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silverthunder) wrote2011-01-16 11:09 am
silverthunder) wrote2011-01-16 11:09 am
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Fullmetal Alchemsit vs Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
I've been thinking about doing this post for a while, mainly because my little blurb about FMA:B was so short, but also because I've never really talked about my thoughts on the original series. And I've seen this topic come up a few times and it kind of caught my interest.
I want to state right from the start that I really love both series, for all their flaws. They were both excellent watches, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. But they are definitely different, not just because of their storylines, but because of the way they did things.
But anyway, I'm going to do a brief comparison of the differences, and what I thought each series did better than the other.
First of all, the opening episodes. The original FMA did a gorgeous job on these. We had the opening chapter of the manga (Ed and Al in Lior), fleshed out and modified for greater dramatics, with the reveal of Ed and Al's unique situation provided under well-developed tension. It gives us a perfect lead-in to explore the back story behind this, as well.
And what did we get in Brotherhood? Well, the first episode was a throw-away mission with a character created purely to provide this sloppy explanation of Ed and Al's situation, complete with just about every single running gag in the series and a shout out to the characters we remember from the first series. It might as well provide a large subtitle reading, 'See the first anime before watching this one'. The next few episodes follow along the same lines as the original anime, but without that lovely tension and feeling. For about the first five or ten episodes, Brotherhood feels like FMA-lite.
Now, I get that they were trying to avoid being too much like the original anime, but they could've still followed the manga and opened with the Lior episode. If they're sticking close to the manga, well, the original anime changed enough that this is going to be at least somewhat different, right?
Anyway. FMA just did this way better.
Brotherhood does start to come into its own as you get further into the series. There were a lot of changes from the manga in the original FMA that I didn't like, and Brotherhood corrects them. There is also a more jovial underlying humor that was in the manga which didn't always jive in the original anime.
How the two series managed to weave the humor through the more serious stuff was done very differently. FMA the original focussed a lot more on the angst, to the point of becoming almost melodramatic in some places. FMA:B doesn't take itself as seriously (although it does handle important moments seriously), and there's a lot more of the humor we saw in the manga making its way into action sequences and cutting up dramatic moments. If you're a fan of the heavy, heavy angst, you're not going to like this, so whether or not this is a point for FMA or FMA:B is going to depend on how you like your humor and angst divided up (I obviously prefer FMA:B's approach). The original series had its humor, certainly, but it was less frequent and a lot of it was done in filler episodes as opposed to scattered out through the series.
Speaking of filler... FMA had several filler episodes, some of which were funny (the original series was the only one to animate the gaiden which were at the end of a few of the earlier manga volumes), some of which were angsty, and some of which were just plain useless (I'm looking at you, episode four). FMA:B has no pure filler episodes, and very little filler material (most of it humor). And given that it's the longer of the two series, this means there is a heck of a lot more plot going on.
To be honest, FMA:B had a much tighter storyline than FMA, which tended to meander on occasion. This is the main reason why the first thirty or so episodes of the original series took all of 14 episodes in Brotherhood. And honestly, aside from the first few shaky episodes, Brotherhood did a fairly decent job with the storyline here. The reason it's leaner is because it follows the manga almost exactly and doesn't throw in extra stuff (like episode 24 from the original, which I really have mixed feelings about). If you liked the additions, you're going to find Brotherhood's handling of these early episodes annoying, but if you preferred the manga (like me), you'll like it.
At episode 15, Brotherhood severs itself from the original series completely, and here is where it really starts coming into its own. At this point, FMA was more than half over, but FMA:B is just barely getting started, and every episodes is packed with plot. It doesn't rush over dramatic moments, but it doesn't linger where it doesn't need to. This is the kind of series where you'll say "okay, I'm just going to watch one episode" and then find yourself still watching five episodes later and wondering how the heck that happened. FMA is a heavy series, but Brotherhood carries itself with more ease, and the way things start to fall into place is just perfect.
To be honest, FMA's ending left me feeling strangely dissatisfied (I'm not counting the movie here, especially since its ending was not much better). It felt incomplete - and it was, really. You could see it was trying to leave some things to the imagination, but the way it did this didn't leave me with a feeling of wonder and speculation. It left me feeling cheated out of a good conclusion! Besides that, I felt a lot like the events of the final few episodes just didn't jive with the rest of the series. There was a disconnect that didn't sit well with me.
