This is it: the episode to which the entire series has been building up to. Because the previous episodes weren’t exactly to this series’ highlights, I feared a bit for a lackluster ending, but those fears were ungrounded: this episode was absolutely fantastic and more than a worthy climax after such an amount of build-up. What an episode!
After a bit of fights that were meant to close off the last bits of character building (Scar, revealing that he shed his prejudices, and went along with his brother’s plans, gaining the strength he needed to surprise and win from Bradley; Ed’s revenge on Pride for what he did to Al (he didn’t outright say it, but to me it seems like he went after Pride for exactly that reason; if not he would have been the one to step up and save Mai Chang)), this episode was all about opening that gate. At this point it’s clear that Bones did not save some Xamdou-level animation for its finale, but with the resources they had they portrayed the euphoria of Father, who finally was able to reach his goals after putting an ungodly amount of work to reach “The Truth”, was really well portrayed. Father has really been an excellent villain so far: from start to finish, he remained in control.
The part in which the entire country was killed off was also very well done: haunting, especially seeing everyone just disappearing like that. The creators really made sure to show nearly everyone Ed and Al met disappearing. Aside from Yoki, perhaps. I’m not sure why he suddenly comes to my mind here, but he was surprisingly missing in those scenes.
Of course, they’re still not there: there are a bunch of nasty potential cliches between the end of this episode and the ending. Most notably, Father’s demise: he’s so powerful now. He’s huge, he’s incredibly close to the truth, and everything points to him achieving his plans. There are so many ways that can screw this plot up in the next three episodes. Let’s hope that the creators realized that as well and instead will deliver an awesome ending, rather than a cheesy shounen one.
Rating: **** (Fantastic)
Oh don’t worry – the next episode is going to have your jaw on the floor…
As for the 62nd one, I am not so sure – I did am still ambivalent on the crucial aspect of the latest chapter – 107 (which is what I assume will get covered in episode 62).
I really am eagerly waiting for the 15th of June when the last chapter will come out.
HOHENHEIM! Why don’t you do something!? Seriously, if he doesn’t counter Father with something I’m gonna cry! He’s been around for THAT many years and knew about Father’s plan, so he should have something up his sleeve, right?!?!?! If you’ve read the manga, don’t spoil it. THIS IS SO EXCITING, DON’T RUIN IT FOR ME! xD
This is just amazing. 😀 I hope they manage to handle the rest too!
As the series is actually following the manga it’s going to be awesome
Yoki was NOT missing. He was with Marcoh and Heinkel. Did you not see that? Did you not see anything? For this discrepancy, you get a spoiler:
EGB.
@psgels
“Because the previous episodes weren’t exactly to this series’ highlights, I feared a bit for a lackluster ending”
I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but I thought 58 was one of the better episodes in the series.
“I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but I thought 58 was one of the better episodes in the series.”
This blog is almost 4 years old, and people STILL dont get it, that psgels quite simply has a bad taste ?
I don’t know why anyone would think the last couple of episodes weren’t good.
The last couple of episodes were some of the best.
I guess some people just have ADD and only respond with lots and lots of light and color like a cat having a shiny object in its face.
Um, just for the record: I never meant to say that the past few episodes weren’t good, but rather that I liked this series more when it was building up to the promised day, bringing every character together and stuff. It’s got nothing to do with ADD or brightly coloured sparkles, though.
I personally didn’t get how the last episode were supposed to be lacking due to low budget but blog is one person opinion don’t like it don’t read it
It’s not really lacking, but it doesn’t have the really, really high production values of other Bones’ shows (Bounen no Xamdou for example, as psgels also mentioned)
@Karry
“This blog is almost 4 years old, and people STILL dont get it, that psgels quite simply has a bad taste ?”
if you don’t like it then why do you read it?
anyway great episode =D really hope the actual ending is going to be good and if it isn’t, then Brotherhood is still way better than the first Full metal alchemist anime.
Holy shit.
First thing that came to mind when Earth’s Door was opened?
END OF EVANGELION LOLOLOLOLOL
First thing that came to mind when Heaven’s Door was opened?
“This ain’t knocking on Heaven’s Door, baby, this is BREAKING AND ENTERING INTO HEAVEN AND KIDNAPPING GOD”
Incredible… just incredible… 4 stars well-deserved…
huh? First time I seen **** Fantastic, has he rated anything else this high before? lol
omg..omg..omg..
this was the SHIZY!!!!!
idc wat any1 says but the father is a friggin beast.
15th of june is gonna be the best day ever lol
The last time you had **** it was labeled as incredible (IIRC, anyway)! I call lack of consistency, psgels!
Oooooooooooooooooooh snap. :3
I know, last time I used incredible. That was a typo on my part.
This could either be one of the best anime endings in awhile or the biggest deus ex machina ending, but who knows Father did just take on God 1v1. I mean it could end with God just “bitch slapping” Father back to Earth.
meh, it was better than the last few but the big-action episodes are still #1 (pride/kimblee vs. Al). No matter what happens in ending this anime is still better than most.
I didn’t watch the episode yet and I am looking forward to it, but I read the manga and seriously, is it that incredible what father did and wanted? He had eternal life what else could he want then being god? I appreciate the mangakas work but that was an obvious conclusion for me. But maybe I am missing here something great beyond my imagination 😉
I thought the last manga was REALLY cheesy. So, I’d work those expectations down a little.
there will be 64 episodes in the end,so 4 more to go:
http://i.imgur.com/ddkwf.jpg
Al vs Kimblee is the most overrated fight in the series.
Once again proving that most of the people who post on these blogs don’t follow the actual story, but only respond to “PReTTy CoLOURs and AcTIOn, CuZ NAruTo ANd DrABvonALLS Are THE BesTeST ANIMES EVar!1!!”
Go back and take your Ritalin.
@Johnson
That depends on person reading.
For me, IMO, last chapter and the overall ending is 100% what FMA:Brotherhood was about.;
it fits both in tone and in moral to end it in such a way, as the story, sort of comes full circle
Two words: Hell Yeah. This episode was epic. And what a cliff hanger. Is everyone really dead? Did father gain Gods power? It unfortunately looked that way to me. How is this going to end? (How will they stop evil maniacal bad guy from taking over and destroying the world?)The suspense is killing me!!!!
Nice episode (although kinda ruined it for myself cause i couldn’t wait and read the latest few chapters 103->107) … but i’m also greatly disappointed.
While the Death of the entire Amestris nation was epically done and was very creepy and haunting .. there are tons of other things that let me down.
Basically FMA:BH played the fine line between a Seinen and a Shonen series .. up until “Father” in the last episode got his so-called godly powers .. that a big break point IMO .. it delves deeply into the generic shonen area that has been done 1000 times already which greatly threatens all what the writer has been building up to and forecasts a cheesy shonen ending.
Actually an extremely similar plot is found in Bleach ****Bleach spoiler: basically Aizen wants to sacrifice an entire town population to gain enough power to unlock some God Realm and devour the deity there and become the so-called God”**** /end of bleach spolier .. and Bleach is one of the numerous shonen titles that has that exact same plot (even FF13 has a similar plot) .. and while FMA:BH has been good at masking and hiding Father’s goals/plans .. and until the lastest few episodes we never knew exactly what he wanted .. but now it’s all clear that it is the typical shonen villain goal .. sacrifice some people/get some item/ .. etc etc –> gain unfathomable incalculably immense power –> become some sort of pseudo-deity/god (for no reason whatsoever) –> get beaten by the hero or a bunch of teenagers in the most humiliating way possible to make the main character/s look as heroic as possible … BLAH.
The only saving grace for FMA is its interesting characters and the past struggle to reach that point .. but beyond it i’m afraid i see nothing but generic shonen crap … not to mention some End of Evanglion mixed in too (the Father/Earth Gate scene + Major Apocalypse vibe = End of EVA).
