At least 03 had the decency to have Al starting to doubt himself BEFORE talking to Barry and then have that talk be reinforced by Tucker talking about creating a new Nina. I can accept it much better as the final push to send him spiraling as opposed to coming utterly out of nowhere.
Yeah, everything leading up until episode 24 was still pretty strong. The buildup was much better in 03, but the way the show went about resolving it was terrible.
Agreed. I also fucking hate how Mangahood resolved Al's existential crisis by making the Eric brothers spar??? Like wtf was that. I love that 03 MADE THEM HAVE AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION.
I like the idea of Al's identity crisis because it ties into one of FMA's themes of investigating a fundamental question of ontology: what does it mean to be human? You see this from the beginning with Ed and Al's failed attempt at human alchemy since it ultimately fails. The 2003 adaptation explores this further with Shou Tucker's appearance in Lab 5 and trying to create a new Nina, Lust wanting to be human, and the conclusion Envy's story at the end of the series. It likewise ties in with Ed's atheistic interpretation of the world, which the show regularly challenges him on, as it's made clear that whatever it is that defines "human" is more than just matter and energy and therefore beyond the understanding of science. Of course, the issue is that the end of episode 23 and the entirety of episode 24 badly drop the ball on dealing with this idea. I think your criticism of Barry coming back as 66 addresses a key element of this because his goofy nature makes it hard to take this element of the story seriously. More importantly, though, I think the writers should've let this issue between Ed and Al simmer for a bit longer. In just a few episodes, the boys will be spending time with Izumi back in her hometown, and I think this would've been the ideal place to wrap this issue up. Izumi functions as their surrogate mother, which is emphasized by the complementary nature of their issues (the boys lost their mother and tried to bring her back; Izumi lost her child and tried to bring him back). When she finds out about their bodies, she chastises them for their foolishness and arrogance, and that can be used as a segue into Al bringing forth his doubts about his own existence for two important reasons: 1) Izumi's statuses as surrogate mother and teacher means she's an authority figure the boys respect and 2) Izumi met them later in life instead of growing up in Resembool, making it harder to believe that she's "in on the scheme" of Al being a fabrication. This would naturally tie in to their return to Yock Island as they rediscover the meaning of "All is One, One is All." The only big issue with this that the writers would need to also either drop the Rush Valley episode or slot it elsewhere since it would just be too tonally incongruent to sit as episode 26.
Hell yeah! :D Episode 22 (definitely have the most to say about this one): One of the biggest things that I love about this episode that I haven't really heard anyone else talk about is how the bare story mechanic of forcing a character to pick between two difficult options is utilized here. I think the best way to explain it would be to compare to a somewhat similar moment in Brotherhood (I'm sorry to shit on Brotherhood yet again but I do think the comparison is interesting), the bit in Briggs where Kimblee offers Edward a philosopher's stone in return for him agreeing to take part in mass murder. Immediately after this dichotomy is presented to the audience the show essentially spells out what is going to happen next with regards to this: Edward will pretend to agree but won't actually go through with anything and intends to blow his cover once he and Alphonse are able to get away from Kimblee while looking for Scar, and Alphonse and Winry are both completely aware from the jump that this is what will happen. It presents what looks at first glance like a choice between two incredibly difficult options but is completely impatient when it comes to actually letting the tension of the situation sit. It cannot let it sit for more than two seconds without going "hey don't worry about options A and B, everyone has already agreed to go with option C and also here is what option C is in great detail so you understand exactly what's going to be happening for the next episode or two." The shortcut is made apparent instantly and so the situation is neutered. (Admittedly my memory of Brotherhood is a little foggy since I watched it in 2020 so if I got anything wrong there I apologize) Coming back to this show, the choice between present option A (murdering a bunch of prisoners but Alphonse gets to live, maybe even gets his human body) and present option B (refusing the murder the prisoners but Alphonse dies and it'll be #allyourfault) works for several different reasons imo: 1) It's about as prevalent in the mind of both Edward and the audience as a broom handle would be if it was being shoved up your ass. It is a decision that must be made Right Now and no you don't get to take 24 hours to think about it you have to decide what you want to do within the next three to five minutes max. 2) For me at least, you genuinely have no idea which way Edward will fall. Since pretty much his entire sense of self has become dependent on Alphonse, being his guardian, protecting him, getting his body back, if there's anything that could make Edward to murder a bunch of people, it would be saving Alphonse's life. In a hypothetical scenario where Edward actually DOES go through which the transmutation, I honestly don't think it would be too far off for his character in spite of his (implicit, in this show) refusal to kill human beings (and the ambiguity as to what his limits would be are imo further supported by him having no issue at all graphically dismembering chimeras in the previous episode). 3) Despite Scar stepping in at the last second, instead of him appearing and telling Edward "hey kid have your option C you've been through enough for one night" before Edward decides on his own, he actually DOES pick between his two present options, and he explicitly picks sacrificing Alphonse for the prisoners. He is forced to make a choice and he actually makes it. And this imo actually contributes to the tension between him and Alphonse in the next two episodes. Speaking of! Episode 23: As someone who watched Brotherhood first (again bringing up Brotherhood to shit on it I feel like such an ass lol) and found the identity crisis arc to be a utterly baffling waste of time, I don't think the idea of it is inherently bad, and I think it's done way better here. Of course I already mentioned the added conflict of Edward choosing to sacrificing Alphonse over the prisoners (even if Al said he's okay with it I'm pretty sure that would still sting at least a little bit, especially since he's fourteen), but his treatment of Edward in the hospital room imo speaks a lot louder than a big outburst that could've happened in those moments. I do differ from you on whether or not it was a good things to extend the conflict by another episode by having Alphonse run off. I think having it resolved quickly wouldn't have taken full potential of seeing what these two are like when they're actually separate from each other, both emotionally and physically... Episode 24: ...which is the main reason why I find this episode so infuriating. I don't know if you know this but the writer for this episode is a guy named Toshiki Inoue. This guy wrote only three other episodes: 4 (lmao), 10 (LMAO), and 35. I have no idea how you feel about this episode 35 but I dislike for similar reasons to this: it takes great ideas (Edward and Alphonse's bond being temporarily severed (the line "I don't care what happens to him" is pretty brutal but effective), Lust letting her emotions get in the way of her objective and the consequences that has, as well as a microcosm of how Dante and the homunculi bait people to make the stone), generally paints with the broadest strokes, and convolutes the emotional core by adding in melodrama for other characters that doesn't need to be there. These two episodes frustrate me a lot more than episodes 4 and 10 because they have good ideas and qualities that they waste. The most charitable interpretation I can think of for why the bit with Rick and Leo's mother was included was to parallel the brothers' situation of Alphonse thinking Edward only cares about himself when the very things that made Alphonse think that were due to Edward's love for him, further emphasized by Winry saying "I think there are things you have to talk about, or you’ll never know". But, like...that's really fucking clumsy lol. Beyond that the brothers' situation with each other and Rick and Leo's mother have basically no similarities to the point where it feels like grasping at straws to even draw the connections. And it also doesn't really give any further insight into Edward and Alphonse; "always trust that your family actually loves you"? Okay? Sure? Anything else you'd like to add to that or are we gonna stick with that basic af thesis? Hope you enjoyed the long comment! Been a while since I left one of these on your videos so this was fun. Also I really love what you noticed about the lighting in episode 23! I had actually never noticed that before. :)
This comment put it really well. I really like how you broke down each episode and compared it to brotherhood. I also do agree that the idea of extending Al's existential crisis isn't a terrible idea on its own. I just said what I did about it because I knew how the next episode played out already, but it is an interesting idea without that knowledge. And yeah, the writer for this episode... just... uh wow. Anyways appreciate the comment. It was actually fun to read and hear your in depth thoughts on each episode.
I've always felt that '03 was on the right path of actually expanding the cast with more Ishvalans outside of Scar (except maybe Miles in MangaHood being one-quarter Ishvalan and Scar's brother who's only in flashbacks, I guess), but the way it went about it was super clumsy. Did we really need ANOTHER exclusive '03 parallel with some random younger/older brother dynamic after the Tringham brothers when we just saw episodes with the Slicer brothers and Scar's brother issues are RIGHT THERE. Man this show has a lot of brothers, come to think of it..
Episode 24 is actually one of my favourite in the series, for it's message, Scar working together with Al, the cool electric backpack thingy, and the fact it felt like Alphonse got to have his own adventure almost without Ed, thus making me wish their conflict lasted longer so we got more Al going off on his own, so I give this video a 4/10. Only the ranking is a joke, the rest is actually my opinion. You won't believe but that's my favourite episode out of this strong batch.