Not the case with Brotherhood. Everything that happens ties in with what happened before it, following in a logical flow without any disconnect or ambiguous events. And the conclusion was absolutely brilliant, bringing us back to the underlying theme of the series (equivalent exchange), and tying off all of the loose ends. Complete and utterly satisfying.
In terms of characters... well, I'll just say I think that both series did a good job with the development of the characters. Ed and Al felt very much the same in both series, although Al was perhaps more resourceful and decisive in Brotherhood, and Ed spent less time beating himself up over his mistakes. Winry was a hell of a lot less annoying in Brotherhood, mainly because she did have plot significance and when she was brought in it was usually for a reason rather than just tossing her in for the hell of it. Roy was less broody in FMA:B, his concern for the Elrics was more understated, and his fury over Hughes more obvious - but at the core his character was essentially the same. Izumi also changed in a few subtle ways while remaining the same character (although she got less screen time). There are a whole heap of new characters introduced in Brotherhood, developed to varying degrees, but most of them were interesting and unique.
So... with the story and characters discussed, let's look at the technical stuff.
Music. I don't even think this needs a discussion, because it's obvious to anyone who's watched an episode or two of both series that the original FMA is the clear winner here. Its music is utterly, utterly gorgeous: rich and meaningful, conveying the mood of each scene with potency. Listening to the soundtrack (most of it, anyway) fills me with nostalgia. I can recall specific scenes just by hearing the BG music that played during them. Brotherhood has a decent soundtrack, but it's nothing special at all, and nowhere near the same level as the original FMA. Because of this, I find myself frequently wishing for songs from FMA when watching FMA:B scenes.
Art style. This is going to depend on your preference. The original series has a more traditional anime style, while Brotherhood went for a harsher look, closer to the manga style. Personally, I think I prefer the original series here, but only by a little. The animation is cleaner and smoother in Brotherhood, but that's to be expected since it's the remake.
To sum it all up, I prefer FMA:B to the original series, mainly because I had always liked the manga a bit better than the anime back when they were running at the same time. The storyline is tighter, the ending is better, the humor is more jovial and frequent, and the angst doesn't tip over into melodrama.
However, they are both awesome.
I want to state right from the start that I really love both series, for all their flaws. They were both excellent watches, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. But they are definitely different, not just because of their storylines, but because of the way they did things.
But anyway, I'm going to do a brief comparison of the differences, and what I thought each series did better than the other.
First of all, the opening episodes. The original FMA did a gorgeous job on these. We had the opening chapter of the manga (Ed and Al in Lior), fleshed out and modified for greater dramatics, with the reveal of Ed and Al's unique situation provided under well-developed tension. It gives us a perfect lead-in to explore the back story behind this, as well.
And what did we get in Brotherhood? Well, the first episode was a throw-away mission with a character created purely to provide this sloppy explanation of Ed and Al's situation, complete with just about every single running gag in the series and a shout out to the characters we remember from the first series. It might as well provide a large subtitle reading, 'See the first anime before watching this one'. The next few episodes follow along the same lines as the original anime, but without that lovely tension and feeling. For about the first five or ten episodes, Brotherhood feels like FMA-lite.
Now, I get that they were trying to avoid being too much like the original anime, but they could've still followed the manga and opened with the Lior episode. If they're sticking close to the manga, well, the original anime changed enough that this is going to be at least somewhat different, right?
Anyway. FMA just did this way better.
Brotherhood does start to come into its own as you get further into the series. There were a lot of changes from the manga in the original FMA that I didn't like, and Brotherhood corrects them. There is also a more jovial underlying humor that was in the manga which didn't always jive in the original anime.
How the two series managed to weave the humor through the more serious stuff was done very differently. FMA the original focussed a lot more on the angst, to the point of becoming almost melodramatic in some places. FMA:B doesn't take itself as seriously (although it does handle important moments seriously), and there's a lot more of the humor we saw in the manga making its way into action sequences and cutting up dramatic moments. If you're a fan of the heavy, heavy angst, you're not going to like this, so whether or not this is a point for FMA or FMA:B is going to depend on how you like your humor and angst divided up (I obviously prefer FMA:B's approach). The original series had its humor, certainly, but it was less frequent and a lot of it was done in filler episodes as opposed to scattered out through the series.
