Fullmetal Alchemist is an abberation in the world of anime. Firstly, it’s probably the most competently dubbed anime in the history of ever. That, coupled with the fact that it’s just plain awesome have earned it a rather large (and well-deserved) fanbase. Moreover, it’s the only anime (that isn’t Transformers/a cheap game video tie-in) that I’ve ever enjoyed. I don’t think it’s going to be paving the way for any more, but it’s a pretty big step for me personally, being the “write off all anime because most of the popular ones are crap” kind of person that I am (read: ignorant).
I downloaded (quite illegally, I might add) the entire series over a year ago, and instantly got hooked. At first, so that I didn’t waste entire days watching, I would limit myself to two episodes a day. That quickly fell apart, as I wasn’t working at the time, and I often would end up watching six or more a day. Needless to say, I blasted through the 51-episode series pretty quickly.
Because I’m the kind of guy who prefers to legitimately own things, especially in cases of things I like, I quickly set out to purchase whatever FMA DVD sets I could find. Much to my chagrin, they were released in those Godforsaken 4-episode sets. I fucking hate when shows are distributed this way. My wallet likes it though, because I refuse to buy anything that is sold in sets of anything less than at least half a season. The likes of Fullmetal Alchemist, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003), and Viewtiful Joe all fall under this umbrella of shitty distribution, and I hadn’t bought any of them because of it.
Ninja Turtles was the first to rectify this issue. I still haven’t ponied up the cash for any of the available sets, but I fully intend to, if mostly because I missed most of the episodes in seasons 2, 3 and 4. Fullmetal Alchemist finally began selling in half-season sets in Sepetmber, and while I didn’t notice right away, the release of the second volume caught my eye and I went out immediately and scooped up both of the season one boxes. For two boxes of 16 episodes at approximately $45 each ($90 total), it seems like a bit much, but the four-ep packs cost about $30 each, and since I would have had to pick up 8 of them to finish season one, that would have run me just a wee bit more ($240).
Along with the fact that I think Fullmetal Alchemist is the only anime worth watching (opinion may be slightly biased), the box sets come with all sorts of neat extras that make them worth owning. There are little booklets that come four to each box, which are chock full of neat supplemental information and art. Also, there’s a ton of cool stuff on the DVDs proper, like commercials, commentaries, image galleries, and music videos. After a little bit of research on Amazon, it seems like none of this bonus material comes with the smaller sets, so that’s even more reason for the avid FMA fan to rush out and pick them up. The chumps who bought the little sets must be kicking themsleves right now.
Truth be told though, as much as I hate the stupid 3-/4-episode DVD sets of shows I like, it’s not so much a matter of money that drives me to neglect them. I know that waiting for and buying the box sets will save me tons of cash, but I really don’t have a huge issue with paying for things I really enjoy. No, it’s the fact that buying dozens of full-size DVD cases for one show eats up way more room than necessary. When I can wait a while longer and get the box that only takes up one eighth of the space, I’m not even going to think twice about it.
So I’m not sure what this post was really about. It was one part hocking the Fullmetal Alchemist DVD boxes, and one part bitching about bad DVD distribution methods. Actually, score! I got two blog posts done at once. Now I feel happy. I’ll be even happier come January 15th and the third FMA box comes out.