Review: Batman - Arkham Asylum (360)

Medium: Console Video Game
Genres: Action, Adventure, Stealth
Designers: Sefton Hill (Director), Paul Dini (Writer)
Developer: Rocksteady
Publisher: Eidos
Version Reviewed: Xbox 360 (also available on PC, PS3)
Release Date: August 25(NA)/28(EU), 2009
Rated: T for Teen

The premise behind the latest video game devoted to the Dark Knight is that he, while depositing his arch enemy (the Joker) into Gotham’s island prison (Arkham Asylum), is ensnared within a trap set by the very person he just brought back. No sooner is the Joker wheeled, Hannibal Lecter style, to the bowels of the prison’s receiving area than he escapes (with a little help from his friends) and the doors for (almost) all the inmates are unlatched. From there on out, Batman has one objective: to find and take down the Joker. A simple enough task, but remember where this game takes place. Throughout the journey, Batman is surrounded and attacked by almost every monster and maniac he’s helped put in these dank cells. In order to find the Joker, the Dark Knight faces a harrowing test of endurance and deduction to follow the trail to his torturers and make sure justice is served.

The above scenario seems like survival horror, especially when you consider the absolutely stunning artistic rendering of Arkham’s manmade and natural features. But for all the taunting smiles drawn in fluorescent green and red paint, all the eerily abandoned television loops, and the subtle ambient noises, the one thing that disqualifies this game from being qualified strictly as survival-horror is the inclusion of all of Batman’s wonderful toys. If it were to be a strict survival-horror, they should’ve taken away Batman’s utility belt (I mean, c’mon, Batsy surely has the fighting skills). However, as an action-horror game, Batman: Arkham Asylum hits the nail on the head.

Speaking of action, a combination of the FreeFlow^TM fighting engine and enemy AI make controlling Batman throughout the game easy enough for entry-level button mashers while giving hardcore gamers enough special moves to keep things interesting. The latter includes stealth attacks and combos that can be upgraded during the course of the game after earning enough experience points. And points aplenty you’ll get from fighting though an onslaught of drone-type characters – thug, thug with club, thug with electrified club – tackling bosses such as Bane, Killer Croc, and Poison Ivy, and deciphering the Riddler’s enigmatic taunts.

Finding solutions to the Riddler’s mental challenges is done with the aid of the game’s worst handicap: detective mode. This mode lets Batman see through walls, determine which surfaces are hiding secrets (shortcuts or items alike), and track trace elements in the atmosphere. Aside from the last aspect, detective mode fails the game by making it far too easy. What saves the game from detective mode is that its use is optional. I recommend using it at first to learn the ropes, maybe even intermittently throughout your first run through, but then only using it when absolutely necessary for the rest of the game or any subsequent go-around. It ups the difficulty and demands that players become Batman instead of becoming Batman’s tech.

Aside from that singular drawback, there are many things to gush about in this game. To start, it’s excellently written by Paul Dini, one of the guys behind Batman: The Animated Series. Voice actors from the same read the script: Mark Hamill reprises his uniquely lovable Joker (though this time with a bit more darkness than the cartoon's sensors could let by), Kevin Conroy brings CG Batman to life in the true tradition of often being voted as best Batman ever, and Arleen Sorkin pulls up on the corners of mouths everywhere while smashing people’s funny bones as Harley Quinn. Gameplay variety also makes this game engaging. Let alone the combat challenge mode (better on the PS3, which exclusively lets you play as the Joker) and detective/action aspects of story mode, my favorite part of the game is the integration of a platforming game-within-a-game that served as the Scarecrow’s mini-levels in story mode. It takes guts to revert to platform gaming in an age of 3D environments, and the execution only adds to the game’s ambience.

All in all, Batman: Arkham Asylum is an immersive experience made by all the right people for a fanbase that’s uber-picky when it comes to their hero. Seeing as it is already worshipped by critics and inhabits a place in the Guinness Book of World Records, I would be an idiot to disagree. Story, rendering, control, and acting come together to make this a 3.5-star victory, with slightly lacking replay value being the only thing detracting from a perfect score.

great.

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Brutal Legend DLC is coming, and quick

So just a few weeks after release, EA is already scrambling the jets to help out the multiplayer aspect of Brütal Legend.

According to EA's site, a new mulitplayer map pack is due out November 3, 2009 for Xbox 360 owners and will cost 400 Microsoft Points. PS3 owners get theirs on November 5, when it will be available for free download for about 2 weeks before it is officially sold for $4.99 on PSN. Named "Tears of the Hextadon," this map pack will feature two new maps – “Circle of Tears” and “Death's Fjord” – and a new axe for players to battle with. Sounds pretty good, right...?

Well, let's look at the facts. This does increase the number of multiplayer maps available in game. However, the map count only increases from six to eight. The new axe might be an improvement, but the teams are what really need work, not the weapons.

I don't plan on getting this expansion. Like I said in my review, there is not much replay value in the game and all of the maps are really similar. My loathing of these maps is made even stronger by the knowledge that most map packs for games give so much more than just two maps and a modified weapon. The fact that this is also going for dirt cheap probably means that the multiplayer engagement in Brutal Legend is falling fast. Don't expect to see much more out of Brütal Legend unless EA and Double Fine put their heads together and really try to fix the game's major shortcomings with this game.

[via G4's The Feed]

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Halloween Staff Picks

All Hallow's Eve is quickly approaching, and you just can't figure out what to do with yourself when the lights go out this Saturday. You could go out trick-or-treating and have everybody ask (a) why you're asking for candy when you're 25 and have a full neckbeard and (b) why you're dressed as Sailor Moon again, to which you can respond with righteous indignance (and an explanation of the subtle color scheme differences between your Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus costumes).

Or you can read Ani-Gamers' list of the scariest stuff in the geek world. Whether you're looking for an anime or a live action movie, a video game or a manga, our five illustrious staff writers have got you covered, with nothing less than the very best that Halloween has to offer. So head beyond the break for some great, hand-picked Halloween frights.

Ink

1. Ju-on, a.k.a. The Grudge (movie): This movie embodies everything creepy about J-horror: setting, audio, visuals, characters... and the American remake scared me enough to keep the lights on for three months straight (no exaggeration) by taking away everything "safe" one's mind could possibly cling to when absorbed in a film. The premise: a gruesome murder/suicide stains the house with its angry/vengeful presence, which will hunt down anyone who dares enter.
2. When They Cry ~ Higurashi (anime): Quite possibly one of the most disturbingly creepy and well-executed anime I've ever had the pleasure to be addicted to. Take four innocent-looking girls in a rural village paranoid about a curse, add a stranger, add some Hitchcock, and then put it all in a blender and repeat five times. This had me guessing as to the linear nature of the stories until the very end, and the visuals/voice acting (great dub!) are chilling. How chilling? One of my friends looked at the back of the DVD case, saw a picture of one of the girls laughing, and promptly turned down any possibility of watching it.
3. Fatal Frame / Fatal Frame 2 (PS2): While they stand alone, honestly, they're better in succession. Good horror's sneaky like that. The basis for both games: find out what happened to a missing loved one while not succumbing to the ill will of the myriad traumatized ghosts that inhabit the house/village. Your only weapon is an exorcimsal camera. Personal drama and a dramatic history (for both character and setting) make these games engrossing enough to get the blood pumping, elicit a startled jump, or provoke a scream of surprise.

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Kuro

1. Cowboy Bebop - the Movie (anime): This is my number one choice for good reason. It's a movie that brings the hilarious scenes, dramatic fights, and everything else a person could ask for from a Cowboy Bebop movie and blends it perfectly with the mystery and drama of Halloween. To sum up the story, Faye, en route to catch a low-level target, witnesses the explosion of the tanker truck that she was following, thus releasing a deadly cloud of some mysterious disease into the air that kills hundreds of people. Now it's up to Spike and company to get to the bottom of whatever is going on.
2. Kakurenbo - Hide and Seek (anime): This is my hardcore Halloween pick of the three. In an abandoned city in Neo-Japan, children play a game called "Otokoyo." It's basically hide and seek, but there is a twist: all of the children who have played the game have mysteriously disappeared. The absolutely beautiful cell shading, sound effects, and background music used throughout the story really lend themselves to the dark and mysterious city in which Otokoyo takes place. For people on a bit of the squeamish side, this OVA will provide a good psychological thrill ride without all the blood and gore of typical horror.
3. Battle Royale (movie): Here's a movie and it's sequel that might be one of the biggest cult classic movies out of Japan since Godzilla. The plot is simple: a random Japanese class from a random school is chosen by lottery. The 30 to 40 kids in the class must then partake in the event know as Battle Royale, essentially a timed death match on a deserted island, with only one winner. It's much more than a bunch of kids killing each other though. The amount of mind games and political propaganda in this movie really get a person thinking about what can really happen when the government has all the control.

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Uncle Yo

1. I Luv Halloween (manga): Tokyopop's OEL manga program shows off its gruesomely dark side in this hilarious take on a sadistic suburbia haunted by the sickest creatures imaginable: children in search of candy. With uniquely disturbed, violently apathetic characters and magnificent detail from the artist, this three-book series is great for a brutal laugh or just some other-worldy nostalgia.
2. Blood - The Last Vampire (anime): This is NOT Blood+; this is shorter and faaaaar more ambiguious. It's also violent as hell and just as scary. (The bishōjo-tone of the series is butchered here for the sake of making the monsters as menacing as possible.) This was the only anime to ever have a fight scene to a brass band playing in the background, and I'm sad that the trend never caught on. Begins with blood and ends with fire; what else is going to pump you up for wandering the neighborhood after dark?
3. Silent Hill (PS1): The classic start to the deeply disturbing series of video games about a Lovecraftian world that haunts and torments the people inside with the reincarnated demons from their own twisted lives. Unlike Resident Evil (that glorious horror-survivor), Silent Hill is about helpless believable people with few clues and even fewer weapons. The gloomy, cold fog, the iron gates, the fire rising from below, and mutha-f*&%ing Pyramid Head. Halloween is only complete once you've survived the demons that inhabit Silent Hill.

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Phreak

1. Clive Barker's Jericho (Xbox 360): I always believed that something was very wrong with Clive Barker, and with this game's release I found out that I was totally correct. Only "The Barker" could come up with a storyline filled with evil and religion, all intertwined to blur the line between good and evil while making us think, "could even God make a mistake?" The A.I. is about as intuitive as being shown around the Alaskan wilderness by a dumb, deaf, & blind man, but the atmosphere is dark, brooding, and bloody.
2. The Suffering 1 & 2 (PS2): The Suffering follows a character named Torque, whose twisted fate is primarily shaped by decisions that the player actually makes. These games were one of my first introductions to good vs. evil decision-making, as they present players with moral choices between killing and helping other people. Again, the atmosphere – a strange prison swallowed by hate and evil – really made this game worth it for me.
3. Candyman Trilogy (movies): Starting to see a pattern here? Yes, I love Clive Barker. He has a twisted mind that he manages to show us in vivid detail through his written word. The transition from book (in this case it was a short story) to movie tends to dilute the original's flavor, but with Candyman, this was not the case. They couldn't have picked a better Candyman; Tony Todd's voice and build are perfect for the character. The line "Believe in me.. Be my victim.." Fantastic! I always thought that staring into a mirror and saying some name a certain amount of times was all B.S., but after Candyman I seriously didn't look in a mirror again for 6 months.

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Vampt Vo

1. Boogiepop Phantom (anime): When people think Japanese horror, live-action films like Ringu and Ju-on jump to mind, but Boogiepop Phantom is one of the many under-appreciated gems in the anime horror genre. The first few episodes revolve around people with subtle mental problems and their encounters with the mysterious entity Boogiepop. As the show goes on, its vision into the blackest heart of humanity manages to terrify without gruesome monsters or ageless curses.
2. The Legend of Zelda - Majora's Mask (N64): Alright, so maybe it's not overtly scary, but Majora's Mask is easily the darkest Zelda game ever made, with its theme of imminent, moon-induced destruction and its disturbing, childishly sinister villain. And what's more, it's got a whole slew of masks for Link to wear! So if you're not up for dressing up yourself this Saturday, why not play dress up with everybody's favorite sword-toting Nintendo hero?
3. Vampire Hunter D (novel): Hideyuki Kikuchi's original novel is all about one of the most terrifying of the night's creatures: vampires. The titular protagonist D is a half-vampire hired by a young woman to protect her and kill the vampire who bit her, thereby freeing her from his curse. The story is filled with tense fantasy storytelling and some surprisingly high-octane action scenes. Kevin Leahy's translation is a little awkward, but it's still a fun, quick read.

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That's it for us! What are your favorite Halloween anime, games, movies, and books?

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FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries - Episode 28

Ani-Gamers blogger Ink contributes a weekly column in which he examines the differences between the original Fullmetal Alchemist and its re-telling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. To read previous entries, click here.

Watch Episode 28 - Father

There’s a few of these sucker-punches in this episode. First, there’s a line delivered by Envy (“as soon as you gain a great power, you get carried away with it, not even knowing what it is”) that may seem like a throw-away platitude to first-time FMA watchers. It should, however, strike a chord with those who have seen FMA1 all the way through to its end. I think this is a deliberate taunt designed to evoke that shock FMA1 watchers experienced when we found out death in the parallel world was the driving force behind alchemy in Amestris. It also serves to set up something grand in its own right.

What follows, that power is taken away from Ed and Al (something that never happened in FMA1, save the destruction of Ed's limbs), truly evokes the sense that Ed and Al (and by proxy all who use alchemy) are just children playing with tools they know almost nothing about. This was a theme only touched upon in FMA1 via the discovery of alchemic energy’s aforementioned source. There’s no indication FMA2 is heading in that same direction, but for former FMA1 watchers...if you felt the wind knocked out of you for a second there...that’s most likely why.

Another sucker-punch stems from Greed changing bodies. This is a situation formerly only alluded to in FMA1, with Lust’s introduction to Greed (“And if you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m the new Lust.”), and it sets up a good confrontation in which Ed might have to sacrifice his commitment to pacifism if made to slay the new Greed, who’s wearing Ling Yao’s body like an expressionistic guilt trip. The major FMA1/2 dichotomy would then rear its ugly head regarding effectiveness though. Have Ed and Ling formed a bond strong enough to really make the audience care about Ed’s inner conflict over whether or not to kill the new homunculus? At best, Ling serves as a surrogate annoying brother/battle buddy, but as soldiers will tell you, seldom are the bonds formed on battlefields considered superficial. So FMA2 keeps true to form and, in my opinon, pretty believably on track.

On the disappointing end of surprise lies the evil twin theory. I had a feeling that FMA2 might pull it, but I kept telling myself that this series wouldn’t dare pull such a cliché. There’s still hope for the reason behind dual Hohenheims (Elric & “Father”) in this episode, but the very fact that FMA2 couldn’t have the gall to make them one and the same is a tragedy for round supporting characters. Like I've said previously, even FMA1’s Hohenheim had a very well developed dark past to offset his slightly dingy luminescent present. Next week, the battle (which was disappointing in action but interesting in enterprise) continues.

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Review: Brütal Legend (360)

Medium: Console Video Game
Genres: Action, Hack and Slash, RTS
Designer: Tim Schafer
Developer: Double Fine
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Version Reviewed: Xbox 360 (also available on PS3)
Release Date: October 13, 2009
Rated: M for Mature

Well, here it is. Brütal Legend, possibly the most hyped game of the year, has finally fallen into my lap to be judged. So, the question is up in the air: does it live up to the hype? Let's find out.

We start of the game with a cut scene of protagonist Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black) helping out a “New Metal” band that has no respect for Eddie or “Metal” itself. To make a long story short, Eddie gets crushed by the set and is then saved by the Fire God of Metal, who ends up taking Eddie to an alternate version of the past (sounds like another story I know...hmm...) in which metal is worshiped and demons have all but enslaved humanity (okay, now I know I've heard this story before...). So, after grabbing a giant axe and finding out his guitar can cast magic with naught but a few chords, Eddie joins up with the other “Ironheades” and gets ready to take on the evil emperor Doviculus.

As I started to play the game, I was excited to get into a good, old-fashioned hack-and-slash, overworld type of game. I knew about the RTS/Freedom Fighters-esque mission involved with the game and looked upon it with some interest, in the hopes that it would break up the gameplay. However, I didn't realize how incredibly often these missions would pop up. The multiplayer (which is highly lacking in expandability, as the only match type is skirmish) is also unfortunately based around this gameplay style.

The world of Brütal Legend is beautifully executed – almost enough to make you forget about the gameplay style...almost. With superb, cell-shaded art, a well-developed background mythos, and gory deaths, the developers at Double Fine definitely know how to immerse a player in a world. Add your car's ability to play songs that you unlock both in game and during the campaign and players will find that some of the best times during the game are cruising across the landscape listening to metal while running over some demented deer. Even so, this is a definite one-and done game (unless you're going for achievements).

One of the major problems I have with Brütal Legend is the amount of repeated dialogue. For a game that boasts some of the best writing and voice acting talent around, I fail to see why I'm stuck with characters saying the same four or less lines during both overworld and stage missions. It only gets worse when Eddie begins to talk, because all that seems to come out of Jack Black's mouth are dumb jokes and random puns.

Also of note is the badly-designed leveling system. In order to level up, players will need to do two different things. First, they will gain fire tributes to upgrade Eddie's car, weapons, and special attack combos. Second, players will have to free (no joke) ball-gagged dragon statues to upgrade their attributes. And when the dragons are freed, players will not even get to choose their upgrades. The game does it automatically, really taking some of the minimal customization that is in the game away from the player. The worst part of this system, though, is that it breaks up the gameplay by demanding that players move away from the Campaign for about 20 minutes at a time to go and find more fire tributes and gagged dragons.

All-in-all, my gripes with this game are small shots compared to the overall picture. Double Fine wanted to make a game for “Metal Heads,” by “Metal Heads,” and they succeeded completely, despite some gameplay slip-ups and limited replayability. So, did it live up to the hype?

Well...sort of.

fair.

