Deeper characters are really the only area were they could've improved a bit, but not by much as all the main characters are hashed out very well. It is in fact many of the evil characters that could've used some extra storytelling, but that is a hard thing to accomplish in almost any show for the bad guy(s). Overall there is no real lack of background or dimensionality to these characters other than perhaps their personal or love relationships, which were always handled for the most part at an arm's length. Winry and Ed's relationship out of all of them really could have used an extra bit of elbow grease, so that when the end finally arrives it really would've meant that much more to Ed, to THEM, and to US! Adding in some fireworks for other characters would've been nice, but this WAS realistically a show based in a VERY heavily militaristic city and community. So fraternization, much like army life in almost any country in the world, is basically forbidden until you are off-duty AND off base. This is why Ed's relationship COULD'VE been helped as we follow them and they DO get off base and they DO go around Winry, specifically. But, I'm complaining about nothing to be honest...the show is more than fine as it stands.
The animation is wonderful and rich. The combat especially is always great and for some reason, with this anime specifically, it has left a very unique mark on the anime landscape. When I think of how the animation runs together and the battles there is no other anime I can think of that is remotely like it. So far it IS a unique and one-of-kind creation. It is definitely a anime series worth a re-watch and a re-watch after that! It is that good and evokes so many great memories of adventure, danger, wonder, intrigue, and with that comes the fun of cheering Ed and Al on (and many of their compatriots as well)! Getting people that have never watched this together to give it a run through is more than worth it so that they can do exactly what I just said in the sentence before and with that you can relive that experience vicariously through them; it really does make it almost just as fun as seeing it the first time...
Beyond the animation you have the wonderful music. The music CANNOT be left out here... It is just as important I truly believe as the characters, the story, the animation, and anything else that has gone into the production of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood. This will be some of the most memorable music you will ever listen to in anime. You may find yourself when done with the series seriously considering buying all of the music for the series. The orchestral music for the main portion of the show is wonderful and while I may not like all of the ending or opening theme songs, you will more than likely find a few you do like as Brotherhood will have a lot for you to pick from when all is said and done. The music had to be mentioned in it's own right as a separate issue, as it's so well done it deserves a lot of merit and needs to be mentioned as a reason to watch the series as well. It IS that good!
Beyond everything I've mentioned, some small details that I should go ahead and say is that the English dubbed version of Brotherhood is more than worth your time. Not only is all the voice acting done VERY well, but all of the miscellaneous noises have been changed as well as things that typically are not like small text on screen (though not having to do with dubbing, it does have to do with the overall "English adaptation" that has been created. The English dubbing, plus the fact that they have gone to the trouble of replacing ALL of the text (everywhere!) to English as well shows the high level of commitment they had in making sure that not only did Japanese audiences get a great version, but so did English audiences! I will be forever thankful for that as this is easily one of my most favorite anime--it just got so many things RIGHT! The re-watchability of this anime is very high. Not only because it's good, but to catch the small things you may have missed the first go around; especially, if you are not someone that grabs all of the more complicated details right off the bat as this show definitely has some, the farther into the show the more that will pop-up (and more for you to pay attention for IN THE PAST)...
The story is epic, how else can I put it. It is amazing how far you go from where you start and finally where you end at. This IS an adventure; an adventure of two brothers that have suffered from a grievous wound, both mentally, emotionally, and physically...and to some extent it has even taken a toll on their souls... We follow these brothers as they figure out how to repair this horrible damage they've inflicted upon themselves and in the process they make a lot of friends, they make a lot of enemies, they learn A LOT, and that simple promise they made to each other to heal each other and to free themselves of their self-made curse might be just enough to get them through anything. They learn in the end what matters and what doesn't and they realize those that are evil simply just never learn that lesson.
Overall I give this a 10/10. The weakest areas I think are characters at 9/10; but trust me this isn't a big decrease, it's more that I wish they would have added more onto characters that were already there or spent even more time on specific development areas on the main characters (I always want more character back-story...). The next negative is the art area at 9/10. Again this isn't a big decrease and in certain areas, like combat, it doesn't apply as they've done a spectacular job here. Really all they could have done is added more team members and gotten a bigger budget with a bigger studio/editing crew. Without that I'm not exactly sure how they would hit 10/10. BUT, they have far more positives than they ever could have in the negative department. While I don't really like all the opening or ending thematic music for Brotherhood, the actual music for the show is beautiful and basically puts a large amount of the anime produced in the garbage bin when comparing music score. If you want an idea of what I'm talking about, just head over to Youtube and do a search for FMA: Brotherhood OST music score (CD track; I think the one you buy has 84 tracks, I could be wrong though). Then you can listen to a LARGE chunk of Brotherhood's music--it's worth your time.
If you enjoy anime, you can watch the first few episodes of Brotherhood easily around on the net; either on Youtube or many other places, but try to give Brotherhood atleast till episode ten if for some reason you don't like it off the bat. Brotherhood is a "little" slow at the start; by "slow" I mean it hasn't gotten into the "swing" of it's main story arc. Once THAT starts up, that is when Brotherhood turns into a roller-coaster and you are stuck in the seat until the ride comes to a complete stop! This is easily a show I recommend to get on Blu-Ray as a blind buy! WHAT A RIDE!
Just like a roller-coaster, you get right back in line, again, and again...
