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* DracoInLeatherPants: Envy gets even more of this (sometimes) than he does in ''Brotherhood'', likely due to people finding his motivation of [[spoiler:being the failed transmutation of Dante and Hohenheim's son, and resenting his father and half-brothers due to being abandoned]] more understandable (never mind he's a ''total sadist'' and gleefully enjoys toying with their victims by taking the shape of their loved ones). But it's to the point where some fangirls seem to forget that he's so evil; some of them even [[FoeYayShipping ship him with Ed]]! He gets extra points from viewers who are more [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids cynically minded]], as they find his characterization and especially death in the ''Brotherhood'' to be eye-rolling at best and downright obnoxious AuthorTract at worst.
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* DracoInLeatherPants: Envy gets even more of this (sometimes) than he does in ''Brotherhood'', likely due to people finding his motivation of [[spoiler:being the failed transmutation of Dante and Hohenheim's son, and resenting his father and half-brothers due to being abandoned]] more understandable (never mind he's a ''total sadist'' and gleefully enjoys toying with their victims by taking the shape of their loved ones). But it's to the point where some fangirls seem to forget that he's so evil; some of them even [[FoeYayShipping ship him with Ed]]! He gets extra points from viewers who are more [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids cynically minded]], as they find his characterization and especially death in the ''Brotherhood'' to be eye-rolling at best and downright obnoxious AuthorTract at worst.
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* DracoInLeatherPants: Envy gets even more of this (sometimes) than he does in ''Brotherhood'', likely due to people finding his motivation of [[spoiler:being the failed transmutation of Dante and Hohenheim's son, and resenting his father and half-brothers due to being abandoned]] more understandable (never mind he's a ''total sadist'' and gleefully enjoys toying with their victims by taking the shape of their loved ones). But it's to the point where some fangirls seem to forget that he's so evil; some of them even [[FoeYayShipping ship him with Ed]]!
to:
* DracoInLeatherPants: Envy gets even more of this (sometimes) than he does in ''Brotherhood'', likely due to people finding his motivation of [[spoiler:being the failed transmutation of Dante and Hohenheim's son, and resenting his father and half-brothers due to being abandoned]] more understandable (never mind he's a ''total sadist'' and gleefully enjoys toying with their victims by taking the shape of their loved ones). But it's to the point where some fangirls seem to forget that he's so evil; some of them even [[FoeYayShipping ship him with Ed]]!Ed]]! He gets extra points from viewers who are more [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids cynically minded]], as they find his characterization and especially death in the ''Brotherhood'' to be eye-rolling at best and downright obnoxious AuthorTract at worst.
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** Many FMA fans really like the anime version of Sloth. Some even prefer her to the manga's version, which is quite a feat, since the other two [[CanonForeigner "replacement Homunculi"]] ([[CreepyChild Wrath]] and [[PresidentEvil Pride]]) are divisive. It probably helps that she has [[DarkAndTroubledPast a little more depth]] than Manga!Sloth, and that she's [[MsFanservice not too hard on the eyes]] either.
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** Many FMA fans really like the anime version of Sloth. Some even prefer her to the manga's version, which is quite a feat, since the other two [[CanonForeigner "replacement Homunculi"]] ([[CreepyChild Wrath]] and [[PresidentEvil Pride]]) are divisive. It probably helps that she has [[DarkAndTroubledPast a little more depth]] than Manga!Sloth, and that she's [[MsFanservice [[SexySecretary not too hard on the eyes]] either.
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Evil Is Sexy has been dewicked.
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** Many FMA fans really like the anime version of Sloth. Some even prefer her to the manga's version, which is quite a feat, since the other two [[CanonForeigner "replacement Homunculi"]] ([[CreepyChild Wrath]] and [[PresidentEvil Pride]]) are divisive. It probably helps that she has [[DarkAndTroubledPast a little more depth]] than Manga!Sloth, and that she's [[EvilIsSexy not too hard on the eyes]] either.
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** Many FMA fans really like the anime version of Sloth. Some even prefer her to the manga's version, which is quite a feat, since the other two [[CanonForeigner "replacement Homunculi"]] ([[CreepyChild Wrath]] and [[PresidentEvil Pride]]) are divisive. It probably helps that she has [[DarkAndTroubledPast a little more depth]] than Manga!Sloth, and that she's [[EvilIsSexy [[MsFanservice not too hard on the eyes]] either.
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* EvilIsSexy:
** Lust. Even more so here, where she gets deeper characterization and an arc, making her a fan favorite.
** Envy seems to [[LauncherOfAThousandShips get around pretty well]] in fanfiction for one of the most unambiguously evil characters in the series.
** Lust. Even more so here, where she gets deeper characterization and an arc, making her a fan favorite.
** Envy seems to [[LauncherOfAThousandShips get around pretty well]] in fanfiction for one of the most unambiguously evil characters in the series.
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* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being {{Race Lift}}ed from light-skinned Amestrians in a mountainous region to a different, darker-skinned ethnic group in a desert region. This is despite the fact that WordOfGod says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan who mainly live in her native Hokkaido.
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* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being {{Race Lift}}ed from light-skinned Amestrians in a mountainous region to a different, darker-skinned ethnic group in a desert region. This is despite the fact that WordOfGod says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan and eastern Russia who mainly live in were the original inhabitants of her native Hokkaido.
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** Scar gets more focus in the 03 fandom as well, likely due to being drawn as younger (and sexier), being more of an AntiHero who never quite joins the heroes' side, his backstory [[spoiler:with his unrequited love for the woman Lust used to be]], and the greater focus on the Ishbalan characters in general.
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** Scar gets more focus in the 03 fandom as well, likely due to being drawn as younger (and sexier), being more of an AntiHero who never quite joins the heroes' side, his backstory [[spoiler:with his unrequited love for the woman Lust used to be]], and the greater focus on the Ishbalan characters in general. To a number of fans, his story arc framing [[TheExtremistWasRight his actions against the military as being entirely justified]] and holding them accountable in ways that his manga and ''Brotherhood'' counterpart never did, all the while having a poignant end relating to Al's brotherly relationship to Edward (mirroring his own brother) only strengthened his character's depth.
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A Designated Villain must be an outright villain. Ed is still the Hero Protagonist in this episode, and it has deliberately gray and confusing morality anyway.
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* DesignatedVillain: Ed [[TemporarilyAVillain temporarily]] plays this role in "The Phantom Thief"; he's supposed to seem like an InspectorJavert for wanting to track down and arrest Psiren, but given the fact that she's a thief and a liar, is causing property damage and ''tries to kill him later'', it's hard to see his actions as unjustified. The ending somewhat frames both Ed and Psiren as right, as it's clear no sane person would allow Psiren to run free like Ed, but Psiren's thievery really is looked upon favorably by the townspeople.
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** Dante [[spoiler:being the main antagonist.]] Some compare her favorably to [[spoiler:Father, as contrasted with his often-criticized portrayal as a GenericDoomsdayVillain GodhoodSeeker]] Dante has plenty of personality, connection to the main cast, and horrifyingly selfish motivations. Others find her melodramatic, don't like how connected she (and the other Homunculi) are to the leads, and dislike her status as TheUnfought.
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** Dante [[spoiler:being the main antagonist.]] Some compare her favorably to [[spoiler:Father, as contrasted with his often-criticized portrayal as a GenericDoomsdayVillain GodhoodSeeker]] Dante has plenty of personality, connection to the main cast, and horrifyingly selfish motivations. Others find her melodramatic, don't like how connected she (and the other Homunculi) are to the leads, and dislike her status as TheUnfought.TheUnfought, and feel she lacks the strengths Father brings as a BigBad.
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** Dante [[spoiler:being the main antagonist.]] Some compare her favorably to Father, as contrasted with his often-criticized portrayal as a GenericDoomsdayVillain GodhoodSeeker Dante has plenty of personality, connection to the main cast, and horrifyingly selfish motivations. Others find her melodramatic, don't like how connected she (and the other Homunculi) are to the leads, and dislike her status as TheUnfought.
