Let's talk about Fullmetal Alchemist

[IGNOREME]

First let me clear up my (somewhat brief) history with FMA. I watched like the first two episodes of the anime, and then stopped, the end. No just kidding... Although I didn't watch the anime, I love the manga. Around the age I am now, I was at a bookstore and I saw a copy of the first volume of FMA. I picked it up and I read it on my vacation to Florida. What I saw in that book was pure awesomeness. Now I had watched the first "Twilight" movie before then, so I had thought that the anyone named Edward was automatically a wuss, but this Edward Elric kid was a snarky, cynical, three dimensional, badass. and his brother, Alphonse, was a talking suit of armor!

So needless to say, the first issue blew my mind. My opinion hasn't changed at all since then, my favorite character is Edward, of course, and I haven't found a character I don't like, accept maybe the villains, but in that sort of, "You must die! You're a meanie-face!" sort of way, and not the sort of, "ugh, this person is soo boring, why won't they just die." way. I'm still reading the manga, I'm only on the fifth volume though. But what do you think of the series, manga or anime.

 

[Syphous]

I watched some of the anime, but one thing confused the hell out of me. Why are they calling witchcraft "alchemy"? Now I'm not against the show, I just don't know why they bother calling it that.

 

[CosmicZombie]

I watched some of the anime, but one thing confused the hell out of me. Why are they calling witchcraft "alchemy"? Now I'm not against the show, I just don't know why they bother calling it that.

Well medieval alchemy was based on turning lesser metals in to precious metals, mainly gold. The creators just thought, "what if some one could turn any object into any other object?". It is just putting a medieval pseudoscience to its limits.

 

[VicunaBlue]

I watched some of the anime, but one thing confused the hell out of me. Why are they calling witchcraft "alchemy"? Now I'm not against the show, I just don't know why they bother calling it that.

I always assumed that it was a slightly incorrect translation.


I liked the anime, haven't read the manga. The first series at least has one of the few decent dubs that I've seen.

 

[Sacman]

I really liked the manga and both anime series but I hated the ending to the first series and the movie for some reason... it just didn't sit well with me...

 

[Gigaguy64]

Loved the Manga.
Liked the first Anime.
Loving the second Anime.

I really do like the series.
Armstrong, Alphonse, and Hughes being my favorite characters.
I like the spin Hiromu Arakawa put on Alchemy and the themes the Manga tackles.

 

[NeutralDrow]

I'm in love with the manga, myself. Never really seen either of the anime, but I'm not all that concerned about it.

I'm still reading the manga, I'm only on the fifth volume though. But what do you think of the series, manga or anime.

Only the fifth volume?

Trust me, it only gets better.

I watched some of the anime, but one thing confused the hell out of me. Why are they calling witchcraft "alchemy"? Now I'm not against the show, I just don't know why they bother calling it that.

Because it's pseudoscientific, rather than spiritual, and draws on actual medieval alchemical theories and concepts.

 

[Gigaguy64]

I really liked the manga and both anime series but I hated the ending to the first series and the movie for some reason... it just didn't sit well with me...

I HATE the movie.
So much.
It added too much BS to the already messed up ending the first anime had, and they killed Elysia.
That alone sent my rage over the edge.

 

[binvjoh]

I've read a little of the manga and the first episode of the original anime.

Then I watched Brotherhood and it turned out to be my favourite anime series of all time.

 

[Sacman]

I really liked the manga and both anime series but I hated the ending to the first series and the movie for some reason... it just didn't sit well with me...

I HATE the movie.
So much.
It added too much BS to the already messed up ending the first anime had, and they killed Elysia.
That alone sent my rage over the edge.

Yeah I know what you mean I never really thought much of the movie... If they wanted they probably could have turned it into an original movie if they wanted to with some name changes and slight plot changes...

 

[loc978]

I like the original anime quite a bit, even the ending (own the whole thing). I hate the movie (even though I own it... it's amazing, the things soldiers will buy when they're bored and far from home) and dislike the reboot anime... never read the manga.

 

[Marik Bentusi]

I saw the first anime, was pretty impressed, but though the ending sucked. After I heard it was based on a manga that was still running, I picked it up and was amazed by the fleshed-out characters and conflicts presented. At some point Brotherhood came out, but I lost it somewhere in the middle as it was so close to the manga I didn't bother watching it.
Today I remember FMA for its great characters - especially the female ones stick out in the crowd of useless princesses without backbones that have to be rescued - and the ending in the manga, which was near perfect for the series in my opinion. The Hohenheim scene was perfect in my opinion.

The final boss didn't feel as climactic as it should have been tho. Still, great stuff. I especially liked the science behind the magic and scenes where Ed uses chemistry to his advantage rather than just blowing shit up. You don't get those clever battles/plots a lot these days.

I generally avoid movies based on animanga, so I haven't seen the FMA ones.

 

[Gigaguy64]

I really liked the manga and both anime series but I hated the ending to the first series and the movie for some reason... it just didn't sit well with me...

I HATE the movie.
So much.
It added too much BS to the already messed up ending the first anime had, and they killed Elysia.
That alone sent my rage over the edge.

Yeah I know what you mean I never really thought much of the movie... If they wanted they probably could have turned it into an original movie if they wanted to with some name changes and slight plot changes...

Really.
Its bad enough they went the LOL NAZI!11!!!1! routt but, by the end of the movie the main characters where worse off they were before the movie.

 

[MasterOfWorlds]

I liked Brotherhood much better than the first one. They develop the characters better, and from what I understand, it sticks much more to the manga than the first does, which is generally a good thing. I've never seen the movies, but from my experience, they have a tendency to not be as good as the series.

 

[Lilani]

I watched some of the anime, but one thing confused the hell out of me. Why are they calling witchcraft "alchemy"? Now I'm not against the show, I just don't know why they bother calling it that.

They get away with calling it "alchemy" because they follow scientific laws, such as the laws of matter. They call it "equivalent exchange" in the series, basically they can't turn something into something else unless each item has the same amount of matter. You can't get something from nothing. The same goes with the laws of matter and mass: matter can't be "created" and nor does it "disappear," it merely becomes something else.

The only "magical" component of alchemy is the concept of using the alchemical circles and patterns to make the reactions happen. Otherwise, FMA does have at least one firm foot in real science.

 

[IGNOREME]

I'm in love with the manga, myself. Never really seen either of the anime, but I'm not all that concerned about it.

I'm still reading the manga, I'm only on the fifth volume though. But what do you think of the series, manga or anime.

Only the fifth volume?

Trust me, it only gets better.

I watched some of the anime, but one thing confused the hell out of me. Why are they calling witchcraft "alchemy"? Now I'm not against the show, I just don't know why they bother calling it that.

Because it's pseudoscientific, rather than spiritual, and draws on actual medieval alchemical theories and concepts.

I'll take your word for it

 

[Sacman]

I really liked the manga and both anime series but I hated the ending to the first series and the movie for some reason... it just didn't sit well with me...

I HATE the movie.
So much.
It added too much BS to the already messed up ending the first anime had, and they killed Elysia.
That alone sent my rage over the edge.

Yeah I know what you mean I never really thought much of the movie... If they wanted they probably could have turned it into an original movie if they wanted to with some name changes and slight plot changes...

Really.
Its bad enough they went the LOL NAZI!11!!!1! routt but, by the end of the movie the main characters where worse off they were before the movie.

Yeah that's why I hated the ending... it solves nothing...<.< I was really just saying that the movie could have been improved if they removed it's ties from FMA...
Besides I always find it funny when Nazis are the villain in anime...

 

[Amaury_games]

I watched some of the anime, but one thing confused the hell out of me. Why are they calling witchcraft "alchemy"? Now I'm not against the show, I just don't know why they bother calling it that.

Well medieval alchemy was based on turning lesser metals in to precious metals, mainly gold. The creators just thought, "what if some one could turn any object into any other object?". It is just putting a medieval pseudoscience to its limits.

Sorry, but I don't think it's just that. In the story, they have major studies on the subject, can't just turn anything into anything. Each alchemist has a specialty, sort of their field of expertise, based on how they decided to learn the subject. Yes, all that could fit into wizardry also, but, the main difference, I guess, would be the limitation that comes from a kind of science: The Equivalent Exchange/Value Law (I'm Brazilian, so I'm sorry if this isn't the real name of the law in English; the Portuguese version says "Lei da Troca Equivalente", which is literally "Equivalent Exchange Law"). I have never saw or read about physical limitations to what wizards can do; their power is measured by their own inner strength and magical power, their creativity in using their spells to have different results in different environments, and are helped by magical items. FMA's alchemists can have the best theories and memorize all elements and how stuff is formed and made of, but they couldn't transform a cup of coffee into a normal sized car, because the mass of the cup of coffee isn't enough for that. That's one more reason why I find the story and the world that Hiromu Arakawa created so much interesting, fun, kick-ass and a lot of other great adjectives. Plus, I love the way she tells the main story.

 

[Amaury_games]

Ah, LOL. Someone already said that before me. Well, that's life. Sorry for being the echo.