Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - Episode 30 The Ishvalan War of Extermination - Group Reaction 

It WAS flame alchemy on Riza's back tattoo. Master Hawkeye described it as the perfect alchemy.

"The one thing worse than death is to avert your eyes from it. Look straight at the people you kill. Don't take your eyes off them for a second. And don't ever forget them, because I promise that they won't forget you." I love how Riza basically said the same thing as Kimblee by the end. It was such a fantastic character moment for her. Also, read the manga if you want to see just how horrible and brutal this war was lol.

Some things this episode leaves out that manga has: 1. Up until the philosopher’s stone creation, the Ishvalians were holding their own with gorilla warfare. 2. The subplot with Winrey’s parents refusing to evacuate so they can help ishvalians who were injured. 3. Mustang becoming a “hero” in the war by saving soldiers and the Ishvalians he killed. 4. Kimblee’s (The Chrisom Alchemist) genuine respect for Winrey’s parents after hearing their determination to do their job despite the military’s orders and the pressing danger. 5. Kimblee being ordered to kill everyone in an Ishvalian hospital, including Winrey’s parents, only to get there shortly after Scar killed them.

In the 'you love her, don't you?' scene, there's a manga line omitted here, of Hawkeye thinking to herself "....Huh. So he's vulnerable to direct hits..."

Just to be clear; Edward does not kill, he is adamantly against such actions for dealing with his enemies, he'll beat them to shit and back but he wouldnt choose to kill someone if theres another way

I never noticed before that Hughes was standing in the background and overheard the entire conversation between Bradley and the leader of the Ishvalans. So many cool little details in this show!

Kimblee was right in everything he said to them and Riza did not deny that she felt a little satisfaction. He is one of my favorite characters in this anime because of his philosophy and his way of seeing things in general.

I think you guys missed a parallel; the document King Bradley signed was called executive order 3066, which called for the extermination of all ishvalans, is a direct reference to executive order 9066 which FDR signed that called for the Japanese to be placed in internment camps.

If you want to see more of the Ishvalan War I greatly recommend watching the OVA "Yet Another Man's Battlefield."

8:34 This character is Kimblee. If you guys look all the way back to the pilot episode. He was the guy in prison that the freezing alchemist wanted to recruit but he refused to leave jail. The war of extermination is where he is introduced.

1:50 "Just cleans a gun casually." Well its understandable for Hawkeye's character. When she participated in the civil war, she was a sniper. And being a veteran and a member of the military at present, it's probably muscle memory that she can clean a weapon and field strip it so casually while talking like it's a normal conversation. I love how it highlights the small details like that. You guys should watch the O.V.A.s

Hawkeye's back has the flame alchemy research aka. The alchemy that Mustang uses to make fire. He and his master were the only ones who know how to do it.

Its briefly mentioned but the civil war between amestrish and ishval went on for 7 years before the genocide. Its also briefly mentioned that terror attacks were carried out by ishvalans in different regions prior to the war. So a lot of people joined the war out of what they thought was righteous indignation. But then they experienced the war. And saw just how wrong they were.

I always get a bit salty that the anime leaves out that part in the manga involving Basque Gran and the Ishvalan leader, along with several other details. I really hope you guys are interested in reading the manga-if you think Brotherhood is great, the manga is even greater.

I think the anime handled it really well, but the manga went into so much more detail about the Ishvalan War of Extermination. I heavily recommend the manga to anyone who loves FMA.

The closest comparison I can make to the Ishvalin War of Extermination and the real world would probably be what happened to the Native Americans. The attacks were called wars, but in a war the two factions are at least somewhat evenly matched. In reality both instances were just massacres.

Fullmetal is such an intelligent and well executed show. It’s honestly just amazing how many different layers and different growth points for characters you see upon rewatching. For example Riza agreeing with what Kimblee said after being horrified by it beforehand. SUCH A GOOD SHOW.

It's true, Alphonse is a gentleman

I just finished the entire series... I cannot wait to see the rest of your reactions!

Armstrong was the one who raised the wall that prevented those citizens from escaping. He also participated in the genocide, though he was later dismissed for objecting to the massacre.

