I went into this knowing nothing about the premise, so the show itself had to tell me how everything worked and keep me interested enough to last something like 64 episodes. 64?! My sweet spot is 26, anything beyond that are a commitment I'm not willing to make.
The first episode was one of the best pilots I think I've ever seen, it established so many world rules and characters and really showed off the budget and animation levels I was in store for. I remember thinking "Woah, this really feels like Avatar: The Last Airbender" and I grew up with that. As soon as I felt that, I knew I could last 64 episodes easy.
The show is relatively simple, there's a form of magic called alchemy that few possess, and there are large territories that are on very poor terms with one another. You're looking at great warriors and really detailed fight scenes. The real heart of this show is the strength of the characters, main and supporting, and the overall arcing story. It deals so well with escalation, never skipping too far ahead too fast as to lose you, but it keeps a quick pace with a lot of well explained mystery that you want to know more. Each section of the story adds foundations to the parts to come, previous pieces of intrigue combine to solve a larger piece of the puzzle. This feels so satisfying to watch, be it discovering the rules of alchemy to who the villain is and what his evil plan becomes.
This show can become beautifully dark, from familial deaths of main cast members, to examining how far someone will go for perfection, justice, or even life itself. The villains are wonderfully metaphorical, each being charismatic and deadly, while the heroes are very complex and quite human. Fullmetal really dissects human nature and shows you both the best and the worse of it. What pins this down is a really great soundtrack, the whole thing creates this sort of feeling that just flows into you. You name it, this show probably has it: political instability and invasions, insightful character development across the board, a good sense of humour to lighten the mood just enough that the shocking moments hurt so much worse, amazing fight choreography, a well written love story, mysterious secret societies, redemption arcs for desperate thugs... It really has so much to offer, each piece well rounded and ready to be enjoyed. I don't know how they fit in so much without it feeling overly complicated or too stuffed, but they did!
I was an idiot for not checking out this show when people told me about it, because it really is a near perfect piece of entertainment across the board. By the end, I wanted more than 64 episodes, something I never imagined happening. I can't recommend this show more, it's unmissable.
