Questions about Full Metal Alchemist

[Bob_McMillan]

I'm now in the 34th episode of Full Metal Alchemist, and confused as hell. I thought Brotherhood was some kind of sequel to it, and I have seen some episodes of it before. So imagine my surprise when things I remembered started going down differently, like characters' deaths and stuff. I searched a bit online, and found out that FMA:BH is a more accurate retelling of the manga.

First off, why the fuck would they do that? It seems rather unnecessary and confusing to have two animes that use the same characters, the same art style, the same voice actors, etc.

Second, should I stop watching FMA and move on to FMA:BH? I heard it is the better version of the two.

Third, if I do start watching FMA:BH, will I still be able to enjoy it?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

This video best showcases the differences of the 2:


As for me I am very much in the Brotherhood camp and recommend watching that instead.

 

[Zontar]

The 2003 series was made while the manga was still ongoing, so it had to have its second half be entirely different.

While Brotherhood is viewed overall as a better series, the 2003 series is required viewing because it makes the assumption you've watched it already so the entire first half of the story is basically a speedrun (some events that where multi episode arcs are condensed into a single episode, and some episodes are skipped entirely despite being important to the plot).

You should finish the first one before moving on to Brotherhood, though you will be able to enjoy it. In fact, with how it's made, one will get LESS enjoyment out of it if you skip the original animated series.

 

[balladbird]

First off, why the fuck would they do that? It seems rather unnecessary and confusing to have two animes that use the same characters, the same art style, the same voice actors, etc.

The short answer is that they did it because FMA is hugely successful, and because the manga takes the plot in a drastically different direction compared to the first anime's ending.

Second, should I stop watching FMA and move on to FMA:BH? I heard it is the better version of the two.

If you aren't enjoying the first anime series, you could go ahead and move on to brotherhood to see if you like it better. If you're liking the 2003 series, I'd recommend watching both. As I said above, the plots of the two separate around the end of the Maes Hughes arc, and never even remotely touch again. I liked brotherhood far more than the original anime, but enjoyed them both for different reasons

Third, if I do start watching FMA:BH, will I still be able to enjoy it?

If you've watched to the end of the Maes Hughes arc in the first FMA series, then you won't enjoy the first 12 or so episodes of brotherhood, since they're basically just a super-condensed version of what you've already seen. Fortunately, that still leaves you with 40 episodes of fresh content, so I'd say you won't be hurting too bad.

 

[hermes]

First off, why the fuck would they do that? It seems rather unnecessary and confusing to have two animes that use the same characters, the same art style, the same voice actors, etc.

They did it because the manga was so popular that it got an anime approved while the manga wasn't finished, and since the creator didn't want to the two timelines to start interfering with each other, he created a new plot for the anime that diverts heavily on the, unreleased at the time, second half.

Think of it as Game of Thrones, anime edition, except Martin would still be credited with writing the last seasons.

Second, should I stop watching FMA and move on to FMA:BH? I heard it is the better version of the two.

I don't know if you should, it depends on how advanced you are. BH is a lot better than FMA, but if you start with BH right after FMA, the first ten episodes or so will feel like a remake of the same plot. On the other hand, I wouldn't recommend you to skip those episodes until the plot diverts, because you would miss on stuff that got introduced and paid off later.

If you are fairly advanced with FMA, finish it before going to BH. When you get to it, have a little patience with the first episodes that trend on similar ground than the other series.

Third, if I do start watching FMA:BH, will I still be able to enjoy it?

Yes, if you enjoyed the original, it is fairly sure you will like BH. About half point in the series, it ramps up and gets a lot better than FMA. Just try to give it a fair chance since a lot of plot elements will be retold there.

 

[mardocOz]

I am gonna echo the sentiments of others here, Brotherhood is better, but I'm very glad that I watched the original FMA series first. The original series was brilliant in it's own right, and Brotherhood improves on it in every way... barring the "speed run" of the first few episodes recapping events from the original where they were better fleshed out.

And by the way, thank you for reminding me about this anime. Time for a re-watch, methinks!

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

I wasn't too hot on the original series, but I've been watching anime for a long time now so my 'filler-detector' is pretty powerful. The original FMA did a decent job with theirs, but I still wasn't too hot on the series as a whole. I found Brotherhood to be a lot more enjoyable and better paced.

However, Hiromu Arakawa, the author, actually really enjoyed the direction the original series went in. Some parts of the very end were pretty cool, and I liked the idea behind the existence of the Homonculi, but Brotherhood is definitely the better series.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

You should watch both, some people like the first one more, a lot of people like the second one more. I think the first one is vastly superior as Brotherhood is generic, but it is better animated. And while the homonculi are better developed in 2003, the side characters are better developed in Brotherhood (with the exception of characters that disappear before episode 12 of Brotherhood).

 

[Nazulu]

Well if you aren't enjoying FMA then you might as well move onto BH. If you are, then finish it and then move onto the other to get a different experience. Both have pretty different views and laws, so you may get something out of both.

As for me, BH cracked me up with just how bad the execution is, and annoyed me when it was attempting to be funny. When it tries to be serious, it becomes a comedy. lol. Just see it for that.
Basically BH is like the Britney Spears of the two. It knew how to whore itself better for more appeal.