gonna laugh at the joke, but also gonna remember that’s not exactly what he said about himself.

I realized that Rose is the most anime looking character of all of them. She’s got purple eyes, two tone hair and a unique hairstyle.

Anyway. It’s nice getting subtitles showing what the writing means lol. Her being sincere here is really important, because that kind of wheedling ‘if you worship just like I do, God will grant your wish!’ comes off as manipulative and kinda shallow otherwise. But no, she’s just desperate and so that makes her rather obsessive and pushy - same with Hughes and his family. Still friggen rude, tho

Projecting much?

But yeah, I didn’t like this section very much because the first overtly religious person in the show is a faith healing bimbo that’s easily manipulated, and also because Ed’s being a gigantic ass by coming into the place where these people worship and then going ‘lol your religion is stupid and you’re stupid for believing it.’ It’s just unpleasant to watch. (Once again, Alphonse can do no wrong lol)

I’m not sure why Ed’s smirk breaks for a split second. I think it’s ‘People aren’t things’ that gets to him.

Or maybe he is actually an atheist - or is that more an alchemist thing? I know he can’t go around saying ‘I committed the ultimate taboo and saw Truth’.

I dunno. These kinds of arguments always annoy me because Rose is clearly regurgitating stuff she’s heard from other people at him and he’s acting all superior. Even if this is actually narratively pretty good - shows the dangers of cults but Ed’s definitely not the good guy either - I see enough of this at work and school lol.

From here on out, I get the sense that neither Ed or Rose are supposed to be sympathetic. Rose is very dogmatic and ready to damn Ed (or say he’s going to incur Heaven’s wrath), but this line especially is messed up on Ed’s part. It’s a concerning line without the context of the rest of the show, but with it? Yikes. It really shows how much Ed grows throughout the show.

Another thing that comes up is when they call human transmutation ‘playing god’. I didn’t really get that impression from the boys or later Izumi. They just really, really wanted their loved ones back. I mean Ed’s totally playing god now, but he didn’t when he was little. At least, I don’t think he did. He was too young to really understand what ‘playing god’ meant. Buuuut, that’s one of the running themes of the show. Truth isn’t fair. It just is.

The Alphonse face of disapproval

Also, Ed’s projecting again lol. Looking at this again, I think part of why he’s being such a jackass is because he’s got all his personal issues wrapped up in this. The Icarus story is a little off... interesting how it went from ‘melted off’ to ‘torn off’. One is way more active than the other, a direct punishment instead of bad planning. Since it’s about the Sun, and this is the Sun God Leto, maybe Ed’s indirectly referencing Truth/God tearing his leg and arm off? And that’s why Alphonse is so uncomfortable, because Ed’s using their shared trauma to make a point and it’s not a very good one. That, or he’s self deprecating and calling himself full of hubris.

I dunno why Ed played this game if he just wanted Rose to take him to the guy with the philosopher’s stone. “Take me to your leader” would’ve sufficed lol.

Anyway rough part over! I love the rest of the episode and while I feel that religion is always in a pretty negative light throughout the series, at least it’s respectful from here on out.

#fmab #fmab liveblog #ep03

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fmab-liveblog · 4 years

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Forgot one thing from the first intro - I still have no idea who these people are. I’m guessing Ed and Al? They get put in this sort of pose a lot - side by side in a dramatic field. The little bump on the right one’s forehead looks like Ed’s bangs and the silhouette has the Ed Slouch(TM). The shadows also fit that theme of Ed being the wiggly one and Al is pretty straight and solid, though it’s also possible the one on the left is an antagonist? I’m leaning more towards the brothers, tho

Onto the actual episode!

Can we address the lizard hanging in the background

Also I remember this being one of my least favorite episodes lhkg. It’s still a good one, though. I feel like the Christian imagery is laid on juuuust a little thick, but I do love the aftermath of this episode. And hey, maybe I’ll love it on the second watch

And this is a great reference shot for Alphonse. I wonder how much of his posture is habit and how much is him intentionally trying to blend in

Another great reference, but more importantly, ED’S FACE LKHJKGH. Looks like Wind Waker Link

Anyway, Al didn’t flinch or make a sound at all when he hit his head hard enough to knock the radio loose. Such a nice detail. Can you tell Alphonse is my favorite yet? He’s also the one to fix the radio and we get to see his triangular transmutation circle again.

Putting my overanalysis cap on, I think it’s neat that the boys break the radio spouting lies, fix it, and later it tells messages of hope and community. When they return to Liore much, much later, the people comment that the radio is better than new and thank the boys for their help. ~Symbolism~

I relate to the kid in the middle right

Also fun lore - the people of Liore do not immediately recognize alchemy. I was under the impression alchemy was pretty widespread on my first watch but maybe not.

The Trauma Music is playing, people’s eyes are shaded and this dude is talking about the thing that got Al’s body and Ed’s leg stolen - that’s how you know he’s probably bad news.

Also I never realized they used the brothers’ silhouettes to outline the flashback. That’s cool. Very artsy

HE’S ON A BOX LHKGK

I love how smart the two of them are. It’s good to see them bouncing ideas off of each other.

Oooo we’re getting alchemy rules. Ed says "The law is that only one volume off mass can come from the same volume off mass” and Al follows up with the vegetable to mineral thing. I’m... not sure what Ed means by ‘volume of mass’. Might be a translational thing because literally that’s more, like, density. I’ll assume he means ‘amount of mass’, since later Roy can turn a small volume of water into a large volume but equally massive amount of hydrogen and oxygen gas.

Or maybe it’s magic, because what constitutes ‘vegetable’ and ‘mineral’? Vegetables are ultimately just minerals, water and carbon in fancy shapes. I'm not saying it’s wrong at all! It’s an interesting magic/science system, totally different than irl science. It’s very clever and internally consistent, which is all that matters

I think Alchemy lore is a good place to stop

#fmab #fmab liveblog #ep03 #intro1

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fmab-liveblog · 4 years

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ooooo this is beautiful

If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal or greater value must be given.

That is the law of equivalent exchange.

#fomreblog #fmab #alphonse elric

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fmab-liveblog · 4 years

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Spoilers, intro. This looks just like Ed and he’s got his arm back. Granted, I’m terrible at telling characters apart. There’s one point later where Mustang’s wearing a hat and has a mustache and I’m like “who the hell is Riza with? Where’s Roy?”

If I had’ve paid better attention later, you can also see the alchemy stuff shortly before this and realize this is probably not a grown up Edward, even if the eyes and pouty square mouth are so similar.

THIS DUDE AGAIN

FROM EPISODE 1. Look at how different their expressions are.

And gain with the paying better attention, the second image has the same hairstyle as the first. I hate anime aging they look literally nothing alike except for the hair that transcends millennia.

This is just a really pretty shot. Knowing what this is about makes it even better. I think I’ll talk about this part of the intro when we get to it in the main show

So I’m new to anime, so I didn’t know about the genre of anime intros and outros. They’re so cool. You’ve got the freedom to sprinkle in things that do actually happen (this this shot) and things that are thematically appropriate but don’t happen, for whatever reason. They’re so much fun.

I retract what I said about ‘if I only paid better attention I’d realize that wasn’t Ed’. He’s doing the same pose in the same intro. I don’t have enough evidence to say the confusion was intentional, but I feel less unobservant now. He’s 15ish now and the guy in the first image looks to be mid-20s. That’s a reasonable change in appearance.

LOOK AT THEM. I love these little shots that show that Ed, Al and Winry are all close, not just Ed and Winry. I’d also like to point out that this is the first (and only?) time we see young Al sleeping and he sleeps in a similar pose to how he lays when he’s in armor.

