This is an example of an anime I categorize as a "well rounded shonen". Even though it is indeed included in the genre of shonen, action, steampunk , drama, adventure, thriller etc. this anime encompassed those fields emerging as an anime masterpiece, not imprisoned in those areas' stereotypes.
Story: 10
"You cannot gain anything without giving something in return. To obtain something, one must trade an equivalent value - that is the law of Alchemy and the law of the world."
That simple concept of alchemy gave way to top-notch anime action, character conflicts and heart-wrenching questions.
First of all, Full Metal Alchemist watchers will be excited with its shonen attributes mainly: "what will be their powers or fighting skills?","Who will be their enemy?" or "When will cooler characters come?". FMA is like that yet I was amazed on how this anime is stereotypical yet does not feel like that at all: It mixed "coolness" with heartwarming and thought-provoking drama and philosophical thoughts like "what is evil? It is science or religion?", "What makes us human?" when it is full of action packed and with some suspense.
It portrayed the maturing of a boy as he encounters trials with his brother and how they sticked together as family as they repent for their sins. The story showed that sin does pay-and it can be very painful. It is the same with the sick world. Actions caused people to suffer and longing to get something unobtainable will make them lose more- alchemy as a tool of war and religion as an excuse for it.
And even in those hard times, one will be touched by the presence of kindness within the characters. People have different lives but all they want to live; but all has a price to pay.
Art: 9
The animation is very consistent, richly colored and vibrant. What I really liked about the characters are; because this anime only used realistic hair colors like blond or brunette, a lot of characters have them similar (Riza and Winry) yet they are still easily identifiable, characters are very distinct from each other. The places,clothing, car and cities' designs are based on the early 1900's, realistic and nicely detailed. The art of the transmutation circle are also worth appreciated and is very memorable.
What I also loved in its art is the distortion of the female or" kind" image to show evil and abomination in a intriguing way.
Sound:9
Opening themes rock and ending themes nice, appropriate and anticipated. Though the background themes are not very addictive, they give you the necessary mood; hatred, horror, military, farewells, happiness, mother etc. They are very Baroque/Romantic/Classical European with modern arrangements, therefore familiar and eerie at certain times.
My favorite song in FMA, "Bratya" the image song of Ed and Al, and will surely warm your heart and will make you curious what the lyrics are.
Character:9
FMA is one of the animes with a strong character both in its plot and characters.The story was well portrayed, both in its succession and foreshadowing; well portrayed that humorous scenes are funny and serious scenes are serious and ungoofy. It is also very age and gender-friendly and very redeeming indeed.
The characters have well-composed personalities and developed that are quite "human" and unstereotypical. The story progresses with their interactions(that are unforced) as their dramas coincide with each others'.
The main protagonist. Edward Elric has a strong character which is a very good asset to the series. He balances his tough guy and confident shonen image to his maturity and sensitivity to others' feelings.
Enjoyment and Overall:10
No episode out of 50 is wasted in FMA, and every episode clearly show either story or character- it is really amazing.
I really enjoyed watching this (watched it 3 times) and I really recommend this to all anime fans, this show should not be missed nor overlooked. This anime deserves its awards as one of the best. My only criticisms are; first there were tini-tiny overuse of flashbacks in some episodes and because it is very well rounded, it did not appeal to some anime fans preference; example, a fan likes drama and found that FMA lacked it or a fan likes action and many fight scenes and thinks that FMA wasn't cool enough. It's like a circle.
