Summary:

Inside the dark world, Ed struggles to find if anyone else is there, and he eventually comes across Ling. After they both confirm that the other isn’t Envy, they figure out that they’re inside of Gluttony, and Ed finds Al’s missing left arm. In order to try to get out, Ed transmutes a hole in the ground, but the torch they drop down first never appears to hit bottom, so they abandon that idea. Meanwhile in the real world, May Chang is worried about the missing Shao May, and she recalls how she found and bonded with the panda. She’s after immortality now for the sake of the survival of her weak clan, and after hearing all this, Scar decides to help her find Shao May. Back inside Gluttony, Ling gets tired and has to be carried by Ed. They’re both starving, so Ed comes up with the idea of cooking and eating a leather shoe, and afterward, Ling apologizes for how Ed has to take care of him. The two are then found by Envy, and Envy reveals that there’s not an exit from this place. It turns out that Gluttony resulted from their Father failing to create the Gate, and they’re inside that world now with no way out.

In frustration, Ed questions who this Father person is and guesses King Bradley, but Envy reveals that King Bradley is just a Homunculus. Putting the pieces together, Ed figures out that the Homunculus must have been responsible for the Ishbal conflict, so Envy confirms that it was he who shot the child that triggered the conflict. This plus Envy’s glee in talking about what he did infuriates Ed, and he tries to punch the Homunculus. That only pisses Envy off, and he decides that since they’re going to die there anyway, he’ll fight them with his true form – an enormous beast. Back in the real world, Al learns about Father from Gluttony and gets the Homunculus to take him to this person. Over in Central, King Bradley has decided to let Mustang live and reveals that the military has been under Homunculus control since the country was formed. King Bradley’s doesn’t show any weakness facing Mustang and instead takes aim at Mustang’s weakness: Hawkeye. He’s having all of Mustang’s men reassigned, but Hawkeye specifically is going to be serving directly under him.

Preview

The first half of the episode was a bit slow, but the rest was pretty exciting. It was interesting to find out that Envy started the war (in what was a rather creepy child-killing scene), and Envy’s true form was quite the sight. No wonder he doesn’t show it often. It’s a shame though that more wasn’t shown on Ed and Ling trying to fight him, but I guess based on the preview that that’ll probably be next week. Speaking of which, once Envy talked about the Ishbal stuff, it made a bit more sense why Scar and May Chang are being focused on again. I still can’t look at the two of them though without thinking of Sesshoumaru and Rin, especially since the new InuYasha series is starting soon.

On a different note, King Bradley sure is a sly one in getting Hawkeye reassigned under him in order to keep Mustang from interfering. Still, I could see how that could backfire if she uses that position to help Mustang anyway. Keeping Mustang alive seems like a bad idea as well. Regardless, now that Hawkeye is in more danger, I hope her character doesn’t get killed off. As for Al, now that he’s more vulnerable than usual without his left arm for alchemy, I wonder if he should really be following Gluttony…

40 Comments

  1. A damn fine episode, if you ask me (not that you would).

    Showing Envy actually starting the war was quite the extra.

    I think the only problem I had with this part in the manga was so much of Edward with Ling instead of Alphonse.

    penguintruth
  2. well… you got to take into account that the pace was waaaaay faster at the start than it is now…
    The early episodes leaped to the new material and now that we´re beginning to settle into it the whole thing slows down somewhat…

    I just hope that either the manga will be over real soon or, even better, they make some kind of pause after 50 episodes or so and do the rest of it once the manga is finally finished…
    would be a waste to see another semi acceptable ending after all this work to stick to the original…

    someSyl
  3. @xxxchaosqueen75xx

    I think he’s pretty adorable even when he’s on a rampage.

    Like when he ate the dummy in the last episode and you heard him scream in frustration over it.

    I’m growing used to his new voice.

    penguintruth
  4. This episode was kickass!! they are finally starting to slow down on the pacing a little although its still a going a bit to quick. i hope they slow down so the manga can end before they catch up. or better yet put the series on hiatus till the manga finishes once they get to close. Not much else to say, this episode had everything i wanted, the “elric telepathy” scene, the “Edward elric feeds a boot to a future emperor” scene both of which are full of lolz and that really creppy scene of envy shooting the kid which was really well done.

    TakashiD
  5. i like the first half with all the humor. The fight scene with monster Envy is truely amazing, Ed and Rin really got their ass kick, really looking forward next week how they counter her. I feel bad to Mustang though, his colleague all separate from him….

    treble89
  6. WOW. Just … wow.

    This series has FAR surpassed the first IMHO (honestly it did that right around the time of the Lust fight/death scene), and honestly is outshining anything else that’s still airing right now. And this is a hardcore Bleach fanboy saying this. Granted, I haven’t read the manga, but the book’s always better than the movie and the manga is (almost) always better than the anime, it’s just part of the form.

    I kinda dig Scar as Sesshomaru, esp when Mai Chang gets to show off her loli skillz (as in episode 23). IIRC Rin never actually got to do much of anything in InuYasha, so Mai already has a leg up on the competition. Sesshomaru would probably pWn Scar in three seconds flat, but that’s more the power level of their series than anything else.

