In the end, Izumi is apparently little more than a simple housewife. Who can kick a lot of ass.
What They Say:
Al is abducted by chimeras led by the seemingly indestructible Homunculus known as Greed. When Ed’s rescue attempt falls short, Izumi proves once more that she’s got the brothers’ best interests in mind.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
With the introduction of Izumi in the previous episode and the explanation of how she also suffered in much the same way as Ed and Al, this opens a whole new can of worms to deal with for the brothers. The fact that they did what they did, something Izumi told them not to do, has her furious with them and understandably so considering her loss. At the same time, it puts them on a level of being equals of sorts because they’ve all gone through something severe, not that Al remembers it at all which is probably a good thing. This change in the group dynamic takes a little bit of time before it’s realized and even then there will always be something of a teacher/student aspect to it.
Where this episode goes is a little strange overall, but it brings in some really fun elements to play with. While Al has been talked to about who he really is and what has happened to him, he is still a young boy overall and easily taken advantage of. That’s how he ends up getting kidnapped essentially when one of the homunculus, Greed, enters the picture. Greed is intent on figuring out the secret of transmuting souls and he wants to get that information out of Al, and if not him from the man who actually did it. Believing that Al would be the one that understands it the most, he moves to get him first along with a group of Tezuka-like thugs who are pretty ineffective in the end. There’s a positively hilarious moment as one of them actually climbs into Al’s suit of armor and causes a ruckus in there to try and get him to come along quietly.
Naturally, Al’s only going to go along with things so far, even when it looks like he’s in real trouble. And of course, his brother is going to come to his rescue, which gives Ed a chance to show off his skills against a homunculi that’s acting threateningly. Ed’s been a lot of fun to watch so far since you can tell he’s still learning the ropes of combat, but his training as provided by Izumi really has paid off well as he’s getting more and more creative – and confident – in mixing his basic skills with his alchemy. The matchup between the two is really well done and choreographed with a lot of solid action. Greed isn’t exactly one of the most enamoring of villains out there, but his overconfidence is his undoing here, but an understandable one considering what his ability is. The problem for him is that even though he looks like a pipsqueak, Ed really is good at combining his love of alchemy with real world applications in the heat of the moment of combat.
In Summary:
There’s a lot of good little information to be had here and it continues to be interesting to see the various Homunculi come out and play against Ed and Al in different ways. Greed isn’t one of my favorite villains, but he’s a fair shade better and more interesting than Gluttony though that isn’t saying a lot. What this does is enlarge the stage for the brothers as to what they’re fighting against while also providing a few more clues about the Philosopher’s Stone and the boys father. Izumi continues to be a character that fits in perfectly in their lives, though I’d have loved to see her and Winry meet at this point just to see how she’d torment all of them. With some very good action pieces to be had here, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood really is moving along at a good pace to tell an engaging and fun story. It’s a weekly show that I can actually get behind and look forward to.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
