Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 3 Review

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Episode 3, “City of Heresy,” sees the brothers Elric finally venture out on their adventure to acquire a Philosopher’s Stone, and in turn use it to get their bodies back. First stop: Reole, a town ruled by an evil theocratic figure who masquerades his alchemy as miracles, a power granted to him by the sun god Leto. This figure, known as Father Cornello, appears to be in possession of a Philosopher’s Stone; but in trying to retrieve it, Ed learns that the stone was indeed fake.

During this adventure, the brothers also meet a young girl named Rose, devastated after the death of her fiance. She has entirely bought into Cornello’s lies, believing that he will bring her deceased love back to life with his alchemical “miracles.” In defeating Cornello by exposing his deceit, the brothers encourage Rose to move on from the Father’s manipulative influence, move forward, and find hope in her circumstances on her own.

“City of Heresy” is a solid third episode for the anime. Building off of the already-established worldbuilding rules, it moves the plot forward at a perfect pace, and maintains a lighthearted tone while examining difficult subject matter. While this chapter is the first of the brothers’ more episodic adventures before their story gains greater momentum, it’s still an excellent continuation of their journey to redemption.

“City of Heresy” Shows Alchemy’s Influence In Another Setting

Alchemy Can Go Wrong In More Ways Than One

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Episode 3 opens on the Elric brothers visiting the city of Reole, a smaller town ruled by a theocratic figure. In a conversation with a shopkeep and a number of villagers, the viewer learns pretty quickly that alchemy is not so widespread as life in the big city made it appear. The townspeople are shocked by a simple display of the alchemical arts when Alphonse fixes a smashed radio, and one man mentions that he’s simply “heard of [alchemists],” as though they are a rare occurrence.

The shopkeep first recognizes Al’s skills as a miracle granted by Leto rather than a studied, scientific practice, similar to the miracles performed by their religious leader, Father Cornello. Ironically, the villagers have heard of the Fullmetal Alchemist despite their limited knowledge of alchemy, giving viewers yet another humorous moment of Ed’s annoyance at being overlooked in lieu of his brother. Such an insular town knowing of Ed’s power speaks to how talented he truly is, something viewers then get to see in practice as he fights Cornello’s various onslaughts with ease.

Viewers also catch a glimpse at an alchemical rebound, along with a comment about it from Ed, when Cornello attempts to alchemize his gun. The metal and mechanical components become grotesquely merged with the man’s arm, and while this detail doesn’t have a huge bearing on the episode’s proceeding events, it does add even more dimension to the show’s worldbuilding. Until this point, viewers had only seen one other instance of a rebound — the horrifying form of what was once Ed and Al’s mother when they tried to bring her back to life.

The fusion of Cornello’s arm is certainly a less significant instance of the rebound phenomenon, but showing viewers another, more simple example lays the groundwork for yet more ways alchemy can go wrong. This not only shows even more complexity in the alchemy system but also characterizes Cornello as someone who is greedy and reckless with his alchemy. He doesn’t treat the art of alchemy with any reverence, aligning with his role as a manipulator who only uses the otherwise sacred tenets of religion purely as a means of malicious control. Alchemy isn’t just a backdrop in this series — how an alchemist uses it tells viewers a great deal about who they are.

One small nitpick is that if Cornello’s Philosopher’s Stone is fake, the show never explains how he was performing alchemy that ignored the Law of Equivalent Exchange. Perhaps the “fakeness” only refers to the fact that the Stone could break, rather than its abilities. Even if this is the case, it feels like an oversight not to mention this detail in a series that has otherwise been so careful to spell out the rules of its magic system.

FMAB Doesn’t Shy Away From Religious Overtones

Few Modern Anime Series Depict Religion At All, Let Alone With So Much Nuance

The main cast of the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime series

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One thing that’s bound to stick out to viewers the most upon watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is just how overt its religious themes are. Seeing as the show focuses on alchemy as a science, there was an opportunity to omit any religious allusions outright — instead, the series makes it one of the thematic focal points of the narrative. Such an unflinching depiction of religious issues can be a bit jarring to a Western viewer, as most Western animation refuses to venture into any depiction, analogous or literal, of monotheistic religion, especially in programming geared toward younger viewers.

