Back to Melodux's Profile Melodux's Profile

As I finish my unhealthy breakfast of leftover Taco Bell and ramen, let me tell you about a legacy called FullMetal Alchemist.

FullMetal Alchemist {FMA for short} is a franchise that follows two young brothers in an alternate European universe, shortly after industrialization, in which Alchemy is a common practice, and was weaponized for a country at war. There are some rules to alchemy; you can’t create something out of nothing, in order to create, something of equal value must be lost, and human transmutation is strictly forbidden. The aforementioned brothers lose their mother to sickness sometime after their father had left. Grief-stricken, the brothers Edward ... and Alphonse attempt to re-create their mother’s body and bring her soul back from the dead. The cost? Literally and arm and a leg, plus Al’s entire body. And thus begins the story of FullMetal Alchemist...

The franchise started out as a manga, then spawned an Anime simply called FullMetal Alchemist, which only loosely followed the manga. With a movie, two games, some light novels and drama CDs in between, a second re-adaption of the story titled FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was created, following the manga almost verbatim.

Story: 10/10

The plot, to this day, is still very original. It’s not every day you hear about brothers wanting to get their bodies back, Alchemy also isn’t a very widespread theme in anime. The author obviously went to great lengths to do her research on the subjects of the anime, and utilized her vast imagination to create supernatural themes and plot twists. The story is very well written, very thought out, and portrayed very well. It progresses nicely throughout the anime, with next to no fillers.

With an episode count of 64, it would seem that the anime elongates the story, but not so. The concepts of FullMetal Alchemist could be a little difficult to understand without the proper explanations. No, I’m not saying there’s episodes full of lecture, I’m saying that most of the explanations are portrayed by example an realizations. That is a HUGE plus for me. I don’t think there’s anything more irritating than the characters explaining the obvious, or voicing what they’re figuring out all the time, as if the audience is stupid. The only minor gripe I have is that it pulls a bit of a Dragon Ball Z towards the end. And by that I mean, fights take episodes to conclude. It’s very minor, though, and understandable as the battles become more difficult and the length of them is nowhere near comparable to DBZ or even Naruto, so I hope it wouldn’t be an issue enough to cause someone to not finish this great anime.

Animation: 10/10

FMA is animated beautifully. There are differences in the facial features of the characters. Child characters look young in the face as well. One of my favorite animation features is that as the characters developed, you could see it in their physical stature. Also, the artist is good at portraying emotions in the eyes, which couldn’t be more useful in this emotionally charged anime. The backgrounds were drawn and painted beautifully, they almost looked 3D. What really perfected this score is the all the opening and ending credits being animated so beautifully and creatively. All with a cherry on top.

Sound: 9/10

All of the opening and ending songs were pretty unique and captured the tone of the manga during specific seasons perfectly. The music was composed nicely, and went with the current emotions of the anime at the perfect times. However, the same segments of the same songs were used over and over and over again, and it got a little annoying after a while.

Characters: 10/10

Each and every character is unique, with their own little trademarks. The characters meshed well together, even the antagonists. If the characters weren’t how they are, then I don’t think FMA would be half as good as it is. Plot progressed because of character’s motives and resolve, they weren’t just pawns to utilize to get an idea across. They were far from dry, and I found myself getting attached to each and every one of them. If you’ve read any of my reviews before, then you should know that I’m quite fond of character development, and that’s quite abundant in this anime. And as I’ve stated previously; changes in the character’s physical appearance correlated with the change in the character’s character.

Overall: 9.8/10

But why not a perfect 10, Melodux? It’s such a good anime! It is, but if you had read my review up to this point, then you would know that it’s not a perfect anime. I am fully aware that some people are much more critical of anime than I, and would get QUITE annoyed with the minor gripes I had made, and stop watching it. What makes it a good anime? Its originality and the way everything is tied together so well. Story and characters work in harmony, the animation make the portrayal of the story easy on the eyes, and the music adds finishing touches to make it all complete.

Melodux’s Musings – Why you should watch this version as well as the original: First off, I count the first animated edition of FullMetal Alchemist the “original,” because it came out before Brotherhood. Brotherhood was a good idea to keep the franchise going, and if you’re looking to skip out on reading the lengthy manga, watching Brotherhood is a good way to do it. I bet you’re thinking “OK, so if I watch this, then I have the gist of everything, right? Why would I want to watch the original?” or “I’ve watched Brotherhood, and it’s amazing, nothing will compare, I won’t even look at the original!” BOTH STORIES ARE EQUALLY AS GOOD: the original follows the manga until about the middle of the story and is an equally interesting re-telling of the story. Consider it an “alternate ending” of sorts. If you like the characters and themes in Brotherhood, then the original will be just as good. Conversely, if you enjoyed the characters and themes in the original, then prepare for a more detailed, enhanced animated version of the story while watching Brotherhood.

After watching Durarara!!, wanted to get in to the Light Novels. I've only read a few so far, but I'm already in love with Narita's work. So of course, I had to get in to Baccano!, starting off with the anime.

Story: Even though leaving a botched plot at the beginning to draw it all together at the end isn't exactly new, the way that Baccano! did it was spectacular. I'm not going to talk about it too much, because I'm spoiler-free, but at the end, there's quite a few things that are open for interpretation. You know the facts, and how it ends, but ... how it came to be isn't exactly spelled out for you. So "open for interpretation" not "unanswered."

There were lots of twists and turns that were unexpected, and putting the pieces together was very fun as the viewer. Even if everything else was crap, I would still love this anime for the story alone.

Animation: The detail in the background and settings was there when it needed to be. I don't remember finding anything I didn't like with the art. Something I particularly liked was the attention to the anatomical diversity. Most of the gang members you saw had a different facial structure or body type, the main characters all looked completely different. Old members looked old, the young looked young. I think that the male outfits could've varied some, and the details for the time period could've been more prevalent. However, those aren't really important and deal-breaking details.

Sound: Baccano! has a jazzy soundtrack that could get you pumped for an action scene, or mellow you out during a dramatic scene. The sound effects weren't anything special, but they fit and weren't bad. The music went with the time period as well, which makes it even better.

Characters: As the opening plays, a lot of characters are named off and shown. There are 4 mafia families, and that seems to get confusing. However, you quickly weed out who is more important than others, and the anime sort of groups the characters according to the roles they play, so it makes it easier to differentiate. The anime has an effective use of stock characters and the changes in the dynamic characters were touching. All of the characters were different, and had characteristics to either love or hate. They made up a lot of the entertainment.

Overall, I highly recommend Baccano! especially if you liked Durarara!! {and vice-versa}. I can guarantee that you will have a favorite character. It's definitely worth the watch, and for 13 episodes, what the hell? Why not?

I'm not really going to go in-depth with this review. All I have to say is that the story was really choppy and jumpy. It barely qualified as a Shounen-ai. The fight scenes were a joke, and the dialogue was terrible. It was so cheesy and unoriginal. If you're into all that, then that's fine, but even then, I think that it would make more sense if you played or know about the game.