Customer Reviews

Fullmetal Alchemist: Season One Box Set

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4 star:		(5)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of those stories that while you're watching, you wonder how anyone could have come up with such a complex and original plot. The anime is based on the manga "Fullmetal Alchemist" but the stories go two separate ways. They share a few similar plot twists, but ultimately the outcome for the two characters is completely different.

This DVD is a great buy for people who enjoy learning about the behind-the-scenes stuff from the show.

The product includes four discs that carry 25 episodes (roughly 4 episodes per disc) and they each come in their own thin, plastic casing. The four casings each have character artwork from the show. The product also comes with a smaller box of six texts. Each booklet has fun facts about characters, plus character drawings and concepts and other fun stuff. The outer box that carries all of this is pretty thick, at roughly 1 1/2 inches, but it's worth the vastness for all of the goodies it holds!

I'm sure between the different versions that have been released that everyone has probably convinced you why you should or shouldn't buy this. I don't consider myself an anime fan per se (I watch sporadically, "Bleach" is probably the only current series I watch regularly) so I am no expert, but I have seen a fair amount, and in my humble opinion this may very well be the best piece of anime ever made. (Again, there are many differing opinions and series and movies.) A close second, in my opinion, would be some of the work of Hayao Miyazaki ("Princess Monoke," "Nausicaa," "Spirited Away") or Satoshi Kon ("Perfect Blue," "Paranoia Agent," "Paprika.")

The pacing, thought-provoking issues raised, character and plot development, action scenes, depth--everything is just about as perfect as one could expect from a series, animated or not.

I would like to add one final note: I saw this edition in a retail store, and it seems to include four individual discs (eps. 1-25, complete season 1--there are two seasons total) and a rather thick supplemental booklet that was labled something to the effect of "episode guide," I assume it may be material similar to what the individual discs have (they are still for sale, but it's much cheaper to buy one of the boxed sets.)

FYI: this is not a bootleg, this is an officially released version.

"Fullmetal Alchemist" is a spectacular TV show, a good movie, and a wonderful series of graphic novels. If you wanted to try, it'd be a great novel, mini-series, micro-series, film trilogy, comic strip, radio show, live-action show, or anything else. "Fullmetal Alchemist" would succeed in any forum, because it is a spectacular story. And if you've got that, you have everything else in the bag.
The show follows the adventures of Edward and Alphonse Elric. They live, not in this world, but a close parallel called Amestris, where science has diverged from ours--though far more sophisticated in its way, the science of alchemy has superseded all our sciences in importance. It's easy to see why: if you understand the composition of matter, alchemy can produce anything out of anything--as long as you abide by the law of equivalent exchange: to obtain, something of equal value must be lost.
The one exception to this rule is life.
But when their mother dies, the distraught brothers ignore this rule and do everything they can to bring her back, with disastrous consequences. The resurrected monster is nothing like their mother; Alphonse loses his human body; and Edward is literally ripped apart, left with an arm and a leg.
Torn by guilt over his brother's condition, Edward sets off--with his brother, in a strong but inhuman form--to correct the travesty he has committed. He is determined to bring his brother's body back, but the only way to possibly do that is to find the legendary Philosopher's Stone--the only object on earth that can surpass and ignore the law of equivalent exchange.
In order to obtain the Stone, however, the Elric brothers have one option: they must become State Alchemists, working for the military, doing everything they are bid, whether war or destruction or murder, as the military is the only organization with information on the Stone. It's equivalent exchange all over again.
Their quest for the Philosopher's Stone run a close parallel with Edward's career as a State alchemist, with hilarious, uplifting, awe-inspiring, and often tragic consequences.
"Fullmetal Alchemist" contains a powerful story, thought-provoking,artfully-rendered themes, amazing storylines, and the richest characters I have ever encountered in film or television. Character depth actually rivals many good novels.
I have no complaints about this product. It is highly recommended. If, for any reason, the fact that it is an anime throws you off--unlikely, but possible--don't let it. An amazing story is an amazing story, whatever its form. If you love a brilliant story, "Fullmetal Alchemist" is a must.

I fell in love with this show after watching it and I noticed the listing on Amazon and I knew they would have it at Best Buy so I went out and bought it there. It was worth every penny. Spectacular acting and animation make it a thrill to watch.

Edward and Alphonse travel to different cities in search of the philosopher's stone to restore their lost bodies. It's a very intriguing story and everything is top notch. This show also has some of the best opening theme music around and the English dub is terrific and people usually complain about it. But I love it, and since I like to watch it in English, the spectacular acting is just as good as the Japanese version.

i bought this at Best Buy and it was cheaper than Amazon but it is worth shelling out money for if you don't have the DVDs and it's cheaper than buying the split season sets.

The difference between this set and the Season One Parts 1 and 2 is that they put seven episodes on each disc instead of four episodes on each disc. It's also slightly cheaper than buying each set separately. It also has all the guidebooks from the original DVD volume releases.

Worth the money and your time, get it before it's gone!

Fullmetal Alchemist The Complete First Season is a four-disc set that contains the first twenty-five episodes of the series. The first disc contains seven episodes, the second disc contains six episodes, the third disc contains six episodes and a commentary on episode nineteen, and the fourth disc contains six episodes, a commentary on episode twenty-five, and the extras.

The first extra included on the fourth disc is labeled as "Japanese Commercials." However, it turns out that this feature only contains one commercial, which lasts for a whole seventeen seconds. When I discovered that was the extent of the "Japanese Commercials," I felt that the label on this feature was misleading and a form of "false advertising."

The next feature is the music video for "Ready, Steady, Go," by L'Arc-en-Ciel, which is the second opening theme song for Fullmetal Alchemist. The music video primarily features the actual band, with some shots featuring an animated version of the band. However, nothing in the video ties in to Fullmetal Alchemist. The third special feature is a commercial for Tofu Records, the label that released "Ready, Steady, Go." The commercial runs for seventeen seconds, and it is an ad for L'Arc-en-Ciel's album that features the song.

The next feature on the disc is the textless openings and closings. Both of the openings and both of the closings that appear on this set are included. While the credit text may not be included, you still get the subtitles if you're watching the set with the Japanese audio. The final extra on the fourth disc are trailers.

When this DVD set was put together, FUNimation included the booklets from the first six individual discs that were released. However, since only four episodes were released on each of the individual discs, there are only episode write-ups for the first twenty-four episodes. Each booklet contains a write-up from someone associated with the Japanese production, character information and images, information from the series, artwork, and episode write-ups. The booklets are very well-done and contain a lot of information.

The quality of the series, as well as the booklets included in the set, more than make up for the very minor flaws of this release. If you're a fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, then this box set should be a part of your DVD collection.

In order to write this review, I watched a copy of this DVD box set that was given to me as a gift by my husband.

The only other perfect anime series I've seen besides Cowboy Bebop.

First a brief summary of the plot. The story takes place in a alternate earth in a country called Amestris. Alchemy is uesd heavily in this world, unlike our own. The story follows Edward and Alphonse Eleric brothers on their search for the Philosopher stone to restore their bodies they had lost when they tried to bring their mother back to life. They join the STATE ALCHEMIST under Roy Mustang so they can search better for the stone. Now onto the many reasons why this series is perfect.

First the story: It's simply brilliant, I've seen nothing like it. The story is captivating, it draws you in and never lets you go. It mixes drama, action/adventure, religion, family, and fantasy perfectly. It's emotionally charged as you follow Ed and Al on their tragic journey. There are no flaws int the story, it even surprises you when one of the main characters dies, which will surprise you and even bring tears to your eyes.

Second are the Characters: Simply Perfect. There are many characters from Ed and Al to Roy, Winry, Riza Hawkeye, Maes Hughes, Scar, Lust, and many others. Each bring something to the series and engage you into the series. Of course my favorite character is the one who ended up getting killed, I won't say which one, but it drew me even more into the series. As the story progresses onto the second half of the series you'll be introduced to even more great characters.

Third is the Animation: The animation was excellent. It was done by Bones which has done other great series like WOLF'S RAIN, RAHXEPHON, EUREKA SEVEN, and MARS DAYBREAK.

Fourth the music: It was classic. The music which was mostly classic style was breathtaking and added extra emotion to the show.