I loved (and still love) the first FMA cause the goal of Dante was something humanity have been seeking for ages and actually a goal that a lot would actually kill and do unspeakable things for (gaining perfect immortality and not having to change her rotting body every few years) .. a reasonable, achievable and even understandable goal … also the fact that the GATE in FMA was left a mystery was a great thing and added to the series .. all in all FMA was way more seinen than shonen to me .. and the ending (the series + the movie) is a testament of that .. it was open ended but satisfying (no God battles .. no ridiculously super powered villians .. no EVA style mumbo jumbo … etc etc)
Probably “Father” at this point breaks all power charts in the series to a ridiculous extent .. but what bugs me the most is that so called “god” the got captured by “Father” .. seriously .. just by opening the gate of earth (a single planet) “father” was able to absorb that so-called god from the sky with ZERO effort and zero struggle from that god (who was waiting all that time for Father to come and capture him) .. what kind of god is that … he didn’t say a thing nor even fight back (while all the characters could) .. i doubt that entity is even a god of any sort (hopefully that will turn out to be the case in the ending) cause i haven’t seen a single sign of his god hood.
Besides .. if it was really some sort of god .. is it the one that created the universe, sun, earth and people in FMA:BH world .. cause if it is … then “father” shouldn’t even be able to touch that entity even if he opened the gate of the SUN or even the entire galaxy (if they have gates that is).
Basically the whole thing doesn’t make any sense even within the context of FMA:BH world (very reminiscent of EVA) .. ****Arikawa better have a good explanation for all that mess in the final chapter/episode.**** .. i haven’t lost all hope yet.
But seriously .. still … Arikawa completely destroyed “Father” as a good villain in this episode .. i always thought he seeked knowledge or had some interesting goal .. not the same goal that generic shonen villains has been seeking since the stone age (GOD POWER !!!) .. sigh .. even Orochimaru from Naruto is way above that .. he seeked immortality (and seeked Sasuke’s Sharingan “Ninja-technique-copying-power”) in order to be able to research and learn all sorts of ninja techniques .. he is driven by his strong hunger for knowledge and curiosity and would do anything for that .. which makes him tons more human and tons more believable than that shonen God power crap.
/End of Rant
Nice episode (although kinda ruined it for myself cause i couldn’t wait and read the latest few chapters 103->107) … but i’m also greatly disappointed.
While the Death of the entire Amestris nation was epically done and was very creepy and haunting .. there are tons of other things that let me down.
Basically FMA:BH played the fine line between a Seinen and a Shonen series .. up until “Father” in the last episode got his so-called godly powers .. that a big break point IMO .. it delves deeply into the generic shonen area that has been done 1000 times already which greatly threatens all what the writer has been building up to and forecasts a cheesy shonen ending (but since everything isn’t over yet there is a still hope to avert it).
Actually an extremely similar plot is found in Bleach ****Bleach spoiler: basically Aizen (main villian in Bleach) wants to sacrifice an entire town population to gain enough power to make some KEY to unlock some God Realm and devour the deity there and become the so-called God of Bleach world”**** /end of bleach spoiler .. and Bleach is one of the numerous shonen titles that has that exact same plot (even FF13 has a similar plot) .. and while FMA:BH has been good at masking and hiding Father’s goals/plans .. and until the lastest few episodes we never knew exactly what he wanted .. but now it’s all clear that it is the typical shonen villain goal .. sacrifice some people/get some item/ .. etc etc –> gain unfathomable incalculably immense power –> become some sort of pseudo-deity/god (for no reason whatsoever) –> get beaten by the hero or a bunch of teenagers in the most humiliating way possible to make the main character/s look as heroic as possible … BLAH.
The only saving grace for FMA is its interesting characters and the past struggle to reach that point .. but beyond it i’m afraid i see nothing but generic shonen crap … not to mention some End of Evanglion mixed in too (the Father/Earth Gate scene + Major Apocalypse vibe = End of EVA).
Sorry for duplicate posts .. i refreshed several times but the initial long post never showed up so i though i had to split it up and post it .. sigh XD
i am tired of the people who say this idea is cliche ,well it is ,but was well executed ,is because our human imagination had executed probably all the ideas about what a villian want and i think these things is all a human can think ,so if you are genius create your own absolutely original plot but for example i cant think of anything more ,the important thing is this was well executed ,not super original because in these days probably anything is 100% original
enjoy it because is enterteining don’t make hard your life ,finally anything is perfect for me full metal is good and point
and also i am not the true han hyo joo ,i am only a fan of her
Keep in mind Father’s goal is to become the perfect being. Of course he would devise a way to “absorb God” into himself.
