Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

[ALchemist81]

Tonight's Episode: #11 - The Other Brothers Elric Part 1

Man, I forgot the real Ed and fake Ed's battle was so brutal!

[Bad_Witch]

Yea it was. But the fake Ed has a height advantage.

[ALchemist81]

You can stand under my um-brella-ella-ella-ey-ey-ey! 

I would say the real Ed has the "authentic" edge.

Message Edited by ALchemist81 on 01-11-2009 03:24 AM

[ALchemist81]

And it's over.  Next week, Other Brothers Elric Part 2!

On to Death Note, already in progress!

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

I was thinking the same thing, Ghostie. He seemed pretty ungrateful to me. With all those men there, you'd think they could've worked together to get that cart off of her. I mean, I know those things are heavy, but c'mon, there were like 5 or 6 guys there. I also can't help but think that that town's the epitomy of laziness and greed. They're not willing to work to get their town back into shape. They just want to wait and see if their luck changes with the Philosopher's Stone, and hopefully fill their pockets with gold as well. I have to have a fangirl moment over Russel! *squeals* Okay, I'm done now. >_> I think the main reason I like him so much is cuz he's voiced by Justin Cook. Fletcher is just so darn cute! He reminds me of my younger brother when he was little. *huggles him* Those guards must be deaf to not hear Al "sneaking" around outside in his clunky suit of armor. I also get upset when the people won't give Al the medicine. Just because he's a liar he's supposed to suffer and die now? (I know that's on the extreme side, but they don't know why he needs the medicine, or for that matter, the kind of medicine) Ed was pretty lucky that he didn't end up tunneling under the water since he wasn't exactly sure where he was going to end up. Also, shouldn't something have happened to Fletcher when he slipped in that red water? I would expect some sort of side effect because he did get it all over him, even if he wasn't hit directly with it.

[IstariErangua]

Lots of fun stuff to address here. Xenotime people need to learn what Pinako tries to teach everyone about alchemy, that it isn't a magic cure-all. I wonder if they'd find the sacrifice worthwhile if they knew that Mugiar's experiments were what caused so many of their children to die. I guess the bottom line is that they're ignorant in a lot of ways. Ignorant of the cost of alchemy as a solution, ignorant of who really wants to help and who is just faking it, and ignorant of how people, regardless of anything, deserve to be treated. I also have to have a fangirl moment for Russell, he is very cute, and I agree that Justin Cook's voice is icing on the cake. I think they did know what kind of medicine Al was coming for, but he may not have said it was for the little girl, so they would have been that much more reluctant. I agree, I figured Fletcher was a goner after he was doused with that water, since that was what Russell was threatening Ed with, but he seems to have just walked away. Maybe he used some plant alchemy on himself when we couldn't see? Or is it possible to develop at least some resistance the more you are exposed to the water?

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

I'm not so sure about the resistance part since it seems a lot of the townsfolk are suffering from some sort of cough as a side effect. Maybe since it wasn't direct contact and they were out in the open to where the fumes had some place to go, the effects were minimal.

[IstariErangua]

He had to have been breathing in the fumes though, so it still should have affected him, but maybe it doesn't absorb through the skin, so it was mostly about having the fumes all over him rather than the fact that it was actually touching him. On that note, with next week's episode, I have some curiosity about Mugiar's plans.

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

But if that were the case, then why did Russell warn Ed about getting doused with the stuff? Yeah, I know he's breathing in the fumes, but I'm thinking that since they were in a lab (instead of in the confines of that tunnel where Ed and Al ended up) there was more place for the fumes to spread out so it wouldn't have affected him as quickly. Maybe this is something that might affect Fletcher later on in his life.

[Ghost_of_a_Librarian]

---

iloveyuyuhakusho wrote:
I was thinking the same thing, Ghostie. He seemed pretty ungrateful to me. With all those men there, you'd think they could've worked together to get that cart off of her. I mean, I know those things are heavy, but c'mon, there were like 5 or 6 guys there. I also can't help but think that that town's the epitomy of laziness and greed. They're not willing to work to get their town back into shape. They just want to wait and see if their luck changes with the Philosopher's Stone, and hopefully fill their pockets with gold as well. I have to have a fangirl moment over Russel! *squeals* Okay, I'm done now. >_> I think the main reason I like him so much is cuz he's voiced by Justin Cook. Fletcher is just so darn cute! He reminds me of my younger brother when he was little. *huggles him* Those guards must be deaf to not hear Al "sneaking" around outside in his clunky suit of armor. I also get upset when the people won't give Al the medicine. Just because he's a liar he's supposed to suffer and die now? (I know that's on the extreme side, but they don't know why he needs the medicine, or for that matter, the kind of medicine) Ed was pretty lucky that he didn't end up tunneling under the water since he wasn't exactly sure where he was going to end up. Also, shouldn't something have happened to Fletcher when he slipped in that red water? I would expect some sort of side effect because he did get it all over him, even if he wasn't hit directly with it.

---

Oh yeah, you reminded me of another reason I disliked this episode.  How could any reputable pharmacist refuse medication to someone who needed it and had the money to pay for it?

