Full Metal Alchemist, Disc 9, Pain and Lust
[A HREF=MAILTO:[email protected]]Chimaera[/a]
Featuring Greed on the front cover, the DVD focuses on two homunculi primarily on this disc – Greed and Lust. As for the pain referred to here? There’s lots of pain here on both the good and bad side, with plenty of death liberally sprinkled though this volume.
33- Al, Captured
Like the title says, Al has been captured, and the boys have been separated. Most of this episode is devoted to the homunculus Greed. The differences between Izumi and Dante are illustrated in a key conversation. Izumi attempts to step in to rescue Al, however it is Ed who manages to tear away from the military’s hold and goes to face Greed – alone.
34 – Theory of Avarice
Greed heads to Dante’s, and encounters Lyra instead. Greed and Ed face off, and an important weakness of the homunculi is revealed. Winry, Edward, and Al head off to Isbal.
35 – Reunion of the Fallen
“Have you ever wondered where we come from? And where we go when we’re dead? The thought keeps rising up like a bubble in my mind.” Lust’s character is explored as she encounters a talented alchemist that she helped years ago resolve a plague in his village. The episode is told with a fair amount of flashbacks, as she reflects on her past – and future, figuring out ‘her purpose’ by the end of this episode.
36 – The Sinner Within
While in Ishbal, Winry learns about the fate of her parents, and Ed and Al learn that the Isbalans have had secret and forbidden knowledge of how to create the Philosopher’s Stone for years.
Technical/Extras – 9.0
Sleek and polished, this production is flawless.
Entertainment – 9.3
Although the third episode makes you wonder at first if this is mere filling, it does a bit to humanize the homunculi by using the slinky Lust to explore this tangent. Just when you start feeling a little bit sorry for the homunculi, the series does a good job in throwing in a subtle reminder of how monstrous and cruel they can be.
Overall- 9.3
Included:
Alchemy Text Nine (character profiles, worldview/screenshots, episode summaries)
DVD Extras
Textless songs (Undo, Motherland)
Production Art (illustration, model gallery)
Character profiles (Greed, Marta, Law, Dorochet, Dante, Lujon)
Trailers (Funimation Channel, Dragon Ball GT, Dragon Ball 3, Full Metal Alchemist, Kodocha, Baki the Grappler, Z Store)