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** Dante [[spoiler:being the main antagonist.]] Some compare her favorably to Father, [[spoiler:Father, as contrasted with his often-criticized portrayal as a GenericDoomsdayVillain GodhoodSeeker GodhoodSeeker]] Dante has plenty of personality, connection to the main cast, and horrifyingly selfish motivations. Others find her melodramatic, don't like how connected she (and the other Homunculi) are to the leads, and dislike her status as TheUnfought.
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** Dante [[spoiler:being the main antagonist.]] Some compare her favorably to Father, as contrasted with his often-criticized portrayal as a GenericDoomsdayVillain GodhoodSeeker Dante has plenty of personality, connection to the main cast, and horrifyingly selfish motivations. Others find her melodramatic, don't like how connected she (and the other Homunculi) are to the leads, and dislike her status as TheUnfought.
* IncestYayShipping: Elricest (Alphonse and Edward) is a fairly popular ship among the fandom, though much moreso with 2003 fans than in the manga-verse due to the former series focusing on their relationship a lot more. The ending to the series, [[spoiler: with them being on the other side of the Gate away from their friends and in turn from love interests,]] only helped.
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%%* NarmCharm: How many fans feel about [[spoiler:[[FanNickname TerminArcher]].]]
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* AcceptableTargets: In the series, it's military corruption and racism. In the movie, it's [[spoiler:Nazis and their othering of Jews and Romani people]].
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** Cornello crosses it when he needlessly tries to murder Rose by using a chimera made out of multiple dead birds.
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** The Homunculi [[spoiler:being the result of Human Transmutation]]. On the one hand, this gives the Homunculi more backstory, and some feel it made them far more interesting characters than in the manga. On the other hand, their existence goes against the story's theme of AllDeathsAreFinal, especially since some of them start to regain memories of their former lives. Another point of contention is [[spoiler:the Homunculi's human remains being their KryptoniteFactor]]. Some think that it's an interesting twist, but it gets cheapened by the fact that most of the Homunculi were once people connected to the main cast, so they end up knowing whose grave to dig. Some think that it takes out a lot of the strategy it took to beat the Homunculi in the manga.
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** The Homunculi [[spoiler:being the result of Human Transmutation]].Transmutation]] in this version. On the one hand, this gives the Homunculi more backstory, and some feel it made them far more interesting characters than in the manga. On the other hand, the nature of their existence origins goes against the story's theme of AllDeathsAreFinal, especially since some of them start to regain memories of their former lives. Another point of contention is [[spoiler:the Homunculi's human remains being their KryptoniteFactor]]. Some think that it's an interesting twist, but it gets cheapened by the fact that most of the Homunculi were once people connected to the main cast, so they end up knowing whose grave to dig. Some think that it takes out a lot of the strategy it took to beat the Homunculi in the manga.
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** The BigBad's identity and plans, that is [[spoiler:Dante]] and seeking [[spoiler:to preserve her inmortality by causing wars to make people desperate enough to create a Philosopher's stone (so that she then can snatch it without any effort)]] are supposed to be a big reveal, but the controversy behind the character has made it very well known, even to those that ''haven't seen the anime completely''.
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** The BigBad's identity and plans, that is [[spoiler:Dante]] and seeking [[spoiler:to preserve her inmortality immortality by causing wars to make people desperate enough to create a Philosopher's stone (so that she then can snatch it without any effort)]] are supposed to be a big reveal, but the controversy behind the character has made it very well known, even to those that ''haven't seen the anime completely''.
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** Episode 4's MonsterOfTheWeek, Majahal, is voiced in the English dub by Creator/KentWilliams. [[spoiler:The fact that he dies so nonchalantly at the end of the episode makes it rather humorous when his voice returns in ''Brotherhood'' as the BigBad, Father.]]
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* FanNickname: The anime is sometimes referred to as ''Feel''metal Alchemist due to its very emotionally driven storytelling.
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It doesn't apply because 1) the anime was successful 2) it's not constantly dark and 3) the audience does care about the characters, so this is not an example
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* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The most common criticism of the 2003 series that doesn't have to do with faithfulness to the manga. The anime starts out DarkerAndEdgier and only escalates as it goes on, and many feel its message winds up too cynical while its narrative tries too hard to show the unforgiving world the Elric brothers have stepped into. Nothing ever seems to go right for the heroes, while villains like Envy and Shou Tucker never get their comeuppance. ''Conqueror of Shamballa'' aimed to tie up threads from the bittersweet and open-ended finale, but many felt that movie's ending was still too dour a note to go out on, since after everything Ed and Al go through, the story ends with [[spoiler:them stuck on the other side of the gate, away from Winry and the rest of their friends, and Roy's goal not really going anywhere either. To make matters worse, the world the Elrics are now trapped in is on the verge of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII a devastating war]]]].
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* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
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* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
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* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: While the manga version makes some parallels between the Ishval conflict and UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror (though Hiromu Arakawa has said the Ishvalans were mainly inspired by the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan who mainly live in her native Hokkaido), then-nascent, this version makes far more references to it and is generally far more in tune with the cynical, highly-politicized zeitgeist of the '00s. [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 This wouldn't be the last time Seiji Mizushima worked on an anime after watching far too much CNN]].
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* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: While the original manga version makes some parallels between the Ishval conflict and UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror (though Hiromu Arakawa has said the Ishvalans were mainly inspired by the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan who mainly live in her native Hokkaido), then-nascent, this version makes far more references to it and is generally far more in tune with the cynical, highly-politicized zeitgeist of the '00s. [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 This wouldn't be the last time Seiji Mizushima worked on an anime after watching far too much CNN]].
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* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being {{Race Lift}}ed from light-skinned Amestrians in a mountainous region to a different, darker-skinned ethnic group in a desert region. This is despite the fact that WordOfGod says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan who now mainly live in her native Hokkaido.
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* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being {{Race Lift}}ed from light-skinned Amestrians in a mountainous region to a different, darker-skinned ethnic group in a desert region. This is despite the fact that WordOfGod says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan who now mainly live in her native Hokkaido.
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* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: There's significantly more unintentional IncestSubtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/''Brotherhood'', which is a large part of the reason why [[BrotherSisterIncest Ed/Al]] is as popular of a ship as it is (probably the second most popular slash pairing after Roy/Ed). The brothers' constant worrying about one another ends up unintentionally coming across as more romantic than familial, especially since they tend to spend more time together (while in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' they become separated from each other more often as the story progresses) and Ed gets less ShipTease with Winry than he does in the manga and ''Brotherhood''.
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* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: There's significantly more unintentional IncestSubtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/''Brotherhood'', which is a large part of the reason why [[BrotherSisterIncest Ed/Al]] is as popular of a ship as it is (probably the second most popular slash pairing after Roy/Ed). The brothers' constant worrying about one another ends up unintentionally coming across as more romantic than familial, especially since they tend to spend more time together (while in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' they become separated from each other more often as the story progresses) and Ed gets less ShipTease with Winry than he does in the manga and ''Brotherhood''.Winry.
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* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: There's significantly more unintentional IncestSubtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/''Brotherhood'', which is a large part of the reason why [[BrotherSisterIncest Ed/Al]] is as popular of a ship as it is (probably the second most popular slash pairing after Roy/Ed). The brothers' worry about one another ends up unintentionally coming across as more romantic than familial, especially since they tend to spend more time together (while in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' they become separated from each other more often as the story progresses) and Ed gets less ShipTease with Winry than he does in the manga and ''Brotherhood''.
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* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: There's significantly more unintentional IncestSubtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/''Brotherhood'', which is a large part of the reason why [[BrotherSisterIncest Ed/Al]] is as popular of a ship as it is (probably the second most popular slash pairing after Roy/Ed). The brothers' worry constant worrying about one another ends up unintentionally coming across as more romantic than familial, especially since they tend to spend more time together (while in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' they become separated from each other more often as the story progresses) and Ed gets less ShipTease with Winry than he does in the manga and ''Brotherhood''.
