Fruits Basket and Fullmetal Alchemist: Two Manga that got two different anime adaptations

 

 

It doesn’t happen often but Fruits Basket and Fullmetal Alchemist are two Manga that would each get not one but two different Anime adaptations. In both cases, both Anime ended up having huge fan followings. Both anime employ the same characters (and same voice actors) but the difference is the storytelling.

In the case of Fullmetal Alchemist, the first Anime doesn’t follow the Manga. The second anime released over 10 years later–titled Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood–is a complete adaptation of the Manga. I was able to confirm it myself when I got the entire Manga series over the course of 3 years. The second one was more well received because it followed the story from the Manga which the first one doesn’t. I am not familiar with the Manga version of Fruits Basket though I have seen both Anime. The first one leans more into RomCom but the second one leans more into Drama and is clearly more serious. The second version was promoted as “reimagining the original story” and most agree the slower pacing–and the greater emphasis on developing the new supporting characters added–helps tell a better and expanded story. The focus is shifted from the Soma Curse itself to the relationships and interactions between various people.

 

The number of Anime that deviate from the source material over the years is just way too long to list all of them. Here’s a few notable examples of Anime that deviate from the source material:

 

Contrary to popular belief, the Manga preceeded everything else. Those who are familiar with the imfamous English Dub for the original series already knows how much 4Kids, which did the English dub changed from the Japanese version. Upper Deck, which localized the trading cards in the U.S. and Konami, which localized the video games followed their lead. Did you know Dark Magician was really Black Magician in Japan? Likewise, Summoned Skull was Summoned Demon. Black Skull Dragon was–you guessed it–Black Demon Dragon. The names were changed due to concerns of blowback from Conservative parents in the U.S.–it was marketed to kids as a reminder–and more so since even with the changes, there was no avoiding the occult themes. That alone, most can understand.

What made no sense was several characters being renamed. Teala became Tea, Junnoichi became Joey and Honda became Tristan. The only change to Yugi was the spelling for his last name (Motou became Moto). THAT pissed off a lot of people who were familiar with the source material and speaking of. What was the first season in the U.S. was actually the second season in Japan. The first season that only Japan got prominently featured Yami Yugi using pranks and curses to deal with troublemakers he encountered, often in gruesome ways. Naturally, they wouldn’t have been able to get away with it in the U.S. since as a reminder, kids were the target audience for marketing purposes.

One other thing that was a major pet peeve for me as someone who played the Trading Card game–and I was pretty good back in the day–was duels in the Anime followed their own rules separate from the TCG. This created a lot of confusion especially for those who watched the anime thinking the rules were the same.

 

 

The Anime is now the longest running ever with no signs of slowing down anytime soon 23 years later. Pokemon fans have had a love/hate relationship with Ash since the beginning but mostly hate. The hate comes from the fact in each region, Ash doesn’t evolve most of his Pokemon and doesn’t catch a lot of Pokemon either. Ash leaving all of his Pokemon but Pikachu behind before going to the next region is also viewed by most as needlessly handicapping himself. Ash has racked up quite a few powerhouse Pokemon that if he used them, he would’ve dominated in some of the regions he would later visit. It certainly wouldn’t have taken him 21 years to become a League Champion to say the least.

It goes without saying the anime follows its own story separate from the games each saga is based on. At the time what’s now officially known as the Indigo League Saga first aired, Pokemon Red and Blue came to the U.S. Those games would be joined by Pokemon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition about 18 months later. Pokemon Yellow adapted some of the story elements from the Anime such as Jessie and James replacing four Team Rocket battles from Red/Blue and Giovanni having a Persian on his team each time you battle against him. Unlike Red/Blue in which you’re forced to choose from Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle you will be able to get all three of them in Yellow by the time you finish your business in Lavender Town. Why? Because Ash gets all three of them by that point in the Anime. You can find a Pidgeotto in Viridian Forest and can’t use a Thunder Stone on the Pikachu you start with in Yellow for the same reasons.

Pokemon Yellow also made some balancing changes with most of the Gym Leaders. The Pokemon the first 6 Gym Leaders were known to us by the time Pokemon Yellow dropped on that note. To help offset not having a Water or Grass Pokemon at the beginning of the game, the wild Mankey and Nidoran (Male and Female) you catch in Yellow do learn Double Kick early on so you can get past Brock’s Rock Pokemon without having to trade. Both of Brock’s Pokemon also had their levels reduced by two each. Misty’s Pokemon and levels are unchanged but unlike Red/Blue, she will not Full Heal status ailments you inflict on her Pokemon. Lt. Surge uses a single Pokemon when you face him: A level 28 Raichu with Mega Punch and Mega Kick just like in the Anime. Erika uses the same team she used against Ash in the anime (Tangela, Gloom and Weepinbell). Koga adds a Venomoth to his lineup while Sabrina uses Abra and its evolutions. Blaine’s team is unchanged while Giovanni has a Persian replacing a Pokemon in Viridian Gym (same for your other two Giovanni battles).

