Dec 25, 2015
This is the anime that has been hyped up as the godsend. Number 1 on the website. The pinnacle of anime. So of course I was excited to finally get around to this one on my long list. But personally, I don't think it was worth all the hype. I'm not somebody who has seen 500 animes or anything, but I do not see why this has so many 10s across the board.
Slight spoilers ahead
Story: 7
I enjoyed the story. It was entertaining, for the most part. However, I think it dragged at points. For example, the old movie gag of how Yoki met Elric went
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on waaaaay too long, and took up a decent chunk of the episode. And multiple other points where when the block came up saying it was the commercial, I sat wondering "really, I felt like it was longer". Part of that could come from be binge watching and feeling all the episodes blend, but it happened on multiple occasions. What felt like 20 minutes was really 10. It was also a pretty typical story, fighting the big bad who thinks he's god. Didn't really start out that way, but that's what it became later into the story for sure.
Art: 8
The art was fine, except for the CGI that I honestly thought looked like trash. The biggest culprit being dino Envy. It makes it even worse when it's a scene where the CGI character is paired up across from all the normal animation. It just looks so awkward and out of place. But I did like the thick borders they would do in some action scenes, added weight in my opinion. So the rest of it was spot on, but screw dino Envy.
Sound: 10
No complaints. I thought the sound was fine, the soundtrack played right when it was needed. And the openings and endings, most of them have to end up on my playlist. Good all around. Voice actors were right on the money.
Characters: 7
The goal of getting back the brothers' bodies just seemed weird to me. Not in Alphonse's case, because he actually lost his body. But every time Ed brought up how this was to get "our" bodies, I wondered why he included himself. I mean, I understood what he was going for. But I still didn't see a reason for him to be able to group himself with his brother who can't even sleep at night. They were on two ends of the spectrum to me, and it was, I don't know if insulting is the right word, but kind of off that Edward would include himself in the same comparison of losing his body. The same when it would be judged if he were human or not, when it's very clear he is (the same not being able to be said for his brother). This pulled me out of most scenes where these kinds of conversations occurred.
Roy Mustang was an excellent character, and I enjoyed his entire arc. You could really feel the struggles he was going through; I just wish he was around more often.
Some of the side characters felt pretty tacked on, but some were great. For example, the little girl. When danger occurred, it pulled me out of the scene because I knew that nothing bad was really going to happen to her (and if it did, the story would have so much respect from me, not that I wish death on her). However, Scar on the other hand was great for invoking thought, in the characters and in the viewer.
Enjoyment - 7
I was hooked for the first 15-20 episodes. Every episode felt like something going down, something bad. However, I think the show peaked with "the lighter scene" to avoid spoilers. Everything after that felt downhill (not to the toilets, but nothing roped me in like my first time seeing that scene). The series seemed like a ton of build up for something big and ended up not being all that much in my opinion. The final fight being more lackluster than would be expected given the circumstances. It was enjoyable, but nothing jaw-droppingly amazing.
Overall- 7
I enjoyed FMA:B. I think it was a good show. However, I do not see the hype in it. It felt like another typical shounen anime. And I like my shounen anime, there is nothing wrong with that for me. But it was not the end all be all anime I expected given its high praise.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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