Name: Its good, you know it and I know it
Item: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Rating: 92
Author: MiketheBoomer

Waifra

Its good, you know it and I know it · Waifora

I don’t think I’ve ever watched the sub for Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Like a lot of people, I started with anime on morning TV — Cheez TV and Toasted TV in my case, pay TV for others. After that, you start looking for more. For me, FMAB was the first anime I properly sought out for myself, and it absolutely hooked me on anime from then on.

What can I even say about it that hasn’t already been said? It’s a great anime. Strong characters, a well-built world, and a story that knows when to escalate. That reputation is not undeserved.

Rewatching it now, a few things stood out again. The ad break interludes still annoy me. I get why they are there, but I don’t have to like them. At least they change to match the tone of the episode. The early stretch is a bit slow too, especially starting with that ice filler episode. It’s not a bad introduction, and it does explain the basics well, but it slows down a story that already takes a little while to really get going.

Spoiler, click to view

On the characters, the core cast is excellent. Ed and Al’s dynamic carries a huge amount of the show, and the way Winry fits into their arc lands especially well by the end, where they get that super cute scene. Greed is a great character, and his dynamic with Ling is always fantastic. Ling’s relationships with his retainers and with Mei are great too. The Xing crew bring a lot to the series.

Spoiler, click to view

Kimblee and Envy stood out again on rewatch. Kimblee especially feels like a real threat, and Envy gets more development than a lot of the other villains, mostly because Greed does not really count as one by the end. On the other side, Briggs is a great arc, but some of the characters introduced there feel more one-note. General Armstrong’s intensity works, but she and Buccaneer feel more like very effective story tools than fully realised people. When Buccaneer dies, it felt more like “yeah, that tracks” than something especially emotional, which honestly also fits the General.

Spoiler, click to view

The final arc, with Father and Pride, does drag a bit. It works, but it could be tighter. Classic shounen territory. Still, Ed giving up his alchemy is fantastic, and the Truth scene where he wins — with Truth clearly revelling in it — is one of the best moments in the series. Hohenheim dying at his wife’s grave, reflecting on his life and smiling, is chef’s kiss.

Spoiler, click to view

Then of course there’s Episode 10. It’s a terrible day for rain. Need I say more? And yeah, Big Brother too.

Animation-wise, it is very much of its time: the flat exaggeration, the off-model expressions, silver blob Al, whenever someone calls Ed short. It still works, but it is starting to feel dated now, in the same way old Naruto or Fairy Tail do. That’s natural. FMAB will not always be the best, just like whatever is considered the best now will not stay there forever. Things move forward. Trends change. People build on what came before.

Classic disclaimer: I’m hardly saying anything new here, but tl;dr, it’s good. You know it and I know it.

Spoiler, click to view

Also Izumi is just a housewife, idk anything about this alchemy stuff.