nobahn's Anime

What with the "Brotherhood" remake now airing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block, I've decided to revisit the original anime.....
What I love about it is that it succeeds at so many elements. It has something for everyone in it: Humor, action, drama, and (a hint of) romance. What makes the plot and character development so good aren't just their richness; it's the manner in which they're done. Critical facts are never revealed chronologically; instead, they're sprinkled throughout the series like breadcrumbs leading one to The Truth. The series strongly benefits from an ending that is well done (I'm invariably heavily influenced by how a story ends); just like the movie "The Raiders of the Lost Arc", this series's ending leaves you just begging for more. Here is Al's Closing Monologue:

"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy’s First Law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world’s one, and only, truth. But the world isn’t perfect, and the law is incomplete. Equivalent Exchange doesn’t encompass everything that goes on here, but I still choose to believe in its principle: that all things do come at a price, that there’s an ebb and a flow, a cycle, that the pain we went through did have a reward, and that anyone who’s determined and perseveres will get something of value in return, even if it’s not what they expected. I don’t think of Equivalent Exchange as a law of the world anymore. I think of it as a promise between my brother and me.

"A promise that someday we’ll see each other again."

The original soundtrack is excellent; and here, I'd like to compare the OST with what is not found in U.S. OSTs. There is a song ("Bratja", or "Brothers") that is sung in Russian and basically offers the backstory of the Elric Brothers. How many U.S. movies/series would commission a foreign-language song? Here is a translation of the lyrics:

↓
"[Please] forgive me, [my] junior brother,
I’m so guilty towards you {with the meaning “I’m so sorry”}
One shouldn’t try to regain
What was taken by the earth

"[The one] who knows the law of Being
Would [be able to] help me to find the answer
I was grossly mistaken:
There’s no medicine against death

"Dear mother! Affectionate [one]!
We loved you so much
But all our efforts {*}
Were spent in vain

"I lured you
With the beautiful hope
To regain our familial hearth
My brother, it’s all my fault

"[Please] don’t cry, don’t be sad, [my] senior brother
You’re not the only one to blame
We’re along the same road
We’ll [or “Let’s”] fully expiate our guilt {**}

"I have nothing to reproach you with
And I bear no grudge at all
Grievous is our sin
To desire to be stronger than anybody

"Dear mother! Affectionate [one]!
We loved you so much
But all our efforts {*}
Were spent in vain

"I was lured myself
With the beautiful hope
To regain our familial hearth
It’s all my own fault

"So what should we do, how should [we] act?
How shall we correct everything, forget [everything]?
One shouldn’t try to regain
What was taken by the earth"

Comments (for the above)
I was trying to keep as close to the original as possible, that is to translate literally (provided it was possible at all). Still, I had to make 2 major exceptions, suggesting the translations not of the actual meaning of the original, but of what I guess the author wanted to say. Here are my explanations.
{*} Literally, “all our strength was spent in vain”, as if they had some amount of strength and ran out of it, had no more strength left, but that was all in vain. It sounds more or less OK in Russian, but (I suppose) pretty oddly in English. However, in Russian it sounds rather close to “all our efforts were spent in vain / were wasted”, moreover, for Russian language the expression “all the efforts were in vain” reminds itself in that situation. That’s why I decided to translate it “But all our efforts” instead of “But all our strength”, although “efforts” in Russian is “usiliya”, and “silyi” means “strength, forces, powers”. After all, what Elric brothers wasted was not their strength or powers, but their efforts, right?
{**} Literally, “We’ll/Let’s expiate our guilt to the bottom”. Sounds somewhat strange even in Russian and definitely reminds of the Russian expression “to drink to the bottom” (“pit’/vyipit’/ispit’ do dna”) which has the English equivalent “to drink to the dregs”. So I decided to translate it the way it was obviously meant: “We’ll /let’s fully expiate our guilt” - for it was impossible to translate it literally anyway. (It is interesting to note though, that if you change “do dna” to “spolna”, it sounds somewhat better and has exactly the meaning I suggested in my translation, while even keeping the rhyme intact.)
↑http://forums.animesuki.com/archive/index.php/t-11687.html↑

• 1st 5 minutes: An absurd combination of ancient and 20th century.
• Hamaji realizes that her actions have consequences ─ consequences that she must live with.
• 01:27:00 | Unexpected allies.

• So I would have rated this 11/11 but for the fact of the fight scene in episode #11 wherein the agency head lets Yomi grab back her sword. Kinda stupid.
• Funimation's dub is sort of a wreck.
• How do you adapt a manga that is poorly regarded? By going for as close to a tabula rasa as you possibly can. In this case by making the adaptation a prequel, instead! Bloody brilliant.

• This seems to be a coming-of-age story. I am (surprisingly enough) impressed.
• On a surface level, this movie is aimed at children; but on another level it has a philosophical subtext that only adults could know and appreciate..... Quite frankly, it reminds me very much of Cowboy Bebop.
• A rewatch is practically mandatory!
• "The ending is paramount."

• Very little background is given about Tetsuro's friends/gang. (CON)
• I find the OST to be surprisingly affecting.
  The OST is credited to Nozomi Aoki

Alan recommends a non-chronological release watching order.....

• In Chapter #5 (0:30:00) silence is used to great effect.
• A great OST that reminds me of Puella Magi Madoka -- see Yuki Kajiura.
  
• A terrific ending -- I'm invariably affected by the ending.

Theron Martin's review

Here, a wikia link is explained.