Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood follows the manga very closely, with a similar art style and the same dynamic as the manga. If you prefer seeing anime that follows a manga, skip the first generation and come to this one, you won't be disappointed.
Anyhow, looking at the Anime itself, FMA:B quite frankly was beautiful to me. You have strong lead characters, the traveling brothers Edward and his younger brother Alphonse Elric, who are alchemists that have committed the worst possible Alchemic sin. Because of this, Edward is missing an arm and a leg, and Alphonse is merely a soul bound to a suit of armor. Edward makes it his goal to bring back Alphonse's body and make him human again.
In their travels, they meet many different people and face many different challenges, facing their flaws and helping others while sticking to their morals and staying focused on their goal.
Alchemy in this show is not necessarily the Alchemy you learn about in your chemistry class, but a more give-and-take magic, which is a very interesting twist on the otherwise not-too-exciting idea.
Their serious situation and setting is sometimes offset with hilarious moments to help keep it from getting too heavy for a teenage audience. The humor is usually in place very well, and despite sometimes being a bit random, it isn't so awfully out of place that it ruins the moment. The humor can range from silly banter (ie picking on a character for their height, picking on them for their taste in food, etc), to humor that's a little more on the dark side that still manages to fit into the situation nicely.
The music in this show is absolutely wonderful and fits the setting very well. The soundtrack is almost if not fully orchestrated, and each tune that plays in each scenario fits beautifully and helps push the point across. It covers a wide range of emotions and energy, and oftentimes is great for listening to even without the manga when you need the inspiration.
Overall, I enjoyed FMA:B to the point where I was crying over the characters and feeling a wide range of emotions. All of the characters were so well-done and fleshed out, that they will stick with you for a long time after you watch it.
