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 Things got a little GOD OF WAR in the Armstrong/Sloth fight.

Wow… typically, extended shows like this is face the risk of running out of money. If anything, this show’s animation has just gotten better as it’s gone along. This episode’s bravura setpiece of Al, Pride and Kimblee‘s fight was rendered more fully than the intro! I suppose that’s one of the benefits of producing a show like this where, I presume, the success of the first anime makes the success of the remake pretty much a given. Not only did they probably have a lot of cash to start with, but they probably produced it all at once, and well in advance, to avoid the kind of drawbacks EVA‘s week-to-week production schedule went through.

Keeping on the subject of the length, I’m sure it’s difficult to keep the plot as on-point to a central theme for a series like this as it would be for a feature or an OVA. So I’m intrigued, surprised and a bit impressed that they’ve finally revisited the theme of equivalent exchange in Al and Kimblee’s pre-fight tit-for-tat. In economics, the situation Kimblee describes is a zero sum – - for anything to ever be gained, something else must be lost. That’s the limitation of alchemy, with even the Philospher’s Stones secretly having the cost of human lives, and it was the defiance of that limitation that got Al and Ed in all this trouble in the first place.  

 Pride’s already out of control with these monologues. Man, did it take him a long to get to around to eating Kimblee.

However, Al counters that whole conceit with the possibility of the ever-elusive “third option,”  foreshadowing at there perhaps being a metaphoric and literal solution to the law of equivalent exchange coming up.  Maybe they’ll get their mother AND their old bodies back? 

And, yeesh… what a decisive way for Armstrong to get the upper hand on Sloth, huh? I’ve talked before about how the Homunculi’s powers don’t always sink up with the qualities of their sin (i.e. Lust didn’t have sex magik) so it’s pretty brilliant that Sloth is the fastest Homunculi, he’s just too lazy to use it. 

Kimblee checks out in a sudden way, one I definitely wasn’t expecting – - one that maybe isn’t even that fitting in the scope. If Mustang or Scar took him out, that would’ve resolved long grudges. Heinkel just hated his boss –  - which, then again, is maybe the most justifiable motivation of all.  Actually, if you want to get technical, Pride’s the one who really finishes him off. Now that he’s eaten two of the bad guys, I suspect he’ll become a threat of his own against Father.

Watch this episode “Combined Strength,” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.  

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of  HYBRID BASTARDS!  &  UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon   here  &   here .  Follow him on Twitter:  @tompinchuk

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 For a guy who does all the dirty work, Kimblee stays oh so clean…

Hey hey! Who called it about Pride using Morse code? Well, it’s not exactly Morse code. They come up with a clever, timeless alternative in “slash and dot” (or whatever it was) instead, so as not to beg the inevitable questions of when, where and how Samuel Morse existed in this world… but I was still right, and Al still showed how empty his head really is (get it?) by letting the evil little bastard drum on his it all that time. Then again, I’m actually a little appreciative that the cast of this show is big enough for some of the characters to be downright stupid when the situation fits. Al won’t bash his powerful enemy’s skull at a vulnerable moment because he’s too much of a gentle soul to harm sweet lil’ Selim, and May‘s gullible’s enough to lead Envy right back to an even greater source of power because she’s 12 or something, and 12-year-olds are notably easy to dupe.

And speaking of her – - how absurd was the animation in that one shot where she’s dodging and parrying all the zombies in the sewer? I’m always startled by the quality of rendering in anime, even in a weekly show likes this. Just throwaway scenes like that and Olivier dueling with Sloth looked like full animation you rarely see outside of features.

 Why does everybody insist on calling that thing a cat when it’s obviously a tiny panda?

Getting back to what I was saying about the characters, though… even with the big cast, I’m consistently impressed by the strength of the dramatic challenges these characters are put through. In writing theory, they talk about how it’s important to push your characters into areas they don’t want to be in and Al’s scenes in this episode put him through so many in such a short amount of time. His compromises of his limbs, his mercy for the lion, his finally having to use a stone he’s morally opposed to, his going Super-Saiya… he goes through such a wringer in just one scene!  

One character who desperately needs to go through a dramatic arc, right now, is Armstrong - – and it’s an arc to redemption and self-respect. I’d say he’s halfway there after his intervention with the Sloth fight, but he’s still got a ways to go for me.

I’m told that the new intro and outro are the final ones, and they honestly feel anticlimactic. The previous ones showed fun hints of the future, sure, but this all-but-shows what I imagine is going to be the denouement in the last episode. I can practicality fill in the lines the older Ed‘s going to utter when he retreats to the idyllic homestead in the country.

Watch this episode, “The Immortal Legion,” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.  

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of  HYBRID BASTARDS!  &  UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon   here  &   here .  Follow him on Twitter:  @tompinchuk

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 For my benefit, Ms. Ross needs to go everywhere with a nametag on her vest and a resume taped to her back.

 I’ve concluded that anime is the medium of the gasp. Every single time there’s reaction shot, it’s a character making some kind of audible question mark. Sometimes it happens for four separate characters in quick succession! Hell, I’ve noticed these little moments are even illustrated in manga!

And, oh man, this is the hardest it’s been to wait for the next episode to come. What will happen now that the homuncu-zombi have been activated? My restraint will have to reach new levels, of course. It is really hard to believe we’re actually done to the final part of the story. Aren’t there still 12 or 14 more episodes left? That’s hell of a length for climax et denouement.  

