Summary: The first episodes of the second season of "Fullmetal Alchemist" focus on the origins of the Homunculi. Izumi reveals that when Edward and Alphonse attempted to bring their mother back from the dead, they disturbed the order of the universe more profoundly than they could imagine. Ed remembers confronting a mysterious Gate that seemed to guard the path to all knowledge. The artists based the design on Rodin's "Gates of Hell", and its swirling human forms lend an appropriately grim power to the visuals. A new Wrath appears at the same time Greed has been freed from decades of confinement. When Ed fights Greed, he discovers that the Homunculi have weaknesses and can be destroyed under the right conditions. The fallen city of Ishbal remains at the center of the search for the Philosopher's Stone. Sheska's research into the death of Gen. Hughes suggests a link to Ishbalan war and the mysterious Col. Juliet Douglas who supposedly triggered it. Ed and Al reach the ruins of Ishbal and learn the true story of its destruction before Cols. Mustang and Kimbley arrive with an army. In nearby Liore, Ed finds himself caught between a monstrous plot hatched by Scar, Lust, and Gluttony, and the sinister plans of the Scarlet Alchemist, Lt. Col. Frank Archer, and their military superiors. Many series falter and grow repetitious in their second season; "Fullmetal Alchemist" only gets better. As the saga of the Elric Brothers unfolds, director Seiji Mizushima deftly blends powerful emotional drama, physical action and broad comedy into an unusually engaging adventure-fantasy. (Rated TV PG: violence, grotesque imagery, tobacco and alcohol use, nudity) "--Charles Solomon"
Fullmetal Alchemist - Season 2, Part 1 Box Set
(2004)
