Full Metal Alchemist General

I've finally started on Brotherhood, and the one thing I'll really miss is "Brothers"

The song? Yeah, that was pretty good, wasn't it?

Yeah, the song. It's a damn good piece.

I personally think that the Tucker stuff is done significantly better in '03, but I don't really blame Brotherhood, it has more ground to cover in less time. I find the timeline change a little weird though: I liked it more when it was one of the defining moments of Ed's early career as a State Alchemist instead of another "conflict of the day" which has a particular lasting impact, but I digress. It's all pretty much an unspoken "you've probably already seen this, but we need to be sure new viewers don't miss out on this, so we're just going to fast forward a little bit" anyway, so it's alright.

That episode is an adaptation of chapter 5. It's not fast forward.

The manga has some kind of a Bookend. This is juxtaposed with this.

Forshadowing for the final transmutation, of course.

edited 6th Nov '16 1:26:49 AM by RAlexa21th

I know. I meant that it's sped up compared to the first anime, which let it get more time, and I preferred it that way, but I don't really mind either.

Yeah, most episodes adapted two chapters when they really only had time for a chapter and a half, so episode 4 was a rare one where scenes were added in rather than squeezed out. Episode 30 attempted to cover four chapters!

Not quite, much of volume 15 (Scar's point of view) is put into episode 23. It does miss out on Basque Grand and Kimblee scenes though.

Later in the anime we have 2 episodes : 1 chapter ratio. That's because Arakawa was on crunch time and made chapters 3 times longer than usual.

edited 6th Nov '16 8:20:15 AM by RAlexa21th

I think the anime was also calculated to end at about the same time as the manga (there was like a month between the final chapter and the final episode, if I remember correctly?)

Actually I thought the second anime ended a long time after the manga was finished didn't it?

Only 3 weeks.

Journey's End (the chapter): June 11, 2010

Journey's End (the episode): July 4, 2010

edited 6th Nov '16 4:21:34 PM by RAlexa21th

I distinctly remember keeping up with the last few chapters of the manga as Brotherhood was running. In fact, I remember reading all sorts of theories being read into that last opening ("Trisha is walking towards Ed. Does this mean he dies in the last chapter!?").

edited 6th Nov '16 9:32:15 AM by JonnasN

Wow. I had no idea they ended so close together.

Go figure.

It's nice to see another blind run of this franchise. I myself did it as well about 4 years ago now in a thread that I think became this thread.

I hope you enjoy Brotherhood. I personally prefer 2003 overall but there are several things FMAB does better.

Brothers is hard to top as an emotionally resonant piece, but Brotherhood's OST isn't exactly weak.

What they do with the main theme at around the climax will make that track your favorite.

edited 7th Nov '16 5:48:30 PM by mrsunshinesprinkles

Yeah, Brotherhood's got some great tracks up its sleeve.

Which scene are you talking about?

"'Al, you dumbaaaasss!!!!'

I was surprised by just how early the reveal about the Philosopher's Stone comes in Brotherhood.

Well, they obviously condensed a few things.

Also, early 2003 had a bunch of stuff that wasn't in the manga.

It's revealed in the second episode's intro.

…Huh? This early? I didn't remember that.ò.Ô

It's property revealed in episode 7

…Ooooh, I see what you mean. The Philosopher's Stone with the screaming faces inside. Never even paid attention to that…

Manga volumes 9-12 arrived today.

I assume vol 9 cover inspires that scene in the second opening.◊

Kinda sad that Ed doesn't bring that sweet knife around.◊

I assume vol 11 cover inspires the scenes in the first opening and the second ending.◊

Vol 12's cover is just awesome.◊

edited 8th Nov '16 3:07:04 PM by RAlexa21th

Finished vol 9.

So Sheska isn't that superfluous in the manga. Her work in criminal record allows her to deduce that Hughes is killed by an military personel. This inspires Envy to frame Ross. This makes her more important than Paninya in the grand scheme of things, and a decent Chekovs Gun.

I will forever hate Brotherhood for skipping the scene where Ed "fixes" Lan Fan's mask.

Having Winry holding the newspaper when she visits the Hughes is a nice touch.

The Xingese's ability to detect Homunculi is well set up. When Barry's body attacks Falman, Lan Fan assumes there are 20+ more enemies "clustered in one location." She goes off to confront them to discover Envy. Seriously, why does Lan Fan get gimped so much in the anime?

In Memoriam are fun, but they can be spoilerrific at times.

edited 8th Nov '16 4:39:02 PM by RAlexa21th