Jul 29, 2015
Since I couldn't find any legitimate objective analysis in any of these fanboy reviews, I decided put my own review:
Here's why FMA:B and it's Manga counterpart don't work:
It's just a disjointed piece of art. The initial premise of the narrative: two young siblings that horrifically lose their mother and parts of themselves is incredibly dark and powerfully poignant. Their journey to find the philosophers stone is one that's objectively adventurous but the endpoint is still inherently adult and sophisticatedly gritty; especially as it delves into the implications of bringing a dead person back to life early on in the series.
So why is it disjointed?
...
Because there's a mistranslation of tonal nuance throughout the entire series. Now I don't mean stylistic aspects such as art style choices e.g. Chibi segments (because those are minuscule details in the grand scheme of storytelling devices), but rather the way they're implemented in the story. For example, one second we're dealing with the introspective reconciliation of human birth and how beautiful it is and the very next we drop it for side-gags just to transition into the next topic/character development. It just doesn't fit. It's formulaic. It's predictable storytelling at it's finest and it absolutely ruins the pacing.
It's a huge shame because the character development and dialogue in the series is exquisitely written (some of the best in any story I've ever seen); e.g. Edward's speech about his existential crisis provided a deep psychoanalytical view into his personality and character. This is amazing character development! However it actually lessens the impact of the narrative and my personal enjoyment of the series because it contrasts heavily with the tone of the series. Right down to the very commercial transitions with the quirky voice-over of the title; every little stylistic choice is presented as a complete antithesis to the themes of the series.
Fullmetal Alchemist should NOT be sugarcoated with a light-hearted aesthetic. This is something I'd hate to say in any other series because pretentiously "dark and gritty" series (*cough* Tokyo Ghoul *cough*) are the bane of my existence but this is the one exception. If the themes of the series are of complex adult issues, why is the tone appealing to childish humour and zany adventurous antics?
With all that being said, I totally understand why Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is considered one of the greatest Animes of all time because it is substantially provocative and extremely complex behind the aesthetics much like many other great Animes like One Piece, Hunter X Hunger, Cowboy Bebop and Dragon Ball.
Personally, it just doesn't work from a narrative perspective because it feels disjointed and unfocused in the way it clashes with stylistic ambiguity. Through this loss of tone, the series becomes a chain of loose threads that are vaguely commentating on the overall themes of the narrative which is why I rated Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the Manga: 5/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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