"Original" FMA or Brotherhood?

[jaysuss]

I see a lot of people who hate either one or the other... mostly Brotherhood being the one that is loved, but I followed FMA since it aired in North America, and the introduction of Brotherhood was an awesome bonus. I absolutely love both. They're so different, yet all of my beloved characters are there, with an addition of new characters to fall in love with. I don't see why anyone would be upset that one or the other exists. I do understand that people like things to be true to the manga, but the 2003 series had a lot of character.

That being said, the 2003 series is my favorite, just because it was my first and the whole reason I got into Fullmetal Alchemist.

What's your favorite?

[StrayKit]

my favorite, for a variety of reasons i don't feel like getting into at this moment, is the '03 anime. the manga/brotherhood is still good as well and i love both the storylines but there are points in the first anime that i just like a lot better. i do get a little disappointed that so many people seem to put that series down since brotherhood came out, and that one of the biggest complaints is that it didn't follow the manga. the first anime was made when the manga wasn't finished yet so there was no way to get the originally intended sotryline in the first place. and they were given the green light to take it in the own direction and honestly, i thought they did a pretty good job with it

[Enigmatic Lunacy]

i feel like i had a more emotional connection with the '03 anime. I cried a lot and I'm pretty sure I at least teared up every episode. I feel like there's more comic relief in brotherhood and the original was more serious. Plus how the plot turned out in the end made me feel more connected with it since it brought in the whole nazi germany concept. That part honestly blew my mind. I still like brotherhood but the original is definitely my favorite.

[Kioma Tenshi Death Slayer]

I like it too.

[jaysuss]

Enigmatic Lunacy

i feel like i had a more emotional connection with the '03 anime. I cried a lot and I'm pretty sure I at least teared up every episode. I feel like there's more comic relief in brotherhood and the original was more serious. Plus how the plot turned out in the end made me feel more connected with it since it brought in the whole nazi germany concept. That part honestly blew my mind. I still like brotherhood but the original is definitely my favorite.

The '03 anime has a lot more reference to real life, I feel like Brotherhood is a lot more fictional and it's harder for me to connect. I also feel like Brotherhood jumped into things pretty quickly after how long the same things played out in the '03 anime, but Brotherhood has a lot longer plot so it doesn't have to take so long I suppose.

[InsaneCrayons]

I haved watched them both from beginning to the end and I loved them i can not choose a fav >w<

[xZorah2]

jaysuss

I choose brotherhood sadly.. but it didn't have enough humor as the first did.. (sorry doing this for a achievment) xD

[Drummer_kidder]

My two cents. Or one shilling. The 2003 anime is well ahead of a lot of other animes, in terms of plot, character design, and performance, as well as music. But as far as the fact that the anime was produced when the manga was still being produced.... that has one big hang-up.

Hiromu Arakawa very graciously shared her character designs and plot with the original anime crew. Look at things like Catherine Ella Armstrong, introduced in episode 37 of 2003, and most of the generals Mustang faces around episode 45 or 45 (I forget which, exactly) who are mostly carbon copies of what we see when Raven lures Mustang into the "meeting" when Mustang figures out that ALL of the upper echelon of the military are involved in the conspiracy. Also, the 2003 manga has its own variations of Ed digging up a corpse (his mother's in 2003, the transmuted remains in the manga), and Ed punching Hohenheim (which in the manga didn't happen until near the end). Plus, in one of the yonkomas, Arakawa-sensei actually shows two distorted characters in a brawl. She says that she even told the anime crew (again,this is early enough that she meant 2003 anime) HOW HER STORY WOULD END. (Spoilage) One of the brawlers can be identified as Ed... the other is the "perfect being" form of Father.

But the anime crew asked if it was okay with her if they took her story in a different direction, and she graciously agreed. And she has never said one word against the direction they took.

So, I don't like the haters-take on all of that, but personally, I think Brotherhood does a better job with the entire deal, mainly because the director of the 2003 version believed that nobody ever grows consistently as a person, that we all advance, then retreat in our development. While that may be true for lots of people, I have a tiny bit more faith in humanity than that. And the progress of the brothers thus becomes an example for others to follow, in their own way.

So enjoy 2003's version. There's a lot there to love, and it's great fun at times. But Brotherhood is a whole different roller coaster ride, and has a more uplifting ending. If you prefer your anime with a downer, hey, (spoil) Sloth as the Elric Brothers twisted creation is waitin' for ya. Go to.

[Drummer_kidder]

ewes

jaysuss

I choose brotherhood sadly.. but it didn't have enough humor as the first did.. (sorry doing this for a achievment) xD

Did you miss episode 21? Roy yelling at Hawkeye, "You're an idiot!" before getting told off by Havoc. Ed's whole routine of helping everyone with alchemy and refusing payment? "I'm your friendly neighborhood State Alchemist!" Ed and Roy bickering over the idea that Ed is trying to lure Scar out and only realizing that Scar has arrived when Hawkeye removes the safety from her pistol? And for pity's sake, Roy going on the radio and diverting the MPs from Ed and Al by reporting fake Scar sightings all over Central? Admittedly, the next couple of episodes have a lot more trauma drama, but still.... "Pay me? That's not necessary, but thank you!"

