Away from the Nest - College and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Well, my delightful year away from school has ended, and I'm adjusting to daily classes and homework. I'm so glad I spent those six months at my aunt's house. Thanks to my time there, I have no problem being away from home. Homesickness may have been a real problem if I went straight from my life at home to dorm life.

Granted, my school is only two hours away from home, and one hour away from most of my relatives. I saw my mom and sister just yesterday when Lil Sis had a volleyball tournament (thought she can't actually play, thanks to her knee). Aunt dropped by on her way to my parent's house just last week, too. I'm pretty sure I get to see my family a whole lot more often than most students here. But my point is that I don't need to; I might miss my family a little, but I'm just fine without them.

The girls in my dorm are all really nice, and I've recently learned that a couple of them even like anime, including one of my roommates. My older roommate loves Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood in particular. This Friday afternoon, after celebrating the end of the week's classes, I was watching episode 33 or so of Brotherhood. Roommate looked over and mentioned her enjoyment of the show. I took my headphones out, and we watched several episodes. Then we paused, went to the cafeteria for dinner, came back, and watched more. It was so fun!

I've watched through the 44th episode of Brotherhood now, and things are really heating up.

[Spoilers Ahead!]

I really like how the Elric brothers, Winry, and Scar are being forced to work together. I used to really dislike Scar, but I've come to love him. He's twisted, but I think his mind is slowly being straightened out. He killed the Doctors Rockbell, but his mind wasn't working right in the moment, and he seems remorseful when he looks back.

Scar pretending to take Winry hostage in episode 39 or so.

I can't wait to see what happens next. There are a lot of interesting, deep characters, and they're all doing something important right now. It's hard to keep track of, and I have a feeling I won't completely absorb all of it until I watch the series a couple more times.

Selim Bradley, aka Pride, is now on my list of most hated Fullmetal Alchemist characters. I don't hate him as much as Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist (I shudder every time he enters a scene), but he's up there alright.

I call Father "Fuzzball" now, since I saw his test tube days. I think "Fuzzball" is an apt nickname for him, don't you? I actually liked Fuzzball in test tube days, until I saw him with an eye like Pride's. Then I decided I highly disliked the evil little ball.

Hohenheim is a very interesting character. I could see the sadness in him even a couple dozen episodes back, and now I've begun to understand why. He's seen so much and lost so many who were dear to him. He was so naive and trusting when he was young. Now, he's old, wise, and carries a burden that no one should have to carry. At the same time, he's clumsy; not physically, but with relationships. He doesn't know how to be a father, and his attempts are rather cute when you understand his reasoning.

I could examine several other characters, but I'd like to leave you with a scene I imagined with Roommate:

Scar is at the beach. He must have been ordered to have a vacation or something, but that tense frown just won't leave his face. He wears brightly colored swim trunks and lounges stiffly in a beach chair. A colorful umbrella shades him, and he holds a tropical drink with a little paper umbrella in it. Happy-go-lucky tourists swarm on the beach around him.

Are you laughing yet? We found the idea of Scar on a beach vacation very amusing.

Now, I'm off to either watch anime or do homework. Not sure which yet.