That’s what he’s been calculating for centuries.
@han hyo joo
I’m not demanding 100% original .. anything remotely interesting will do (like the first FMA series ending) .. but not something so freaking cliche i have lost count of how many anime/jap games have that exact same plot.
And yes .. FMA:BH is well executed .. but that new revelation about “father’s” true goal (and his inferiority complex) is like a black stain on a beautiful red dress .. completely ruins the whole dress.
Like i said .. main villains like Orochimaru in generic shonen series like Naruto is way better and has more interesting and plausible goals (same as Dante from FMA) .. the whole “villain wants to become GOD or gain GOD POWER” is both silly and way overdone … not to mention completely broken .. Greek mythology handled the whole (Men Vs Demi-Gods Vs Gods) way better than any Jap anime.
@Cornwiggle
like i said before .. the whole premise is broken on various levels.
If he was able to absorb that so-called deity that easily (without any struggle or big fight) then he already was more powerful than that so-called God at that point .. which makes absorbing him completely pointless to begin with.
Besides .. again .. like mentioned in my post above .. there has been ZERO proof of that creature’s god hood … what kind of god would sit silent waiting for some homonculus to grow that powerful then come over and absorb him like a sponge … not to mention that can’t be the same god that created the universe in FMA:BH world cause it’s ought to be way more unapproachable than that .. not just some high power level that can be attained by leveling up or gaining more power levels (like “Father” did .. copying every single generic shonen villain before him) .. there are very few shonen series that actually manage to keep track of everyone’s power levels (FMA:BH was like that until the last episode)… and those definitely don’t involve any ridiculously super powered pseudo-deity villains.
@Hunter-Wolf
I agree with you that a villain wanting to become a God is as cliche as it can be, and that it’s already been done many times before, but I fail to see how exactly Dante’s goal from the first FMA is superior to Father’s from FMA-B. I mean, immortality is considered to be one of God’s attributes (as long as by “God” we understand “an omnipotent being, a creator and overseer of the universe” etc.); so, seeking immortality is the same as seeking a way to become a being similar/closer to God; and from there there’s only one small step to wanting to become a God himself. That’s why I don’t feel like Dante’s goal was any more ambitious, or any more original (not to mention than seeking immortality in itself isn’t very original and has also been done thousands of times before)… But that’s the only thing in your comment I don’t exactly agree with. As for the rest, my opinion is similar to yours. Arakawa could’ve come up with something more interesting/original… but oh well, it’s not like I’m loving FMA as a whole any less because of that.
PS. As for the villains in shounen anime/manga, One Piece takes the cake in that field for me. There’s not even one villain there who seeks immortality/godlike powers/world domination/world destruction or other similar nonsense. It’s like a breath of fresh air after Naruto, Bleach and a bunch of other shounen series out there.
The last page of the manga, ever, is out….and tons and tons and tons of pages of spoilers that aren’t even the whole chapter. Will it really reach the 150 mark?
@hunter-wolf
Basically his aim is not having godlike power to rule the world, blah, rather it is to set himself apart from humans, he despised and envied at the same time. As said before: he wants to be the perfect being -> being better than humans (as you can see in the homunculi, which originally WERE a part of him.) his grudge started back in xerxian times when he was in that flask, not being able to leave it. he wanted to be superior to them because he was always inferior. Swallowing god (which I think isn’t really god but my conclusion would include spoilers for the manga) is just one part of his goal to be superior than humanity and especially hohenheim.
Yes, it’s not the most original thing, however it’s not like it’s not justified.
not everything I said is written that way in the manga/shown in the anime. I had the freedom to interpret some things to fill the gaps.
