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| Overall | Art | Animation | Character Design | Music | Series Story | Episode Story | Reviewer | |
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| Watch | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 |
 Ggultra2764
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[series:2016#1552] |
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I was dreading having to make my way through Brotherhood at some point considering my high regard for the first series and not really liking the manga adaptation's more conventional plot developments. But considering enough people were praising the daylights out of Brotherhood and some even boasting that the first series was no longer relevant, I decided to check things out for myself and see what got people giddy over this adaptation of the series. And after venturing my way through Brotherhood, I would have to say that those calling the first series irrelevant are ridiculous considering both titles have completely different takes on their source material and the handling of them that whichever series you prefer would depend on what you are looking for in an anime. In Brotherhood's case, it takes the Fullmetal Alchemist manga and makes a more closer adaptation of the source material which is quite focused on world building and creating a grand scale plot coming out of the Elrics finding out details about the Philosopher's Stone and eventually finding out about a national conspiracy and heinous plot connected to the Homunculus and powerful figures in the Amestris military. This take on FMA does follow a more conventional plot than the first TV series as much of the complex characterization found with prominent characters in the original series is greatly toned down with Brotherhood creating a more plot-focused series and morality with many characters being more black and white as the series has more purely "good" and "bad" characters with the former being always right in their convictions within the series and the latter having no redeemable traits and being wrong in their actions. With me believing that good characters in an anime should be morally grey with flawed heroes and villains with redeemable traits, I wasn't digging Brotherhood's conventional take on characters. Brotherhood did have some elements that I did get some enjoyment out of. With Brotherhood being more focused on world building and plot advancement, the series expands more on the world of the series than what the first series did by introducing more branches of the military and some other countries neighboring Amestris, particularly Xerxes and Xing. This also allows the introduction of some new characters in the series with several characters from Xing and within the military that Ed and Al befriend and ally with when dealing with the Homunculus and the conspiracy they uncover. In addition, some characters from the original series who were underdeveloped and not having much screen time (Hohenheim, Alex Armstrong and Roy Mustang's men being prominent examples) are given more focus in this series, get some moments of fleshing out and are given bigger roles to play. Still though, there are enough issues I have with Brotherhood that outweigh the praises I give it above. The show's first 12-13 episodes run at a fast pace providing little time to connect with characters introduced and with the events of those episodes having been portrayed in the first series, Bones appeared to have intentionally sped through the events to get going with what wasn't covered by the first series. With Bones more closely following the manga's storyline for Brotherhood, these earlier episodes had featured a major flaw to FMA manga-ka Hiromu Arakawa's earlier chapters in that her fast advancement of events gave little time for emotional investment from readers in regards to how characters reacted to major events that shook their resolves, particularly Ed and Al with the Nina incident and Roy regarding Hughes' death, as the lack of time and depth on plotting in earlier chapters did kill their quality to a great extent. With the slower pacing and greater character focus found in FMA's first series, Arakawa had adopted these elements to a degree with her storytelling in later chapters which helped improve the quality of her writing. I also found myself getting quite irritated with the show's comedy getting in the way of more serious moments. This was quite prominent in Brotherhood's earlier episodes where moments of slapstick and characters going super-deformed killed the suspense of serious moments. While the series does tone down on these moments in later episodes as the plot gets darker and more serious, they still pop up on occasion and when they do, I still found them to be a mood killer during most scenes. Despite the praises I gave for new characters and expanded depth on underdeveloped characters who appeared in the original series, I couldn't give the same thing for a majority of other characters who appeared in the first series. Brotherhood's portrayal of these characters are more conventional and less complex as heroic characters aren't confronted with any possible flaws to their actions and personal beliefs; as well as all the villains being so shallowly evil that they're laughable and I could care less if they get beaten up and killed off. The final episodes to a good extent also felt quite contrived with how things progress just to allow all the surviving characters to have a good ending. A number of moments were deus ex machina thrown in for villains to be defeated through means which the series never explored and they kind of cheapen how I felt about the hardships faced by the Elrics and other prominent characters to get what they desire. In terms of presentation, visual details with Brotherhood are a bit simpler than the first series with color tones being more subdued. This is especially prominent with background designs in many shots as their quality looks quite washed out compared to scenery found in the foreground. Still, character designs of those from the original series still look the same as they were from over five years ago. While animation shortcuts are apparent in a good number of shots in Brotherhood, the