Ed and Al are back, but in a slightly more comical, shorter manner with Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium OVA Collection from FUNimation. Like a short visit with an old friend, the adventures are not as long, the tales shorter and more comical but the feeling of nostalgia is ever present. Familiar voices, characters and settings will have more than one FMA fan pressing play on the Elrich’s adventures again. What’s so magical about this 35+ minute DVD, let us count the ways.
1) Live Action – Funny, but please don’t expect a true FMA come to life, more like a group of animators with too much time on their hands.
2) Chibi Wrap Party – Worth the purchase by itself. This super-deformed look at a cast party where all powers of alchemy are still present is hilarious. The voice work is outstanding and seeing characters walking around like best buds after 50+ episodes and a movie trying to kill each other, classic.
3) Kids Short – A very interesting what-if look at some very familiar looking kids running around the city looking for their great uncle.
4) Interactive Experience – Outstanding and chock full of action. This first-person, first day on the job look through the eyes of a new recruit recaps a lot of the series high-points and ends in an epic battle full of new animation. It’s worth a few views since this battle did not happen, really, really good.
Original cast – Having all kinds of familiar voices, that alone brings this viewer back to what was not only an excellently animated, well told story but also one of the better voice cast put together. What I’m getting at is all the originals are here, pretty sweet.
Closing Song & Commercials – Closing song, not catchy. Dancing armor, creepy. Commercials … they are commercials. Nuff said.
From FMA to Brotherhood, this collection bridges the gap, gets fans excited again for a series that’s seen two different levels of box sets on top of the original DVD run. Fullmetal Alchemist belongs in every anime fans collection and is easily one of the best series of all time.
1) Live Action – Funny, but please don’t expect a true FMA come to life, more like a group of animators with too much time on their hands.
2) Chibi Wrap Party – Worth the purchase by itself. This super-deformed look at a cast party where all powers of alchemy are still present is hilarious. The voice work is outstanding and seeing characters walking around like best buds after 50+ episodes and a movie trying to kill each other, classic.
3) Kids Short – A very interesting what-if look at some very familiar looking kids running around the city looking for their great uncle.
4) Interactive Experience – Outstanding and chock full of action. This first-person, first day on the job look through the eyes of a new recruit recaps a lot of the series high-points and ends in an epic battle full of new animation. It’s worth a few views since this battle did not happen, really, really good.
Original cast – Having all kinds of familiar voices, that alone brings this viewer back to what was not only an excellently animated, well told story but also one of the better voice cast put together. What I’m getting at is all the originals are here, pretty sweet.
Closing Song & Commercials – Closing song, not catchy. Dancing armor, creepy. Commercials … they are commercials. Nuff said.
From FMA to Brotherhood, this collection bridges the gap, gets fans excited again for a series that’s seen two different levels of box sets on top of the original DVD run. Fullmetal Alchemist belongs in every anime fans collection and is easily one of the best series of all time.
