AAGGHH!!

[telophase]

So I'm all set to pop in disc 3 of Fullmetal Alchemist, and I find ... the damn thing is broken. Cracked open from the center to one edge. Dammit! I reported it to Netflix, but it'll be at least Wednesday before another copy gets to me. I don't like watching these things out of order, but I've got disc 4 just sitting here eyeing me. Guess it can't be helped.

Comments

[thomasyan.livejournal.com]

If I remember correctly, Nina Has Two Lovers arrived cracked. So I asked for a replacement. That was also cracked. Grr! I forget if that was the period where half the discs Netflix sent me were cracked or otherwise unplayable.

Nowadays, when I get a new disc, I try to remember to take it out and inspect it, even if I'm not planning on watching it soon, just in case it is cracked or scratched. I'm hoping to reduce the odds of being unpleasantly surprised.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

It happened once before to me, but I still keep forgetting to check the discs.

I've had one lost when sent to me and one lost when I mailed it out (and one take an extra-long time when I mailed it out), but those are all the problems I've had over the course of a year.

[octopedingenue]

I've had several lost, cracked wrong, or otherwise unplayable discs (especially from "Great Teacher Onizuka" for some reason, WTF) from Netflix--perhaps as retaliation for me having such a high disc turnover rate on the whole and thereby rendering me unprofitable. :P

[the-z.livejournal.com]

The interruption in service is definitely a pain in the ass :/ Especially when you're going on one disc at a time.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Every so often I think that I could just drop down from the 3-disc subscription - and then I realize that I pretty much watch videos in clumps of 3 at a time and it would drive me crazy not to have the choice.

[fourthage.livejournal.com]

If I recall correctly, watching the episodes on disc three out of order won't do much harm. If you had to skip four and watch five first, then that would be bad.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

I looked at the titles and saw that two of them were the fake Elric brothers episodes, and since I've just read the novel with them in it, I'm sort of fed up with the fake Elric brothers, so at least I won't be missing those. :D

[fourthage.livejournal.com]

I hated the fake Elric brothers. The younger one wasn't too bad, but the older one was just annoying. Usually I like two-parters, but I groaned when I finished the first episode and realized they would be around for another.

[kate_nepveu]

Disc 3 is weak anyway. It brings the series back up to the "present" (10 is on the way to Lior, and 11 and 12 are leaving Lior), but otherwise it's not crucial (though because this is FMA, it should be watched in preparation for later developments).

Disc 4 rocks. =>

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Cool. :D

Can I skip the fake Elric brothers since I've read the book, or do they set anything up in those two episodes?

[kate_nepveu]

Not anything that I know about, but I'm only up to episode 35.

[marith.livejournal.com]

Can I skip the fake Elric brothers since I've read the book, or do they set anything up in those two episodes?

There is a bit of setup. Mugear's plans are nastier in the anime, and Lust makes an appearance, but the important part for the plot arc is the red water they're making and refining. Red water, bad juju.

(And I haven't seen all the way to the end of the anime, but strongly suspect the Tringham brothers will show up at least once more.)

[telophase.livejournal.com]

OK. I remember the red water from the book, but it was self-contained of necessity. *files red water away*

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

Hmm. The fake Elric brothers are definitely something you need to know about, but since you've read the book, maybe you can skip the episode. But I don't know how much deviation there is between the book and the anime.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Once I get the DVD, I'll probably pop it in and let it run and just not pay too much attention to it. I came this close to skipping the chimera episodes with the dog and the girl because I'd read it in scanlation and read it in the English release and OH DEAR GOD I DO NOT WANT TO SEE THAT STORY AGAIN, but I noted they took at least two episodes for what was a much shorter manga episode and deduced that there was much more to them.

I am quite happy to note that Hughes plays a larger part in the anime than the manga - I read volume 4 and figured he had to be more featured in the anime, what with everyone talking about him as if he had a larger role. :)

[kate_nepveu]

I've been really impressed with the way the anime has shuffled, expanded, and strengthened the manga's story, at least through the two volumes that I've read.

Particularly WRT Hughes and Roy.

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

I got switched from Netflix' Santa Ana distributor to their San Bernadino one about a month ago. Since then, about 80% of my discs have had unplayable (and unfixable with my Disc Doctor) spots.

It's extremely irritating to have to stop in the middle of Crucial Plot Development X or Giant Fight Scene Y to try to fix a bad spot, or skip over it to the next playable area.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Yuck. The one I use is their Coppell office, and they've been pretty good. The 2 lost discs and one extra-slow delivery all took place within a month, back around July or so, so I'm guessing it was something up on their end.