Forum - View topicSoo.. I just finished Fullmetal Alchemist! (spoilers)
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SecretAgent94
 Posts: 204 |
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I just finished watching the series and the movie, Conquerer of Shamballa.
I have to say, the series at its peak really captivated me. The point where Edward had an option to save his brother at the cost of some prisoner's lives was so well done. I loved the music score, particularly this piece: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsNRdZ-lUB0 (I love that track!) Unfortuntely, I did not really like the direction it went later on. The parallel world thing was kind of cheesy for me. I heard that is split from the manga at episode 29 and the story just felt like it was moving so slow. I was bored out of my mind, and I even considered just stopping. Although it's entirely likely that my preconceived notion (as suggested by my friend on this forum), could have been the reason why. If no one had told me that FMA split from the manga on episode 29, I may have loved the show until the end. But those first like 20-something episodes really had me! I was so into it and enthusiastic about the show. The part with the Tucker daughter had me crying (on the inside). The show is so deep on the issues it talks about (science, religion, how far should science go, morality, the value of a life)... It uses alchemy as a kind of metaphor for advanced science. Now I am just waiting for FMA: Brotherhood to be finishing dubbed in English by Funimation and I will begin that. I really hope it can attain that feeling and peak the original 2003 anime had for me pre-filler/ split. And I hope the music is good too. The original score is awesome. There is this theme with chanting monks I believe I loved. And I hope something similar to the Philosopher's Stone OST (posted above) will be in it. Whenever that track played, I would instantly pay close attention to the dialogue. |
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Mushi-Man
 Posts: 1537 Location: KCMO |
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I was kind of the exact opposite, for the me first 20-ish episodes are the hard ones to get threw because I just want it to get to my favorite parts in the second half of the series (but I still really liked the first half). The early parts had to much distraction from the central plot and it doesn't delve into the meat of the story. The later half cuts out allot of the needless aspects and focuses on the depth behind the plot.
The manga's story just doesn't feel like has the same focus or intellect. In my opinion it has a much weaker story line and was just filled with moments that try to be thoughtful and deep but fall way to short of that goal. Over all it didn't have the same quality of story to keep me entertained all the way through. Also the movie was a bit of a let down, it felt really needless and didn't add anything to what was already established in the original series. both the movie and Brotherhood seemed like nothing more than pointless add ons. |
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ehsan13
 Posts: 14 |
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I've tried to watch it in TV from time to time... but none of the episodes seem interesting to me. But as I see in the review, it should be watched... So, any suggestion on where to start? and for how many episodes I need to be patient b4 giving up?
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Unicorn_Blade
 Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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See, I actually did not like the fist half as much. Istarted loving FMAre was one or two starting from the episodes in the 5th Laboratory, then there was one or two weaker episodes in the middle, but from episode 30 up, for me the anime was just excellent. The fist half had too many filler episodes (Psiren, Triningham brothers, ugh, no thanks). And I was definitely enjoying how the Homonculi were different from Brotherhood.
Shame they had to come up with Conqueror of Shamballa, this film should be burnt , forgotten, and anything mentions of it should be erased from the surface of the internet and all sorts of other media 
The OST's were great. I love all the variations of the Dante tune, and many more. For people who still consider watching it, Id give it a go, and while 20 eps might seem like a lot to go through, I think this is where the story really gets interesting. Then forget about two/three eps around 27/29, and the series picks up the pace again. |
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SecretAgent94
Posts: 204 |
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Wow so I suppose I am the only one that that actually liked the first 29 episodes better? The later ones were just so slow-paced and boring for me. And it made me so frustrated that Al and Ed finally had the Philosopher's Stone (the object they've been searching for for so long), and then just not use it for the longest time. I was like, just use it Ed, what the **** are you waiting for?!!
Yeah, the Laboratory 5 parts was like the climax of the series for me. It was just all downhill after Laboratory 5. |
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amarielah
 Posts: 178 |
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Considering how Edward felt about people having to die in order to make the Philosopher's Stone (and how Al felt, for that matter), and how many people he'd just witnessed being snuffed out in order to create it, I think it would have been horribly, horribly OOC for him to just use it.
