Anyone who knows me knows how I feel about this show - both versions of it are the best anime of all time. All time. Ever. (Go ahead and fight me.)
Both the original series and Brotherhood are - beyond any doubt - GOAT.
Here’s why…(spoilers)
From episode one, you will know that this is a journey. If you take the ride the whole way, there is a life lesson in each episode.
The fictional scientific elements and the philosophical storyline is what sets this anime series’ apart from so many others.
They even attempt to explain death, the meaning of life, the focus inherent to a life purpose or goal, family and coming-of-age issues in a way that not a lot of stories that are animated will do for you in two different layouts.
The original Fullmetal series gives us a literary backdrop that likens its results to living through war and the changes that happen to young men involved in said war, and in a world that matures from it as they do.
The ‘Brotherhood’ series version lets us explore action and typical conflicts with a ‘happily-as-it-can-be-ever-after’ outcome so that we can see what it would look like if all ended as well as it could.
I like that both series’ exist. I don’t agree that one is better than the other. They are both equally good in their own way. And it was important that both views were honored for the fans of the story and the journey of these brothers.
The hard earned route of passage for their maturity through:
the loss of their mother,
the anguish they experienced due to her inability to return through their version of science,
their father’s affect on their world
and their world expanding to unbelievable depth with far reaching spiritual implications that damage theories some cling to even now…this anime story reached for so much and made it.
How a cartoon can display a godlike figure, the resurrection and monstrous ilk of reconciling science, magic and two sweet little boys just wanting their dead mom back is beyond magnificent!
I love the way they grow in front of you as you watch. I love how others around them are affected by their genuine abilities, how others can see how magical they are when they can’t see the magic in themselves. I loved how they’d forget to love themselves and each other and come back around to love in such a profound way.
But I’m a pollyanna - so what do I know? It was just too touching to not notice love running through it all.
The humor sat with the gross and bloody scenes quite well. You fell into the scenes and only felt what the scene’s intent was for the audience, which is just brilliance on the parts of the writers - especially the writer of the original story.
The Brotherhood version of the story honors the original in my opinion with only expanding on the levity and gravity of scene adjectives, without sacrificing the storyline and still giving an opposite reward, satisfying the followers of the original - which obviously the Brotherhood writers are as well.
Binge worthy, for sure, both series run on Netflix and are available on Amazon (and possibly Hulu subbed or dubbed) Fullmetal Alchemist is for anyone new to anime and interested in getting hooked into a good plot and lovable characters. If the watchers are American, I would recommend finding the dubbed versions because the American voices may help you connect and follow along more easily than reading through subtitles.
Hardcore enthusiasts of anime can handle either series and either the sub or dub versions with ease.
The makers of this show did other anime shows and other anime shows came along after Fullmetal trying to include death, science, magic and philosophy in their plots with a coming-of-age tale, but none matched the level of artistry here. And I don’t think any ever will…and I LOVE so many types of anime, I twinge at myself making that statement.
Death Note and Elfen Lied are similarly good. Food Wars, the Devil’s a Part Timer and Silver Spoon are lighter stories with more humor and camaraderie, but are just as well done. And then, of course, you have your mainstream others that, if you are even reading this far, you may already know some other anime shows names’ that are popular and good in their own rite.
This story is special.
Two brothers, gifted and remarkable in their ability to love, fight nether-worlds to get their mom back, to earn a place in a world they don’t always understand, compete with people they admire and affect everyone in their path and purpose…all with science that’s really magic that really isn’t, with rules that matter and then don’t. And they learn about life together, what it is and what it means. All that AND they give me that Gen X moral of the story at the end - the corny way I love with twists and turns along the way that no one expects.
So cool. Very in fact, the coolest.
“There’s no such thing as a painless lesson. They just don’t exist. Sacrifices are necessary. You can’t gain anything without losing something first. Although, if you can endure that pain, and walk away from it, you’ll find you have a heart strong enough to overcome any obstacle. Yeah - a heart made fullmetal.” Edward Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist.