It was a good friend of mine who introduced me to the joys of Full Metal Alchemist (FMA). He and I are both big fans of Japanese anime and have a hefty selection of DVDs and Manga (comic books), and it was on a bright summers day when he invited me over to watch this "cool new series that's better than any anime I've ever seen!" Obviously, I was sceptical. Best anime ever? Better than Spirited Away? Better than Naruto? SURELY not better than Akira?! But, happy to have an excuse to sit in front of the TV all day watching cartoons, I accepted his offer and I took my first step into the wacky world of FMA.

The storyline for FMA, as you might expect, focuses on alchemy, the process of understanding an object's composition, breaking it down and then rebuilding it. For example, it can be used to change an object into something else, or to simply fix something that's broken. Two young alchemists by the name of Edward and Alphonse Elric attempt to perform the forbidden act of human transmutation using alchemy when they attempt to bring their deceased mother back from the dead. Unfortunately for them, the plan backfires. Ed, the elder brother, loses his right arm and left leg, whilst Al's disembodied soul is encased in a suit of armour. The series follows their attempts to get back their bodies as Ed is fitted with Auto-Mail (a metal arm and leg... Fullmetal, get it?) and joins the military in order to find the Legendary Philosopher's Stone, said to be able to amplify alchemic powers and to ignore the principle of equivilant trade (in order to gain something, something must be sacrificed).

Character-wise FMA really shines, with some truly memorable characters each with their own unique traits and quirks. You will quickly find characters that will become your favourites, not just in FMA but in all anime. And it is with this, along with the well written story and moments of sheer hilarity that makes FMA come together in such a special way. Whilst the animation isn't as good as some of the stuff that gets pumped out by Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle etc.) it's still above-par for some of the anime that is sent our way by lazy animators (Love Hina: brilliant manga, great story, sloppy animation. Ken Akamatsu must've been gutted!). Plus I believe the animation and drawing style perfectly suits the anime as a whole.

For all it's brilliance, however, it must be pointed out that there are a couple of flaws with this series, and anime as a whole. Firstly, the dub. Since anime is made in Japan it is originally released in Japanese, not English. It seems to me that whoever makes the casting decisions for English dubs of anime is either drunk or hates anime. Whilst the dub for FMA is a lot better than some other animes I've seen (Love Hina... [shudder]) it still seems disjointed and not fitting. And I don't mean just in the lip-synching, I mean the voices themselves are too different and don't fit quite right with the character they're portraying. If you stick to the subs it's a lot better but at least you have the choice to put the dub on if you're feeling lazy.