The next bit is so fast I’m not even going to attempt screenshots. Just, just watch it. Trust me it’s good. It introduces every major character for the next 20 episodes. The fighting animation syncs up with the music and it’s soooo satisfying. I can and have watched it on loop on youtube.

And if I had to pick a single image to represent FMAB, this is a major contender. The subtitles even fit. It’s Ed’s entire character arc in one.

So he rips off his arm (which is representative of his identity as the Fullmetal Alchemist and also his devotion to his brother, because he gave up his arm to bind Alphonse to the armor), then throws it at the Eye of Truth/God. He’s always been a rebellious little shit and he spends the majority of the story looking for a way to undo his mistake and to, basically, fight the Truth. Buuuut this also foreshadows how he gets Alphonse back - he gives up his alchemy, again represented by the arm.

Or maybe my tinfoil hat is on too tight and I’m reading into things. Anyway, on to episode 3

#fmab #fmab liveblog #intro1 #I sincerely hope y'all can't see the image names #like Hoface #spoilers #I mean hopefully you've already seen FMAB if you're following this blog

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fmab-liveblog · 4 years

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Doing the outro first because I got to it first

First of all, the art style is adorable. Looks like a kid drew it. It’s also what I mimicked for the header for this blog!

I’m not gonna comment on the lyrics because, A, I can’t read them and B, I’ve got like two stat points in musical comprehension. All I know is ‘haha sounds pretty’.

ANYWAY! Setting up the focus on Ed’s arm from the getgo. There’s a lot of focus on that automail and I could spitball a dozen reasons why - it’s Ed’s defining trait that sets him apart from other anime protagonists, it’s a reminder of his dedication to his brother (he lost his arm saving Al, not bringing his mom back), it’s both a help and a hinderance (gotta do maintenance), it’s a hand - that’s how we interact and exert influence on the world, it’s a major part of the plot and also the basic of a lot of his interactions with Winry, among other things. The automail arm represents The Fullmetal Alchemist. Gonna have to revisit this in the last couple episodes, but, spoilers, when he gets his arm back, he gives up being The Fullmetal Alchemist and goes back to just being Ed

Or maybe I’ve been in too many college writing classes and look for symbolism in everything. Either or lol

It’s really interesting that all the focus is on the arm, though. He has an automail leg as well but again, that was from a mistake. He gave up his arm to save his brother which is far more important. The leg is just part of Ed, but the arm is all about what he does with his life.

I’m realizing the credits are in English for some reason. Odd.

Anyway! I love this art style so much and it’s nice to see Ed relaxing like this. This whole segment is very lighthearted despite everything going on. Sure, Al got his body snatched and Ed lost his limbs, but they can still enjoy life

Love this little spar session. Al’s winning, first of all, which is an important plot point for later. You can also see that Al’s less defensive than he was when he was first helping Ed when he got his automail. He is still blocking, but is that because it’s a reflex or because he’s trying to help Ed practice against a normal person that can’t just tank a boot to the face? He’s also got a combination of fast, reactive attacks and long windups. For the most part, when he strikes, it’s just as fast as Ed. It’s only the end when he has Ed stuck where he cocks back for more than a split second

And Ed. I neglect him a lot because Al is obviously my favorite, but he is so agile and vicious in a fight. He gets thrown around a lot, sure, but he makes it work for him. Look at when Al goes to kick him - Ed vaults onto his leg and uses that as momentum to backflip and kick Al in the head. And the little breakdancing uppercut kick thing near the end?

I think Ed would be a much better fighter if he stuck to the ground more and focused on that fast, vicious attacking - there’s one point where he’s low and advances on Al and Al has to back up. Al, who is literally twice his size.

I’ve been looking at this on loop for nearly 5 minutes now writing all this and it just keeps getting better.

This whole outro is so charming but this. You’ve got Ed and Win fighting, Ed on Al’s shoulders and a loony tunes segment. It’s such a cute little animation drawn by kids

And sad again lol. It’s nice that he has books at least, but the way they’ve always got him staring off in the middle space when he’s alone. I love Al. I would kill for an episode entirely focused on him.