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* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being {{Race Lift}}ed from light-skinned Amestrians in a mountainous region to a different, darker-skinned ethnic group in a desert region. This is despite the fact that WordOfGod says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan who now mainly live in her native Hokkaido. Jacob Chapman goes into detail about these allegories [[https://weebservations.com/2020/11/25/weebsday-qa-11-25-2020/ here]].
to:
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being {{Race Lift}}ed from light-skinned Amestrians in a mountainous region to a different, darker-skinned ethnic group in a desert region. This is despite the fact that WordOfGod says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan who now mainly live in her native Hokkaido. Jacob Chapman goes into detail about these allegories [[https://weebservations.com/2020/11/25/weebsday-qa-11-25-2020/ here]].
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** Was the 2003 anime's ending excellent and original, passable, or a convoluted mess?
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** Was the 2003 anime's ending excellent and original, passable, or a convoluted mess?
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** Is [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime adaptation]] the superior work, merely a very well-done PragmaticAdaptation, or [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks a completely unacceptable mess that perverts the original source material]]?
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** Is [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime adaptation]] this the superior work, merely a very well-done PragmaticAdaptation, or [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks a completely unacceptable mess that perverts the original source material]]?
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* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: There's significantly more unintentional IncestSubtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/''Brotherhood'', which is a large part of the reason why [[BrotherSisterIncest Ed/Al]] is as popular of a ship as it is (probably the second most popular slash pairing after Roy/Ed). The brothers' worry about one another ends up unintentionally coming across as more romantic than familial, especially since they tend to spend more time together (while in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' they become seperated from each other more often) and Ed gets less ShipTease with Winry than he does in the manga and ''Brotherhood''.
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* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: There's significantly more unintentional IncestSubtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/''Brotherhood'', which is a large part of the reason why [[BrotherSisterIncest Ed/Al]] is as popular of a ship as it is (probably the second most popular slash pairing after Roy/Ed). The brothers' worry about one another ends up unintentionally coming across as more romantic than familial, especially since they tend to spend more time together (while in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' they become seperated separated from each other more often) often as the story progresses) and Ed gets less ShipTease with Winry than he does in the manga and ''Brotherhood''.
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** Hohenheim gets a lot more of it here than he did in Brotherhood (where he's more unambiguously benevolent): is he a wise [[TheAtoner atoner]] who feels bad for [[spoiler:all the [[BodySurf Body Surfing]] he's done]] or a suicidal {{Jerkass}} whose excuse to [[ParentalAbandonment abandon]] his children and wife Trisha doesn't cut the test and who [[spoiler:unintentionally helped the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]]]]?
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** Hohenheim gets a lot more of it here than he did in Brotherhood ''Brotherhood'' (where he's more unambiguously benevolent): is he a wise [[TheAtoner atoner]] who feels bad for [[spoiler:all the [[BodySurf Body Surfing]] he's done]] or a suicidal {{Jerkass}} whose excuse to [[ParentalAbandonment abandon]] his children and wife Trisha doesn't cut the test and who [[spoiler:unintentionally helped the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]]]]?
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** Kimblee, even among 2003 series purists, is hated by some fans for lacking any of his more noble qualities from the manga and for coming off as a generic mad bomber and a rather low-functioning sociopath. However, some like him for his unapologetic cruelty and defend that the 2003 series was made before the manga fleshed his character out. Arguably even more divisive are Kimblee's powers in the 2003 version: rather than creating an explosive reaction via chemical imbalance, he turns objects and living organisms into explosives. This effectively makes him far less of a direct threat than the Brotherhood version, who was one of the most dangerous and skilled alchemists in the series and came very close in killing ''Ed''. Kimblee in the 2003 anime is not only a poor and unskilled fighter in direct combat, he's also a mere fraction of the BloodKnight that his Brotherhood counterpart is. Additionally, he doesn't even seem to like combat that much, just wanton slaughter.
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** Kimblee, even among 2003 series purists, is hated by some fans for lacking any of his more noble qualities from the manga and for coming off as a generic mad bomber and a rather low-functioning sociopath. However, some like him for his unapologetic cruelty and defend that the 2003 series was made before the manga fleshed his character out. Arguably even more divisive are Kimblee's powers in the 2003 version: rather than creating an explosive reaction via chemical imbalance, he turns objects and living organisms into explosives. This effectively makes him far less of a direct threat than the Brotherhood ''Brotherhood'' version, who was one of the most dangerous and skilled alchemists in the series and came very close in killing ''Ed''. Kimblee in the 2003 anime is not only a poor and unskilled fighter in direct combat, he's also a mere fraction of the BloodKnight that his Brotherhood ''Brotherhood'' counterpart is. Additionally, he doesn't even seem to like combat that much, just wanton slaughter.
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** Is Winry's and Edward's relationship [[LikeBrotherAndSister familial]] or romantic? Or better said: "Who is supposed to be Ed's TRUE love interest?" In theory, it is supposed to be [[spoiler:Rosé]], but in practice she ends up acting more like a character with an unrequited love, rather than an actual LoveInterest. To muddle the waters further, by Conqueror of Shamballa, the movie has much more ShipTease between Winry and Ed than with Noah, and [[spoiler:Rosé]] gets none.
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** Is Winry's and Edward's relationship [[LikeBrotherAndSister familial]] or romantic? Or better said: "Who is supposed to be Ed's TRUE love interest?" In theory, it is supposed to be [[spoiler:Rosé]], but in practice she ends up acting more like a character with an unrequited love, rather than an actual LoveInterest. To muddle the waters further, by Conqueror ''Conqueror of Shamballa, Shamballa'', the movie has much more ShipTease between Winry and Ed than with Noah, and [[spoiler:Rosé]] gets none.
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* HesJustHiding: A considerable amount of people insist that by the end of the series, [[spoiler:Dante was just dragged back down into the lost city while trying to fend Gluttony off and eventually died due to her body rotting completely. Other group insists that she might have survived.]] Nevermind that in Conqueror of Shamballa [[spoiler:Gluttony is a gargantous obese monstrosity that roams around the subterranean city that is incredibly fast and unhinged, attacking everything in sight, leaving any possibilities of her having prolonged her time before her eventual demise very unlikely]].
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* HesJustHiding: A considerable amount of people insist that by the end of the series, [[spoiler:Dante was just dragged back down into the lost city while trying to fend Gluttony off and eventually died due to her body rotting completely. Other group insists that she might have survived.]] Nevermind that in Conqueror ''Conqueror of Shamballa Shamballa'' [[spoiler:Gluttony is a gargantous obese monstrosity that roams around the subterranean city that is incredibly fast and unhinged, attacking everything in sight, leaving any possibilities of her having prolonged her time before her eventual demise very unlikely]].
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* MagnificentBastard: See [[MagnificentBastard/FullmetalAlchemist here]].
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* CompleteMonster: See [[Monster/FullmetalAlchemist here]].
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[[folder:2003 Anime]]
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[[/folder]]
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[[folder:2003 Anime]]
* AngstWhatAngst: Being [[spoiler:kidnapped and nearly killed by a serial murderer]] would traumatize most people for life, but [[spoiler:Winry]] seems to bounce back pretty quickly.
* AcceptableTargets: In the series, it's military corruption and racism. In the movie, it's [[spoiler:Nazis and their othering of Jews and Romani people]].
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** Hohenheim gets a lot more of it here than he did in Brotherhood (where he's more unambiguously benevolent): is he a wise [[TheAtoner atoner]] who feels bad for [[spoiler:all the [[BodySurf Body Surfing]] he's done]] or a suicidal {{Jerkass}} whose excuse to [[ParentalAbandonment abandon]] his children and wife Trisha doesn't cut the test and who [[spoiler:unintentionally helped the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]]]]?
** Scar gets a lot more of this in this version of things, as he never gives up violence or joins the heroes' side. This is intentional, though: the 2003 anime is not as anti-violence as the manga and ''Brotherhood'' are and Scar's arc lacks the same message about breaking the cycle of revenge. The series instead wants the viewers to consider how much power for change someone like Scar has in a system that is stacked against him.
* AssPull: Some consider the AlternateUniverse twist as this. There is some {{Foreshadowing}} [[note]] see the main page for more detail [[/note]], but much of it is easily missed, meaning unless you're ''very'' attentive or already know about the twist, you probably won't connect the dots on your first watch.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** Michiru Oshima's score is considered to be a masterpiece. The openings and endings aren't anything to sneeze at either.
** Several tracks stand out in particular, such as Bratja and Dante's various themes.
** The "Kelas" dance song from the movie soundtrack.
** "Regret", the song played entirely on the harmonica that plays during Mustang's flashback of the Ishbal war in Episode 13.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwY4lilrJv4 "YOU'RE GETTING ATTACKED BY GERMAN ZEPPELINS, HAVE SOME BEETHOVEN".]]
** They used Chopin's "Tristesse" ("Sadness") etude for the final scene at the Gate and for Edward's last appearance in the show. The piano piece is accompanied by strings and it's heartbreakingly beautiful. (It's also a common choice of classical music in anime soundtracks, especially for ending episodes, but it is particularly well-placed here for how it expresses the bittersweetness of the ending.)
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Pride, Wrath and Rosé are among the most polarizing characters. In the case of the latter, this is probably why she suffers DieForOurShip more often than Ed's other love interests (with the exception of [[TheScrappy her double]] in ''Conqueror of Shamballa''). In Wrath's case, he and Pride are not well liked as "replacement Homunculi" (ironically, [[spoiler:they're almost a flip-flop of the manga version, where ''Wrath'' is the president and ''Pride'' is a creepy little kid]]), and Pride/[[spoiler:King Bradley]] in particular is hated for [[spoiler:going through a mix of serious BadassDecay and AdaptationalVillainy]], and overall not getting much of a backstory or characterization. Wrath does have a substantial numbers of defenders, though.
** Kimblee, even among 2003 series purists, is hated by some fans for lacking any of his more noble qualities from the manga and for coming off as a generic mad bomber and a rather low-functioning sociopath. However, some like him for his unapologetic cruelty and defend that the 2003 series was made before the manga fleshed his character out. Arguably even more divisive are Kimblee's powers in the 2003 version: rather than creating an explosive reaction via chemical imbalance, he turns objects and living organisms into explosives. This effectively makes him far less of a direct threat than the Brotherhood version, who was one of the most dangerous and skilled alchemists in the series and came very close in killing ''Ed''. Kimblee in the 2003 anime is not only a poor and unskilled fighter in direct combat, he's also a mere fraction of the BloodKnight that his Brotherhood counterpart is. Additionally, he doesn't even seem to like combat that much, just wanton slaughter.
* BrokenBase:
** Is [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime adaptation]] the superior work, merely a very well-done PragmaticAdaptation, or [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks a completely unacceptable mess that perverts the original source material]]?
** Was the 2003 anime's ending excellent and original, passable, or a convoluted mess?
** Is Winry's and Edward's relationship [[LikeBrotherAndSister familial]] or romantic? Or better said: "Who is supposed to be Ed's TRUE love interest?" In theory, it is supposed to be [[spoiler:Rosé]], but in practice she ends up acting more like a character with an unrequited love, rather than an actual LoveInterest. To muddle the waters further, by Conqueror of Shamballa, the movie has much more ShipTease between Winry and Ed than with Noah, and [[spoiler:Rosé]] gets none.
** Was Rosé's subplot of [[spoiler:RapeAsDrama and being turned into a (presumed) LoveInterest and the BigBad's choice for a new vessel]] a neat idea to show the horrors of war and humanity, or an stupid "grimdark" move that doesn't have any real relevance in the plot? It could be cut out and the plotline wouldn't be affected by its removal at all (as she recovers rather fast, as if nothing happened), and it only serves to [[spoiler:push her in the role of love interest and utterly destroys the Aesop that Ed told her of moving on and standing up on her own, as she ended up becoming Cornello's replacement. It doesn't help that her role in the story pushes Winry out of the plot as it goes on, which is either welcome for those who don't like Winry, or annoying for those who like Winry.]]
** The plot twist of the Gate being connected to an AlternateUniverse and alchemy being fueled by the souls of the alternate universe is pretty divisive, with some considering it a brilliant way of twisting the concept of equivalent exchange and showing that true equivalent exchange was impossible... and others just feel that regardless of its foreshadowing, it felt like a crazy twist mainly done for the sake of surprising the audience.
** The Homunculi [[spoiler:being the result of Human Transmutation]]. On the one hand, this gives the Homunculi more backstory, and some feel it made them far more interesting characters than in the manga. On the other hand, their existence goes against the story's theme of AllDeathsAreFinal, especially since some of them start to regain memories of their former lives. Another point of contention is [[spoiler:the Homunculi's human remains being their KryptoniteFactor]]. Some think that it's an interesting twist, but it gets cheapened by the fact that most of the Homunculi were once people connected to the main cast, so they end up knowing whose grave to dig. Some think that it takes out a lot of the strategy it took to beat the Homunculi in the manga.
* DesignatedVillain: Ed [[TemporarilyAVillain temporarily]] plays this role in "The Phantom Thief"; he's supposed to seem like an InspectorJavert for wanting to track down and arrest Psiren, but given the fact that she's a thief and a liar, is causing property damage and ''tries to kill him later'', it's hard to see his actions as unjustified. The ending somewhat frames both Ed and Psiren as right, as it's clear no sane person would allow Psiren to run free like Ed, but Psiren's thievery really is looked upon favorably by the townspeople.
* DieForOurShip: [[TheWoobie Rosé]] gets it a lot from some Edwin shippers and YaoiFangirls. Even with all the horrible things that happened to her, getting an [[AscendedExtra expanded role in this version]] did not help her with shippers. And in turn, a lot of Ed/Rosé fans hate Winry; YaoiFangirls generally tend to leave her alone, though, as it's more common for them to make [=AlWin=] ShipMates with [=RoyEd=].
* DracoInLeatherPants: Envy gets even more of this (sometimes) than he does in ''Brotherhood'', likely due to people finding his motivation of [[spoiler:being the failed transmutation of Dante and Hohenheim's son, and resenting his father and half-brothers due to being abandoned]] more understandable (never mind he's a ''total sadist'' and gleefully enjoys toying with their victims by taking the shape of their loved ones). But it's to the point where some fangirls seem to forget that he's so evil; some of them even [[FoeYayShipping ship him with Ed]]!
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Many FMA fans really like the anime version of Sloth. Some even prefer her to the manga's version, which is quite a feat, since the other two [[CanonForeigner "replacement Homunculi"]] ([[CreepyChild Wrath]] and [[PresidentEvil Pride]]) are divisive. It probably helps that she has [[DarkAndTroubledPast a little more depth]] than Manga!Sloth, and that she's [[EvilIsSexy not too hard on the eyes]] either.
** Lust's expanded role and backstory in this version [[spoiler:and eventual HeelFaceTurn]] made her incredibly popular with the 2003 fanbase.
** Similar to Lust, Marta's larger role and her companionship with the Elrics won her a lot of fans.
** Scar gets more focus in the 03 fandom as well, likely due to being drawn as younger (and sexier), being more of an AntiHero who never quite joins the heroes' side, his backstory [[spoiler:with his unrequited love for the woman Lust used to be]], and the greater focus on the Ishbalan characters in general.
* EvilIsSexy:
** Lust. Even more so here, where she gets deeper characterization and an arc, making her a fan favorite.
** Envy seems to [[LauncherOfAThousandShips get around pretty well]] in fanfiction for one of the most unambiguously evil characters in the series.