As folks who followed the Anime for years know, Ash is joined by Brock and Misty for the Indigo and Johto Sagas. Misty leaves after the Johto Saga and Brock leaves after the Sinnoh Saga. From the Hoenn Saga to the Kalos Saga, Ash would be joined by the Female protagonist from the game (May, Dawn, Serena) or Gym Leaders (Iris, Cilan, Clemont). It actually wasn’t until the mobile game Pokemon Masters EX that we found out the official names of Gen 5’s Protagonists (the in-game avatars you play as): Hilbert (Male), Rosa (Female), Nate (Male) and Hilda (Female). In addition, Gen 7’s Protagonists are named Elio (Male) and Selene (Female). None of them appear or are mentioned in the anime.

It goes without saying the anime follows its own plot separate from the games. There is also a reason we have not seen another game like Pokemon Yellow that incorporated elements from the Anime. Ash-Greninja (Distributed via Sun/Moon’s Demo) does not count on that note since the unique abilities Ash’s Greninja displays was for cross-promotion purposes. This special Greninja can’t be bred on that note and its special ability is nothing to call home about. The reason we have not seen another game like Pokemon Yellow either main series or otherwise incorporate elements from the Anime is simply because they are two different worlds. Pokemon Yellow proved they were meant to stay on separate tracks.

 

 

The second half of Attack on Titan’s final season begins next month and fans of the franchise have been following it from the very beginning over 5 years ago. The pacing of the release of the anime has been held back to ensure it does not outpace the Manga and that’s because the anime has no filler episodes or filler arcs. On that note. In times past, studios would develop filler episodes or filler seasons that have nothing to do with the source material due to network obligations. Not anymore. This is one of the benefits that come with a series being on a platform like Crunchyroll or Funimation.

Everyone remembers the original Dragonball Z anime from the 90s that not only had filler episodes but drastically slowed down storytelling and pacing. When the reboot Dragonball Z Kai was released first on Nickelodeon and then Adult Swim, they cut out all the filler and the difference is like night and day. By the time Dragonball Z Kai was beginning to wind down the Buu Saga, the then new Dragonball Super was well into development.

 

…Whew.

 

I think it’s become obvious by now there is a new appreciation by the industry to just stick as close to the source material as possible when making anime.  Fans are willing to wait and with streaming services, they can work at their own pace. These days, more Anime is adapted from Light Novels or Web Comics than Manga and it’s just as well.

 

 

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Developing Story: Vic Mignogna Sues Funimation

 

…Everyone’s getting lawyered up!

Anime News Network broke the news this afternoon. When news spreads during Anime Boston this weekend, things should be real interesting.  I commented on ANN’s facebook post about it and this has clearly split people into two camps: Those who support Vic and those who don’t. I do remember reading a separate ANN article last month in which most of the cast of the new Broly movie pulled out a scheduled convention appearance at the last minute because of him.

The defendants named in the lawsuit apparently knew it was coming and clearly have been preparing. Funimation is owned by Sony, which conducted an independent investigation in the alligations. Though they could find no evidence of wrongdoing–it was basically “who do you want to believe?” from what I understand–Mignogna was fired by Funimation is January. Funimation took it a step further and has actually begun redubbing characters he voiced in recent years. That pissed off and shocked longtime fans of his as you can probably guess.

The fact that Vic Magnogna picked Good Friday to file the lawsuit speaks to his professed Christian faith. The irony. Like I said in my comments on Facebook, it’s his lawsuit to lose. It doesn’t matter if you support him or not, he WILL lose this lawsuit. He’s asking for $1 Million in damages for defamation, wrongful termination and slander. According to what I’ve been reading in a few places, more people and entities including Anime News Network, which first broke the story about Vic’s inappropriate physical contact allegations in January will be added to the lawsuit. See my blog post for the cliffnotes and the link to that article here.