    I really hope they draw the Envy fight out next episode, the fights in FMA:B have been a little on the short side if very intense (Ling in particular is insanely badass, if allergic to screentime). Then again, I could just be used to shonen fights spanning a half-dozen episodes …

    Guardian
  7. I especially love that they not only kept the “ELRIC TELEPATHY!!!” joke, but they also kept the “athlete’s foot” joke… It only makes it more hilarious when Ed wiggles his automail toes in response.

    At first, I was kind of bothered by how quickly some things happened, like with Hughes’ death or Nina/Tucker which both seemed to be played up as bigger deals in the first series, but the way the story has been progressing is now just so far head and shoulders above. It just feels a lot more complete and complex at the same time, and the animation has just been awesome all this time.

    DeadMonkeys
  8. Ohhh boy.. Another week another episode… Like last week… Cannot wait!!

    Also damn… I didn’t get to watch the finale of Tears to Tiara. My city’s in a state of calamity.. We still got no water and phone lines are still dead. Strange though my neighbor has internet connection even though his phone line is still dead…

    megalith
  9. great episode. highlights were definately envys true form and may chans flashback with xaio may. i love that little panda.

    The extra scene showing how envy actually triggered the ishbal conflict was great and more graphic than I expected. Usually when a kid dies like that you just hear the gunshot off-screen so it was quite ballsy to animate it like that.

    I’ve noticed that when bones does include new scenes or animates a scene differently to how it looks in the manga the results are usually visually superior; e.g. when wrath slices ran-fan. That might sound like blasphemy to some but now the anime is including most of the scenes from the manga, they seem to have benefited from the transfer in one way or the other

    fathomlessble
  10. Another awesome ep.
    People ahve already said it but this series has really overtaken the original.
    Kinda strange as well since there was so much hate when they were rushing through the already covered material.
    Also on an interesting note, at the recent convention in the US, FUNi were asked at their panel how long FMA Brotherhood would be and they stated BONES has informed them it will be 63 eps in total. Either the mangaka has already informed BONES on how/when the manga will end, or they’ve just fed FUNi BS. Make of that what you will.

    blinx01
  11. blinx01: It’s interesting. I’m living in Hungary, and there was an article in the june issue of a hungarian anime magazine about FMA: BH and they said that it will be 63 episodes long too. I thought they are just trolling, but it looks like they got that information from BONES too. Btw I hope it will be longer.

    viral
  12. Ah, so all the Generals already know Bradley’s a homunculus and willingly works for his mysterious goals. I can see the logic in letting the Generals in on the homunculi’s plans: Secretly controlling a country on your own runs the risk of getting the tables rapidly turned on you if someone like Mustang figures you out and exposes you. (As the ending of the first anime reveals)

    Though increasing the number of confidantes does have its risks, in that not all of them are trustworthy or even capable. Plus I don’t think “Father” intends for any human to come out alive of his masterplan, whatever that entails, so it’s not like the Generals would readily volunteer to sacrifice themselves for that.

    But then, as Envy says, these Generals are “only human”, and are probably easily coaxed by whatever lofty rewards Bradley has promised them, like money, position, or even fake promises of immortality (via the Philisopher’s Stone, of course).

    Kinny Riddle
  13. You have to remember that Amestris was set up like that from the beginning, as per the wishes of the villains. Basically, the entire country is the Homunculus’ ploy in broad daylight. So having a Homunculus for a leader isn’t shocking…in fact, it was designed like that.

    Cornwiggle
  14. Well, since you can’t acctually watch the episode here, maybe I should comment a little more in general, what I like and don’t like about the whole series, and such…But, I’m no good at that, so I’ll just post my specific thoughts on the episode.

    I totally loled when Ed and Ling confirmed eachothers identeties (do NOT know how to spell that…)!
    That’s so awesome about FMA; the main characer and his close (?!) friend is stuck (well…) in god-knows what place, swallowed by an enemy, wadeing in red liquid all alone…and I manage to laugh…
    And the epic “Elric Telepathy”!!!!!(thank God, who ever desided to put it in Brotherhood!!!)

    And I love when Ed carries Ling, it really shows how much he cares about others, even though he wants to put on a tough attitude, and perticulary disliked Ling in the begining!
    And; “I’m really going now!” “I’m not joking!!”, he acts just like the teenager he is, sometimes.

    And I also randomly love when, as soon as Envy shows up, Ed humbly/politely asks him to show them the exit!

    OMG, random note: At 15:48, right after Ed punched Envy and he says ‘So, you brats want to fight?’, Ed looks really super sweet and cute!

    can’t wait for the next episode!! (well, I CAN wait, I mean, what else can I do? but you know what I mean…can’t wait AND keep my mental heath.)

    Lily
  15. It has been publicly announced at several places that the previous voice of Al, Aaron, will be replaced, because as you remember, he was a kid when voicing him, and he since grew up. 🙂 They replaced him with someone relatively new to FUNimation by the name of Maxey Whitehead, and SHE… is supposed to be awesome and a perfect match. Aaron himself will voice another character in this season.

    starss

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