* FanonDiscontinuity:
** "''Conqueror of Shamballa'' never happened" is one of the most common types of FMA FixFic. At the very least, fandom likes to disregard or work around its ending (which [[spoiler:traps Ed and Al forever in our world, a universe away from all their friends and family]] -- aka, away from nearly all of the people they're shipped with in fanfiction).
** The two early filler episodes, episode 4 "A Forger's Love" and episode 10 "The Phantom Thief," are usually considered pretty skippable, especially the latter as it has no connection to the series' larger plot of characters (where episode 4 arguably provides some foreshadowing, and is thematically similar to other early episodic adventures involving the homunculi). Episode 10 is just a parody of/homage to other anime that were popular around the time of the first anime's release.
* GeniusBonus:
** Roy Mustang quotes ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' during his battle with Ed in episode 13 "Fullmetal vs. Flame."
** TheMovie, ''The Conqueror of Shamballa'', is a much richer experience if you're familiar with [[UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic the history of Germany in the 1920s]]. It's to the extent that not knowing anything about it might detract from the experience, if the numerous incredulous Tumblr posts accusing it of GodwinsLaw (for including Nazis and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch) are any indication.
* HesJustHiding: A considerable amount of people insist that by the end of the series, [[spoiler:Dante was just dragged back down into the lost city while trying to fend Gluttony off and eventually died due to her body rotting completely. Other group insists that she might have survived.]] Nevermind that in Conqueror of Shamballa [[spoiler:Gluttony is a gargantous obese monstrosity that roams around the subterranean city that is incredibly fast and unhinged, attacking everything in sight, leaving any possibilities of her having prolonged her time before her eventual demise very unlikely]].
* HilariousInHindsight:
** In episode 22, Envy asks Ed if he wants him to turn into a taller version of Ed. Then comes episode 50 [[spoiler:and we find out Envy was Hohenheim's first son and looks a lot like a taller version of Ed]].
** At the end of the (non-canonical) OVA "Kids", there is a prominently displayed photograph of an elderly Ed shaking hands with an important-looking, formally dressed man who bears a moderate resemblance to UsefulNotes/BarackObama. (The OVA was made more than three years before he was elected President of the United States.)
** In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' Vic Mignogna voices Qrow, who affectionately calls his niece "pipsqueak." This is funny enough due to Ed's BerserkButton, but then at the end of Season 4 he gets to say it to a guy voiced by Aaron Dismuke.
** In episode 15, when Roy admonishes Hughes for not helping in the fight against Scar, Hughes responds with "I'm as normal as they come and this is a contest of freaks! What do you want me to do, shoot my slingshot at him?". [[Creator/SonnyStrait Sonny Strait]], Hughes' voice actor, would later go onto voice [[Manga/OnePiece someone who is quite proficient with a slingshot]].
* ItWasHisSled:
** The twist [[spoiler:that behind the Gate is "our world"]] has long since stopped being a spoiler, expected as the series is a major GatewaySeries and one of the most popular anime (especially shonen anime) of the New Millennium. TheMovie only made it less of a spoiler.
** The BigBad's identity and plans, that is [[spoiler:Dante]] and seeking [[spoiler:to preserve her inmortality by causing wars to make people desperate enough to create a Philosopher's stone (so that she then can snatch it without any effort)]] are supposed to be a big reveal, but the controversy behind the character has made it very well known, even to those that ''haven't seen the anime completely''.
* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Envy was a big one for this series, despite being even more evil here. Ed in particular is even ''more'' of a "fandom bicycle" among the 03 fans, since he never got a canonical love interest in this version.
* MemeticMutation:
** Roy Mustang [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-RUSFq16Wo&feature=related loves dogs.]]
** Roy Mustang has a dream once he becomes Fuhrer. It involves female officers and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJUlTg3mfTo tiny miniskirts]].
* MoralEventHorizon:
** Crossed by the Homunculi several times. Envy crosses it with [[spoiler:the murder of Hughes]] and enjoys dancing over it again and again. Depending on who you ask, [[spoiler:Bradley]]'s came with either [[spoiler:Marta or Selim's murder]], or TheReveal that [[spoiler:he engineered the Ishbalan War to try to make a Philosopher's Stone, and wants Lior to be a repeat of Ishbal]]. [[spoiler:Dante's]] comes when we learn about her body-swapping, even before it's revealed just how many lives she's taken in her [[OlderThanSheLooks centuries-long]] quest for immortality.
** VillainOfTheWeek Majhal crosses it when he tries to transfer the soul of [[WouldHurtAChild a young child]] into a doll shaped in the likeness of his lost love.
* {{Narm}}: [[Narm/FullMetalAlchemist Has its own page.]]
%%* NarmCharm: How many fans feel about [[spoiler:[[FanNickname TerminArcher]].]]
* NoYay:
** [[spoiler:Dante]] hitting on Ed. It gets even worse when you consider that she's mainly doing it to "be loved by the son of Hohenheim."
** There's also a bit of [[spoiler:LesYay between Dante, in Lyra's body, and Rosé]]... which [[GirlOnGirlIsHot wouldn't have been that bad]], were it not for the fact that [[spoiler:Lyra's body [[{{Squick}} was rotting]] and she wants to take Rosé as her next one]].
** And then there's the fangirls who ship Kimblee with [[SociopathicSoldier Archer]]. As if the fact that they're both psychopaths wasn't bad enough, one of them is a ''half-mechanical {{cyborg}}''! If it was [[UnholyMatrimony ''because'']] they're both psychopaths, that might not be so bad, but [[DracoInLeatherPants that's clearly not the case.]]
** The episode with Psiren, where she repeatedly unzips her outfit in front of Ed, and makes some decidedly seductive remarks? At this time, Ed is 15 years old.
** The tendency of Envy to be a LauncherOfAThousandShips among some parts of the fanbase, tends to have this reaction among the rest.
* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: There's significantly more unintentional IncestSubtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/''Brotherhood'', which is a large part of the reason why [[BrotherSisterIncest Ed/Al]] is as popular of a ship as it is (probably the second most popular slash pairing after Roy/Ed). The brothers' worry about one another ends up unintentionally coming across as more romantic than familial, especially since they tend to spend more time together (while in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' they become seperated from each other more often) and Ed gets less ShipTease with Winry than he does in the manga and ''Brotherhood''.
* RewatchBonus:
** Everything [[spoiler:"Lyra"]] does after Greed comes to Dante's mansion.
** The twist about where the Gate leads is actually pretty well foreshadowed if you pay attention to some seemingly superfluous details (like the visions Ed recalls from when he was in the Gate, or music characters are humming/whistling). It's way easier to pick up on re-watch after you know that twist.
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The 2003 anime was hugely popular when it first aired, both in Japan and among English-speaking fans, though even then it had some detractors who didn't like how much it deviated from the original manga (particularly with its DarkerAndEdgier tone). When [[TruerToTheText a more faithful anime adaptation of the manga]] aired in 2009, it eventually supplanted the 2003 anime in the popular zeitgeist completely. Nowadays, it's difficult for many anime fans to see just how popular the 2003 anime was, especially those who were too young to have watched it when it first came out.
* {{Squick}}: The scene where Izumi Curtis eats that crumb off of the island boy's face was done in a manner that suggested it was supposed to come off as sweet, but it ended up more gross than anything.
* StoicWoobie: Lust. Mustang can give off this impression sometimes, considering his guilt over his part in the Ishbalan war.
* SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing: Formal reviews of the series rarely pass up mentioning the overall quality of the voicework in the English version. It helps that all of the actors involved ''loved'' the series to death and put their hearts into it.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Many (though certainly not all) of the complaints about this series come from fans of the manga, rather than from those who saw it as a standalone series. Conversely, those introduced to ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' through the 2003 anime sometimes have this attitude towards ''Brotherhood.''
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Despite the AdaptationExpansion with the Homonculi and their backstories, Gluttony is the only one who never has his backstory revealed. With his childish behavior and the fact that he looks like a giant baby, he could have been the Homuculus that was transmuted from [[spoiler: Izumi's miscarried child instead of Wrath]].
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The most common criticism of the 2003 series that doesn't have to do with faithfulness to the manga. The anime starts out DarkerAndEdgier and only escalates as it goes on, and many feel its message winds up too cynical while its narrative tries too hard to show the unforgiving world the Elric brothers have stepped into. Nothing ever seems to go right for the heroes, while villains like Envy and Shou Tucker never get their comeuppance. ''Conqueror of Shamballa'' aimed to tie up threads from the bittersweet and open-ended finale, but many felt that movie's ending was still too dour a note to go out on, since after everything Ed and Al go through, the story ends with [[spoiler:them stuck on the other side of the gate, away from Winry and the rest of their friends, and Roy's goal not really going anywhere either. To make matters worse, the world the Elrics are now trapped in is on the verge of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII a devastating war]]]].
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: While the manga version makes some parallels between the Ishval conflict and UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror (though Hiromu Arakawa has said the Ishvalans were mainly inspired by the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan who mainly live in her native Hokkaido), then-nascent, this version makes far more references to it and is generally far more in tune with the cynical, highly-politicized zeitgeist of the '00s. [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 This wouldn't be the last time Seiji Mizushima worked on an anime after watching far too much CNN]].
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Psiren. Meant to be a ClassyCatBurglar with sympathetic motives for her crimes... except each and every time those motives are shown to be lies, and she even tries to murder Ed. Her motivation for wanting to give the town visibility (and even then, it's ambiguous whether she actually cares about that) is kind of drowned out by that. The only thing that keeps her moderately sympathetic is that the city clearly doesn't want her to stop her crimes or be caught and were happy with their police force's incompetence.
* ViewerGenderConfusion: Envy. Although, unlike in the manga/''Brotherhood'', [[spoiler:he does get a canonical gender at the end]].
* {{Wangst}}: Some people find it excessive the way this version handled Al's identity crisis after his confrontation with Barry the Chopper. In the manga and ''Brotherhood'' anime, Winry gives him a stern talking-to and he quickly snaps out of it. Here, he gets an additional episode to stew over it and even when he comes to his senses, it has lingering effects on his later CharacterDevelopment.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being {{Race Lift}}ed from light-skinned Amestrians in a mountainous region to a different, darker-skinned ethnic group in a desert region. This is despite the fact that WordOfGod says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan who now mainly live in her native Hokkaido. Jacob Chapman goes into detail about these allegories [[https://weebservations.com/2020/11/25/weebsday-qa-11-25-2020/ here]].
* {{Woolseyism}}:
** In the episode with "Warehouse Thirteen", one of the characters mentions that the house only appears at night, and that it's a "Were-house". The pun works ''brilliantly'' in English.
** The second opening from Episode 43 on ("We searched for [the Philosopher's Stone]... and we found it") is narrated by Ed in the dub, while Al narrated the opening before that. In the original Japanese, Al also narrated the second opening.
** The original French dub for TV had translated "automail" as "mécha-greffe" (mecha-transplant), which sounded more impactful and evocative to a French audience. It was also very liberal in its use of coloquialisms and profanity for foul-mouthed characters like Ed. This was mostly undone in Dybex's DVD version however, where the original term "automail" was restored (presumably to align with the manga's translation) and the familiarity greatly toned down, to many fans' dismay. On the other hand, the same DVD version corrected the biggest gripe people had with the TV version − the inexplicable removal of Roy's miniskirt gag.
[[/folder]]
* AngstWhatAngst: Being [[spoiler:kidnapped and nearly killed by a serial murderer]] would traumatize most people for life, but [[spoiler:Winry]] seems to bounce back pretty quickly.
* AcceptableTargets: In the series, it's military corruption and racism. In the movie, it's [[spoiler:Nazis and their othering of Jews and Romani people]].
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
** Hohenheim gets a lot more of it here than he did in Brotherhood (where he's more unambiguously benevolent): is he a wise [[TheAtoner atoner]] who feels bad for [[spoiler:all the [[BodySurf Body Surfing]] he's done]] or a suicidal {{Jerkass}} whose excuse to [[ParentalAbandonment abandon]] his children and wife Trisha doesn't cut the test and who [[spoiler:unintentionally helped the [[ThoseWackyNazis Nazis]]]]?
** Scar gets a lot more of this in this version of things, as he never gives up violence or joins the heroes' side. This is intentional, though: the 2003 anime is not as anti-violence as the manga and ''Brotherhood'' are and Scar's arc lacks the same message about breaking the cycle of revenge. The series instead wants the viewers to consider how much power for change someone like Scar has in a system that is stacked against him.
* AssPull: Some consider the AlternateUniverse twist as this. There is some {{Foreshadowing}} [[note]] see the main page for more detail [[/note]], but much of it is easily missed, meaning unless you're ''very'' attentive or already know about the twist, you probably won't connect the dots on your first watch.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** Michiru Oshima's score is considered to be a masterpiece. The openings and endings aren't anything to sneeze at either.
** Several tracks stand out in particular, such as Bratja and Dante's various themes.
** The "Kelas" dance song from the movie soundtrack.
** "Regret", the song played entirely on the harmonica that plays during Mustang's flashback of the Ishbal war in Episode 13.
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwY4lilrJv4 "YOU'RE GETTING ATTACKED BY GERMAN ZEPPELINS, HAVE SOME BEETHOVEN".]]
** They used Chopin's "Tristesse" ("Sadness") etude for the final scene at the Gate and for Edward's last appearance in the show. The piano piece is accompanied by strings and it's heartbreakingly beautiful. (It's also a common choice of classical music in anime soundtracks, especially for ending episodes, but it is particularly well-placed here for how it expresses the bittersweetness of the ending.)
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Pride, Wrath and Rosé are among the most polarizing characters. In the case of the latter, this is probably why she suffers DieForOurShip more often than Ed's other love interests (with the exception of [[TheScrappy her double]] in ''Conqueror of Shamballa''). In Wrath's case, he and Pride are not well liked as "replacement Homunculi" (ironically, [[spoiler:they're almost a flip-flop of the manga version, where ''Wrath'' is the president and ''Pride'' is a creepy little kid]]), and Pride/[[spoiler:King Bradley]] in particular is hated for [[spoiler:going through a mix of serious BadassDecay and AdaptationalVillainy]], and overall not getting much of a backstory or characterization. Wrath does have a substantial numbers of defenders, though.
** Kimblee, even among 2003 series purists, is hated by some fans for lacking any of his more noble qualities from the manga and for coming off as a generic mad bomber and a rather low-functioning sociopath. However, some like him for his unapologetic cruelty and defend that the 2003 series was made before the manga fleshed his character out. Arguably even more divisive are Kimblee's powers in the 2003 version: rather than creating an explosive reaction via chemical imbalance, he turns objects and living organisms into explosives. This effectively makes him far less of a direct threat than the Brotherhood version, who was one of the most dangerous and skilled alchemists in the series and came very close in killing ''Ed''. Kimblee in the 2003 anime is not only a poor and unskilled fighter in direct combat, he's also a mere fraction of the BloodKnight that his Brotherhood counterpart is. Additionally, he doesn't even seem to like combat that much, just wanton slaughter.
* BrokenBase:
** Is [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist the 2003 anime adaptation]] the superior work, merely a very well-done PragmaticAdaptation, or [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks a completely unacceptable mess that perverts the original source material]]?
** Was the 2003 anime's ending excellent and original, passable, or a convoluted mess?
** Is Winry's and Edward's relationship [[LikeBrotherAndSister familial]] or romantic? Or better said: "Who is supposed to be Ed's TRUE love interest?" In theory, it is supposed to be [[spoiler:Rosé]], but in practice she ends up acting more like a character with an unrequited love, rather than an actual LoveInterest. To muddle the waters further, by Conqueror of Shamballa, the movie has much more ShipTease between Winry and Ed than with Noah, and [[spoiler:Rosé]] gets none.
