Talk-back/content discussion for English dubbed episode on Adult Swim starts on page 3.


Please post the discussions on the content of episode 42 here.
This thread is declared as a Spoiler zone for the content of the first 42 episodes.







I'll be back later and fill out the rest of the first post. ^^

My initial thoughts:

- I see they're indoors when Alphonse comes to, instead of carrying him around.
- Can this music be any more generic?
- I'm still waiting for the reverse circle to come to some sort of purpose in the manga (though I have a feeling it'll be soon!). What the hell did Scar's brother know?
- It's the return of FMA's Kuririn and Yajirobe! Oh, and it's... uh, Bulma? Yamcha? Help me out with Fuery.
- It's none-raped Rose! Not being used as a puppet by Scar to lure soldiers to their doom! Ah, I miss the old days. (I do! Er, not that I WANT Rose to be raped.)
- This SEEMS uneventful, but Hohenheim's little chat with Pride is pretty cool.
- Drachma soldiers! Come to think of it, I wish they gave us a bit more info about that country. Er, on second thought, we don't need any more info dumps.

Keyhole was crappier tonight than usual.

OH YES, THE MOST EPIC MOMENT FROM THE MANGA IS NEXT WEEK. DON'T SCREW IT UP, BONES.

The screenshots are up:
http://randomc.animeblogger.net/2010/01/31...brotherhood-42/

That's a smexy Lust cap in there XD (she actually looks pretty)

At first I was 'WTF' at what she and Greed were doing there, but then I remembered Pride's and Hoho's conversation..

I had the same reaction. SmeXy smeXy. Can't wait for a fan-sub so I can watch this with my roommate.

No comment on the episode until I have seen the subs, but in reply to what PenguinTruth mentioned the little clips from next week appear to show at least the animation will be on par.

You know you've been busy when you forget that there's a new FMAB episode out today! But it was a pleasant surprise, kind of like how Yoki's sneeze caused a very important epiphany...

Kimblee's blood-licking kind of sums up what's he's like himself - violent, creepy and finger-lickin' good! jk he scares me... But I loved how the episode ended with him starting a battle, standing in the shadow of the cannon-fire.

Aww, Cain Fuery's pain just makes a war seem all the more heart-breaking. This made me realize he kind of reminds me of Radar from MASH...

Whee! Pride in suit! Should that really make me so happy? Maybe not, but it still perfects his image of dark little boy with evil plans. I always wondered why he appears in the form of a child... maybe because children can be prideful if they have great abilities? Still, he actually made me jump when he came after Hohenheim in the tunnel!

I'm glad to see Rose happy and un-raped, thank you very much. She really can stand on her own two feet without a cult, or even Edward. That soup looked very good...

Whoa, Ed wasn't in this entire episode... I knew something small and blond was missing. Get well soon Edward!

you know arakawa/bones is good when you don't notice the main character wasn't even in the ep until after. XD ily FMA for being the only manga i have read where the plot proceeds with the main character out for like a few chapters.

I figured it was as simple as the fact that he's his Father's "Pride". Parents tend to place immense pride in their children, especially the first born.

What was with all the ungulating that Pride was doing this week? I know he's supposed to be this ever shifting amss of black shadows but this week there was barely a shot where he wasn't wriggling around all the time. It was kinda distracting to be honest, and I get the feeling it was only done to add emphasis to the scene with Hohenheim. The minute Hohenheim pissed him off ('I feel no Wrath' my right buttcheek) he stopped moving and while that was cool to emphasise that, it just made Pride look a little... silly during most of his scenes and he's supposed to be this incredibly intimidating monsterous figure that scares the pants off nearly everyone he meets. However I did like that BONES emphasised that Pride was grinding his teeth seeings as most scanlations didn't bother translating that and the official Viz translation is 'Sneer'. HOW THE HELL IS THAT A SNEER VIZ?!

ANYWAY

As a Pride fan I was pleased with this episode overall, just because he appeared, and because he had the creepiest scene in the episode. Just after Sloth finishes the tunnel, when it cuts to Pride turning to face Father with that creepy stare. Compare that to the original art and tell me BONES can't improve on the original. Both are creepy but the Brotherhood version is just... *shudders*. Speaking of Sloth, it's good to see him again, even if he is and is going to be doing, bugger all at them moment from now on.

The beginning of the episode I have little say on really, I mean the whole 'book hides transmutation circle' thing kinda... felt weird to me in the Manga and it till does. At least here they mention that the pages are laid out so if a page mentions two things, they cross over (I don't think this was mentioned before, you just sort of... had to assume) and the flipping over thing struck me as a massive coincidence. In fact the whole scene is littered with luck and serendipity, but it's necessary for the plot I suppose.

Yay! Breda and Feury, it's good to see them again, and that's all I have to say on that. Also I like that Miles pointed the direction he was walking to Buccaneer and Falman. It was so subtle and quick you don't notice it, but I loved it. Mostly because I actually do that myself in real life.