I wanna make two things clear before I continue:

1. I don’t support Vic Mignogna for the reasons I explained in the other post. I would be far more skeptical if it was just Monica Rial (by the way she voices Bulma in Dragonball Z and Dragonball Super) but given at least two dozen people–some fellow voice actors–have come forward with alligations of inappropriate physical contact with him, I can’t give him the benefit of the doubt. Yes I know he apologized and that’s great but there is clearly more than we know at play here.
2. Funimation had to fire him at the end of the day. Why? Because their bottom line was being threatened that’s why. If they didn’t, they risked not just Monica Rial but many other VAs refusing to work with him or just leaving Funimation and signing with another company like Viz Media or Sentai Filmworks. Sony would view them as incompetent and worst case, shut down Funimation. Is protecting one guy who is strongly distrusted by his colleagues worth losing money over? Absolutely not and more so given other companies he’s worked with in Anime or Video Games will be following this case very closely.

At the end of the day, Vic has the most to lose. He must know this, too.

I mentioned before Funimation has started redubbing characters he voiced. They knew in advance he was going to sue so I’m assuming the redubbing is intended to deny him money from royalties and his presence in existing work. I can’t think of any other reason they’d go that route and naturally, redubs in general are not cheap even for one character. Vic Mignogna is most known as the voice of Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Like I said a the top, Vic’s situation has fans split. Most who support him do for one of two reasons. Either they’re longtime fans of his work or they think he can actually win the lawsuit. The first group I have no problem with. After all, I still consider myself a fan of Michael Jackson (GASP!). The second…LOL. Those who don’t suppprt him are also split into two groups. Either they know he has no chance of winning in court–I’m in this group obviously–or they feel Vic thinks he’s better than everyone else aka “lives in his own world” (I don’t think he really thinks like that personally).

At the end of the day, this is still a question of “Who do you want to believe?” and that’s what sucks about the whole thing. There are no clear winners in this. Regardless of outcome, I will continue to support Funimation and English Voice Actors. I’ll just put it like that. I attached a poll below for those who want to weigh in.

 

 

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Some of Anime’s most notable Moms

…I did one for Dads two years ago so this should come as no surprise ^_^

As before, I only listed moms fron Anime I’ve seen myself. Warning, there be some spoilers.

 

 

Sakura Haruno

Anyone who’s seen Naruto and/or Naruto Shippuden knows who Sakura is so I’ll leave out her exploits as a kid and teenager. Shortly after the end of The Fourth Great Ninja War, Team 7 team mates Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha made the Ship official and got married. shortly after that, Sarada came along. Like Naruto, Sai and Kakashi, Sakura transitioned to civilian life as a Ninja Medic and being Sarada’s mother.

Having never met her father and only knowing him from pictures and stories about him, Sarada started to doubt Sasuke was her real mother. She decided to ask Naruto about it but then they get caught up up a battle with one of Orochimaru’s failed experiments from the past. Along the way she meets her father and activates the Sharingan for the first time. After the danger is dealt with, Sasuke confirms for his daughter that Sakura is her mother…as well as his wife.

By the time Boruto Next Generations begins, much time has passed. Everyone has grown up and almost everyone is a parent now. Since the focus is on Boruto and Sarada’s generation, the previous generation don’t appear as much outside supporting the newer ones.  Sakura is no exception. Her daughter has obviously inherited her father’s Sharingan. She has also inherited the superhuman strength of mother.

 

Chi-Chi

Chi-Chi is probably the…how should I put this…oldest person on the list. She is Goku’s wife but she is also the mother of Gohan and Goten as well as the grandmother of Gohan’s daughter Pan.

She is first introduced as a child in Dragonball. She is the only daughter of the fearsome Ox King. Ox Mountain is on fire and the only way it can be extinguished is with the Kamehameha. Goku meets Master Roshi, who teaches him the technique. After Goku uses the Kamehameha to put out the fire on Ox Mountain, Chi-Chi falls in love with him. Chi-Chi doesn’t appear again until the end of the Dragonball series as a young adult. She faces Goku in the World Martial Arts Tournament. The two marry shortly afterward and their son Gohan is born before the start of Dragonball Z.

After the birth of Gohan, Chi-Chi becomes a doting wife to Goku as well as as a doting mother to Gohan and later Goten as well. Gohan was trained by Piccolo but Goten was personally trained by Chi-Chi. Speaking of. Goten was born offscreen shortly after the end of the Cell Saga. It’s commonly believed Chi-Chi discovered she was pregnant shortly after the end of the Cell Saga. Goten is seven years old when he is introduced in the Great Saiyaman Saga and Trunks is a year older than him. So Chi-Chi was pregnant with him at the end of or just after the Cell Saga.

