Fullmetal Alchemist Manga/Brotherhood Anime

I figure that since not all of us read the manga and I'll admit I haven't read it through in ages but have recently marathoned Brotherhood, we can start talking about it and just see where we go. Given that most of this group, as far as I know, really likes FMA in some incarnation at least, we should get a lot out of it. I have no objection to compare/contrast with the original series either. This might also be a bit of fun while we wait for Star of Milos to come out. I'll start with a few questions we can work off.

Maenos and I were discussing this one at some point, and he may be able to elaborate more, but how do you guys interpret that we saw multiple versions of the Gate of Truth, depending on who did the transmutation? The ones I remember for sure are that Ed and Al's gates looked similar, but I'm not sure if they were exactly the same, and Mustang's, which was different from theirs.

What are your thoughts on the different means of making a homunculus in the two series? I know we probably pounded this out in the message boards years ago, but I don't remember and haven't been there in ages, so it's worth bringing up again, with the manga ending this month in the States.

This will probably bring on some argument because of preference, but what about the two different endings? We can bring up Conqueror of Shamballa if you wish, though I don't care for it very much and haven't seen it in ages.

For now we can start here, feel free to bring up any other points that stick in your mind and see where this goes. I miss this kind of discussion, so let's bring it on!

Working!!

Sometimes all I need is a breath of fresh air when it comes to anime. As much as I love great dramatic stories with gorgeous animation, excellent voice acting, and flawless soundtracks, a zany comedy can break up the monotony (so to speak) and remind me why I enjoy anime in the first place.

Working!! is a comedy about a group of quirky people who work at a family restaurant together. There are only a few "normal" characters in this story, and they get next to zero screen time. This story is all about the eccentricities of this unlikely group of coworkers. The manager is only there for the food, which her chief-of-staff dotingly prepares for her each day all the while carrying around a katana. A waitress has severe androphobia and attacks any man that comes within range of her fist. An easygoing chef blackmails his coworkers so that they will do his work for him. And this is just the beginning.

Both seasons of Working!! (the second season is differentiated as Working'!!), comprised of 13 episodes each, are available on crunchyroll. If you need something to make you laugh, this is an anime for you.

manga

A little over a year ago, I was able to get some friends to participate in a group discussion reading Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. The format of reading a graphic novel was new to several in the group - especially a Japanese graphic novel reading right to left - not to mention the daunting length of the series (23 volumes). One friend committed to reading the first 5 volumes. She said she couldn't make any promises to read further, and by the tone of her voice, I thought that might be all she would read. I was surprised (but not too surprised) when she not only kept on reading to the end of the series, but read far ahead of the reading schedule.

That everyone enjoyed the story made the experiment a success. We also had some interesting discussion about the medium of storytelling - graphic novels versus prose. The consensus was that Fruits Basket would not be the same story in prose, that indeed, a lot of the storytelling conveyed in the art would be lost. I think this case could be made for most, if not all, of the manga that I've read over the past several years.

Since I know a few of us follow a variety of manga, I thought I would open the discussion up to why you like manga. Do you prefer manga over anime (when comparing the same story told in the two different mediums)? Does it vary with different series? Or, if you don't like manga at all, why not?

If there's any interest, in the coming weeks, I'd like to open this up to discuss certain series specifically, either in depth or by posting reviews. I hope you'll join me!

What's Your Favorite OP?

*Blows off dust*

So...seems we all kinda grew quiet again, heh. Well, if you're checking this out, I was thinking of doing a few blog posts on OPs, EDs, and random music from anime. I'm sure you guys have a list, heh.

Before I list mine, do be aware that spoilers can be contained in the OPs so, be careful. I'll list a warning for those that do, but still be careful.

because it's cool

I think someone else is going to make the post for Summer Wars (I hope?) and while this isn't really anime or manga related, the following is culture related, so read on.

I'm sure that most of us here have seen/heard of vocaloid, and I find the concept behind vocaloid fascinating. I'm curious about what your thoughts are on this new kind of music, where the voice is completely synthesized and for the purpose of the concert, the "singers" are animated. Would you go to a concert where the actual singer is a computer? Would you wave a leek light stick if you went (personally, I think they're cool)?

Below are some of my favorite vocaloid songs. I've been able to find a couple of them on iTunes, still searching for a few other favorites.

Double Lariat - Megurine Luka


Just Be Friends - Megurine Luka (a very upbeat tempo break-up song)


The World is Mine - Hatsune Miku (about a girl who wants all the attention, but she's really just insecure)


Magnet - Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka (forbidden love...I think? not sure, but it sounds cool)

Summer Wars

Seems we're losing enthusiasm for Wolf's Rain, and it is admittedly a rather slow series. I suggested in the comments of the last post that we take a break from it for a week or two and watch a movie, and I'd suggest the movie Summer Wars. It was recently put out by FUNimation, and though I haven't seen it yet, I'm quite curious. Unless anyone objects, I suggest we watch it in the next two weeks, comment on it here, and then get back on track with Wolf's Rain. Please feel free to post your thoughts on the matter.

Wolf's Rain, episodes 9-12

First, sorry for this taking a while. Life intervened for several of us it seems, but better late than never, eh?

So, in this case, four episodes instead of hte usual two (since it took two weeks to put this up). Bit more to discuss, I imagine.

In these four episodes, we've seen our little pack grow, both in the appearance of Blue, as well as the sort of friendships growing. What do you think of this, particularly how some of the pack (Tsume, chiefly) felt about Blue's appearance and how she is half-wolf? Further, of interest, at least to me, is how, in the Forest of Death, Kiba made note of how their pack wasn't like a normal one, with no real leader. But is this the case? A part of me thinks there is a leader in Kiba, maybe in Tsume as well, as they continue to butt heads, though perhaps not as often as they once did.

And then, there is Cheza. I personally have a hard time believing she's blind, but maybe she is blind in the way we humans see. She is, after all, created from that flower, so she isn't really human. Could it be that she "sees" in a way we cannot? Fodder for thought.

Darcia also clashed with the pack to take Cheza away. It was obvious that he could kill the foursome easily, yet it seemed that his lasers constantly hit just near the wolves, blasting them away, injuring them greatly, yet...not killing. Strange, no?

And finally, we have the introduction of another noble, Jaguara, whose troops invaded Darcia's sanctum, killed his love. What precisely are they after? Cheza? Weird...

Well, discuss away!