I sense that the thrust of this final part is going to depend on who gains control of the reanimated-and-created army. My initial guess was that it’d be Olivier, but the playing field’s a lot less clear cut than I originally figured.  It is fascinating to watch this country’s inter-departmental politics unfold (definitely reminding me of the various coups and in-fighting in Nazi Germany.)  Maybe Ms. Armstrong isn’t going to get control of the goons, but I’m loving how she’s handling her enemies.  Even though she caps the one guy so coldly, I still prefer her approach to non-lethal solutions on the whole over Vash’s – - it’s a lot more effective and mean, not limp and wishy washy. C’mom… she totally maims that one guy! Zombie army or no,  I think I’ve finally seen a proper heir to Sarah Connor’s title as the gal-you-don’t-ever-mess-with.  
 
Al, on the other hand, is increasingly looking like the chump-you-can-mess-with-however-you-please. I still can’t get over how he’s just letting Pride just mock him like that – - and it looks like a lot more than his dignity is at stake now. I’m pretty sure the kid’s sending messages to Father in morse code through that thing.  

We some cool street-and-pavement gunfights with Mustang’s crew that recalls HEAT for me but, good lord, I’m having the hardest time keeping track of these tertiary characters in the army. It’s been a long time since they’ve shown up and it’s really hard to remember who they are when they don’t have immediately noticeable ticks. What was Maria Ross deal again? She was discharged, right?  
 
We’re running out of space,  but it’s worth noting that there were some surprisingly-touching character moments in this one. Mrs. Bradley questioning whether Wrath has forsaken her or if they’ve both been forsaken by the state, Hohenheim walking away with Lan Fan so he can get her to fess up to her feelings for Ling…. it’s moving stuff!

Watch this episode, “Upheaval in Central,” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.    

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of  HYBRID BASTARDS!  &  UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon   here  &   here .  Follow him on Twitter:  @tompinchuk

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 Considering how these things usually go, we’re probably going to find out that Mrs. Bradely can actually flip tanks with her hitherto-unrevealed alchemical powers.

Well, that squares how mighty Hohenheim is amongst alchemists. Entombing one of the show’s most powerful foes in what amounts to giant dirt, diced onion – - that takes serious vision and power. Up until this point, I somehow expected he was going to be exceptionally knowledgable, but still meek. Then again, what was I thinking? I expected the same of Dr. Marcoh and he took out a giant lizard with his bare hands. You use alchemy in this world, and you’ve automatically got strut, it seems.

For all the ways I’m impressed with Hohenheim’s capability, I’m a bit frustrated with Al’s gentleness (if not really that surprised.) This show’s down an excellent job of making the characters take on real risks when they have to make decisions, but… but… but c’mon! It’s taken them so much trouble to fight Homunculi in the past and when he’s right there with a doubly-powerful one, he doesn’t even lay a hand on him. Not even one punch! He just sits there and talks it out, like they’re in the guidance counselor’s office. He even lets little Selim play with his head like it’s a bucket. Bah!

We cut back to Father and the council, finally, and they’re only just now finishing the meeting? Sheesh… that must’ve been a long agenda they went through.  

Adding to my assessment of Father’s misunderstanding of Wrath’s feelings for his wife, I suspect that the cliffhanger at the end of this one is going to actually turn another Homunculi against the group. The troopers will kill Mrs. Bradley and Wraths’s going to be mad. When he finds out that they did so under orders from Father, he’s going to be absolutely furious, and his rage is going to be directed against his unholy family. If this episode’s titled “Filial Affection,” then we’re going to see some serious filial discord when the other shoe drops and the cat gets out of the bag and all that.

Watch this episode, “Filial Affection,” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.  

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of  HYBRID BASTARDS!  &  UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon   here  &   here .  Follow him on Twitter:  @tompinchuk

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 Speaking of weaknesses, Heinkel really should’ve gotten axed. Look at him.

One of you lunatics promised me a humorous death for Gluttony. While it wasn’t funny-ha-ha, there’s definitely some morbid irony in the personification of pigging out getting eaten in the end. So, if we had a score card out, that’s two Homunculi down for sure, two sort-of gone (Greed and Envy) and then three left, am I right? Huh… we’re actually making some progress here (though it makes Lust look like that much of a push-over in comparison.)

It’s kind of peculiar that I’m getting this much of charge out of the Homunculi being bound by such specific weaknesses and restrictions, but I am. When it comes to fantastic storytelling, I always say that the quickest way to lose my interest in something is to tell me it’s about vampires, werewolves, zombies or any variation on Frankenstein’s monster. I really don’t think those monsters are relevant to modern fears and, on a more basic level, I see their use as a sign of a lazy imagination. While I don’t know if the Homunculi can be understood as abstracts for any especially modern fears like Kira can, I do like how they’re a new kind of monster – - or, at least, a spin on a rarely-used monster.

 The show’s totally getting soft. Who would’ve missed him? Cop out!

The whole deal about Pride being vulnerable in anything but specifically-dim light situations – - that was legitimately intriguing to me. Oddly enough, all the talk about the nature of shadows and what-not brings me back to a speech my old priest gave at my confirmation dinner about the paradox of whether light can be defined as the absence of darkness, or vice versa. I don’t know if that specifically means anything here, but I know that no lame vampire story has evoked that from me.

I suspect Mustang’s going to really unleash the wrath of… Wrath. Remember that little interrupted, throwaway line Bradley had with Olivier about how Selim means nothing to him, but he still actually chose his wife? They’re going to be pushing the wrong buttons (or right ones, depending on your outlook) with this kidnaping plot. I don’t think Father‘s got a proper assessment of the emotions of his “son.”

Watch this episode, “The Oath in the Tunnel,” below and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.   

Tom Pinchuk’s the writer of  HYBRID BASTARDS!  &  UNIMAGINABLE . Order them on Amazon   here  &   here .  Follow him on Twitter:  @tompinchuk

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