I’ve got to admit I love listening to these musical pieces no matter if I’ve never watched the show this one is attached to. I’ve been hearing a lot about Fullmetal Alchemist lately however and am seriously considering giving it a look after hearing violinist Taylor David play this haunting but pleasing piece. It’s rather upbeat and almost earthy in its tones but not so much that it grounds one completely. There’s still an element of airiness to the music that allows a person to float upon the notes and simply let themselves drift as they continue to listen. So far reading about the Fullmetal Alchemist this seems to fit quite well with the story line.
The idea of brothers that stick together through thick and thin and everything that comes their way is an enticing story that is coupled with the idea of an alternate world where alchemy is not just embraced, it’s encouraged. The story of two brothers, one whose soul is bound to a suit of armor and the other who is a Fullmetal Alchemist, one who has mastered the fine art of alchemy and is possessed of two metal limbs to replace those that he lost earlier in the story. Their tale is one that is both exciting and kind of complicated, almost like an adventure story mixed in with just enough scifi and drama as well as fantasy to make it worth the while of just about anyone that loves a good amount of action and a lot of the unknown.
The tune starts off slow, almost as surely as an origin might. There is a saddening quality to it at first, as though telling a tale of woe and regret that is hard to escape. Yet somewhere buried beneath the notes is a resolve that is stronger than the regret that is felt, and is resolute enough that those involved have resolved to find a way past their lot in life, a means by which to make their lives better and recoup some of the joy that might have existed at one time. Hope is a candle of sorts that burns brightest when it is given the belief it needs to survive. Though even hope can at times seem pointless as it is easy enough to snuff out when chance is able to reach out and with grasping fingers snatch it away.
That still doesn’t deter many people who are so focused upon what they want that they will go to great and sometimes forbidden lengths to get it. Of course the blowback from such actions is hardly ever pleasant, but it is a price that all people who desire something so badly feel the need to pay from time to time. The unseen promise of hope is something that once glimpsed, even if just for spare second, cannot be unwritten from the tale that is our lives, no matter how much memory will seek to hide it away.
What does all that mean?
Simple, hope is the future we all strive for in one way or another, and it is a driving force behind the story of the Fullmetal Alchemist.
