CB Anime: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood *Spoilers Ahead*

Something that I hope to do with this blog is open people up to things that I find cool, but other Catholics might look down upon.  That's why I wanted to write about my favorite anime of all time, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Hold up.

"Tony, did you say Alchemist?"  But aren't alchemists people who are trying to surpass God?  Why would you watch something like that?

*Sigh*  Ok, I'll explain.

To give a short answer, alchemists are people who attempt to obtain great power, including the elixir of life, most of the time through the concepts of changing the one material into another.  I got all of that info from Wikipedia, so if you're still confused, look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchemy

But I'm not here to talk about alchemy, I'm here to talk about Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood; an anime.  Obviously alchemy does play a big part in the plot, but in this show, alchemists are the equivalent of scientists in our world.  Alchemy is a proven thing that happens in this world, and people use it to make advances in medicine, research mysteries of the universe, or even as a weapon for war.

But I'm getting ahead of myself, lets go back to the beginning.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is an anime that started airing in 2009, and was a follow-up to the anime series Fullmetal Alchemist.

Wait?  There were two Fullmetal Alchemist series?  Why?

*Sigh again*  Ok, well the first FA series was started in 2003 while the creator Hiromu Arakawa was still writing the manga.  The original series eventually caught up to manga, and so the anime creators make up their own continuation and eventual ending for the series.

Fast toward to 2009 and a new series was announced: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood!  This anime would follow the manga that Arakawa had written, without having much overlap from the original series.

"So what is this anime about?" I hear you asking.

It's the story of two brothers (Brotherhood, get it!) named Alphonse and Edward Elric who lost their mother when they were really young, and after mastering alchemy, attempted to bring her back to life.  The attempt was a failure and resulted in Edward loosing his left leg, and Alphonse loosing his entire body.  In order to bring back his brother, Edward gives up his right arm to bond Alphonse's soul to a suit of armor.  At the beginning of the series, we find Edward with an automail arm and leg, and the two brothers in Central, the capitol city of the country Amestris, on a quest to find the fabled Philosophers Stone, an item of measurable power that they boys believe will help get their bodies back.

Honestly, I was hooked after that first episode of FA:B.  Maybe it was because I hadn't seen any anime remotely like it, maybe it was because there was this amazing blend of action and humor, or maybe it was the fact that I saw the show with my friends, and for the next couple of months, we watched the entire series together.  It's been about 3 years since we finished the series, and though I have seen many animes since then, none of them have hit me as hard as Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.  Want to know why?  Here are the reasons.

Pretty much all of the characters are right here!

First up, the characters.  Over the course of the series, the number of characters expands exponentially, and are placed into different roles in the series.  We have some members of the Amestris Army, some alchemists, some normal humans who have connections to the Elric Brothers, and a few other characters who get mixed up this amazing adventure.  Each one is fully developed through the 64 episodes, and there isn't any one character that you think of as a throwaway.  Arakawa did a fantastic job of showing the perspectives of the different characters, allowing the audience to connect to each new face and understand their role in this universe.  You know how there are characters that start as the bad guy, but then everyone starts rooting for them at the end?  Ya, there are a couple of those, but Arakawa didn't make it cliche or super obvious and you get to see how everyone grows through their interactions with each other.  Yes, there is some shipping that occurs, but in the end, you don't define these characters by who they are shipped with, you see them as people who had lives before this show and who will continue to live after the tv has turned off.

Don't be weirded out, there is actually a good reason for this

Next is the dialogue.  Now for the first 3/4 of the anime, we watched the Funimation English dubbed version, but when we got to the final part of the series, Funimation (an anime company based in Texas) hadn't finished dubbing it, so we had to watch the Japanese subtitled version.  This was also a first for me, because I had
never watched a subtitled anime before, and though the voices were a bit different, the core of the show was still there, and so was the humor.  What I love about this show is how it is able to flow seamlessly between really action packed and tense moments, to having a funny joke or randome
a second later.  Its weird to think that those voices are just people talking in a sound booth, because the dialogue is delivered so convincingly, you forget that Edward Elric is just an animation, and his voice is just an actor.  Everything is so expertly written that I have to tip my hat to Arakawa for trusting her audience enough to throw complicated information at us, and hoping that we would understand the next plot turn.  Also, the voice acting for the Japanese and English versions were top notch and totally fit each character.  Though I do prefer most of the Japanese voices, Funimation continues to show its dedication to providing quality dubs for audiences.

Edward and Alphonse as kids, you get a sense of the show

Finally, I want to talk about the heart of the show.  As I've said before, I've seen many animes since FA:B, and many of them were very good shows.  They had great animation, great dialogue, and a great premise, but there was still something missing.  That missing piece was heart.  FA:B is one of the few animes that just draws you in, to a point where you want to keep knowing what happens next.  When the characters on screen are hurt, you feel that hurt, when you see them laughing or enjoying themselves, you feel a kind of happiness inside yourself.  It's easy to see how much work was put into this show and how much they wanted it to resonate with the audience.  The final thing I want to say about this show is that when you boil it down, everyone can relate to this story.  At it's core, its a show about two brothers who love each other and would do anything for one another, and I think we can all connect to that.

I cried at the end.  There I said it.  I cried at the end.  It was that good!  As a testament to its wonderfulness, even after three years of anime watching, it holds the top spot in my mind and in my heart.

So, since this is a Catholic blog, you might be wondering, "Tony, is this show appropriate for Catholics/Christians?"  Well, let me ask you a question.  Would I have spent all this time reviewing it if I didn't thing it was appropriate for Catholics?  Of course not!!!!  I'm not going to write an entire review saying how much I love it and then tell you not to watch it! No!  That would be so rude!  
But seriously, this show is appropriate for Catholics to watch.  Besides some cuss words here and there, there isn't much that would lead you away from God.  Sure, God does have a role in this anime, but the way God is seen in this anime is not a full representation of our holy Father, nor does it try to lead people away from God.  God in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood represents truth, and while our God is also truth, he is also multidimensional and represents much more than truth in our lives.  In all truthfulness I feel like this show teaches you about the mysteries of God, and the amazing things that he's created for us.  There are a few fake idols and other gods seen observed by the different cultures, but they aren't mentioned as often, so don't think that this show will make you want to take up alchemy or change your religion.

I hope you found this post interesting and will consider watching the show.  It's a great anime to watch if you've never watch anime before and once you start it, I guarantee you will be hooked.  So, to get you started, here is the like where you can watch the show on Youtube (legally):

Peace and love

My First Post

So, this is a blog.  To be more specific, it is my blog.  Who am I?  Well, I am Tony and by no means am I a perfect Catholic.  Then again, who is?  Well Mother Teresa, Pope Francis, and Mel Gibson (Just kidding!) get pretty close.  It can be a daunting task to look and see those people who are holier then thou and try to reach that level.

Some might try to give up I'll never be as good as them, so why bother trying?  
Some may rise to the challenge ( like my current parish priest) I'm going to become a saint! I'm gonna throw fire and create darkness!  I will rain Slurpees from the sky!
And a few might do nothing ehhh I'm just gonna read the new One Piece manga and try to make it to Mass on Sunday.  That's good enough right?

Then there are people like me.  People who just try to live out their lives in a holy and Christlike way.  No, I don't think I'll become a saint (and what would I become the saint of anyway?  Tony: Patron saint of the snooze button?), but God still has expectations of me, and I should constantly strive towards Him.  It can get reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllyyyyyyy tough though....

As I said, I'm not a perfect Catholic, but I'm always trying to figure out where to go with my life.  My pastor said that if I want to know what to do with my life, I should pray to Jesus during Adoration, and try to keep my mind completely empty and open to Him.

I didn't think it would be too difficult.  *Insert laugh track here*

So I sit in front of the Blessed Sacrament, and clear my mind.  It takes a good half minute to sweep away all of the distracting thoughts and hide them all under the rug.  My mind is now completely clear.  I stare at the Sacrament.  Not thinking about anything.

Staring.  Silence.  Emptiness.  Silence.  A thought...back to silence.  Blessed Sacrament.  Transubstantiation.
So what are you going to do for dinner tonight?

That one thought sends my mind into a mental checklist of food I need to grab from Fred Meyer.  That one thought destroys my concentration, and it takes another half minute to clear everything away again.  (I ended up having pizza for dinner in case you're wondering)

So I clear my thoughts, ready to open myself to Jesus...........................

You know Beyblade had a really cool theme song.

Now my head is filled with the guitar riffs of the Beyblade season one opening.  (If you wanna nostalgia out, here's the link :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=if8YvZG800c)

So I failed again, and was only about 5 minutes into Adoration.  I continue to try to open my mind to the Lord, but achieved the same results.  Sometimes, I got a good 2 minutes of clarity before random thoughts would enter my mind. Before I knew it, Adoration was over and I was no where close to figuring out my life.

I talked with my priest later and he said that it would take time.  I guessed that it would, but it would have been nice if God would have just appeared in front of me, like Gabriel did for Mary, or Nightcrawler did for the X-men.

I guess this is going to take some time.  I'm not going to figure out life with a snap of my fingers.  God didn't make the earth in a day, so asking Him to lead me down the path of righteousness will take some time.  (If mathy people want to try and convert the time it took to create the earth into how long it will take for the Lord to speak to me, please do so and get me the results.)

In the mean time, I will try to live the life God has set out for me, and do His will every step of the way.  That is what makes someone a Catholic Badass, and that is what I want to be.  Someone who lives a good life, stumbles along the way, but keeps going back to God, ready to do His work.  We may not be badass Catholics, but as long as we strive towards God, we will be Catholic Badasses.

Peace and Love