Hagane no Renkinjutsushi – Fullmetal Alchemist Ep. 21
鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Episode 21
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood – 21

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

Roy is not happy to have to share a hospital room with Havoc but wonders to Riza about why the homunculi haven’t come to finish them off yet. Elsewhere, Gluttony mourns for the loss of Lust while Envy rages to King Bradley, wondering why they are leaving Mustang alive after what he did. Bradly’s answer is that they have a use for Mustang still, implying that maybe Mustang can help open the door.

After Ed and Al have a talk with Winry, they pay Roy and Havoc a visit. Riza has marked out on a map of Central City were she believes the giant door with the transmutation emblem on it was. It appears to be right under the Führer’s residence, making them wonder what Bradley’s connection to them could be. Roy tells Ed to be on guard and after Ed and Al leave, Roy tells his trusted aides that he’s going to put them to work. Havoc reveals that as he has no sensation in his legs, he is going to retire.

Roy heads to the lobby to read with Riza standing watch when an unkept Dr. Knox plops down beside him, as if a patient. The two briefly talk about Knox’s being Roy’s accomplice. Knox says that one day Roy will pay for what he’s done and Roy says that has already happened with Havoc being paralyzed. Meanwhile, Breda learns that Havoc plans to help at his parent’s grocery store and figures that’s not good enough. He has some information on a Dr. Marco, who may be able to help and receives permission from Roy to proceed on this path.

Armstrong returns and receives a report from Sgt. Brosh that startles him. Brosh is sent to find Ed and Al, who are attempting to find a way into where the homunculi are hiding. Finding them, he gets them back to their hotel as Scar is on the loose and is causing quite a bit of trouble. In their room, Ed figures that they could use Scar to lure the homunculi out since they need him and Al as human sacrifices and thus need them alive. Al isn’t keen on this plan but Ling, who has arrived through the window, is now that he knows homunculi are immortal and he and Lan Fan are down for whatever comes.

Breda finds that Dr. Marco is missing and reports back. Now that Roy has been checked, Havoc continues with his plans to leave. Havoc does not want Roy to jeopardize his career so Havoc wants Roy to just leave him, something Riza tells Havoc that Roy cannot do. Meanwhile, Ed and Al cause quite a commotion by performing flashy alchemy and helping people in order to draw Scar out. Roy, who’s decided to check himself out of the hospital, arrives with Riza at a cafe where Ed and Al are at and takes them to a more secluded place.

As Riza keeps a watchful eye out, Ed reveals the plan to use Scar as bait to lure the homunculi out. Sure enough, Scar comes and Ed has to use his creative alchemy skills to counter Scars destructive skills. Roy and Riza aid Ed’s plan by planting radio reports of Scar sightings, some false and some real. King Bradley picks up the real location of Scar and takes Gluttony with him. Ling and Lan Fan immediately sense the presence of the homunculi and attack Gluttony. Bradley, upon learning that Lan Fan and Ling can sense them, races at unbelievable speed and attacks Lan Fan, who’s on a nearby roof.

Thoughts/Review:

Boy, did this episode kick it into high gear by the end or what? First things first though. ^_^

As usual, the comedy aspects of this series work quite well despite the dark and sinister nature of the underlying main plot. A series I’ve watched that comes closest to this would be Slayers Next, but that series wasn’t as dark in the anime and it suffers from story flow problems. FMA:Brotherhood does not have this same problem as the story flows fairly smoothly from place to place, no matter where Ed and Al end up. That is a really good thing and since this anime is more closely following the manga, Arakawa-sensei is ultimately to be given kudos for good writing followed by the anime writers for not straying very far from the manga.

I’m glad we learned that Havoc survived the fight with Lust, though he’s paralyzed from the waste down. So while I’m glad he’s alive, I am surprised to see him injured so. Man, that adds an element to the anime as a whole, mainly because if you are going to kill off characters (both villains and allies) AND your are going to truly injure a character like Havoc was, then just about anything goes. I like that.

It is interesting that though Roy killed Lust, the homunculi are being restrained from killing him. Gluttony mourning the loss of Lust felt real since they were often together as did Envy’s rage and desire to make Roy pay. Having the homunculi ranks reduced by two so early has been one of those other surprising elements in this anime.

Someone asked me about my thoughts on Ling and until this episode, I had no feelings one way or the other. However, this episode proved that he was more than just some comic relief character looking for immortality and a ticket to the throne of Xing. When he and Lan Fan both sensed the presence of Gluttony and Ling knew that Gluttony had consumed others, that changed him in my eyes a bit. His concern for Lan Fan as Bradley sped to kill her also was a nice touch.

I am intrigued by the idea that Ed’s shortness of stature could be due to his sacrifice when he and Al tried to resurrect their mother.

Also of note, I loved how Riza was constantly watching Roy’s back no matter where he went. ^_^

Someone also told me that there’s still a lot being cut from the anime even though it is following the manga more closely. I wonder why the anime production team feels the need to speed along so fast. Not having read the manga, I’m not sure what all is being missed but feel free to keep me informed as to stuff missing. ^_^

The comedy aspects of the series still continue to impress me and make me laugh. The unexpected SD form of Ed is king though.

Another good episode in my opinion. I’m surprised the series isn’t doing as well in the ratings in Japan, from what I hear.