And, please, Dante was one of the most boring and flat villains I’ve ever seen. Ok maybe that thing from Kuroshitsuji was worse. I tend to call it Dante2 though. Dante totally ruined the first series for me. And that’s not just because I’m a die-hard FMA Manga fan.
This is a warning for psgels and other non-manga readers:
Two pages from Chapter 108 have been leaked and they spoil a lot of stuff. Watch out, especially as you go around social networking sites like Livejournal and Devianart (if you do).
@kagura
I don’t think humans seek immortality because it’s an attribute of god .. cause even some who don’t believe in a god also want immortality .. basically it’s humanity’s fear of death .. or what’s beyond death .. the fear of having their existence and bodies wither away and decay .. not to mention throughout history there are tons of people who tried to look for/make immortality potions … as well as the aspect of it being somewhat will be achievable by science in the future (not real immortality .. but close)
And actually i don’t remember that many villains in shonen that seeked immortality because they feared/hated dying and decaying (like Dante).
And i didn’t mean Dante’s goal was more ambitious .. just more achievable, plausible and human (you can sympathize with her on some level) .. her goals don’t involve world dominion or destroying the world or anything .. she just wanted perfect immortality .. plain and simple.
And yeah .. some of the villains in OnePiece (and they are many) are quite interesting … but what i’m really sad for is for Naruto to have the most interesting villain i saw in a while (Orochimaru) .. but still .. **Spoiler** the main villain (Uchiha Madara) in Naruto wants to do something similar to “Father” **Spoiler** .. AGAIN the same cliche.
@ama-ri
But there are problems with that logic .. he never really needed to do any of that.
1-Just by opening the earth gate was was already more powerful than any human or chimera or creature on earth .. he even was more powerful than any human before he opened earth gate (he easily defeated and swallowed Hoenheim and all attacks had zero effect on him).
2-That thing that he calls God which he absorbed wasn’t even powerful enough to fight back .. what’s the point of devouring it if he was already more powerful than all humans (including Hoenheim) and even more powerful than that entity he absorbed .. talk about “overkill” .. that’s more of reason what happened in chapter 107 by “Edward” feels kinda cheesy and doesn’t fit very well with the tone of the series/story (manga readers will understand) XD
Not exactly a spoiler, but know that for anything to be done about the pickle the heroes are now in, it will NOT be a deus ex machina. Preparations were made and foreshadowed in earlier episodes. Hell, there may even be a flashback to that scene in that episode where the foreshadowing was made. I just can’t tell you what it is not just because I’d give it away, but I honestly can’t remember which episode it was in. Just know it was there, and it will have something to do with whatever is going to happen next, which I and many other people already know.
@Ian
I do know it won’t be a Deus Ex Machina … that’s it’s only saving grace though … other than that it’s too much into the territory of mediocrity and cliche .. Arikawa manged to keep thing interesting to this point .. but sadly once Father’s true goals were revealed it all felt “meh” (i was hoping for something more interesting or unusual) … still we have the final chapter .. hope she can pull-off a good ending.
Also .. saw some discussions that refer to FMA:BH Episodes 2 and Pantheism (Pantheism as being the inspiration for Arikawa’s “Truth”) .. in Ep 2 “The Truth” clearly says to young “Ed” the he is “Everything”, “God”, “The Universe” .. and then points at ED saying .. “and YOU” .. i wonder how this relates to what’s happening in the series now !!!? (that view fits quite well with the views of Pantheism)
Oh .. and watch out everyone .. there are already 67 pages of chapter 108 RAW out there .. couldn’t resist taking a look at them .. GAH .. my mistake … now i can’t wait to read it anymore XD
God, these comments.
I like how nowadays, Villains with plausible motives or reasonable ideas are now OVERDONE and STALE, and yet aiming low and wanting pitifully dumb results (immortality or political change or whatever) when you could be gaining much much more is somehow fresh and “realistic”.
There’s a reason the generic plans for a villain involve “becoming God”, because everyone wants to fucking BE God.
If you know that the planet has stored information on everything, and that you have the means to become an incredible force of power and knowledge, then why wouldn’t you? Especially if you’re an artificial being uninterested in generic human values.