BLAH Rose. I have nothing against the Manga/Brotherhood version of her but seeing her just reminds me of the parts of the first series I didn't like. But that's a rant for another time. Unfortunately her scene kinda detracts from my 'BONES can improve' comment earlier when you look at Hohenheim 'starving' here and it looks... pathetic to say the least.

Pride and Hohenheim's discussion was cool, if only because we got to see them face off and to see some cool shots of the Homunculus, well except for Pride... and Wrath and Envy's stills kinda sucked but shut up.

In the end this was an episode that sets up for a massive rollar coaster of awesome, which we will be getting next week in the form of Marcoh VS Envy!

Also, that last shot of Envy was.... ugh I know they want to play around with angles and I applaud experimentation but jesus, try to not do stuff that ends up looking so... goofy.

- Lol at Yoki's "soggy" sneeze at the beginning of the episode That's how I feel right now.
- It was creepy how Pride's eyes were constantly moving in the shadows when talking to Kimbley; for some reason I expected them to be more or less static. I think they were at the Hawkeye revelation, but I might be mistaken.
- Aww, poor Fuery.
- Not this track again... It's probably the most overused track in the series. I'm talking about the one that plays when Sloth finishes digging the tunnel. Also, the intro bugs the hell out of me; it's just way too generic and cheesy. But... I still sorta like it...
- Why does Liore looks like it's been bombed to pieces? I know there was a riot, but I don't remember anyone calling in the Luftwaffe.
- I enjoy seeing Rosé again. I like her. (Can't help but think that it would be a little awkward when she meets Al again. I mean, in this adaption she did try to shoot the brothers, and she pointed that gun at them more than once. I guess Al is pretty forgiving guy though, but even so, on her side.)
- Italian restaurant track. I think I've come to like it. At least it feels more fitting hearing it here than in downtown Central.
- The way Hohenheim's fingers jerked when he begged for a bowl of that delicious-looking soup looked... weird.
- Okay, that Leto statue looks way creepier than I recall. Anyway, it's good to see that they're sticking to the events of episode 3 instead of adjusting according to the manga.
- Speaking of creepy, WOW. Pride looks really freakey when he chases after Hoho in the tunnel o_o Maybe it was just me...
- Lust! I'll say it again; she looks weirdly cute in that image. One of my favourite homunculus too, it's too bad she was killed off so quickly here. Not that she was around THAT much longer in the manga, but I feel she got more scenes/screentime there...
- The final scene with Kimbley and the Drachma army was fairly awesome. Wonder if they'll show any of the following battle, or if they'll just do it as in the manga.

A good episode. The music was nicely placed, even though I'm sick of the tiresome repetitiveness of it. Not much went on here, but it was still very enjoyable. Can't say I find the next part to be the most epic thing of the manga as some others seem to think, but I still look forward to it.

Well, finally watching the episode! (so late...)

I was a bit unnerved when Al was talking, all in pieces...(and should it really echo?)

Maybe, on one glorious day, I will understand how they figured out how to sort the pages on the floor and where to draw the lines...

Mustang's men were really appreciated. I felt sorry for Fuery, he's not particularly violent.

Oh, no how sad...I had acctually forgot how much i "dislike" (mumblemumbleiwillkillhimmumblemumble) the eyecatcher-guy.

Hoho pwns my soul, he transmutes with his feet *_*

omg, next episode!!!

I always understood that the pages of Scar's brother's notebook were arranged like this:

Step one: The same verbal expression concerning either gold or immortality is found on two different pages. You lay them on the floor so that those words are one upon the other. Then you search the other pages for choices of words that match something on either of those two pages, and when you find one, you lay it on the floor so that the same words are located right on top of one another. You continue this until all pages are used. (In step one, you put "first side up", so that the holes for binding the book are on the left side of the page.)

Step two: On some pages there are illustrations (different kinds of circles). When you find two matching circles, you connect then with a pencil. This is how you get a picture of the nation-wide transmutation circle being made by the Homunculi.

Step three: Well, the nation-wide circle is something you don't want getting activated, since it will apparently suck the souls out of every living being inside it, and that would be bad. So, you want to reverse the situation somehow. So, you reverse (flip around) all the pages, but don't change their locations in relation to each other.

Step four: Repeat step two. Now you have an image of the reverse transmutation circle.

Wow, you are so smart. Step one sounds like my missing piece, I thought they were gonna lay them in piles depending on what words are on the page....Thank you!!

Lol, what if they had accidentally activated the transmutation circles they had drawn on the papers?

uh... I don't think they could because we know for the nation wide one more than just the circle is needed. Plus it's hard to 'accidentally' activate a transmutation circle. That and there were no materials to transmute with within the circle. As for the other circle, I think it's the same dealio.

I think if an alchemist could 'accidentally' activate a circle, I think Father's plan would've been foiled a while ago lol

'Do, de, do" *trips, masssive flash* "WHOOOPS!!"

Heh, okay, but what about the more minor circles diagrammed in the books themselves? Can alchemists just set something on the page and transmute it with the depicted circle? A circle's a circle, no matter what it's made of, right?

Nice explanation, Ropespinner.