Overall Fullmetal Alchemist is perfect series which makes statements about war, religion and family. It is a must to any anime fan. Though skip the movie it adds nothing to the series and isn't good. I don't even think of it as part of the series

FullMetal Alchemist is one of my favorite anime series of all time, and can't come more highly recommended. The show is engaging from the start: the plot centers around the Edward and Alfonse Elrich -- two brothers in an alternate world (similar to pre-World War I Germany) where alchemy is possible. The boys end up paying an unexpected price when they perform a forbidden "human alchemy" experiment to resurrect their dead mother. The process costs Edward his an arm and his leg and his brother, Alfonse's body. He manages to attach his brother's soul to a suit of armor. The brothers begin a search for the Philosopher's Stone to return their bodies to normal.

The adventures the two brothers face had me sitting on the edge of my seats. The world they live in is convincingly real, and the artwork and music is spectacular. The anime puts you through every emotion possible --laughter, warmth, heartache and tears ... with an unexpected ending that will leave many tearful. If the rumors are true, and a sequel television series is planned for this series (crosses fingers) I'll be first in line to buy it.

This is only the first season (25 episodes). You'll need to purchase both the first and second season box sets to have the entire series. To find out what happens after the series, you'll need to watch the FMA Shamballa movie.

ETA 2010: I docked FMA one star, only because FMA Brotherhood seems to adhere closer to the manga. Plot twists/holes that didn't make sense in the first FMA, were addressed fully in Brotherhood. FMA One has more heart and humor; FMA Brotherhood seems more complete and structurally-sound in plot.

OK, so FullMetal Alchemist. Have you heard of it? Well apparently it's this worldwide anime phenomenon that every anime lover has to have in their collection. I guess now's your chance with these season sets that FUNimation released in early 2009. Let's get started.

Packaging - 4/5
The packaging is pretty typical on this box set. It has that "modern" DVD Set feel to it, since it's packed with 4 thin-pack DVD's. The artwork on these DVD's are very nice, and were re-used from the original FUNimation single DVD's. The artwork overlaps to the back of the DVD where the episode list for the particular disc can be read. The artwork on the cover does this as well, but stops at the spine. These DVD's are packed with 6 FUNimation Guidebooks that were also re-used from the original half-season box sets. These guidebooks are chocked full of FullMetal goodness whether it's the blurbs written by the Japanese cast and crew, or character artwork, I can see fan-girls squealing over these.

DVD Audio/Video Quality - 5/5
Since these sets were probably produced mid-2008 the video quality is very nice. It's very clear on my parents' HD TV, even though these discs aren't meant to be in HD. The quality doesn't seem remastered, but then again the series was only made in 2003. The audio for both dubs are very good and I can hear every word they say. The music is clearly there and I do love the score for this anime. Subtitles are also included.

Value - 5/5
With 25 episodes, 4 discs, and 6 guidebooks, this season set is definitely worth your money no matter how how much money you payed for it. I payed $50, which was a fair price for me. Overall pick this up wherever you can find it if your obsessed with FMA as I am!

Find the first single DVD here:Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1: The Curse (Episodes 1-4)
Find the first Half-Season Box Set here: Fullmetal Alchemist: Season 1, Part 1 Box Set

Well I bought this show to watch with my little cousin cause she likes anime and cartoons and all that and I figured "Fullmetal Alchemist thats a big hit she would probley enjoy that" and plus it was made by funimation and they have alot of good shows. I had obviously never seen the show I started watching it with her and by the second episode I was sitting there thinking man her mom would not like her watching this the show is very very dark and depressing at times but there are some good moral values in the show like the Brotherly love between Ed and Al and stuff like that but I wouldnt recomend letting your younger ones watching this show that being said I loved the show ive watched both seasons and its a great show Im almost in my twentys and I enjoyed it its not a kids show by far yes it looks like it but its not like i said its dark very dark and thats what I love. There is a heavy story which im not going to go into detail about but there are times where it gets really sad but it is definatly worth a watch check it out but watch it first to see if you think its good for your young ones

This is a fantastic series. Excellent writing, plot, and characterization, and the story delivers a perfect mix of funny, emotional, tragic and triumphant elements.