In Dragonball Super, Chi-Chi plays a recurring role as Goku’s wife and grandmother of Pan. Having saved the universe from Majin Buu, Chi-Chi FINALLY gets Goku to get a job…as a farmer! Having no personal need for it, Goku gives Chi-Chi the briefcase containing 100 Million Zenni he receives from Mr. Satan/Hercule to Chi-Chi as a gift…and a bribe to go train under Whis. Chi-Chi is present along with the others during the tournament between Universes 6 and 7, comforting Goku when he is eliminated early on.

Nagisa Furukawa/Okazaki

 

 

Anyone who’s seen Clannad or played the VN knows who Nagisa is. Plus, you should know if you’ve been reading my blog for at least the last three years. So, this will be short. For those who recently started reading my blog, she is the lead female protagonist in the Anime and the canon pairing for Tomoya Okazaki, the lead male protagonist. In the After Story Arc, she becomes pregnant with their daughter Ushio.

In the Alternate Storyline, Nagisa dies giving birth to Ushio. Get your tissues ready because here it is (English Dub):

At the end of the Alternate Timeline in the Anime, this happens instead (English Sub):

To get this ending in the VN, you must collect all of the orbs of Light. You will get a notification once this condition has been satisfied. Plus the Title Screen will be flashing to show you it’s time to see to True Ending ^_^

 

 

Hana (Wolf Children)

 

 

Wolf Children, which was created by Mamoru Hosoda is a tribute to single mothers worldwide. Hosoda himself was raised by a single mother and used his own life experiences as inspiration for this moving story. The obvious twist for Hana is her kids can turn into wolves. After the family moves out of the city and into the suburbs, Yuki and Ame start to drift apart and Hana must come to terms with her children going in different directions and pursuing two different worlds. Yuki decides to live as a human while Ame, who has trouble fitting in at school decides to live as a wolf. In the end, Hana accepts the choices of her children and especially Ame’s.

 

Trisha Elric

 

 

Another person on this list everyone here has at least heard of. After all, her death is what kicked off Ed and Al’s Excellent Adventure.

It is interesting to note Trisha first met Hoenheim when she was a child. Hoenheim kept returning to Risembool every few years until she was old enough to marry. It’s likely he didn’t tell her much about his past but they had Ed and Al. A few years later, he left and never returned. A disease that spread across the region claimed her life. Ed and Al attempted Human Transmutation in an effort to bring her back but of course, their efforts failed with disasterous results. Ed would realize much later the obvious truth: It’s impossible to bring the dead back to life.

Izayoi

She is the second of three mothers on this list who had a child born of two different worlds. In her case, she is the mother of Inuyasha. Izayoi is dead by the time the story begins but we learn about her later in the story.

She is the Lady of a distinguished clan though it appears she was not married when she meets Inutaisho (Inuyasha and Sesshomaru’s father). We know from the events of the movie Swords of an Honorable Ruler that her relationship with a demon kept her at odds with the captain of the guard, who was smitten with her. he was so angry when it was discovered she became pregnant by a demon that he set the castle on fire and then impaled her with a spear shortly after she gave birth to Inuyasha. Inutaisho used Tenseiga to bring her back to life and gave her the Fire Rat Robe (now worn by Inuyasha), leading her to safely before he was consumed by the flames.

We know from Inuyasha’s early memories that she raised him in a nearby village after that until she died (It’s implied she died of illness) Having never known his father, Inuyasha was very close to his mother. Sesshomaru used this knowledge to set a trap for him early in the series.

Delia Ketchum

Everyone knows who she is. So we’ll leave it at that.

Delia Ketchum was a large part of the third Pokemon movie Spell of the Unown in which she is kidnapped by the legendary Pokemon Entei. Her appearances are few for obvious reasons but she does her best to encourage her son. While technically not a trainer herself, she does have a Pokemon partner in Mr. Mime.

One of the oldest unsolved mysteries is the answer to this question: Who is Ash’s father? All that’s known is he is or was likely a trainer.

Hild (Ah! My Goddess!)

 

And here we have the third Mother who broke a taboo and had a mixed race child. In her case, Hild is the mother of the Goddess Urd.

The Anime doesn’t get into this but once upon a time, Hild and The Almighty One were lovers. We also know they used the Gate of Destiny used to weight the strength of the bond between lovers from two worlds, which was a major plot device in The Movie. The two were forced apart but Hild beat the system to see The Almighty One for what would be final time. Urd was conveived from that final meeting and born after the Doublet System was put in place to end the war beween Gods and Demons. While Hild obviously still has feelings for The Almighty One, when asked by Belldandy she plainly states because she tricked the system once, trying a second time would cost her life.