Yeah I'm not a fan of 03's portrayal of Al having an identity crisis. I get the point of the Ishvalan brothers is their supposed to be a parallel of Al's relationship of him and Ed but Rick & Leo are such nothing characters and they really didn't add anything to the story. If anything the episode 24's brother connection should've been between Al and Scar since both of them we're the younger siblings so the connection would make more sense and you could make it to where Scar helps Al realize Ed does care about him which makes Al and Ed's reunion more emotional while also developing Scar reminding him that despite the Taboo his brother committed he still loved him because of the time he spent with all and it would also add to his arc later on. Episode 24 is also the worst episode Toshiki Inoue wrote, say what you want about A Forger's Love,The Pahntom Thief, & Reunion of the Fallen bit at least those episodes served the story and characters Bonding Memories had none of that and it just stretched the Al crisis which was beyond pointless and I'm thankful both the manga and Brotherhood didn't do that. P.S.Another thing I also like about episode 22 is how it further develops both Ed's morality when it comes to taking a life as well as Lust's goal of wanting to become human both of which were some of the best parts of 03 and I kinda wish both Ed and Lust had more interactions in the show.
It was honestly surprising just how little Scar played into the episode at all. And like you said, his story with his brother is already leaps and bounds more interesting and more organic of a parallel to Ed and Al's relationship. Don't know why this episode didn't actually utilize it
22: Created Human was always one of my favorite episodes of the show and while I wouldn't give it a 10 anymore (I don't like that Al reminder) It is still a very memorable and unique highlight. Also your pretty on point about 23, I also kinda hate how Al conveniently *waits* FOR Ed to say it, it's such an annoying setup that I wish never happened because they never let a roadblock like this stop them like this before and while I get the intention it feels too forced to me. So I actually don't like 23 though I won't lie, Hughes almost makes it worth it. Also Hi Inoue, nice end to the episode, wow tunnel conversation riveting, Scar: Hi Al! what's up!? even the first time I saw this I noticed how cheap that flashback was, my friend who was with me in a call at the time was like asking me so many questions lol boring episode indeed, I actually did like the ending to 24 somewhat though, context aside. I actually don't like how Al and Scar meet up here, it's too natural for people who weren't on good terms before. Just kinda an existent episode. I actually like this one less than Phantom Thief, believe it or not.
Yeah, honestly I kinda like the phantom thief episode. It was at least funny and entertaining to watch unlike the nightmare that is episodes 4 and 24. These two episodes are the worst of the show by far.
At least 03 had the decency to have Al starting to doubt himself BEFORE talking to Barry and then have that talk be reinforced by Tucker talking about creating a new Nina. I can accept it much better as the final push to send him spiraling as opposed to coming utterly out of nowhere.
Yeah, everything leading up until episode 24 was still pretty strong. The buildup was much better in 03, but the way the show went about resolving it was terrible.
Agreed. I also fucking hate how Mangahood resolved Al's existential crisis by making the Eric brothers spar??? Like wtf was that. I love that 03 MADE THEM HAVE AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION.
10:16 I just assumed they sneaked passed her because it's rude to disturb someone you know is in the middle of prayer.
Oh, yeah that could be it. That actually makes sense.
Modern anime is incapable of taking its theme’s seriously… great video about these interesting 03 episodes.
Um Pluto…
so happy to see someone talking abt 2003 still 🙏
I like the idea of Al's identity crisis because it ties into one of FMA's themes of investigating a fundamental question of ontology: what does it mean to be human? You see this from the beginning with Ed and Al's failed attempt at human alchemy since it ultimately fails. The 2003 adaptation explores this further with Shou Tucker's appearance in Lab 5 and trying to create a new Nina, Lust wanting to be human, and the conclusion Envy's story at the end of the series. It likewise ties in with Ed's atheistic interpretation of the world, which the show regularly challenges him on, as it's made clear that whatever it is that defines "human" is more than just matter and energy and therefore beyond the understanding of science.
Of course, the issue is that the end of episode 23 and the entirety of episode 24 badly drop the ball on dealing with this idea. I think your criticism of Barry coming back as 66 addresses a key element of this because his goofy nature makes it hard to take this element of the story seriously. More importantly, though, I think the writers should've let this issue between Ed and Al simmer for a bit longer. In just a few episodes, the boys will be spending time with Izumi back in her hometown, and I think this would've been the ideal place to wrap this issue up.
Izumi functions as their surrogate mother, which is emphasized by the complementary nature of their issues (the boys lost their mother and tried to bring her back; Izumi lost her child and tried to bring him back). When she finds out about their bodies, she chastises them for their foolishness and arrogance, and that can be used as a segue into Al bringing forth his doubts about his own existence for two important reasons: 1) Izumi's statuses as surrogate mother and teacher means she's an authority figure the boys respect and 2) Izumi met them later in life instead of growing up in Resembool, making it harder to believe that she's "in on the scheme" of Al being a fabrication. This would naturally tie in to their return to Yock Island as they rediscover the meaning of "All is One, One is All."
