The Sci-fi Fantasy Reader's Review

My Comments on Science Fiction / Fantasy Books and other related media.

Thursday, August 29, 2013

Anime Fullmetal Alchemist-Brotherhood




Anime, Japanese cartoons and Manga, Japanese comics, have been very popular in my household for many years. I was introduced to both media from my daughter but I never explored them till now. Through the years, anime has been talked about whenever my grown children are together, even my grandson has his favorites. Cruising Netflix for something different to watch, I started watching Fullmetal Alchemist-Brotherhood. What's amazing about this manga/anime is that is was written and illustrated by a woman, Hiromu Arakawa.

Fullmetal Alchemist is about two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric and they can wield alchemy.  Alchemy is using the earth's crust energy to metaphysically change matter or called Transmutation. The main creed goes that you can't make something from nothing, it's an even exchange and you can't bring anything back from the dead. These two boys try to use alchemist circle to bring back their deceased mother and in the process, one lost his body and the other lost an arm and a leg. Ed, uses alchemy to put his brother's soul into a suit of armor and Ed got automail prosthetic limbs.   They then meet Izumi Curtis, who becomes their sensai, teacher in alchemy and in martial arts.

Ed is then recruited by the military and has to pass an extensive exam. Upon passing the test, King Bradley the Fuhrer gives Ed the symbolic title of Fullmetal. He is the youngest alchemist. The brothers learn about the Philospher Stone and about it's power so they go in search of the formula. But what they find in their research quite horrific.

The made up country is Amestria and is a military state so the alchemist are a line of defense because of their abilites of transmutation.

There are 64 episodes which each are 24 minutes long. The series is a continuating saga of the brothers and the other characters.  I'm over half way through the series. Fullmetal Alchemist is such a well written anime and well illustrated that I have gotten hooked.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Jekyll, a 2007 British mini-series on Netflex

I am bored with network television so I cruise Netflix to find shows to watch. I found this really cool old BBC show form 2007, Jekyll, a modern day version of "Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".
The show stars, James Nesbitt who portrays, Tom Jackman the Dr Jekyll and Hyde his alter-ego. Tom Jackman is a married man who has 2 young twin boys, at the start of the series he has a understanding with Hyde.  The understanding pertains to the fact that Jackman blacks out during the Hyde episodes so there's a need to communicate so Jackman devises a way of keeping tabs on Hyde.  First he moved out of his home and family to keep them safe, then in his flat he has a super security system, and a chair with constraints. He also carries a recorder at all times, in his form or Hyde the communication is suppose to go both ways. We find Hyde a child in a mans body who doesn't know cultural and moral right or wrong. Who many times doesn't use the recorder and Jackman "wakes up" not knowing where Hyde parked the car.
Jackman hires a woman to help with the dealings of his predicament, but she has secrets that aren't revealed till later in the series.
I hated the ending, it made no sense to me. Spoiler Alert! We find out that the woman who was after him is his mother. None of the question you have are really answered. Way to go Moffat, couldn't write a clean ending.  But in all the mini-series was reveting until the end.