Fullmetal Alchemist

Edward Elric, a young, brilliant alchemist, has lost much in his twelve-year life: when he and his brother Alphonse try to resurrect their dead mother through the forbidden act of human transmutation, Edward loses his brother as well as two of his limbs. With his supreme alchemy skills, Edward binds Alphonse's soul to a large suit of armor.

A year later, Edward, now promoted to the fullmetal alchemist of the state, embarks on a journey with his younger brother to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. The fabled mythical object is rumored to be capable of amplifying an alchemist's abilities by leaps and bounds, thus allowing them to override the fundamental law of alchemy: to gain something, an alchemist must sacrifice something of equal value. Edward hopes to draw into the military's resources to find the fabled stone and restore his and Alphonse's bodies to normal. However, the Elric brothers soon discover that there is more to the legendary stone than meets the eye, as they are led to the epicenter of a far darker battle than they could have ever imagined.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Elric, Edward Main

Park, Romi Japanese

Elric, Alphonse Main

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Mustang, Roy Supporting

Ookawa, Tooru Japanese

Hughes, Maes Supporting

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Greed Supporting

Suwabe, Junichi Japanese

Hawkeye, Riza Supporting

Neya, Michiko Japanese

Rockbell, Winry Supporting

Toyoguchi, Megumi Japanese

Armstrong, Alex Louis Supporting

Utsumi, Kenji Japanese

Envy Supporting

Yamaguchi, Mayumi Japanese

Hohenheim, Van Supporting

Ebara, Masashi Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Minami, Masahiko Producer

Watson, Barry Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo Producer

Reviews

Jul 9, 2010

Archaeon

Recommended

Obsession is a very strange thing indeed, and may be one of the few human traits that so clearly falls between heaven and hell. What one does with their obsession though, well, therein lies an altogether different proposition, especially as people often define their "obsessions" in terms of what they love and hate, or even what brings them hope and fear.

Isn't it strange then, that such a well known human trait can so easily be mistaken for something else entirely?

Or is it simply a case of people not seeing what they don't want to see, especially if there something new and shiny to watch?

Many anime ... fans are currently raving about the new series of Full Metal Alchemist, especially as it is an almost direct adaptation of the manga, however in the light of all this new found glory, the original adaptation has become the topic of much debate and controversy, especially by those who once praised the show for being something ... a little different.

Now unlike many, the fact that the original adaptation didn't follow the manga for much of its run was something that I wasn't overly concerned about, and there's a very good reason for this too. One of the issues I had with the manga, and in turn Brotherhood, was the fact that the tale is far more "shounen" than the original adaptation, and this difference in not only plot and story content, but overall perspective as well, is noticeable in a number of areas.

As far as pacing, plot, and depth of story goes, Full Metal Alchemist does lose out somewhat to Brotherhood, however this is partly due to the fact that Arakawa Hiromu had far more time to produce a story that worked, whereas the writers for the original adaptation only had part of Arakawa's work to play with, and had to make up the rest.

Normally this would be the cause for a number of issues, not the least of which is continuity, however Full Metal Alchemist never really suffered from those except where the numerous, and unnecessary, comedy moments were included. That said, what the writers achieved was actually quite remarkable, as they produced a tale that is very clearly about one thing only - obsession - and in that respect, they actually managed to score quite a major coup over Arakawa's tale.

Some of you may be a tad confused by where this is all going, but fear not, it will become clearer as we get into more detail. Let's talk more about the actually show itself for a moment though.

In terms of looks, the original adaptation managed to transpose the characters fairly well, and while they didn't really require any bouts of creativity in general, there were a few new faces as, at the time, the manga hadn't actually introduced all the players. As for the various locations in which the characters find themselves, the first adaptation generally followed the path laid down by the manga, however there were also some surprisingly original and inventive additions to the various locales, many of which are unique to this particular adaptation.

Strangely enough though, the quality of the animation is almost the same as that of Brotherhood, and given the large degree of crossover in both adaptations, this is actually surprising as usually one version is greatly superior to the other. That said, the new series does have the advantage of seven years of improvements in animation, so one would be forgiven for thinking the margin between the two would be bigger.

