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Errinundra's Anime

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ANN Seiji Mizushima page

My average ranking: 6.00

Director Pantheon: Seiji Mizushima▲▼Rating▲▼
Expelled from Paradise (movie)Decent
Fullmetal Alchemist (TV)Very good
"Everyone has their reasons," declares the main character in the classic French movie, The Rules of the Game. This could equally be said of Full Metal Alchemist. The ongoing contest of motivations between the vast, but memorable, ensemble is just one of the reasons this is such a good series. A parallel world where science has been overtaken by alchemy is no more or less preposterous than most other anime but once you swallow this premise you can then marvel as the characters inexorably push the plot forward. And they certainly have their reasons for behaving in the most laudable or the most reprehensible ways. Better yet, we learn that who we thought were good characters can do dreadful things and seemingly irredeemable characters can become unexpected allies. The skill of the series' creators is that these seismic changes are so perfectly wrought that we are utterly captivated by them. We know we are in the hands of story-telling masters when we are genuinely moved by the death of a villain. All the while, in the eye of the storm the Elric brothers are more than just nerdy heroes, thanks to their depth and their development over the course of events. Edward could have been an ongoing irritation in the mould of Trigun's Vash the Stampede, but fortunately the creators keep the slapstick and the needless sentimentality to acceptable levels. What's wrong with the series? A few things, the worst being that the first two episodes are truly, truly bad. Really, it could have started with episode 3. Even then, Full Metal Alchemist takes a while to really hit its stride, but the last third of the series just keeps getting better. When what lies on the other side of the gate is finally revealed, the anime has reached a level that very few others manage.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Kids (OAV)Decent
Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of ShamballaSo-so
Despite some good moments - the gypsy singing and dancing scenes were unexpected highlights - the follow up movie to the first series never achieves the epic flavour of the original. Too much plot is trapped into too little time, a common problem with movie adaptations of television series. Also, Ed and Al are always most interesting when they are working together - they are a great comedy / drama duo - so that being separated for much of the movie means that the essential dynamic of the series is missing.
Un-Go (TV)Decent
This was a show I badly wanted to be better than it ended up proving to be. It is such a rare beast in anime: adult characters, intelligent and often surprising script, and with its heart in the right place. Yet... it somehow seemed colourless. The characters weren't particularly engaging; there was too little time between set up, exposition and resolution of the mysteries; the villain wasn't a central enough character to draw an emotional response; the political stakes weren't explicated sufficiently to create any sense of dread or climax; and two most interesting characters - Kazamori and Inga - weren't exploited enough by the script.

The music - especially the Spanish theme used in the big revelations - was always spot on and I appreciated Rie's crush on Shinjurou: it was about the only time any of the characters stepped beyond the plot requirements and behaved like a human being thus highlighting what the series so badly lacked.

Alternative review

Un-Go episode:0 Inga-ron (movie)Not really good