DVD Classics: Packed with Fullmetal Goodness

One might wonder why I haven't seen all of "Fullmetal Alchemist" yet, since it's the number one anime on almost every fanatic's list. Well, it is long, and I had a really tough time trying to follow the series on television.

But I can safely say that "Fullmetal Alchemist" is one of the best anime series ever made, with adrenaline-packed war and grotesque alchemist conspiracies.

This isn't just any war anime though. This series packs in compelling moments of friendship and heartbreak. To give an example, the first few scenes of "Fullmetal Alchemist" literally show two brothers attempting to reincarnate their only parent, their mother, with alchemy. In the process, Ed's arm and leg gets reduced into a bloody stump. As for Al, his body disappears, leaving a bloody pair of clothes. And their mom now looks just plain gross.

Although this series is not for the faint of heart, there is a heartwarming tale in all this gory madness. The Ed and Al Elric brothers are seeking to gain their bodies back through alchemy, hoping to repent for their sins in defying the laws of alchemy to revive their mother. In particular, they seek to find the Philosopher's Stone to revive themselves.

Throughout their journey, they discover much more dark, confounding truths about the origins of the Philosopher's Stone. They also discover homunculi, dark spiritual figures who are also seeking to manipulate Ed and Al for their own purposes. They also discover the true injustices of genocide, especially the nearly complete eradication of the fiction Middle Eastern country of Ishbal.

And honestly, it's too hard to summarize this entire series in one review. However, this is a crucial series which exemplifies all the worst aspects of war through the escalation of heavy-duty weaponry. With the massive numbers of people sacrificed in this series, it's hard to even find a definite truth to war.

And the female characters really take center stage in offering relief, no matter how difficult the cost. Winry Rockbell and Sheska are some of the most bubbly characters, but they are also the forlorn victims of war. Their friends are caught in violent warfare, and they are some of the only people who can offer shelter for them.

It's a delicate balancing act, with moments of humor, action, heartbreak, tragedy and love. And somehow, this series handles it all masterfully. There's no other series like "Fullmetal Alchemist."

Image courtesy of sake0winter.blogspot.com

Box set review - Buso Renkin

It's been awhile since I've seen a really promising action series, and Buso Renkin is a welcome surprise to the shonen (male action) anime scene. This is an awesome sci-fi action series that features intense fighting sequences, humanoid monsters and embryonic parasites.

The series doesn't begin very happily--a student named Kazuki Muto gets killed while trying to save a schoolgirl from being attacked by a monster. Although Kazuki gets stabbed very badly, the girl, Tomiko Tsumura, saves him by planting a hexagon-shaped chip in him to act as his heart.

The chip, known as a kakugane, is not an ordinary pacemaker though. In fact, Kazuki can use it to obtain specialized weapon, known as a buso renkin. Tomiko is no ordinary girl either--she informs Kazuki that she is using her buso renkin to hunt down monsters called homunculus. These first homunculi are monsters created from plants and animals by a high school boy known as the Creator. The homunculus turn into mindless slaves that eat humans to whet their appetite.

However, the Creator plays a dirty trick on Tomiko--one of his monsters drops an homunculus embryo from the sky onto her leg. The embryo attaches onto her and impairs her powers. Tomiko says that the embryo will attack onto her spine and turn her into a homunculus in one week, but Kazuki is willing to do anything to save the girl who saved his life. Thus, Kazuki embarks on a quest in the first eight episodes to find the Creator to obtain the homunculus antidote.

For an anime series, Buso Renkin looks amazing. The main characters have awesome weapons. Kazuki can produce a gigantic sword with his kakugane. Takiko has an especially cool weapon as well. Her buso renkin, the Valkyrie Skirt, consists of four robotic arms with scythes attaching to her legs to kill enemies with ease. Also, the homunculus designs are very creative. I would have never thought that a hawk homunculus would ever have metallic wings and razor-sharp claws.

However, the Creator, Koshaku Chono, has the most hilarious butterfly glasses. The glasses are shaped so because he is a sickly child and he wants to become a butterfly. And when he first turns into a homunculus, he looks even more ridiculous--he flexes his muscles to rip his clothes off so that he's only wearing spandex. Then he takes his glasses out of the crotch part of his spandex. Gross.

Okay, maybe the series is a little too off-kilter with the characters. However, the weird character designs also plays in with the humorous tone of the anime series. In a hilarious meeting between heroes and villains, Chono meets with Kazuki and Tomiko at a local burger joint. Of course, Chono wears his trademark butterfly glasses and a wacky black suit showing off his chest. Then Captain Bravo makes the meeting even spookier, showing up in a silver cloak and cowboy hat. Everyone in the burger joint is pretty spooked over the costumed men.

Probably the only thing that I don't understand his how those main characters take so many fatal blows from sharp claws and swords and still manage to remain standing. Kazuki especially gets stabbed through the stomach at least five times. I guess their kakugane must give them superhuman strength as well, because there's no way an ordinary human could get sliced that many times.

Regardless of the abnormal amount of blood in the series, Buso Renkin is one of the most entertaining action anime series of the year. Even if I've heard this action story before, the character designs look so awesome that this series is too hard to pass up.

And there is even a bigger story arc involving another butterfly scientist sending his homunculi to fight against Captain Bravo and his alchemy warriors, Tomiko and Kazuki. I can't wait to see the rest of the series.

Image courtesy of kljs.blogspot.com.