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Super Street Fighter IV to make Seth "even cheaper"

The Super Street Fighter IV hype-machine is in full swing. With announcements about adding up to 8 new fighters, tweaks to both current and online gameplay, Capcom is clearly trying to give the fans what they want.... almost. It's a well-known fact that the game's final boss Seth has been the cause of many a frustrated rage from gamers, but according to a recent quote from Capcom Community Manager Seth Killian, "Seth will be even cheaper and more irritating." Some current characters will also get some new moves, though details are sketchy regarding who will receive the updates. Killian did admit that one character – Ken – will learn a new trick or two.

Questions arose about the online play as soon as SFIV hit consoles, but it is yet to be proven whether Super SFIV will improve them or not. When asked about the issue, Killian's response was only a meager, "That is one of the things we will be trying to address." I know I would love it if Capcom would add a party room of sorts (a la Dead or Alive 4).

One of the more surprising details from Killian is Capcom's decision to create all new background stories for ALL characters, though they will not be animated by Studio 4°C. This could be a great idea, but it might also backfire since sometimes story changes can destroy diehard fans' original love for a character. On the topic of the game's price, I remember reading somewhere that Capcom was originally planning to make SSFIV cheaper than SFIV, but that may change according to Killian, who says that Capcom is still debating whether to sell the game for the traditional price of console titles or a lower price. I vote lower, since Capcom would anger a lot of fans by making them pay twice for just a few tweaks and new characters that could be delivered through DLC or patches.

[via Kotaku]

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Review: The Beatles - Rock Band (360)

Medium: Console Video Game
Genre: Rhythm/Music
Designers: Chris Foster (Lead Designer), Sylvain Dubrofsky, Casey Malone
Developers: Harmonix
Publishers: MTV Games/Electronic Arts
Version Reviewed: Xbox 360 (also available on PS3, Wii)
Release Date: September 9, 2009 (intl)
Rated: T for Teen

The quintessential question that comes to mind concerning The Beatles: Rock Band is “can a rhythm game attempting to build on what was formerly a successful intra-franchise integration with such a diverse song selection survive being stapled to one particular band and isolated from its historic song cache?” It’s a long question, and to fully understand why the answer is “yes,” we need to look at a few things. Things that matter. Things that would generally cause brand loyalists to throw down their cheap plastic axes in disgust and turn them in for a cheap plastic turntable. Things that inspire.

Things that matter, seeing as we’re in essay territory, can be the music itself. There are many people out there who don’t know Beatles songs, much less own Beatles albums or, God forbid, know the history behind the band. The Beatles: Rock Band is here to help with all of these things. Firstly, it will introduce virgin ears to Beatles songs while simultaneously letting those of generations past relive their rock-and-roll youth without digging out the dusty LPs. After playing along and learning the songs included on the game disc, Beatlemania might just find its way into local record shops again, thus solving things that matter number two. And thirdly, the game manages to tie in history without making it a lesson. Videos and photos for rewards as opposed to new clothing/fake money are all well and good, but the captions and brief stories attached to each edify the unfamiliar gamer in a very personal way.

Brand loyalty is a tough thing. The original Rock Band was revolutionary for rhythm games because it brought a band together to play...together. Rock Band 2 took it a step further with online connections for those of us with not enough dexterously inclined friends who could/would want to accompany such a faux jam. And then, for a great while, DLC was all that seemed necessary. The Beatles: Rock Band starts from scratch by alienating itself from all former DLC and being limited to just one band and its songs (which have historically had broad licensing issues). So why is the game still worth the investment? Well, The Beatles’ White Album had nearly 40 songs alone! So there’s a treasure trove of DLC just waiting to be exploited. Not to mention that the game disc itself comes with a very decent selection of 40+ songs that span the band’s career.

But what’s so inspiring about following one band? First off, it’s The Beatles – a band that changed their own concept of what their music was to themselves as much as they changed rock music for the rest of the listening world. So variety is in there. Also, the loving care that went into the crafting of this game – from the opening movie, to the meticulous and artistic reproductions of visages and venues, to the imaginative (if not acid-induced) dreamscape backgrounds – is so evident in every step of the way that it’s hard not to be swept up in all the moments the game provides. Honestly, the dreamscapes, which are so beautifully crafted that they border on hypnotic, are my favorite, although I’ve yet to see most of what they have to offer because my friends won’t let me sit out and watch them play (that's what YouTube is for). Also oddly inspiring is the difficulty. I’ve heard people complain both ways, but I’ll tell you, as someone who normally tackles songs on Expert difficulty in Rock Band 2 and ranks around 95%, that the constant chords are a challenge and a half! There is no thrashing, but there are tons of chord progressions that the programmers seemed to have mapped out simply to test the limits of inducing repetitive stress injuries.

Overall, this is a solid four-star effort for something as simplistic as a rhythm game, but the (as of now) limited song list leaves me weary. So I’ll give it a three and a half stars, with another 1/2 star to be post-postedly-posted when/if DLC becomes as regular as that for Rock Band 2.* Honestly though, even if they don’t post any DLC other than "All You Need is Love," so long as you’re in the mood to be any one of The Beatles, you’ll enjoy hearing and seeing everything that has been created for this game to allow you to do so.

*In the days after this review was written, it has been announced that 3 full albums will be made available (one each per consecutive month), which amounts to, if not exceeds, Rock Band 2's schedule.

excellent.

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FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries - Episode 27

Ani-Gamers blogger Ink contributes a weekly column in which he examines the differences between the original Fullmetal Alchemist and its re-telling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. To read previous entries, click here.

Watch Episode 27 - Interlude Party

Hell is being trapped in your own personal clip show, the daemon responsible is Stray Dog brand scotch whiskey, and the saviors are morning’s light and the intangible human clock. Although this episode ends with classic overkill (showing and then telling), the structure is rather brilliantly leveraged for sake of story – specifically hints of Hohenheim’s back-story. But before we get to the big contrast, let’s look at what these flashbacks to clips of yester-episode have to offer and how they come to offer it.

