Angst? What Angst?: Being kidnapped and nearly killed by a serial murderer would traumatize most people for life, but Winry seems to bounce back pretty quickly.
Hohenheim gets a lot more of it here than he did in Brotherhood (where he's more unambiguously benevolent): is he a wise atoner who feels bad for all the Body Surfing he's done or a suicidal Jerkass whose excuse to abandon his children and wife Trisha doesn't cut the test and who unintentionally helped the 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.
Ass Pull: Some consider the Alternate Universe twist as this. There is some Foreshadowingnote see the main page for more detail , 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.
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.)
Pride, Wrath and Rosé are among the most polarizing characters. In the case of the latter, this is probably why she suffers Die for Our Ship more often than Ed's other love interests (with the exception of her double in Conqueror of Shamballa). In Wrath's case, he and Pride are not well liked as "replacement Homunculi" (ironically, they're almost a flip-flop of the manga version, where Wrath is the president and Pride is a creepy little kid), and Pride/King Bradley in particular is hated for going through a mix of serious Badass Decay and Adaptational Villainy, 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 Blood Knight that his Brotherhood counterpart is. Additionally, he doesn't even seem to like combat that much, just wanton slaughter.
Dante being the main antagonist. Some compare her favorably to Father, as contrasted with his often-criticized portrayal as a Generic Doomsday VillainGodhood Seeker 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 The Unfought, and feel she lacks the strengths Father brings as a Big Bad.
Was the ending excellent and original, passable, or a convoluted mess?
Is Winry's and Edward's relationship familial or romantic? Or better said: "Who is supposed to be Ed's TRUE love interest?" In theory, it is supposed to be Rosé, but in practice she ends up acting more like a character with an unrequited love, rather than an actual Love Interest. To muddle the waters further, by Conqueror of Shamballa, the movie has much more Ship Tease between Winry and Ed than with Noah, and Rosé gets none.
Was Rosé's subplot of Rape as Drama and being turned into a (presumed) Love Interest and the Big Bad'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 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 Alternate Universe 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 being the result of Human 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 origins goes against the story's theme of All Deaths Are Final, especially since some of them start to regain memories of their former lives. Another point of contention is the Homunculi's human remains being their Kryptonite Factor. 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, since it basically forces an Only the Author Can Save Them Now situation for every single homunculus.
Die for Our Ship: Rosé gets it a lot from some Edwin shippers and Yaoi Fangirls. Even with all the horrible things that happened to her, getting an expanded role in this version did not help her with shippers. And in turn, a lot of Ed/Rosé fans hate Winry; Yaoi Fangirls generally tend to leave her alone, though, as it's more common for them to make AlWin Ship Mates with RoyEd.
Draco in Leather Pants: Envy gets even more of this (sometimes) than he does in Brotherhood, likely due to people finding his motivation of 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 ship him with Ed! He gets extra points from viewers who are more cynically minded, as they find his characterization and especially death in Brotherhood to be eye-rolling at best and downright obnoxious Author Tract at worst.
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 "replacement Homunculi" (Wrath and Pride) are divisive. It probably helps that she has a little more depth than Manga!Sloth, and that she's not too hard on the eyes either.
Lust's expanded role and backstory in this version and eventual Heel–Face Turn 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 Anti-Hero who never quite joins the heroes' side, his backstory 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 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.
Fan Nickname: The anime is sometimes referred to as Feelmetal Alchemist due to its very emotionally driven storytelling.
"Conqueror of Shamballa never happened" is one of the most common types of FMA Fix Fic. At the very least, fandom likes to disregard or work around its ending (which 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.
Roy Mustang quotes The Art of War during his battle with Ed in episode 13 "Fullmetal vs. Flame."
The Movie, The Conqueror of Shamballa, is a much richer experience if you're familiar with 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 Godwin's Law (for including Nazis and the Munich Beer Hall Putsch) are any indication.
He's Just Hiding: A considerable amount of people insist that by the end of the series, 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 ShamballaGluttony 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.
Episode 4's Monster of the Week, Majahal, is voiced in the English dub by Kent Williams. 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 Big Bad, Father.
In an inverse of the above, Lyra and later Dante is voiced in English by Monica Rial. The extremely cynical, manipulative, and nihilistic Big Bad of this series sharing a voice with arguably one of the most wholesome and innocent characters of Brotherhood is irony at its peak.
In episode 22, Envy asks Ed if he wants him to turn into a taller version of Ed. Then comes episode 50 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 Barack Obama. (The OVA was made more than three years before he was elected President of the United States.)
In RWBY Vic Mignogna voices Qrow, who affectionately calls his niece "pipsqueak." This is funny enough due to Ed's Berserk Button, 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?". Sonny Strait, Hughes' voice actor, would later go onto voice someone who is quite proficient with a slingshot.
