[Anime] Full Metal Alchemist and FMA: Brotherhood.

[Dinyyen]

I watched FMA, and recently I've been seeing FMA: Brotherhood on TV. I'm curious if Brotherhood is supposed to be a continuation of FMA, or if it's supposed to be a different telling of the same story. I've only seen a couple episodes so i cant really tell which it is.

[Guilegamesh]

FMA Brotherhood follows the manga much closer than the original. It is also much better in my opinion. The second half of FMA was a hot mess.

[Nerio]

different telling of the same story. I wanna say its the same until a certain point, but I don't remember enough to comment on that.

There is a movie that is a continuation of the non brotherhood story I believe.

[Pendulous]

Different telling of the same story. Stays closer to the manga I believe.

[Stilt-Man]

As I understand it, the original anime was released before the manga was finished, so the second half was made up by the animation studios. FMA: Brotherhood was made when the manga was finished/wrapping up, so it follows the source material much more closely.

[unholytestament]

I wanna say its the same until a certain point, but I don't remember enough to comment on that.

If I remember correctly the original FMA anime starts deviating from the manga at about the point Greed enters the picture.

[Stache]

It's essentially a carbon copy of the manga, which is the best manga series I've ever read.

I guess an adequate comparison would be "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is to Fullmetal Alchemist as The Dark Knight was to Batman."

[Rokom]

Brotherhood assumes that you've watched the original FMA, or at least the first half of it, but most of it is an entirely different story as it follows the manga. Imo, it's a lot better than the original FMA, especially the ending. Iirc the place the original series diverges is at about the time they go back to their teacher's house

[Arlee]

Finally finished FMA: Brotherhood and it was amazing! Much fuller complex and interesting story. You get a much deeper understanding of all the characters and there are even some new ones that are amazing

Was interesting that they went with the super duper happy ending, but I enjoyed every moment of it.

[Solidito]

FMA Brotherhood was amazing, and from what i heard of the original it sounded shit story wise.

[Bathory]

Brotherhood is not a continuation. The first few episodes are similar between the two, then the story starts to shift in Brotherhood.

If you haven't seen it, I'd highly, HIGHLY recommend it. It's everything I wanted FMA to be. More action, more alchemists, a better ending. I'd equate it to FMA being the beta, Brotherhood was the final, polished version.

And brotherhood in HD? /drool

[Deleted]

Finally finished FMA: Brotherhood and it was amazing! Much fuller complex and interesting story. You get a much deeper understanding of all the characters and there are even some new ones that are amazing

Was interesting that they went with the super duper happy ending, but I enjoyed every moment of it.

I love them both for their subtle differences. Personally, I feel like FMA makes the homonculi more interesting, with several of them being based on major characters' loved ones (Lust as Scar's "sister", iirc, Sloth being the Elric boys' "mother" and Wrath(?) being Izumi's "son"). I think it made the line between real and artificial humans more blurred and the morality of dealing with them more complicated. Plus, I thought things like Tucker's new appearance and continued work were really quite dark and interesting (disturbed me for a while actually).

But, Brotherhood made Envy and and Pride the Fuhrer waaaaay more interesting, Mustang more badass, featured the amazing, albeit fleeting, bromance of Mjr Armstrong and Sig Curtis and had Armstrong's awesome, hard-ass sister, who you obviously took a liking too. The fights were a cut above those in the first adaptation (Mustang's encounters with Lust and Envy make me fangasm hard! >.<). Greed was much more intriguing and enjoyable in Brotherhood too.

I cried watching Brotherhood too, cos I was so touched, whereas I didn't at the end of FMA. That may have been because I had already gotten so attached to the Elric brothers through FMA that to see them have such a happy ending at the end of Brotherhood was just really moving. =')

Both are right up there with my favourite anime.

[Shinzai]

I'd agree with Baiyn myself. There's a lot to get from both series and it appears to me as if :Brotherhood is specifically designed to benefit from having watched FMA's first run.

