Talk-back/content discussion for English dubbed episode on Adult Swim starts on page 8.


Please post the discussions on the content of episode 3 here.
This thread is declared as a Spoiler zone for the content of the first 3 episodes.

* Where to watch this episode

* HD Screencaps, courtesy of AA Battery.

* Transcription of the official English sub of this episode on Funimation.com, courtesy of Kale Mustang.


* Episode Preview from FMA-2 official JP site:
Episode 3: "City of Heresy"
(The episode title is from official sub, the preview part is translation by Tombow)
Ed and Al heard the rumor about the town with a heretical religion with the founder who is said to perform "miracle," and travel to the town of Reole to investigate. They learn that Cornello, founder of the heretical religion Leto, performs alchemy that does not follow "Equivalent Exchange." In the town, they meet a girl, Rose, and she takes them to meet Cornello at his temple....

=======================================

Episode Summary: (courtesy of Edamame)
Brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric travel to the city of Reole in order seek out the mysteries surrounding Father Cornello who is renowned for his ability to perform miracles. From the townspeople, both the brothers learn of Cornello´s preaching and his proclamations that God will grant resurrection to the dead. While watching Cornello perform one of his miracles in front of a huge crowd of loyal followers, Ed recognizes that he is indeed performing alchemy yet is ignoring the concept of equivalent exchange; the brothers then notice what they believe to be the Philosopher’s Stone set in a ring around Cornello´s finger, and decided to seek him out. Ed and Al latter meet a pious young woman by the name of Rose who believes that Cornello will resurrect her deceased lover. Out of arrogance and pride, Ed retorts that faith won’t bring anyone back and that alchemists are truly the ones who are closest to God. Cornello learns of the brothers´ plan to seek him out, and sends his men to capture Ed and Al. Ed accuses Cornello of being a fraud who is able to bypass the rules of alchemy by using the Philosopher’s Stone as an amplifier. Angered, Cornello then orders Rose to shoot Ed who he considers a sinner. Rose is forced to struggle against her own morals, but gives in and ends up shooting Al, only to discover that the armor is empty inside. After sending out a chimera to eliminate the brothers, Cornello realizes that the brothers have committed the taboo human transmutation after catching glimpse of Ed´s automail arm and leg. Having escaped from Cornello, Al tells Rose the story behind the failed transmutation and the price they paid, yet Rose still remains blinded by Cornello´s teaching. Meanwhile, Ed successfully exposes Cornello as a fraud to the townspeople of Reole. Realizing that he has been fooled, Cornello attempts to transmute his arm into a gun in order to attack Ed, but a rebound occurs. The stone in the ring shatters to pieces, and Ed realizes that the stone is a fake and that both he and his brother are back to square one. While leaving the city, the brothers meet once more with Rose who is distraught that all her hopes and dreams have been crushed. Ed tells Rose to get up and walk forward because she at least has to strong legs to carry her onwards. Disgraced, Cornello attempts to escape from his once loyal followers only to meet his demise at the hands of two very particular characters- Lust and Gluttony.


Characters in this episode:
Edward Elric
Alphonse Elric
Father Cornello (Founder of Leto religion)
Rose
Lust
Gluttony
Food stand master (minor role)

Location:
Reole

Sound Track info for this episode that's known to us so far: (To be filled)

FMA manga reference: To the readers of FMA manga (To be filled)

Followed it with manga volume 1 in hands, Chapters 1 and 2 open.
I'm impressed.

(One thing that made go: "Oh well..." was Cornello after the fake PS rebound...)

For sure, the thing after the rebound wasn't necessary Wonder it it's a kind of "blink" toward one of the omakes Arakawa made about the first serie.

The episode was good, I really didn't feel like it was rushed, and I don't see a lot of things they get out of the manga. Those two chapters really could fit in one episode, the first serie really stretched the story to make it fit into two episodes.

But now, we're getting into the interesting part, with Tucker, Nina and Scar! I can't wait for those!

New voice actors this time. I still love Lust. I'm not sure about Glutonny, I think I liked the previous one more. His voice really made him sound like the mentally retarded character Glutonny is. This new voice sounds a little bit too serious for that character.

I agree. In fact, you can just see panels directly from Chapters 1 and 2. And I loved that.

KeyHoleTV was running extremely poorly for me tonight and I missed the first few minutes of the episode, so I am going to hold off on a full analysis of the third installment until after I can watch the entire episode in descent quality. From what I did see, it seems as though a good translation will be necessary in order to properly judge the overall quality and faithfulness of this installment and therein compare the new material to the manga and prior season. There was quite a bit of dialogue in tonight's show, and as such it really stands to reason that one unfamiliar with the Japanese language would require a localized text so as to fully understand in detail what is transpiring. I do think that tonight's episode looked great, but there seems to be little disagreement concerning the visual quality of the new season. The events of the series still seem to be flying past fairly quickly, but I for one actually think that this will work to the season's advantage. I get the feeling that the directors are trying to get a great deal of hard information in front of the audience right off of the bat so as to convey the complexity of the series as a whole and drive the viewers to a sort of catharsis. A few (sometimes poorly placed) comedic moments aside, I think that this episode met my personal seriousness requirements and proved to be quite dramatic overall. I never really cared that much for the first few episodes in the first season of Fullmetal Alchemist (I fully realize that I am of the minority opinion in this respect), and thus I do believe that, after I get to see a high quality, subtitled version of episode three, I will substantially prefer the new portrayal to that of the first season.

More Latin (or at least Latin-sounding, I am not definitely sure) musical interludes = A+

The Nina / Tucker arc is a great story and pleasingly emotional and violent. Next week's episode should prove to be simply great.

Just finished watching the stream, here are my initial thoughts (which may change later when subs come out):

- The pacing was again too fast in the beginning, but I thought it improved a lot as the episode went along. It was definitely improved over the last episode, at least. I think it's mainly because much of the material they condensed this time wasn't particularly emotionally impacting or was already touched upon earlier, such as Ed and Al's introduction as alchemists and Rose's introduction. I'm glad the pace slowed down where it was important: Al and Rose's interaction, the confrontation with Cornello. That gets a plus from me.

- I wasn't a fan of the split-screen shots that were used multiple times. It just doesn't look good... and it wasn't as if something interesting or important was going on in both frames. Most of them were just one character talking, and the other just kinda standing there with no change of expression. Very puzzling

- I loved loved LOVED the humor in this one. There were many shots and sequences that were taken directly from the manga, which I was very pleased with. Ed laughing evilly and brandishing his scary sharp automail was great XD. I also loved how Rose mistook Al for the Fullmetal Alchemist and then promptly redirected her gun XDD

- Speaking of that scene, I also enjoyed the new twist of having Rose being ordered to kill Ed and Al. I always thought her role was a little too passive and spectator-like in the manga, and having her actively struggle with her own emotions and having her beliefs challenged was good to see.

- On the other hand, the only thing I can say to Steroids!Cornello is WTF.

- Also, Ed has no right to look as sexy as he did here. 15 years old, my [All hail lord Xenu]

Overall, I felt the studio did a decent job with this one, considering they crammed two chapters into one episode. I think as we finally get into new material they'll start to pace themselves at around 1 chapter per episode, depending on the amount of action and dialogue. That would be the perfect pace for me. They continue to get the mood and feel of the series right, which I think in the long run is the most important thing.

Ah, better than the last but I dunno I'm not really pulled in.

I only tuned in halfway through and I have to say: wtf at Ed headbutting Cornello! Was that really needed? I mean, my Japanese isn't 100% but that made no sense to me :/

Keyhole TV was really annoying for me too. The screen kept freezing once in a while, which made me miss most of the humour scenes. (I could hear Ed's angry screaming in the backround, so I knew there was a funny scene going on. ) Ah well, I have to wait for someone to upload the episode so I can see it properly.