If you guys want more details about the Ishvalan War of Extermination, I would recommend reading the manga, chapters (57) 58, 59, 60, 61, (62). More details about Winry's parents, Hughes' Squadron, Dr. Knox, etc.

Remember, the war lasted 7 years before that order came down. And it spread to the entire eastern sector. The plague that Ed and Al's mother died from was brought by the war as the Ishvalans pushed west. What happened is indefensible and disgusting, but it cannot be treated as an unprovoked war. That's how they got the soldiers to do it. They had been watching their friends get killed by the Ishvalans for the better part of a decade. As for the Ishvalans having guns, they definitely did. There was a scene in a past episode where Roy says "the power of one man doesn't amount to much" and we see Amestrian soldiers being mowed down by an Ishvalan machine gun nest.

Hmmm. Yeaah... The pride speculations...... I can't wait for the actual reveal. That's always the hypest reactions ever

Ishvalan War of Extermination is simply a sad and tragic episode, one of my favorites.

watching anime made me grow up REAL FAST, I'm 22 now. imagine watching this kind of stuff when your a kid and a teenager. All of these different themes of Life and Death, political and religious views, caring for someone, it's heavy stuff. Imagine being a kid at 8 or 10 and you already know all this different concepts.

this is one of my more favorite episodes in the series because it's more realistic than childish. other shows or even other people in life when getting to the topic of war & god try to make it seem like war is not what you'd expect and people who are worshipers of god believe to the very end that he will vanquish the one pulling the strings and their followers. when in reality, this is exactly what war is, an event of killing one another till there's no one else left to oppose your side. and that in a situation like that, god isn't going to really help you, as much as if anyone is going to stop something like this, it has to be you. that's really a good lesson to be taught, you can't always rely on others, especially a higher power to fix your problems. even if you're not the one who started it. and unless it's for a noble cause, freedom, democracy, equality, etc, if it's just to massacre opposing forces, nothing good or nothing to be happy about (in the abstract) is really going to come out of the bloodshed. other people would say this is not a topic that should be discussed, but really those are people that want to avoid the reality of certain topics at all costs instead of facing them. that's what FMA does, it faces the reality of certain topics head on.

Al is a gentleman xD

I think the general idea with ishval and the creation of stones was that they *did* in fact go through hundreds of ishvalans and kept getting imperfect stones, but eventually the sacrifice of that last group resulted in the flawless stone that was given to kimblee. dr. marco was probably working with really rough and incomplete alchemical science at the time, so it was a process. I don't know if they continued to sacrifice after that, but the manga might have more answers.

2:31 lmao best line i've heard through reactions to this episode

11:39 - "ultimate anime betrayals" ?

I love how when you watch an entire series you can tell what parts reactors will just be screaming and that you have to turn your volume down before.

Gotta love them children's cartoons.

Ed has never killed anybody and it's very important to him (I think mostly because of his trauma of the human transmutation he did with his brother...)

It's not just Kimblee who feels pride in killing, the point of Hawkeye's terrified expression when Kimblee asks that question is that he's right, she does feel pride in her skills, and she's ashamed and scared that she does.

the fuhrer challenging God's wrath. Remember kids, don't try this at home!

Alphonse: *"and thats how I met your mother"*

Oh god, Marketa was so good in this one. I really love how focused she gets... also, always gorgeous.

haha you guys at the start xD "Is it on english!?" "NO!" "Quick change it!" "Oh god no the button isn't working!" (hysterical screaming)

There are a few scenes from the Manga that didn't make it in. Knox asking Marcoh why they're killing people when they're doctors. Kimblee being tasked with killing the Rockbells. He genuinely respected their resolve to treat everyone in the war even though he would have killed them if Scar didn't. Armstrong let two people that survived the trap escape, but Kimblee killed them as a "favor" for Armstrong, since he did what he felt was right, so he wouldn't be get in trouble. Then Colonel Grand was the one who escorted the Ishvalan leader for him to surrender. The Brigadier General in charge refused and ordered his men to keep fighting. Grand shot him saying that most Amestrian officers were killed by their own men and all of the soldiers present agreeing that it was a stray shot from another battlefield. I think there might be others.