For example... Nina's storyline in the original anime is a *lot* more fleshed out, where as Brotherhood kind of goes "You probably know this bit already, so here are the cliff notes. Feel bad again."

I got the this feeling a few times with :Brotherhood, until it had passed the point at which the original series diverges from the manga. Once that point is reached, :Brotherhood becomes the dominant show in my opinion, it just develops everything a lot further and with a more multi-dimensional aspect to a lot of the characters. The developments and conclusion are just far superior, again, in my opinion.

[Deleted]

After reading this thread I guess I have to watch FMA Brotherhood!

Watched FMA years ago. Read about Brotherhood but have been to lazy to watch it all over again.

[Letmesleep]

FMA is the best show I've ever seen but I happen to hate Brotherhood with a passion. For a long time, Brotherhood literally made me angry. I realized a long time ago that I'm far too emotional about how I feel about these two shows to actually debate the differences between them. I think the way in which I connect with the bleak nature of suffering in FMA prevents me from separating myself long enough to lay out all the reasons why I think FMA is a superior show. I had to inject myself in this thread to at least say "NUH UH!" :P

At the very least I can say that I feel the important characters are deeper, the voice acting superior, the storyline more philosophical, the script far more intelligent, and villains much more multifaceted in FMA. In FMA, everyone has their reasons for doing what they do, and they are motivated by their personalities and world views. In Brotherhood, I felt we had a bunch of puppets for villains. I feel FMA was a more focused show, namely on Ed and Al, and I think it's stronger because of that focus. In Brotherhood you do indeed learn more about other characters, but that subtracts from the bond created between the brothers.

There are even filler episodes in FMA that give me the chills. I feel like the pain of Ed's losses never leave him in FMA, and it shows itself in so many things he says. Sometimes I nearly cry when he talks about there being no equivalent exchange in his life and how it feels like he's just been continually giving to the void. That is a fucking powerful show. I've never felt that way watching Brotherhood, and I think that has to do with the script. I feel like Ed and Al are too distracted in Brotherhood to really brood about how much they've lost.

A couple notes on the characters: I feel like a lot of the ones introduced in Brotherhood (or more accurately, cut out when FMA was made), are simply not interesting. I care nothing for the chimeras. I care nothing for Mei, Ling, or Armstrong's sister. Most of these characters were shallow and uninteresting to me. Ling obviously had an interesting battle between himself and Greed, but I really think he was unnecessary. It feels like the story merely accommodated their existence but didn't actually require them. A lot of the characters I had fallen in love in FMA with were shells of themselves in Brotherhood. Armstong was sidelined, Izumi had a very minor role to play in comparison to FMA and Hughes' death and friendship with the boys were trivialized. Seriously, did anyone give a crap about Hughes in Brotherhood? He's barely around long enough for his death to have any emotional impact at all.

I've seen FMA 7 times through, and I feel like I know those characters. When I watch Brotherhood, they all feel like strangers to me. In the end, FMA moves me. It affects me, draws me in, and blows me away. Brotherhood just isn't as deep in my opinion. It's different, it's got some merits and interesting things going on, but it's not the masterpiece FMA is. At least not to me

[Deleted]

Personally i like FMA: Brotherhood the most. The second half of the original FMA just feels wierd and that "real world" shit they pulled? Not my cup of tea.
Brotherhood, like many have said, follows the manga more than the first, and i feel thats a good thing, because im the kind who dislikes when something completely deviates from their main source. The original FMA also left a lot of wierd questions to why many things happened. Brotherhood even explained WHY they lost certain parts of their bodies when they did human transmutation.

I feel many new additions were nice, like the characters and other things.

One thing for sure though: People who prefer the original FMA and people who prefer Brotherhood will never agree with eachother. Many of the things people like in the original are things i prefer in Brotherhood.
But on that note i can say one thing: It feels like Brotherhood fastpaced it in the start since "so many already knew of the events due to original FMA", atleast thats the feeling i get. It gets a better pace after the first few episodes, but the beginning feels very rushed.