You can stick to generic Shounen trying to be “deep” or “original”, but don’t go bashing a manga intended to be a homage to B-Movie madness because it’s not trying to be pretentious.
@Hunter-Wolf
Yeah, I see your point, but still, seeking immortality is, in a way, forcefully stepping into God’s realm, or playing God, regardless of it being intentional or not… so I just don’t see Dante and Father’s goals as much different, at least in that matter.
And I didn’t mean that seeking immortality is a common theme only in shounen manga/anime, or even in manga/anime in general; what I meant is that it’s already been done many times before in books, movies, etc., and it’s a horribly cliched concept however you look at it. That’s why I can’t really see Dante as a more interesting villain than Father. They’re just equally not interesting to me. But I understand that you may have a different view on that matter, and it’s alright.
As for Orochimaru, yeah, I agree that his having a different goal that lay beyond achieveing immortality, makes him quite an interesting villain. And I wasn’t exactly pleased by the way they handled his plot in Naruto… (but then again, I wasn’t pleased with lots of other things in Naruto, for example ***SPOILER*** reviving Kakashi and all the villagers of Konoha ***END OF SPOILER***) and I’m pretty fed up with Naruto at this point… the same with Bleach… One Piece is probably the only ongoing shounen that I still find interesting and enjoyable (to say the least), even after that huge amount of episodes/chapters, so I’m glad you agree with me about the villains in OP.
@kagura
But Orochimaru himself is proof seeking immortality has nothing to do with wanting to become a God .. his reason is pretty simple (yet deep) one … and yes acquiring all sorts of knowledge or being all-knowing is an attribute of God-hood but still he isn’t doing it for any more reason than fulfilling his own thirst for knowledge about ninja techniques and sheer curiosity … and yeah .. it’s sad how they handled his story in Naruto .. he had lots of potential.
As for the Naruto spoiler … hmmm .. doesn’t it remind you of something else more recent (hint hint) XD
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@Denizen
If by “plausible motives or reasonable ideas” you mean “becoming GOD” then i have nothing to discuss with you .. and that just made me LOL hard XD
@Hunter-Wolf: And you read what they wrote in all the wrong ways. Read it again and maybe your intelligence will kick in and you WILL have something to say.
@Hunter-Wolf
Dante as the overall boss SUCKED BALLS in the first FMA. all of these powerful homunculi essentially taking orders from some person whose main objective was… to hop from body to body in an attempt to stay alive??!! really??!! gigantic letdown after a great buildup.
i think father motives are totally justified. the dude started out as a friggin’ blob in a flask, of course he’s gonna have a napoleon complex and want to rule every thing (LOL). besides he doesn’t give a rat’s (DONKEY) about humanity, he said so himself, he was originally created for knowledge and gaining godhood is the ultimate way to learn as much about everything as he can.
great ep. i always thought that the slash wounds bradley gave scar from his shoulders to his chest should have been more damaging than they appeared to do; is scar on PCP or novocaine or something? (LOL)
This episode was so exciting, I actually got something in my eye. Haven’t been this carried away for a looong time 🙂 I absolutely love this series. No matter where it goes from here, it’s most definitely going to end up amongst my favorites. Although I share your worries psgels.
anyone noticed that the music played when Father was talking about openin the gate , WAS AWESOME ..
“is scar on PCP or novocaine or something? (LOL)”
This makes me wonder: if Scar’s alchemy is a blend of East and West, does this mean he also has the ability to do healing like Mei did to herself this episode? ‘Cuz the dude really needs it about now…
And if Scar’s on Novocaine, that’s doubly so for Bradley. The guy has a friggin’ BULLET still in his right shoulder and yet he’s swinging those swords around like nothing… hahaha… though it looks like his stab wound is kinda serious since he threw up blood here…
@Hunter_Wolf
You said Orochimaru’s goal to seek knowledge is deep and interesting, but isn’t Father’s goal just the same? Becoming God is one thing, the main purpose behind that is like he said: to obtain knowledge of a vast universe far beyond any human brain’s ability to process. And in the FMA universe, knowledge equals to power. What Father is seeking is all the knowledge of the world, and obtaining God is his way to achieve that goal.