Framed intermittently by Hohenheim and Pinako contemplating the human condition while sitting out a bonfire dance, each clip adds to the linear telling FMA2’s story up to date. The ongoing theme for each clip is one of sacrifice, determination, or perseverance. Some clips offer seconds of new material (extended scenes), while others are cut and pasted verbatim, both for sake of some exact phrases/situations chosen match the corresponding theme. Separately, each set of chronological clips forms an essay co-authored by Hohenheim or Pinako. As any essay is an argument, so each individual thought is a plague of doubt.

The framing of each clip, then, forms the battlefield which is Hohenheim’s soul. This is very nicely illustrated by some of the animation direction (multiple Hohenheims, time/knowledge incongruities). The level of emotional appeal, rare to FMA2, stems very competently from a Romantic combination of the music (more along the lines of FMA1’s entire score) and the visual metaphors employed throughout the frame story. The latter includes men and women of all ages dancing euphorically, dramatically around a bonfire under Hohenheim’s solemn, apathetic observation. The dancers visages, reflecting in the light of the fire, represent the ongoing zest for life, while their shadows, at times just 2D castings and at others threateningly snake-like, show the twisted intent of what lurks unseen beneath their glowing skin.

It is through this visual and narrated argument, offered respectively via the interposition of frame and flashbacks, that brings about the main contrast that can be revealed for this episode: FMA1 never dealt with Hohenheim’s internal struggle with the paradox that is humanity, never set him up as a judgmental pessimist, and certainly never made him out to be a villain. In FMA1, Hohenheim was driven by the quest for learning, ignobly making a sacrifice of his humanity each time he made a sacrifice of others to continue his research. FMA2 makes Hohenheim, “Father,” to make him embody the shadow, Ed’s foil. This sets up a stage for a mighty confrontation of personal convictions – Ed’s reluctance to kill vs. Hohenheim’s callousness to killing – that will inevitably lead to an epic battle true to FMA2’s lust for action, but also one that evokes a sorrowful familial confrontation never allotted in FMA1.

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Notice: New post schedule, fansub restrictions, & disclaimers

With the addition of two new staff members to the Ani-Gamers team, I do believe it's time for us to change up how we post articles. We've worked on a very haphazard, post-when-it's-ready schedule until now, so in order to make things easier to read for our audience, we are going to try to institute a regular, weekly schedule. For now, we will be posting two big articles a week (possibly thematically related), not including weekly columns like Brotherhood Diaries. That way every week, readers can come back and find articles for them on preset days.

The plan right now is to put up articles on Tuesdays and Fridays, and have a section on the sidebar dedicated to the week's post schedule. If our post output slows down (or speeds up) at any point, we will probably change the schedule around to compensate, but we will do our best to remain in a regular pattern.

I have yet another very major announcement: Ani-Gamers will no longer publish reviews of fansubs or scanlations of recent and/or licensed content. For a long time, we have posted occasional reviews of these anime and manga series, a fact that has bothered me due to the illegality of both modes of distribution. With the anime and manga industries struggling to maintain solvency in this dangerous economic climate, it is the task of responsible news outlets like Ani-Gamers to prevent the degradation of the industries that we cover. Please note that this new restriction does not eliminate our writers' ability to write about fansubbed or scanlated series – it simply puts restrictions on it. The link below will provide more information.

Also included in the link below is information about our other change: Ani-Gamers will now be including disclaimers in all of our reviews, stating the version of the title that was reviewed. This was done in part to comply with a new FTC regulation requiring disclaimers on all product reviews on blogs, and in part as a way to increase the utility of our reviews for readers who are considering buying a product.

For more information on our fansub policy and disclaimers, read our new "Policies/Disclaimers" page.

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Ani-Gamers Podcast #021 - The ANN Preview Guide

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Zac Bertschy, Sean Russell
Topic: The Anime News Network's editorial choice to cover fansubbed anime in their Fall Preview Guide

To wash down our long discussion of digital distribution last episode, this time we've got an interview with Zac Bertschy, Executive Editor at the Anime News Network, about a related topic: fansubs. Specifically, my questions revolved around ANN's choice to cover anime that has not been licensed or legally released in America in their Preview Guide – a decision which necessitates the use by ANN's paid writers of illegally distributed fansubs. Sean Russell of Anime 3000 kindly recorded the discussion and contributed some of his own thoughts as well. If you've got an opinion on the issue, don't be afraid to let us know in the comments section or through email.

Next episode I'll probably post something that I recorded at New York Anime Festival: either the Yoshiyuki Tomino Question & Answer session or a brief podcast episode with Erin and Noah of the Ninja Consultant Podcast.

Show notes and links can be found after the break.

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(Runtime: 33 minutes)

[0:00:00] Intro: Carl is a horrible, horrible person who will never find love in this world.

[0:00:10] Opening Song: "R.O.D Theme" by Taku Iwasaki (R.O.D. OVA opener)

[0:00:25] I apologize to regular listeners for the kinda long introduction stuff here. You gotta do what you gotta do!

[0:02:24] Discussion: Evan and Sean question Zac about the Anime News Network Preview Guide. Zac begins with his own description of how the guide got started, but quickly the discussion turns toward a consideration of what ANN and other anime outlets need to do to both accurately cover issues related to fandom and support legal methods of distribution. Some believe that news organizations need to report on content regardless of the illegality involved in attaining it, while others believe that, in order to remain a credible source, these organizations should completely shun illegal modes of distribution like fansubs. What do you think?

[0:32:39] Ending Song: "WORLD END (Instrumental)" by FLOW (Code Geass R2 second opener)

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Screenshots unveiled for new Fist of the North Star game

I really love Fist of the North Star. No, I mean I REALLY love Fist of the North Star. So I naturally went ballistic when I found out that Koei has officially announced Hokuto Musou for both the Xbox 360 and PS3. According to Koei, "gamers will unleash a myriad of devastating fighting techniques and finishing moves powerful enough to bring down whole buildings." I will kill however many people I have to for this to come to the U.S.

Screens can be found here.

[via Kotaku]

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New Staff Welcome: Kuro and Phreak

Today we've got a very special New Staff Welcome, in that it is welcoming not one, but two new members of the illustrious Ani-Gamers writing staff. Chris "Kuro" Colalella is a writer with a passion for all things geeky who brings experience on an online anime/gaming radio show to his reviews. Who knows, maybe you'll hear him on the Ani-Gamers Podcast sometime soon...