Where sound and music are concerned, one might expect more pronounced differences between the two adaptations, however this is not the case. The selection of music for the first adaptation is actually very good throughout the series, and also gave rise to one of the catchiest opening themes in shounen anime - "Ready Steady Go" by L'Arc-en-Ciel. The aural effects are well chosen and choreographed, and while there are many occasions that feature frenetic clashes and lots of noise, care has generally been taken to modulate this to a level that won't unnerve the viewer (admittedly there are some minor overwhelming moments, but they're not really worth going into any detail as they don't really affect the story in any way).

As for the acting, granted there are some different seiyuu between the two adaptations, but the series' big guns are in force in both. That said, while there is some acting continuity between the two, the actual quality is a little better in Brotherhood, however this may be due to an increased familiarity with the characters, and also because Brotherhood is far more a straight forward shounen tale than the original adaptation- something which actually shows in the acting.

And now to the most interesting bit - the characters.

Unlike both the manga and Brotherhood, the original anime adaptation of Full Metal Alchemist featured some surprising and unique characters, not the least of which is Edward Elric himself.

But before we get into that though, let's talk Homunculi.

One of the most overlooked aspects of the original series was the nomenclature given to the homunculi, and although their names and purpose have been "clarified" by the manga and Brotherhood, the writers for the original adaptation didn't have this knowledge, so they actually made them work in a completely different way. The whole deal with the Seven Sins is very different in the first anime, as the writers used the homunculus to highlight the aspect of obsession throughout the series. This is why the first anime adaptation had them being "born" in a particular manner, rather than the more trite reasoning given in the manga and Brotherhood much later.

The homunculi are effectively born from the obsession of humans, a theme which is also present in Arakawa's version of the story, even though it has been downplayed a lot.

So what does this have to do with the characters? Well, rather a lot actually. Throughout the whole series, there are very few characters who don't show any of the visible signs that one would normally associate with obsessive behaviour, and this is because they're cleverly hidden for the most part. From Maes Hughes' constant babble about his daughter, to Winry's love of automail. From Izumi Curtis' longing for her baby, to Dante's desire for immortality (incidentally, one has to wonder why that particular character was called Dante).

And right at the top of the list is Edward Elric.

In essence, his obsession with being better than his father is what starts the whole chain of events, which then turns to his obsession with the Philosopher's Stone, and so on. The surprising thing though, is that Ed never actually lets go of his desires in the same manner that others who attempted human transmutation did, and there is actually proof of this too. One look at the manner of Alphonse Elric's return to his body, as well as the nature of that return, will highlight just how very different this show is to Arakwa's version, and how different the mentality is come the end.

And if you want more clarification on this, then feel free to ask.

The characters are actually pretty well developed throughout the series, and it's a testament to the writer's and seiyuu's abilities that they turned out as well as they did. That's not to say there aren't any problems, however the flaws with the characters stem mainly from a difference in goals and perspective rather than any real lack of talent.

In all honesty, it's difficult to decide which version is actually better as the differences in plot, theme and character development make this version and Arakawa's two very different tales. That said, there will be those who fall on one side or the other, some preferring the darker nature of the first adaptation while others like the more direct approach of the manga and Brotherhood. Personally, I found both versions to be very good, especially as the route that Arakawa's tale takes bears almost no resemblance to this one. While there are some broad similarities between the two in terms of locale, characters and basic plot, in actuality these are only skin deep, as the original adaptation of Full Metal Alchemist deviates quite a lot from the typical shounen sensibilities come the end of the series. The obsessive theme of the first adaptation is a far cry from what one is given in the manga and Brotherhood.

Regardless of which version one prefers though, the simple fact is that we, as anime fans, have been given two great takes on the story, and we should count ourselves lucky to have such a wealth as all too often we must suffer through mediocrity and crap just find some entertainment.

It just a shame that so many people feel the need to side with one version or the other ...

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Aug 3, 2014

Leopah

Mixed Feelings

EDIT: I realize now that I probably came off as elitist and that was definitely not my intention, so eventually I'm going to rewrite this and sound nicer.