I watched this when I was a kid and when I watched the show I got the connections between the ishvalan war and the war in the Middle East but I didn’t get the corrupt government commentary the show was giving I thought it was just a moral issue

Yeah King Bradley is savage.

Just so you know...In Poland it's almost mandatory for kids in late junior high or early high school to go with your class to Auschwitz or other concentration camp as it's a part of the sad history of our country (which we learn starting from a young age...).

this was a very good discussion on morality....such a good episode...that scene with kimberly and hawkeye gave me chills when i saw that

They are always discussing Kimblee being pride, technically Kimblee does become pride

Executive Order 3066: Exterminate the Ishvalans Executive Order 66: Exterminate the Jedi

Kimblee is an interesting character because he looks af the world objectively. And the hard to accept thing is, sometimes he's right. Amestris is a militaristic nation. Anyone who signs up for the military academy, goes through training and puts on that uniform *did* sign up to kill if the state sends them to war. Of course it's always different talking about it than actually getting out in the field and _doing_ it, but you could certainly say the civil war killed something inside them, too. Bradley's rant on how humans shouldn't rely on "God" makes sense when you remember his upbringing. The other Fuhrer Candidates died from having the Philosopher's Stone injected into them, but he didn't. The odds were against him and the stone destroyed his body again and again, but in the end, he won. No one held his hand or helped him for one minute through that process. That's why Bradley cannot relate to people who wait on others to save them rather than doing it themselves. For him, trying and dying is better than giving up.

Honestly without this episode i wouldn't be able to keep rooting for these people. The fact that what most bind Riza and Mustang together and what most drives them is *guilt* over the things they've done... They were following orders, but as humans they had a choice, every time she pulled the trigger, every time he snapped his fingers. No one understands this better than Armstrong, actually. He keeps regreting not staying and fighting, but he's never actually referring to the extermination; he's said he profoundly regrets not standing up to his superiors and trying to stop them. Armstrong's biggest regret was abandoning his fellow countrymen and women when they needed him most; the Ishvalans. That is his greatest shame. I won't spoil it but there's a character that appears later on that doesn't like Armstrong very much for fleeing the battlefield, and it's never really stated, but it's because they, too, think he should've stayed to fight and even die for the ishvalans rather that letting the military discharge him.

9:00 Oh hey, I just noticed that Hughes was in that meeting too. That’s actually really interesting, makes sense that he was suspicious of Bradley for a lot longer than everyone else then

It would be cool if you did reactions to the videos of the openings and endings of the show.

So this is somehow my favorite episode of this series. Just to see how every one of our favorite characters at least all of mine were essentially horrific war criminals and to see even just a couple trying to take responsibility for these acts to see Riza accept her part and Mustang and Armstrong obviously shaken by this. And ti have Solf just showing how he always been manic. Just incredible writing

