Now , now don't get me wrong , there are many,many wonderful series out there .But yet most of them fail to inspire in you the respect Fullmetal Alchemist does .To put it simply you can feel and understand the care/respect with which the creators handled it - it gives off a vibe that you would get from reading a book ,one that the author would have spend most of his life working on .
That can clearly be seen from the ending - where unlike other anime , you get the feeling that it was truly meant to end at that point - the story is over as it should be - after all it was not made to entertain a crowd constantly , it was made to be told , for the mere sake of it .And all stories must end at some point .
As far as the Story goes it is simply perfect : you may or may not like steam punk , you may or may not like strategy and war descriptions , yet even then , if you want to be honest you cant avoid praising the consistency, the twists and pace .
Referring once more to my previous analogy about a book , Fullmetal Alchemist really breaks any chains that a story being told in Anime format might be constrained from and manages to make you forget that you are watching anime .You are watching a story - the format is irrelevant - the tale you are experiencing will always have it's value - no mater in what format it is presented .
Following up , an integral part of the story - of each and every story - are the characters .
Once again Fullmetal Alchemist shines , binding excellent story development with an also great character development .The characters are human , there are always stronger and smarter people than them , they make mistakes and they pay for them , they have emotions and inner conflicts that are subtly viewed , they quickly get not only your interest and your sympathy , but also your anger and sadness as you observe them in their week moments staying true to their logic and way of thinking , that is not always the best to use for the situations they find themselves into .
The Art is good , as good as you ll ever want it to be in Fullmetal .And with that phrase i mean that -as i said before- you forget that you are watching anime , you don't care about the Art or the background details because you are immersed in the story so much .Fullmetal Alchemist made it clear to me that when a Anime is more than just good , you don't focus on the art when watching it .
The Sound is great : the soundtracks fit the story and the moments they accompany just perfect and they even have value independently - as songs and not just soundtracks.A great job was done with the sound - you ll find yourself moved because of it , experience the same emotions as the character because of it .
The enjoyment that the series give you is high quality to say the least : you can both relax and take it in or use it to feed your mind with thoughts and philosophical question .How do you use what you get is entirely up to you and your mood -but weather you are sad or happy , tired or eager to work on new ideas in your mind , Fullmetal Alchemist will seem to you like it was made for the exact time you are watching it and the mood you have at the moment .
Overall Fullmetal Alchemist is a unique gem that still shines amongst all the anime produced until now .It is outstanding and it sets a standard that i have never seen in any other series (with the exception perhaps of Legends of The Galactic Heroes ) and that no other series try to reach unfortunately .
Fullmetal Alchemist doesn't care that it is an Anime series , it competes with the greatest films and the classical books on equal footing - refusing to be taken lightly .If you haven't seen it yet you still have no idea why anime can be considered meaningful art .
