FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST BROTHERHOOD FOUR

 
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Four
Released By: Manga Entertainment
Rating: PG
Running Time: 250 Mins
Audio: English & Japanese DD 2.0
Release Date: Out now!
Reviewed By: Sandra Scholes

Talk is rife about General Raven's whereabouts, and the fact he disappeared. Many feel it is due to General Armstrong, even though they cannot prove it. They thought she has disposed of him, and not being fool enough to leave any evidence she has done it. General Armstrong herself has to visit Fuhrer Bradley to explain what went wrong with the mission. She has plenty of explaining to do, and knows he doesn't suffer fools gladly, yet she knows he has a soft spot for her, and knows she'll get the job done no matter how daunting the task. 


While she is there, she meets Roy Mustang, amazed he has been posted in central - she obviously doesn't see him as being as productive as his superiors do. She does her best to give him a hard time, though he has a soft spot for her too, and tries all kinds of ploys to get some quality time alone with her - others don't fancy his chances though, she's quite a frosty character and well-known for her jibes.

From what Roy has worked out from a document, there is some new information that might well be a hoax, even if it's from a code all he knows is, there will be something serious about to happen in central at any moment and it could involve the likes of Edward and Alphonse. Van Hoenheim's past is revealed, and how he came to serve his master in order to become much more than he could have possibly imagined.

The really interesting part of this two-disc set is finding out who the Philosopher's Stone is, and who may have it, as it might come as a shock to some viewers. Fullmetal Alchemist - Brotherhood has its fair amount of characters, all of who play their part in an effective way without there being too many overall. The main problem with having too many characters is the sense that the viewer could not keep up with their plots, stories and separate personalities. Viewers don't have that problem with this series. There could be millions of characters and they would still keep watching.

The Elric  brothers manage to get into heaps of trouble every time they are in an episode, and in the second one, 'The Abyss,' Edward and Alphonse are in another bad situation they might not get out of- but with Edward's drive to pull through at all costs with his alchemy, he carries on with the others and doesn't back down or lose out to anyone.

Bonus Material: On disk 1: Episode 40 Commentary and Episode 46  Commentary. Disc 2: Text less Opening song and Text less Closing song.

Verdict: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has high production value, dynamic moments that blow the mind, and some of the most fantastic revealers ever - watch it!