Since I enjoyed watching Brotherhood, I never realized I finised watching the whole thing in just one week.
"Why?", you may ask? Well, at the first few episodes, the pacing of the plot was pretty fast, for someone who have watched the original FMA before. But, if you were not aware of the original series, maybe the pacing would be okay for you. It was not as detailed as the first series, but since there are new additions to the plot, new friends and enemies, and fuller character development, especially with Winry [who was just a minor supporting character in the original series] and of course, with the Elric Brothers, you won't bother about the pacing and embrace these awesome changes instead.
The story plot was different from the original FMA; the first 6 episodes were adapted from FMA1, and the next episodes were all different. Since this plot was faithful to the manga, you'll be surprised... and happy, that there are new things to discover in Brotherhood, as I've mentioned above. The addition of the east country of Xing and the northern Briggs, and their corresponding characters, was like a breath of fresh air to the series, as we can see and expect more stories and more types of alchemy and auto-mail. Also, the origins, forms, and the battles against the homunculi were totally different too. The fight scenes were all amazing. Yes, there are bloodbaths here and there, but that's the part I love the most while watching them fight, whether by weapons, alchemy, or simply a fist-to-fist battle.
Maybe the part I love the most in watching FMA is on the last few episodes. The ending was simply touching, since Edward still sacrificed something for his younger brother, but in Brotherhood, he sacrificed something different... and less tragic. I also loved the part where Ed, Al, and Hohenheim worked together when they fought with Father, and I simply cried when Hohenheim said to Trisha's grave that he's happy that at last, Edward called him "Dad". The ending of FMA 1 was disturbing and not really satisfying, whereas in the ending of Brotherhood, you will love it so much you will wish for a sequel... or an afterstory perhaps.
The art and animation in Brotherhood was clearer, more crisp, and lot more contemporary than the original, as expected from a recently-produced series. I'm not really that particular about how the anime was drawn or animated, but Brotherhood was one of the exemptions to it. The battles were not crappy, and I really got creeped out when the "immortal army" was released [the white doll-like humans] from the Central underground.
The seiyuus have done a good job in portraying their roles in Brotherhood, especially Ed and Al's. I also love the OPs and EDs used in Brotherhood, especially "Hologram", which was the second OP and surprisingly the last ED of the series. The background music used were perfectly synched with the scenes in a particular episode. After watching the series, you will definitely want to listen to the whole OST.
All of the kinds of characters in Brotherhood-- from the heroes, supporting characters, new characters, and to the villains-- it wasn't possible NOT to love at least one of these kinds. I even loved the character of Greed, who was a bad-turned-good character, and in the end, found satisfaction from his comrades. Also, the guys from Xing were also amazing, especially May, which inspired Al to study eastern alchemy in the latter parts of the story. Also, the addition of Alex Armstrong's older sister was also awesome, and also one of my favorite new characters.
And most especially, I love how Winry was turned into a REALLY important character in the series, and how Ed masked his OBVIOUS liking to her.
I loved the series. I laughed with it. I cried like a baby, especially whenever Ed shows his selfless nii-san love for Al. I was intrigued with every ending of the episode, which was one of the reasons I finished the whole thing in a week. The series was not a disappointment in my part, and it made me wish that all of the other remakes would be AS GOOD as this. This is a quick recommend to my friends who love to watch shounen and for those who were familiar with the original FMA, because Brotherhood was told in the manga's point of view, and the story came in full circle in the end.
Right now, I am suffering from a post-anime series depression, which I think will last a few weeks or more. It's not because the series was bad, rather, Brotherhood was too good for me to finish quickly. All my friends who've watched Brotherhood had the same feeling: the feeling of not watching any anime series for a few weeks before moving on, since when you finished watching Brotherhood, it would feel that a part of you ended with it. After watching the series, I was stunned for a few minutes, and told myself "This is it; I finished FMA Brotherhood. What will happen next?"
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a good addition to the anime series you should watch before you die [LOL, but seriously]. If you like more action, NO filler episodes, and a satisfying ending, this one's for you.
