Fullmetal Alchemist Season One, Part One DVD Box

Now that was a mouthful.

I would have to say I consider Fullmetal Alchemist to be one of those ‘iconic’ series in that the vast majority of anime fans know what it is – in fact, I’d be downright shocked if an anime fan didn’t know what I was talking about were I to mention it to them, given the visibility of it within the fandom. In the case of Fullmetal Alchemist, this fame is definitely well-deserved.

Fullmetal Alchemist, for those who do not know the exact details, is the story of the Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse. In the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, the practice of alchemy is a legitimate venture, and one which is utilized by the military, specifically under the auspices of the ‘State Alchemists’ – highly talented alchemists who pass the once-yearly exam to become a state alchemist. Edward is a state alchemist, for he saw it as a necessary step toward his goal; specifically, he seeks the Philosopher’s Stone, a mythical rock which is rumored to have the ability to give an alchemist endless power. But why exactly is Edward so dead-set on finding something that is to most, at best, just a legend?

Edward and his brother Alphonse committed a grand sin when they were younger, trying to resurrect their deceased mother despite strong laws against it. In the process, Alphonse lost his body, and Edward an arm and a leg. Edward’s right arm and left leg are mechanical, and Alphonse is housed in an empty body of armor. And thus, they seek the Philosopher’s Stone to restore limbs and body to each other. But, as with any quest, there are many obstacles which stand in the way to the end…

I have to say that I was pretty impressed with this first set of episodes. This box set contains episodes one through sixteen on four discs, a good chunk of the show itself, and it does a very good job of drawing the viewer in. But, I will reiterate: I was pretty impressed with what I’ve seen. Despite having heard a plethora of good things about the show, I couldn’t help but approach it with a slightly leery feeling; after all, hype can even manage to destroy a good show by raising expectations too high, so why might this not be any different? People said the Air movie was great, and I recall the distinct disappointment that accompanied my viewing and discovery of the fact that the Air movie was deeply flawed. Thus, I was wary.

And yet, I found myself after two episodes already entranced. Already deep questions about morality were being held up to the light, along with a rumination on religion and how it is utilized by people. My admiration for the show only grew as the episodes flew by, and the show got deeper into difficult questions about people and their very nature, while the shades of grey multiplied. “Damn,” I thought, “This stuff’s good.”

One of the things I find really effective about this show, though, is the fact that we are looking at all this moral ambiguity through the lens of children discovering that all is not as it seems. While both Edward an Alphonse are certainly aware of the fact that the world is not a totally friendly place given their experience with their mother’s death and the attempted resurrection, they still possess many of the convictions one holds as a child. So we see these questions about morality and how the world works as they themselves realize that things are far from what they appear to be on the surface. It is an extremely good approach to it all.

As for this particular release itself, I was impressed when I got the plastic wrap off. Funimation did a fantastic job on the packaging itself (this was, admittedly, perhaps exacerbated by my severe disappointment with the packaging for the To Terra… DVD Set One that came in the same shipment), giving us a nice-looking foil box containing a slipcase for the DVD’s in the set and for four ‘Guidebooks’ which offer quite a bit of information regarding the show along with pleasing artwork. These themselves are housed in a cardboard, DVD-sized slipcase, and fit snugly next to the DVD slipcase. The DVD slipcase itself is attractive; while I was expected the standard, plastic DVD case, instead it was a cardboard fold-out case, with a large picture of two of the characters fighting with their respective alchemy specialties emblazoned on it. The four DVD’s take up two panels of the case when it is folded out, while the third panel lists the contents of each DVD. My only criticism of the packaging comes here, however, as the initial removal of the DVD’s from the case was a bit difficult, and I worried I would damage either the discs or the case in the process.

All of this was heightened by the price-point. While the full listed price for this set is $45, I believe, I myself paid $22.99 for it over on Amazon (unfortunately, this has gone up slightly to $28.99). And there are other retailers offering it at similar price. It is also worth noting that these DVD’s are the same as the singles that were released – they retain all the extras, including the first episode of Spiral, which was included on the fourth DVD in dub form (too bad I can’t recommend it – this adaptation pales in comparison to the manga and makes me want to hit someone). Even if you pay full-price, this is is better than most anime companies in R1 will do you, as one of the complaints I’ve found most commonly is that the extras are absent from the box sets. Thank god at least one of the companies is listening a bit.

So, if you’re like me and somehow managed to avoid seeing this back in the day, this is your best bet. It is a top-notch show with a top-notch release, and I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed.