Episode 7, "The Hidden Truth"
*****SPOILERS*****
Synopsis: Edward and Alphonse are in a bind when the 1st Branch of the Central Library is burned down, with all of Marcoh's reasearch in it. However, with the help of Maria Ross and Denny Bloch, their new escorts, they track down a woman named Sheska, who used to work at the library. Sheska has the unique ability to recall everything she has read, and copies what she read of Marcoh's notes, which are encoded as recipies. Edward eventually deciphers the code and comes to the realization that the Philosopher's Stone is made of living humans, and likely by using prisoners. The Elric brothers sneak into Laboratory 5, a supposedly abandoned lab next to the prison. They aren't alone, however, and while Ed sneaks deep inside, an armored guard attacks Al.
Comments:
First, I'd like to state that, mistakingly, I referenced Shou Tucker's voice in episode 4 as being "different" than before, but actually, it seems it was the same voice actor, Makoto Nagai. It seemed like he did it differently, which is why I said it was a different voice. I just wanted to get this cleared up before I continued with this new episode review. Pinako Rockbell and Basque Grand's voices are the same as the first series', as well, though it was obvious.
Episode 7 covered all of chapter 10 and most of chapter 11, stopping near the end. I thought this was weird at first, but thinking about it, I realize that the remainder of that chapter and the rest of the next two are action-packed, and that's best left for an entire episode next week. Still, because it covered more than a chapter, there were bits here and there that were taken out and reshuffled. For instance, Ed and Al meet Maria Ross and Denny Brosh after they've seen that the library's burnt down. However, it's still a fine adaptation, at least on the same level as the first series' version.
This episode was the first to feature of one of my favorite characters, Sheska. Previously she was voiced by Naomi Wakabashi. Chika Fujimura is her new voice actress. To tell the truth, I can hardly tell the difference. It's unfortunate that Sheska is such a non-player in the manga, and therefore will likely not be making many more appearances in this series. I suppose she's not that important as far as the story goes, but she feels like a more endearing character than some of the later manga characters, and I would appreciate if they give her some additional scenes later on.
Both Maria Ross and Denny Brosh have new voices. I dislike both of them. Maria Ross sounds too soft. Denny Brosh sounds too deep. They don't really suit the characters in the same way the original voices did. Another production issue was the lazy art/animation in some of the scenes, like the explosion during the fight between Scar and the homunucli. And of course, Riza Hawkeye continues to look different in nearly every scene she's in. What's the deal with that?
A weird thing that's been brought to my attention is the addition of some sort of animal to the alchemy array in the beginning of the opening credits, the one a younger Hohenheim appears in front of. Is it the green lion that Ed and Al talk about when they're doing their research? It looks more like a golden bear. And why should it just suddenly appear like that? So strange.
Anyway, I liked this episode, but it wasn't a stand out, or anything. The first series had that bit with Sheska describing going through books and they showed what she felt it was like and you saw how it really was in the corner of the screen, and that wasn't in this episode, so I was disappointed, but they did have her describe with great love her situation with the First Branch, and that sort of made up for it. I guess the episodes in both series are about equal in my book.
Overall Score: 3.5 out of 5 (because of Sheska)
