Deviation Actions
Description
Episode: 4
Year: 2009
Writer(s): Hiromu Awakawa (original manga), Michihiro Tsuchiya
Director(s): Yatsuhiro Irie, Kiyomitsu Sato
The lengths that man will go to in order to achieve success and fame in the realms of science can go into the realms of nightmares. In a series known to mix amazingly kickass action and some of the best comedy of any anime, Fullmetal Alchemist can also do the tragic and horrifying very well. In a nutshell, this episode is the very definition of mood whiplash: it goes from some of the funniest gags the show has done, to one of the absolute most horrifying moments I've seen in any piece of animation. Remember when I reviewed The Powerpuff Girls episode "Knock It Off" and called Dick Hardly the living embodiment of evil or something like that? I was wrong… Shou Tucker fits that description even more so. I've stated that animal abuse is one of the most disgusting human evils to me… well, in a world where alchemy and magic are often mistaken for one another, they've managed to make the ultimate form of animal abuse in the form of the chimera.
Sometimes the people we meet at first glance are absolutely nothing to how we believe they are. Looks can be very very deceiving, and this doesn't just apply to strangers either. This can also delve into those we believe love and care about us too; yes, even family. A kind and caring father can turn out to be in reality a vicious monster going beyond the scope of anything we thought we knew about them. What man will go through with in order to achieve even the tiniest bit of fame and recognition is quite frankly disgusting in the purest sense of the word. To mutilate animals and humans in the name of SCIENCE!? MONSTROUS!
Unlike what various cartoons/anime usually do in bringing a character back to life using whatever excuse/explanation they see fit as to use even going beyond any form of logic or reasoning *cough* "CHRISTMAS GUY" *cough*, in this world, the dead cannot come back to life, no matter how much people try. An innocent little girl and her dog are MURDERED ALL IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE! But the really scary part of it all? Shou Tucker honestly believed that what he was doing was a good thing! He expected PRAISE AND REWARDS for creating monstrosities using his own family! Being oblivious to the evil you wrought doesn't excuse you from your actions people, it actually kind of makes you even worse. You know Elmyra Duff from Tiny Toon Adventures and how she's oblivious to abusing animals? Yeah, imagine her as an adult and doing shit like this. It doesn't help his case at all when Shou Tucker honest to god tries to compare the horrors he's committed to Edward and Alphonse trying to bring their mother back to life.
At least with some obliviously evil characters such as Light Yagami from Death Note or Rusty Venture from The Venture Bros. can see where they're coming from, but this… this is one of the most disturbing things I have ever seen. And that goes beyond shoving shit and gore in my face, it's magnificent! It's a nice little preview as to how dark this series would really get down the line: it's the actions of one madman that oftentimes give an entire organization a bad reputation, and it's even worse that those people are allowed to live and walk freely amongst decent normal folks!
"If ever there was an example of the devil's work in this world, this case would be it." And the thing is, what the State Alchemists occasionally do here isn't really much different than what Mr. Tucker did, taking others lives when told to do so and interfering with people's lives, but we choose our own paths in life usually aware of what we're doing. But at the end of it all, we are all only human, though some are less human than others. I won't spoil the ending, but let's just say that if given the choice between allowing someone to live in pain or to end it so they may rest in peace, what would you do?
Fullmetal Alchemist is owned by Square Enix, Aniplex, Hiromu Awakawa, Viz Media and Funimation.
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