Maybe I'll watch the rest later. But for now, it sucks. Doesn't really make sense we can't review 13 out of 64 episodes and have an opinion. I mean if your going to consume something, you don't want to pay money and think it sucks less than halfway throug. Whatever. IMDB is worse.
Review Text
Full metal alchemist is a cheesy action show that is slightly more enjoyable if you watch is subbed. I would say it targets both boys and girls 10-18. If you watched all 64 episodes, you may have a heartbreaking and wonderful experience ( see rankings on MAL). For everyone else, the show is just too long and the fantasy content bears down too much on new audiences to take seriously.
What is alchemy? Alchemy is pseudo science to create gold or something in the Middle Ages. In this show, alchemy is basically the study of magic. Sure, there are rules and stuff, but alchemy is essentially magic like in Harry Potter. They even name one of the magic items a philosophers stone.
The story is about full metal wizard , Edward, and his little brother Alphonso whose soul is encased in a suite of armor. Why a suite of armor? When they were young boys, they tried an alchemist experiment to bring their dead mother back. They lost Edwards arm and leg and Alphonso's whole body. Initially, Alphonso was dead, but after doing some intense magic he managed to fuse his soul with some armor that was lying around. He could have been a broom, but the giant piece of armor was conveniently there.
They go on to be state alchemist or dogs ( yes, like in psycho-pass) of the state police. Edward is the most skilled alchemist of the whole unit, but he does not wear the blue uniforms. Instead, he wears a red coat similar to the Glass Reflection Reviewer on YouTube. Why a grown ass man wears a children's coat doing anime reviews is a mystery to me, but I digress.
Anyway, the first three or six episodes are an introduction into magic. They show the different elements such as earth, water, fire, as well as power circles, transmutations, and the history of Edward and Alphonso. They have episodes of Edward working with police to catch dangerous villains with Edward barely winning only with the help of the adults. They fight a priest, explosion guy, water/ice guy, and some souls encased in metal as well spend episodes visiting people, researching stuff, traveling, talking in the office, and getting repaired. A little girls is fused with a dog.
Story: 1. What is the point? Though alchemy or magic has a lot of diversity, it seems like a fighting gimmick. The writers didn't include alchemy to help human outside of fighting making it seem cheap. The story is there for the sake of story. You could substitute alchemy with any other power and get the same effect.
Maybe if the story first focused on how a boys passion became his undoing and road to redemption, it would have been easier to follow. But no. Edward loves alchemy and BLAM! He goes on an adventure. You just have to accept he is the Full Metal Alchemist and the Giant robot is his brother. I would not have mind filler episodes of Edward as a little kid with his brother as they toy with alchemy.
Art: 3. The fight scenes are nice, but the settings are repetitive: the office, the dungeon, the alley way, the trolley, the characters. The pans of long exposition seem to droll on and on. They show very little B-footage of the area and you can sometimes get lost knowing where you are. How far is this office from that street? Where did they travel? This detracts from the experience.
Sound:3. The soundtrack is heart wrenching especially in the flashbacks, but these moments are few. The dub is completely out of sync with the characters and setting. If you have Netflix put the English with English subtitles and you can see the actors adding words awkwardly. In English, it sounds weird to hear them droll on about transmutation, alchemy, powers, and fighting. Watching it in subtitles, helps curb the surrealism.
Characters:1. This is where FMA:B lacks the most. You can't possibly get hooked after watching the first ten episodes given all the content shoved in your face. On paper, Edward has potential to have a great backstory, but it is never tapped into to hook audiences. It is very easy for the audience to dismiss feelings toward any of the characters.
Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood is boring. After watching 10 episodes , a couple in between, and the ending, it is still boring and a story you could live without. It's too long and too weird. If your looking for anime, you could find many other great shows equaling 64 episodes.
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