FMA Time, time to show the War, War is Hell. I'm curious, just how far ahead are you irl right now? Pride isn't in the Third Intro, but Greedling is, and has been since its debut, which is why we warned you of spoilerific content in the intros Kimblee, his name is Kimblee, you will see him in this episode in fact Kimblee was a State Alchemist, the Crimson Alchemist. He's in jail for killing his superiors, because in his words he could. He has a Stone in hand and a flair for explosions, not to mention that he's the one who scarred Scar and killed his family. Not confirmed, There's only known Alchemy from the East and West; Amestris and Xing, Alchemy and Alkahestry. This is because of the legend of the Eastern/Western Sage who came from Xerxes. Yes, Berthold Hawkeye, the progenitor of Flame Alchemy and Mustang's initial teacher. Mustang has been a close part of Hawkeye's family for a while, being the student of her estranged father in Alchemy (estranged due to his obsession with creating Flame Alchemy, tattooing his research notes onto her back) and then being the protege of her grandfather General Grumman at Eastern Command. I'm not saying meant to be but it's fucking meant to be you know? As much as Hawkeye is one of the many nurturing presences in Ed and Al's life, she does not hold back, she always treats the boys like adults, thus before when she chided Mustang for withholding Hughes death from them Initiate Order 3066...Killing all Jedi, and 30 others Very much straight up Genocide In the Manga, Basque Grand's role in Ishval is expanded. He is the one who escorts the Ishvalan leader, hoping to get an audience with King Bradley. However, the guy who dismissed Armstrong (a horrid man, he would call every victory 'home runs' even if the cost of his own men was high) refused him, hoping to take credit for himself. Grand shot him point blank and took over his position, but all witnesses would tell you that a stray bullet killed him. Ah Poor Hughes, we miss him. And Mustang with the Post-Foreshadowing...Deja Vu-Shadowing? Yeah, Ishval wasn't a country circle, they used Ishvalans to make a stone but it's not like Xerxes when its entire population save for the Eastern/Western Sage was wiped out Each Body sacrificed is laid out on a point on the circle, that's important to notice King Bradley taking down the fucking Divine with that speech Kimblee is not crazy, he is a functioning psychopath and sociopath for sure but he's not crazy. He passed a mental test to get his uniform, his ideals are just different from the norm. I do love Al's timid 'Well thank you', just cracks me up every time I think it's the trial that matters, being imprisoned is not always the outcome, some still get cleared of their war crimes, but not often. If anything should this come, it's likely that they'd lose their jobs, which isn't as huge a deal if parliament is back in power but as long as they avoid the Firing Squad... Ed has not killed people before, he is adamant not to kill There is an OVA you should watch now called Yet Another Man's Battlefield, which delves more into Mustang's experience in the military into the war, and how he met Hughes, it's one of the best OVAs of the four. You can watch 'The Blind Alchemist' (careful it's disturbing) and 'Simple People' but you will have to wait till after...uhhh, 34? I think it's 34 The Ishvalans did have Guns, the Order was late into the War, so State Alchemists weren't involved until the end of the war. Many Ishvalans left the country or raided nearby cities, so that's where survivors and the slums spawned from There was indeed more than one stone made, the other was the one Marcoh had in his possession that he showed Ed. It was after the war ended that he went AWOL, taking the stone, his research and changing his name KimBLEE, just think of it like Kimberly but no er If Kimblee was Pride then why would he need another stone? No it was Flame Alchemy, Berthold said he wasn't ready to learn it and that he had completed the research before he died, he had 'entrusted' his research to Riza, 'look after my daughter, she has my research'. The controlling of Fire is devastating guys, he would indeed call it the most powerful Alchemy The term is 'rewatchability', that's what makes a good show, learning something new every time you rewatch

5:36 Armstrong was on the ground not because he couldn't go on, but that was just after he created a blockade and set up those people to be executed on the spot

It's understandable to want Scar to pay for what he's done. It's understandable to think that you would have pulled the trigger if you switched places with Winry. Whenever I think of someone harming my loved ones, I have no problem picturing myself murdering the shit out of whoever did it. It's understandable to wish Winry had killed Scar, but the fact that she didn't makes her a better character and a better person, not just compared to Scar, but compared to most people. Winry is an unquestionably good person.

Ishava Uprising did last for 7 years and broke out through most of the east side. For them to have gone on that long they had too have had weapons. I don’t think the Alchemist wiped them out in a day. It probably did last weeks and months to push them back. It was a long and bloody campaign for both sides. At least enough to where Dr. Marco’s statement about giving a PS to Crimson Alchemist definitively give them the upper hand.

How can you be so inhuman??? King Bradley: Well funny you should ask that!

You guys really need to watch the OVAs they bring lot to the series and at the end there is a blooper reel as well mini episode.

One of the best episodes in my opinion.

Yes! Been waiting for your reactions to this amazing episode!

It takes Genocide to make a Philosopher's stone. Every stone in this series represents an entire murdered population.

I watched this when I was 16 and I got it! Now I’m 27 and still one of my fave anime!

9:19 😂😂🤣💀 that facial expression 👍🏼

I cannot wait till you meet the Briggs characters. You keep asking about them in the credits and then I start bouncing up and down in my office chair.

It's not as black and white. Ishvalan initiated the first move of entering a state of war just like the baddies wanted them to, not just a part of ishvalans but their entire nation and race. When the majority of ishvalans are in support of the rebellion, the hqs, the hideouts, the armories are all hidden in plain sight, in populated areas. The extermination of ishval is the perfect way to end the rebellion once and for all. For good reasons, too; There were a sub plot of them burning down resembol, i don't quite remember, but attacks on amestrians definitely took place. Thus soldier sign up, in the name of protection and patriotism, they march towards the battle to smoke out the "terrorists"(which there were a lot, also walking among the masses of normal ishvalan civilians as well), just to realize half way through that it is just slaughter. So yeah, perfect excuses to commit genocide. If you really want to get the details i suggest read the comics, just around this part is good enough, author made the war feels so realistic. Do it, better than reading my shitty grammar. also the ovas might help you to paint a bigger picture, no need to worry about spoilers.

I watch this show when I was 15yo, and although I definitely didn’t catch up to all the political an social commentary I did understood the message and how evil was to use people as a resources and not as humans. The show is fantastic for teens because the most important part of the show is not the political conflict and conspiracies, but the heart of each character, how they deal with pain and learn to rise from it stronger, and that forms matter how bad things get a human is a human and you can never use them for your own gain

I’m really exited for the next line of episodes

lol every reacter goes like "WHAT ASDFGH OHHH" too loud at the "master Hawkeye!" line to catch him saying that Riza carries his encrypted flame alchemy research.

I watched the original show when I was 10 and I must say this is definitely a great show for kids, you gotta learn about genocide eventually anyway, although in my case I already knew about it from documentaries and stuff like that

There was a close up of one of the chimera dogs in the cell. You guys seem to miss that

I know this video is a little delayed, but you should watch the OVA about Ishval as well.

Wrath says god doesn't exist when he had direct knowledge of the gate that leads to "truth" which is another way to say God.

I saw this show first when I was 11 or 12 and I definitely understood what was happening with the conspiracies and stuff.

This episode had me cryinggg

2:28 Jesus... 0 chill.

To answer their question, Yes. Kids were watching this show. It was on toonami and it didn't censor much. A lot of parents did have a problem with the complicated political times, but it was balanced enough that they gave it a shot

Gonna be honest after this episode i don't fell bad for Riza, Mustang and Hughes like at all.

1:45 freaky ass 😂😂😧😧😧

Peace was never an option indeed

Where are Season 2 episodes 11 and 12 of Attack of Titan?

Executive order: 3066 is a lot like StarWars' Order 66

"Yeah, KIMBLE."

Talking about ISIS negatively isn't "political." They're monsters.

You came for 5:33

This anime is above all animes, or even animated shows. Like Avatar kinda.

OMG this episode is so good

Was it episode 37 that pride was revealed...?

I really wish the show captured how Riza gave Roy the flame alchemy on her back trusting his naive ideals and showed how she asked him to burn her back to prevent any other flame alchemist ever again after the gross abuse of it in Ishval. That's why Roy thinks Riza has right to judge and shoot him any moment.

Read Murray Rothbard's Anatomy of the State.

We read Night by Elie Wiesel in 8th grade... it kind of fucked us up a bit, I'm thinking maybe we were a little too young in retrospect. But I definitely understood the weight of a genocide when I read Fullmetal Alchemist a few months later. I mean, that was a decade ago, and I still have never come across imagery more disturbing than casual onlookers tossing bread crusts into crowded train cars like they're feeding geese, just to watch the people inside trample and kill each other for it..... I guess my point is, that if my 8th grade lit teacher thought we could handle reading Night, then there are plenty of younger teens that can handle FMA.

Read this post to see more re: Ishval that FMAB cut out. Extremely important scenes. roymaes.tumblr.com/post/164146683478/15-things-about-ishval-that-brotherhood-cut-out

They split the philospher stone into shards and gave it to the sate alchemists.

BAHAHAHA Suraj in the thumbnail

"execute order 66"

Oh... Well thank you

honorable move after committing genocide?? man you guys downplay this too much.

It blows my mind that this show makes us root for characters who are basically Nazis. As you said, a very smart show.

Food first, YAS suraj!

A homunculus can't be an Alchemist, they are not human not even wrath who has been striped of his humanity.

8:13 ost?

1:39 tefuk

This ep is pretty disturbing. Showing all these hitherto sympathetic characters straight up committing genocide. It's outright chilling.