But indeed, from what I could see there, it was great how they again used manga artwork and expressions in many scenes. It really made me feel all warm inside. And the twist with Rose holding a gun was a nice touch, too- there's something that makes even this season watchable on it's own, without too much blind following of the manga.

I hope someone uploads a subbed version soon!

Really? You guys like the little comic outbursts?

Personally I find them irritating... I dunno, they just seem too cheesey for me - I kinda cringe how it detracts from the storyline you know? I mean, in the manga I love them - to be they're like simplified drawings to show the emotion, but on the anime screen it's like, there's enough room to show all that and more! Why take it away?

Ahh yeah, who's knows...Perhaps I'm just growing old..


Oh and what's keyhole tv? I used this url to stream a Japanese tv channel to my quicktime - it was so cute! I forgot how whacky the Japanese commercials can be (Did anyone see that natto one? ugh!)

^ @Trizo - KeyHoleTV is part of a project by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs testing out P2P (peer to peer) technology. It's free and legal, and it includes TV shows on TBS, hence you can watch FMA episode also.

Keyhole TV and all other viewing options for FMA series-2 are listed on the first page of Where to watch FMA anime series-2 thread.

BTW, my computer failed me for the streaming of this episode, and I'm still waiting for the chance to watch it.

Is there a sub out yet? If there is can someone give me a link? (preferably not one that I have to download).

I downloaded it in HD quality. Looks awesome...
-I liked the "comic-like"-style. Looks strange at the first sigh, but I growed to like it.
-I love it, because it's manga like! I hated the last anime version of Liore (or what ever) and the bird-like boyfriend thing.
-What I loved most is, that the Liore part diddn't last long. One episode is enough!

Hmm...
-what about the priest grows as big as gluttony, was that in the manga, too? Can't remember.
-the "Rose, shoot them" was new, too, but it fitted somehow.

-It wasn't rushed.
-The music was okay. I liked it, but the scene where Al and Rose were alone, the music was annoying and diddn't fit (just my opinion). But the end and the beginning, they were nice.


Subs? I had to watch it without any *sigh*. But I knew what they were saying anyways, was easy to guess =D

Ok, I finally finished the episode after my computer was being a problem ;.

I felt this one was a tad rushed too, but not so much. They still got all the basic points across of what this whole thing in Lior was about and kept it in line with the story. I also had my manga out and it did follow it essentially page per page with a few exceptions. (I wished they had Al hide Rose in him when they saw Cornello).

HAHA, I agree that the rebound scene with Cornello was...strange. But I can see the point of it (showing what the PS is capable of...even a cheap fake one).

Overall I enjoyed it and will have to watch it again. I'm anxious for the one next week!

Oh, and the scene with Lust and Gluttony was all too perfect. I really missed those guys. I'll be sad when Roy kills Lust later T__T (then again, that is my all time favorite fight in the Manga and I'm so excited and dying to see it animated!!) ^__^

I can not make an honest analysis yet, because I did not thoroughly understand the entirety of the dialogue, but the episode seemed to flow and the pacing was not nearly as "rushed" as is it seemed it episode two. I really have a feeling that the directors, knowing that they have so much ground to cover, are trying to introduce as much as possible and set the basic plot up for the viewer. The directors may believe that a great deal of the present audience is composed of people who have seen the previous series, so perhaps they decided that they did not need to focus a great deal on certain scenes. Hopefully, the "story-telling" will become much more intense and the series progresses.

Although a lot of other people may not agree with me, I am enjoying the addition of more humour into the first three episodes. I really love the work of Arakawa-sensei for this reason, because she is able to create a perfect balance between humour and sheer sadness and grief. I know that FMA can get extremely dark early on, so it is pleasing to be able to have more of a light-heartedness instlled in some of the episodes before the story gets serious and more intense. Even though I loved the first series, I really thought that the second season could have benefited a great deal more from a slight bit of humour. I really enjoyed seeing the scene were Ed transmutes his automail into a "blade-like" weapon and then proceeds to wreak havoc on the guards. I am not a great fan of comic outbursts, but they seemed to work quite well here.

