Synopsis
Four years after attempting to resurrect their mother, Edward and Alphonse search for a rumored stone that could amplify their alchemy and restore their broken bodies.
Full Synopsis
The Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 anime series starts off with this episode though in respect to the timeline, the events take place after Episode 9 because Episodes 3 to 9 are the Elric brothers' backstory. It starts off with a mini-flashback to when two young alchemists, possibly around the age of 10 or 11, attempt the forbidden human transmutation, then switches to the present. Two alchemist brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, discover a town ruled by a priest who can perform miracles. However, Edward—an alchemist who works for the military—notices something fishy about the priest's "miracles": they're alchemy.
Edward and Alphonse make their way down the desert city town of Reole to investigate reports of a Philosopher's Stone. While there, they hear of a priest named Father Cornello, who can supposedly perform miracles. While at a food stand, a mysterious woman, whom Ed seems to recognize, introduces him as the Fullmetal Alchemist, though it causes the townsfolk to mistake Al as the State Alchemist, and it is here the Elrics meet a young woman named Rosé. The people of Reole insist that Father Cornello would be able to help them and Rosé volunteers to take them to see the priest. A conversation between Rosé and Father Cornello reveals that the priest has promised to resurrect Rosé’s dead boyfriend Cain, as a miracle in return for her hard work. Ed and Al attend a ‘Miracle Gathering’ where they realize the ‘miracles’ are nothing more than alchemy and the priest is ignoring the laws of alchemy.
Upon hearing of the presence of the Fullmetal Alchemist and wrongly perceiving a threat, Father Cornello authorizes for the Elrics to be removed. The priest is later shown to be talking to the mysterious woman, who claims that Fullmetal's presence troubles her, but Cornello tells her not to worry, as there is another way to get rid of the Elrics.
Edward, meanwhile, tries to convince Rosé of the priest's scam and tries to force his views on alchemy and science and disbelief in miracles upon her. Just then Cray, a follower of Father Cornello, shoots Al with a gun and the suit of armor is revealed to be hollow, showing that Al has no body, which Al terms as his "punishment for setting foot on holy ground where mortals are forbidden."
Rosé believes the Elric brothers to be evil and runs off in panic, leading them to Father Cornello. There, Edward realizes that the priest has a Philosophers Stone and hence he performs alchemy without a transmutation circle and ignores the laws of equivalent exchange. A dialogue takes place where the priest tries to show he has done nothing but good for Reole and that Edward only wants the stone for personal reasons. The priest sets a transmuted Chimera to attack them and turns the ground into sand sweeping Al away and preventing Ed from drawing a transmutation circle. This is where Ed reveals that he can perform alchemy without a transmutation circle to create a spear, forcing Cornello to transmute the bird on his shoulder into a larger bird to join the fight. As the fight drags on, it is revealed that Ed's right arm and left leg are mechanical as it helps him survive the attacks on those areas by the Chimera and Giant Bird and then he quickly defeats both of them. The priest correctly guesses that the brothers attempted human transmutation, hence their appearance, and also recognizes Ed as the Fullmetal Alchemist.
Episode Notes
- When Ed first sees Lust, he seems to recognize her from somewhere. It wouldn't be revealed until three episodes later in Episode 4, which occurs during the Elric brothers' flashback, that Ed briefly saw her when he was in a graveyard trying to solve a mystery.
- The giant bird that Cornello creates with his fake Philosopher's Stone (and his apparent affinity with parrots in general) is exclusive to this series. In the manga and 2009 anime, only the waiting Chimera fights Ed.
- Toonami Started on USA: August 16, 2014 at 5:30am replacing Inuyasha
See also
| Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 Anime episodes | |
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| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | |