Anime question: Is Deathnote sadder than Full Metal Alchemist

[meesterpickles]

Oddly specific anime opinion request.
My sister refuses to watch Full Metal Alchemist, not because she doesn't like anime (she's obsessed with anime), but because its too "sad".

Okay never mind, I'll just let her write the rest...


ONC3 UPON 4 T1ME 1 R3FUS3D TO W4TCH FM4 B3C4US3 1T W4S TOO V1OL3NT FOR H3R BUT SH3 LOV3S N34R 4ND TH4T 1S WHY SH3 L1V3S TOD4Y, SOOOOOOO 1 C4N W4TCH D34TH NOT3 BUT IM TOO MUCH OF 4 SC4REDY KITT3N TO W4TCH FM4 BUT 1 D1D W4TCH L1KE 23 3P1SOD3S AND GOT S4D B3C4USE TH4T L1TTL3 G1RL GOT TURN3D 1NTO 4 DOG TH1NG AND TH3N SOM3ON3 K1LL3D H3R V1OL3NTLY 3L F1N


Excuse her for the Terezi-speak.

She essentially doesn't like FMA because of the scene were Nina got turned into a chimera. However, she religiously watches Deathnote, something which I always thought was more violent and disturbing.

Thoughts?

 

[Shock and Awe]

Well I would say that scene was worse then anything I ever saw in Deathnote, but in general FMA is a much lighter anime then Death Note.

 

[Asita]

Death Note focuses on a heavier topic, FMA is better at drawing an emotional response. Death Note is defintely darker but it's rarely actually sad. By contrast, FMA tends to play out like a typical Shonen series for the most part, but when it goes for sad the results can be devastating. Personally, I love the show for that.

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

FMA by far, Death note touches on darker subject manner but it is never to get that type of emotion from the audience. FMA however can get you by episode 7,

 

[Waffle_Man]

It primarily has to do with context and characterization.

Death note seems far less optimistic and comes across as a bit more cynical than FMA, but the reason that FMA can often come across as being slightly more depressing at times is because it spends time trying to make some of the characters genuinely likable, and then has bad stuff happen to them. Many quite likable individuals die either for doing nothing, or for trying to do the right thing.

Contrast this with Death Note where, with a couple of notable exceptions, all of the characters that get killed off are either relatively undeveloped or morally questionable. In other words, the general sentiment that comes along with a character dying is "eh, they had it coming." The series relies far more on suspense than on emotional torque.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

I always found FMA particularly sad. It's one of the only anime series' that's actually elicited an emotional response from me. Especially when I watched all of the first series and then watched the entirety of Brotherhood(which in my opinion is even better for characterization).

 

[requisitename]

I'm not a general anime fan (meaning I've seen some I like, but I haven't gone out of my way to find more), but.. I never realized FMA was considered sad. I loved it.

On topic, I've got nothing, because I don't know what Deathnote is. Worthless, worthless me. Also, I have no idea what that long paragraph says. *lol*

 

[tzimize]

Oddly specific anime opinion request.
My sister refuses to watch Full Metal Alchemist, not because she doesn't like anime (she's obsessed with anime), but because its too "sad".

Okay never mind, I'll just let her write the rest...


ONC3 UPON 4 T1ME 1 R3FUS3D TO W4TCH FM4 B3C4US3 1T W4S TOO V1OL3NT FOR H3R BUT SH3 LOV3S N34R 4ND TH4T 1S WHY SH3 L1V3S TOD4Y, SOOOOOOO 1 C4N W4TCH D34TH NOT3 BUT IM TOO MUCH OF 4 SC4REDY KITT3N TO W4TCH FM4 BUT 1 D1D W4TCH L1KE 23 3P1SOD3S AND GOT S4D B3C4USE TH4T L1TTL3 G1RL GOT TURN3D 1NTO 4 DOG TH1NG AND TH3N SOM3ON3 K1LL3D H3R V1OL3NTLY 3L F1N


Excuse her for the Terezi-speak.

She essentially doesn't like FMA because of the scene were Nina got turned into a chimera. However, she religiously watches Deathnote, something which I always thought was more violent and disturbing.

Thoughts?

While Death Notes content might be more disturbing, it definitely is not more sad than FMA. The only sad thing about Death Note is the worse than shit ending.