Anyway, as to what you said - I'm another one of those who liked the latter part of the series more than the former, although I still loved the former. When I first watched it, I can't say I really "got into" the story until about episode 25, at which point I couldn't bring myself to stop watching. However, about your question about Brotherhood...well, let's just say that the primary turn-off for me with Brotherhood is that it lacks a certain something that I can't quite put my finger on. One of the things I loved about the first series was its atmosphere, its sense of sentimentality - for me, Brotherhood lacks that almost completely. It has a strong plot, but I lost interest because I felt completely detached from the characters. To put it another way, with Brotherhood it felt like I was watching a bunch of events strung together on a storyboard, with the characters serving as vehicles for moving the narrative from one event to the next. It never quite felt whole to me. |
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Charred Knight
 Posts: 3085 |
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I think someone at Otaku Revolution said it best when they said that the Alternate Earth idea seemed to have been an attempt to replicate the style of the manga. Of course while the manga's plot was setup from the begenning and appeared natural, Conquerors of Shamballa feels forced with a nonsensical plotline involving the Thule Society launching an invasion because they confused Amestris with Shamballa.
Personally I would put it at Fullmetal Alchemist manga Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Fullmetal Alchemist |
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penguintruth
 Posts: 8493 Location: Penguinopolis |
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You, uh, you might to read this (hopefully it will translate for you). |
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Charred Knight
Posts: 3085 |
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I know about Nazi's funding expeditions to Tibet, and about Hess' being really into this. The thing is that they took an expedition to Central Asia where Shamballa is supposed to be located. Keep in mind that Shamballa is also supposed to be a buddhist kingdom. Amestris is an agnostic country populated mostly by white people in another dimension. I can't imagine how anyone could confuse Hohenheim for an asian. |
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penguintruth
Posts: 8493 Location: Penguinopolis |
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I don't think it mattered to them if it was the Asian Shamballa or not. It was an alternate world they thought they could exploit. And being so cocksure and prideful, they decided Thule/Shamballa are the same thing. The theme of the movie is finding a better world and how the different people in it see that concept.
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Unicorn_Blade
Posts: 1153 Location: UK |
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The problem with the plot for me was not that the events/people in the other dimension did not exist in real life, but that it became a nonsense when you tried to attach it to the FMA world. |
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r3vival
 Posts: 56 |
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I did enjoy the earlier episodes of the original anime series much better than the latter half as well. There were a few standout moments to me in the end spoiler[Ed's battle with Sloth (his mother) struck a chord with me the way he changes her composition into ethanol and she evaporates in the end ] Episode 7 with the chimaera was a real tear jerker for me and is probably the one that really hooked me on the series to begin with.
I would recommend watching Brotherhood if you are interested in the canon stuff though. Honestly, I would hold it on par with the original anime series. It does really rush through the repeat content but does manage to have a number of very strong episodes as well. I'm going to agree with Unicorn_Blade in that I was not a fan of Conqueror of Shambala at all. The only part I really enjoyed at all about it were the cameos of all the old character's look-alikes. I watched it once, glad I did, but doubt I will be doing so again. |
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free2slap
 Posts: 210 Location: New York |
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Personally The first anime was very anticlimactic, because it started with all the strong points, and you could not wait to see how it ends until the quality just kept declining and then it became almost unbearable to watch. The story was also abundantly emotional/Emo which easily made a lot of people connected to it and to perceive its depth. At times, i thought it was a bit excessive and annoying, although i do believe it was necessary to showcase the strong bond between the two brothers and the insanity and audacity of humankind. I still consider the anime a masterpiece because of its uniqueness but it certainly could've been more if it had a more appropriate ending.
I can't say yet i love it more than brotherhood but it does seem more mature or serious. |
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diomedes21
Posts: 10 |
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just recently finished full metal brotherhood
i loved the series especially the pictures at the end of the last episode 
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