10 Devastating TV Show Moments That Came Out Of Nowhere
4. Nina Is A Chimera - Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Every now and then there is an artistic triumph so good it transcends its medium. You don’t need to love superhero movies to enjoy The Dark Knight, you don’t need to enjoy jazz to love Kind Of Blue, and even the most hardcore of anime haters would be hard pushed to find fault in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Its strength lies in its characters. Not only the Elric brothers but everyone. Case and point: Nina Tucker, a playful 5-year-old girl who appears in episode four. If you’ve seen it you’re probably feeling that gut-wrenching feeling the episode delivers already.
After the Elric brothers spend the first half of the episode hanging out with Nina and her pet dog Alexander, they return to her father's house to discover a talking ‘chimera’ the state alchemist created. In one of the most haunting sequences in the show, Ed discovers that the beast is the result of a twisted experiment that combined Nina and Alexander into the chimera, mutilating them both to create the hybrid.
It’s one of those rare moments that once seen is never forgotten. Nina is eventually killed in an act of mercy by Scar to end her suffering, who also murdered her father for his crimes. Tragic and gripping like no other moment in the show, Nina is an early example in Brotherhood that shows just what a high ambition and powerful TV it really is.