One is All, All is one: FullMetal Alchemist

Hehe... funny how I'm as confident about posting a new album soon as to say "see you tomorrow", and then only show up three days later ! Minna Gomenasai ! :-S I swear I don't get how so many people out there can have a music blog and update it on a daily basis... sometimes twice a day !! Mad props to them... Me, well, I have too many things in my hands right now and the blog, unfortunately for me, is not a priority :-(. Anyway, for today's post I have chosen one of those Soundtrack CDs that actually compile the OP & EDs of a given series... in this case, I picked arguably the biggest anime hit of this century so far, in both Japan and the USA: the TV series of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Fullmetal Alchemist started as a manga in February 2002 and it's still ongoing, getting new fans left and right. Its original popularity was boosted when the 51-episode TV adaptation aired for the first time in Japan in 2003, and specially once it was exported worldwide. Such a frenzy over a series, to my knowledge, had not been seen since Cowboy Bebop times and, even if it finished relatively not long ago, it has already been named a classic in the fandom. And deservedly so ! In a recent poll in Japan, it was voted best liked TV series OF ALL TIME. How wicked is that ?! Well, thanks to outstanding animation, story and likeable characters, FMA managed such top honors in a short period of time.

Fullmetal Alchemist is the story of two brothers living in a parallel universe that looks like early 20th Century Earth, where alchemists are enrolled and trained by armies as powerful soldiers. Edward and Alphonse Elric were children living with their mother (their father, a renowned alchemist, had left them) when the latter died of illness. Desperate, the two siblings attempted to revive her using alchemy, but their inexperience caused something to go horribly wrong: in the process, Edward lost his right arm and a leg, and Alphonse lost his whole body, having to have his soul sealed in a metal armor in order not to be lost forever. Edward, in turn, gets prostethic metal limbs. Since then, they travel around looking for the Philosopher Stone (they should go have a look at Hogwart's ! :-P), which would allow them to remedy what happened to them. In their trip, of course, they cross paths with a lot of memorable characters and villains. This plot summary may look a bit lame, but believe me, the series is worth your time and money.

The CD I'm posting today groups some of the hottest acts in Jpop and Jrock, which have contributed songs for the TV series of Fullmetal Alchemist. The album kicks start with OP1"Melissa", by Porno Graffitti, a Jrock band that started putting out great music in 1999. Yes, that's the band responsible for "Hitori no Yoru", OP of Great Teacher Onizuka. First ED is catchy as hell, and was provided by newcomer Nana Kitade, who recently performed this song and material from her album "18" at last OTAKON expo in the US. OP2 is by a band that needs no introduction... these guys are bigger than huge: L'Arc~en~Ciel, a band that should get their own post as soon as possible, I know. The song, "Ready Steady Go" would become the most famous of this bunch and the symbol of the series. ED2 comes courtesy of female Jpop trio Yellow Generation, while COOL JOKE and Asian Kung Fu Generation -two other Jrock bands to recommend- are responsible for OP3 and OP4 respectively. Finally, ED3 and ED4 were performed by two very popular acts in JR&B: Crystal Kay and Sowelu. Inomarru had the brilliant idea of posting the clips to them all @ YouTube in a single 11-minute file, with English subtitles. He/She really made my life easy ! ^_^ Check out the 4 OPs and then the 4 EDs back to back and get the feel of the series here:

So basically you get four great rock songs, and four laid-back female pop/R&B tracks. Thus, "Fullmetal Alchemist Complete Best", the CD of today, was originally an 8 track release. I chose then to add as a bonus the c/w songs of the singles released by Nana Kitade, Sowelu, Yellow Generation and Crystal Kay. I hope you enjoy those songs as much as the rest of the album.

Now, obeying alchemy's principle of equivalent exchange, I want something of equal importance/value in return for this album : comments ! :-P Don't be lazy-asses and drop a line... It's nice to know you are there.

Current non-Jpop music: Indonesian rock band "Sheila on 7"... check them out !

Download "Sahabat Sejati" / Download "Sephia"