- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0, English Dolby TrueHD 5.1
- Subtitles: English
- Region: AB
- Rating: TV-14
- Discs: 2
- Studio: Funimation
- Blu-ray Release Date: August 24, 2010
- List Price: $54.98
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood — Part 2 on Blu-ray at CD Universe
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Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Series
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Series
[Rating:4.5/5]
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood — Part 2 picks up right where Part 1 of the series left off and covers episodes 14 through 26 of the series. For those unfamiliar with the series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood revisits the popular anime series, not with a new story or a reworking, but by retracing the original manga by Hiromu Arakawa more closely than the original anime adaptation. Although most viewers familiar with the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime series will find many similarities in the two series, the differences become more apparent further into the story.
Fullmetal Alchemist takes place in world where alchemy has been elevated into a high science. Alchemists are of the highest regard in society and rank as high as the highest military leaders. They are highly sought after for the powers they posses.
The story follows the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric whose disregard for Alchemy’s one forbidden act — transmutation of the dead — leaves Ed with half of his limbs torn from his body and Al’s soul attached to a lifeless suit of armor. Together the two brothers set out to restore themselves, but they need to find a mystical relic known as the Philosopher’s Stone in order to do it.
But, they are not the only ones on the hunt for the powerful relic. The corrupt State Military is after the stone and so are odd beings known as Homonuculi that the brothers are constantly at battle with. They must also face the challenge of powerful alchemists from far and wide all on the hunt to possess the Philosopher’s Stone.
Part 2 of the series darkens the tone of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It takes a melancholy turn as the brothers and their childhood friend Winry face deaths of close friends, the uncovering of painful secrets from their pasts, meet the challenge of an old nemesis, Scar, an onslaught of Homonuculi, and an increasing plot from within their own military to undo their progress and control the Philosopher’s Stone.
Part 2 is an entrancing and addictive ride through the world of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The series really takes off from here, besting Part 1 and moving in its own direction. Fans will love it.
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The AVC/MPEG-4 1080p encoding of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood — Part 2 shows some visible signs of aliasing in jaggies around the edges of the line art and some very slight motion judder, but overall it looks rather strong. Color fills are clean and the image looks detailed. There are few artifacts outside of those detailed above visible.
Audio Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
The release comes with a Japanese Dolby TrueHD 2.0 and an English Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix. The 5.1 mix is a typically aggressive and loud mix, with dynamics somewhat limited and high frequencies tweaked. Dialogue is clean and intelligible, but the overall sound becomes fatiguing after a while, especially at higher volume levels.
The Japanese 2.0 mix is equally aggressive with wide stereo panning and dialogue mostly limited to the center, but the dialogue sounds a bit more muffled and closed in than in the 5.1 mix.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:1.5/5]
Just as on the Part 1 release, the supplements on Part 2 of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are rather paltry. Outside of two audio commentaries, there’s nothing that really adds any value to this release.
The supplements provided with this release are:
- Disc 1:
- Episode 14 Commentary
- Disc 2:
- Episode 23 Commentary
- Textless Opening Song — “Hologram”
- Textless Closing Song — “Let it Out”
- Trailers:
- Dragon Ball Z Kai
- The Slayers
- Initial D
- Full Metal Panic!
- Nabari no O
- Soul Eater
- Kaze no Stigma
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood — Part 2 introduces new characters and a whole new set of plot twists to this irresistible anime series. If you liked Part 1 on Blu-ray, you’ll love Part 2.
Additional Screen Captures:
[amazon-product align=”right”]B003NE8B4C[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood — Part 2 on Blu-ray at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
