Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I'm just astounded. After seeing the original anime series last year, I never expected it to ever be better surpassed by the upcoming remake titled Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. After seeing it... my expectations were blown out of the water. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood not only surpasses its predecessor, it's also the best series so far this year.

The series follows the journey of both Edward and Alphonse Elric, two brothers who lose their original bodies after trying resurrect their dead mother via alchemy. Both brothers decide to go in search of a mythical item known as the Philosopher's Stone, a venture that results in the uncovering of many controversial military crimes, the deaths of quite a few people, and the discovery of a plan that threatens everyone in their country.

From the plot description I have just given, many will realize that Brotherhood's plot summary isn't that different from the plot to the first anime series. Upon watching the first 13 episodes, you may even come to the incorrect conclusion that the stories are identical. That isn't the case however, as the plot severely diverges from the first anime series's plot at the 13 episode mark, plus a few details in the episodes before that indicate that the plot is not the same.

This leads me to the weakest aspect of Brotherhood, the first 13 episodes of the show. What makes this part of the show weak is mostly due to the series being tailored for those who have already watched the first anime series, meaning that they rush through the first 13 episodes. While the episodes aren't horrible, as they do at least get rid of all the filler episodes, the fast pace can sometimes undermine emotional moments and really end up screwing up quite a few scenes, resulting in a very sloppy beginning, a huge contrast to the beginning of the first anime series, which was slow, but executed most of the emotional scenes well. A great example would be the scene where an alchemist named Shou Tucker turns his daughter Nina into a chimera. The original anime series made this development occur slowly three episodes after they meet Shou Tucker, the perfect pacing resulting in quite a few haunting scenes. Brotherhood actually makes the mistake of rushing through this scene after we meet Shou Tucker that same scene, as the whole development occurs in one episode, resulting in it to be more laughable than creepy, completely undermining the experience.

Thankfully, it is after the thirteenth episode that the show completely surpasses the original in every way imaginable for the following reasons.

The first reason would be the story, as it is more tightly written than the first anime series. The first anime series had the feeling as if the brothers were just wandering around with no clear goal, making it very easy for pointless filler episodes to appear randomly. This one, the series has no filler what-so-ever, the brother's immediately moving to other places with a clear goal, resulting in a story that isn't dragged out by filler episodes. What I also find interesting about Brotherhood is that while it doesn't have any filler, it is actually 13 episodes longer than the first anime, giving me the clear indication that while it doesn't have any filler, it still has more content than its fluff filled predecessor. Another aspect of the story that makes it superior to the original would be the scale of the plot, as the story takes place in much more locations and has more characters than the first series, resulting in the experience to be quite epic in the later episodes.

The second reason that makes this remake superior to the first, would be the art and animation. While the art is certainly simpler, the animation is outstanding! The original series certainly had its share of awesome action scenes, but the remake presents action scenes that can only be described as insane! Plus, the remake is much more colorful than its predecessor, making for better looking blood, wounds, gun effects and character models.

Overall, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is the best shounen I have ever seen. The fast paced story, absence of filler episodes and interesting cast allows Brotherhood to surpass the original show and even every single shounen show I have seen so far. Definitely give this a show, but only after you have seen the first series, as the experience is meant for those who have watched the first anime series.

Opening 1: Nice song, great use of visuals. A solid opening by all means.
Ending 1: Did they animate this on Drawn to Life? Disappointing!
Opening 2: Much more energetic song! Plus, much more colorful than the last opening!
Ending 2: Again, very disappointing ending song! Better than the first, but still...
Opening 3: Nice use of visuals, but the song doesn't match up to the rest.
Ending 3: Nice song..., but it's a slide show.
Opening 4: HELL YEAH! PERFECT! EPIC SONG, FANTASTIC ACTION SCENES! BEST OPENING OF THE SHOW!
Ending 4: Wow! Fantastic! Great song, great use of visuals, also the best opening of the series.
Opening 5: Great song and nice use of visuals. But the somber mood is a bit emo. Otherwise, solid opening.
Ending 5: Good! Great song and nice visuals for a slide show!
Rating: Excellent

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Episode 64

This episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood finally wraps up most of the loose plot threads of the series. While it does lag behind the previous episodes in terms of drama, as the main conflict has already ended, it provides a proper ending to the series (Conqueror of Shamballa was a very poor ending for the first anime series!).

The first half of the episode begins immediately after the conflict, with Roy getting ready to become Fuhrer despite his blindness. However, Dr. Marcoh visits him and offers to give him the Philosopher's Stone if he allows him to be part of the Ishbal restoration movement. He accepts, also using the Philosopher's Stone to restore Havoc's ability to use his legs. This was a nice touch, as I was surprised to see that the show didn't forget the side characters.

I also thought it was nice that Scar finally let go of his bigotry and joined forces with the military in order to restore Ishbal.This is much better than the ending to the first anime series, as Scar never actually turned into a good character and remained an enemy to the military and Edward Elric till the end. His death in the first anime also seemed to be contrived, as he died due to actions that were very out of character.

Meanwhile, Edward and Alphonse finally meet up with Winry, an event that I thought was a bit dragged out. I understand that this is a very emotional moment, but why the hell is this moment dragged out so long? Otherwise, it was a nice scene, even if I never really cared for Winry that much in the first place.