And a random comment: Lan Fan ftw! Shes one of my fav chars for some reason.

[Arlee]

At the very least I can say that I feel the important characters are deeper, the voice acting superior, the storyline more philosophical, the script far more intelligent, and villains much more multifaceted in FMA. In FMA, everyone has their reasons for doing what they do, and they are motivated by their personalities and world views. In Brotherhood, I felt we had a bunch of puppets for villains. I feel FMA was a more focused show, namely on Ed and Al, and I think it's stronger because of that focus. In Brotherhood you do indeed learn more about other characters, but that subtracts from the bond created between the brothers.

That's interesting to me because I feel like the exact opposite is true in the cases of the bad guys and the good guys. You met more people and got to see how they fit together much clearer. Mainly in the cases of all the homunculi, Hawkeye, all of Mustang's team actually, Scar, Honeheim, Marcoh, Whinery, Olivier's existance actually fleshes out Alex even more and the way they are together fleshes out both of them (not to mention Olivier is just awesome on her own), heck even Kimblee had a much fuller story.

A couple notes on the characters: I feel like a lot of the ones introduced in Brotherhood (or more accurately, cut out when FMA was made), are simply not interesting. I care nothing for the chimeras. I care nothing for Mei, Ling, or Armstrong's sister. Most of these characters were shallow and uninteresting to me. Ling obviously had an interesting battle between himself and Greed, but I really think he was unnecessary. It feels like the story merely accommodated their existence but didn't actually require them. A lot of the characters I had fallen in love in FMA with were shells of themselves in Brotherhood. Armstong was sidelined, Izumi had a very minor role to play in comparison to FMA and Hughes' death and friendship with the boys were trivialized. Seriously, did anyone give a crap about Hughes in Brotherhood? He's barely around long enough for his death to have any emotional impact at all.

I think the issue you are having is that you can't stand both series on their own until you get past where the original diverged from the manga. They didn't go into those details because they assume you have seen them and know they still exist, which gave them time to flesh out everyone else a ton more. You have to take the first halves together imo.

[Letmesleep]

That's interesting to me because I feel like the exact opposite is true in the cases of the bad guys and the good guys. You met more people and got to see how they fit together much clearer. Mainly in the cases of all the homunculi, Hawkeye, all of Mustang's team actually, Scar, Honeheim, Marcoh, Whinery, Olivier's existance actually fleshes out Alex even more and the way they are together fleshes out both of them (not to mention Olivier is just awesome on her own), heck even Kimblee had a much fuller story.

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR ANYONE WHO HASN'T SEEN FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
You're certainly entitled to your opinion and acknowledge that my views are mere opinion as well, but I see it a little differently. I feel the Homunculi have more sides to them in FMA and exhibit their own motivations for doing what they do besides blind allegiance to their master. Most of the Homunculi seek humanity, but most of them also have primary needs that take preference over that goal. Lust is shown to be capable of falling in love in the episode with Lujon and we actually get to watch her ponder and doubt her existence. She even begins to feel something for Scar and we see her desperately trying to become who she was modeled after. Of all the Homunculi, Lust has thought the most deeply about her false and incomplete life. Wrath really just wants a mother while his quest for humanity comes second, Envy doesn't really give a crap about becoming human and just wants to watch the world burn, Greed just wants to be free, Gluttony is more or less helpless by himself and see's Lust as his guardian, while Sloth and Pride remain the only ones without other motivations.