Your point about the laziness of the townspeople is well-taken.  I think that the attitude expressed represents a common human view.  So often we want a quick fix rather than working hard.

[mgangel1124]

I noticed for the first time that there were cases hanging up on the walls full of gold jewelry. My first thought was "Well if things are so bad, why not just sell some of that?"

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

I had always noticed those cases, but I never thought anything of it really. Good observation.

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

Especially when we've had it easy for so long. It's very difficult to go back to working hard to earn a nice living.

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

Shouldn't Al have crashed through the window first, ya know, being a suit of armor and all? >_> Fletcher seems to act like the older brother, protecting Russell, telling him that he can put the blame on his shoulders. Al pretty much does the same thing with Ed so, the fake brothers aren't too fake. I luv Dr. Marcoh! He's one of my favorite characters in the show! Um, why was there a pillar in the middle of the lab? I love the music on this show! I've got the first 2 OSTs and I listen to them all the time on my comp and in my car using my ipod to play it through the speakers since my stupid CD player in my car scratches all my CDs...okay, now I'm ranting on something that has nothing to do with the show, sorry. Fletcher must have the brains out of the 2 brothers cuz he had to use his head to activate the Transmutation Circle. All those beautiful trees...gone...

[Ghost_of_a_Librarian]

I just don't like these episodes.  I think that Russell is good looking and I do get a laugh in the end when Ed wonders why Russell is taller but younger than he is but overall I just don't like this episode.  Plotwise what do we get out of it?  The only thing I can think of is that we see this woman that we've seen in other episodes who seems to be behind the red stone research.  But don't we already know that?

[Bad_Witch]

I always thought that these two eps tied in the whole daddy issue that Ed and Al has. Al seemed to feel sorry for them and explained to Ed that they were just trying to follow in their father's footsteps. Al even asked Ed if it was the same thing that Ed and him were doing. Ed didn't seem to happy about that comment, as seen when he yells at Russell to stop being like daddy.

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

Really, if it weren't for Justin Cook, I probably wouldn't like these episodes either. I think the main thing we got out of this is that Ed still has to keep searching for the Stone since the ones in that town were obviously fakes; showing that what they are searching for is not going to be that easy to comeby.

[JediChrys]

Not a big fan of these two eps either - but, as always, there is something in there...

There's already been hints that there are others besides the Elric's looking for the Stone - I believe this one is the first to show what lengths some people will go to to get even an artificial one.

And then there's Fletcher.    Who not only proves he's just as good (if not better) an alchemist as his older (and more obnoxious) brother - he also treats Al as someone his own age.  As an equal.  And that's something Al doesn't get a whole lot of away from his brother and Winry.

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

I never really noticed Fletcher's interaction with Al. It just seemed so normal I kinda overlooked it, which is a good thing cuz I'm pretty sure that's something Al's always wanted.

[BrightSideofDeath]

In these episodes, we are given more evidence that there may be negative consequences to obtaining or creating the philosopher's stone.  We now know that others have gone to extreme unethical lengths in it's pursuit.  Ed and Al are still optimistic that they can find a way of obtaining the stone with an acceptable cost for the equivalent exchange, but it is at this point in story that I begin to thoroughly question that as a possibility.

edit: I somehow missed that JediChrys said this, too.  Also, we get a possible new lead on a skilled alchemist healer, Dr. Marco.

Message Edited by BrightSideofDeath on 01-19-2009 10:18 PM

[IstariErangua]

The only thing I really took out of these eps after repeated viewings was some mild interest in the botanical alchemy that Russell and Fletcher seem to know so well. I remember noting the colors of the flashes of light (green) and the rounded shapes of the designs inside the transmutation circles, rather than the red or yellow light from Ed or Al's transmutations and the more angular geometric patterns inside their circles. Marcoh and Lust are afterthoughts, though perhaps they were more of a curiosity for me the first time I saw and wasn't sure what the deal was with any of them.

On another note, however, this was the first time I considered the relationship and behavior between Al and Fletcher that you brought up. Perhaps because of his study of alchemy, or because of his study of the Elrics, Fletcher understands that Al is a person who longs to feel normal, and he treats him thus, though guilt may also be a factor. Somethng that also just occurred to me is that Russell is the same age as Al, or nearly so, since he says he's a year younger than Ed and we know that Al is also a year younger than Ed. Fletcher looks quite a bit younger, perhaps two or three years, but t's hard to say with boys of that age in this show. 

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

I figure Fletcher is probably around 10 or so. Maybe that's another reason why Fletcher was so buddy buddy with Al. Al is the same age as Russell, but I get the feeling that Fletcher can't really talk to him like he can with Al.

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

Last night's episode is one of (if not the) my favorite episodes. No matter what kind of a day I'm having, it always manages to put a smile on my face.

[IstariErangua]

Roy is just hysterical in that ep. I seriously wonder if Riza has ever slapped him in private for the miniskirt comment.

[iloveyuyuhakusho]

I still laugh when he's going on about the wonderfullness of dogs!