Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

After a horrific alchemy experiment goes wrong in the Elric household, brothers Edward and Alphonse are left in a catastrophic new reality. Ignoring the alchemical principle banning human transmutation, the boys attempted to bring their recently deceased mother back to life. Instead, they suffered brutal personal loss: Alphonse's body disintegrated while Edward lost a leg and then sacrificed an arm to keep Alphonse's soul in the physical realm by binding it to a hulking suit of armor.

The brothers are rescued by their neighbor Pinako Rockbell and her granddaughter Winry. Known as a bio-mechanical engineering prodigy, Winry creates prosthetic limbs for Edward by utilizing "automail," a tough, versatile metal used in robots and combat armor. After years of training, the Elric brothers set off on a quest to restore their bodies by locating the Philosopher's Stone—a powerful gem that allows an alchemist to defy the traditional laws of Equivalent Exchange.

As Edward becomes an infamous alchemist and gains the nickname "Fullmetal," the boys' journey embroils them in a growing conspiracy that threatens the fate of the world.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Elric, Edward Main

Park, Romi Japanese

Elric, Alphonse Main

Kugimiya, Rie Japanese

Mustang, Roy Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Hughes, Maes Supporting

Fujiwara, Keiji Japanese

Greed Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Hawkeye, Riza Supporting

Orikasa, Fumiko Japanese

Yao, Ling Supporting

Miyano, Mamoru Japanese

Rockbell, Winry Supporting

Takamoto, Megumi Japanese

Armstrong, Alex Louis Supporting

Utsumi, Kenji Japanese

Armstrong, Olivier Mira Supporting

Soumi, Youko Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Maruyama, Hiroo Producer

Yonai, Noritomo Producer

Kurashige, Nobuyuki Producer

Reviews

Sep 18, 2024

Joebine7

Recommended

Short Review of FMAB (My Opinion Obviously)

Story: Its pretty good, but its a little bit generic, main characters travels the world, gather allies along the way, defeats the villainous group one bad guy at a time, and beat the big bad at the end. Obviously there's more to it than that, and its definitely serviceable but i expected more from the alleged greatest anime of all time.

Animation/Art style: Animation wise i don't really have any complains. The only thing is that sometimes the camera will move to fast or it wont focuses on the characters during action leading to confusion as to what is happening. ... The art style on the other hand definitively could have been better, it does its job well but its really lacking in shading and shadows resulting in scenes looking flat. (I know it was made in 2009 but still)

Music: When it come to the music i appreciate it but compared to other animes its pretty mediocre. The 1th and 4th openings are really good and most of the endings are good too, but the background music is really mediocre and it doesn't help when they replay the same ones over and over again.

Characters: The characters of FMAB are overall pretty good, but they are definitively not equal. Characters like Edward, Bratley Mustang and Hohenheim are given way more complexities then the other characters, Gluttony, Lust, Rika, Envy, Father, Armstrong Alphonse and May. All these characters (with the exception of Alphonse) feel more gimmicks than real people, but maybe that's just me.

Conclusion: Even thou it seems like i hate FMAB with everything i said in this review, i do really think that FMAB is one of the best animes out there. The reason why i went into more details with the negative was because the positives speaks for them selves.(and because its the highest rated anime of all time) Its a lot harder to explain why an action scene or a plot twist is good without seeing it with your own eyes. So if you want to know why i like it then i suggest you watch it for yourself.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Aug 12, 2024

DingleButts

Mixed Feelings

I think this anime is a product of its time. I am glad I watched it, but sadly, I did have an issue with the story. It seemed like the writer had no idea where the story would end up. I wish I could talk about it and maybe get it cleared up, but I would like to avoid saying spoilers. Also, I have had no interaction with this community, and I'm wondering if it's a hot take to say I'm upset Edward was the main character and not Al. The plot seemed to progress better when Al did something while it seemed like Edward ... was a bystander.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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May 31, 2024

Quaker020

Not Recommended

Funny

I see why people like this show for it's setting, but I only enjoyed watching FMA:B for about 5% of the time.

- The main characters lack depth, growth and consistency. I feel like most of the main characters are almost entirely the same, from beginning to end. The same motivations, the same actions. There are a few exceptions, but that is nowhere near enough to redeem the rest.
-- Ironically, the side characters are WAY more fun / interesting.

- The plot is predictable from beginning to end, with the exception of some minor plot twists. Moreover, it's quite THIN. In my opinion, it really felt like ... nothing happened for about 40 episodes, leading up to the predictable finale of the show.

- As a result, pacing felt horrible. I found myself sitting through a few dozen episodes, because I knew what was coming and it just kept taking longer and longer.

- The art is sometimes incredible, but almost always boring. Mustang's fire blew my MIND at times, but the endless still frames and unimpressing visuals really tired me.

- Combat feels very weird for power level / plot reasons. The main characters have so much power, yet barely use any of it, often times. (What is the POINT of hand-to-hand combat if you can crush people between brick walls?)

+ The main redeeming part of this anime is the power system. Such cool intricacies, variations, flavors, visuals. And the underlying mechanics are super interesting!

I restarted FMA:B three times after dropping it before. I sat through it because I wanted to know why it's so loved. Sadly, I did not enjoy it and I would definitely not recommend someone watch 64 episodes of it. I found it VERY unrewarding, the whole way through.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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