** Was Rosé's subplot of [[spoiler:RapeAsDrama and being turned into a (presumed) LoveInterest and the BigBad's choice for a new vessel]] a neat idea to show the horrors of war and humanity, or an stupid "grimdark" move that doesn't have any real relevance in the plot? It could be cut out and the plotline wouldn't be affected by its removal at all (as she recovers rather fast, as if nothing happened), and it only serves to [[spoiler:push her in the role of love interest and utterly destroys the Aesop that Ed told her of moving on and standing up on her own, as she ended up becoming Cornello's replacement. It doesn't help that her role in the story pushes Winry out of the plot as it goes on, which is either welcome for those who don't like Winry, or annoying for those who like Winry.]]
** The plot twist of the Gate being connected to an AlternateUniverse and alchemy being fueled by the souls of the alternate universe is pretty divisive, with some considering it a brilliant way of twisting the concept of equivalent exchange and showing that true equivalent exchange was impossible... and others just feel that regardless of its foreshadowing, it felt like a crazy twist mainly done for the sake of surprising the audience.
** The Homunculi [[spoiler:being the result of Human Transmutation]]. On the one hand, this gives the Homunculi more backstory, and some feel it made them far more interesting characters than in the manga. On the other hand, their existence goes against the story's theme of AllDeathsAreFinal, especially since some of them start to regain memories of their former lives. Another point of contention is [[spoiler:the Homunculi's human remains being their KryptoniteFactor]]. Some think that it's an interesting twist, but it gets cheapened by the fact that most of the Homunculi were once people connected to the main cast, so they end up knowing whose grave to dig. Some think that it takes out a lot of the strategy it took to beat the Homunculi in the manga.
* DesignatedVillain: Ed [[TemporarilyAVillain temporarily]] plays this role in "The Phantom Thief"; he's supposed to seem like an InspectorJavert for wanting to track down and arrest Psiren, but given the fact that she's a thief and a liar, is causing property damage and ''tries to kill him later'', it's hard to see his actions as unjustified. The ending somewhat frames both Ed and Psiren as right, as it's clear no sane person would allow Psiren to run free like Ed, but Psiren's thievery really is looked upon favorably by the townspeople.
* DieForOurShip: [[TheWoobie Rosé]] gets it a lot from some Edwin shippers and YaoiFangirls. Even with all the horrible things that happened to her, getting an [[AscendedExtra expanded role in this version]] did not help her with shippers. And in turn, a lot of Ed/Rosé fans hate Winry; YaoiFangirls generally tend to leave her alone, though, as it's more common for them to make [=AlWin=] ShipMates with [=RoyEd=].
* DracoInLeatherPants: Envy gets even more of this (sometimes) than he does in ''Brotherhood'', likely due to people finding his motivation of [[spoiler:being the failed transmutation of Dante and Hohenheim's son, and resenting his father and half-brothers due to being abandoned]] more understandable (never mind he's a ''total sadist'' and gleefully enjoys toying with their victims by taking the shape of their loved ones). But it's to the point where some fangirls seem to forget that he's so evil; some of them even [[FoeYayShipping ship him with Ed]]!
* EnsembleDarkhorse:
** Many FMA fans really like the anime version of Sloth. Some even prefer her to the manga's version, which is quite a feat, since the other two [[CanonForeigner "replacement Homunculi"]] ([[CreepyChild Wrath]] and [[PresidentEvil Pride]]) are divisive. It probably helps that she has [[DarkAndTroubledPast a little more depth]] than Manga!Sloth, and that she's [[EvilIsSexy not too hard on the eyes]] either.
** Lust's expanded role and backstory in this version [[spoiler:and eventual HeelFaceTurn]] made her incredibly popular with the 2003 fanbase.
** Similar to Lust, Marta's larger role and her companionship with the Elrics won her a lot of fans.
** Scar gets more focus in the 03 fandom as well, likely due to being drawn as younger (and sexier), being more of an AntiHero who never quite joins the heroes' side, his backstory [[spoiler:with his unrequited love for the woman Lust used to be]], and the greater focus on the Ishbalan characters in general.
* EvilIsSexy:
** Lust. Even more so here, where she gets deeper characterization and an arc, making her a fan favorite.
** Envy seems to [[LauncherOfAThousandShips get around pretty well]] in fanfiction for one of the most unambiguously evil characters in the series.
* FanonDiscontinuity:
** "''Conqueror of Shamballa'' never happened" is one of the most common types of FMA FixFic. At the very least, fandom likes to disregard or work around its ending (which [[spoiler:traps Ed and Al forever in our world, a universe away from all their friends and family]] -- aka, away from nearly all of the people they're shipped with in fanfiction).
** The two early filler episodes, episode 4 "A Forger's Love" and episode 10 "The Phantom Thief," are usually considered pretty skippable, especially the latter as it has no connection to the series' larger plot of characters (where episode 4 arguably provides some foreshadowing, and is thematically similar to other early episodic adventures involving the homunculi). Episode 10 is just a parody of/homage to other anime that were popular around the time of the first anime's release.
* GeniusBonus:
** Roy Mustang quotes ''Literature/{{The Art of War|SunTzu}}'' during his battle with Ed in episode 13 "Fullmetal vs. Flame."
** TheMovie, ''The Conqueror of Shamballa'', is a much richer experience if you're familiar with [[UsefulNotes/WeimarRepublic the history of Germany in the 1920s]]. It's to the extent that not knowing anything about it might detract from the experience, if the numerous incredulous Tumblr posts accusing it of GodwinsLaw (for including Nazis and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch) are any indication.
* HesJustHiding: A considerable amount of people insist that by the end of the series, [[spoiler:Dante was just dragged back down into the lost city while trying to fend Gluttony off and eventually died due to her body rotting completely. Other group insists that she might have survived.]] Nevermind that in Conqueror of Shamballa [[spoiler:Gluttony is a gargantous obese monstrosity that roams around the subterranean city that is incredibly fast and unhinged, attacking everything in sight, leaving any possibilities of her having prolonged her time before her eventual demise very unlikely]].
* HilariousInHindsight:
** In episode 22, Envy asks Ed if he wants him to turn into a taller version of Ed. Then comes episode 50 [[spoiler:and we find out Envy was Hohenheim's first son and looks a lot like a taller version of Ed]].
** At the end of the (non-canonical) OVA "Kids", there is a prominently displayed photograph of an elderly Ed shaking hands with an important-looking, formally dressed man who bears a moderate resemblance to UsefulNotes/BarackObama. (The OVA was made more than three years before he was elected President of the United States.)
** In ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' Vic Mignogna voices Qrow, who affectionately calls his niece "pipsqueak." This is funny enough due to Ed's BerserkButton, but then at the end of Season 4 he gets to say it to a guy voiced by Aaron Dismuke.
** In episode 15, when Roy admonishes Hughes for not helping in the fight against Scar, Hughes responds with "I'm as normal as they come and this is a contest of freaks! What do you want me to do, shoot my slingshot at him?". [[Creator/SonnyStrait Sonny Strait]], Hughes' voice actor, would later go onto voice [[Manga/OnePiece someone who is quite proficient with a slingshot]].
* ItWasHisSled:
** The twist [[spoiler:that behind the Gate is "our world"]] has long since stopped being a spoiler, expected as the series is a major GatewaySeries and one of the most popular anime (especially shonen anime) of the New Millennium. TheMovie only made it less of a spoiler.
** The BigBad's identity and plans, that is [[spoiler:Dante]] and seeking [[spoiler:to preserve her inmortality by causing wars to make people desperate enough to create a Philosopher's stone (so that she then can snatch it without any effort)]] are supposed to be a big reveal, but the controversy behind the character has made it very well known, even to those that ''haven't seen the anime completely''.
* LauncherOfAThousandShips: Envy was a big one for this series, despite being even more evil here. Ed in particular is even ''more'' of a "fandom bicycle" among the 03 fans, since he never got a canonical love interest in this version.
* MemeticMutation:
** Roy Mustang [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-RUSFq16Wo&feature=related loves dogs.]]
** Roy Mustang has a dream once he becomes Fuhrer. It involves female officers and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJUlTg3mfTo tiny miniskirts]].
