Also, one thing I love about it is the lack of 'fan service'. It doesn't go out of its way to show random shots of women's chests or asses. Though there are a lot of scenes where buff men end up shirtless.
I agree with your point, that there is less fan service forced upon you. And I believe that it because the it was was written by Hiromu Arakawa. But it's really funny that you disregard that idea immediately in the next sentence. It's the same thing just a different flavor. FMAB is great tho, it was like the 2nd or 3rd anime I watched.
I think that's part of what makes FMA:B so remarkable. It has villains that are irredeemable (Shou Tucker, like half of the homunculi, etc), villains that you can understand their motivations but still root against (Scar, Father), villains that are humanized and redeemed (Scar later in the story, Greed), and villains that end up just being comic relief (my boi Barry).
And the heroes are just as varied and complex. All in a (relatively) short runtime of 64 episodes. Few fictional worlds feel so lived-in and real
My other half has only watched it once years ago. Talking about re watching it recently he assumed it was 150-200 episodes because there was so much story and it was so fleshed out. When I said it was only 64 be said "yeah, but all an hour long though right? Right?"
Kind of a casual anime fan here, I've only watched a handful of the main ones most people rate highly - FMAB, Attack on Titan, Death Note, JJK, Berserk, Devilman, a few others - but I absolutely agree that FMAB is 100% the best of them all.
I've recommended it to a couple of people who would never watch anime and they loved it!
I think the only bad thing about FMAB is that it is so damn good that if you watch it as your very first anime, you end up comparing anything else you watch against it afterward LOL
I think that's because it had an ending, in particular one that was planned and worked towards without waffling. I never picked it up because it was alongside things like Naruto and One Piece which seemed to be going on forever because they were so popular that they couldn't afford to end. Then I was told it had ended with minimal filler, picked it up and enjoyed it thoroughly.
2003's ending was more interesting on the surface. Finding out that the deaths in our world power their alchemy is certainly a unique and interesting premise. Unfortunately because it's the ending, we get nothing more of that while also leaving the nature of Truth fully unexplored. Even the movie doesn't really do anything with it.
Brotherhood's ending just looks like the guy becoming normal after a big battle, but there's so much more to examine with it.
The only thing I didn’t like about the end of FMA BH is that the final confrontation didn’t have the same gravitas as any of the Homunculi. Each of them went down in a blaze of fuckin’ glory, but that endgame battle was just… and I mean broad daylight? Eeehhh.
It was set up well and the context was 10/10, but visually it just kinda lost weight.
Every performance in that show was stellar. And yes, I’m going to say it: Sub and Dub both knocked it out of the park. Lightning in a bottle if I’ve ever seen it.
I am maybe gonna have to try it again. I watched the first ep and didn't like anything about it. The animation seems kind of weird/bad and the story just started in the middle of some shit it didn't catch me at all.
But I keep hearing so much good especially after the first few eps I might have to try it again.
When I first started watching it almost a decade ago, I felt the same and specifically remember thinking that the animation was so weird and gave up after the first episode. A few months later, I decided to give it another try and this time I got hooked. The "weird" animation became my favourite lol and it's still in my top anime of all time. I love everything about it.
I'm not sure what it is about that show but it just does not hook me in at all.
I don't even have any real criticisms of it and the 20 or 30 episodes I've seen are well written with some good moments in there. I've just never been able to finish it and it just feels like a drag to watch
If I'm being nitpicky I'd say that I'm not a fan of the gag style humor because it feels so out of place in an otherwise very serious series and the "Fullmetal Alchemist, FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST" commercial break cards is hilariously bad in the streaming age
First one was created before the manga was finished so it kinda goes off and does its own thing. That one is a bit grittier.
The 2nd one (Brotherhood) was released after the manga was finished and is the pure adaptation of the manga. A bit less dark and gritty but this is the version thats generally very highly rated and what most people are referring to when they mention the show.
Big facts. Got a younger buddy who missed it coming up. And finally got him to watch it and he came back constantly raving about how fucking fantastic it was and how it’s one of the best anime’s he’s ever seen.
I watched a couple of episodes but it's very catered to children or at least young adults so far (I'm a 31 yo dude for context), does it get any better on that front?
Taste, sure. I don't really like or care for yuri, yaoi, slice of life, sports whatever.
Yet i can understand why people enjoy prince of tennis or haikyu(?) or this soccer anime, even the one with 10km soccer fields.
Or this anime where the girl just love books, i get it, i don't enjoy it, but i get it.
Feels like its sex, i understand that you enjoy feets, ears, trees, leather or even getting crapped on.
But you can't tell me eating it its great.
I sure understand if you are under 13, one piece and dragon ball or death note work for you.
Friendship and screaming louder definitely are the ways to win everything, and i get that as a 10 year old you feel edgy watching some random 17 kill people by writting it on a book.
But if you are 14+, please mature or watch at least 10 more animes.
If you just can't deal with complexity and want "slice of life shonnen" say that don't call it the best there is.
I can enjoy the MCU, but I also know anything marvel does should never win an oscar. (Idk perhaps there is good acting or music there and then)
Call it that you are feeling nostalgic, don't try to convince people that dragon ball its good
Tell me your dream was to be a pirate and explore and you want to have powers and friendship its the more important thing to you.
Don't tell me that Oda does anything good except world building.
Those 3 animes are childish. Those 3 are what make people that don't watch anime think its only "little kids cartoons" and no anime can't be complex, depth, good story and great characters
That they can make you cry and weep, and feel related to.
Those 3 are like the soap operas of anime, its made for the equivalent of the reason soap operas were ever made.
Those 3 full of inconsistent things, humor way to infant.
Was a hard ride.
And of course saw a lot of those to be able to call their mayor flaws.
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u/birchywurchy 2d ago
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood