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NEWS: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Debuts on Funimation

I think funimation isn't offering HD downloads because, well, a lot of people wouldn't buy the DVDs whenever they do come out if they already had a high quality version on their hard drives (not saying everybody is like this but a lot of people are).

And I assume the funimation stream is going to be limited to the US only as well... I think it's more because they don't have the license for the show outside the US.

And I'm actually pretty impressed with Crunchyroll -- I used to be a hater, but then I tried it, and the 720p streams are surprisingly good. Yes, you do have to pay a membership fee, but it's cheaper than Netflix, and yes, it's mostly US only, but again, I think it's because Crunchyroll only has the US license... and as for "rubbish" anime, I thought Hayate, Shangri-la, and Skip Beat were pretty decent...

Well, I've seen this episode a few times now, heh. It's pretty good, although a few things concern me, and a few things I'm just struggling to get used to, like the new soundtrack, which is very nice, but it's just so jarring when they flash back to that familiar scene where they commit the taboo and I expect to hear a certain song, and a completely different one plays, heh. I'll get used to it eventually, no doubt. That song playing towards the end was especially nice.

Gotta get used to the voices, too, since I watched the dub of the 1st series. Had I watched the subs back then, I'd probably feel differently, but to me, Ed sounds like a girl pretending to be a guy, and Al just sounds like a girl. I'll probably have to get used to that sound for Al, though, unless they bring Aaron back and digitally alter his voice, or something, heh.

Stuff that concerned me - the cartooniness, as I had predicted it. But it's not just the animation style, it was also a bunch of little things they included, cutesy little word bubbles and arrows and whatnot. I'm probably overreacting, I just hope we don't see so much of it throughout the series, as it doesn't seem to fit, imo.

They also revealed a fair amount in this episode - nothing the casual or even basic fan didn't already know, but I think they could've given it a bit more emphasis, perhaps for new viewers. I would've enjoyed it more that way, even. I can see why they put all of that info in this episode, though, rather than revealing it the same way as last time - changing things up and keeping it all noticably different is very important here. I still think they could've got a bit more bang for their buck with some things, though.

And the way the whole episode was set up was rather like a super-condensed movie. And while it was nice to get some new material, it also makes me feel like the new series hasn't truly started yet(meaning I can't really start judging it properly yet, either, heh). All that said, the new material was quite enjoyable. It seems Isaac spoiler[might have known a little too much! What I'm wondering is whether he could've possibly posed an actual threat to Father, what with his eyes flashing like that. And if that's the case, well, maybe it wasn't too bright of Ed and Al to stop him!] That'll be an interesting revelation for them, if it occurs, heh.

Watched an HD fansub first, since they come out earlier than the official subs. I'm watching both, though, I'm a big enough fan I don't mind. xD

Anyway, fantastic episode. Between the epic new soundtrack (especially near the end!) to the conflict in general, holy crap. Way, way better than the last series right from the get go.