One of the most interesting choices that I thought the directors had made, was to have Cornello order Rosé to kill Ed and Alphonse. It made Rosé´s character deeper in that she had to struggle with her own morals and choose for herself what she considered to be right and wrong. The one thing that I did not exactly care for, was when Father Cornello turned into a hulking beast of a man after the rebound caused by the overuse of the fake Philosopher´s stone. Maybe the directors and story-board writers thought that the scene in the manga was too anti-climatic for their taste. Personally, I just thought that it was a bit bizzare, but was glad that it didn´t take away from the episode overall. I am going to view it as a symbolic way of showing the power of the stone and as just how power-hungry Cornello is.

The ending of the episode was fairly creepy, with a dumb-founded Gluttony turing into his raveous "eating-machine" self. I also like how you heard that one sickening cruch of bone before the screen went dark, and the ending theme began. Overall, I was quite pleased. I don´t know if it is just me being a literature studen and language major, but it seems as though the directors are relying a great deal more on music, tone of voice and use of color to create emotion and set up a certain enviroment. ( I am finding that I really like the music in this new series thus far. Yes, I am a sucker for Latin chanting.)

I am really looking forward to the Tucker arc next week, which should be a great deal heavier. I am curious to see how the directors are going to "interpret" it; I thought that the Tucker arc was one of the most intense and moving parts of the prior series.

Quick thoughts after one viewing. I'll give the rest when I've seen it again or something.

So, that opening announcerish sequence? Totally didn't know it was going to be that last episode. Still, it would've been nice to have ... an actual character announcing it, but I'll deal. (I did love Ed and Al's blurbs at the beginning of the old episodes.)

Pacing was off at the beginning. I was skeptical. Then it gradually improved and by the end, I'll say that it was almost perfect. I adored the ending; Ed's expression and the emotion when Rose said that they could bring their mother back. Neat!

Also, quite enjoyed Rose's role in this show. Nice to have her seem more human. A character rather than a plot device (which she was in the first anime. Pissed me off.)

Humor was just a bit overdone. I personally don't like the manga humor in the episodes and the simplified manga drawings. They don't mesh well, I don't think.

The split screen wasn't needed - but I like that they're trying to go for new techniques? It looks to me like they're finally trying. Which is always a plus in my book.

Cornello-on-steroids? Ummmmm. Nothing to say here. They should've cut it out. Totally unnecessary and made me roll my eyes. Didn't like Cornello's reaction to the initial rebound either. He wasn't screaming in pain or horror like he was before, and personally, if that had happened to me, I'd be running around scared.

Music and atmosphere were great. Er. Or at least they didn't bother me or detract from the story.


Er. Yeaaaaaaaahhh. I couldn't stop staring the entire time. Um. Huh.

Will withhold final judgment until I see Funi subs. But overall, I did enjoy this episode moreso than the other two. We're getting more of the emotion across now. Which means I'm happy. (Such a big fan of the ending scene . . .)

I like the manga humour but they really need to balance is better and be more selective with when they use it. In Hellsing: Ultimate they struck the balance better by having distinct manga humour/main plot segments and generally avoided mixing them. While FMA's humour hardly ruins the show it does take something away at times.
My only real nit pick was the split screen which seemed completely pointless and never used to any real effect.
Oh, and making Rose white. No big deal but an odd change.

Well, I just finished seeing the episode with subs, ans I really like it !!

Rose's little change of personnality add something to the character. I really really really prefer her here. She was a little passive in the first anime, and here she really struggles with herself and what to think/what to do, when she shoots Al, well, I liked it ^^ Plus, I like her new design, there is not much change, but it's for the best, IMO.

The humor didn't disturb me, I think it was well dosed and well done in this episode. I love the moment when Ed & Co burst out of the chamber with cornello, and attack the guard !! This scene was epic in the manga and they did a great job here !!

