Also, SPOILER ALERT.
----------------------STORY----------------------------- (7/10)
Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood ( I will refer it as FMA:B from now on) tells the story of the Elric Brothers. The Elrics were abandoned by their father when they were kids and soon after, their mother died. The brothers tried following in their father's footsteps and become alchemists, in order to try human transmutation, a taboo among alchemists which should, theoretically, allow them to bring their dead mother back to life. This goes horribly wrong however, with a rebound occuring. Edward lost his left leg and Alphonse lost his entire body. After Edward had a brief meeting with "God", he quickly gave his right arm too in order to bring Alphonse back. Now, the Elric brothers are in a quest to find the Philosopher stone, which will allow them to get their bodies back by immensly amplifying their alchemic abilities. Sounds neat right? Well, no. While the backstory is great, the Plot REALLY, REALLY, REALLY suffers until about episode 12. After that, it is pretty mediocre untill episode 40. After that, it is amazing, hence the rating of "7". The opening arcs are rushed and are quite frankly, boring. I would advise no one watches the first 12 episodes of this series and just watches the first 28 of the 2003 series, which cover the same stuff, but much better. However, be warned. There are differences in the 2003 anime that definetely didn't happen in FMA:B, like the way homoculi are born, and the killer of Winry's parents (Roy in 2003, Scar in 2009). There is also a very good ending here, with Ed making a genius move. There also some very, very minor plot holes and stupid decisions made by some characters (damn, Ed is the equivelant of Shirou Emiya in this show), they are not too annoying.
-------------------------Art (8)---------------------------------------------
This is a great looking series. It is no Fate series, BUT, it is very good looking. The highlight, is of course, the action sequences. Especially the final fight. They are done amazingly well. Just, go watch some samples.
---------------------------Sound(9)-----------------------------------------------------
Arguably, the show's biggest strength. It has amazing voice acting (especially the English dub), great soundtrack and nice sound effects.
-----------------------Characters(9)-------------------------------------------
If not the sound, then the characters are what carry this show. Despite showing 0 character devlopment in the 12 first episodes, it all changes at around episode 22. The best character of all, in my opinion, is "Greeling". Now, this does NOT include the villain. The villain is a big "meh", because his plan is just bad. neither does it include the homonculi, because they are basically nothing compared to 2003. On their own, they serve as good antagonists to fight, but they show no character, other than the way they all die.
---------------------------Enjoyment(6)----------------------------------------------
Hey, how can I give it only a 6 when I praised the rest? Well, hold on. The first 12 episodes made me absolutely HATE the show. It was also quite a mess untill episode 40. After that, it got a lot better, but not enough to bring the enjoyment to anything higher than a "6". Also, I didn't enjoy it as much because of the hype surrounding this show. I was really let down, although having key parts of the show spoiled for me, didn't help either. Also, I am saying this right now. The comedy in this series, is AWFUL.
FMA:B Pros
+ Backstory with "God" can keep you hooked on the plot
+ Great action scenes
+ The rich atmosphere and world it creates. Didn't nail it as good as 2003, but I would still love to visit Amestris
+ The characters
+ The ending
+ The sound
+1st and 4th opening songs are great
+ It has some really great moments, my favorite being when Edward healed himself in episode 42.
FMA:B cons
- First episode is a filler. Now, this may not be a problem for some of you,but if you are anything like me (get done with the story and move on), then this is a problem.
- Opening arcs are terrible
- Minor plot holes
- Awful comedy
- 2nd, 3rd and 5th openings range from bad to mediocre.
- Lighter tone compared to 2003. This may not bother you, but I felt that a darker, more serious tone suited the fullmetal alchemist universe better.
Overall, this is, in my opinion, an overrated series. It is good, but overrated. FMA:B is one of those animes where the good, are really good but the bad are really bad.