All the jokes about Alphonse being taller than Edward despite being the younger brother. In the years since the dub ended, Aaron Dismuke had quite a growth spurt and is now 6'1, making him three inches taller than Vic Mignogna, who is 5'10.
Hype Backlash: 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 Darker and Edgier tone). When 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.
Incest Yay Shipping: 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, with them being on the other side of the Gate away from their friends and in turn from love interests, only helped.
The twist that behind the Gate is "our world" has long since stopped being a spoiler, expected as the series is a major Gateway Series and one of the most popular anime (especially shonen anime) of the New Millennium. The Movie only made it less of a spoiler.
The Big Bad's identity and plans, that is Dante and seeking to preserve her 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.
Launcher of a Thousand Ships: 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.
Crossed by the Homunculi several times. Envy crosses it with the murder of Hughes and enjoys dancing over it again and again. Depending on who you ask, Bradley's came with either Marta or Selim's murder, or The Reveal that he engineered the Ishbalan War to try to make a Philosopher's Stone, and wants Lior to be a repeat of Ishbal. Dante's comes when we learn about her body-swapping, even before it's revealed just how many lives she's taken in her centuries-long quest for immortality.
Villain of the Week Majhal crosses it when he tries to transfer the soul of a young child into a doll shaped in the likeness of his lost love.
Cornello crosses it when he needlessly tries to murder Rose by using a chimera made out of multiple dead birds.
Narm Charm: How many fans feel about TerminArcher. A man being turned into a Terminator is a stretch given the technology present during the rest of the series, but it's Played for Horror enough that it's hard not to enjoy it. It helps that Archer is a horrifying threat, killing plenty of his own men while firing on the heroes.
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 Les Yay between Dante, in Lyra's body, and Rosé... which wouldn't have been that bad, were it not for the fact that Lyra's body was rotting and she wants to take Rosé as her next one.
And then there's the fangirls who ship Kimblee with 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 ''because'' they're both psychopaths, that might not be so bad, but 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 Launcher of a Thousand Ships among some parts of the fanbase, tends to have this reaction among the rest.
Only the Author Can Save Them Now: Homunculi have an unlimited Healing Factor and superhuman physical abilities that will let them outmatch any human opponent. Their only weakness is the remains of the human beings they were intended to be recreations of. This invokes this trope on two levels. First, while every homunculus could theoretically be the product of anyone from anywhere in the world (or at least, anywhere in the country) and time or deliberate action could've reduced their human remains to ashes or dust that's no longer fit for purpose, especially if the homunculus in question is truly ancient, the protagonists have to be able to defeat them in the end, so all of them are conveniently either closely related to or directly produced by a main character, so their remains haven't degraded into nothing over time and can be accessed by the cast. The only exceptions all use questionable writing to introduce the weakness to the scene, regardless of whether it makes sense and/or has been adequately foreshadowed. Speaking of, the homunculi all tend to get confronted conveniently close to their only weakness, and in some cases have even foregone opportunities to destroy it completely and remove it permanently so that it can be dramatically used to defeat them when the story says it's time to.
Platonic Writing, Romantic Reading: There's significantly more unintentional Incest Subtext between the Elric brothers in this version than in the manga/Brotherhood, which is a large part of the reason why 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 than in the manga and Brotherhood (where they become separated from each other more often as the story progresses) and Ed gets less Ship Tease with Winry.
Everything "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.
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.
Stoic Woobie: Lust. Mustang can give off this impression sometimes, considering his guilt over his part in the Ishbalan war.
Superlative Dubbing: 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.
They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: 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.
They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Despite the Adaptation Expansion 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 Izumi's miscarried child instead of Wrath.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Psiren. Meant to be a Classy Cat-Burglar 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.
Viewer Gender Confusion: Envy. Although, unlike in the manga/Brotherhood, he does get a canonical gender at the end.
Vindicated by History: Zig-zagged. The series initially premiered to widespread acclaim, being often cited alongside other classics such as Cowboy Bebop and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex as managing to strike the perfect mix between comedic and dramatic while also telling a compelling story with memorable characters. Upon the premiere of Brotherhood, this sentiment was mostly overshadowed by the later adaptation's massive popularity combined with manga readers who preferred it solely for being more faithful to the source material. There was even a period following Brotherhood's release where general opinion regarding the original series varied from it being skippable to downright unwatchably bad. In recent years, however, there's been a steadily growing shift in the fandom where those who find the original series more appealing for its darker story, grayer morality, and deeper focus on Ed and Al's relationship, have been growing more vocal and respected in the wider anime community.
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 Character Development.
What Do You Mean, It's Not Political?: The 2003 anime portrays the plights of the Ishbalans and the town of Lior as having heavy parallels with The War on Terror and the xenophobia against Muslims that pervaded the early 2000s, especially with the people of Lior being Race Lifted 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 Word of God says she based the Ishbalans on the Ainu, the indigenous people of northern Japan and eastern Russia who were the original inhabitants of her native Hokkaido.
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.