Aside from being Urd’s Mother she is the Daimachaiko, or Ruler of Demonkind. Her power is equal to The Almighty One’s, hence all the jewelry you see in the video to seal most of her true power. Had she arrived at full power, probably most of the world would have been wiped out! After she returns to Nifelhiem (referredto as The Demon Realm in the Anime), she splits off a child version of herself to mess with Keiichi and the Goddesses for  a while. In the Manga, there is coup in Nifelheim and her main body is sealed by the Userper. Hild turns to Keiichi and the Goddesses for help, ultimately regaining her full power again.

…Ok that’s ir for this year. Most of you have probably seen AnimeKat’s post but if you haven’t, check it out ^_^

Next year, I’ll see about doing mothers and fathers in Video Games I’ve played.

The Live Action FullMetal Alchemist clearly tries to do too much

…That would be a fair assessment for the film, which sets up for a sequel.

As was the case with the Attack on Titan movies before it (Filmed as one movie but was later cut in two, mind you), the FMA live action movie tried to do too much at the same time. Much of it has to do with the MASSIVE amount of story content from the source material: The Manga and the second Anime Series Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Unlike the first FMA Anime, FMA:B actually follows the storyline from the Manga. The first Anime series loosely follows the Manga at first but then switches to an original storyline.

The Live Action FMA movie is a mixed bag. On the one hand, they character portrayals were mostly accurate. The main problem is the hard to follow plot and mostly because certain key characters are absent–presumably being saved for the sequel–and it hurt the flow of the movie. It was obvious the story had been intentionally written with certain notable characters being absent and unmentioned.

…Who am I talking about?

• King Bradley: Come on. Conspiracy within the State Military and Bradley’s not even mentioned?! They could have given him a cameo just like they did in the Manga and FMA:B. They simply don’t let on his real identity is all they needed to do.
• Ling: The Crown Prince of Xing. His importance is revealed later, more so when it relates to a certain Homunculus.
• Greed: Before he was merged with Ling, he was a certified badass. After the merger, he was even more badass even before he got his memories back. That said, his absence makes sense given both Ling and Bradley are absent.
• Major Alex Louis Armstrong: His omission is suspect but makes sense given his importance in regards to the Ishvalan Civil War. Besides, you can’t include Armstrong without also including this other guy.
• Scar: I’ll give credit where it’s due in how they managed to close out the movie without him. I do suspect he was left out on purpose to avoid having to film Nina/Alexander’s death. That and his connection to Winry’s parents.
• Pinako Rockbell: Winry’s grandmother is absent but it makes sense given she’s in Resembol (Winry, Edward and Al’s hometown) while Winry travels to meet up with Ed and Al.
• Izumi Curtis: Ed and Al’s Alchemy teacher. I would be surprised if she doesn’t at least get mentioned later.
• Van Hoenhiem: Another omission that makes sense given he can’t be featured without this other guy getting a mention.
• Father/Dwarf in the Flask: The being behind the curtain. He set things in motion so it makes sense his reveal would come much later.

On the one hand, all of these are major characters. On the other hand, they did an impressive job leaving all of them out. Especially Bradley. It was pretty interesting Gluttony’s Secret was casually revealed without explaination though. I mean the fact that he’s actually a failed attempt at making a Portal of Truth. Envy’s True form being left out makes a certain amont of sense. The showdown between Mustang and Lust was spontaneous due to the absence of Jean Havoc (Riza Hawkeye is the only one who made the cut). It lacked the emotional impact provided in the Manga and Anime. Of course, that’s the case with many plot points throughout the movie due to the changes made due to certain characters being absent from the movie.

…If it sounds confusing, that’s because it is. Like I said before, they tried to do too much in this movie. I am almost afraid to see the sequel when and if it actually happens.

 

Comparing Anime and Manga versions of a series

As you guys know, I have the full Anime and Manga sets for Death Note (WOOT!) and Attack on Titan (plus the spinoffs!). While most fans of a particular series usually favor one over the other–I’m referring to Anime or Manga–some are so good, you don’t mind experiencing them through a second lens.

I picked Death Note and Attack on Titan as examples for another reason: The storyline is virtually unchanged in the conversion from Manga to Anime. You can literally quote chapters from Death Note while watching same scenes in the Anime. In the case of Attack on Titan, I started buying volumes after watching the Anime for the first time on Netflix. As I mentioned in my review of the Anime last year, The Manga continues the story after the series (or rather now the first season) starting with Volume 9. If you never read the Manga, you’d be in the dark about alot of things going on as well a how Levi’s past and what happened during the time of Commander Ervin’s Predecessor tie in to what’s going on now. Death Note does have prequels too of course but they were written after the original series was done to add on to the storyline. The BB Case L references early on gets a miniseries in Manga form. The third Death Note Movie L Change the World takes place during the space of time between when his name is written in the Death Note and when he dies.

