Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 52) – Combined Strength

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Alphonse attempts to stop Kimblee and Pride. At least he has a philosopher’s stone. Meanwhile, Olivier and Alex find themselves facing Sloth and Edward and the others face the mannequin army!

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Episode 52) – Combined Strength

What happened?

Alphonse uses the stone to stunning effect and manages to contain Pride once more. However, Kimblee reveals that he too has a philosopher’s stone and manages to free Pride again and subdue Alphonse. Alphonse was ready for this and managed to draw their attention away from another attack. In the dust cloud, he gave Dr Marcoh the philosopher’s stone who then used it to heal Heinkel. With the advantage of the surprise attack, he charged in and killed Kimblee. They all escaped when Yoki hits Pride with a car.

Olivier and Alex Armstrong faced Sloth and were unable to do much damage at all. Eventually, Sloth got annoyed and showed his true power – the fastest homunculus! Alex saved Olivier and then punched Sloth through the floor. He hit back, but when he tried to charge Alex was ready for him, impaling him on a stone spike. Too bad, that’s not their only problem as mannequins swarm through Army HQ.

Mei Chang continued to evade Envy’s attacks and even used him to clear away the mannequins, although each one he consumes makes him stronger, so it might not be the best long-term solution.

Edward and the others continue to fight the bulk of the mannequin army and discover that their legs are their weakest spot. It doesn’t kill them, but it does slow them down. If only there weren’t so many of them. Just when it seems like they’ll be overpowered, Mustang arrives!

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 52 Heinkel gets Kimblee

What did you think?

These episodes have been far too short. There’s so much going on and the action is nonstop, which is amazing, but it makes the episode feel like it’s just five minutes long. The added threat of the mannequins going berserk is a great touch and has raised the stakes even higher. I’m enjoying all of the different groups and just wish we could see more of it.

If this is how the series will go for the remaining episodes, it’s going to be an epic conclusion regardless of whether the end is completely satisfying or not. The fact that I have no idea how it really ends is amazing considering this series came out in 2009. My ability to screen spoilers has become so finely tuned that I can ignore the stuff I don’t know I need to ignore. I’m glad because I am genuinely excited to see how this plays out.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 52 Alex protects Olivier from Sloth

What have you learnt?

I’ve said it before and I think it warrants repeating. The fact that this series was released in one continuous stream of episodes is a massive advantage over the usual twelve or twenty-four episode seasons. Of course, this is epic, it’s had so much more time to develop and now we’re seeing the benefit of that. I have twelve episodes left and I’m guessing they are all going to be fast-paced and action-packed. So far, it’s a great way to finish a series this long, however, I doubt it would work as a final season in a series that has had to work within the confines of a shorter season.

That doesn’t take away from what this series has achieved at all, I just don’t think you can really compare it to many other shows. It’s similar to how they made Lord of the Rings. The first movie is great, but along with the other two that were all made together and released in a consistent manner, they work as a single unit, just like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. I’d love to see more shows made this way where a studio picks up a series and makes the entire thing. A full remake of Akira would be incredible, just as an example.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Episode 52 Mustang and Hawkeye arrive

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What did you think?