 

[Scorekeeper]

Death Note is more logical; FMA is more emotional.

 

[Bealzibob]

ONC3 UPON 4 T1ME 1 R3FUS3D TO W4TCH FM4 B3C4US3 1T W4S TOO V1OL3NT FOR H3R BUT SH3 LOV3S N34R 4ND TH4T 1S WHY SH3 L1V3S TOD4Y, SOOOOOOO 1 C4N W4TCH D34TH NOT3 BUT IM TOO MUCH OF 4 SC4REDY KITT3N TO W4TCH FM4 BUT 1 D1D W4TCH L1KE 23 3P1SOD3S AND GOT S4D B3C4USE TH4T L1TTL3 G1RL GOT TURN3D 1NTO 4 DOG TH1NG AND TH3N SOM3ON3 K1LL3D H3R V1OL3NTLY 3L F1N

Dude if she can write that without falling into a violent cycle of depression I don't think anything should phase her in the slightest. I serious find it hard to not weep openly while reading that. Seriously...

But more on topic... FMA was definitely far more sad than anything Deathnote managed. Mostly cause the characters of FMA were.. um.. likeable for a start. More importantly is has tear jerkers like the aforementioned and it also has a far more inconsistent atmosphere. Always dark and bleak hurts a lot less than having happy go lucky scenes cut short.

 

[BishopofAges]

To start, personal feelings play a major role in these sorts of things, and to explain, if we like it or not, when we read/see/hear a story for long enough, we get attached to certain characters and it becomes too emotional when they are nixed/86's/killed/etc. so some people would rather quit the story there and believe in the character they liked.

In a sort of stupid fashion I can say I stopped watching Hostel when the fun-partying foreign guy got killed, I liked him. However, in a story with a messege and epic tale to get across, sometimes characters die, but in the fashion they die also effects our emotional response, i.e. 'good death/bad death' type situations.

Personally, I can say the FMA scene was really damned sad, but the overall of the anime is actiony and a slight funny so sad was something we weren't expecting. Death Note on the flip is depressing as a whole with a conspiracy overstory, so when some sad stuff happens in it, it is sort of 'par for the course' if you will.

This is my understanding at least. (my 2 cents)

 

[BENZOOKA]

No. Death Note isn't as sad as FMA.

 

[Tanakh]

I don't think either are particulary sad or twisted, don't think either are great anyway; and the chimera Nina is as sad as FMA gets, if she already saw that, then it's probably worth keep watching it. If she likes Death Note though, i would STRONGLY suggest trying Bakuman, i think it's a better work, and even if one disagrees with that, it gives you a LOT of insight on death note.

Edit: At the end of the day, FMA is a somewhat dark mainstream shonen, Death Note is a unconventional intellactual manga made shonen. As such Death Note is much more interesting if only for being more rare, but also can fall a little flat here and there and has a lot of limitations on the freedom in writing the plot FMA didn't.

That said, my opinion is based on the mangas, never saw the anime.

 

[TehCookie]

Death Note is darker, but it's not more sad. FMA makes you care about the characters so when something bad happens you feel sad. Death Note had interesting characters, but it never made you empathize with them.

Spoiler

When L died did you feel sad or did you feel more like holy shit I can't believe that just happened! Now when Ed "died" at the end of the original anime how did you feel? You probably had a bit of both but what was stronger?

 

[Scarim Coral]

Ok first thing you sister need to use proper english.

Second thing, in which part was Death Note sad? I suppose my recent case of it was -

Spoiler: Spoiler just in case eventhought it was out years ago

When Light killed L. Just to pull back abit-
Weeks ago my friend had decided to watch Deathnote due to boredom and she soon came to love the show. Her favourite character is L and needless to say she was upset when he was killed.

I actually more agreed with your sister about that girl death. Ok granted there are many death in Deathnote but to me that girl was very innocent and never harm anyone while Deathnote the death are mostly adult so I didn't feel sympathy toward them (except for one or two).
Even so the other death occur in FMA were also sad more compared to Deathnote however I think that was more of a attactment toward those characters (I started to care about them).

To sum it up, no Deathnote isn't sadder compare to FMA (in my opinion).