Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 22 ENGLISH DUB Review

Episode 22, "The Distant Backside"

Your typical day in New Jersey.

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Wrath and Gluttony attack Ling and Ranfan. They attempt to get away thanks to a flash grenade, but Wrath reveals his homunculus eye. Meanwhile, Winry notices people talking about Ed and Al's fight with Scar on her way back from visiting the grave of Maes Hughes, and runs off towards the scene. Edward brings up Scar's murder of Winry's parents just as she arrives, which prompts Winry to break down and point a gun at Scar. Scar flashes back to the war of Ishbal, when his brother was trying to learn Xingese alchemy to bring peace, while some other Ishbalans wanted to use it to counteract the State Alchemists. Scar's family is attacked by Kimbley and most are killed. Scar's brother sacrifices his arm for his brother. Scar awakes i a rage, killing the Amestrian doctors treating him, and, his brother's research with him, vowing vengeance. Back in the present, Alphonse moves Scar away from the scene. Edward talks Winry down from her revenge and she holds onto him as she cries.

Comments:

I've tried to get into Ed Blaylock's Fuhrer King Bradley. I'm just not impressed by it. He comes off as sort of subtly sinister, but Wrath should sell his anger more. He just doesn't sound intimidating. So I'm trying to watch this scene where Ling is fighting him and all I'm getting is, "Yeah, I'm a sinister guy." Wrath should be pants-shittingly initimidating, not some guy who might at some future point be scary.

I have to be honest, though, as little as I like Winry, especially Caitlin Glass' Winry, I have to admit, she did a great job in this episode. It's weird. Glass always oversells Winry's emotions. It always sounds over the top. So I thought that if she wails the way the Japanese VA did in this episode it will sound painful, but really, she handled the material masterfully. You get the impression that Winry is devestated, but she's sort of drained in energy by it, too, so she can't do any really loud screams. I don't know if this is Glass maturing as a voice actress or Mike McFarland wising up and directing her to dial it down.

It's too bad McFarland can't dial it up, though, because it sounds like he's dialing it in. Calling it in, rather. His Jean Havoc is so generic-sounding, it was better in the first series! Why is it that every one of Roy's subordinates outside of Riza Hawkeye just has this terribly generic sound to them? It's like these people never performed in their life. ACT, you fucks. You don't have to give them a funny accent or be over-the-top, or anything, but at least make it seem like these characters exist in this world.

Scar's another one. The new Scar voice is improving, but he whispers all the time. Everything is this distant whisper. It's like Vic's Edward.

Why is it that the only one who really acted in this episode was my least favorite VA in the bunch?

Overall Score: 3 out of 5


 

 


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