5/5 The Second Half of a Brilliant Story
  by R. C. Bowman (Hatch-a-Patch, CA)
"Fullmetal Alchemist" follows the adventures of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, in a parallel world called Amestris, which closely resembles our own. There is one fundamental difference: in Amestris, the science of alchemy has superceded all of our sciences in importance. It's obvious why: alchemy combines all of them. If you understand the composition of matter, you can almost instantly take something--lead, say, or dirt--and create gold or flowers out of it. Matter is matter; matter of any kind can become matter of anything. There is one rule to this science, however: the law of equivalent exchange. To gain, something of equal value must be lost. The one exception to this rule is life: there is no matter of any kind that can be traded for life.

After the sudden death of their mother, Edward and Alphonse ignore this crucial rule, and try to bring her back. The attempt ends in disaster: Alphonse loses his human body, and Edward is maimed. The creature they made is nothing like their mother: it is a monster.

In order to restore Al's body, Edward has no alternative but to find the Philosopher's Stone, the only object on earth that can skirt the rule of equivalent exchange. However, the military is the only organization with real information on the Stone. So, in order to obtains what he needs, Edward must join the military--losing most of his freedom in the process. It's equivalent exchange all over again.

In the second season, the consequences grow more dire, the storylines deeper, more emotional, more moving, and more tragic. Pursued by evil, inhuman creatures known as the Homunculi who are also after the Stone, Edward ends up separated from Alphonse, and the two brothers embark on individual, parallel courses in order to do what they must, courses that could end the life of one or both before their goal is reached--or before they ever see each other again.

"Fullmetal Alchemist" has a brilliant story populated with brilliant characters. Both the plot and the people are among the best I have ever encountered in a fictional work of any kind. I'm not even an anime fan; I stumbled on this because I thought the story sounded cool. It's beyond cool; I don't often use this word, but I will repeat: it is brilliant. I can't recommend it enough.

5/5 FMA is one of the most amazing anime ever
  by Dustin W. Walker
This is a great anime. A great and touching end to the series and should be seen by everyone.

5/5 If you love the show
  by S. J. Hall
If you love the show you will love this box set. It comes with guide books and plenty of extras. My daughter loves the series and has been very pleased with her videos.

Now we just need the Brotherhood series to complete our collection.

5/5 Stellar Plot, Great Anime
  by silhouette_of_enchantment (USA)
This is the second season of one of the best animes ever. But, if you're new to the anime and haven't seen the second season, get ready for some additional shocks. The anime takes another, darker turn, where Edward and Alfonse are again, directly confronted with issues of life, death, social responsibility and an existential questioning of every belief regarding alchemy that they've held dear. This is the final 26 episodes.

5/5 Great Series!
  by Wednesdae T. Reed (Baltimore, MD USA)
I'm a big fan of this series and it's great to have the whole second season all in one box set.