TVSquad

If you're not watching the English dubs of Full Metal Alchemist Saturday nights on Adult Swim - well, you're missing one of the best shows on TV, anime or otherwise. The show follows the adventures of Edward and Alphonse Elric, two teen prodigies who excel in the art of alchemy. When their mother dies, they attempt the forbidden ritual of Human Transmutation to resurrect her, a failed bid that leave Al's soul trapped in a suit of armor and Ed with a mechanical arm and leg. The boys then set off on a quest to become state-sponsored alchemists, leveraging the state's resources to find the mysterious Philosopher's Stone - the only hope they have of undoing the damage they've done to themselves.

Adult Swim has been showing new dubbed episodes. The current plot line centers around the Homunculi, a group of "created creatures" who are brought into existence whenever an alchemist attempts a forbidden Human Transmutation. Ed and Al have recently discovered that their alchemical teacher, Izumi, attempted her own transmutation years before in a despertae attempt to bring her stillborn baby back to life. Now the result of her sin, the Homunculus Wrath, is on the loose. And worse yet? Unlike other Homunculi who can't perform alchemy, Wrath can transmute objects easily...because he possesses Ed's severed arm and leg.
After a brief fight with Wrath, the boys and their childhood friend Winry attend to Izumi. The alchemical principle of Equivalent Exchange states that, in order for something to be had, something of equal value must be given. Ed gave his arm attempting to bring his mother back from the dead, and gave his leg to save his brother's soul. Izumi, on the other hand, lost several internal organs, and has been dying slowly for years. Laid up in bed, she sends the boys to see her teacher, an old woman named Dante. But the visit doesn't go according to plan: another homunculus, Greed, has teamed up with the renegade Crimson Alchemist to kidnap Al. 

What's most notable about this episode, however, isn't the plot, but the growing realization between the Elric brothers about what they've done. It's dawning upon them that, if a botched Human Transmutation is what creates Homunculi, then their mother is roaming the Earth in an evil, bastardized form. Midway into the episode, the pair run into the Homunculus Sloth, who is disguised as a member of the military. Except for her cold demeanor, Sloth is the spitting image of their mom. (And we the audience see what the boys don't: Sloth peeling back her jacket to reveal their mother's soul trapped underneath her skin. Creepy.) Yet when Al tries to raise these points, Ed ignores him. Is he unwilling to face the truth? Or is he unable to face it?

Sure, these episodes have aired already in Japan, and it's trivial to look up spoilers online and see what happens next. But part of the power of Full Metal Alchemist is the pathos. Watching these teens cope with the horrors that life thrusts upon them is what gives this show its raw power, and makes it more than "just anime".