Two years after these have both ended, I have re-watched the series several times, and every time I rewatch it, it never loses any appeal nor do I ever find any serious faults with it. It's a wonderful story of love and loss, pain and grief, family and friendship and put together, it makes for a very touching and compelling story about two brothers who attempt to make the best of a situation they brought on themselves by performing human transmutation as well as regain what they have lost as a result. Coupled with a wide variety of characters, all amazing in their own way, it makes for a truly amazing tale that can have you laughing one moment and crying the next.
I've read many conflicting views on both series; some say there was little to no character development in Brotherhood as compared to the original, others say Brotherhood moved too fast and wasn't as a deep of a story. I personally prefer Brotherhood to the original and here is why:
Edward Elric seems a lot more grown up in Brotherhood. In the original (now that I've seen Brotherhood and can compare the two), he is a bit whiny and annoying. My personal favorite character is the homunculus Envy, as disliked of a character he is, I believe he is a much deeper and well-developed character than he is given credit for in both series. Brotherhood's storyline seems much more thought-out and in the end, it has a much deeper message than the original.
The first few episodes of Brotherhood are covering what happened in the original up to the point where it diverged from the manga and while it is rushed, I was okay with it because I wouldn't want to sit through ~30 episodes of stuff I have already seen. I feel that even though it was rushed, it got the story across just as effectively, not to mention it left more room for the plot to unfold and progress at a more natural pace. I also think the animation is lot better and more appealing to look at.
The story has a great ending whereas with the original, you had to watch the movie Conqueror of Shamballa to get some real closure. I do believe that some characters in Brotherhood were killed off too soon and could have received more character development - a particular homunculus being a prime example, if you've seen the anime already I'm pretty sure you'll know who but I'm trying not to be spoilery.
But in the end, I wholeheartedly believe Brotherhood far surpasses the original and the original hardly even compares. I recommend that everyone watches both, but don't be surprised if you end up preferring Brotherhood.
