FMA: Brotherhood Revisited

SPOILER ALERT!

If you haven’t seen the last couple episodes of FMA: Brotherhood, or the series at all, please know that I will be talking about it. You can read the next paragraph, but you may want to stop there.

Ok, some house-keeping items. I am doing a mini-blog tonight. There will be another post next MONDAY. Usually I do this every other week or so, but next week’s blog is going to be pretty cool…I think so anyway. I will be in Philadelphia this upcoming weekend, celebrating (sorry, personal, can’t tell ya!). And I have a reservation this Saturday at a really cool place called…wait for it…Morimoto. That’s right, I will be doing the omakase menu (kind of like a tasting menu) at Morimoto. Owned and operated by, that’s right, you guessed it, Chef Morimoto of the Japanese and American Iron Chef fame! Take a look at the website:

http://www.morimotorestaurant.com/

This going to be so cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SPOILER ALERT!!! Don’t read past this! You’ve been warned!

Ok, as you know, I am trying to like this series. I have certain issues though…

For example, I hate the way they’ve diminished Izumi (Teacher). So annoyed. They show her lavishing affection on her mountain of a husband to the point where it is sickening…they even use the soft, pastel background shot with flowers and hearts. And worse, they’ve totally altered and destroyed the iconic Izumi scene.

You know the scene. Ed is fighting Greed and not doing so well. Izumi busts in with her kicking white dress and sandals, destroy a wall. Greed asks who she is and she utters one of the best known lines in anime, “I’M PISSED OFF!!!”

Now, the same scene happens again only with a new, different and lame tag line. This time, when Greed asks who she is, she now responds, in a dumpy outfit, wearing bathroom sandals with WC printed on them (WC stands for Water Closet, or bathroom), yells out, “Who am I? I’M A HOUSEWIFE!!!”

Housewife? Really? That’s just not…badass. And Izumi is as badass as they come.

The upshot is Major Armstrong. He’s been getting a lot of play in the series. He’s more connected to the brothers than in the previous series. While still somewhat cheesey with his ripping off of shirts (he’s actually made fun of this),
He appears more crafty, intelligent…and you actually get to see him fight. His fighting skills are more alluded to in the original series than actually seen. The opposite is different in Brotherhood. The Major can kick some serious ass. So far his battle with Scar was prolonged and his battle with one of the chimera’s that can change into a bull was pretty incredible. So at least there’s that….

Ok, remember, come back here for a review of Morimoto!

SIDE NOTES:

OK, so my little vlog called The Unagi Observer has done something interesting. At best, these vlogs received 8 hits each, except for one…which has over 300. The topics displayed were webcomics, Balticon and Puke Boy. So…I am thinking of a redirection for the vlog….perhaps more towards fanboy type of stuff, with some Asian culture thrown in. For example, not only will you see Morimoto here…but come late Tuesday…you can check out the vlog version!!! In the meantime, give my channel some love!

http://www.youtube.com/user/TheUnagiObserver

PLAYLIST:

Still need help with my AMV…so the same playlist!

1. Go to http://bigstevegearhart.multiply.com/ . Go to the Music section. The songs will be in order as they appear here. Listen to them!

2. For each category, choose the ONE song you think is best.

3. Comment here, or at any of the other places this blog appears, your choices.

Just to give you an idea, here are some of the anime I will be using: Cowboy BeBop, Love Hina, Ranma 1/2, Patlabor, FMA, Strawberry Panic (yes, you read that right), FLCL, etc.

Ok, here's the list!

Drama/Serious:

“Time Is Running Out” – Muse
“Cool ‘n Out” – Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros
“No One’s Gonna Love You” – Band of Horses
“Coral Lounge” – Deep Forest
“While the Earth Sleeps” – Deep Forest and Peter Gabirel
“Digging in the Dirt” – Peter Gabriel

Romance/Sentimental:

“Smile” – Lilly Allen
“Before Today” – Everything but the Girl
“There She Goes” – The La’s
“Nature’s Dark Passion” – The Damned
“Come to Me” - Bjork

Action:

“Rolling” – Soul Coughing
“Bad Reputation” – Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
“Stockholm Syndrome” – Muse
“Blitzkreig Bop” – The Ramones
“Big Red Rocket of Love” – The Reverend Horton Heat
“Reach for the Sky” – Social Distortion

Upbeat:

“Feel Good, Inc.” - Gorrillaz
“Dream a Dream” – From Dance Dance Revolution

Comedy:

“Kiss with a Fist” – Florence and the Machine
“My United States of Whatever” – Liam Lynch
“A Punk” – Vampire Weekend

LAST WEEK I’LL DO THIS TO YOU, I SWEAR!!!