"Hagane no renkinjutsushi" (2003) TV series 2003-2004

User Rating:

9.1/10   

Writers:

Joel Bergen (English version)
Joel Bergen (script)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

6 November 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The Philosophers' Stone: those who possess it, no longer bound by the laws of Equivalent Exchange in Alchemy, may gain without sacrifice, create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.

Plot:

The Elric brothers' mother is dead and their father has long since abandoned them. Deciding to perform...

Plot Keywords:

Suit Of Armor | Alchemy | Alchemist | Military | Resurrection

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 8	1:30 AM	TOON	Night of the Chimera's Cry	#1.7
Sun. Nov. 8	2:00 AM	TOON	The Philosopher's Stone	#1.8

Cast

Aaron Dismuke	...	Alphonse Elric (51 episodes, 2003-2004)
Vic Mignogna	...	Edward Elric (51 episodes, 2003-2004)
Romi Pak	...	Edward Elric (50 episodes, 2003-2004)
Rie Kugimiya	...	Alphonse Elric (50 episodes, 2003-2004)
Tôru Ôkawa	...	Colonel Roy Mustang (32 episodes, 2003-2004)
Travis Willingham	...	Colonel Roy Mustang (32 episodes, 2003-2004)
Sonny Strait	...	Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes / ... (31 episodes, 2003-2004)
Keiji Fujiwara	...	Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes (30 episodes, 2003-2004)
Takehiro Murozono	...	Warrant Officer Vato Falman / ... (27 episodes, 2003-2004)
Kyle Hebert	...	Warrant Officer Vato Falman / ... (27 episodes, 2003-2004)
Shin Aomori	...	Brigadier General Basque Grand (26 episodes, 2003-2004)
Jin Horikawa	...	General Hakuro / ... (26 episodes, 2003-2004)
Phil Parsons	...	General Hakuro / ... (26 episodes, 2003-2004)
Christopher Sabat	...	Major Alex Louis Armstrong (26 episodes, 2003-2004)
Kenji Utsumi	...	Major Alex Louis Armstrong (25 episodes, 2004)
Tetsu Shiratori	...	Master Sergeant Kain Fuery (25 episodes, 2003-2004)
Kevin Connolly	...	Master Sergeant Kain Feury (25 episodes, 2003-2004)
Shouko Tsuda	...	Izumi Curtis (22 episodes, 2004)

Also Known As:

Fullmetal Alchemist (International: English title) (USA)
Hagaren (Japan) (short title)

Runtime:

24 min (51 episodes) | USA:30 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Filipino | French | Italian | Portuguese | Spanish | Tagalog | English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:M (some epiosodes) | USA:TV-PG (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 | UK:PG (4 episodes) | New Zealand:M (some episodes) | New Zealand:PG (some episodes) | Canada:14+ (TV rating) | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | USA:TV-14 (cut)

Company:

Aniplex

Trivia:

Dante's name in Latin means "Everlasting".

Quotes:

Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes: [telling Mustang about the investigation on Scar] His bloodstained clothes washed up further downstream. We don't know if that means that he's dead, or just naked.

Movie Connections:

Edited into Hagane no renkinjutsushi (2006) (V)

Soundtrack:

Motherland

Changed my mind about Anime

I might as well just come right out and say it to start with--I have never been a fan of Anime. In general, I watch it if it happens to be on, but more as background noise than for the actual plot content. But this series changed my mind about all that.

The first few episodes I watched were on Adult Swim. I liked the idea of magic being explained in a (somewhat) scientific fashion, so I found recordings of the aired episodes online (with subtitles) with the intention of watching them whenever I was bored.

I say without shame that I, who have not watched more than a half hour of anime in a single sitting, watched all fifty-one episodes in a single sitting. And it had me sitting on the edge of my seat every time. When a few of the episodes were corrupted, I even edited the videos manually with a hex editor to get them to play properly.

I was really turned off to Anime originally because of the way the Japanese animators use frame rates. You only really need one or two frames per second to show movement--and this contrasts with the relatively constant frame rate in American cartoons. It can look rather ugly if you're not used to it. For action scenes, though, they bring out the full 30fps, and the sudden contrast between 2fps, with the character standing there, and 30fps, where the character is executing these stunning martial arts moves, is an incredible sight to see.

But I would like to say that this series is a complete series. The last episode does, in fact, contain the conclusion--no premature terminations here. Most anime contains a "Lead-out" which gives the viewer something to think about. It makes it seem more like the characters are still doing something, still living, even after the series is over. I must say that makes the end of the series even harder to bear, because believe it or not, it's like saying goodbye to a close friend.

This series has definitely had a major impact on me. It is worth the time (or money) to acquire it. I wouldn't recommend watching all fifty-one episodes together like I did. The intrigue of the plot is intended to hit the viewers like a hammer, and it keeps them coming back week after week. If you watch them all together, it begins and ends so quickly you feel like you've been hit by a truck when it finally DOES end.

Full Metal Alchemist is a prime example of excellent story writing. It'll make you laugh and maybe even make a few of you cry, but one thing it won't do is leave you disappointed.