Fullmetal Alchemist

"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving up something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of equivalent exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." - Alphonse Elric

Status

Anime (2003): complete. (51 episodes, Conqueror of Shamballa.)

Thoughts

It's an interesting enough premise, especially when you consider the real science and history behind it all. Alchemy is treated today as a pseudoscience by the general public, but at the time, alchemists were making some really nice contributions to modern chemistry. Sure, turning lead into gold was the ultimate dream, but note that we can technically do that now (particle accelerators), just not in quantities worth discussing (besides, we wouldn't want to render gold worthless, would we...). Equivalent exchange, a core theme of the series, is looked at in nice detail.

With regards to the characters themselves, Edward Elric is probably one of my favorite anime characters; he puts up good fights and displays an impressive pragmatic nature towards many things. Most of the other characters are less memorable, and some are even annoying at times, but it never gets too bad, and despite the plot's feel of meandering around at times, it still tells a decent enough story.

Now, one day, let's find out what Brotherhood has to offer!