There’s just something about they way they run in here that’s so ‘two kids going on an adventure.’ Running over rocks, moving towards some unseen goal. Love it.

They’re too cute I can’t take it even if something’s up with Al’s hair and eyes. Normally they’re a touch greener than Ed’s.

Anyway, the last animated shot is the two of them walking down that railroad -moving with their adventure. I’m sure the kids didn’t want to lose parts of their bodies, but they’ve always wanted adventure.

Also, this shot sums up their dynamic really well. Both are equally important to making the outro, but Ed’s grinning, more excitable, etc while Al’s more reserved. They’re so consistent with the characterization

#outro 1 #fmab #fmab liveblog

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Might’ve been said earlier, but Ed’s officially 12 at the time of becoming a state alchemist. Special enough to get the Bradster involved. I will say, I like the Japanese VA about the same amount as the English. He looks like a nice old man with that big smile, but to the point of being unsettling

This is the face of mischief. I don’t need to elaborate

Using some spoiler knowledge here, but Brad has a very particular way of saying this line when Ed does alchemy without a circle. First time watching I figured he didn’t react because he’s just not particularly emotive, but no. He knows exactly what’s going on.

ED. EDWARD NO. This 12yo is not afraid of death and I’m concerned for him. Look at this little dragon spear from earlier

Speaking of that, I’m realizing that Ed really doesn’t care about himself early on. He’s very reckless and self-sacrificing and while that’s true for the rest of the show, I didn’t realize how much worse it was in the beginning. He takes Al’s words to heart later with Scar, apparently.

Also also, look at Brad’s hand. His guard didn’t just pause because they didn’t want to shoot a kid, they were explicitly ordered not to shoot. Neat detail.

I Iove how they build Brad up to be terrifying. This is, just. I’m not normally a fan of ‘cutting through something without moving’ but because it’s unique to Brad in this show, it works very well.

I don’t have much to say except it’s nice to see Win and Al bonding. They don’t get to spend much time together later and sometimes it’s easy to forget they were almost as close as Winry and Ed.

Also, very nice how still Al is in his armor while the grass rustles and Winry’s dress blows. This poor kid

Oh hey! Important state alchemist lore! My friends always told me that state alchemist is equivalent to the ranking of Major and here’s the proof.

Key points:

State Alchemist shall follow all orders and policies of the military

Research assessment examination will happen every year - important foreshadowing

Ample research funds

unrestricted access to classified documentation, something Ed doesn’t get later. Suspicious suspicious

Access to government facilities. Mostly, but not always, true

Equivalent rank to major

THAT FACE ON GETTING THE FULLMETAL NAME

A friend pointed out that Ed sleeps a lot and that’s actually plot relevant. Starting the Ed Nap Counter: 1

Next up, Liore! (And the intros and outros)

Total counters:

Times not having a meat arm has saved Ed’s ass: 1

Onscreen child death count: .5

Alphonse apology counter: 4

Edward nap count: 1

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Hmmm. How interesting that he has no idea what that is, despite being a state alchemist. Almost like other cultures’ ways of doing things were intentionally hidden... Nazi vibes continue to fester.

Hughes is either threatening or shaming Mustang here. It’s a great interaction that I can’t describe all the subtlety without putting a video clip in, but the way his face is in shadow after this, placidly following behind Roy and staring into the back of his head... it’s not friendly. The he’ll have to go through hell “Like we did” implies a lot of their backstory, and also Hughes’s dissatisfaction that Roy’s dragging a 15 year old boy into literal war.

That doesn’t mean you should pile more on, Roy. Still, having military resources probably helps the boys try to get their bodies back

Woah hold up - Riza has short hair and an emotion. That alone is screenshot worthy. Roy is Lt. Colonel, not Colonel.

Also, Roy’s face in this - he’s not an easy man to shake and he looks downright disturbed.

