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A meme of a read for sure. For me, the novelty of the random antics and erotic bantering started to wear off by Chapter 22 - I felt it started to spend far too much time in one place for the sake of erotic and narrative tension. But, the first few chapters definitely hook you well and make you want to keep reading by the time you finish each one.

So, why Mixed, why 6/10, and why Dropped?

- Art/Writing -
First, the art isn't all that great. Rough line art is used to draw the characters, which is off-putting at first, but suppose you can argue it ... is simply a stylistic choice. The backgrounds are crisply done, so that was nice to see. The dialogue is barebones - 2, maybe 3 bubbles per page with 2-3 sentences max. Not the best writing I've ever seen, but the random moments of comedic shock make up for some of that.

- Story -
The twist on the typical "Fantasy, Demon King" story is good enough to warrant a read, if the erotic spin on this classic is what you're looking for - there is hella torn clothing, nip-slips, sØx, and the like. Plus, just absolutely bizarre monsters of an erotic nature - +1 for the clever worldbuilding on that.

- Characters -
On Characters, the main girl (Cheong) is distraught most of the time at the wicked acts the people of this world do to the monsters - the comedic relief. You also follow along with her and learn about the world as she journeys to, what else, the Demon King. The second girl (Chun-Ja) - I really didn't care much for her. She's basically the classic Kuudere, looking to 'feel' something, if you catch my drift. Her fighting style was pretty clean, though.

That's the gist. Basically, read for the erotic monster hunting. Art, no. Writing, so-so.

Overall, it feels especially contrived. There's some enticing commentary on psychological medical practice, plus some crisp artwork which is always appreciated. The scene setup and narrative flow don't leave much to the imagination, though - leading to the outcome of the chapters to be overtly predictable. The main character is some brooding girl with clear emotional neglect and the guy just seems like a convenience to make it a (seemingly forced) romance. The setting is the classic Western-style 'haunted mansion.' It fits the story, but feels so tiresome to see yet again.

It's worthy of a try for the nods to psychiatry, but not much else ... beyond that.

- Art -
Fantastic, but that's about it.

- Story -
More or less a loose commentary on capitalism, tackling loneliness, cyclical generational jadedness/rosy-retrospection, having meaning in life, and coping with a loss of said meaning - providing a look into the "real" inner workings of the manga/entertainment industry.

- Characters -
Overall, the protagonist just fills the aching void in his soul with "the pleasures of the flesh" for like half the narrative. Most of the other characters are just concerned about preserving their professions - as you'd expect of any self-loving professional or anybody for that matter.

I think there's very little payoff for reading it beyond becoming needlessly ... depressed with the "realism."

I cannot drive this point home enough, but I found Edward to be absolutely insufferable. This is key, because he is our protagonist, and if you can't make nice with him and enjoy his time on-screen within the first, say, 5 episodes, your time watching this show for a full 64 episodes will be painful. If you enjoy random, poorly-timed, mood-breaking comedic bantering, this show is for you. If not, carry on, have a nice day, you are simply here to window shop.

- Story -
Classic growth/redemption journey - there's an issue (Edward performs forbidden alchemy), bad things happen (limbs are lost), Edward and company set ... sail on a voyage to make things right (find the Philosopher's Stone). It mostly becomes the case of a bad guy appearing, Edward and company beat the bad guy, they continue on their journey. You discover some of their growing pains and get more attached to them, and so forth. It's a perfectly serviceable story - a classic formula. 5/10.

- Art -
Classic 2000s style. Backgrounds are well detailed, characters do leave much to be desired on detail and shading, there is some variance in facial structure, which is nice to see. I'd say 6/10.

- Sound -
Perfectly fine. SFX (explosions, armor clanking, etc) gets the job done, voice acting (dubbed) was again fine (no real standout performances, beyond maybe Armstrong), OST wasn't terribly memorable, but the opening was pretty darn good. I'd say a 6/10.

- Characters -
You already know my stance on Edward. As for everyone else, such as Alphonse, Roy, Maes, even Riza, I thought they were all strong characters with good differentiation and things to appreciate about them. They made the pain of Edward if only slightly bearable. Sadly, they cannot counter the weight that Edward has as the main character - 4/10.

Again, if you can take a single thing away from this, liking/disliking Edward will likely drive a good part of your impression and enjoyment of the show, at least it did for me. 5/10

I would suggest Youjo Senki over FMAB all day, every day as something fairly similar to watch in the fantasy/military genre.

A really insightful look at the lesser-known campaigns of the Japanese in southeast Asia, that aren't often covered in Western movies and documentaries of WWII. As the name suggests, the show centers around the decision[s] (Ketsudan) of the commanders of the campaigns (the successes and failures) from both sides of the conflict and synthesizes these lessons-learned into easily digestible bits at the end of each episode.

- Story -
Historically accurate (aside from some questionable side-stories between the Japanese Navy and Parachutists) retelling of the Japanese Pacific campaign, not much else to say.

- Art -
Par for the course for a 1970s animated show - fairly grainy, manually ... moved frames to communicate action or explosions, lots of noticeable animation loops, and some occasional rough sketch work. Actual wartime footage is also sporadically mixed in to limited effect. The footage caught me by surprise, but I don't feel it added all that much to the show overall.

- Sound -
There are numerous, noticeable repeated sound bites throughout the show - gunfire effects, "to-arms" horns, explosion effects, running effects. It starts to get tiresome after a few episodes. The voice actors did a solid job communicating the struggles and emotions of the conflict, albeit a lot of the time it was just them yelling orders (fire!, to battle stations!, what?!). It's also important that the translation (at least the one I managed to find) be mentioned. There is a lot of rough translation, grammar errors, confusingly translated words, words translated to romaji and not proper English ("Gum" versus "Guam," "Labaul" versus "Rabaul," "Naked" versus "Without Aircover." You have to have a pretty good understanding of frequently used Japanese words, important locations of conflict, general naval/aviation terms, and cultural Japanese context to fully appreciate the show with this translation.

- Characters -
A good number of lesser-known commanders and admirals from history make an appearance (particularly the British), again making this a very educational watch. But, there are also the must-haves like Yamamoto and MacArthur.

I generally enjoyed the show, particularly the coverage of the lesser-known southeast Asian Japanese campaigns/struggles. However, the rough translation, generally poor quality of the 1970s animation (as compared to Zipang for example), and annoyingly repeated audio bits detract from the enjoyment in my eyes.