Am I the only one who STILL likes the first FMA anime?

[Homura Himiko]

Forever_Rose09

I loved both of them pretty much the same but I feel like Brotherhood rushed through everything too fast. Episode 4 happened in episode 8 of the original plus it was a flashback of when Ed and Al were 11 and 12. Pretty much everything was sadder in the original, but one thing that I loved the most about Brotherhood was the added characters and the whole Xing thing. The ending was kind of predictable and happier but the original was twisted and sad in a way that made me love it because of that twist.
I'm also really sad about the bad rep the original has gotten since Brotherhood came out. I first started watching the show when it was on TV when I was young. I think people need to give it more credit; if it weren't for the original, Brotherhood never would have been created in the first place.

Yeah, the good thing about Brotherhood is the Xing thing and the action, but I'm biased for drama and the first series was also the first anime that made me cry. Man, the Nina episodes broke my heart, just seeing Ed crying, hopeless. That leads me to character development, we really see a change in Ed's actions through the first series: he goes frm vowing to not kill unecesarily to kill a humanoid abomination that was his mother.

I liked the first one better because Ed and Al were such good kids and by the end they're basically messed up, and that's more noticeable there. You're right with Brotherhood's ending.

I know. Just because the first one didn't follow the manga? The later wasn't even finished when they were making the former, even Arakawa asked to come up with an ending because she wasn't even close to finish. Man, the music was beautiful, and Seiji Mizushima's directing was just perfect.

[Drummer_kidder]

I NEVER HATED!!! The 2003 version has so much spazzy Ed, so much funny, so much that's just right. For me, though, once Ed continued to pursue the Philosopher's Stone even after he realized that the way it was made was by sacrificing and sealing human souls within the Stone, everything was a bit sour. Then he killed Greed, and became more and more willing to kill. While I accept that many, many people face this dilemma and choose to kill another to save themselves or for other reasons, I felt it was somehow wrong in Ed's character. And this was BEFORE I'd read the manga.

I started reading the manga when I finished the first anime, and heart ! Everything there seemed to feel more like the Ed and co I'd seen at the start of the anime. So when the buzz went around that the 2009 anime was going to be more faithful to the source material, I rejoiced.

But even now, I don't hate the 2003 version. I met Ed, Al, and all those crazy people like the darling Maes Hughes there, and it still has a lot that's splendid and wonderful. And I've heard a lot of people on the forum who prefer that version of the story, with homunculi and Dante and all.

sweatdrop

[Homura Himiko]

Drummer_kidder

I NEVER HATED!!! The 2003 version has so much spazzy Ed, so much funny, so much that's just right. For me, though, once Ed continued to pursue the Philosopher's Stone even after he realized that the way it was made was by sacrificing and sealing human souls within the Stone, everything was a bit sour. Then he killed Greed, and became more and more willing to kill. While I accept that many, many people face this dilemma and choose to kill another to save themselves or for other reasons, I felt it was somehow wrong in Ed's character. And this was BEFORE I'd read the manga.

I started reading the manga when I finished the first anime, and heart ! Everything there seemed to feel more like the Ed and co I'd seen at the start of the anime. So when the buzz went around that the 2009 anime was going to be more faithful to the source material, I rejoiced.

But even now, I don't hate the 2003 version. I met Ed, Al, and all those crazy people like the darling Maes Hughes there, and it still has a lot that's splendid and wonderful. And I've heard a lot of people on the forum who prefer that version of the story, with homunculi and Dante and all.

sweatdrop

It would be wrong for Ed's character if he killed someone when he said he wouldn't, like at the start of the series. The key point in Ed's character development is that he keeps learning that the Equivalent Exchange law is imperfect and goes beyond hard work = good rewards (thing that Dante points out. Many studied really hard for the State Alchemist exam but didn't pass, just to get surpassed by a teen genius like Ed, who also studied but he's basically gifted), and that all their joouney for the Stone was almost done when they found out about the truth. Growing up sucks, and Ed grows up of all his ideals through the series until the end where he's almost bitter and his only goal is to help Al. By the end he knows he'll have to do terrible things, hurt the ones he care about and break promises if he wants to get what he wants.

I liked Brotherhood for the canon and the action, but I still like the first series better.

[Canucks_1988]

I'm on season 3 and I love the show.

[Sunshinedd]

I honestly prefer Brotherhood now, I just like the direction the story took better and the general world building. It introduced a lot of characters I love such as Ling and Olivia Armstrong. The animation is more my style too.
However, despite this the original anime adaptation is still greatly loved by me. The concept just clicked with me straight away and I did enjoy what they did with the homunculus'. It was one of the first anime to cry and generally got me properly hooked onto anime as a whole. I wouldn't have read the manga if I hadn't loved the anime so much so it was all hugely win-win!

...and yeah, it does seem people forget that the manga was incomplete and that the makers had no choice but create a new ending. I do feel kind of sad when it gets ragged on since it was still amazing in itself.

[DataBugged]

The first one was more emotional for me.
The second one just didn't have it. It may have been a longer series, but original FMA will always be my favorite. smile