Josh "Phreak" Christoffers, on the other hand, is an unlikely combination of hip-hop and otakudom, resulting in an angry, angry man with a love for anime and video games who will be bringing us both news and reviews.

What are you waiting for? Let's give our new bloggers a warm welcome!

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Con Report: New York Anime Festival 2009

Or click here for the Photo Gallery New York Anime Festival 2009
September 25-27, 2009
Jacob K. Javits Center
New York, NY, USA

Last month we saw the final hurrah for a fantastic convention. The New York Anime Festival, started three years ago by the folks at Reed Exhibitions as an anime response to the New York Comic Con, is finally folding back into its sister convention. The merge means that the new version of the con will be filled with an incredible amount of events for all kinds of fans, but it also means that the anime focus of NYAF will be gone.

This year the New York Anime Festival once again impressed me with its wide variety of programing from both fans and professionals. There were the typical guest panels, with introductions to voice acting scheduled next to Question and Answer sessions with Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino, but there were also a fair number of fan-run panels about things like Korean MMOs and Japanese ghost stories.

Even so, I was disappointed with the way the events schedule turned out. There were times (mostly early in the morning) when the convention was hosting three different events that I wanted to go to, followed by hours of a thin schedule with panels in which I had little to no interest. Perhaps this year's events situation was perpetuated by the lacking industry presence at the con this year. Bandai Entertainment's massive booth from last year was missing in action, and Yen Press, a New York-based manga publisher known for their great convention showings, was almost entirely AWOL.

But with all that free time came a chance to delve into things that I would not normally check out. On Friday I watched Cencoroll, the new anime short created almost entirely by one man (Atsuya Uki), and later that night I stopped by the Cosplay Variety show, thinking I would find nothing more than silly fanboy/fangirl antics as usual. Much to my surprise, however, I was rewarded for staying through some of the more inconsequential presentations with an operatic performance by Mario Bueno and a whole troupe of cosplayers, who acted out the final scenes of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion to the tune of Coldplay's hit single "Viva La Vida." Not being a huge fan of cosplaying myself, I didn't think that anything at the Variety Show could impress me, but Bueno's breathtaking performance completely blew me away.

Saturday night was my personal highlight of the con, despite the fact that most of the fun wasn't even directly related to the con. (Not a ringing endorsement of the NYAF schedule, unfortunately.) We started off with a massive "Bloggers Roundtable" panel, featuring ten different outlets (Anime Almanac, Anime Vice, Anime wa Bakuhatsu da, Manga Worth Reading, The Gaming Dungeon, Manga.About.com, Ogiue Maniax, Reverse Thieves, Subatomic Brainfreeze, and, of course, Ani-Gamers) representing our varied views on the anime blogging scene. The panel – on video thanks to Anime Diet – went pretty well despite our being scheduled opposite the cosplay masquerade and the resulting lack of attendees, but the best part of our whole blogging reunion was the karaoke right after the panel. There are few things more fun than hanging out with a bunch of insane anime bloggers, singing "Take On Me" and "God Knows" late into the night.

Overall, I think the New York Anime Festival was really starting to come into its own this year, despite the crowded Javits Center with its expensive food and out-of-the-way location. With a truly big-name Guest of Honor (Tomino) and an open floor plan that allowed for more free navigation, it seemed like the folks at Reed Exhibitions were beginning to balance the needs of a professional convention with the desires of fans. It's a shame that the con will be folded into Comic Con next year, but my hope is that the lessons learned in organizing the past three years of NYAF will carry over to next fall's gigantic event. If it's anything like 2009's New York Anime Festival, it's sure to be a blast!

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Click for our New York Anime Festival 2009 coverage

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FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries - Episode 26

Ani-Gamers blogger Ink contributes a weekly column in which he examines the differences between the original Fullmetal Alchemist and its re-telling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. To read previous entries, click here.

Watch Episode 26 - Reunion

“Excels in action” would definitely be the credo behind FMA2’s animation and plot, but that does not mean this series is devoid of emotion. Instead, the action tends to wring out some degrees of unpleasantness FMA1 could never have due to its own areas of focus. I’m talking specifically about Ed’s unwillingness to kill.

In FMA1, Ed’s first act of murder was enticed through a battle with Greed, but FMA2 has Ed retain his innocence by allowing him to not kill (Greed was diced up by Wrath and smelted by “Father”). Thus, when Ed is confronted by the howling souls bubbling up from Envy’s skin like so many riotous zits, the emotional impact of not wanting to kill something issuing a voice smacking of human resonance is brought to the forefront along with the danger involved in his hesitation to strike. Thus FMA2 very nicely combines a level anxiety, fear, and concern in this battle with Envy which is on par with but parallel to the emotional trauma FMA1 writers inflicted on Ed with what now seems a Slothy sucker-punch. It also exceeds FMA1’s last-minute “I was your brother” attempt at an emotional uppercut in the last battle of that series.

It is during Fuhrer King Bradley’s back story, which again does nothing to humanize the homunculus, that there arises something not so much entirely different from FMA1 than supplementary. FMA1 had Dante explain how Bradley was her most prized accomplishment – a homunculus that could age like a human. How she did this, however, was never explained. FMA2 delivers a back story that shows a Hitler Youth-style program that bred potential Fuhrers who would, for lack of a better term, be used as a homunculus host. This is a defining aspect between the series, as it illustrates the views on humanity. FMA1 turned soul-less, living human meat into the equivalent of Hollows from Bleach (wretched apparitions seeking constant vengeance to regain a humanity lost), while FMA2 creates creatures that develop into their own proud, super-human form.

Slightly less all-important, but still of note is the fact that FMA2’s Ed learns of “Father’s” involvement in the disappearance of the city of Xerxes via the same deductive reasoning offered up in FMA1 for the disappearance of entire cities/civilizations but before he knows who “Father” is. FMA1 used that setup to bring about emotional conflict that served the series well later on, so what will this information do to FMA2's Ed, who's just about to pop out of Gluttony's stomach and into the den of homunculi? I can't wait to see the action.