* MoralEventHorizon:
** Crossed by the Homunculi several times. Envy crosses it with [[spoiler:the murder of Hughes]] and enjoys dancing over it again and again. Depending on who you ask, [[spoiler:Bradley]]'s came with either [[spoiler:Marta or Selim's murder]], or TheReveal that [[spoiler:he engineered the Ishbalan War to try to make a Philosopher's Stone, and wants Lior to be a repeat of Ishbal]]. [[spoiler:Dante's]] comes when we learn about her body-swapping, even before it's revealed just how many lives she's taken in her [[OlderThanSheLooks centuries-long]] quest for immortality.
** VillainOfTheWeek Majhal crosses it when he tries to transfer the soul of [[WouldHurtAChild a young child]] into a doll shaped in the likeness of his lost love.
* {{Narm}}: [[Narm/FullMetalAlchemist Has its own page.]]
%%* NarmCharm: How many fans feel about [[spoiler:[[FanNickname TerminArcher]].]]
* NoYay:
** [[spoiler:Dante]] hitting on Ed. It gets even worse when you consider that she's mainly doing it to "be loved by the son of Hohenheim."
** There's also a bit of [[spoiler:LesYay between Dante, in Lyra's body, and Rosé]]... which [[GirlOnGirlIsHot wouldn't have been that bad]], were it not for the fact that [[spoiler:Lyra's body [[{{Squick}} was rotting]] and she wants to take Rosé as her next one]].
** And then there's the fangirls who ship Kimblee with [[SociopathicSoldier Archer]]. As if the fact that they're both psychopaths wasn't bad enough, one of them is a ''half-mechanical {{cyborg}}''! If it was [[UnholyMatrimony ''because'']] they're both psychopaths, that might not be so bad, but [[DracoInLeatherPants that's clearly not the case.]]
** The episode with Psiren, where she repeatedly unzips her outfit in front of Ed, and makes some decidedly seductive remarks? At this time, Ed is 15 years old.
** The tendency of Envy to be a LauncherOfAThousandShips among some parts of the fanbase, tends to have this reaction among the rest.
* PlatonicWritingRomanticReading: There's significantly more unintentional IncestSubtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/''Brotherhood'', which is a large part of the reason why [[BrotherSisterIncest Ed/Al]] is as popular of a ship as it is (probably the second most popular slash pairing after Roy/Ed). The brothers' worry about one another ends up unintentionally coming across as more romantic than familial, especially since they tend to spend more time together (while in the manga and ''Brotherhood'' they become seperated from each other more often) and Ed gets less ShipTease with Winry than he does in the manga and ''Brotherhood''.
* RewatchBonus:
** Everything [[spoiler:"Lyra"]] does after Greed comes to Dante's mansion.
** The twist about where the Gate leads is actually pretty well foreshadowed if you pay attention to some seemingly superfluous details (like the visions Ed recalls from when he was in the Gate, or music characters are humming/whistling). It's way easier to pick up on re-watch after you know that twist.
* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The 2003 anime was hugely popular when it first aired, both in Japan and among English-speaking fans, though even then it had some detractors who didn't like how much it deviated from the original manga (particularly with its DarkerAndEdgier tone). When [[TruerToTheText a more faithful anime adaptation of the manga]] aired in 2009, it eventually supplanted the 2003 anime in the popular zeitgeist completely. Nowadays, it's difficult for many anime fans to see just how popular the 2003 anime was, especially those who were too young to have watched it when it first came out.
* {{Squick}}: The scene where Izumi Curtis eats that crumb off of the island boy's face was done in a manner that suggested it was supposed to come off as sweet, but it ended up more gross than anything.
* StoicWoobie: Lust. Mustang can give off this impression sometimes, considering his guilt over his part in the Ishbalan war.
* SugarWiki/SuperlativeDubbing: Formal reviews of the series rarely pass up mentioning the overall quality of the voicework in the English version. It helps that all of the actors involved ''loved'' the series to death and put their hearts into it.
* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Many (though certainly not all) of the complaints about this series come from fans of the manga, rather than from those who saw it as a standalone series. Conversely, those introduced to ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' through the 2003 anime sometimes have this attitude towards ''Brotherhood.''
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Despite the AdaptationExpansion with the Homonculi and their backstories, Gluttony is the only one who never has his backstory revealed. With his childish behavior and the fact that he looks like a giant baby, he could have been the Homuculus that was transmuted from [[spoiler: Izumi's miscarried child instead of Wrath]].
* TooBleakStoppedCaring: The most common criticism of the 2003 series that doesn't have to do with faithfulness to the manga. The anime starts out DarkerAndEdgier and only escalates as it goes on, and many feel its message winds up too cynical while its narrative tries too hard to show the unforgiving world the Elric brothers have stepped into. Nothing ever seems to go right for the heroes, while villains like Envy and Shou Tucker never get their comeuppance. ''Conqueror of Shamballa'' aimed to tie up threads from the bittersweet and open-ended finale, but many felt that movie's ending was still too dour a note to go out on, since after everything Ed and Al go through, the story ends with [[spoiler:them stuck on the other side of the gate, away from Winry and the rest of their friends, and Roy's goal not really going anywhere either. To make matters worse, the world the Elrics are now trapped in is on the verge of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII a devastating war]]]].
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: While the manga version makes some parallels between the Ishval conflict and UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror (though Hiromu Arakawa has said the Ishvalans were mainly inspired by the Ainu, the indigenous people of Japan who mainly live in her native Hokkaido), then-nascent, this version makes far more references to it and is generally far more in tune with the cynical, highly-politicized zeitgeist of the '00s. [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 This wouldn't be the last time Seiji Mizushima worked on an anime after watching far too much CNN]].
* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Psiren. Meant to be a ClassyCatBurglar with sympathetic motives for her crimes... except each and every time those motives are shown to be lies, and she even tries to murder Ed. Her motivation for wanting to give the town visibility (and even then, it's ambiguous whether she actually cares about that) is kind of drowned out by that. The only thing that keeps her moderately sympathetic is that the city clearly doesn't want her to stop her crimes or be caught and were happy with their police force's incompetence.
* ViewerGenderConfusion: Envy. Although, unlike in the manga/''Brotherhood'', [[spoiler:he does get a canonical gender at the end]].
* {{Wangst}}: Some people find it excessive the way this version handled Al's identity crisis after his confrontation with Barry the Chopper. In the manga and ''Brotherhood'' anime, Winry gives him a stern talking-to and he quickly snaps out of it. Here, he gets an additional episode to stew over it and even when he comes to his senses, it has lingering effects on his later CharacterDevelopment.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being {{Race Lift}}ed from light-skinned Amestrians in a mountainous region to a different, darker-skinned ethnic group in a desert region. This is despite the fact that WordOfGod says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan who now mainly live in her native Hokkaido. Jacob Chapman goes into detail about these allegories [[https://weebservations.com/2020/11/25/weebsday-qa-11-25-2020/ here]].
* {{Woolseyism}}:
** In the episode with "Warehouse Thirteen", one of the characters mentions that the house only appears at night, and that it's a "Were-house". The pun works ''brilliantly'' in English.
** The second opening from Episode 43 on ("We searched for [the Philosopher's Stone]... and we found it") is narrated by Ed in the dub, while Al narrated the opening before that. In the original Japanese, Al also narrated the second opening.
** The original French dub for TV had translated "automail" as "mécha-greffe" (mecha-transplant), which sounded more impactful and evocative to a French audience. It was also very liberal in its use of coloquialisms and profanity for foul-mouthed characters like Ed. This was mostly undone in Dybex's DVD version however, where the original term "automail" was restored (presumably to align with the manga's translation) and the familiarity greatly toned down, to many fans' dismay. On the other hand, the same DVD version corrected the biggest gripe people had with the TV version − the inexplicable removal of Roy's miniskirt gag.
[[/folder]]