Of course, not all series with both of Anime and Manga either get a US Release (History’s Mightiest Disciple Kenichi) or stay true to the Manga (The first Fullmetal Alchemist series). The original Dragonball Z Anime (292 Episodes) drew alot of heat due to the huge amount of filler added to extend the Anime. DBZ Kai is almost half as long (The rest of the remaining Sagas are currently in production in Japan) but is prettymuch the same story just WAY shorter.

Code Geass is an interesting example in which the Anime came first. The Manga is the same story minus the Knightmare frames used in the Anime. Most folks already know this but Naruto Shippuden doesn’t “exist” in Manga form. All volumes after 29 fast forward to Older Naruto in the Manga. They had to add a subtitle to the Anime for licensing reasons.

 

Review: Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga)

 

Within a year’s time, I have collected all 27 volumes.

…As of this weekend I have also finished reading all 27 volumes.

For the third time 18 months, I have completed an entire Manga set. The first was Code Geass last year while Death Note was the second earlier this year. The legendary franchise earned its spot in Anime history over 10 years ago when the Anime was first released (first in Japaan and then in the U.S.). The Manga’s storyline was the basis for the more recent Anime adaptation Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Havimg read the Manga after warching FMA:B in full, I came to appreciate both mediums a whole lot more:

• I might have missed the episode it happens in but Heinkel kills Kimbley in a surprise ambush and Pride later eats his corpse. I knew Kimbley stops Pride from escaping from Ed during their fight later on but I couldn’t remember how he ended up inside Pride.
• It’s never actually stated what Armstrong’s “disgrace” was in FMA:B.  This detail is revealed in the Manga: Armstrong questions his orders during the war in Ishval and later lets some Ishvalans escape. Moments later, the citizens he let go are gunned down by Amestrian soldiers. He is branded a coward and a weakling by his superiors and his sister Olivier.
• Speaking of General Armstrong: The Manga confirms she is Louis’ oldest sister. Elizabeth (who appears in both the Manga and FMA:B) is the youngest followed by Louis, two unnamed sisters and then Olivier.
• Father’s monologue after the final battle doesn’t happen in the Manga but The Truth has a much longer monologue when it’s confronted by him on the other side.
• Speaking of The Truth: The Manga does a slightly better job of pointing out The Truth mirrors whoever appears before it. Ed, who opens the portal three times (the first time as a kid, the second time while inside Gluttony and the final time to get Al) figured it out after he and Al figure out how Al’s soul can survive without his physical body for so long. This is the reason he says to The Truth in the Anime “Who needs Alchemy when I’ve got them?” The Portal of Truth is what allows an Alchemist to transmute even though with a few exceptions, they will never see it with their own eyes.
• By chosing to give up Alchemy itself, Ed did what the Dwarf in the Flask couldn’t and realized Alchemity itself was the root cause of his and Al’s troubles. The Dwarf only saw it as a means of becoming a God.
• It’s interesting to note the Manga reveals Olivier has her troops smuggle Scar away from Central after the final battle. This explains why he’s shown in the Armstrong Mansion in the final episode.
• In the Anime, Mustang and Dr. Marcoh use a Philosipher’s Stone to fix Havoc’s spine, allowing him the use of his legs again. In the Manga, Havoc is shown undergoing some intense rehab to regain the use of his legs.
• Hoenheim explains in the Manga as he activates the Reverse Transmutation Circle even if a person’s soul is ripped from their body, as long as the body is still capable of housing it, body and soul will automatically be drawn to each other like a magnet. This explains why Barry the Chopper’s body followed him to the end, why Al blacked out in Briggs and why all of the souls of Amestris taken by Father returned to their original bodies. In the Anime it’s suggested the souls of the Xerxes Citizens that triggered the Reverse Transmutation Circle also returned them to their rightful bodies.
• Hoenheim was about 35 years old at the time of the destruction of Xerxes. It’s suggested the over 500,000 souls in his body were added to his lifespan. 350 years pass from the time of Xerxes to the births of Ed and Al. We know from the deaths of the Homunculi each time they’re “killed”, they lose one of the philosipher’s stones that keep them alive. In the Manga, Hoenheim states after Father is defeated only his soul remained. He burned through the others during the course of the battle. Based on that, it’s no hard to understand why his body decayed so quickly. At 400 years old, he far exceeded a normal human lifespan!

