![Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Part 2 [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51BOQlK5myL._SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg)
![Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Complete Collection One [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81K-K1akbpL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Yu Yu Hakusho - 30th Anniversary Box Set [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81NAm5I66VL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Perfect Blue- Limited Edition Steelbook [Blu-ray + DVD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91f5G2btlFS._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
Movie - 5.0
Picking up after the rehash that is Part 1 (episodes 1-13), the series now steps into completely new territory and aptly separates itself from its first incarnation by miles and miles. While the original FMA may have been "good" for its time, I've always been a big proponent to maintaining as faithful an adaptation as possible when it comes to manga and their anime counterparts. The stories of the authors should be presented as is, otherwise he or she would never have made it, and an anime company wouldn't have animated it. However, not being much of a manga reader anymore (as I prefer the moving picture medium with color and sound), I can't attest to how great the actual story was on paper, but I'll be damned if this new series doesn't kick the old one's butt around the world and into infinity twice. This next set of episodes (14-26) not only tops the character development of the entire first series and creates an actual sense of empathy for each of the characters, but the plot twists, narrative, scripting, and screenplay are so genuinely addicting, I find myself craving more and more of the series. In fact, I'm even poised to say I feel cheated to have ever bought the entire first series back in its heyday. Barely a third of the way through FMA: Brotherhood, the feeling I have is reminiscent of my anime-marathoning days when I used to watch entire series in a matter of days to a week. It honestly really is that addicting. The Elric brothers feel so much more determined than ever, conspiracies between the Homunculi and State Alchemists abound, the search for the truth behind the Philosopher's Stone continues, and the drama, action, etc. all maintain an excellent pace with nary an episode to bog it down. Fans of the first series would do well to forget it ever existed and behold a much more superior product that is FMA: Brotherhood. It easily surpasses its predecessor in every way imaginable: the artwork is cleaner, the animation smoother, the music not as complex and heavy-handed (not to say Michiru Oshima is a bad composer, quite the contrary, I think her work was too good), the pacing much quicker, the characters more empathizing, and even some of the scripting/voice acting has more impact. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Video - 4.5
Contrary to the jaggies reported, I discovered through research and analysis of the Japanese BDs that it's not necessarily a problem of the transfer being bad, but in fact, the source material itself being a little on the cheap side. While it's great that Japanese studio BONES animated the show for HD and provided the same masters to FUNimation, I find it completely understandable if the crew felt the need to take certain art and animation shortcuts for budgetary constraints on such a long-planned series (64 episodes total). Aside from the jaggies, which aren't even that noticeable unless you sit really close or have a big screen, I think the image looks excellent, especially in comparison to older anime on DVD. Color reproduction has a lot of vibrancy and pop looking infinitely better than some of my other anime series on BD. Line detail is fine (maybe too fine under certain circumstances), though I'm saying this after taking into consideration the old warning, "when watching anime, sit far away and in a well-lit room," so perhaps the ironic proverb helped in my viewing experience after all. Continuing on, contrast is never a problem either, and overall image detail between the backgrounds and key animation have a very nice distinction from one another in terms of line style and color palette. There also doesn't seem to be any instances of DNR, Edge Enhancement, artifacting, or aliasing either, though there is some slight banding in the more colorfully layered shots that tend to have a mix of bright shades of certain primaries. But overall, great job by FUNimation in presentation for a huge improvement over their more recent trend in not-so-good upscales and the like.
Audio - 4.0
As part of their new practice, FUNimation's claim to at least provide lossless audio for both languages seems to be holding true so far. The Japanese track is presented in TrueHD 2.0, with the English dub getting a TrueHD 5.1 track. Obviously, the Japanese track will pale in comparison to the upscaled mix of the dub, but it still sounds good. Dialogue, sound effects, and music don't offer much in terms of separation across a front-only sound stage. However, depth is relatively adequate and even creates a bit of immersion during the more active sound sequences with a various mix of sound effects and dialogue switching between the left and right speakers. The Japanese version of the BD is only limited to PCM 2.0 tracks as well, so the limitations are warranted and speak for themselves and won't get any better than this. On the other hand, the English dub provides for a more filling experience. While it's only a remix of the Japanese sound masters into a matrixed 5.1 field, it offers a slightly more buoyant, but not quite authentic, surround experience upgrade. Dialogue stays clear in the center and sounds good for the most part, though did come off either a little more flat or lower in volume when I tried switching directly between the two. But being the artificial 5.1 that it is, a little increase in the volume by about 5 notches fixed it right up. Separation is mainly dispersed between the front left and right speakers, with the occasional sound effect panning to the rears. LFEs are present mostly through the bass parts of the opening and ending credits and occasionally through the series' sound effects, but aren't as trembling as I expected. Either way, fans of both languages should be pleased, regardless.
Overall - 4.5
After getting through the repetitious stuff and finally into the canon material of the manga, FMA: Brotherhood easily outdoes its first incarnation, and in bold execution. With that said, it's definitely starting to become one of my favorite titles of the shounen genre for its gripping storytelling, character drama, and always-fun-to-watch fantasy elements. Some of the comedy is still a bit on the fluffy side, but the timing is getting better and doesn't appear to be as rampant as the first 13 episodes. With excellent video, presentable audio (and a good dub), though next to nothing in extras (again), unless you just can't wait for a complete series box set (I rented this off of Netflix), $25-30 would be a good pricing point if you really need to have it right now. Definitely recommended for shounen fans.
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Top reviews from other countries
Geoacuarela
Se podría mejorar y mucho... (II)
Reviewed in Spain on October 18, 2014