Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 26

Things are certainly moving on apace in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood these days, and this latest episode is no exception in progressing some of the main points of the series notably.

Of course, the most pressing concerns as of this point in time are for the two Elric brothers, with Edward trying to find away to escape from Gluttony's "stomach", a mission which has itself been sidelined by the appearance of Envy's true form hungry for a fight. Some of the revelations surrounding the true nature of Envy's body are so hard to stomach that his hunger to fight back is dimmed for long enough to allow Envy to swallow him whole (Ed really needs to stop getting swallowed by things), although this in turn gives him a "eureka" moment in terms of finding a way of escaping their gluttonous prison.


Meanwhile, Alphonse continues to follow Gluttony in an attempt to meet the Homunculus' "father" in the hope that it will save his brother, unaware that Scar and May Chang are now following close at hand, complete with their own sense of foreboding at the lair into which they have walked. Elsewhere, away from the Elric brothers we're regaled as to the story of King Bradley's upbringing, and how he was chosen both as President and a Homunculus.

In case all of this isn't enough to be getting on with, Edward's eventual solution to escaping from Gluttony's innards involves another trip through the gate of truth - A journey which brings him both emotional pain and hope in regards to reuniting his brother with his real body.

There probably isn't much more I can say about this instalment that I haven't already said in response to other recent episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Quite simply, this outing was absolutely terrific once again. With the comedy so often employed by this series almost entirely absent, we were instead left solely to traverse some truly dark territory - From Envy's body through to Ed's journey through the gate, the whole experience was an ominous and disquieting one which refused to pull any punches or tone things down, and was thus all the stronger for it. At the moment Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is proving to be more compelling by the episode, and long may it continue.