The only big issue with this that the writers would need to also either drop the Rush Valley episode or slot it elsewhere since it would just be too tonally incongruent to sit as episode 26.
Hell yeah! :D
Episode 22 (definitely have the most to say about this one):
One of the biggest things that I love about this episode that I haven't really heard anyone else talk about is how the bare story mechanic of forcing a character to pick between two difficult options is utilized here. I think the best way to explain it would be to compare to a somewhat similar moment in Brotherhood (I'm sorry to shit on Brotherhood yet again but I do think the comparison is interesting), the bit in Briggs where Kimblee offers Edward a philosopher's stone in return for him agreeing to take part in mass murder. Immediately after this dichotomy is presented to the audience the show essentially spells out what is going to happen next with regards to this: Edward will pretend to agree but won't actually go through with anything and intends to blow his cover once he and Alphonse are able to get away from Kimblee while looking for Scar, and Alphonse and Winry are both completely aware from the jump that this is what will happen. It presents what looks at first glance like a choice between two incredibly difficult options but is completely impatient when it comes to actually letting the tension of the situation sit. It cannot let it sit for more than two seconds without going "hey don't worry about options A and B, everyone has already agreed to go with option C and also here is what option C is in great detail so you understand exactly what's going to be happening for the next episode or two." The shortcut is made apparent instantly and so the situation is neutered. (Admittedly my memory of Brotherhood is a little foggy since I watched it in 2020 so if I got anything wrong there I apologize)
Coming back to this show, the choice between present option A (murdering a bunch of prisoners but Alphonse gets to live, maybe even gets his human body) and present option B (refusing the murder the prisoners but Alphonse dies and it'll be #allyourfault) works for several different reasons imo:
1) It's about as prevalent in the mind of both Edward and the audience as a broom handle would be if it was being shoved up your ass. It is a decision that must be made Right Now and no you don't get to take 24 hours to think about it you have to decide what you want to do within the next three to five minutes max.
2) For me at least, you genuinely have no idea which way Edward will fall. Since pretty much his entire sense of self has become dependent on Alphonse, being his guardian, protecting him, getting his body back, if there's anything that could make Edward to murder a bunch of people, it would be saving Alphonse's life. In a hypothetical scenario where Edward actually DOES go through which the transmutation, I honestly don't think it would be too far off for his character in spite of his (implicit, in this show) refusal to kill human beings (and the ambiguity as to what his limits would be are imo further supported by him having no issue at all graphically dismembering chimeras in the previous episode).
3) Despite Scar stepping in at the last second, instead of him appearing and telling Edward "hey kid have your option C you've been through enough for one night" before Edward decides on his own, he actually DOES pick between his two present options, and he explicitly picks sacrificing Alphonse for the prisoners. He is forced to make a choice and he actually makes it. And this imo actually contributes to the tension between him and Alphonse in the next two episodes. Speaking of!
Episode 23:
As someone who watched Brotherhood first (again bringing up Brotherhood to shit on it I feel like such an ass lol) and found the identity crisis arc to be a utterly baffling waste of time, I don't think the idea of it is inherently bad, and I think it's done way better here. Of course I already mentioned the added conflict of Edward choosing to sacrificing Alphonse over the prisoners (even if Al said he's okay with it I'm pretty sure that would still sting at least a little bit, especially since he's fourteen), but his treatment of Edward in the hospital room imo speaks a lot louder than a big outburst that could've happened in those moments. I do differ from you on whether or not it was a good things to extend the conflict by another episode by having Alphonse run off. I think having it resolved quickly wouldn't have taken full potential of seeing what these two are like when they're actually separate from each other, both emotionally and physically...
Episode 24:
...which is the main reason why I find this episode so infuriating. I don't know if you know this but the writer for this episode is a guy named Toshiki Inoue. This guy wrote only three other episodes: 4 (lmao), 10 (LMAO), and 35. I have no idea how you feel about this episode 35 but I dislike for similar reasons to this: it takes great ideas (Edward and Alphonse's bond being temporarily severed (the line "I don't care what happens to him" is pretty brutal but effective), Lust letting her emotions get in the way of her objective and the consequences that has, as well as a microcosm of how Dante and the homunculi bait people to make the stone), generally paints with the broadest strokes, and convolutes the emotional core by adding in melodrama for other characters that doesn't need to be there. These two episodes frustrate me a lot more than episodes 4 and 10 because they have good ideas and qualities that they waste. The most charitable interpretation I can think of for why the bit with Rick and Leo's mother was included was to parallel the brothers' situation of Alphonse thinking Edward only cares about himself when the very things that made Alphonse think that were due to Edward's love for him, further emphasized by Winry saying "I think there are things you have to talk about, or you’ll never know". But, like...that's really fucking clumsy lol. Beyond that the brothers' situation with each other and Rick and Leo's mother have basically no similarities to the point where it feels like grasping at straws to even draw the connections. And it also doesn't really give any further insight into Edward and Alphonse; "always trust that your family actually loves you"? Okay? Sure? Anything else you'd like to add to that or are we gonna stick with that basic af thesis?
