Ichi wa zen, Zen wa ichi

This is one of my absolute favorites from the first half of this show! It serves as an introduction to the Elric brothers' gruff alchemy teacher Izumi and her massive teddy bear of a husband Sig, and also explores the fundamental principles of alchemy in more depth than we've previously seen.

The relationship between this episode and the last one is really interesting. The last episode really drove home the beauty of the miracle of childbirth and the inherent value of human life. Here that theme serves to augment the tragedy of Izumi and Sig's past in their efforts to conceive a child. Their relationship with the brothers comes about so naturally and develops in such a wholesome manner. The Elrics become the children Izumi and Sig always yearned for but could never have. Their banter is also delightful, the puking blood gag (while a bit morbid after learning more about Izumi's past) never fails to get a chuckle out of me.

The theme of cyclicism is explored thoroughly. We see its beautifully sublime nature through the boys' experience training on the island, as well as its more macabre side with the boys committing the same taboo their teacher did in the wake of a tragic loss. This darkness does give way to a wonderfully cathartic moment at the episode's conclusion though, with the boys being able to grieve and express their emotions authentically to someone who can truly empathize with them.

This is really a charming and simultaneously thought-provoking episode. It's a nice break from the political drama and brooding mystery that fills in some important gaps in our knowledge of the Elric boys' past.

This is part of my review for every episode of the show.

This episode leaves us with a thematic question of "What does 'One is all, all is one' mean?" It ties in with the story really well. The main highlight of the episode is Izumi. She is just a badass and she looks like she might be a really well-written character. She is overall very interesting.

The animation continues to impress. It's smooth like butter and incredibly consistent. The pacing of this episode is underated. The comedy is pretty good.

8.4/10 Tight, good episode.