Here we are, finally at the end of things. It seems like it took a long time to get here, but we made it. For anyone jumping in now, you are starting at the wrong place, my friend. For the rest of you - I'm not going to give away much. Hehe.

Episode 49: Al is kidnapped once again. And the place Ed discovers – he might as well have walked into an M.C. Escher painting…whoa. Finally he can meet the puppet master pulling all the strings.

Episode 50: What? Where is Ed? It looks like London…oh holy crap… But how is he supposed to get back? And what about Mustang and his plan? And Al? Oh the suspense!

Episode 51: Yeah, like I’m going to give away any of the goodies.

The Final Verdict?
Whoa, so I never saw anything near #50 coming. I liked it though, very ingenious. Not exactly the first time the idea’s been used, but used in this way, absolutely. Thumbs up.

Animation? Splendid. Voices? Good – preferably in English. Music? Nice. Rating: M for Mature.

So am I satisfied?

NO!!!

I’m writing this as I go, just finishing the series. I’m sure I’ll calm down later, but right now, I’m really riled up. I can understand that not everything can have a happy ending, heck I can even respect that, and I will admit that I respect it to some degree here, but considering where it went

GYAH!!!

There was one thing that made me severely happy after almost making me cry, and that had absolutely nothing to do with the Elric brothers. There were a lot of things I wanted to happen that just did not happen. The ending it just so aggravating because it’s like “Well good gravy what did I do all that for?!” *sigh*

The series was exciting, I’ll give it that, but it’s not one of my favorites and probably never will be. Yes, I’m giving this five stars, but in reality this last bit knocked it down to 4.5. The truth is that it’s serious 98% of the time so after a while it can be kind of a downer, like “Will anyone ever be happy in this world?” I get enough of that in my own world (ironically portrayed in this series), which is why so often we prefer happy endings or at least endings that don’t make us want to pull out our hair. Yeah, I still recommend it because the concepts going on are good even though the end is less than filling. I’m still at a loss for words, really, because I did all that work and I get “Aww…” Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it, is there?

*some time later*

Overall, yes this series was good. I guess the ending is the same as real life, how we don’t always get what we want – and it’s the same there. I still don’t like it, but I can accept it at the very least. On one last note, beware, because in this oftentimes somber show, a lot of people die. And I don’t just mean like in Inuyasha when they find a whole village decimated, the viewer simply taking it in as a part of the story and not investing any emotion. No, I mean people we are introduced to, people we start to like, characters we grow fond of are suddenly killed, sometimes violently. It got to a point where I never knew who might die next – I began to worry in places. Especially when it got down to Mustang’s team (in #51 I was freaking out more about that than Ed or Al).

My final recommendation? Don’t ever go seeking the Philosopher’s Stone.

Episodes in this Volume:
Episode 49: The Other Side of the Gate
Episode 50: Death
Episode 51: Laws and Promises

NT

Earlier Volumes:
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 1: The Curse
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 2: Scarred Man of the East
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 3: Equivalent Exchange
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 4: The Fall of Ishbal
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 5: The Cost of Living
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 6: Captured Souls
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 7: Reunion on Yock Island
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 8: The Altar of Stone
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 9: Pain and Lust
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 10: Journey to Ishbal
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 11: Becoming the Stone
Fullmetal Alchemist - Vol. 12: The Truth Behind Truths

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD