After the confrontation with Scar left both Elric brothers in quite a state, Ed and Al return home for some much needed healing, both physical and mental. Of course, it’s not long before they’re back on the trail of the Philosopher’s Stone, given fresh hope and fueled by new clues. But every time they seem to get a step closer to their goal, they only hit another barrier that makes it seem further away than ever.
 
The opening episode of this volume sees the boys head home to the quiet little village they left behind four years ago. This episode is a something of a change of pace, and although the quiet ambience of the village means little in the way of action, the time is instead spent on character development. As the brothers relax and unwind, we learn a little more about their past, and again meet their childhood friend and mechanical whiz Winry.
 
The rest of the volume is pretty much business as usual, which is never a bad thing for this series. There are enough fight sequences to keep action junkies interested, including Scar facing off against Lust and Gluttony, and there are shocking revelations aplenty when it’s discovered what the Philosopher’s Stone’s key ingredient really is. Several new characters are also added to the already large roster, but thanks to the superb character design they all quickly stick in the mind.
 
The overarching story continues to move quickly without feeling rushed, and the pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fall into place. Several of the series’ thematic points are also reinforced; what it means to be human is brought in to question when Ed battles a foe similar to Al, while Al starts to question his own existence. The last episode of this volume certainly tugs some heartstrings and gets you thinking a bit more philosophically.
 
As ever, the presentation is top notch. The animation continues to impress, with vibrant colours and great animation. The music is always appropriate, whether it be a light-hearted comedy moment or a tense dramatic moment. The dubbing is also the usual sterling job, with all the major characters well-acted and voiced appropriately. About the only exception is Winry (voiced by Caitlin Glass - no relation); although her lines are delivered well enough, she sounds a little too old for the role (admittedly a rather common issue with dubbed anime girls). Similarly, Gluttony has lost much of the childlike menace of his Japanese voice, and now sounds rather more generically evil. Irritatingly though, the subtitles suffer from a few minor but simple spelling and grammatical errors. While not exactly showstopping, they can prove fairly distracting if reading the subs too closely. These are only minor gripes, however, and certainly don’t detract from the overall experience.
 
In Summary
 
Fullmetal Alchemist is a series that goes from strength to strength, and this volume only helps ascertain its reputation as one of the best anime series on the market. The mix of adventure, emotion, comedy and more continues to entertain while the story is steadily getting deeper and darker. Although getting only four episodes per DVD may seem like poor value for money, when you consider the quality of the series on offer it suddenly doesn’t seem like such a bad deal. All in all, it’s difficult to find fault with something this enjoyable.