Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 57

Although Fu's return in an attempt to dish out revenge on King Bradley was doubtless met by cheers from many a viewer last time around, it appears that he isn't the only one making a return to the fray as episode fifty-seven of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood begins.

That said, it is Fu who makes it his business to go all-out against Bradley, who needless to say is more than matched by his current opponent despite Greed adding an additional layer of threat to proceedings. As you might expect, this is typical Fullmetal Alchemist fare, with a fair few twists and turns in the midst of the action as the fight waxes and wanes... and it isn't even all over yet.


Speaking of Bradley, this episode also sees Edward Elric, Mustang and company come across one of the men responsible for his "creation", an individual who also happens to have control of a number of men who were "wannabe" Führers brought up alongside Bradley - While these people didn't quite have the fortitude of the country's eventual leader, they still prove to be a very tough obstacle indeed, holding back our heroes while the gold-toothed doctor at their head completes his despicable part in the Promised Day, bringing about a scenario which could well have dire consequences for Ed, Alphonse and Izumi Curtis... not to mention the rest of the land, of course.

If the last episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was as close as this series can come to bring run-of-the-mill, then this instalment was another piece of scintillating entertainment. Its action sequences might not have been the best animated we've seen from this show but they were still fast, fluid and engaging, while those aforementioned twists and turns bring the kind of surprises that you can't help but love. Talking of surprises, the ending to the episode must be one of the cruellest anime cliff-hangers of all-time, and I have a nasty feeling we might have to wait beyond next week to find out what's really going on to boot. The fact that I don't want to even consider the notion of waiting that long for the next episode tells you everything you need to know about the entertainment juggernaut that is this series.