@ temmy: I'm sure you and I and whoever else mentioned Ed's hotness are not the only ones drinking in the eye candy this episode. xD

Thoughts after seeing a fansub:

- I thought I was watching the wrong episode when I saw the opening blurb. Hmm. So they decided to keep that?
- The split screens were slightly annoying, but I can live with it.
- I like how Rose actually had to think for herself. Makes her seem so much more real.
- The pacing was much better this time around; I especially loved the part where Al talked with Rose, and the ending...perfect and emotional. The expression on Ed's face was heartbreaking.
- Cornello on steroids: WTF? Unneccesary, but it didn't take away from the episode too much... ._.
- Music and art beautiful as usual. I think we can all agree that the technical aspects of this series is great.
- Glad to see Lust and Gluttony back. x3

Can't wait until the Nina episode, especially considering how important it is to characterization in the beginning.

Edit: I love the manga's humor, and like that they're trying to incorporate it into the anime, but more often than not it's in completely the wrong places. They also need to stop overusing the mistaken-brother joke. Seeing it about six times in three episodes got quite old.

It's the ten first minutes of the first épisode that are really annoying You have the same exact joke repeated four times. First with Isaac. Two minutes later, the same, with the soldier guy (plus, that guy has such an annoying voice and the music when he appears... gah!). Three minutes later, the same, with Hughes. And four minutes after that, the same with Elysia. Having Alphonse repeat that same sentence again and again and again really get on the nerves

Just finished watching episode three, thoughts will be short:

- Absolutely loved the pacing in this episode, they cut a lot of the filler moments but still kept the really emotional stuff

- I liked Rose's character model more in this version rather than her previous one, the coloring and softer lines helped a lot

- Glad that the humor was kept, there were several great expressions

- Nice to see Lust & Gluttony again

- Ending seemed to have more weight than before, probably due to Ed & Rose's expressions

Time to bring on the next episode!

Heheh, I have to agree. It was a bit too much in such a short time. I mean, the whole missunderstanding joke is fun and is part of FMA, but they could have made a little distance between them. One of them could have been added to the very end of the episode, for example.

But yeah, othet than that, I personally love the humor that has been in every episode. The first anime season kinda got deeper and darker as further as the story went, there was hardly any humor scenes in the last episodes, if any at all. I think it got a bit too heavy to my taste. Adding some spice to every episode once in a while, just like in the manga, definitely could do great. I hope this time Bones keeps these comedy scenes up all the way to the end.

Episode 3 = all negatives from previous episodes + new ones = fail.

It was rushed and humour scenes were out of place. What's more, split screen was annoying (don't understand why director decided to do that, probably he wanted to show some 'improvements'). Basically they've shown most important parts but because they wanted to take into account most of Lior trip scenes it was too artificial (like when they talked with a shopkeeper or with Rose). Also I don't understand the changes. What were they for? Why Al wasn't shoot at by the bearded guy? Why Rose wasn't in Al's armor to know about Cornello's scheme? Why did she have a gun? It didn't make any sense. The way they resolved it (i.e. Rose pointing the gun at Ed and fortunately shooting Al) made this scene hilarious. In manga there are already many coincidences, why then add more of them to the anime?
What I found interesting is that this time Ed took less time to transmute a spear (probably it wouldn't look as cool as before and kids would be disappointed) then in previous episode. Cornello himself admitted that bringing someone back from the dead is impossible and it was the only reason why Rose would want to listen to him (in manga he hinted that thanks to the PS it should be possible), so it didn't make sense for him to say that. Unfortunately that's not all, showing the bloody sign by Al, Cornello's glowing eyes and glaring at Ouroboros when he had a hole in his skull annoyed me. But the most ridiculous part was the Hulk thing that showed Ed's super-strength, he could parry giant's blows easily. It would make sense if Cornello only changed his size and not mass but taking into account that he used PS this probably wasn't the case. Even the music didn't fit (especially at the end, when Rose was talking to Elric brothers). And Gluttony's voice? Yuck.