Overall, I give the Manga a 10/10. A solid storyline and it’s a must-read for fans of anything FMA. I’m even considering cosplaying as an Amestrian Soldier at Anime Boston 2015. If not FMA then possibly the Survey Corps from Attack on Titan. Hmm…

 

 

Had your fill of Toonami’s Weekly Lineup? Looking for More Anime? Here’s a few places to start looking!

I’m at that age where I’m old enough to remember watching Gundam Wing, Dragonball and Sailor Moon in the early 1990s, Dragonball Z a few years later, Fullmetal Alchemist, Code geass and Death Note about twelve years ago and more recently, the likes of Soul Eater, Blue Exorcist, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood and Bleach. What all of these Anime have in common is at one time or another they all aired on Cartoon Network and/or its anime block, Toonami.

Back in the day, you only really had Toonami and 4Kids to get your Anime fix. Things are very different now. As an added incetive, outside TV and Hulu there are no commercial interruptions so…yeah. Here’s two places I reccommend to get started:

This should come as no surprise given I reviewed it in January. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it’s basically Netflix but just Anime and Korean Dramas. Like Netflix, programming is on demand but like Hulu, new episodes are made available right after they’ve aired on TV in Japan.  Even though I’m a Dub Man and the Anime CR provides is all Subbed, no other provider comes close to the sheer volume of Anime they have to offer.

Crunchyroll can be streamed through both Microsoft and Sony Consoles as well as the Vita, iOS/Android devices and of course, your computer’s browser. CR is 100% free to watch on your computer but if you want to stream it, it’ll cost you $7 a month which is a buck less than Netflix for prettymuch just Anime.  The original content is easily worth the monthly subscription in my book.

 

As the first streaming service I ever used and as much as I hate to admit it, Netflix has its usefulness in regards to Anime. While the streaming giant has been quietly making original content in recent months (Orange is the New Black and House of Cards), it has also been acquiring exclusive licensing deals with various media providers. One such deal brought the entire Pokemon series to Netflix. At the moment, The Indigo League and The Unova Saga as well as the Reshiram and Zekrom movies are the only Pokemon-related stuff they have so far but those ALONE will easily take a few weeks to go through. The rest are set to be added over the coming months.

Moving on, almost all of the Anime I now own I saw for the first time on Netflix: Clannad, School Rumble, Ouran High School Host Club and Samurai Champloo to name a few. The small but respectable selection of Anime they have is a great place for folks to cut their teeth on Dubs without having to deal with the Ads on Hulu. Netflix also has Attack on Titan Subbed, which recently started airing on Toonami.

Like Crunchyroll, Netflix streams on both Sony and Microsoft consoles as well as the Vita and the 3DS family handhelds and all the rest. It’s $8 a month which isn’t bad. I actually have both CR and Netflix so…yeah. As a reminder: When streaming both CR and Netflix there are NO ADS =D

 

That’s just to whet your appitite.

So now you wanna buy some Anime but not ready for the DVD/Blu-Ray sets yet? That’s ok. I know a few providers that can help you get your Anime fix and the prices are obscenely cheap:

 

 

These were the first places I bought Anime from starting about seven years ago with Xbox Live’s PC Client Zune. The first Anime I bought was Ah! My Goddess! Unsurprisingly, I went on to own both seasons, the movie and two thirds of the Manga volumes (LOL!). This brings up the all-important question of cost. It really depends on which route you go. If you wand Standard Definition (SD) it’s $2 per episode across the board and $3 for High Definition (HD) episodes. While yes, HD is better quality the files are also MUCH bigger and in the cases of the consoles they can really eat up your storage if you’re not careful. For movies, the cost is $8-$10 though with those that have HD versions available it’s $12 or $15.

Both iTunes and Xbox Live/Zune allow you to buy whole seasons if you want. If a season is airing, you can buy a Season Pass which gets you all the episodes of a season in progress so far plus the rest of the episodes made available for download as early as an hour after they’ve aired on TV. You can also just buy all the episodes of a season at a flat rate after all the episodes have aired.

I reccommend one or both personally in regards to Anime. Most Anime seasons are 12 to 13 or 24 to 26 episodes long so…yeah. On average, Buying a whole season on average runs between $18 to $32 on both Xbox Live/Zune and iTunes (the Playstation Network doesn’t currently offer whole season purchases). I wouldn’t pay more than $30 personally for a digital copy of an Anime season or series. The most I paid was $24 each for both seasons of Spice & Wolf, Ah! My Goddess!, and Rosario + Vampire as well as Shuffle! (I bought the DVD set last year at Anime Boston) which I bought on Xbox Live three years ago. Each episode (Standard Definition) was $2 so more often than not, I got a real good deal on a season package. I paid $24 for the Shuffle DVD set in case you’re wondering.

