Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Series Review)

Edward and Alphonse Elric committed the ultimate taboo by attempting to bring the mother back from the dead using alchemy. It cost Edward his arm and leg and Alphonse his entire body. Can they use alchemy to recover their bodies?
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Series Review)
What did you watch?
Back in 2009, I wasn’t watching a lot of anime. I had spent most of the nineties watching everything I could get my hands on, but that died off after the turn of the century due to work and family life. So, I didn’t watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood when it came out. My anime renaisence began a couple of years later and the idea of tackling a sixty-four episode series was tempting, but also daunting. It was one that I had always meant to get to but never found the time. So, when I took a step back from seasonal shows, I decided I would finally do it. Now, some sixty-four weeks later, I have reviewed every episode. So, now for the big question – was it worth it?

What happened?
Edward and Alphonse were only children when they committed the taboo that cost them their bodies. Even so, Edward was asked to become a state alchemist by an aspiring officer, Roy Mustang. He told Edward that by being a state alchemist he would have access to the people, places, and funds to continue their search for their bodies. He agreed and became the youngest state alchemist. Alponse was not given an official title, but everyone accepted that they came as a pair.
As they searched for a philosopher’s stone, they uncovered a sinister plot that would impact the entire country of Amestris, possibly even the world. Soon they would learn the disturbing truth of the philosopher’s stone. As with everything in life, there is always a cost. In alchemy that is known as equivalent exchange and it’s one of the most fundamental principles. Will Edward and Alphonse be able to recover their bodies and will they finally learn the truth?

What did you think?
So, I loved this series. I loved how epic it was and how it was given the time to develop the story and the characters. The fact that it wasn’t squeezed into a twelve-episode season or even several seasons made the difference. The story flows throughout. There’s foreshadowing at early stages that would have been committed in a seasonal format because it would have been forgotten or deemed not relevant yet. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is as good as it is because it was made this way. As such, I don’t think it’s fair to compare it to other anime shows. It’s like trying to compare a movie franchise that was made over a number of years to the Lord of the Rings movies that were made as one thing. Personally, I’d love to see more shows made this way. This is a masterpiece and this approach paid a big part in that.

What was your favourite moment?
I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to go about picking a favourite moment. There were so many great moments and for so many reasons too. I loved the fight between Scar and King Bradley, but Fu and King Bradley were also good. I loved the moment Hohenheim trapped Pride inside a prison made of dirt. Even the flashbacks were amazing such as the fall of Xerxes or the Extermination of Ishval. This series has it all. The most heartbreaking moment had to be the death of Maes Hughes. We had to live through that over and over again as different characters discovered what happened to him. Honestly, there’s just too much to choose from.

What was your least favourite moment?
I don’t think there was really anything that could have been considered filler in the series and that’s amazing for a show as long as this one. My least favourite was the moment that probably had the biggest impact on Edward and Alphonse. That was the moment that discovered that a state alchemist, Shou Tucker had used his daughter and his dog to create a talking chimaera. There was nothing that they could do to reverse the process and that hit them hard. It was the most shocking moment in the series and one that’s hard to forget.

Who was your favourite character?
The easy answer is Olivier Mira Armstrong. She is amazing. If you’ve seen many of my reviews, you would have known that long before I said it. She is practically the stereotypical strong female character with a sword. I see a lot of similarities between her and General Esdeath from Akame ga Kill which obviously makes it an easy choice.

Who was your least favourite Elric?
Normally, this would be my least favourite character and that would obviously be Shou Tucker, but the less said about him the better. So, I thought I should talk about the Elric brothers. If I’m completely honest, I don’t really like Edward. I think he’s a great character and I understand him, but I never really liked him. Alphonse on the other hand was far more interesting, especially as it explored the idea of whether he was real and how could he know that. He was also the nicer of the two and I felt like he made the tougher decision, even sacrificing himself to get Edward his arm back.

Would you like some more?
I understand that there are a couple of movies and some spin-off stuff which I do plan on watching at some point. I’m also wondering whether I should give the original series a go to see how different they are. So, yes, I would like some more. The world was fascinating and there were some amazing characters that could all be explored in greater detail. This was a great series.

What have you learnt?
I’m going to go back to the Lord of the Rings comparison again as I think it’s a really important lesson. The first time I tried to write a series of novellas, I wrote the first draft for twenty-six volumes before publishing any. I maintain that it was a good plan and one that I should have stuck with, especially as that was the halfway point in the story. The problem was I lost my resolve and started publishing them. It took the steam out of the project and I ended up stopping at volume eight, partially because of a family event, but only partially.
So, what I’m taking away from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the need to complete the story first. By doing that, you can put more foreshadowing into the edits, you can tighten up the plot and make everything work seamlessly. Sure, it takes patience and commitment, but I think the end product will be worth it. Just look at this series. At the moment, it’s an outlier because of the process behind it. I’d love for this to become the blueprint for how to make incredible shows.

Other Posts in the Series
- Series Review
- Episode 1 – Fullmetal Alchemist
- Episode 2 – The First Day
- Episode 3 – City of Heresy
- Episode 4 – An Alchemist’s Anguish
- Episode 5 – Rain of Sorrows
- Episode 6 – Road of Hope
- Episode 7 – Hidden Truths
- Episode 8 – The Fifth Laboratory
- Episode 9 – Created Feelings
- Episode 10 – Separate Destinations
- Episode 11 – Miracle at Rush Valley
- Episode 12 – One is All, All is One
- Episode 13 – Beasts of Dublith
- Episode 14 – Those Who Lurk Underground
- Episode 15 – Envoy From the East
- Episode 16 – Footsteps of a Comrade-in-Arms
- Episode 17 – Cold Flame
- Episode 18 – The Arrogant Palm of a Small Human
- Episode 19 – Death of the Undying
- Episode 20 – Father Before the Grave
- Episode 21 – Advance of the Fool
- Episode 22 – Backs in the Distance
- Episode 23 – Girl on the Battlefield
- Episode 24 – Inside the Belly
- Episode 25 – Doorway of Darkness
- Episode 26 – Reunion
- Episode 27 – Interlude Party
- Episode 28 – Father
- Episode 29 – Struggle of the Fool
- Episode 30 – The Ishvalan War of Extermination
- Episode 31 – The 520 Cens Promise
- Episode 32 – The Fuhrer’s Son
- Episode 33 – The Northern Wall of Briggs
- Episode 34 – Ice Queen
- Episode 35 – The Shape of This Country
- Episode 36 – Family Portrait
- Episode 37 – The First Homunculus
- Episode 38 – Conflict at Baschool
- Episode 39 – Daydream
- Episode 40 – The Dwarf in the Flask
- Episode 41 – The Abyss
- Episode 42 – Signs of a Counter-Offensive
- Episode 43 – Bite of the Ant
- Episode 44 – Revving at Full-throttle
- Episode 45 – The Promised Day
- Episode 46 – Looming Shadows
- Episode 47 – Emissary of Darkness
- Episode 48 – The Oath in the Tunnel
- Episode 49 – Filial Affection
- Episode 50 – Upheaval in Central
- Episode 51 – The Immortal Legion
- Episode 52 – Combined Strength
- Episode 53 – Flame of Vengeance
- Episode 54 – Beyond the Inferno
- Episode 55 – The Adults’ Way of Life
- Episode 56 – The Return of the Fuhrer
- Episode 57 – Eternal Leave
- Episode 58 – Sacrifices
- Episode 59 – Lost Light
- Episode 60 – Eye of Heaven, Gateway of Earth
- Episode 61 – He Who Would Swallow God
- Episode 62 – A Fierce Counterattack
- Episode 63 – The Other Side of the Gateway
- Episode 64 – Journey’s End
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