Okay, I loved the change in Rose. Her skin color in the manga is white so I liked that they kept it that way. I also liked the change in her hair color. It wasn't so...freakin PINK like it was in the first anime. I was also rather surprised they had Rose shoot Al o_o and Cornello was the one who made her shoot. That was a nice twist.

And yes, I also agree with everybody else that Edward looked particularly sexy, especially when he beckoned for Cornello and called him a "third rate"...he did NOT look 15 years old there at all. In fact, I think he looks a lot older in this anime than he did in the first one, which is no complaint from me! <3 I liked the pacing of this episode, it was well done and didn't seem quite as rushed as the previous one did.

I loved the humor they tossed into this as well. xD It's nice to get to see some humor thrown in, just so the episode isn't as dark and down-trodden. Though Rose and Ed's expressions at the end...gah when Ed's eyes get all quakey like that it's like...;___; All in all it was a really great episode and I'm very very much looking forward to the next one...I'm a sucker for angst and I got a feeling this next one is gonna have it.

AGREED!!!!! My feelings exactly!

Ooooh i forgot to add that the ending was particularly creepy with Lust and Gluttony. I wasn't exactly fond of Gluttony's voice, but he only said once sentence so maybe it'll grow on me as the series goes on. Anyway, I'm going back through the episode once more and going to re-analyze it.

Oh, and I agree with everything the above poster said! Ed's expression just...;_; cuts deep, man! lol In all seriousness though, it was truly a heartbreaking expression.

hi !!

what a nice day >>(happy)

Just finished watching episode three

what I say ,,,,, !!

three words

( it is GREAT !!!)

I love it , I really love the new style of Rose ^o^


split screen was good ^_~

Ed hehehe cute ^^
he is really make me laugh in this episode


and the little sound , that come with ed make me laugh too !! xD

hmm....but I think he is really smallest in this new FMA

Ed was sooo lovely in this episode (hugs)

I like when he bent over to Rose-chan



and >>>yes I a gree Ed was sexy in this episode

Gooo FMA2 !!!

Yes, that last scene with Gluttony was creepy. His voice doesn't bother me - but then, I'm not really aware of those voices. Like, I couldn't tell straight up whose voices have changed and whose have stayed the same.

This episode works well. The choppiness of the 2nd episode is gone, as is the rushed feeling of the 1st one - the pacing is a lot better. I've always thought that stretching the Lior (Reyole? Liore?..) adventure into two episodes was a bad idea in the first anime and I believe it works better here. Besides, now that I've seen this episode, I'm *really* glad that they've got the whole human transmutation backstory out of the way - because this time, Ed and Al do not suddenly share their deepest secrets with Cornello just to inform the audience of who they are and why they are more metal than human. The audience knows, now, and the plot can move forward without OOC soliloquies.

Rose... *sigh* I've never understood Rose, but it's a personal thing, I guess. As in - I've never understood why, throughout that scene, both Cornello and the Elrics are trying to convert *Rose*. Both are explaining their actions to her. Why is it her soul they're all suddenly after? Having said that: at least here, I can see a reason for the Elrics to care what Rose thinks, since she's pointing a gun at them. So that's an improvement, for me, and her design is too - no more randomly pink hair.

The Latin music is a definite plus; the rebound transmutation of Cornello into something of a Terminator!Archer of the later FMA-1 is quite uncalled for, but does not really detract from anything. Oh, and the bit with Ed transforming his arm into a scary blade is priceless =)

PS with manga spoiler: Too bad that no moving statue was involved, though - I loved the bit in the manga when Hoho-papa came to Lior, saw the statue stuck in the roof and commented on the aesthetic choices of whoever thought it was a good idea to put a statue there...

So why do you guys prefer white Rose to non-white Rose?
(Yeah, this looks like trying to start drama but I'm genuinely curious as to why everyone seems to love the change.)


The Deacon drops it and she picks it up.
You're a fine troll, Goral.

