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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 42 Review

Episode 42, "Sign of a Counterattack"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: In an abaondoned warehouse, Winry, Marcoh, Scar, Mei, and the chimeras wait for Alphonse to regain consciousness, which he eventually does. As they try to put him back together, Mei comes up with an idea, and lays out the pages of Scar’s brother’s journal. When put together the right way, they make a diagram of the nationwide alchemy circle. When Yoki sneezes, and pages turn over, Alphonse gets an idea. They turn the pages over and a diagram of a new alchemy circle can be drawn, using Xingese techniques. Meanwhile, Kimbley meets with Pride, who tells him to concetrate carving the crest of blood at Briggs. In Lior, the people are rebuilding the town, and Hohenheim arrives. He meets Rose, who shows him the Leto church, where he goes underground and meets with Pride, telling him to deliver a message to Father that he’ll be seeing him soon. At Briggs, Drachma troops attack, aided by Kimbley. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 41 Review

Episode 41, "Hell"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Miles plans to kill Kimbley and his subordinates, but Edward is reluctant to take lives. Scar, Marcoh, and Mei try to decipher some of Scar’s brother’s notes. Later, they find Alphonse sticking out of the snow. After digging him up, he warns them about Central soldiers at Briggs. Scar tells them they can hide in a nearby Ishbalan refugee camp. Edward confronts Kimbley, who has figured out what Miles is up to. He uses his alchemy to evade the sniper, and his subordinates, who are chimera, attack Ed. Ed uses alchemy to disable them via their sense of smell and again confronts Kimbley, hitting the Philosopher’s Stone out of his hand. However, Kimbley has another stone in his mouth and uses it to destroy the mining tower, bringing it down on Ed and the chimera. Edward comes to with a giant metal pipe sticking out of him. With the help of the chimeras, he uses alchemy to remove it and heal himself, losing consiousness from exhaustion. The chimeras, feeling betrayed by Kimbley, decide to take him to safety. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 40 Review

Episode 40, "Homunculus"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Olivier Armstrong arrives at Central, where she is questioned by Fuhrer King Bradley about General Raven. She requests Raven’s position, and it amuses Bradley, who agrees to give it to her. Riza passes along information to Roy about Selim being a homunculus. Meanwhile, Father sleeps below Central and a flashback begins to the days of Xerxes. Hohenheim was once a slave who became an alchemy apprentice thanks to the help of a homunculus living in a flask in his master’s posession. The king of Xerxes requests from the homunculus the secret to immortality, which comes at the price of many lives. An alchemy array is constructed around the country so that the king can obtain immortality, but the homunculus has tricked him and it is Hohenheim and himself that end up at the center of the circle when it activates. The result is the death of all of Xerxes’ citizens, save for Hohenheim, and the transfer of those lives into the homunculi and Hohenheim. The homunculus decided to take the same form as Hohenheim, thus their similar appearance. In the present, Hohenheim meets with Izumi and Sig, and rearranges her internal organs to help her health, admitting to them that he is a Philosopher’s Stone in human form. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Simple People OVA

OVA, "Simple People"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: His automail arm damaged, Edward decides to go back to Risembool to have Winry repair it. He and Al decide to buy Winry earrings to calm her expected anger over Ed damaging the arm. This ends up working well. Sometime later, Edward fights a man with blades and his automail gets damaged again, so he decides to buy Winry more earrings. Ed asks Winry why she got her ears pierced, and she says it’s because she noticed Riza Hawkeye’s pierced ears on the day Ed decided to work for the military. Edward chides her for repeatedly piercing her ears just to wear all her earrings at once. In Central, Riza Hawkeye has grown her hair because of Winry. Her friend Rebecca comments on what a simple reason it is, and she says that people do things for simple reasons. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 39 Review

Episode 39, "Daydream"