Some notes before I get into this review:
-It annoys me when people compare 03 and Brotherhood so I'm not going to do that
-I'm not going to be very nice so if you genuinely like this series for some reason I wouldn't recommend you read this
-If you're planning on watching this show, don't (If you've already seen Brotherhood, stop there).
-This review is mostly spoiler-free (some vague mentioning here and there)
-This was the first anime I watched (excluding Pokemon), but ... I actually finished Brotherhood first. This probably deserves a lower score than a 6, but I can't bring myself to knock it down further because of the nostalgia factor.
-I'm probably going to get hate for this, but you're not changing my mind

Now on to the actual review.

Story: 5/10

FMA 03 started out following the manga but caught up to it too quickly, so they had to make fillers and stretch out some stuff. 03's pacing was actually fairly close to the manga's, albeit a bit slower becauase of the wait for the manga. But after some time (it happened gradually), the anime started to take on another story and by the end it was completely different from the manga. The fact that the story changed direction from the beginning left a lot of things unexplained and/or twisted into something else, and the bits of foreshadowing they included from the manga were ignored. The "plot twist" they threw out near the end came completely out of left field (which, in this case, was a very bad thing) and was not foreshadowed at all. Not to mention that it didn't really make any sense. It seemed to me that they just wanted to rush and finish the show so they gave us something and didn't bother explaining it: Here you go, here's your ending, goodbye.

This show didn't really touch on any deep and philosophical issues either. "Don't try human transmutation." Um, okay? I won't? Not like it exists in our world anyway.

Most of the faults in the story were just due to the fact that this was originally going to be a manga adaptation that they had to change into something else. So we end up with a shoddily explained ending as well as a bunch of filler episodes.

Art: 9/10

This anime was surprisingly visually pleasing for something made in 2003 (and probably in production in 2002 or 2001). It's not getting a 10 mostly just out of personal taste: the way Ed's hair is drawn, how Al's eyes are red (which makes him seem almost evil), and the way the alchemy is animated (different colors for no apparent reason. CONSISTENCY).

Sound: 8/10

Most of the OST was rather good, with "Brothers" being a particular favorite. However, I was not a fan of the "soulful harmonica" track, nor were the OP's and ED's very memorable (with the exception of the last OP, "Rewrite", which I like a lot).

Character: 4/10

Oh boy, the category where the anime crashed and burned the most (though the story was pretty bad).
Disclaimer: A lot of the bad characterization was simply because the people making the show didn't have much to go on as a lot of important character development hadn't happened in the manga at that point. That being said, it was stil godawful. The only reason it's getting a 4 at all is because there were a lot of characters, and some of them were okay at best.

One of the things I hated most about FMA 03 is the complete and utter lack of character development. Literally none of the characters changed as the series went on.

Let's start with Ed. Ed was reduced to a pile of angst, and a lot of what he did was very angsty. His sole purpose in life was returning Al to his body. Not that there's anything bad about that, per se, but it cut out a lot of his ulterior motives (i.e. keeping everyone alive) from the manga. And as I said above, his character does not develop at all. He finds out the true ingredient to a Philosopher's Stone? Oh well, let's keep looking for it anyway! Maybe we'll find another kind of Philosopher's Stone with a different main ingredient!
He also ends up contradicting some of what he says are his most fundamental values just for the sake of moving the story along. He says he will never kill people, but 03 Ed definitely does.

Next is Al. Poor Alphonse was reduced to just a prop in 03. You could literally take him out of the show entirely (or just change him to a 2x4 or something) and not much would change. Ed would be motivated to regain his own body rather than Al's, but that's pretty much it. What's sad in this show is you can actually tell pretty much the same story even if you remove one of the most vital characters from it. Ed is always rushing to poor helpless Al's rescue. Al is pretty much something for Ed to target his countless angst at (it would look pretty weird to be talking to himself all the time). The only time Al bears any actual significance to the story is right at the very end, and that's only for one brief thing. It's really unfortuate that Al was so useless because he's such a sweetie pie that actually has a really great character. But alas, he was reduced to a prop in this show.

