Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. #12 (of 13) (Mania.com)

By:Chris Beveridge
Review Date: Monday, August 28, 2006
Release Date: Tuesday, September 05, 2006

What They Say
The quest for the Philosopher's Stone is wrought with madness. Soulless beings, half-man, half-animal, and armies driven by secret devils all mingle in the shadows. As the Elrics dig into the darkest realms of humanity, one thing is clear... everything is about to change.

Contains episodes 45-48:
A Rotted Heart
Human Transmutation
Sealing the Homunculus

The Review!
Edging ever closer to the end of the series, events continue to become more closely tied together as the path of destructions ends up slimming the cast down some.






Similar to the previous volume, watching episodes on this release is both exciting and saddening because we know the end is right around the corner. The culmination of storylines that have been going on since the beginning of the show are now in place and storylines that were only recently introduced that cover a much larger history are allowing us to understand the other stories in a far greater context. Wrap it all up in great looking animation and some exciting fight scenes as well as a few moral quandaries and you have a great show.

These episodes are the kind that are harder to talk about as they do a lot more towards bringing us closer to resolutions than anything else, the quickening of the pace as we see events unfurl before us and the events are all more in synch with each other. Ed has decided that it's time to take the fight to the Homunculi and has spent his time acquiring pieces of information and remains in order to deal with them once and for all. During all of this, Mustang is seeking to draw attention away from Ed by staging a rebellion in the northern territories along the border while secretly making his way into Central Command to verify the things that have come to light recently about the Fuhrer and his secretary.

As simple as those plot elements are, they bring in a slew of things with them and take up the bulk of the four episodes here. Mustang's arc is interesting since it shifts around the cast on his side a bit and they make a fascinating ploy to turn rebel. While none of them have issue with the fact that they must make war in general, as it is their belief that is what the military is for, the understanding that the country has engaged in more wars since the Fuhrer came to power and that there is a seeming pointlessness to a lot of them now that there is the possibility of their being started because of the Philosophers Stone, stepping back and taking stock is easier for some of them to do. But those that do find that they are few overall and it leads to the kind of diversion that Mustang needs so he can investigate things more clearly within Central Command.

While I do find Mustang's arc more interesting, Ed's arc is visually much more exciting as he's taking the fight to the Homunculi now and with a sense of confidence but wariness to it. His distaste for the Homunculi has left him in the mindset of being able to deal with them as just things and not really human, which they obviously aren't, but he's pushed them to a less than nothing state in order to be able to kill them. This belief of his is of course challenged the more he fights them and as he uses the tricks he's learned during his fight with Greed. As quick to judge as he is, Ed does take things a bit more seriously now and continues to push the idea that he's growing up more as he does use the Homunculi where he can in his goals, even if it means siding with one for some time.

The fights between them are very well done throughout this part of the storyline. So many of the Homunculi are brought in to play at this point since they know what Al is and there is a growing need to bring him to Dante so she can have what she needs to extend her life. We haven't seen this many of them together in some time so having them all working towards the same thing " while some of them start to distrust Dante and her promises about giving them back their humanity " it changes the way a lot of the show has worked. The split in the ranks coming after we get some surprising confirmations about Dante's history as well as that of Ed and Al's father helps to push the show up a bit higher in its epic feel. We've certainly a lot of hints throughout the series that there is a much larger back story but it's now all being revealed and it is fascinating to see it all come together.

In Summary:
Fullmetal Alchemist continues to be one of the more engaging straightforward boys action shows out there that manages to cross genders and bring in new fans rather easily. Everything up to this point has been a lot of fun to watch as they've mixed the humor, action and even sensuality into it. A show like this may seem easy to do but getting something that clicks as well as this for a large number of people isn't easy, especially considering how little filler there really has been and how each new piece of the show builds upon what has come before. It's managed to be engaging on the release schedule it has and I can imagine it being only more so in a marathon form. This volume answers a lot of questions and brings up a few more that will be tough to answer in the three remaining episodes, but I can't wait to see it. Excellent stuff, very recommended once again.


Review Equipment

Mania Grade: A
Audio Rating: B+
Video Rating: A-
Packaging Rating: B+
Menus Rating: B+
Extras Rating: B+
Age Rating: TV G
Region: 1 - North America
Released By: FUNimation Entertainment, Ltd.
MSRP: 29.98
Running time: 100
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Disc Resolution: 480i/p (mixed/unknown)
Disc Encoding: MPEG-2
Series: Fullmetal Alchemist