 *****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Edward prevents Kimbley from going at Scar, who has Winry captive. In a flashback, Winry confronts Scar about his killing her parents and he tells her he has the right to kill her. Instead, she bandages a bleeding wound of his, and while she says she won’t forgive him, she does it because it’s a life her parents saved. Scar asks Miles why he works for a country that hates him, and he says it’s to change their attitude towards Ishbalans from within. After much discussion, the group come up with a plan to get Winry out of the clutches of the homunculi and Central by faking a kidnapping by Scar, who agrees to cooperate. Winry, Yoki, the chimera (who desire to get their original bodies back), Marcoh, Mei, and Scar seperate from the Elrics and Miles. In the present, Miles discovers that the Briggs base has been taken over by Central soldiers. Alphonse goes out to inform them, but in the snow storm, sees a vision of his body and is concerned about his future. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 38 Review

Episode 38, "Clash in Baschool"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Edward and Alphonse manage to give Kimbley’s men the slip to look for May on their own. Eventually finds them herself, excited to see Al. Marcoh and Yoki appear, too, with Yoki recalling Edward’s effect on his life. Once in charge of the mining town of Youswell, Edward saw that he was mistreating the citizens and swindled him out of the deed to the mines, which he sold to the people. Yoki was wanted by the military and blames Edward, but the alchemist doesn’t care. Kimbley’s men, Jelso and Zanpano, find Scar, and transform, revealing themselves to be chimera. Marcoh tells Ed the importance of Scar’s safety, as he is the only one who can translate part of his brother’s notes. Scar is cornered by the dangerous chimera, but Ed and Al show up and defeat them soundly, intending to get information out of Scar themselves. Miles arrives and tells the Elrics he’ll handle the rest. Winry is again face-to-face with the man who killed her parents. Buccaneer and his group return from the tunnel and he reports to Olivier. Officials from Central return demanding to see her. Back in town, there’s an explosion and Scar appears to have kidnapped Winry.  read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 37 Review

Episode 37, " The First Homunculi"

 
 
*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: As attaches for him special cold weather style automail, Edward warns Winry not to trust Kimbley, but she recalls first meeting him when he picked her up and how he had kind words about her parents. Olivier has Buccaneer and other soldiers take the hatch Edward made into the tunnel to find the soldiers that hadn’t returned. Olivier tells the others to blame her should Central become suspicious of Raven’s disappearance. Roy meets with a flower-selling woman who passes along information from Olivier. Underground in Briggs, Buccaneer’s team finds two survivors of the first team that went underground, who fear the living shadow that attacked. The shadow retreats for the time being. In Central, Riza delivers papers to the Fuhrer’s residence at night, which are taken by his wife. Selim Bradley appears and Mrs. Bradley tells Riza about him having been adopted from his father’s side of the family. Riza walks off stunned, realizing what that must mean, and she’s right: Selim appears again, revealing himself to be the shadowy homunculi, Pride, who warns her not to reveal his secret. In Briggs, Kimbley reveals to Edward in private his intention to get Ed to kill enough people there to help complete the nationwide circle, in return for giving Edward a Philosopher’s Stone. Edward agrees, but Alphonse realizes he’s just going along with him. They tell Winry that she’s being used against them. Ed and Al are taken with Kimbley to go hunt down Scar, and Winry decides to join them. read more

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood – Episode 36 Review

Episode 36, " Family Portrait"

 

*****SPOILERS*****   

Synopsis: Hohenheim recalls the circumstances of his leaving his family. At Briggs, soldiers explore the underground tunnel Sloth had been digging and encounter a living shadow who kills them. While Olivier is trying to keep her act up with General Raven, the meeting is interrupted with news on the return of only a horse, with the arm of one of the soldiers still attached. Raven orders that Sloth be returned to the tunnel and it covered up. Miles keeps Kimbley busy, but is irritated by him. Olivier gets Raven to admit that the government had killed the Ishbalans "because they were a weak race" and fed up with his arrogance, she kills him and has him covered along with the hole. She reveals that another passage had been made into the tunnel by Edward. Kimbley visits Ed and Al at their prison cell with a guest in tow: Winry Rockbell. read more