#dvdcollection - Seven Samurai

Hard to find cinematic gem from Criterion Collection finally landed in the palm of my hands. Got this yesterday after traipsing around in the busy concrete jungles of the metropolitan. Finished my European phase, now moving forward with Japanese cinema.  (22 May 2013)

Anime Quote: My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU

"I hate nice girls. Just exchanging pleasantries with them makes me curious,and texting each other makes me feel restless. If I get a call, for the rest of the day, I’ll keep checking my call history with a stupid grin on my face. But I know the truth. They’re just being nice. Anyone nice to me is nice to others too. But I always find myself on the verge of forgetting that. If the truth is a cruel mistress, then a lie must be a nice girl. And so, niceness is a lie. I would always hold expectation. I would always misunderstand. At some point, I stopped hoping. An experienced loner never falls for the same trap twice. A lone warrior, surviving hundreds of battles. When it comes to losing, I’m the strongest. That’s why, no matter what happens, I will always hate nice girls."

- Hikigaya Hachiman by Wataru Watari, Episode 5

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Year: April 5, 2009 – July 4, 2010 | Directed by: Yasuhiro Irie | Episodes: 64 

Written by: Hiroshi Ōnogi | Based on the Manga by Hiromu Arakawa 

Studio: Bones | Roundup Rating: A+

After two and a half days spent on Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood DVD marathon -- and I must say my curiosity is solved. My rating for this series on my MAL page is a perfect 10 out of 10  - a feat only achieved and shared with Evangelion, which is a huge deal considering my narrow preference for Shounen. Don't get me wrong I enjoy my fix of Shounen anime's, but they are too lengthy and there is only so much I can take. To say that it exceeded my expectation is presumably an underrated statement because I didn't expect myself to be completely enamored by this series. I have no idea, no clue whatsoever how everything would turn out, basically I just go with the flow and restrained myself to avert any reading materials from Wikipedia and RandomC so I could appreciate and experience the overall element of surprise.

The first anime of Fullmetal Alchemist is not something I haven't heard of, but unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to watch it. According to online information the 2003 version had an original story, compared to Brotherhood which is adapted directly from the manga. I have nothing against studios but I always prefer my anime to follow their original source. In my opinion there is always something lacking with the story when it deviates from the writer's true vision and intention, like taking one's soul out of its body and placing it with someone else.

FMA: Brotherhood took me on a train ride and never let me go until I am back to where I came from. Unlike other anime's Brotherhood had a mission and it was never repetitive to begin with, it bleeds with consistency and spontaneity. Once you are on board you would be completely immersed by the story, its own universe and its characters like they were your new found friends. I have my moments of laughter and tears, joy and sadness, or maybe all together, which is really overwhelming because the story is perfection personified and I have to give credits to Hiromu Arakawa and Bones for all those times filled and soaked with inspiration. Each and every characters jumped out of the screen, even the villains and the supporting cast have their own stories that are equally interesting. All in all Brotherhood is an awesome series and one of the best anime's that captures the true spirit of friendship, family and the fantastical adventure of life. From now on I'll be keeping a close eye on the future works of Hiromu Arakawa. 

And as the Elric Brothers and Co. bid me farewell they gifted me these two life lessons to go by, which I'll be writing down to wrap things up:

1. To be (honest with) yourself. It is human to make mistakes, but our imperfections makes us what we are (including those seven deadly sins), they are there for a reason so we could learn from them.

2. Life is a trade. You have to make sacrifices in order to get what you want.

xoxo, Chin