Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

[RobbyB1982]

Just saw that this is on the agenda for next week. Neat. No idea if Chuck has a whole bunch commissioned or just the first four, but interested to see how this goes all the same. (Given that its a long series, it'd take him forever to get through regardless.)

One thing I'm really curious to see is how Chuck, as a fresh to anime guy, takes it all in, having NOT seen the first series. The original anime followed the manga pretty closely up to a point, and as a result, Brotherhood when it came out just a couple years later sort of skimmed over a lot of the earlier material and blitzed through it (including leaving some stuff out entirely that they then had to be squeezed in later.) I'm kind of curious if there will be some Gundam effect where its too much to really process properly, or if Brotherhood really did fine on its own.

[DanteC]

Will he go with subs or the English dub? Personally I can't stand the English voice acting, and the translation for certain scenes or 'artistic merit' has a lot to be desired.

[RobbyB1982]

Chuck tends to go with the dub for ease of editing unless he has no other choice.

And the FMA dub was really solid all around, I'm not sure what your complaint is.

[Lizuka]

I know this is a minority opinion but I'd take the original anime over Brotherhood any day of the week. It certainly has its own problems, and both stories turn pretty stupid after they diverge, but I'd argue the original anime is better structured than the manga is, makes better use of its extended cast (plus it doesn't have Olivier which is a big point in its favor right there), it's better at setting a mood, and it has a lot more reasonable pacing compared to how Brotherhood starts off eager to just get everything the first show already covered over with as fast as it possibly can and then once it does suddenly turns to outright glacial pacing.

Though Brotherhood definitely has better fight scenes. Also I'm very torn on the subject of the villains.

Like yeah, Dante is a joke. She's absolutely pathetic, she never actually succeeds at pretty much anything. But at least there's an idea there and some personality which is more than can be said for Father evilly sitting on his evil throne. Kind of just comes down to if you prefer boring but competent or interesting but a complete non-threat.

[RobbyB1982]

The first anime had the worse ending by far, (the explanation for where alchemy comes from in the last three episodes nearly tanks the entire series) but was overall the stronger piece I think. It was stronger in the characterization and drama, and having the sins be tied into the main character's mistakes worked a lot better thematically than them just being random offshoots of a demon thing in a jar. It struck a better tone overall as well, and did things like really spending time with Nina before the horror, being around for the birth of Hugh's daughter instead of a random baby, and meeting Barry the Chopper before he became a suit of armor, and such. They spent a lot more time on those early years, developing character, while Brotherhood rushed through them because the first anime had already covered it. The first anime also had better music.

It also didn't go on the lengthy subtangent with all the northern snow stuff or any of the Ling crew. And I know some people love those characters and they're fine, but the overall narrative was stronger being streamlined without them. On the other hand, Brotherhood (and the manga) had a more developed fuller world because of those things, it hit a much stronger message about forgiveness, and the final battle was definitely handled better and it had the stronger overall climax.

Both series are good in different ways, and they both had different strengths and weaknesses. If the manga had been closer to being finished when the first anime was made, and we basically got the Brotherhood anime but with something closed to the more fleshed out first and second season of the first anime, we might have had a damn near perfect thing. Instead, they're sort of two halves of the whole, balancing each other and both covering the other's flaws.

[Wargriffin]

... I enjoyed both

but if we're really gonna make this which one over the other

Ummm


The original had Bratja which I was sincerely disappointed didn't show up ONCE during all of Brotherhood... cause if anything sums up FMA the experience as a whole its Bratja

youtu.be/uwzAEwzUI8k

[TheWumpus]

I just saw the video. Sometimes it kinda sounded like he said Edgar rather than Edward. Also going forward sticking to either Brotherhood or the original anime might be a good idea. While the episode plots maybe the same the underlying story changes because the original was filling in holes due to missing plot details from the manga.

[Independent George]

Brotherhood had the entire Armstrong clan. The quality of the anime series has been passed down the Armstrong clan for generations.

[Fianna]

I'd say that the first anime has deeper themes and more interesting characterization, while Brotherhood has more thorough worldbuilding and is more intricately plotted.

My preference is definitely for the former, though I can respect the latter. Though, watching the early Brotherhood episodes without having either read the manga or seen the first series has gotta be a weird experience.

[Wargriffin]

Thats cause for the most part Brotherhood made a conscious decision not to retread the ground the first anime pretty much covered in depth so it kinda just does a fast recap

Its kinda why up too Greed's introduction Brotherhood has a breezier pace, its really once it gets to the
heavy divergence point that Brotherhood slows down a bit.