Such a cartoon has become popular, and even relevant "film reviews" have appeared in some media, newspapers and magazines! For example, there is such a columnist in the entertainment section of "Asahi Shimbun" who wrote such a "movie review" - "What is it that makes Fullmetal Alchemist so popular?" With curiosity,I watched the animation in one go.,Only to realize that this is a completely adult-oriented animation.,It's completely different from what I thought before.,If you look at it from the character design alone,,This may be a hot-blooded and youthful animation.,But since the two brothers refined the twisted mother at a cruel price,The reality and cruelty in the cartoon have been brought to the audience's eyes.。

The producer, Kadokawa Shoten, defines the steel chain as a juvenile-oriented animation, but the postmodernist atmosphere exuded in it gives this shonen-oriented animation a heavy color of realistic cruelty. From the cartoon, we can clearly receive a message: alchemy can refer to the advanced technological civilization of mankind, and science does not originate from our virtues, but from our evil. In the phrase that astronomy is born of superstition, geometry is born of greed, and physics is born of vain curiosity, it can be seen that the author is doubting whether alchemy, that is, the advanced science and technology of mankind, can benefit people. From the 7th episode, when the alchemist Taka refines his young daughter and dog, the makers begin to constantly doubt and criticize the technological civilization that wanders at the crossroads. Moreover, alchemy technology is mostly owned by the military department in animation, and the use of scientific and technological civilization in warfare and suppression of the people is not a rhetorical question about the use of science and technology? The questioning of technology in this section reveals the strong postmodernist worldview in animation. But in the animation, we take a closer look. At the same time, it shines with the brilliance of the humanistic spirit.

So why are postmodern themed animations so popular? Why can the gloomy worldview and the brutal reality of the plot attract people's attention? Remove the hype of the company. Another important reason is the prevalence of ACG postmodernism in Japan. Speaking of this trend. Let's start with the origins of postmodernism in Japanese ACG. Japan's ACG postmodernism trend was driven by the animation industry, which dates back to the late 80s and early 90s, and 20 years before that, due to the rapid recovery of Japan's post-war economy, people worked hard every day for a better life, and the younger generation had a clear goal to strive for, so the animation of the 70s was dominated by works with strong humanistic colors that emphasized inspiration and friendship. But with the development of Japanese industry, the economy grew dramatically. The new generation of young people in Japan has lost their goals due to their privileged lives, and thus become a confused generation.

During this period, the suicide and crime rates in Japanese society increased significantly, and anime emphasizing the humanistic spirit was no longer popular. But it was the Miyazaki Incident in '89 that really broke this genre, and after that, the government and the media questioned the value of ACG's works, so they began to crack down on the anime market, and the Japanese anime market began to collapse. It wasn't until the end of the 90s that an esoteric, obscure, and decadent anime was born, which was in line with the world values of the new generation of Japanese youth. Moreover, the narrative of the animation with the growth of the protagonist as the main line fascinates most of the new generation of young people who are very similar to the protagonist's personality. Its rise saved the Japanese anime market that had been paralyzed for 10 years. This work is the famous EVA.

The reason for the popularity of Eva's birth is that the new generation of Japan is tired of the preaching of hot-blooded anime and blindly believes that life is aimless. So EVA, who subverted all traditions, became the object of their pursuit. Many of the successful postmodern elements in EVA have also been borrowed from later anime and even games: from the fearless personality of the protagonist in the past to Shinji Ikati's obvious personality defects (which are very closely related to the family education of Japanese society at the time), from the innocent and lively heroine of the heroine to the three-nil girl like Ling Boli (the most obvious character borrowed in the future is Ruri Hoshino in the mobile battleship), not to mention the use of religious, bloody, and obscene scenes in the animation, all of which herald the advent of ACG postmodernism. Since then, Nippon TV's late-night animation has become the target of young people's pursuit. It is undeniable that the birth of EVA has also led to the recovery of Japan's orthodox animation industry, and a number of excellent traditional anime emphasizing the humanistic spirit such as Onepiece and Na Milk to have also begun to be popular in Japan. The postmodern elements of ACG also started to really gain popularity from EVA. Therefore, the success of Fullmetal Alchemist is inseparable from the prevalence of postmodernism, and it can also be said that the current market demand in Japan has created the gloomy worldview of Fullmetal Alchemist......"

