Everyone here saying watch FMAB and skip 2003 are idiots.
FMA03 is different, but amazing in its own right. There's a reason why before FMAB came out, FMA03 was one of the highest rated anime. FMAB also totally butchers the first 4 volumes of the manga, which is around the first 8 episodes or so iirc (I'm probably a little off). And in my opinion, it doesn't actually pick up until around episode 15 or so.
FMA03 not only fleshes the first 4 volumes out better than FMAB, but it's also better than the manga. It adds more detail to it (examples being Barry the Chopper, Hughes, Nina, etc). Then when FMA03 detaches itself from the manga, the story becomes much more like a tragedy, much more darkly themed and despairing. Ed has to make many more sacrifices and watch as his worldview is torn apart. It's pretty epic.
FMAB is pretty terrible at the beginning especially compared to FMA03; there's way more cringe comedy and the pacing is awful. I recommend GoatJesus' youtube comparison of FMAB and FMA03 for details. Then when FMAB finally picks up, it becomes a thriller almost, but you will never truly feel a dark sense of despair like in FMA03. Which is fine and man does it get epic regardless. But it is not the personal journey of Ed and Alphonse like FMA03 is. FMAB is an epic military conspiracy -- ironic since it's called "Brotherhood". Brotherhood is a far more fitting title for FMA03. There are episodes in FMAB that don't even have Edward in it hardly, which should tell you the scope of FMAB. It is more about the military conspiracy, while FMA03 is about Ed's tragic journey.
I prefer FMA03 more at the end of the day, but I highly recommend watching both. Order really doesn't matter. People say that if you watch FMAB first, you won't enjoy FMA03. That was the case for me when I was 13 so if you're young and have a bad attention span that may be true. But if you're an adult and can appreciate slower narratives that unravel into a tragedy (with a gorgeous OST to boot) then you can watch FMA03 after FMAB and find something good in it. |
