On Anime

I've always found Anime and Manga to be pretty interesting. Apart from the fact that the characters have really cool hairstyles (which, by the way, are almost impossible to have in real life), the storylines and character development are equally commendable. Not having cable television for most part of my school life ensured that Pokemon, Digimon and Transformers were the only Japanese cartoons I saw (I have not seen DBZ yet)

My aversion to TV series in college - partly due to me spending most of my time on games - means that I never saw a single episode of anime after school. A lot of my friends used to discuss Death Note and Naruto, and very much like those typical football or cricket discussions I had nothing to add. Thanks to my brother Pradyumn, though, I have started watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

FMA follows the story of the Elric brothers - Edward and Alphonse. It is set in a fictional universe where people called "Alchemists" can alter the state of matter and convert it from one form to another (this in itself greatly pleases the nerd in me). Ed and Al's father abandoned them when they were young (asshole) and their mother dies due to an epidemic.. Grief stricken, they attempt to bring her back to life - only to have the process go horribly wrong. Ed loses his leg, and Al "loses" his body. Ed sacrifices his arm to bind his brother's soul to a suit of armor. Part human and part machine, the Elric brother wander the world in search of  a way to restore their bodies.

I've always been a fan of bro - power. Brothers uniting for a common purpose, that kind of thing. I think, being an elder brother I can relate to it. The best part about FMA is that it can take you through a variety of emotions - humor, sadness and hope - all within a 20 minute episode. 

The series has 64 episodes, and I have seen 15 so far. I will refrain from posting more about the story here (because I'm a nice guy), but the Japanese sure know how to keep you gripped.

PS - Made this photo on photoshop, but all credits to the original posters for their images.
PPS - Is there a difference between anime and Japanese cartoons?