I have watched the complete first adaptation of FMA, and I absolutely loved it. So here I am, sucked into the world of Alchemy again.
My first impression during the first 13 or so episodes was: Mediocre. I thought it would never ever compare to the earlier adaptation of FMA. Everything seemed TOO fast paced (First time ever for any anime, they're always too slow!). Just about half of the original story was summed up and told in several episodes.
I considered dropping this new series, but that just could not do. Edward action is too alluring!
So I watched on, and with each new chapter my appreciation for this series grew. The story wraps together nicely and branches off into the original Manga version without any sort of bumpy transition.
I'm looking at all the reviews for FMA Brother and people who've rated it like, 6 or 7, are people who have only watched barely 10 episodes of this series. I have to say that you will NOT come to terms with this series unless you get a gist of its pacing and story development.
Now for quick reviews.
Story: 10. I've always loved the old FMA story, and I can't wait to see how the manga one develops (Never read the manga). What saddens me is the lack of involvement with the Homunculi that were VERY significant in the previous FMA.
Art: 10. It's crisp yet very neutral as a result of using pastel tones. Beautiful especially when you watch it on a HD site 8). I like the use of comedy in the art - ex. making Ed into a beany dude with one piece of hair when he's distressed.
Sound: I like the music, not too picky about this.
Character: 8. I'm hoping there will be more development of the characters; it was kind of hard to grasp the emotions and personalities of many side characters because the story flows very quickly. Some more feeling/empathy in the people would definitely bump the rating of FMA Brotherhood up for me.
Enjoyment: 10. I definitely love watching this series up to this point. It has NO fillers, and it's just very enjoyable overall because nothing is really BORING and there are many cliffhangers. It rips my heart out to have to stop watching after 3 episodes!
Overall: 9 so far; may change depending on further analysis of this series.
Go FMA Brotherhood!