And now Winry. Winry's potential was pretty much squandered in 03 as she did almost nothing to contribute to the story (and Ed and Al's journey). She fixes Ed's automail a few times and investigates the military with Sheska on one occasion, but not much else. In addition, she was happy with the way things turned out in the end, while realistically she wouldn't be (staying vague because of spoilers).

Roy Mustang was pretty much reduced to a womanizing jerk. His personality isn't very well established to begin with, and then there was that whole thing with Hughes. Nothing ever came out of that. No exciting (and slightly scary) confrontation. He just forgets about it and moves on.

The homunculi weren't too bad, I guess. Their personalities weren't butchered from what I remember. I just think they gave too much screentime to Lust, Envy, and Wrath; and not enough to the others. Wrath in particular was just an annoying brat that I wanted to rip apart and scream NO ONE CARES at. The explanation of how homunculi come to be in 03 is more scientifically probable, but if the anime had kept following the manga, it would have totally ruined the idea that is stated over and over in the manga: human transmutation is impossible. However, this show didn't follow the manga, so this explanation is acceptable in the context of this show's story. It doesn't really explain why the homunculi tend to work together, though.

And the villain, Dante. We don't know her motives (except maybe jealousy?) or her goals. She's pretty one-dimensional and she doesn't even make an appearance until near the end of the show. All around she was pretty damn boring as a villain. Here, they don't have much of an excuse since Dante isn't in the manga at all, so it's not like she was undeveloped or anything. Villains should always be interesting (not necessarily likeable), but Dante wasn't interesting at all. She showed up, was an evil bitch, did some evil and bitchy things, and nothing else.

And don't even get me started on all the Ed/Rose shipping going on. Ugh.

I could go on all day about each of the characters, but I'll just end here so I don't end up with a really long review.

tl;dr A lot of the lack of characterization can be given some slack as the manga wasn't far along enough to truly establish the characters, but they could have at least written some development into the show. That ties into the sloppy story. If the events had been better written, development could have actually taken place.

Also backstories were completely thrown out the window for a lot of characters that deserved their interesting pasts and ideologies explained. The only backstory that was explained in depth was the Elric brothers', and they conveniently took a painfully slow, nine-episode-long flashback to do so. I did like how they gave Nina's story ample time, but she didn't really provide any material as far as character development later on. Also, they didn't need to (try to) bring her back. They really didn't.

Enjoyment: 7/10

The first time I finished the show I liked it, but the more I watched it, the more problems I noticed with it. That being said, every time I've seen the show, I've finished it fairly quickly, and without skipping episodes (except sometimes the very boring fillers. But the latest time I rewatched it, it was with a friend who hadn't seen it yet, so we didn't skip episodes even though I'd tell her which episodes were boring and pointless).
Some of the episodes were downright painful to get through, and the anime only really picked up its pacing at the very end. However, some episodes (13 and 37) were really funny and I always enjoy watching them when I rewatch the show. Some of the ending stuff is exciting, but the whole show is a drag by comparison. It's not worth struggling through the boringness to get to the ending which is full of holes anyway.

Overall: 6/10

I think this anime is seriously overrated and a lot of the nostalgic babies that give this show high scores need to get their heads out of the sand and notice the glaring issues.
As I said before, it probably deserves a lower score than a 6, but since it was my first anime and I still remember it with some fondness, I can't lower it any further.

I feel like this anime could be a badly written fanfiction of FMA that some Ed/Rose shipper started writing while the manga was stll ongoing and said fanfiction somehow ended up into a 51-episode anime with a movie sequel that screwed up the ending even more.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jun 23, 2020

Alesko

Not Recommended

I love the concept of this universe, there are many great episodes, some episodes that I liked more than in FMAB, even.
But watching or remembering this makes me mad. Well, it was so bad that they had to remake it, so at least the creators know what's up.
After watching FMAB I can't just say that this one is good. The ending is a complete disaster. You can't cut half of the stuff, suddenly end things like someone's rushing you and expect to get a 10 or a 9 just because of nepotism. It's not how it works.
If FMAB didn't exist or I didn't watch ... it, I'd rate it higher, buuuuut... unfortunately for you, I've seen the grass on the other side and I never wanna step on you again.
Rated Brotherhood 10/10, this didn't need to exist.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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