series does have its animation highlights with the occasional fluid fight sequence and some good fight scenes involving Envy's true form. For music, much of Brotherhood's insert music consists of stringed and piano pieces that do well at complementing the peaceful and intense moments seen throughout the series. On the other hand, many of the OP and ED musical choices chosen for the series consisted of some generic J-Pop and J-Rock that hardly grabbed my interest, though the first OP, Yui's again, did well at fitting with Brotherhood's mood. Overall, I found my perceptions of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood to be no different from when I read the manga. It goes for a more conventional style of storytelling compared to the first FMA series and while it does have its moments of good quality involving character focus and world building, its more plot heavy and conventional focus drives it to lose much of the complexity given to prominent characters of the first series and the poor quality to its plotting in its beginning and ending episodes does kill quite a bit of the plot buildup that I would be expected to care about. While a worthwhile watch to those craving an epic-style action-adventure series or wanting a more faithful adaptation of the FMA manga, those wanting better characterization and solid drama with the series (in my case) would be better off seeing the 2003 anime adaptation of FMA. Last updated Saturday, November 12 2011. Created Saturday, November 12 2011. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9 |
 Dreamer
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[series:2016#2279] |
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Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing!! This is now my second favorite anime of all time..... the first being Millennium Actress. I had heard of this a while back but never paid attention to it until I found an amazing AMV (anime music video) on youtube that just had my mouth gaping in awe. You can see it here. Art, Animation & Character Designs Artwork is what I would consider as being good. It had some richly done backgrounds and foregrounds. Animation was pretty smooth. Character designs were also well done and the fact that we have tons of characters, it was suprising that all had their own unique style, look and appearance. Character details weren't skimped out on either. Music Because this series is so long (60+ episodes), we have a handful of OPs and EDs... which is a good thing. Variety is great. The OP (first one) was pretty good. It's a stray from the norm and a welcome. It was an alternative piece with female vocals and had some interesting highs and lows. The second OP was a lighter alternative piece with male vocals. Nothing to interesting there. The third OP was another intersting one. Not sure how to classify it so I'll just say, nice. The fourth OP was probably my favorite. It started off with a nice electric guitar... nice small riff. Then it swung into male vocals that climbed to a nice stanza that really caught my attention. The fifth and final OP started off slow (male vocals) and slowly progressed to a more melodic beat. Good alternative. The soundtrack had some dramatic pieces throughout the gazillion episodes, as well as orchesta-like instrumentals... some of which were really good. Especially the ones with the various chants. Nice. As for the first ED, it wasn't a bad piece either.... male vocals... light rock piece. The second ED was a nice light one with female vocals.... sounded a bit like a country song. I think it was the voice that did it. The third ED wasn't of my flavor but was similar to the second ED. Still not bad. The fourth ED was a nice upbeat rock piece with female vocals. This one was by far the better of the EDs with a nice rhythm and a good sequenced animation. The fifth and final ED was another piece that reminded me of a country song. It was a nice light alternative with female vocals. Not exactly my flavor but still works well. Series and Episode Story Where do I start? Wow! Well, let me start off by saying that I'm new to FMA. So I can't compare this to the earlier version as I have not seen it. So with that being said, I found this tremendously amazing and just near perfect (in my humble opinion). A few reviews below had mentioned that it was too "rushed". I didn't feel that honestly..... but then again, I have nothing to compare it to. The back stories of the Elric brothers wasn't revealed until much later into the episodes... and even then, it was briefly. I found this perfectly fine as it really wasn't too relevant in the beginning half. I believe had I watched the first one, then I might sub-conciously compare the two and "possibly" give this a less of a "wow" factor. With that said, I'm fixing to pick up the first one and see it through. Now the plot. Wow! I was truly impressed as I sat through each episode. As it progressed, the plot would get deeper and deeper and introduce new characters that brings things (and the plot) to life. In reality, the plot is pretty strait forward but what makes it most interesting is how various twists, subplots and surprises brilliantly gets woven in, taking the story to new levels. Take for example how.... (I won't reveal any names), how some characters in the beginning would be the biggest enemy, but fast foward a bunch of episodes and all of a sudden they're forced to switch sides for a far greater good. This is just one of many excellent twists to the plot. Loved it! Characters were great! We have tons of them too. It's not just only the protagonist and antagonist that are richly explored, but many of the supporting characters and even some often obscure characters.... and not necessarily in terms of their backgrounds or backstories but rather used and revealed in such a manner that they hold a great deal of relevance in the development of the story as whole. It was really exciting to see a character used in the first few episodes, then they pretty much vanish from the series until much later. Awesome! Overall, I was hightly impressed with this series and sort of wished it never ended or at least had few dozen more episodes. Yes, I felt it was that good. If you don't mind sitting through 64 episodes, then pick this one up. It's a must watch! Last updated Tuesday, August 30 2011. Created Tuesday, August 30 2011. | ||||||||
