Current Events > I'm sure Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has 'cool' boss battles and fights.

(+) Yeah! (+)

But without any heart to the series, it loses a big part of what makes fma so great. The original is a story about the 2 brothers and their journey to reclaim what they've lost, that was the heart of the show.

Brotherhood doesn't have that. It doesn't even have interesting villains, which usually make or break a show.

That's not to say those fight scenes or boss battles aren't "cool" because if you're into that more power to you, but interest in said scenes is lost when there's no real motivation to care for the characters. The villains are neither compelling, nor entertaining to watch. So the heroes' triumph over them seems hollow and not really earned on a cathartic level.
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Lol
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Yeah I like the original better too, the movie too
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I actually did like the story of the OG anime better. Sure it had filler but I actually liked it, especially the filler in the beginning of the series.

I felt it was more dramatic and darker too, and characters like Scar had a stronger presence whenever they were on screen.

Brotherhood definitely has a leg up in the action department.

The 2003 ends with a clusterfuck of "I'll sacrifice myself to save brother!" "No!! I'll sacrifice myself to save YOU, brother!" and then Al back home as a child with amnesia and Ed in fucking post WWI Germany. Are you kidding me?

How is that more heart than Ed making a deal with god to give up his alchemy to restore Alphonse?
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Don't get me wrong I hate the original's ending, that I won't argue, as it completely negates the entire experience and journey we just witnessed. And I similarly dislike the movie that came after, although I was into the concept of alternate worlds and it being our world. Pretty cool concept, but execution left something to be desired.

Not that Brotherhood's overly cloying ending is better, they're both the extremes that are not ideal and an ending somewhere in the middle would be better.
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ending just sounds like their conciousness just got transferred to different timelines

a series could be good on that, shots from Al remembering things and changing what happens because he has some sort of amnesia, shots from Ed using magic/alchemy in post WW1 Germany which a lot could be done with as he tries to find his way back to Al since he can remember what happened

this is just how i perceive the ending having never watched the show and only reading theprincefish's comment on the end so don't get assblasted if you're a huge fan
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And I feel that with most purists, they're just vinegary that the anime handled the concept of the homunculi way better than Arakawa did, especially thematically. The homunculus representing humanity's hubris was a great theme for the show to demonstrate the abuse and over reliance on alchemy, being failed transmutations of humans.
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Gawd... rewatching and it really is the greatest anime of all time. I'm tearing up at times, laughing at other times (actual well placed moments of comedy to break up the tension instead of brohood's highly misplaced comedic elements) and sighing in relief or gripping the edge of my chair. Just the opening alone sets the tone for the entire series and I absolutely love it, Al's opening narration. It's 10/10.
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Every time someone refers to FMA2003 as "The Original," their opinion goes into the trash bin.
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the original had better intors and endings, especially the first fucking ending which is GOAT level.

brotherhood has better characters, like Lee and doesnt recycle fights like Glutony and Lust a billion times.

first anime has cool shit like I AM THE FUCKING PHILO STONE.

Second anime has Lee.

ya know, brotherhood having Lee makes everyhting moot, brotherhood takes it.
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Brotherhood felt fanfictionish honestly, characters like mei chang or what ever her name was didnt really belong
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Hughes's death V__V every time. Every. Single. Time.

It's not fair, it's just not fair.
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ScottSweatshirt posted...

Brotherhood felt fanfictionish honestly, characters like mei chang or what ever her name was didnt really belong

I actually liked the introduction of the new characters like ling and the concept of alchestry, I thought the story was going to change and offer a whole new dynamic. But they don't really do anything with these new elements. They're just these foreigners, these "easterners" who join in the story. We don't get a real sense of scope, especially since we always hear about amestris wanting to expand and is fighting with all other nations.

And I find mei annoying because of the giant ball of cliche that she, scar and the other doofus make up.
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ScottSweatshirt posted...

Brotherhood felt fanfictionish honestly, characters like mei chang or what ever her name was didnt really belong

The one that actually follows the manga feels like fanfiction? O_o
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I liked the more personal connection of the homonculi in the 03 series, so I generally prefer that to Brotherhood
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Eh I prefer the comedy of Brotherhood. It has a better balance of serious shit and funny moments. The first one is a bit too much serious shit.

Plus the ending is fucking ridiculous.

orcus_snake posted...

the original had better intors and endings, especially the first fucking ending which is GOAT level.

brotherhood has better characters, like Lee and doesnt recycle fights like Glutony and Lust a billion times.

first anime has cool shit like I AM THE FUCKING PHILO STONE.

Second anime has Lee.

ya know, brotherhood having Lee makes everyhting moot, brotherhood takes it.

...

who the hell is lee
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orcus_snake posted...

the original had better intors and endings, especially the first fucking ending which is GOAT level.

The fuck? The original had like one good intro, Brohood had 3 amazing ones and two okay ones

spikethedevil posted...

ScottSweatshirt posted...

Brotherhood felt fanfictionish honestly, characters like mei chang or what ever her name was didnt really belong

The one that actually follows the manga feels like fanfiction? O_o

Something I've never quite understood is the mentality that something is automatically good if it follows the source material, even if the source material itself might be pure garbage. It's an utterly ridiculous and bizarre internet-only notion I've noticed. Note, not that I'm calling arakawa's work bad, but just as an example for such an illogical standpoint. A quality of work is good because it's good, irrespective of anything else.
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Because when a show deviates from the manga it usually just means shitty filler.

Or dumb cash-grab shows like FMA2003 which have no plot and shit on the original author's work.
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saspa posted...

spikethedevil posted...

ScottSweatshirt posted...

Brotherhood felt fanfictionish honestly, characters like mei chang or what ever her name was didnt really belong

The one that actually follows the manga feels like fanfiction? O_o

Something I've never quite understood is the mentality that something is automatically good if it follows the source material, even if the source material itself might be pure garbage. It's an utterly ridiculous and bizarre internet-only notion I've noticed. Note, not that I'm calling arakawa's work bad, but just as an example for such an illogical standpoint. A quality of work is good because it's good, irrespective of anything else.

Um where the fuck did I imply that?
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I like them both. I do agree that the original anime felt like it had a bit more heart too it. Part of this is because Brotherhood rushes through the early portions of the series. Spending time with Hughes and Nina makes their deaths a lot more meaningful. And even something small like introducing Barry the Chopper before he's turned into armor adds a little nuance when he shows up later. The other part of this is because Brotherhood leans way too heavily into comedy. There are times when it ruins properly serious moments IIRC.

Humanizing the Homunculus was a solid choice. It didn't always work out (Wrath was rather irritating, for instance), but it was excellent when it did (Lust ofc).

Like I said, I enjoy Brotherhood, but it definitely feels a lot more like a typical shonen whereas the original anime had some darker, more human themes. I still remember parts of Dante's monologue to Ed in the last few episodes where she blasts the very idea of equivalent exchange. I remember very little of Father's dialogue. I mean, you really have to go no further than their ultimate goals: Father has a very shonen one (he wants to be a god) while Dante has a very relatable one (she wants to live forever). The original one had some goofy shit in the end, but that doesn't extinguish the overall story.

I think it's ridiculous that it gets shit on when it's a very solid series. I recommend anyone thinking about watching them to 100% watch them both. Not just because they are both good series but because Brotherhood absolutely guts its beginning.
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