GREED WANTS TO LIVE FOREVER
Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 05/23/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As the ninth excellent volume of Fullmetal Alchemist opens Edward is defeated by the loner Homunculus Greed to distract him from his real goal: keeping him out of the way while Greed's henchmen, superpowered chimera, kidnap Al. Greed wants to know how Al was binded to the suit of armor because he believes it holds the key to immortality. It's up to Ed to find and rescue his brother, but he might get some help from his old teacher (she's not "old"), Izumi, if her body can stand using alchemy. The military is also deadset on capturing Greed, and they're willing to kill anyone who gets in their way, be they guilty or innocent, and also our two favorite State Alchemists! The third episode is a departure because it features Lust as the main character and shows a little about her past, or at least that she once had a heart, as she meets up with a human who is in love with her! In Episode 36, Ed, Al, and Winry continue their journey to Ishbal. The two brothers have heard the rumor that the Ishbalans had made their own version of a Philosopher's Stone, but they're also going to find Scar, and see what he knows about the subject.
Volume 9 is probably one of the best installments in this series, and also among all anime dvds. It is brillantly written and animated. What really makes compelling drama of any kind is for the characters to have shadings of good and evil, if such opposites really exist. The fact that Greed is a Homunculus doesn't take away from the fact that he is a likeable guy, and he isn't like Envy or Gluttony. He doesn't kill people indiscriminately and seems loyal to his henchmen and you regret that he's so arrogant that he forces a battle with Ed. All the characters here are strong, or weak, just like real people, and react to tragedies with the appropriate emotion. Some revelations towards the end of the disk send Winry especially on a collision course with her own ideals and revenge, which will be especially interesting. Excellent dvd!
I would also recommend the manga version Fullmetal Alchemist. Animes you might also like would be Scrapped Princess, The Twelve Kingdoms, and Inuyasha."