Finally, FMA2 delivers a last minute “AWESOME!” in defying FMA1’s inter-gate/door-of-truth experience. Remember how Ed could never figure out the state of Al’s body? Ladies, get ready for some fan service, because they call it the naked truth for a reason. This could be a slightly skewed version of what happened in FMA1’s last episode where Ed sacrifices himself to bring back Al), but it takes a different route (post-sacrifice) with Al not being brought back and Ed being sucked back into the same world (as opposed to a pre-WWII Europe).

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Bloggers of the Roundtable, in sweet video glory

You've read our blogs and heard our podcasts, but now you can watch me and all of my blogger cohorts make fools of ourselves in real life at our "Bloggers Roundtable" panel at New York Anime Festival 2009. The entire panel was captured by Anime Diet's Moritheil, so head on over to their site to watch the video. It was a pretty fun panel, even though we were scheduled opposite the Cosplay Masquerade, resulting in lackluster attendance. What really surprised me about it, however, is that we managed to move from very basic, pseudo-self-promotional discussion to some quite interesting conversations with the audience about blogger-reader expectations and the importance of comments in the general anime discourse.

The panelists include the writers from Anime Almanac, Anime Vice, Anime wa Bakuhatsu da, Manga Worth Reading, The Gaming Dungeon, Manga.About.com, Ogiue Maniax, Reverse Thieves, and Subatomic Brainfreeze. Oh, and Ed Chavez, previously of the MangaCast (now Marketing Director at Vertical, Inc.), comes up to the panel partway through to contribute his own thoughts and opinions to the conversation.

Watch the NYAF09 Bloggers Roundtable

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"New Gaymer Survey" gauges attitudes about homosexuality in games

Well, how's this for a slightly unexpected gaming story? In 2006, a survey by Jason Rockwood famously attempted to find the "invisible minority" in gaming culture – homosexual gamers. Now Paul Nowak of Full Sail University has started his own survey, called "The New Gaymer Survey" (his words, not mine), which goes into far more detail about the attitudes and preferences of both straight and gay gamers in regards to a variety of different issues. Nowak says that his survey "is absolutely inclusive of all game players, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity," and he hopes to use the information he gathers to "help the industry...[reach] out to gay gamers."

What interested me most about the survey was that many of the questions don't even mention homosexuality, instead focusing on general preferences for certain types of gameplay experiences. It seems like the survey could prove a very interesting way of gauging the differences in gaming values (if any) between gay and straight gamers.

Take the "New Gaymer Survey."

[via Joystiq]

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FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries - Episode 25

Ani-Gamers blogger Ink contributes a weekly column in which he examines the differences between the original Fullmetal Alchemist and its re-telling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. To read previous entries, click here.

Our sincerest apologies for the late article. On Sunday we guarantee we'll have the next article up, right on time.

Watch Episode 25 - Doorway of Darkness

In the depths of Gluttony’s stomach, we’re privy to some Ishvalan back story. But before we get to that, and some differences therein, there’s an issue to address concerning the roles of homunculi.

In FMA1, these artificial humans started out as 2-dimensional characters, born of alchemists’ infractions against the natural laws, that were nothing more than pawns of a puppeteer. Each shared a name with one of the seven deadly sins (Pride, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Sloth) and had one special ability. None could use alchemy (unless endowed with an alchemist’s appendages), which is why they needed to manipulate human alchemists to bring about their plans. As FMA1 progressed, however, these hate-centric creatures developed a third dimension. They started to exhibit a range of human emotions which they were never supposed to be capable of feeling, mostly love and devotion...they started to develop souls (or at least reasonable facsimiles). The acquired range of emotion provided most of the drama and character development for these creatures, which were growing to be more and more autonomous with each passing episode. So in FMA1, homunculi were creatures that became human...even without the philosopher’s stone.

FMA2’s hate-centric homunculi rally around the same nomenclature and are still puppets of a mysterious (?) mastermind. Each also retains their special ability but also now has a “true form” – usually some surrealistic monstrous apparition appropriate to their name. FMA2 takes every emotion away from the homunculi, save hate/anger; concentrates it; then sets it on fire and lets it loose in a hospital full of newborns. This means that FMA2’s homunculi are underdeveloped characters compared to FMA1, but their presence is one of awe-inspiring nastiness. A wonderful example would be Envy’s true form, complete with tortured howling faces just barely buried under the skin of a large lizard-like creature. We’re privy to this while Envy and Ed/Yao duke it out in the bowels of Gluttony’s stomach, which is truly a world unto itself...one “between reality and truth.” Turns out that Gluttony’s infinite appetite is fueled by the fact that he is a failed experiment of the puppeteer (“Father”), which is a also dimension never addressed in FMA1. Also revealed during this fight is the fact that Envy is the homunculus who, disguised as an Amestrian soldier, shot an Ishvalan child – the event which sparked the Ishvalan war in both series. This differs greatly from FMA1, however, which used Sloth as the tool of chaos and her promotion through the ranks of the Amestrian army (all the way up to Fuhrer’s secretary) as the plot device for Maes Hughes’ death and a huge emotional conflict for Ed/Al.

Other developments that were welcome divergences from FMA1 include Gluttony leading Al (as per his request) to “Father,” the splitting up of Mustang’s team, and the Fuhrer using Hawkeye as leverage against Mustang. The latter two are the most interesting, as FMA1 never gave Mustang any real chink in his armor, or at the very least never took advantage of it – that "it" being the solidarity of Mustang’s team and the devotion shared betwixt himself and Hawkeye. In FMA1, the band of soldiers aimed to take down the state military. By breaking up any possibility of this, FMA2 is letting us know there won’t be any such easy road.

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This Month in Ani-Gamers ~ September 2009

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Welcome to this slightly belated edition of This Month in Ani-Gamers. If you missed out on the action last month, here's the rundown: Ink and I duked it out over Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad in a review and Otakudemia article about the anime. Want to find out which one of us liked it and which one didn't? Well, you'll have to read the articles to find out! Finally, I attended the New York Anime Festival (with no lack of transportation difficulty) and wrote up quite a lot of coverage. The con report is on its way out the door, so while you wait for that, you might as well catch up on the news from the con.