It still feels like it was a 'strike of luck' that they managed to figure out how to place the pages and get it right.

Even if doable, it would certainly be more complex in reality. And take longer time. How would you know which pages go on top of eachother and which ones under?

Um... I suppose if they put the papaer on top or under what their transmuting? I dunno tbh, and I think we're getting off topic lol.

Also I agree with Broken Chouchou about the scene being still unrealistic, however how MIND-NUMBINGLY DULL, would it be if they did everything realistically lol.

I don't think it's a problem. The way that they cut away in the middle of that scene suggests that it may have taken some time to get the placement right.

Hmm, I suppose Mufasa could have put the same circles on both the top and bottom pages just in case. I took another long look at this scene... You start with the assumption that all the pages are in the same orientation, since that way the directions won't be arbitrary. The keywords are spread so as to link the pages with each other, which puts them in the proper positions once all the links are found. The most prominent circles seen in this arrangement form the key points of the big transmutation circle, while the smaller circles next to them tell which directions to radiate the lines in. (That's how they know to draw a circle and a pentagon on the outside and another pentagon on the inside, rather than pentagrams or another circle on the inside.)

Now for the reverse circle... Again, I think the circles that served as its endpoints would have to be drawn on the backs of both pages that contained the key words, in case you put a different page on top. It appears you're supposed to assume that the inner lines stop at the inner circles rather than continuing back to the outer edge and forming a pentagram--the little line guide circles are starting to look ambiguous to me at this point. You're also supposed to realize that the little circles are actually used in the full circle rather than just guiding the lines, I think.

It's also interesting to think about how Mufasa would have made the code in the first place. He would have needed the finished circle somewhere as a guide, without it showing up on the pages themselves. Maybe it was a big sheet underneath everything, and the pages were thin enough to see through? So he gets the papers in this neat overlapping pile, draws the key points of the circle as prominent little circles, and writes key words where the pages overlap, carefully peeling each top page back to write the words and draw the circles again in the same spots on the bottom page. Then he flips all the pages and draws the circles for the reverse circle, again doing both top and bottom pages. Then he's got to write all those notes, trying to make those seemingly random circles make sense in context, and writing paragraphs so that wherever a key word happens to fall seems to make sense. Wow, and then our future scholars happen to think of the exact same scheme!

It took me ages to figure out that reference XD Haha, either it's a pretty clever one or I'm just stupid. Gah, haven't watched the Lion King in years, so that might have something to do with it.

At first I was "what the HELL is he talking about", then after some pondering, I thought that perhaps by 'Mufasa' you were referring to Heinkel, if you had gotten the chimera names mixed up or something. Because Heinkel belongs to the other 'set' of chimeras.

Ahem, yeah, anyway, I like your theory about how Scar's brother created the code, makes sense.



As I said, strike of luck.

<Program Note>

@Disasterpiece - I took out the post with only a picture of a baby as your reply. Please join discussions on this thread by kindly using written words for expressing your thoughts and opinions.

Well, did they ever give Scar's brother a name? Because if not, then I'm sticking with Mufasa.

Was it ever explained how Kimblee managed to get a hold of the Drachma army? And in such short time? I'm guessing it's just something that's rushed over. When I first read the corresponding manga chapters, it felt that way, too.

I'd always assumed that this was a case that the Homunculus had already layed down teh ground work for Kimblee and that Drachma had always been ready to attack at any moment. Indeed the way Drachma is mentioned by the Briggs soldiers throughout the Briggs arc seems to suggest this. I think it was more of a case that Kimblee went into Drachma more as a 'oh hi yeah they say you can attack' sort of guy than he went in and convinced them to attack.

Or maybe we were supposed to assume that Scar, Winry, Mei and co. were in that Isbalan settlement trying to decipher the code for far longer then it seems.

I hadn't thought about that. Kimbley really did just kind of pop out of no where with an entire army. I guess we'll just have to assume more time passed than what we thought like Tezrath said.
I hope Brotherhood shows some of the action from it. That was the one thing with the Manga that made me a bit mad. I wanted to see Briggs just wipe Drachma all over the floor.

I thought the episode was pretty good. I feel a little disappointed. I have not read this far into the manga though so hopefully it gets better. The timing of things in this show is a little weird but overall I am enjoying myself.

<Progam Note>

QUOTE (FullMetalFist @ Feb 10 2010, 06:35 PM)

...Does anyone know how many episodes there will be when the series ends?

@FullMetalFist, Hyperthia, & hawkflame - I moved your posts with the future episode discussions to FMA: Brotherhood future episodes discussion thread as this seems to be on the way to becoming more of an on-going discussion, but this is not about the content of this episode and hence off-topic on this thread.

Please continue the discussions on "how many more episodes FMA:B will have," etc. on FMA: Brotherhood future episodes discussion thread.

Please add FMA:B English dubbed episode 42 (on CN on Adult Swim) talk-back/discussions here.

FMA:B will air 1:00 AM - 1: 30 AM and 5:00 AM - 5:30 AM eastern time.