"Metal Alchemist": a review of two anime seasons

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In the anime "Metal Alchemist" (otherwise called "Fullmetal Alchemist") there are two seasons that tell somewhat similar stories, but are very different from each other. The disclosure of the main aspects of each of them can be seen in the article.

The plot of the first season

The 2003 anime Metal Alchemist tells the story of the Elric brothers Alphonse and Edward. In childhood, they violated one of the main alchemical prohibitions - they tried to resurrect a person. Their mother died when they were very young, so they tried to rectify the situation. As a result, the older brother loses his leg and arm, and the younger brother loses his entire body. Edward attached his soul to the armor and thereby deprived him of the opportunity to eat and sleep. They soon become state alchemists and begin the hunt for the Philosopher's Stone to recover their own bodies. Homunculi, misunderstanding from many people and other obstacles will stand in their way, but the brothers stubbornly go towards their goal, which attracts viewers.

Universe in the first season

The whole world in the anime "Metal Alchemist" is based on the science of equal exchange. Its main lawsays that you can create a new item only from the right amount of materials for it. A special circle is drawn where the initial resources are placed, and as a result of human intervention, a transformation occurs. This fact, as well as the existence of the mythical philosopher's stone, was the basis of the plot. The two brothers went into government service just to have the resources to find out about him. The existence of artificial people, homunculi, is also explained by the limitless possibilities of the stone, which can even give immortality. In the 2003 anime Metal Alchemist, the story is told slowly, and the universe is revealed only around the main characters. A few flashbacks at the end make it possible to understand more about the history of the appearance of the philosopher's stone, but many topics remained superficially or not touched at all. That is why the story was rewritten in the second season.

Characters

The number of characters in Metal Alchemist Season 1 will appeal to lovers of variety. There is a man named Scar, who inherited his abilities from his brother. He is obsessed with vengeance against all those who caused war in his home country of Ishwar. In addition to the main characters, there are also state alchemists, but of these, only Roy Mustang appears more often on the screens. Only the brothers are shown as the most positive characters, while the rest use alchemy only for the sake of their desires. The history of the homunculi, who are named after the seven deadly sins, is revealed gradually. Laziness, Anger, Pride andothers of this number are the tools of the main villain in achieving his goals. Secondary characters appear in the course of the story, and only the story of some of them threads through the entire plot. For an anime in 2003, the level of personality development was quite deep, but his merits were crossed out by the second season.

Story continues

Anime "Metal Alchemist 2: Brotherhood" can hardly be called a direct continuation. This is rather a reworking of the entire narrative into a new wrapper in 2009. The plot continues to develop around young brothers who tried to resurrect their mother and paid for it. In the second season, it is explained that they learned alchemy from their father's notes. Since they had an innate ability for this, they managed to do it easily. Shortly after the tragedy with their bodies, state alchemist Roy Mustang visits them and invites them to public service. Edward and Alphonse use this opportunity to search for the Philosopher's Stone. From this moment, great differences in the narratives begin, because the adventures of the main characters open the curtain over the entire basis of alchemy, the hidden motives of the entire leadership of the country and the essence of the philosopher's stone. In general, the plot looks more cheerful, although there were some cross-cutting themes from the first season.

Universe

In the second season of Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the universe develops more actively. Here the geopolitical situation is indicated, pastwars in the country, and most importantly, the problems of alchemists in the service of the state are revealed. They are used for mass extermination of people on the battlefield, which shows the moral side of most of the characters. It is from the judgment of the wrong actions of the country's leadership that Roy Mustang and his team awaken the desire to change everything. On the other hand, the audience is competently building up the feeling that terrible things are happening in the state of alchemists. The presence of homunculi and their conversations on this topic suggest different thoughts. The authors managed to create a more coherent universe, where the story of a huge number of characters is revealed and the motivation of most of them is better worked out. From the first moment of Mustang's fight with the ice alchemist, the viewer is thrown into an atmosphere of mystery, if you carefully listen to their conversation.

Characters

In Metal Alchemist Season 2, some of the characters will be familiar to those who watched the first, original 2003 story. For example, this is Roy Mustang, although he now has his own personal team, the history of which will be shown throughout the series. Scar with his revenge for the war in Ishwar, Shu Tucker and the episode with the chimera were also shown, although the story was slightly changed. Among the main changes, it is worth noting the well-known history of homunculi, which has been completely changed. The essence of each of the artificial creatures was displayed quite deeply. Work friends of the main characters often appear on the screen, including Louis Armstrong, Maes Hughes and Olivia Armstrong (a little later). Shown are those alchemists who are satisfied with the opportunity to use force in war. Among them is the interesting personality of Zolf Kimblee, and the Basque Grand Prix is shown in the episodes. The total number of characters has grown significantly. In the course of the story, new personalities appear, which are smoothly woven into the plot. The viewer does not have questions about whether to introduce new personalities, and this is a good result in view of the total number of them.