Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 3 Blu-ray

Animé and Toons
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part 3 Blu-ray
By Chris Zimmerman
January 18, 2011 - 22:06

ISBN: 1-4210-2225-7
$54.98 US
Starring: Vic Mignona, Maxey Whitehead, J. Michael Tatum, Travis Willingham
Directed by: Caitlin Glass, Mike McFarland
Produced by: Bones
Running Time: 325 minutes
Release Date: December 28, 2010
Distributors: Funimation Entertainment

If you haven’t heard of Fullmetal Alchemist, you’re missing out on one of the best series to come out of Japan in recent memory. A few years back, Hiromu Arakawa’s epic manga of loss and redemption captured the interest of readers and was given the animated treatment when Studio Bones crafted a series flooded with emotion but strayed from the source material. Thus Brotherhood was conceived, acting as almost a mirror to the manga, holding true to Arakawa’s original vision.

Right off the bat, differences between the two versions were evident, with characters that had previously existed no longer around or existing under different names with varying degrees of importance attached. One might also notice the darker tone cast over the series as well as the radically different story.

Part 3 continues that trend, with major changes being inflicted upon the cast as Edward and Alphonse combat the Homunculi inside their lair and come face to face with their creator, Father. As it turns out, Father shares the same appearance as the Elrics own father Hohenheim. He also proves to be far more adept at alchemy, negating the brother’s alchemy and performing tricks of his own without the use of transmutation circles and ignoring the alchemic law of equivalent exchange. As the confrontation reaches a boiling point, the Homunculi Greed is reborn and the Elrics are forced to depart to rethink their strategy.

As Ed and Al head north and meet Armstrong’s fearsome older sister, the recently released Kimbly is tasked with hunting down the outlaw Scar and removing him from the equation. Viewers are also given a peek into Hohenheim’s origins, revealing a connection to the Homunculi that goes deeper than mere appearances.

Funimation supplies two audio commentaries for bonus features as well as the usual clean openings and closings. It’s a bit beefier than the norm and more audio commentaries would be appreciated on other releases.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is a classic in every sense of the word. The series delivers a perfect mix of drama, action, and character development. Like a fine wine, the series gets better with age, outdoing itself with every release. Fans of anime owe it to themselves to check out Brotherhood. It’s a notch above everything else on the market.

A+