Whether you enjoyed the original, or hated it, this reincarnation of Fullmetal Alchemist has completely changed my opinion of the series as a whole!
Breakdown:
Story (10/10) – I cannot stress enough how much better the story of “Brotherhood” is than the original. If you’re reading this review, you likely know that the original show deviated from the manga after a short while, and continued in a rather different direction. As manga tends so often to be, the story of the manga ends up being much stronger than what the creators of the original anime were able to come up with. “Brotherhood” follows the story of the manga quite closely, thus the anime never feels like filler, or just boring junk.
The first fifteen episodes or so are very similar to about the first half of the original “Fullmetal Alchemist”. “Brotherhood” covers more story in less time, and doesn’t drag nearly like the original did. This is especially apparent in the beginning, where some parts that were already told in the original series were more or less skipped over to save time. Purists might squawk about this, but it was probably a wise idea, in light of time constraints.
If you’ve seen the original Fullmetal Alchemist, then you’ll be familiar with the first major portions of the show. It may feel like a rehash for the first several episodes, but you’ll fairly quickly realize that the scale of what will eventually take place is much greater, and much more sinister than what the original Fullmetal Alchemist conveyed. The twists that Ed and Al are taken through are enough to leave you wanting more after each episode.
But enough rambling. If you’d like a synopsis, just look one up.
(Art 10/10) – The art in this show is simply superb! Characters and scenery are drawn with careful detail, and they also achieve a sense of realism, which is somewhat necessary in a “Steam-Punk” world that could almost be America a century ago. The mix of realism, combined with the fantasy of Alchemy, creates for an interesting balance that not many animes can achieve. Additionally, the art is very smooth, with each movement flowing into the next seamlessly. There were a few instances where larger or more intricate drawings were done with computer animation. These scenes are slightly choppier than the rest of the anime, but you likely won’t notice unless you’re looking for it.
The only gripe I had with the animation was early on in the show, where characters would burst into silly caricatures when they were especially emotional about something. Most notably is Ed transforming to look like a praying mantis when someone calls him short. This made it seem like the show didn’t take itself very seriously at first, but such incidents gradually declined as the show progressed, and became rather scarce during the more serious parts of the show. I simply think the show would have benefitted from less outbursts of this nature early on.
(Sound 9/10) – The voice acting in this show is some of the best you’ll hear. I was pleasantly relieved to hear that there were no annoying, shrill voices that anime can be guilty of at times. There weren’t any standout performances that I can think of, but each actor voiced their role marvelously.
The only reason for a 9 instead of a 10 was that it sounded to me like some of the music had been recycled from the original Fullmetal Alchemist. The music fit the scenes very well, but I thought an update might have been helpful. Also, the music never really stuck out to me as being particularly awesome. It was good, but not quite deserving of a 10.
(Characters 10/10) – It will be quite a struggle to keep my comments succinct on this topic! “Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood” shines brilliantly in this area! Never before have I grown so attached to such a diverse cast of characters. There were a number of characters that I wasn’t particularly attached to in the original series that I grew to love in “Brotherhood”. The show does a brilliant job of making each character’s motivations easy to understand, yet complex enough that they aren’t totally flat. It also has a way of forcing characters who were once enemies to work together when faced with a common enemy.
I was especially impressed by how Ed and Al were so much easier to relate to in “Brotherhood”. I found myself much more emotionally attached to them, and had a much stronger desire to see them succeed. Al is much stronger and helps Ed fight much more often, which I also found to be a pleasant change of pace. I could name probably ten other characters who I grew attached to, yet wasn’t terribly fond of in the original series. “Brotherhood” also introduces a set of new characters that blend in perfectly with that cast that I was already familiar with.
The long and short of it is this: the cast of “Brotherhood” will draw you in and leave you eagerly watching their every move until the conclusion of the series.
(Enjoyment 10/10) – I really don’t have much to say on this topic, except I loved it! I never had to force myself to keep going, and I enjoyed every bit of the show!
(Overall 10/10) – Definitely give this one a shot! It’s well worth your time. And in my opinion, it’s far superior to its predecessor.