Speaking of filler... FMA had several filler episodes, some of which were funny (the original series was the only one to animate the gaiden which were at the end of a few of the earlier manga volumes), some of which were angsty, and some of which were just plain useless (I'm looking at you, episode four). FMA:B has no pure filler episodes, and very little filler material (most of it humor). And given that it's the longer of the two series, this means there is a heck of a lot more plot going on.
To be honest, FMA:B had a much tighter storyline than FMA, which tended to meander on occasion. This is the main reason why the first thirty or so episodes of the original series took all of 14 episodes in Brotherhood. And honestly, aside from the first few shaky episodes, Brotherhood did a fairly decent job with the storyline here. The reason it's leaner is because it follows the manga almost exactly and doesn't throw in extra stuff (like episode 24 from the original, which I really have mixed feelings about). If you liked the additions, you're going to find Brotherhood's handling of these early episodes annoying, but if you preferred the manga (like me), you'll like it.
At episode 15, Brotherhood severs itself from the original series completely, and here is where it really starts coming into its own. At this point, FMA was more than half over, but FMA:B is just barely getting started, and every episodes is packed with plot. It doesn't rush over dramatic moments, but it doesn't linger where it doesn't need to. This is the kind of series where you'll say "okay, I'm just going to watch one episode" and then find yourself still watching five episodes later and wondering how the heck that happened. FMA is a heavy series, but Brotherhood carries itself with more ease, and the way things start to fall into place is just perfect.
To be honest, FMA's ending left me feeling strangely dissatisfied (I'm not counting the movie here, especially since its ending was not much better). It felt incomplete - and it was, really. You could see it was trying to leave some things to the imagination, but the way it did this didn't leave me with a feeling of wonder and speculation. It left me feeling cheated out of a good conclusion! Besides that, I felt a lot like the events of the final few episodes just didn't jive with the rest of the series. There was a disconnect that didn't sit well with me.
Not the case with Brotherhood. Everything that happens ties in with what happened before it, following in a logical flow without any disconnect or ambiguous events. And the conclusion was absolutely brilliant, bringing us back to the underlying theme of the series (equivalent exchange), and tying off all of the loose ends. Complete and utterly satisfying.
In terms of characters... well, I'll just say I think that both series did a good job with the development of the characters. Ed and Al felt very much the same in both series, although Al was perhaps more resourceful and decisive in Brotherhood, and Ed spent less time beating himself up over his mistakes. Winry was a hell of a lot less annoying in Brotherhood, mainly because she did have plot significance and when she was brought in it was usually for a reason rather than just tossing her in for the hell of it. Roy was less broody in FMA:B, his concern for the Elrics was more understated, and his fury over Hughes more obvious - but at the core his character was essentially the same. Izumi also changed in a few subtle ways while remaining the same character (although she got less screen time). There are a whole heap of new characters introduced in Brotherhood, developed to varying degrees, but most of them were interesting and unique.
So... with the story and characters discussed, let's look at the technical stuff.
Music. I don't even think this needs a discussion, because it's obvious to anyone who's watched an episode or two of both series that the original FMA is the clear winner here. Its music is utterly, utterly gorgeous: rich and meaningful, conveying the mood of each scene with potency. Listening to the soundtrack (most of it, anyway) fills me with nostalgia. I can recall specific scenes just by hearing the BG music that played during them. Brotherhood has a decent soundtrack, but it's nothing special at all, and nowhere near the same level as the original FMA. Because of this, I find myself frequently wishing for songs from FMA when watching FMA:B scenes.
Art style. This is going to depend on your preference. The original series has a more traditional anime style, while Brotherhood went for a harsher look, closer to the manga style. Personally, I think I prefer the original series here, but only by a little. The animation is cleaner and smoother in Brotherhood, but that's to be expected since it's the remake.
To sum it all up, I prefer FMA:B to the original series, mainly because I had always liked the manga a bit better than the anime back when they were running at the same time. The storyline is tighter, the ending is better, the humor is more jovial and frequent, and the angst doesn't tip over into melodrama.
However, they are both awesome.
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Brotherhood is a completely different series, really. But the ending made so much more sense to me, and felt more tied to the core values of the story. Actually, when I read the final two chapters of the manga, I was so happy with it that I immediately went and downloaded all of what was out so far for Brotherhood (even though I'd previously given up on that anime). I'm glad I did. The whole thing really is an amazing series.