The second part of the episode was the best part of the episode, as it takes place two years after the events of the first half. I was surprised to see Edward settle down a bit, while Alphonse decided to learn more about Alkahestry and explore the Eastern nations. That said, Edward later leaves Resembol and decides to explore the West, meaning that while he may not be an alchemist, he still wants to explore the world and not stay at home all day.

Overall... this was a great episode! While I understand that it could have a few more things could have been wrapped up, it's nice to see that the series has finally ended.

Rating: Great
Note: Definitely going to review the FMA Brotherhood movie that was just green lit!!!!

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Episode 63

HELL YES! They have done it! They have finally created a conclusion that works! By all means does this ending surpass the half-assed original, as it has better writing, no plot holes, and characters who don't act like freakin' plot devices! This episode continues where the last episode left off: Edward beating the shit out of Father. After punching him a few dozen times, Father finally falls down, and appears to actually die. Unfortunately, he is still alive.

In a final act of desperation, Father goes after Greed and successfully implants his fist into Greed's stomach, successfully steeling Greed's philosopher stone. However, Greed decides uses his ability to turn Father's body to charcoal, only to die right after Father rejects him from his body. Thankfully, this doesn't stop the affects of Greed's abilities from working, allowing Edward to punch a hole in Father's chest, releasing all the souls of everyone Father made into philosopher stones.

Greed's end was much more meaningful than his death in the first anime series, as he died satisfied with the friend's he had during his life. In the original anime series, he died after Edward accidentally killed him, making it a rather pointless death.

The death of Father was also interesting, as he was brought to the gate immediately after losing all the souls. We then see him having a conversation with god, the viewer then discovering that god seems to look different for every person who goes to the gate (I'm guessing this is an example of human beings being in god's image?). A conversation takes place between god and Father, Father desperately trying to rationalize his actions while god tells him the reality and how he will be punished. At this point, I actually had to feel a bit of sympathy for the homunculus (Small though, as I still haven't forgotten what happened to Maes Hughes!), as he was simply in the pursuit of perfection and knowledge, even if he did go WAY too far in trying to achieve godhood. (Sounds a bit like Light Yagami?)

After that scene, Edward desperately tries to find a way to save Alphonse, realizing that something or someone will have to be sacrificed. I was expecting Edward to sacrifice himself, his father or maybe just a philosopher stone, making me worry that the conclusion was going to be full of plot holes and problems. However, Edward comes up with a plan that not only defied my expectations, but it leads to an ending that is absolutely perfect!

Edward sacrifices his Truth (the gate that represents his alchemic ability), therefore sacrificing his ability to use alchemy. Never have I ever thought of such a genius idea! By doing so, Edward saves Alphonse, and doesn't sacrifice any lives in order to save his brother, a solution that would definitely seem cheap, lazy and completely out of character for Edward.

After returning Alphonse to the real world, the duo have a reunion with all of the remaining characters, making it a very triumphant conclusion to an exceptional series. While we still have an epilogue to go through, I must say that my expectations have been surpassed. While I do admit that my expectations were surpassed long ago (around episode 30), never did I imagine a remake could be so much better than its predecessor. By all means should this show be watched by everyone who saw and enjoyed the original anime series, as this one will surpass their expectations.

I also thought that Hohenheim's death at the end of the episode was really well done, as we see him die with satisfaction, not to the point of welcoming death, but with no regrets about his life. His death was again (like Greed), much more satisfying and meaningful than the way he died in Fullmetal Alchemist: Conquerors of Shamballa, where he committed suicide.

Overall, this episode was fantastic! This was probably the best episode of the series so far, as it was able to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of providing a sacrifice for Alphonse's revival without making it seem cheap. Plus, the death of some protagonists were much more meaningful than their deaths in the original anime series, which seemed to be thought up at the last minute and rushed. Hopefully the epilogue will wrap up any loose plot threads we have.

Rating: Excellent

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Episode 62

 

What an intense episode! After Father blows up most of central headquarters, Edward, Hohenheim, Roy, Riza, the remaining Briggs soldiers, Greed, Lao Fan, and any other people I may have missed launch a desperate counter attack in order to use up Father's philosopher stone. The whole episode is dedicated to achieving this endeavor, ending with Father turning into a monster, and everyone else severely wounded, Edward losing his automail and having his left arm impaled by a thick metal wire. Unable to move, Father nearly turns him into a Philosopher Stone, until Alphonse, on the verge of death, sacrifices himself in order to give Edward his right arm. This makes Edward go on an angry rampage that results in Father to get fucked up beyond recognition.

This episode was...awesome! The beginning where Father blew up the whole entire Central command was an amazing display of how powerful he really is, showing that it will take a while to finally destroy him. The mid point of the episode where everyone is trying to take down Father was very triumphant, as it was nice to see everyone coming together in order to destroy Father. I also liked it how Father snapped in the end, as he seemed to turn into a monster due to his hunger for power, something that will probably result in his downfall next episode.

However, out of all these scenes, the best one was when Edward goes completely ballistic over his brother's sacrifice, as he beats the living shit out of Father. The intensity of this scene made up for the lack of intensity in the middle of the episode. Seeing this episode does worry me though, as we are left to the same trap that the ending of the first anime series had, Alphonse having sacrificed himself AGAIN for his brother, meaning that depending on what Edward sacrifices to save Alphonse will determine the quality of the series, hopefully they will do it right this time around!

Overall, this was a fantastic episode that raises my expecatations for the next episode. Hopefully the conclusion will be satisfying and will leave no loose plot threads.
Rating: Excellent