Sorry, I've got more to say than that, but it really struck me. Hiromu Arakawa is a mangaka who can turn a simple tale of adventure into an enthralling legend. Each endearing comic aside or detail of plot and action that gets adapted out dispels that magic. I couldn't understand the reviewers who ranked FMA:Brotherhood far below the manga, when the body of it was adapted almost exactly. I understand them now.
The final act of this anime runs to a predictable close, by a predictable route. Good monthly manga can get away with this; the timescale of release evokes our heroes' long, hard struggle. Weekly anime can't escape damage from a predictable close, not even good ones.
And this anime is good; the dialogue is full of spark and novelty, characters are all very memorable, and the central struggle is at least epic in scale. The protagonists have some excellent dramatic moments, but most of the villains are really far too unambiguous for a 'historical' manga. The series really is too morally simplistic at heart, and, again, the director seemed lacking in the focus of Akakawa's manga panels. Practically every change from the source manga that I can see weakens the story, which has to rush through the manga's material, and was never going to conclude the whole novel series in any case.
I'd recommend this series mildly, but the final act is quite a slog.