| Watch | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
 Violet D
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[series:2016#1393] |
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Brotherhood is on Adult Swim on early,early sunday morning. It really follows along with the Manga and I think it is good from what I have seen of it so far. I like the idea of a narator. Bleach does the same. So if you have missed any of the episodes are recap helps.I like the new version of it. I'm really enjoying theses episodes. I'm puzzled about Mustang though and if he really fried the female soldier that was with Ed and Lab 5. I can't believe he felt she was guilty of Hughs' death. Mustang is up to something and I guess we will find out sooner or later. I just watched another episode this morning and omg I thought Mustang and Al were going to get killed by the Humongulous. But fortunately they were not. Then I watched Ed seeing his father and then that episode ended. But I enjoyed it. A new twist to FMA This episode 0n Adult Swim was a shocker. Eds' father asks ED if he is sure it was his mother they brought back that night or a Humongulous? Now Ed gave his teacher a call to find out if the baby she brought back was hers. Another new twist to FMA. Ed decides to did up his mother and find out if it is her. It isn't surprise. Another episode I watched was Ed asks Winry why she said no to Al and him and she says because they both were short. A little comic relief for a very intense Anime. The one that is comming out soon I really want to see. This is a good one though and always leaves me a little tense when I watch it. Surprises every episode I have watched. I have been watching this on Adult Swim since it started. There are some good parts and some I sometimes get lost in. This one is good but I would have to say I like the first Fullmetal better. But if you are a FM fan you can catch FM Brotherhood on Adult Swim. You decide.
Last updated Monday, June 27 2011. Created Monday, March 22 2010. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
 manganime
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[series:2016#1633] | ||
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I agree totally with what Silence said. The pace of this series seems too rushed; situations aren't as developed in this series as they were in its predecesor; I have watched 7 episodes so far and will be watching number 8 later tonight, if I didn't watch the original I know I would be quite confused by now. There is an overuse of stupid, immature, slapstick gags with the exaggeration of expressions. But this all being said, I hope things become more serious and we will get another epic series by the end. Last updated Saturday, May 30 2009. Created Saturday, May 30 2009. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Silence
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[series:2016#2939] | ||||||
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51 episodes watched. Obviously this series is targeted at those who have already watched the original series. It does not bother to integrate the revelation of the juicy bits about Ed and Al; instead they are just thrown in our faces. And the pace is blistering to say the least. 7 episodes into this and we arrive at about what, episode 30 of the original series? And somehow, i liked the artwork of the original better than the current one. And I detest the overuse of cracks at Ed's height as well as the exaggerated expressions that appear way too frequently. Come on! This series is supposed to be deep. Give us some seriousness! But I guess that is too much to ask... Oh well, I am watching this for the (hopefully) improved second half, and I believe that is what the staff have in mind. So I would not penalize this series too heavily on the lackluster start. I just hope we would have something great towards the end. Ah! Finally! A deviation from the original series in episode 13. They start to say that Al should have seen more of the "Truth" than any one else, cos he lost his whole body. Then Greed is trying to get the secret of sealing a soul to another object out of Al. A small deviation, but i expect much more to come. Episode 14. Things are now unravelling. We see Greed getting whooped by King Bradley, the Ultimate Eye, who turns out to be Wrath. Sloth is apparently a big bulky guy. And their boss who executed greed, looks somewhat like Ed and Al's father (Hohenheim, is it?). Hm... Interesting. The action is fluid and cool, demonstrating the potential of the series, and pace is finally slowing down. (Hey, we have like 3 episodes in the same place!) Well, I will be anticipating the rest of the series, hoping that it will live up to its potential. Into 18 episodes and this series is still slapstick. Oh well. The story is progressing in manners I have not anticipated, but that should be the case. I'll stick with this one. In episode 19, we see just how a very emotional and serious episode can be blemished by incessant slapstick. Right before the confrontation between Mustang and Lust, Havoc had to say that he loves big breasts... Serves him right for being impaled from the back. Overall a powerful episode with a mighty hook at the end: Hohenheim shows his face to Ed. Hurray! Seriousness at last. 1 single episode without exaggerated and comical facial expressions at the most inappropriate moments. Imagine that. Episode 27 is a cryptic dream by Hohenheim, as well as a summary of the past 26 episodes. New op and ed too. Nice animation work on both of them. its not often I really watch the op and ed unless I really like the song, but the animation makes me wanna watch then again and again. While this series has been prolific with songs I like, almost nothing else is up to par. It just gets more and more ridiculous by the episode. I am just watching this for the sake of finishing it, since I have come so far already. Last updated Tuesday, April 06 2010. Created Sunday, May 24 2009. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Stretch
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[series:2016#628] | ||||||