This next month has quite a few surprises in store for Ani-Gamers. New staff members are in the near-final stages of discussion, and we might also be adding a new column to our lineup. No promises yet, but keep your eyes peeled for some interesting developments here at Ani-Gamers.

Having already said more than I probably should have on that topic, I think it's time that I wrapped up this episode of This Month in Ani-Gamers and directed you past the break, where you can find fat-free, heart-healthy links to all of September's posts.

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News:
NYAF09: Del Rey panel report
NYAF09: Bandai Entertainment panel report [EDIT 1]
NYAF09: Viz Media panel report

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Reviews:
Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad (Hyb)

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Features:
Editorial: Headless, the ADV zombie lumbers on

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Columns:
FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries - Episode 21
FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries - Episode 22
FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries - Episode 23
Border Crossings: the musical multiculturalism of Beck

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Notices:
Come be our fan on Facebook!
New York Anime Festival 2009: It Begins!

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On Deck:
[Review] Cencoroll (Sub) - Vampt Vo
[Review] Impressions: Cowboy Bebop vol.5
[Review] Macross: Do You Remember Love? (Sub) - Vampt Vo
[Review] Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi (Sub) - Vampt Vo
[Con Report] New York Anime Festival 2009 - Vampt Vo
[Review] Seirei no Moribito (Sub) - Uncle Yo
[Review] TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion - Vampt Vo
[Review] White Album (Sub) - Uncle Yo
[Review] With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child vol.1 (Manga) - Vampt Vo

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Thanks for reading. See you next month!

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Ani-Gamers Podcast #020 - Baki The Grappler/Manabi Straight Fanfics

Hosts: Evan "Vampt Vo" Minto, Mitchell "MitchyD" Dyer, and Patz
Topic: Digital Distribution

[This episode is NOT censored for swear words or sexual references. Listen at your own risk.]

We're back after another whole month between episodes, this time with a big, fat discussion of digital distribution (in terms of both anime and games), featuring none other than The Gaming Dungeon's very own Patz! Mitchy is along for the ride too, discussing his love affair with Steam and his burning hatred of moe shows. This show is a little longer than usual, and my track had some volume balancing trouble, so I apologize for that.

Anyway, next episode should actually be out very, very soon, since it's a quick discussion between the Anime News Network's Zac Bertschy, Anime 3000's Sean Russell, and me about fansub reviewing policies that needs to be up on the Internet while it's still relevant to the debate. Look out for that within the next week or so.

Show notes and links can be found after the break.

DIRECT DOWNLOAD - RSS Feed - iTunes - Send us Feedback! - More episodes


(Runtime: 1 hour, 11 minutes)

[0:00:00] Intro: Daryl Surat warns everybody about the 18+ content in this episode...OR DOES HE?!!

[0:00:11] Opening Song: "R.O.D Theme" by Taku Iwasaki (R.O.D. OVA opener)

[0:00:28] Patz introduces himself, then Mitchy is crowned king of the Internet. Not much beyond introductions here.

[0:01:19] What'cha Been Doing? Evan's watching Manabi Straight! and playing Dragonball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 (Wii), Mitchy's playing Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS) and DiRT2 (360/PS3), and Patz is watching Shin Mazinger Shougeki Z-Hen and Baki the Grappler and playing Onimusha (PS2).

[0:27:49] Promo: Luke and Elliot's Bearfighting Extravaganza

[0:28:31] Discussion: We rant for around 40 minutes about digital distribution, focusing on five central issues: Convenience, Affect on Sales, Ownership, Curbing Piracy, and Environmental Consciousness. Evan brings up each one in order and asks Mitchy and Patz where they stand on each specific issue.

[1:05:18] Promo: Dave and Joel's Fast Karate for the Gentleman

[1:06:19] The episode is over. At this point you are instructed to visit The Gaming Dungeon and go review the Ani-Gamers Podcast on iTunes. See you next time!

[1:10:54] Ending Song: "WORLD END (Instrumental)" by FLOW (Code Geass R2 second opener)

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FMA: The Brotherhood Diaries - Episode 24

Ani-Gamers blogger Ink contributes a weekly column in which he examines the differences between the original Fullmetal Alchemist and its re-telling, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. To read previous entries, click here.

Watch Episode 24 – Inside the Belly

Oh I do love surprises, and FMA2 definitely serves up a good one with the return of Doctor Marcoh being held captive by Envy. The homunculus’ “emotions before logic” argument for leverage over Marcoh serves the plot well enough, but is ironic given FMA2’s plot-before-emotion modus operandi. The same ultimatum, if it occurred in FMA1, would have been only slightly more effective because there are a couple more episodes that deal with Marcoh’s Ishvalan guilt-induced dedication to helping out the people of a certain small town through medicinal application of a fake Philosopher’s stone.

FMA2 also finally introduces Pride (which was Fuhrer King Bradley’s homunculus identity in FMA1) via absentee/telepathic conversation. Digressing for a moment, it’s more than worthy to note the differences between FMA1/FMA2 Fuhrer-homunculus names and the related impression of Amestris military. FMA1’s Bradley (Pride) served/directed a country saturated with a sense of rising nationalism, with a slight regret at the force of its military, whereas FMA2’s Bradley (Wrath) leads a country hell-bent for all-out war (at least as far as impressions go). It’s a small but rather brilliant adaptation that should be noted for fans of either series.

Another impressive split between FMA1 and 2 is Mustang’s confrontation of the military’s higher-ups, which he was going to use to gauge who is a friend or foe. In FMA1, Mustang was the initiator at a meeting he knew the Fuhrer would be attending – hoping to induce a reaction from Bradley much like Hamlet’s Players did of Claudius. FMA2 has Mustang sneaking around and meeting a trusted friend’s contacts, which ends up being a conference room trap with a surprise appearance by the Fuhrer. For what it’s worth, FMA2’s scenario skillfully evoked much more of a sense of anxiety. Well done!

And the last I’ll say of this episode is that the battle between Envy and Yao resembled that of the one between Envy and Ed near the end of FMA1, and that, similarly, Ed goes bye-bye. Ed’s FMA2 disappearance is not a self-sacrifice, however, and Gluttony’s stomach is much larger than any FMA1 fan could have ever imagined.

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