As for why the so-called God guy is so weak, I say because it’s not the almighty God in a conventional way. For now I can just see it as the planet’s Truth (just like Ed’s Truth or Al’s Truth). What really is Truth? We don’t know yet, better wait a little longer for the last chapter to come out to see if there’s some more light about it.
There probably won’t be more light shed on Truth at the end. You all should just read about Kabbalah is you want to understand “God” in FMA-verse. It’s all there.
People over in the West are too stuck on the idea of monotheism and possibly polytheism, but there are other things too. Like Hunter-Wolf said there’s Pantheism which is so clearly what Truth falls under if you pay attention to even the smallest things. If you look further Arakawa obviously based everything in FMA on Kabbalah. Read between the lines people! Don’t wait for the answers to be handed to you at the end!
@Reach
I think those you claim i have read their comments in the wrong way can reply by themselves .. they don’t need you to do so for them … 2nd .. please act more mature and refrain from personal insults .. they only make you look like a childish brat.
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@ntd
Yeah, except he never claimed to be genuinely interested in knowledge or curious about it … only interested in the whole “absorbing God” thing as a means of becoming a “god” himself (like i mentioned once to overcome his inferiority complex) .. but again it wasn’t even necessary .. he was already extremely powerful and knowledgeable before he did it.
@Bobby
Well … the whole “becoming God” thing is frustrating for several reasons not just one or two.
1-Overly done and extremely cliche in Jap-anime .. hundreds of anime villains have already done that .. and every single time it is the same exact scenario and same exact ending.
2-It’s a DEAD END every freaking time it happens, and nothing happens after it … the main villain just claims to have reached god-hood (accompanied by some maniacal laughter and claims that nothing can stop him now) only to be shortly kicked in the face and defeated by the main character/s .. every freaking time.
3-The so called villain always claims to have reached god-hood but never once did they show any sign of it more than just overpowered versions of their previous skills/powers/abilities .. making the whole becoming God a trivial matter of leveling up “RPG style” and hitting the level cap .. which is a very laughable concept really … the only series that got it right was Rahxephon IMO … Rahxephon spoiler **** in the end of Rahxephon when the main character attained some sort of god-hood he felt really different and otherworldly (and ended up reforming the entire world from what i understood)**** /end of spoiler.
4-Some occasions of the becoming god thing involve defeating a previous entity that attained god hood and taking its power … but again like i said before .. if said entity can already be defeated by the villain before he attained god-hood .. then defeating it and absorbing its power is a completely POINTLESS venture.
5-In most cases that godly villain is defeated by the power of love/friendship/courage/… etc etc .. although that’s not entirely true in FMA .. those who read chapter 107 will get this point … WARNING FMA manga spoiler **** when Ed starting punching “father” with an arm that just got impaled by a thick metal bar it felt really cheesy .. specially with everyone deciding to watch and cheer gleefully .. that really felt way out of place and not in the spirit of the series” / END of spoiler.
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I can keep going as to why the whole “becoming God” is an extremely overdone (read 60% or more of shonen series) and cheesy hollow premise that detracts of the story 99% percent of the time and doesn’t add anything meaningful .. actually it’s rare to actually see villains with reasonable goals that actually are attainable and actually they can succeed in them and the story would still have place for more developments afterwards .. meaning that even if Dante achieved her perfect immortality or Orochimaru obtained all the ninja techniques .. it’s not and “end all” event .. there would still be room for developments for both the characters and the stories they are in (even if not explicitly shown).
First off, in FMA, “God” or rather Truth was introduced right at the beginning, setting up that there was some sort of higher power in this story.
So it’s not thrown out of left field.
Secondly, if you really think the story is going nowhere now, you’re sadly mistaken.
I think some people are being overtly picky. FMA isn’t perfect but many people seem to focusing on its minor problems rather than looking at what it does right. FMA is a brilliant anime and those most of the criticisms are making a mountain out of a molehill.
Warning: potential spoilers (not really; I’m going to be vague but if you don’t want to take chances, don’t read)
@UnknownVoice: Even the thing Greed said about friends? I thought that was the lamest shit ever. He’s a motherf**king Homonculous for crying out loud.
