Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Collection 1 (Ep.
01 – 13) (2009/Madman
Entertainment/Region Free Blu-ray/Australia)
Picture: B Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: C+
PLEASE
NOTE: This Blu-ray will play on all Blu-ray players worldwide and can be
ordered from our friends at Madman Entertainment at the website address
provided at the end of the review. Cover
image © Hiromu Arakawa/FA Project ・MBS
The
original Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)
was so popular, the idea of a sequel series seemed interesting enough to check
into and with a newer production, hopefully new animation and an interesting
storyline. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009) goes back to the popular
Manga series and the results are an Animé that is not bad, but also repeats
most of what has now become a formula for the hero tale in this genre. Again, the hero struggles to get an ultimate
power that brings balance to his world and evil forces want to stop and try to
dominate that power by destroying anyone and anything in their way. In this, Animé can never offer an outright
Superhero genre narrative because of its preoccupation with updating the
Fantasy genre.
With that
said, the first 13 nearly-half-hour shows have their share of energy, do not
feel like a warmed-over revival; of a previous hit and has some good
animation. However, there are also
backgrounds that look more like they came from the 1980s with limited detail and
even a softness that is actually inherent to the art and not this Blu-ray. Edward and Alphonse Elric inability to follow
certain rules and laws of the universe of this story is something you would
think they learned their lesson from in the first series, but they don’t and
that makes this a stretch at times to watch.
So it is
not what I expected it to be in terms of an exceptional sequel in the Animé
universe (few seem to work) but having a federal military and other independent
enemies vying for power with the leads has its moments and for fans at least, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood will
keep them happy.
The 1080p
1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image is the outright highlight of this double
set, with good color and where applicable, definition. Again, the backgrounds can look recycled and
dated, but they are likely in keeping with the Mangas, the previous series and
helped keep costs down. The Dolby TrueHD
5.1 mix shows the limits of the sound and the budget of the production, though
there is some good surround activity and this sounds better than the PCM 2.0 Stereo included on each, this was also
underwhelming overall with an inconsistent soundfield. Extras include a trailer, commentaries on two
episodes (1 & 10) and Textless Songs (the opening and closing of each
show).
As noted
above, you can order this Blu-ray import exclusively from Madman at:
https://www.madman.com.au/actions/channel.do?method=view
-
Nicholas Sheffo
