The new Full Metal Alchemist anime so far…

I have never read the Full Metal Alchemist manga, but I did watch the original anime series that came out in 2003/04 and loved it. I heard that around the middle of the first series, the story took a completely different route than the ongoing manga. So now, about five years later, we finally have a new FMA anime series that is meant to follow the manga…

There is still no official confirmation of how many episodes FMA 2, a.k.a. FMA: Brotherhood, is going to be. But so far, although the first 12 or so episodes were kind of rushed, once the series reached the manga-only material, things started to pick. From what I’ve heard from other fans, something that seemed to be lacking in the early episodes of FMA 2 is the tear-jerking emotion and gut-wrenching drama that made the first series so popular. I would have to agree that even though the early episodes of FMA 2 followed the manga more closely, some of the arcs, especially the ones with Cornello and Nina/Tucker, were better written and constructed, and had more emotional poignancy, in the first series. Even the flashback scenes involving Ed and Al’s mother, Izumi, and the training on the island, just seemed to be handled better in the original series.

I think the main reason for the mediocrity of the “pre-manga only” episodes is because the creators were in a rush to get the new material out as quickly as possible. The first 10 or so episodes of FMA: Brotherhood covered a whooping 25 or so episodes of the first series. So I don’t think the creators were trying as hard as they could have been with these early episodes but were instead trying to make them follow the manga and be over with as quickly as possible. My friend Jan likened these early episodes of FMA 2 to a “Full Metal Alchemist Lite” of sorts on her blog. However, despite being rushed and abrupt, the remakes of the old episodes definitely weren’t all bad; for the story arcs in FMA 2 that turned out different than they did in the first series, the Nina/Tucker arc for example, it was great seeing them how they were originally supposed to be in the manga. It didn’t feel like I was rewatching the old episodes but I rather that I was watching new twists on the stories I had seen before.

With episode 14 and beyond of FMA 2, we now have the manga-only material that was never in the original anime series. And I’m happy to report that the quality of the first FMA series is coming back in these episodes. The arc involving the accusation of Lt. Ross was very well written and suspenseful. Further episodes involving the Homunculus, Ed digging up his mother’s remains, the new characters from Xing, and the reappearance of Hohenheim, were also great. In addition, I felt that Winry’s character development was sorely lacking in the first FMA series, but she’s certainly been making up for it in the past few episodes of Brotherhood; it’s been great seeing things like her relationship with Hughes’ family, her confrontation with Scar, and of course her love for Ed and Al. Scar too has also been becoming a more dynamic and appealing character than he was in the original series. In fact, episode 22 in which Winry and Scar meet and we find out what happened between Scar and Winry’s parents is my favorite episode of Brotherhood so far. The emotion, suspense, revelations, and drama that played out in that one episode was fantastic and definitely worthy of the FMA quality we know and love. The complexity of Mustang’s character has been shining more in Brotherhood as well, and better development for supporting characters like Havoc, Ross, and Hawkeye is also present.

Well, to sum up my thoughts on FMA 2 so far, I felt that the early episodes were a bit too rushed even if they did follow the manga better than the original series did. Maybe, instead of remaking the early episodes, they should have rebroadcast the ones from the first series before moving on to the new material, kind of like what was done with Haruhi. But I guess with FMA there would have been too many continuity issues later on, even if they did edit things in the old episodes. However, though this much anticipated series had a less than perfect start, with the introduction of the manga-only material and beyond, I feel that the series is returning to its former quality. It still has excellent music, likable characters, and a fascinating setting and plot. For someone who has never read the manga, I’m definitely looking forward to watching the rest of the FMA saga =)

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  1. Paranoia675 says:

    While it is true that I, as a manga reader, was glad that they rushed through previously tread territory to the manga-only material, I completely understand your gripes about the first section. However, the first Full Metal Alchemist had a completely different atmosphere surrounding it where in many ways they seemed to be buying time with fillers and drawn out episodes. Now, I must give credit to the first director who masterfully extended the important manga scenes and really added to the character or said moments. That said, I think the focus for any review of Brotherhood should be on the latter sections where we can see the new director attempt to flesh out the rest of this riveting series.

    Can’t wait to see your full review once it all ends :D

  2. Jan Suzukawa says:

    Thanks for linking to my blog post. :)

    When I wrote that post, Brotherhood hadn’t reached the split point yet, and was still rehashing the part of the story we’d seen before in the first anime series. Since then (I’ve seen up to episode 19 to date), Brotherhood has definitely gotten better and more interesting; but I must say I still prefer the original anime series. I confess that I’ve never read the manga (and now I feel like I can’t, since I don’t want to spoil my experience of watching Brotherhood from episode to episode). I think – just speaking for myself – that the first anime series is always going to feel like the “real” Fullmetal Alchemist story to me. It was that special – and that great.

  3. So far i’m mostly pleased at how this version is coming along so far, I have a few nitpicks and its not a perfect replica of the manga, but I didn’t want an adaption that followed the manga to a T in the first place anyways. Just something that captured the manga’s glory. (I know, i’m such an FMA nut.) Still glad to hear your’e enjoying it, and if they keep at it with sticking to the manga, I can guarantee it will keep getting better. ^^

    I hate to say but having FMA pulling a Haruhi and recycling old eps from the first series would not work at all. Well, maybe if they where to cut out parts here and there, but whole eps? No. Ive thought about that myselef but it just won’t work, there too many differences between the two versions, and even the episodes based off of manga material have anime-invented material in it (or the way they arranged the manga based material) just wouldn’t flow right. In other words: it would be another Munto TV.
    Call me insane, but i’ve actually had the crazy idea to take parts from the manga turned anime from BOTH FMA series and edit it into one version, resulting in a complete adaption on the manga. I have the materials, I have the right programs, the know-how, and I love the series enough to pull such a feat. Question remains is: is it worth the time and will people actual bother to watch it? Hmmmmm……

  4. Ratatosk says:

    I have to say the latest few 10 or 15 episodes have really brought out the best in the manga. It’s even reminding me of Monster or something, all those people in different places plotting stuff or hiding or arriving at the truth from different directions, and the way all the threads come together. I guess there just aren’t that many mangas out there that are this well planned.

    That’s a great idea editing together the ultimate version of the story :) I was considering buying the dvds for the first half of the first series and the last 3/4 of this one but that would be even better..

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