I mean, FMA is geared toward teenagers, so what do you expect, right?
@ Hunter-Wolf
i see what you’re trying to get at, but the whole trope about “Big Bad wants to be all-powerful” is not just a anime/manga thing, most good/bad stories usually have the heroes facing someone trying to become god-like/supreme, be it lord of the rings, harry potter, etc. bad guys love/want power, THAT’S WHY THEY’RE BAD (lol). if it’s executed well it works. and i think FMA has done it well.
the entire series Father has been Joe Cool, totally in control and essentially about 5 chess moves ahead of everybody else. he is a TRUE top villain compared to Dante who like i said earlier was weaker than her minions and had a (MALE COW FECES) ultimate goal IMHO.
right now really feels like a titanic battle, you know good will prevail cuz that’s how it always plays out but you don’t know HOW it will happen, who will die, if mustang/ed/al will get their bodies restored or if somehow a twist will be introduced (like how ed/al were separated in diff. worlds at the end of the 1st series), who will take over amestris (mustang or olivier or somebody else), if mustang/hawkeye etc. will be punished for the military crimes in ishval etc.
SO MANY INTRIGUING subplots, and that’s IF they defeat Father. so uh, YEAH, the badguy god-thing can work if well executed.
@hunter wolf
Cool story Bro.
@Bobby: you didn’t read the manga it seems. So prepare for a big disappointment about all the intriguing subplots.
I think people should stop using manga spoilers to prove their points.
@4saken
Ok ok .. no need for that anymore .. i actually looked at the final chapter RAW and i tell it was worth it (guess that doesn’t qualify as a spoiler XD).. actually after reading a little about Pantheism things make more sense … oh .. and “Father” is an idiot for not reading about “Pantheism” too /sarcasm XD
Can’t wait for it to be translated and animated .. gahhhh .. the wait will be very painful .. i’ll have to imagine i never saw the RAW .. maybe self-hypnotization will help .. forget .. forget .. forget *stares at a swinging pendulum* XD
Huh !!!? .. what am i doing here XD
@PicoPallino
i totally have read the manga (waiting for the last chapter) so i don’t get why you’re necessarily pessimistic about the subplots i brought up. ed and al have been trying the whole series to get their bodies back, and i’d assume that a character as popular as mustang wouldn’t be left blind as well. SOMEBODY has to take over the country if bradley/the homunculi aren’t in charge and right now (as of ep. 60 so as not to spoil anything) olivier’s faction is being painted as the traitors and mustang’s forces are also in play (so is grummann to some extent) so that subplot can totally be resolved. whether hawkeye/mustang etc. get punished for basically being unwittingly used by the homunculi to commit genocide is another matter but it has been raised in the story so it could also be addressed. and some more good guys beyond fu/buccaneer can totally kick the bucket before the end. none of my subplots is hard to resolve at all within the last chapter IMO, just saying.
2 more episodes to go? I want to see how they decide to deal with Father.
@Bobby:
I’m not pessimistic and I don’t say that the subplots cannot be resolved in the last chapter. I referred with my thoughless post more to the overall impression the ending made on me (last chapter of the manga). The ending is okay, because it fits the story. But I expected something more. That’s the disappointment I talked about. Maybe you will feel the same after reading (or watching) the end? Or maybe not? We’ll see 🙂
There’s not two episodes to go:
Let us count:
61: 1
62: 2
63: 3
And I’ve heard there’s also going to be a 64.
But it’s at least three.
HAH! I KNEW you were gonna add another star to the chapter 104 episode. I just KNEW it.
… 3 more episodes? Assuming each ep gets one chapter, the 110 page long final chapter (which was GOURGEOUS, btw.) would become a movie, maybe? *hopes*
HAH! I KNEW you were gonna add another star to the chapter 104 episode. I just KNEW it.
… 3 more episodes? Assuming each ep gets one chapter, the 110 page long final chapter (which was GOURGEOUS, btw.) would become a movie, maybe? *hopes*