 

…I’ve talked about Xbox Live/Zune almost exclusively but there SEVERAL benefits to buying your Anime on iTunes and The Playstation Network, more so if like me you have quite a few of their portable devices =O

For starters, once you buy anything from iTunes you can download it on all of your devices right away. Cross-buy and cross-download is also possible so for example if you buy Wolf Children on your PS3, you can download it to your Vita or PSP at no extra cost. Don’t wanna wait for it to download? You can stream it while it’s downloading in the case of Xbox Live/Zune and iTunes. In all three cases, you can que multiple downloads simultaneously.

Of course, the smart way to distribute your stuff after you’ve bought and downloaded it to your PC/PS3 is to use a Sync cable so you can get it on Portable device in seconds and not minutes or hours.

Whew…now we’ree getting to the third and final layer. In case it isn’t obvious: I am only providing LEGAL OPTIONS to get your Anime. Of course, there are illegal means but if you wanted to go that route, you probably wouldn’t have read this much (LOL). Support your favorite anime and BUY it!

 

That said, the final layer is of course DVD and/or Blu-Ray. While yes, Digital Purchases are the future there’s nothing wrong with wanting to own a physical copy of your favorite anime and anime movies. I have 14 Anime DVD and Blu-Ray sets (I count multiple seasons as part of a set personally) and 6 Anime movies myself so…yeah. I got most of my Box Sets during Anime Boston and have actually made it a tradition to buy two Anime Box sets at Anime Boston. For example I got Ouran High School Host Club and Fate/ZERO this year and Samurai Champloo and Shuffle! last year.

You really can’t go wrong when you buy your Anime on DVD/Blu-Ray: No DRM, no internet connection, no monthly fees, no ads, nothing but the Anime. The best part is you can decide if you want to watch it with the English Audio (default setting) or the Japanese Audio. With the other layers you’re locked into one or the other.

As for the price, that depends on where you look and how rare the Anime you’re looking to buy is. For example, Code Geass Season 1 goes for $49 while Season 2 costs $72. Persona 4 Blu-Ray is about $27 for each season (they split it in half for the home release presumably to bring the price down and double profits at the same time). Samurai Champloo (complete series) goes for $28 on DVD and $30 on Blu Ray.

Some sets are simply rarer or more common than others. Much of it has to do with licensing and/or the original distributor going under, ending the production of new DVD/Blu-Ray Sets. This is what happened to Code Geass. Those who paid attention will have noticed this Anime never reaired on Cartoon Network/Toonami. The reason for that is the company that held the license went under while the series was wrapping up on Toonami so it was never reaired. It’s also the reason the DVD Sets are so rare and costly XD

 

Ok that’s it for now. Up next, I’ll throw out my reccommended picks for folks who are not fans of Anime =D

Fullmetal Alchemist Manga set almost complete

 

All I need are volumes 23, 23 and 24 and it will be complete ^_^

 

I bought 3-in-1 books, which contain 3 volumes but cost $15 each. I got singles for volumes 25, 26 and 27 before I knew the whole series was getting the 3-in-1 treatment. For those who don’t know, a single volume of FMA costs $10 so it makes more sense to buy a 3-in-1 these days. Bleach, Naruto and Dragonball Z are also releasing 3-in1 versions of the manga as well so…yeah.

Once I finish FMA it will join my complete Death Note and Code Geass sets. I will then focus on adding to my Blue Exorcist and Ouran High School Host Club sets. I also have seversl Bleach and Naruto volumes but in those cases, I’m more interested in getting all of the volumes for certain Arcs. While I do have most of the volumes for Rosario + Vampire and Oh!My Goddess, I’ll wait until AB2015 before I look at getting more volumes for those series.

I almost forgot to say this before but Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood faithfully follows the manga’s storyline. The original Anime from 10 years earlier uses an original storyline with the same characters. Those who saw FMA:B after seeing FMA but before reading the manga will find FMA:B much darker than the original Anime. The original storyline has been critically acclaimed for the more narrowed focus on what it means to seek “The Truth”.

I think it would I would be pretty cool if an after story was done but things are fine as they are. For those who may have heard of FMA and wondered about the name, Edward Elric is given the codename Fullmetal by King Bradley when he becomes a state alchemist. He’s universally known as The Fullmetal Alchemist because of his prosthetic arm and leg. He lost his limbs and his younger brother Alphonse lost his entire body after tried to transmute their mother back to life. The main story is their quest to find a way to get their bodies back.