Hagane no renkinjutsushi

This review is mainly meant for anyone who watched Fullmetal Alchemist and is either considering Brotherhood, has watched a few episodes and not liked it, or has read one of the negative reviews and was put off.

When I first heard about Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I was skeptical. Seeing as the original Fullmetal Alchemist is the first anime I have ever completely watched and is the spark that ignited my obsessive love of anime that I have today, a redo seemed unnecessary to say the least. What could possibly be improved upon a show as fantastic as Fullmetal Alchemist?

With hesitation and doubt in my heart I started watching the series... and instantly hated it. I won't lie, my first impressions were not only that the show didn't live up to the original, but that it was also an abomination that was dancing on the grave of a greater show.

I cried, I screamed, I broke things, I didn't do any of the above because I'm exaggerating and not actually crazy, but I was still quite upset. The criticisms bubbled up inside me until I was frustratingly glaring at the TV appalled at such changes as Alphonse's voice actor, or a lack of the opening starting with the classic "in those days, we really believed..." lines from Al.

With each passing episode the insults to Fullmetal Alchemist seemed to grow, episodes that were lovingly crafted in the original series were apparently being lightly brushed on. Moments in the original that got me hooked fell flat in Brotherhood, and I was fed up and ready to write the letter of complaint to end all letters of complaint. But then, my eyes began to open.

Right around episode 13 where the plot of the two animes separates I started to think that this story might actually be good. As the episodes began to fly I realized that it wasn't good, it was great. After finishing the series I knew without a doubt in my mind that what I had witnessed was my favorite anime of all time. The story of Brotherhood is better than that of the original on so many levels that the two shows truly don't compare. After having my eyes opened I was forced to drop the rating that I gave to the original to an 8 simply because now I knew how much lost potential it had.

If you enjoyed the story of Fullmetal Alchemist, stick with Brotherhood and I guarantee you that you will not regret it. Not only is the plot and storyline vastly improved upon and more satisfying, the animation, music (in my opinion at least, some disagree), characters, and overall feel is far better.

Therefore, if you are a true fan of the original series don't give up on Brotherhood after only a few episodes like I was so tempted to do, it is a show that grows into something that will go down in history as one of the greats of animation history and you shouldn't miss out.

Fullmetal Alchemist is, in a way, unique. It is very much a mainstream series, with the appeal of a huge cast of unique characters, action that commonly involves special powers, a fairly straight forward story with some mostly obvious symbolism, and a mix of comedy, action, drama, and even some romance. These are all common staples of long running anime series that lean towards a more commercial and public appeal. And yet, for a mainstream series, it manages to continually surprise with a very mature and serious tone. There is a great deal of tragedy and some moments are even frightening and memorable. Few series achieve such a perfect balance of mainstream entertainment and gut wrenching drama and tragedy.

Such was what I discovered when I first laid my eyes on the original FMA series. And yet, for all it's greatness, it began to flounder in it's second season. As many series do, it took on its own form and story, and it was at that point that it started to lose its charm. So, Bones did the smart thing. They remade it. For most series, this would be pointless, but for FMA, it's very much welcome. Five years after the original series ended and the manga has had time to grow, this new FMA is better looking, paced better, and follows the manga, expanding the plot in a better direction.

It's hard not to like anything about this new FMA. The action is fantastic and looks great, as it always did. We aren't subjected to single shots or poorly edited sequences. All the action is displayed and wonderfully animated. Likewise, all the charm is here as well, from the more serious scenes that fans will remember to the humor which is consistent and still funny. Bones took everything good about the original series and threw out all the bad, replacing those particulars with higher quality details. In a sense, it even feels like a new anime, and by episode 13, it has gone in a completely new direction.

A better developed story and characters, superior animation, and fantastic details. These are what make the new FMA an instant new-age classic. Like FMA was the first time around, the new FMA will be one of the top anime to watch out for in the states.

"Shounen" is usually described as being an uninspired genre made for kids, with sub-par watered-down thematic execution and repetitive plot elements.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood kills all these notions, it was the grandness a shounen has,but also has the thematic and philosophical crux, which the traditional "edgy series" have. The characters grow and develop, the cast is amazing and also is one of the rare Shounens anime that have indeed good female characters, story started simple but grows in a amazing and addictive way. Is smart without being overly dumb, it's a TRUE package that anyone cam enjoy.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is a masterpiece, it's one of the best series of all time and definitely the best animation I ever watched.

Great action, voice acting and amazing animation. And the philosophy about this show is very powerful.

Overall:9,4/10.

I'm not gonna lie, I don't like animes, seriously since I was a child I never feel any type of interesting from Naruto or Dragon Ball, but this one, oh boy he really put the bar on a really high standard.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is an anime that you can enjoy even without like animes(he really resembles the Avatar for me) the story is so well written I'm impressed with the alchemy a how close is from the actual alchemy, the animation is great, soundtrack is good and after the episode 19 I'm could force me stop watching, the plot is so entertaining that when i finished the last episode my spirit was elevated to the maximum.

While I don't know much of other animes this one is really impressive I definitely recommend.