Ok, there’s a lot in here. For one, Al has pants. Ed looks dead inside, honestly uncomfortable seeing him like this. His hair’s a mess, he’s slouching, he doesn’t have details in his eyes and Al’s quietly there, guarding him and holding onto the wheelchair.Why is Al holding the wheelchair? They’re not moving. Al’s just, holding him like that for normalcy.

ROY HE’S 11 WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!

I mean, I get it because this kid is a powerful alchemist that attempted human transmutation (as obvious from all the blood) and that ‘taboo’ seems like a way bigger deal than the boys realized, but still. The hollow-eyed preteen is not a threat, dude.

You can see the slump in Roy’s shoulders as he gets over his initial shock and the way Ed hangs there like a rag doll.

Also, Al has no real reason to apologize to Roy. I don’t think they know him, but he’s so desperate for an Adult that knows anything to provide some kind of structure/guidance that he’s asking for forgiveness from a near stranger. And then the way he shakes after? He can’t cry as armor D:

Al apology counter: 3, no 4 (assuming I didn’t miss one in the first episode.)

He’s already broken, too. Woo

(Al’s holding him again)

Awww, Roy does care.

I forgot how warm Riza can be. I definitely prefer her and Roy’s English voice actors, but these aren’t bad.

Oh shit. Hate’s a strong word, coupled with poor Riza getting shamed by a 12 year old for killing and now the guilt of taking her friend/brothers away to be child soldiers.

ED’S BACK! He had, what, a day of being down?

This whole speech was great. Establishes Roy as... probably not a bad guy? Riza’s definitely a good guy, though. I didn’t see anything noteworthy awesome, but it did its job super well. This last shot is a great one to end on, too

They look happy for the first time since the incident. How is Al so expressive? Body language is the obvious answer, but why does it stand out so much for Al? Do they skimp on everyone else’s body language or is there just something extra about his?

Also explains my question of why they’re insistent on getting both their bodies back when they should be focusing on Al - and Ed does focus on Al. It seems like he says ‘our bodies’ more to keep Al appeased, or maybe because Al corrected him here and he started to believe it. Who knows?

THE BRAID OF TIME PASSAGE!

Look at how fluidly Al moves! That little kick/stomp when he goes for Ed when he jumps, and the way he tucks up to guard his chest - is that because he isn’t used to tanking hits and is still acting on a meatsack’s ‘ah my face’ instinct or is he helping Ed practice? I swear I’m gonna end up making gifs for all the fights lol

This is what I mentioned earlier about Al not remembering. Anyway, cool to see Ed’s transmuting his arm already. Gotta wonder whether he messed up it beyond repair the first couple times lol

Gonna cut it here. Winry was very cute about vowing to help Ed get their bodies back and Al was the perfect little wingman in the background.

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Surprise!

I forgot about this part :’D It just gets worse and worse. Also, you can see the bucket that had the Human Dry Mix inside. Did it get cut in half?

The way this thing moves, the choked breathing, the blood vomit. This, NO WONDER THEY DIDN’T REACT TO THE MAN GETTING BOILED ALIVE BY ISAAC. They saw their dead mom contorted in agony, dead eyed and with ribs jutting out at every angle. They have gone very far beyond normal levels of trauma.

I hope I have half this child’s sheer determination. He is Crawling to go draw a seal in his own blood to bring his brother back. It’s not as flashy as some, but this is one of the coolest things in animation.

Ed’s only crying for real once he realizes Al’s gone. Through that whole ordeal, getting his leg ripped off, hurtling through spacetime and downloading the .zip file of the universe, he had tears in the corners of his eyes but they never fell.

Also, through this whole bit he’s listing off body parts for Truth to take in exchange for Al back. A friend mentioned that in either the manga or the 03 version, he actually draws the seals on his forehead/arm/etc and that, I almost wish they had’ve done that too to show the desperation? Not that this doesn’t hit hard enough on its own.

