Full Metal Alchemist

This topic is for discussion of the anime version (since we're in the Television section, and since it's toatally different from the manga).

I haven't watched this all the way through in the English dub yet, but I've watched it through twice in Japanese and I really enjoyed it... until the last couple of episodes. ¬_¬;

Also, the anime leaves quite abit unexplained and has a few plot-holes because it began production way too early when such things hadn't yet been explained in the manga. So it kinda screwed itself over, really.

Still, Ed is hilarious (to say the least)!!

This anime captures funny and serious moments brilliantly, and when you get to those really tense parts; you feel it!

Full Metal Alchemist had me laughing-out-loud (sometimes crying with laughter too), on the edge of my seat, over-excitedly squeeing, and even brought me to tears at it's saddest times. It really is a rollercoater of emotions, and, despite the fact that I think they f*cked-up with alot of it; I'd recommend watching this to everyone. But also that they read the manga to find out the "true" Full Metal Alchemist story.

Your views, please?

The manga is much better but the anime is worth a watch. My top characters are Ed, Mustang, Hughes and Greed for sure.

I was just listening to the songs and music from the series... it makes you remember certain scenes and I'd almost forgotten how sad this series really is at time. ;_;

I think it's a little unfair to compare the anime to the manga, since the creator herself has always been very specific that they are two different medias. This much is apparent in how many differences there are between the two, such as Sloth being

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in the anime, and being a destructive man in the manga. They also clearly go down two very different paths, some characters even have different personalities. So they're both the true FMA, you can read one, watch the other, or both, it doesn't matter, the message is still there. I love both, but I prefer the anime, it just holds a firmer place in my heart.

I knew I was going to like FMA from the moment I finished the first episode, though admittedly it wasn't the best way to open an anime. The theme of brotherly love had me hooked, the devotion Ed and Al have to one another is just so incredibly sweet. I loved the bigger storyline behind it all, and there were some definitely heart wrenching moments in the series that weren't quite the same in the manga, such as

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Ed finding out what making the Philosopher's Stone really entailed, etc. The animation is fluid and gorgeous for it's time, and the musical score is perfect, if a little repetitive during very few of the episodes. The song 'Brothers' is the perfect music for Ed and Al, and their relationship to one another, and it plays a big theme throughout the length of the anime.

The mixture of dark themes and humour was done extremely well, sometimes it's easy to see one jump from the other far too quickly to make the darker moments stick, something I find happening a lot in the new anime. There are moments that will make you cry, and moments that will make you laugh, but both are worked together in a way that they don't cancel one another out. I love Ed's expressions and his little rants, and Al's subsequent exasperation afterwards. Roy's also a very funny character, simply for the fact he's extremely mockable.

Also? Though I've watched it in Japanese far more times, FMA has one of the best dubs that I've ever heard. Admittedly Vic sounds a little old to play Ed at times, especially when he's pre-teen, but no doubt he comes as close to the Japanese the best he can, and anyone who can Ed rant automatically has my respect! Aaron is nothing short of adorable as Al, and does a really good job of putting so much emotion into the voice that we're relying on to feel Al's emotions. Caitlin, in my opinion, does a poor job as Winry, she sounds closer to being a thirty year old woman than a teenage girl. Travis' voice is quite deep for Roy, even if he does speak that way in the Japanese, but it really did grow on me. So much so that I have 'All female officers will be required to wear.. tiny miniskirts!' as my message tone.

My favourite characters are Al and Roy, though I do also hold a soft spot for Ed, Hughes, Riza and Izumi.

They're two different medias because they started animating the series way too early. And because of that, most the anime goes off into a different storyline - with many plotholes. So it's not even a well-thought-out story.

I do love the anime, it's one of my favourite, but there's a hell of alot wrong with it. And I can't seem to watch it all the way through anymore. I seem to get to a certain point and then just can't be bothered with it.

Besides, everyone knows that an anime's general purpose, is to follow it's manga. And, as with any change in media, sometimes different spins are put onto things. But different spins and complete different characters and storylines are... well, two different things.

And even if that wasn't so obvious that the anime was meant to follow the manga intentially, surely now it is when they've started a new series in order to do so properly.

During the development of the anime, Arakawa allowed the anime staff to work independently from her, and requested having a different ending from the one in the manga. She said that she would not like to repeat the same ending in both media, as well as to make the manga longer to work more in the development of the characters. When watching the ending of the anime, she was amazed about how different the homunculi creatures were from the manga and enjoyed how the staff speculated about the origins of the villains. (from Wiki)

So the anime was never meant to be a strict adaptation of the manga, Arakawa wanted it to be different. It just bugs me when the anime gets put down for not following the manga faithfully, when the creator herself didn't ever intend for it to be that way.

Of course they worked independantly! XD

There wasn't anything else they could do as they'd run outta storyline and there wasn't an ending in site at the time of animation, so of course the ending would be different.

Also, bit of advice, don't believe everything written on Wiki. ^^;

When the anime started, it was meant to follow the manga. But, like I said, they ran outta story because they began animation way too early on in the series.

I'm not putting the series down for not following it. I'd prefer that it has. I'm putting series down for the anount of plotholes it has.