(no subject)

[timepiececlock]

So I just rewatched episode 7in subs in preparation for watching it in dub later tonight.

Damn. The last shot and the sound of Edward sobbing still gives me the shivers.

When I think about how good Full Metal Alchemist is, I want to bring up episode 7 as an example of how daring it is for an anime, how far it goes for its genre. I want to say,

"Well my fandom kills 4 year olds."

But then I look at that statement and I realize, "Oh my god, I can't say that as an advertisement! That's AWFUL!"

Such is the woe of being an FMA fan.


Edit: I decided to rewatch episode 8 as well, since I always have to watch those two eps together. They go together in my mind. And, it makes me sad. I still can't decide which of these episodes is more dramatic. Episode 7, for its darkness... or episode 8, for its darkness of a different kind. And they're both so frelling sad.

Edit #2: the last shot of episode 8, with Scar looking at Edward's watch, and then pushing up his sunglasses and walking beneath the camera as the end music starts, is so fricking cool. I don't know why I like that shot so much, but I do. That's what a good scene does, when it can carry so much meaning with just imagery and not a speck of dialogue.

Edit #3: God I love FMA so much. My love is deep, deep, deep for this show. I will probably be talking about it in my journal for a long time yet to come, folks. In fact right now I'm skeptical that I'll ever be as impressed by an anime in its entirety as I am by FMA. And very few live-action shows equal it in awesomeness. I mean, for me FMA is tied with Farscape as "favorite tv show Shaka has ever watched in any language", with Buffy coming in a close third (though BtVS will probably always be my original fandom-- I watched Farscape, I didn't do much fandom for it), and The X Files a distant fourth. Thank god for FMA comming into my fan life. I mean, after Buffy had ended and Farscape had ended and there were no more Lord of the Rings films to wait for and Firefly was cancelled... I had no real fandom. I just played around in HP fandom and slowly got into CB fandom and poked curiously at DLM fandom (which I would do more of if there *was* more of a fandom to poke at), and mostly twiddled my thumbs.

And then came Naruto first and then FMA, and everything was good and then better than good.

I wish it wouldn't take a whole year for everyone else to catch up with the people who watched the subs... that's so long! But then again, watching FMA from week to week is exciting too. All that tension pent up for a whole week.

Comments

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

here was the important part of my post:
When I think about how good Full Metal Alchemist is, I want to bring up episode 7 as an example of how daring it is for an anime, how far it goes for its genre. I want to say,

"Well my fandom kills 4 year olds."

But then I look at that statement and I realize, "Oh my god, I can't say that as an advertisement! That's AWFUL!"

Such is the woe of being an FMA fan.

Actually, if you've watched episode 7 then my post is pretty harmless... the spoiler for episode 8 is barely a spoiler at all because it doesn't actually tell you anything or hurt any surprises in any way. I just marked it because I cut even the vaguest of references to future episodes out of habit. And I just checked the comments too-- they're spoiler free for anything beyond episode 7.


I just have say to someone who knows what I'm talking about: OMFG!! The long hair and the *voice* and hisowndaughter! AAHH.

I hear you. Dig the pain. And it was actually even more dramatic and creepy in the Japanese version, because Ed's voice actor did the screaming better. But it's a good episode. Very creepy. I watched in a midnight-7am marathon of 15 episodes at a convention, in a room full of other people, and the whole room was totally shocked into silence, at first, and then lots of gasps and "Oh my god"s and "ewww"s.

I mean I can't remember watching something on tv that disturbed me this much. I'm really scared about what they're gonna throw next.

FMA makes your brain melt out your ears. Either it's disturbing stuff like this, or it's surprising twists and turns. And of course the "worst" things about FMA are usually the non-bloody parts.

And then I was *really* horrified when I realized it was part human. But I was totally unprepared for it being the little girl. And the dog!

I knew something wasn't quite right with him, but I didn't really begin to contemplate the truth until the chimera tugged at Ed's watch and said "Brother..." Then I started to drop my jaw and go "No, they didn't. They wouldn't do that in an anime like this. They wouldn't." And then Edward asked where Nina and Alexander went and suddenly I realized they would dare to do exactly that in an anime like this, and let's just say that there was no way I was missing the rest of the marathon after that.

Censor-wise, this should be way more upsetting than any plain old ordinary violence (and hell, don't I miss *that* right now), or profanity or nudity.

When I got home from the convention I ran back to LJ and typed a post that mostly consisted of "Nina! oh my god, NINA! I hate this show! No, I love this show! OMG NINAAAAA!"

Don't miss episode 8. It's just as good.

[blackholedebris.livejournal.com]

I hear you. Dig the pain. And it was actually even more dramatic and creepy in the Japanese version, because Ed's voice actor did the screaming better.

It's funny. I remember reading your posts about Naruto and wondering what the big deal was. It was frustrating because I didn't have access to any of the episodes without Bittorrent (which seemed like a hassle). But then I followed a link to some free downloads of a couple episodes that were fansubbed. It was nowhere close to the beginning, but I'm I watched anyway, because I'm so totally hooked. Even with the Japanese voices, which is unusual for me because I tend to prefer the English ones, like Cowboy Bebop, for example. But the Japanese voices in Naruto are so emotional and intense (and Naruto's makes me laugh, because even in a different language I don't speak, his personality comes through really well) that I hardly notice I'm reading subtitles. So I'm more interested in hunting out the Japanese-speaking version of FMA, now. Oh yeah, and the music for both shows is just incredible. I don't even care at all that I have no idea what they're singing in some of the songs. It just sounds cool.

totally shocked into silence, at first, and then lots of gasps and "Oh my god"s and "ewww"s.

That pretty much sums up my reaction. I was watching the 3 am viewing with the lights off in my house alone in the dark, and I went to bed right after that. My dog was sleeping in the same room, and I was kinda creeped out and wondering if I was going to have nightmares after that.

the "worst" things about FMA are usually the non-bloody parts.

From the little I've seen, no kidding.

I'm definitely going to see episode 8. I have to know where this is going.

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

(and Naruto's makes me laugh, because even in a different language I don't speak, his personality comes through really well)

I know. I can't imagine what he would sound like in English, because I'm so used to his Japanese voice after 110+ episodes. I wasn't even half-way through the series when I found myself almost saying "Ano-sa" aloud in conversations, and having to forcibly curb the tendency. Clearly I have watched too much Naruto.

If you get a chance to watch Naruto from the beginning, I reccomend doing so. It's very linear with its plot, much like FMA. All the events just flow into each other, with no real pause point. While most of it can be summed up for the sake of explaining plot if you come in in the middle, the characterization building (one of the most enjoyable things about the show) is lost, and some things have less meaning because you didn't see what came before.

I'd be happy to send you a few episodes from yousendit. when I get back to campus and have high-speed internet again.

I hardly notice I'm reading subtitles.

Me too. It's been like that for me for a while now since I've watched anime for several years in both dubs and subs, but there's few shows where I am strictly a sub fan-- for most I can watch in either language and be happy. It's easier to like watching a sub if that's how you first are exposed to the series. Going from dub to sub is more difficult I think.

The really weird moments come when you have dreams in Japanese, but you can't understand what they're saying so your dreams also have subtitles. And then come the really hard days when, if you studied another language like French or Spanish in school, you find yourself wanting to swear, but English isn't enough and you can't remember the French, and you know there's a perfect-sounding expression for it in Japanese but you don't actually know the language, just hear it all the time, so your head is filled with a garbled mess of three languages.

[blackholedebris.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine what he would sound like in English

I was so pleasantly startled by Naruto's voice, and I immediately tried to think out of all the English anime voices I'm familiar with, whose would fit the bill, but I haven't come up with anyone's yet. Probably because I'm so enamoured of the Japanese one.

After only a few episodes, certain Japanese phrases have been repeating in my head like mad.

If you get a chance to watch Naruto from the beginning, I reccomend doing so. It's very linear with its plot, much like FMA. All the events just flow into each other, with no real pause point.

That's an interesting way of looking at it. I never thought of it like that. Most stories--anime or otherwise--do tend to jump around a lot, which can get annoying when the focus shifts to a plot point or characters you don't care about as much. But this show just keeps going where it left off. Which leaves the viewer with repeated cliffhangers, which is driving me crazy. But a good kind of crazy. I've seen episodes 109-114, and it's driving me nuts waiting to see what happens next.

Characterization is always my favorite part of any story, television or otherwise. Plot always comes second to me. Although I like plot, too. But if I'm in love with the characters, then I'm along for the ride. I love Naruto, Sasuke(sp?), Sakura--everybody!

I'd be happy to send you a few episodes from yousendit. when I get back to campus and have high-speed internet again.

That would be great! :) Out of curiosity, have you heard anything about the series being licensed in the states? It seems like the perfect show for the Cartoon Network to want to get its hands on.

It's easier to like watching a sub if that's how you first are exposed to the series. Going from dub to sub is more difficult I think.

I think you're probably right. I was so attached to Spike's and Faye's and even Ed's voices that when I rented the CB movie I only bothered with the Japanese version for a few minutes, before wanting to watch it with the voices I had thought of as the "real" ones in my mind, even though it's the English voices that are the "fake" ones.

The really weird moments come when you have dreams in Japanese, but you can't understand what they're saying so your dreams also have subtitles.

That's insane! ::laughs::

[rashaka.livejournal.com]

I'll send you the first 3 Naruto episodes if you like, then maybe some more another day. What address should I send them to?

::is happy to be back on campus, land of high-speed internet::