I could be really annoying and point out more. But I have a teeny spot of mercy somewhere... obviously not much, since I said all this, but there is humor in Brotherhood.

[xZorah2]

Drummer_kidder

ewes

jaysuss

I choose brotherhood sadly.. but it didn't have enough humor as the first did.. (sorry doing this for a achievment) xD

Did you miss episode 21? Roy yelling at Hawkeye, "You're an idiot!" before getting told off by Havoc. Ed's whole routine of helping everyone with alchemy and refusing payment? "I'm your friendly neighborhood State Alchemist!" Ed and Roy bickering over the idea that Ed is trying to lure Scar out and only realizing that Scar has arrived when Hawkeye removes the safety from her pistol? And for pity's sake, Roy going on the radio and diverting the MPs from Ed and Al by reporting fake Scar sightings all over Central? Admittedly, the next couple of episodes have a lot more trauma drama, but still.... "Pay me? That's not necessary, but thank you!"

I could be really annoying and point out more. But I have a teeny spot of mercy somewhere... obviously not much, since I said all this, but there is humor in Brotherhood.

LOL yeah.. I haven't even watched that show in a very long time... xp

[Smithkakarot]

Brotherhood, because government conspiracy makes a better plot than some selfish b***h wanting to stay immortal. Also, it's not all "OMG DRAMA" every 5 minutes.

[NyteSama]

This really needs to be made into a sticky...

anyways, as usual, I pick the original anime as my favorite. It was more dramatic, the pacing was better (even if it did have annoying fillers), the animation looked better, etc
Plus it didn't slip in poorly written comedic moments all the time like Brotherhood, which just didnt work.
Sometimes running gags work. In this case; it did not.

All the buildup for the conclusion in the original anime felt more unique with the parallel worlds and whatnot. Instead of boiling down to "Evil guy wants power, good guys fight him and win." Boooooriiiiing.
At least the simple quest of immortality in the original was something simple enough to actually work.
Plus it didnt have the incredibly sappy "And then everyone lived happily ever after" that you'd expect out of a kids book.

Admittedly, there were some aspects of Brotherhood that were good

but as a whole, I felt the original anime was far superior.
because when you get down to it, I really disliked the manga, and Brotherhood was a poorer version of the manga

[D0kt0r Bulletz]

Brotherhood. The original manga is what got me into FMA. I was 8 mangas in when I got the complete 2003 anime on DVD. I started watching, but I dropped it at ep 15 cuz I heard about Brotherhood (this was in '09) and it would follow the manga story.

I was already used to Ling and the others, so I saw Brotherhood first. So I loooooove FMAB. Though I hear the first anime is awesome too.

[D0kt0r Bulletz]

NyteSama

This really needs to be made into a sticky...

anyways, as usual, I pick the original anime as my favorite. It was more dramatic, the pacing was better (even if it did have annoying fillers), the animation looked better, etc
Plus it didn't slip in poorly written comedic moments all the time like Brotherhood, which just didnt work.
Sometimes running gags work. In this case; it did not.

All the buildup for the conclusion in the original anime felt more unique with the parallel worlds and whatnot. Instead of boiling down to "Evil guy wants power, good guys fight him and win." Boooooriiiiing.
At least the simple quest of immortality in the original was something simple enough to actually work.
Plus it didnt have the incredibly sappy "And then everyone lived happily ever after" that you'd expect out of a kids book.

Admittedly, there were some aspects of Brotherhood that were good

but as a whole, I felt the original anime was far superior.
because when you get down to it, I really disliked the manga, and Brotherhood was a poorer version of the manga

I respect your opinion, but my opinion is that FMAB has way better color quality and animation.


And I LOOOOOOOVE classic "defeat bad guy and win; happy ending" stories. biggrin EdWin actually happened, GREEDLING GREEDLING GREEDLING..... heart

The openings and endings are way better, too! My fav FMAB song of all time. It's been flipped cuz of copyright crap, but who cares; it's AWESOME.

[Smithkakarot]

D0kt0r Bulletz

NyteSama

This really needs to be made into a sticky...

anyways, as usual, I pick the original anime as my favorite. It was more dramatic, the pacing was better (even if it did have annoying fillers), the animation looked better, etc
Plus it didn't slip in poorly written comedic moments all the time like Brotherhood, which just didnt work.
Sometimes running gags work. In this case; it did not.

All the buildup for the conclusion in the original anime felt more unique with the parallel worlds and whatnot. Instead of boiling down to "Evil guy wants power, good guys fight him and win." Boooooriiiiing.
At least the simple quest of immortality in the original was something simple enough to actually work.
Plus it didnt have the incredibly sappy "And then everyone lived happily ever after" that you'd expect out of a kids book.

Admittedly, there were some aspects of Brotherhood that were good

but as a whole, I felt the original anime was far superior.
because when you get down to it, I really disliked the manga, and Brotherhood was a poorer version of the manga

I respect your opinion, but my opinion is that FMAB has way better color quality and animation.


And I LOOOOOOOVE classic "defeat bad guy and win; happy ending" stories. biggrin EdWin actually happened, GREEDLING GREEDLING GREEDLING..... heart

The openings and endings are way better, too! My fav FMAB song of all time. It's been flipped cuz of copyright crap, but who cares; it's AWESOME.

...plus, Brotherhood isn't oversaturated in emo.