Such a movie review, it's written too deeply, and it's actually leaning on the mentality of young people in Japan now, Wen Xun doesn't even know what to say! But why does he, a Chinese, still think it looks good after seeing such a story in a dream? Could it be that China's economy has also stagnated? In Wen Xun's view, a good-looking cartoon will look good in the eyes of people in many countries, maybe a film is popular or not because it has something to do with the state of the people in the country, but obviously it will not have as much to do with the article said!

Comparatively speaking, some other film reviews are more appetizing to Wen Xun - "When I first watched it, I thought it was a story similar to Inuyasha. The Philosopher's Stone is like the Jade of the Four Souls that can enhance your power when you get it. And the brothers who are constantly looking for it are also very similar to Inuyasha who can't wait to become a full demon. But soon, I found out that this cartoon is actually much heavier and sadder. I like the style of painting very much.,And the characters have a lot of exaggerated Q version expressions.,It's very vivid and cute.。 However, as the plot progresses, these superficially relaxed elements become fewer and fewer, and a bitter and hard core is gradually exposed. The closer you get to the truth, the more painful it becomes.

If you don't pay, you don't get it, and all the results have to pay a certain price to get it. The question is, if you pay the price, will you definitely get the results you want? Or, when you find that the price you have to pay is much greater and more cruel than you expected, and may even completely deviate from your principles, no matter what you choose, I am afraid that what you will get is nothing more than a scam and confusion. The narrative structure of this cartoon is to move forward with different memories while advancing the main story line. Each episode opens with an equivalent monologue that repeatedly emphasizes the so-called truths of this world. As for whether there is any design behind such a truth, we don't know, but what is certain is that such a cartoon is very deep and has successfully captured the hearts of many people. ”

Or like this one is also good - "People don't get anything without sacrifice, and in order to get something, they need to pay the same price, this is the opening line of each episode of "Fullmetal Alchemist", and it is also the central idea of the animation throughout. The philosophy that the author has repeatedly reiterated. The beginning of the picture is quiet and concise, and the sound of a drop of water makes people concentrate on listening and capturing any sound. At this time, it is the monologue of this sentence, which makes people remember it. In this anime, the philosophical logic of the lines is very high. Therefore, it can withstand scrutiny and lead the audience to think deeply and introspect. And often these lines are told interconnected, and in the plot, there are often further explanations and understandings of the protagonist's equivalent exchange, layer by layer, and finally sublimated into the theme.

Of course, the philosophical exposition in the lines is not only the first elaboration, but also some invisible philosophies. And these seemingly casual conversations are even more thought-provoking. The more I experience, the deeper I feel. For example, when facing the Edward brothers, Dazuo often said that it was the duty of adults to protect children. And in the end, it was always the brothers who rescued the troubled Dazuo. On the surface, it seems to be a joke. And the author's intention is not only these, Dazuo knows that his ability is not as good as the two brothers, but every time he walks in the forefront to meet the enemy's attack. The author's admiration for this kind of courage to face a powerful enemy and assume his due responsibility is self-evident.

In terms of role arrangement, this film is also unusual. The protagonists are a pair of underage brothers. The setbacks along the way are not something a child can bear. But being abandoned by his father when he was a child, the death of his mother, and the loss of his younger brother's body by wrong decisions made Edward learn responsibility and strength. And the characters on the side of justice are all weak on the outside, but they have firm beliefs. The enemy's abilities are beyond Edward's match, but thanks to the efforts of all the people, he was able to defeat these evil people. In addition, in this not all people are great evil. "Steel" is a picaresque novel from a certain point of view, or a tramp animation, and the idea of steelmaking is very high, the ordeal of the two protagonists of steelmaking itself is a kind of thinking, with a sense of original sin, although the author is in love with the two, but there is no affection at all, in the first few episodes, with the frequency of a story per episode, the protagonists continue to recognize the mistakes they have made.

Whether it was in the first episode, seeing the girl wanting to resurrect her lover, or something else, it made the protagonist brothers inadvertently remember the mistakes they had made over and over again. From this point of view, the author is almost like torturing the protagonist. But it is precisely because of this that such a novel and such a cartoon are so different! Because the theme they express is not to become stronger, not the long-cherished wish of constantly fighting to become stronger in other cartoons, but a long-cherished wish to atone for sins. From such a point of view, such a novel and cartoon is actually very religious, and it can be said that it is a literary/animated work under the Christian system! (To be continued, please search, the novel is better and faster!)