Hope you enjoyed the long comment! Been a while since I left one of these on your videos so this was fun. Also I really love what you noticed about the lighting in episode 23! I had actually never noticed that before. :)
This comment put it really well. I really like how you broke down each episode and compared it to brotherhood. I also do agree that the idea of extending Al's existential crisis isn't a terrible idea on its own. I just said what I did about it because I knew how the next episode played out already, but it is an interesting idea without that knowledge. And yeah, the writer for this episode... just... uh wow. Anyways appreciate the comment. It was actually fun to read and hear your in depth thoughts on each episode.
Yesss! thanks for dropping this 🔥🔥
I've always felt that '03 was on the right path of actually expanding the cast with more Ishvalans outside of Scar (except maybe Miles in MangaHood being one-quarter Ishvalan and Scar's brother who's only in flashbacks, I guess), but the way it went about it was super clumsy. Did we really need ANOTHER exclusive '03 parallel with some random younger/older brother dynamic after the Tringham brothers when we just saw episodes with the Slicer brothers and Scar's brother issues are RIGHT THERE.
Man this show has a lot of brothers, come to think of it..
Episode 24 is actually one of my favourite in the series, for it's message, Scar working together with Al, the cool electric backpack thingy, and the fact it felt like Alphonse got to have his own adventure almost without Ed, thus making me wish their conflict lasted longer so we got more Al going off on his own, so I give this video a 4/10. Only the ranking is a joke, the rest is actually my opinion. You won't believe but that's my favourite episode out of this strong batch.
oddly I can understand this
We are now speechless the diverging point
YYYEEEEEAAAAA
Yeah I'm not a fan of 03's portrayal of Al having an identity crisis. I get the point of the Ishvalan brothers is their supposed to be a parallel of Al's relationship of him and Ed but Rick & Leo are such nothing characters and they really didn't add anything to the story. If anything the episode 24's brother connection should've been between Al and Scar since both of them we're the younger siblings so the connection would make more sense and you could make it to where Scar helps Al realize Ed does care about him which makes Al and Ed's reunion more emotional while also developing Scar reminding him that despite the Taboo his brother committed he still loved him because of the time he spent with all and it would also add to his arc later on. Episode 24 is also the worst episode Toshiki Inoue wrote, say what you want about A Forger's Love,The Pahntom Thief, & Reunion of the Fallen bit at least those episodes served the story and characters Bonding Memories had none of that and it just stretched the Al crisis which was beyond pointless and I'm thankful both the manga and Brotherhood didn't do that.
P.S.Another thing I also like about episode 22 is how it further develops both Ed's morality when it comes to taking a life as well as Lust's goal of wanting to become human both of which were some of the best parts of 03 and I kinda wish both Ed and Lust had more interactions in the show.
It was honestly surprising just how little Scar played into the episode at all. And like you said, his story with his brother is already leaps and bounds more interesting and more organic of a parallel to Ed and Al's relationship. Don't know why this episode didn't actually utilize it
22: Created Human was always one of my favorite episodes of the show and while I wouldn't give it a 10 anymore (I don't like that Al reminder) It is still a very memorable and unique highlight. Also your pretty on point about 23, I also kinda hate how Al conveniently *waits* FOR Ed to say it, it's such an annoying setup that I wish never happened because they never let a roadblock like this stop them like this before and while I get the intention it feels too forced to me. So I actually don't like 23 though I won't lie, Hughes almost makes it worth it. Also Hi Inoue, nice end to the episode, wow tunnel conversation riveting, Scar: Hi Al! what's up!? even the first time I saw this I noticed how cheap that flashback was, my friend who was with me in a call at the time was like asking me so many questions lol boring episode indeed, I actually did like the ending to 24 somewhat though, context aside. I actually don't like how Al and Scar meet up here, it's too natural for people who weren't on good terms before. Just kinda an existent episode. I actually like this one less than Phantom Thief, believe it or not.
Yeah, honestly I kinda like the phantom thief episode. It was at least funny and entertaining to watch unlike the nightmare that is episodes 4 and 24. These two episodes are the worst of the show by far.