FMA really digs deep into the philosophical question about what makes us who we are, and we see a lot of the homunculi fighting to understand themselves. Should they be who they were resurrected to be, or are they their own persons? We see Sloth struggling with this question towards the end of the series when she's recalling memories of Ed and Al as kids. Are those memories real? What part of her actually belongs to her? How can she be herself when she’s living someone else’s life? As Baiyn said, the show blurs the line between what's human and what isn't. Ed asks Lust why she wants to be human so bad, and she responds with the question about why Al wants his body back. He's practically immortal, so what could he gain by being able to feel pain and death again? Is the ability to die what makes life meaningful? These are questions that are all played out through the characters.

Scar: This is a tortured, complex character, and happens to be one of my favorite. He's driven by zealotry, rage, and revenge, and yet somewhere in him lurks compassion. His is a pivotal role in FMA, and the story would simply not be the same without him. He is the only reason another Philosopher's Stone came into existence, and yet was an unwilling puppet for Dante the entire time. Scar was a truly evil man, and yet somehow in his final moments he finds partial redemption by saving Al's life. His connection with Lust, or more the woman she was meant to replace, is a very interesting personal struggle to watch. Scar's life of sadness is evident in Liore when he breaks down, bleeding and dying like an animal, and begins to question his actions, motives, and really the way he’s lived his entire life. He hated his brother for his sacrilege, and yet at the end just wants him to know he loves him. This lone wolf is a very powerful character in my opinion, and doesn't reach the same emotional heights in Brotherhood as he's traveling around with a merry band of chimeras. Scar works as enigmatic, conflicted, and solitary character, but not quite as much just another solider in the army against Father. I feel Scar's character had it's own story to tell, and I feel that story is stifled in Brotherhood by over saturation of characters.

In terms of characters fitting together, I’m not sure I agree since every character that shows up in FMA has a part to play in the conclusion or is at least referenced at a later time. The only people the show had no use for after their appearance was Siren (the blonde thief) and Paninya (the girl with the automail). At worst they are equal in my opinion. There’s no doubt there are more characters in Brotherhood, and some may like that. It’s really about whether you like to learn a lot about a few characters or a little about a lot of characters. FMA is certainly a more focused show, and most of its time is spent growing the relationship between Ed and Al. I personally found that to play to the show’s strength. Never have I seen a relationship like Ed and Al’s. Their bond was the most unbelievably deep relationship I’ve seen in any show, ever. They lived and breathed for each other, and FMA takes every opportunity to reinforce that relationship.

In terms of good characters, FMA needed more Winry, period. Her relationship with Ed was underdeveloped, and that's a flaw. I feel Roy Mustang was adequately developed, but disappeared for several episodes at a time. I feel I liked Armstrong way more in FMA as he consistently made me laugh. He wasn't meant to be a serious character, he was just meant to be lovable. Again, this comes back to a show that dug deep into its most important characters, and left less time to it's less important ones. Brotherhood tries to spread the love out, but I found Ed and Al's relationship deeply unsatisfying in Brotherhood because of it. I'm not sure which language you watched these shows in, but in English the script for Brotherhood is really lacking in intelligence imo. The dialogue is dumbed down, and some of the voice acting really needed some work (looking at you, Maxie Whitehead). In the end I feel FMA is more of a drama where as Brotherhood is an action show. Some will like one more than the other, and that’s ok. FMA is the most powerful tale of suffering, loss, family, and what it means to be human that I've ever seen where as I feel I can't identify Brotherhood as really trying to cover any specific themes. It's too spread out imo.

I think the issue you are having is that you can't stand both series on their own until you get past where the original diverged from the manga. They didn't go into those details because they assume you have seen them and know they still exist, which gave them time to flesh out everyone else a ton more. You have to take the first halves together imo.

That’s true, they are wildly different shows after they diverge, but it was hard for me to see stories that were lovingly and delicately crafted in FMA blitzed through in Brotherhood. They took some scenes with amazing dialogue and just spat them out like they were in the way. As I said, I’m pretty emotional about these shows, and I always feared FMA would be ruined for someone who watched Brotherhood first. I really wanted people to be able to experience what I did with FMA, because I think it does both the show and the viewer a disservice to watch them out of order.