Oh hey, they were 10/11. (Doing Al’s title card because he deserves more screen time.) Anywho, Ed does his signature hand clap to bring Al back.

Just had a thought - I’ve seen stuff floating around of Ed having to relearn how to write. This episode did have a shot of his handwriting. I wrote a note for myself to go back if we ever see his writing post-arm loss. For now, gonna cut here. Next we will see the gloriously beautiful Maes Hughes and Colonel Mustang

Onscreen child death count: reduced to .5

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Ed and Al have different circles! Al’s is the same as when he found Isaac, the large triangle with three others. I don’t think I’ve seen Ed’s anywhere else.

And years have actually passed! Al has visibly aged quite a bit. That’s one of the great things about this show - characters age. (Kinda to the point that I’m sideyeing the canon timeline based on physical appearances)

This is the kind of shit kids get up to at summer camp

Also, looking closer, they have kitchen knives. Bless them.

Excuse me but what in the fresh hell

Oh. My gosh. I thought Al’s English voice actor was really good, but the Japanese VA’s scream here physically hurts.

Start both counters for Ed and Al getting teary-eyed. This, ohmygosh. Maybe it’s lack of sleep but I’m getting kinda teary over this myself? Kids shouldn’t be this afraid or in this kind of pain. Normally when I watch stuff I emotionally check out and it takes a very particular level of touching to get to me - not too much or I’ll go blank, but still enough to get a reaction. Doing this rewatch, though, I have to stop and focus and appreciate how hard this actually hits. (And pause to take screenshots and write up reactions) I’m not okay.

Daaaang they really foreshadow everything. Ed’s got a sort of amnesia here, and Al gets something similar later. I thought the plot point “Al doesn’t remember seeing this and that’s why he can’t do alchemy by clapping” was a little odd, but no, it has a basis right here.

Woah, Truth’s voice actors are very different. I think this one is better by far. The English VA is very high and nasally and gives distinct Villain vibes, where this one is far more neutral. I don’t get the sense that this Truth is condescending or taking extreme pleasure in hurting Ed, they just are. I think the voice layering is better, too - at least 3 distinct voices.

I take back my ‘less condescending’ comment. Give him a break, he’s like 12. (Though, you could argue if he’s old enough to do human transmutation he’s old enough to deal with the consequences.)

Also, I love this VA’s screams for Ed. I like the English VA better for casual conversation just because he’s so punchable, but this guy hits the emotional notes without me wincing.

(I saved this image as ‘saw God and bluescreened’) It’s really not a funny frame in context, but going back and forth between writing and watching gives me a chuckle ljhg

Anyway, is this the first time Ed’s been truly alone? He’s had Al with him through everything and now he just died, saw existence, saw his dead mom but not really and lost a leg. This poor boy.

And he’s back to normal. I’d pick on him for having his priorities wrong, but I don’t think he remembers Al right now.

Anyway, I admire his dedication. I want him on the group project.

Ok, Truth casually taking his leg was unsettling, and the immediate cut to this? SHIT, I’m looking harder and he isn’t curled around his stump, he’s arched up off the ground screaming - you can see his right leg braced on the ground.

First and probably only time Ed sounds this broken, begging for help. Seriously, I’m getting emotional rewatching this. It’s just so, so childish and vulnerable. I want to hug him.

Cutting it here because ow.

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Ok, Ed’s edging out of ‘cute little shit’ territory and into ‘just a dick’. I mean the banter is fun but that was uncalled for. (Giving him a pass for the dead mom stuff, for now)

Oh this is such a nice little detail. Of course Ed doesn’t care about what school’s teaching, he’s got alchemy to learn and a mom to bring back

THE BLOOPER FOR THIS. If you’ve finished FMAB and haven’t seen the bloopers, please go on youtube and look for them. You won’t be disappointed.

Edward Elric what kind of stew are you eating

Also, there’s Al’s armor, sans loincloth. I bet Al added that so he would be wearing pants of a sort. I mean, if he becomes the armor, he’s technically naked without it. Tell me that’s not in character. Gives me fanfic ideas... I’ll link it if I ever get around to writing it. Ha jk, I wrote it. Go read it here

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Finally on episode 2 and man there’s a lot of screaming people inside the philosopher’s stone. Thanks, narrator.

:o so many transmutation circle styles! Wish I knew anything about occult stuff or irl alchemy, because I’m sure they have real meaning. Again, gonna hold off on commenting on the intro and outro. I’ll do it episode 3.

Namedrop for Xerxes, Philosopher Stone/Elixir of Life/lots of other names followed by Ed being absolutely precious (and a little shit about not getting more information kjlhiu). Maybe I’m projecting, but Al looks... sadder. Stiffer, like he’s not used to his body yet. Who knows how long it took Ed to get his automail and for them to start exploring

Oof. Felt that. Ed’s, what, 5? Already calling his dad out. Also can we just appreciate how cute the boys are when they’re young? And that Ed was always a short shit? Al’s younger and nearly the same height. Ed used to dress nice, too.

You can see the very slight difference in Ed and Al’s hair/eye color here. Ed’s is more gold, where Al has a noticeable green tint in his eyes and slightly drabber hair.

I’m having a hard time getting sad about their mom since she’s had all of two lines so far, but this? This hurts. It being Alphonse twists the knife harder and that small little admission that he’s hungry is just, sad. He’s going to his brother for comfort and direction, gently trying to encourage them to go home and leave their mom’s grave (making excuses that it’s cold and he’s hungry). It’s obviously late in the day - who knows how long they’ve been huddled up there?

Hitting too close to home, show. Please return to the fun fantasy violence that doesn’t make me uncomfortable ljkhjgh

Anywho, you can tell Ed’s response isn’t what Al wants. Al, I don’t know him well enough to say whether he’s the forgiving type, but he’s a lot slower to write someone off than Ed. (I say that because ‘slow to anger’ and ‘quick to forgive’ are NOT the same thing.) This little interaction shows their relationship well, though. Even with this, a super touchy subject that they seem to have opposite opinions on, they’re not fighting. Their mom died, their dad is gone, they clearly don’t agree with each other but they’re still together. It probably helps that Al defers to Ed’s opinion - but does he really? Ed seems to voice ideas first and Al follows along, but I don’t think Al ever does anything just because Ed said so. They’re independent people that happen to align in thinking most of the time, and they care about each other. It’s a great dynamic.

Also, something that I really like about the narrative is that it doesn’t blame/criticize either of them for how they feel. There’s no moment where “Ugh, Al just needs to get over himself and write his dad off” and there’s no moment where Ed’s anger at his father is shown as silly or unjustified. It’s nice. Adult shows typically don’t take kid drama seriously.

“If we don’t tell anyone we did human transmutation, nothing bad will happen!” Kid logic lol. Knowing what happens next, this is just... gosh, this hurts. They don’t have any adults (that do alchemy) around to tell them why they shouldn’t bring their mom back. They’re what, 6? 7? Of course they’re not gonna listen to vague taboo warning in some dusty book.

Awww, Winry. That little speech about “don’t cry over dead people, it makes them sad” beforehand implies the people in this world believe in an afterlife, so that’s neat. (Or at least that’s what they tell the kids.) Also, Ed’s right. Him and Al aren’t crying. They really don’t cry much throughout the show. Al has reasons, but Ed... I think he cries once? Maybe twice? Not even that much? Not sure if that’s a genre/anime thing or a uniquely Ed trait.

Also, awww. Winry’s been looking out for them since she was small and Ed still had all his legs.

AAAAAAAAA THIS IS TOO FRIGGEN CUTE! LOOK AT HIM AND HIS LITTLE MUSTACHE! THIS BOY! PROTECT HIM

This is the best possible note to end on. Sorry deceased Mama Elric but your tragedy cannot put a damper on the shining joy that is your youngest son.

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