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(One episode watched): I thought that the original series was OK but not great, so I wasn't waiting for this remake with baited breath. Perhaps that's why my conclusion was that given this episode it seems hard to see why there will be any reason to watch this version when you've already seen the first (unless you're a total FMA fanatic, of course). This episode seemed to rush into the story, reintroducing all of the principal characters plus Ed and Al's secret, as if it would be a waste of time to reveal these things more gradually and subtly. The assumption must be that practically everyone watching would have already seen the original series anyhow. The characters seemed to be showing off, as if the makers were relying on the thrill which longtime viewers would get from seeing them again instead of producing a properly made anime. Ed getting pissed at comments about his stature seemed overdone to me, and likewise yet another evil alchemist who can take out nameless soldiers with his bag of tricks. Maybe this version is intended largely to replace the second half of the original series, which I believe differed significantly from the manga. I hope that's the case, because so far I prefer the first version over this one. Last updated Tuesday, April 21 2009. Created Tuesday, April 21 2009. | ||||||||
| Unevaluated |
 Forbin
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[series:2016#1573] | ||||||
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First Look: Redo! Still looks good though. MAISM Last updated Thursday, April 16 2009. Created Thursday, April 16 2009. | ||||||||
| Buy | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 |
 AstroNerdBoy
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[series:2016#436] |
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I don't remember exactly what drew me into the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime series, but I did love it despite some flaws in in. It wasn't until after I finished watching that anime series that I learned that it pretty faithfully followed the original source manga for about half of the anime series before branching off and making up its own story and ending. So, when an opportunity came to watch a new anime series that promised to be faithful to the original Fullmetal Alchemist manga, I was on that like white on rice. Because the first several episodes cover the same ground as the first anime series, the production team made a decision to fly through this material as fast as possible. I understand why they did this -- fans of the original anime might be bored with seeing the same stuff again and thus tune out the anime before it gets to the new stuff. However, I think that was the WRONG track to take. I don't know about the rest of you, but if I'm going to take the time to buy a series or movie (whether anime or not) on DVD/BD, it isn't so I can let it sit on a shelf and collect dust. I buy it because I liked it enough to where I would want to rewatch the movie or series in its entirety. I could say a similar thing about Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Knowing that I would be getting a proper anime adaptation of the original manga, I'd have no problem getting back up to speed by watching the early storylines flow normally. It is my opinion that most anime fans of the original series and the manga would be of the same mindset. They wouldn't mind seeing the original stories, even if they are repeats. Besides, done properly, Mei Chan's introduction as well as Loki's story would have been included. Instead, to accommodate speed, those are missing elements. Fortunately, once the anime moved into new materials from the manga, the pacing slowed down to a more reasonable pace and worked quite well. Still, these are small complaints in what is an otherwise fairly well executed anime adaptation of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. Not having read the manga, things were always a surprise to me, sometimes in more ways than one. That is the main strength of this anime. In addition to really good character, the story is very engrossing. Further, there are moments of foreshadowing or other table setting done at times which sometimes take episodes to pan out. Sometimes, the table is set and then we are shown to another room, where we forget about the table having been set until we are led back to the dining room to go, "Oh yeah. It is dinner time, isn't it?" As such, this anime never failed to surprise me once the story moved into the new material that hadn't been used in the original anime. The strong writing comes from manga-ka Arakawa-sensei, who clearly knows how to spin a yarn. That said, many kudos have to be given to the anime production team for wanting to follow the source manga so closely, right down to the final episodes, which aired very shortly after the manga ended. Frankly, I wish all anime adaptations of manga or novels were done this well, working closely with the original author. I much prefer to see a faithful adaptation rather than something just made up. Does Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood have legs to be rewatched? I would say so. Although it clocks in at a hefty sixty-four episodes, the story is so well written as to provide rewatch enjoyment. Plus, now that I know the story, rewatching the anime from scratch will let me see all those clues and moments that I may have missed the first time around. Further, unlike the first anime series which grew very dark, Brotherhood never does forget to bring in the comedy to keep things from getting too dark. That helps a great deal, considering how dark this anime could get otherwise. Bottom line: a well executed adaptation of the original manga series that for me, makes the original anime unwatchable. This anime has great action, a great story, some really good characters, and some really funny moments to balance the darker ones. I wish all anime adaptations of manga were this good. Last updated Thursday, July 15 2010. Created Thursday, April 09 2009. | ||||||||
Other Sites
| Name | URL |
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| Japanese Series Web Site | http://www.hagaren.jp/ |