Exploring religion in pop culture feels much more common in anime — the hit series Neon Genesis Evangelion is another prime example. It’s refreshing to see an anime dive into topics that are usually seen as too controversial. Any lesser show could have fumbled the subject matter disastrously, but with Fullmetal’s pitch-perfect writing, viewers are treated to an incredibly nuanced take on how religion operates in the world of the show, and by extension, the real world in some instances. Rose’s insistence on using alchemy to bring her late fiance back to life, of course, directly mirrors Ed and Al’s backstory.

It’s easy to see the sadness in the brothers when she insists on the Father’s ability to bring back her loved one. True to their characters, Ed becomes defensive, almost argumentative, in trying to convince Rose that it’s all a sham, while Al takes the time to calmly and compassionately explain to her what the brothers have been through, and why they know that such an exchange could never work. Of course, Rose’s plight is all too similar to some real-life instances of hurt people seeking solace in religious teachings, only to be manipulated and taken advantage of by those they are supposed to be able to trust the most — their spiritual leaders.

After seeing what a monster Cornello truly is, Rose struggles to accept that it could all be a lie. Despite Ed’s harshness toward Rose at both the beginning and end of the episode, he makes it clear to her that she is in charge of carving her own path — that autonomy is terrifying in its uncertainty, but Rose seems ultimately encouraged by Ed’s words. It’s also worth noting that the show doesn’t dismiss religion in its entirety (a deft stroke of storytelling in the face of Ed’s abrasive apprehension), but rather condemns its misuse in harming others.

Brotherhood Slows Down The Pace To Serve The Larger Story

Lower Stakes Make For A More Relaxed Viewing Experience

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Tone is an incredibly important factor in storytelling that can often go overlooked, but it truly is one of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s greatest strengths. The episode starts with some light-hearted banter, which adds some nice balance before diving into intense themes of religion, regret, and mortality. Throughout the episode, Ed is not taking Father Cornello seriously, despite his machine guns and deadly Chimera.

Ed’s brashness is on full display yet again, as he can’t even be bothered to take this man seriously even when he uses deadly force. What’s more, Ed believes that this man has a real Philosopher’s Stone, which would make him even more powerful in using alchemy than himself. Perhaps it’s the fact that Ed doesn’t buy into this man’s religious teachings at all, or that he simply never feels threatened, but the Fullmetal Alchemist never loses his smug attitude, even when faced with Cornello’s imposing mutated form.

In spite of the danger that Edward and Alphonse find themselves in this episode, the tone remains light almost all the way through. This is, of course, still only Episode 3, so the stakes don’t need to be astronomically high just yet. Ed’s apathy can sometimes undermine the tension of a few scenes, but it works well enough with the overall arc of the series that it doesn’t take away from this single episode too much. As the pilot set the stage, and the second episode laid the heavy, emotional foundation for the brothers’ backstory, it was nice that viewers got a bit of a break from anything too intense with a complete but lighthearted adventure.

The episode itself maintains great pacing with the cadence of fight scenes and thoughtful conversations about the nature of religion and serves as a nice, more laid-back piece in the larger pacing of the series. The final minutes in “City of Heresy” do give viewers another glimpse at the larger narrative to come, and the truly terrifying villains they will have to face. The simple setup of having some creepy figures take down the villain of the week in the blink of an eye is as effective as it is indulgent.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood’s third episode may have been a slower, more formulaic entry, but the show proves yet again that its storytelling is unmatched. Few other series can so masterfully explore religious themes, especially in the midst of fantasy action and instances of comedic relief. FMAB yet again proves that it balances tone like no other, and presents complex issues in ways that younger viewers can not only understand but learn a lot from. As far as episodic adventures go, “City of Heresy” fits the bill perfectly.