Here is the episode sub and for the ones who dont like downloading->
< Snip... PM me if anyone would like to know the link. ^^>

I liked this episode, because sometimes I find kind of boring to see the same episodes again, so the moderated quick pace was just perfect.

I enjoyed the new Rose character, the one from the first anime was frustrating. I was glad of the change color, my eyes werent hurting this time

Ed expressions were great, and he looked really hot this episode

I didnt like that much gluttony's new voice, the other one made him seem more dumb, but i think its matter of time so i can get used to it.

Im really looking forward to watching the next episode, I think that the Nina and Tucker episode is the darkest one during the whole serie, Scar is finally going to make his first appearance, and it has to be great!

I think it has more to do with the hair than with the skin color. Rose was, with Envy, one of the few characters that didn't have a "realistic" hair color in the first series. And pink...

Just to say, I haven't seen the episode yet since I couldn't find the RAW of it anywhere.
But I did see the preview of the episode...and I'll be honest here, I really don't like ( or rather, I'm not too keen on it) Rose's new look either.

I actually prefer the non-white ( or tanned) Rose from the original series, I don't know what it is...but the new white Rose makes me feel ill everytime I look at her. ^^;
This doesn't mean that I hate the character of course (she sounds interesting from what people have been saying about her in this thread) but I guess it's where I'm so used to her design in the first anime.

It's that I don't like it, it's just incredibly bland looking and the skin change is incredibly odd. She lives in a sunny desert town but looks paler than me.
Two tone hair always looks weird but I wouldn't call it odd or out of place. She seems young and maybe it's just the college I go to but a pink fringe is hardly unusual.

That said, people saying they only mean the hair are either in a minority or lying considering I have seen people explicitly citing the skin colour.

What have they done to my beloved Rose? ;_;

From this to this!

They changed her body wash to bleach, I guess.

I have not much comment about the 3rd episode. As always, looking forward to see the episodes after Mustang and co. get transferred back to Central.

One thing about 3rd episode is about Gluttony. His voice let me feel like listening to a retarded Fuery.

I think Rose's skin color may be a little hard to get used to, but it makes perfect sense considering the plot changes from 1st series to 2nd: in 1st series, Lior was at the middle of the desert, close to Ishbal. In fact, after Ed and Al visit Ishbal's ruins the first place they go to is Lior. So it's logical that people from Lior look like Ishbalans, they may even be related.
However, I haven't seen stated anywhere in 2nd series that Lior is on a desert: it looked pretty green to me, with all the trees and stuff. And it was surrounded by mountains, not sand, so it wouldn't make sense to see ishbalan-related people there. Thus, they are all white.

Ah, the "sunny desert" part is specific to the first series. In the manga, we never knew what was the climate around Lior.



Nitpickers, essentially (well, I hope). When you look at the manga, Rose has clearly the same skin tone than Edward. Scar, who is as tanned as she is in the first serie, is far more tanned than her in the manga.

The white skin also seems to make her more... fragile? It also seems to me that they made her smaller and younger, while in the first series (and in the manga) she seemed to be older than the Elric.

All in all, I think we should look at why they made her dark-skinned and pink-haired in the first series instead of going with the light skin that seemed more logical when you look at the manga. To me, they wanted to differentiate her from the other main girls (Winry and Riza, especially when those are so alike) at all costs : darker skin, black hair, extravagant hair color. And why? Because she was way more important in that story than she was in the manga. You can even say she is more important to the plot than Winry or Riza. The "oasis town in the middle of the desert" and darkening of the bar man were included to make the whole re-imagining coherent, I suppose.

You took the words right out of my mouth. Also, if you observe the characters in the manga, Arakawa always makes her darker-skinned characters with a more shaded tone, like this for example:
Miles
http://www.onemanga.com/Full_Metal_Alchemist/66/05/

That Chimera toad guy (can't remember his name xD)
http://www.onemanga.com/Full_Metal_Alchemist/73/30/

Rose's skin is white, just like Edward's and Winry's, etc...
http://www.onemanga.com/Full_Metal_Alchemist/1/15/

We never actually learn if Reole is a sunny, desert town as it's never exactly specified. I like Rose's new look and I'm sorry, but I was not a fan of the mary sue Rose they created in the first anime. <.< This Rose didn't annoy me at all unlike the Rose in the other anime. Sorry, I was just never a big fan of Anime!Rose...x_x I do, however, quite like Manga!Rose and I like the fact that they made her skin white and toned down her hair.

His name is Gelso in the french official version.

In fact, for him, I hope the anime makes him even more dark skinned than Scar or FirstSeries!Rose. Scar, I've come to associate to the Middle-Eastern type, "tanned" but not black. While I think Gelso is more the African type : the hair style, the (quite annoying) cliché of the big lips, the nose, the skin color, everything in him tells "black" to me.

Either way I don't really mind the change of Rose's skin colour. Both were fine with me. It's the hair... my eyes don't hurt as much now...

I'm not too concerned about Rose's new skin color. And those pages are pretty clear that in the manga, she's the same tone as Ed.

I need to watch it a second time to truly decide how I feel about it...but in the end I don't think I mind that they cut-out a few things just to make this one episode. Lior really doesn't need to be dragged on to two episodes like in the first anime. And if you want to watch it in two episodes... ...watch the first anime XP.

As for the humor...I wasn't bothered by it at all! I thought it was much better this time. It's just hard to get used to (like in Bleach...the humor there is sudden, but it works like in the manga). Arakawa has amazing humor, that's why I love her so much. Now the director just has to figure-out how to take her inked humor and animate it.

Anyway...I think once they get past some of this stuff here and solidify the anime into it's new story line, things will slow and hopefully be more strict, page-per-page manga based. Though, I am most concerned about Youswell still. That's in Vol. 1 with Lior and if they're going straight to Tucker/Nina how are they going to introduce Yoki?

I thought this episode was ok, not very good compared to the other ones (especially episode 2 which was awesome). I noticed a couple mistakes with his arm though... In the sub I watched Al said he gave his left arm when he transmuted his soul, but we all know it's his right arm.... And then in one scene they even showed his automail on his left arm! I was kinda pissed about that, but maybe I misunderstood...

As for the comical parts, I think they're pretty good, but there should be a little less of them. And when the stone rebounded on Cornello, it was just sad what they did to that scene. Worst part of that episode. I don't mean to bad mouth FMA, I still think this new series is awesome, hell, I absolutely loved episode 2 to death, I just hope they do a better job with the next episode.

Oh, and Rose. I didn't notice the change in her skin color until you guys mentioned it.... I think it's nice, a little closer to the comic as some of you pointed out. And I like that there's a small change in her personality.

I hope to see more of the homunculi soon, they seem pretty cool so far. I don't really like Gluttony's voice change so much, though... It doesn't really suit him.

Yoki, the train incident (may not be in the new series, since Mustang and co. already been introduced), and nina in one go. Anyone?

I just keep thinking of Hughes's life been shortened as the new series rushes to the major plot.

Ah right, thanks! I couldn't remember his name. Yes, he feels more African-type to me as well. I think Scar won't be quite as dark as Gelso, same goes for Miles. I think Rose's white skin tone and her new hair colors suit her very well. I quite like it a lot. It's not so vibrant anymore

@Fullmetal Hippo: What scene did they show Ed's automail on the wrong arm? o_o I don't recall seeing it.

Can someone give me a link for the subbed episode?

Here you go
<Snip ...Anyone interested in the link, PM me!! ^^>
I havtn watched the episode yet cause Im waiting for either Eclipse or Taka

It's that one :



But in fact it's the "reflection" in Rose's eyes, so it's normal that it seems on the wrong side. I was fooled in the manga once with this, with Bradley's eyepatch. We saw his reflection in Roa's eyes, and I thought Arakawa put the eyepatch on the wrong eye.

Thanks

Popo is correct, and therefore... sorry, but I edited out the direct link. ^^

OOps sorry! >.<
Wont happen again I promise!