FMA Comparisons

[Sapphire225]

WARNING! SPOILERS TO THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ OR FINISHED THE SERIES!

Well, Brotherhood has finally ended and pays its likeness to the manga like it was stated. Both were excellent animes IMO and both were well liked among the general otaku population. Each were under the same name, but the earlier diverging from the manga mid-series; thus making it completely different. Which series do you prefer? Please use the different aspects that you like of each and then finally tell me in your opinion which you prefer.

For me...

Plot: The second anime's plot was alot more elaborate than the first, as there were alot more twists: The top officials were aware of Bradley's true identity, Scar was responisible for Winry's death rather than Roy, Selim not being the cute little shotacon child as expected like the first anime, and the motves of many characters. The first anime, although with a very good and intriguing plot, didn't have as much of a deep threat to the entire country like the first.

Characters: If anything, there were some characters that were not in the other or completely different. The most notable several of the homunculi. Sloth and Wrath (OF the first anime) being nothing like the other two incarnates (With the Wrath of the second being Bradley and Sloth being the behemoth not features in the first). The main antagonists were also different as well. Barry the Chopper was somewhat different, or rather his roles were. The Xingese characters and Briggs troops were entire absent from the 1st anime as was Archer, Claus, Lyra and the characters of CoS. Also, IMO, the characters tend to be in a even more sympathetic light than in the 2nd anime such as Rose, Scar, several homunculi and of couse our two main characters. Also, backgrounds and involvements were different from one another, such as Riza, Basque Grand and Schiezka.

Art: I love both of the art styles of the anime, but I kinda prefer the first because it makes the characters look more mature IMO. However, I like how the second anime incorporated more CGI.

Style: One thing I have noticed is that the second anime/manga is that it is somewhat happier than the first anime. The first anime is alot more angsty and cynical than the second which is a happier and hopeful. Also, some things in the first anime hit harder to me than the second, such as Hughes death b/c we got to know him longer. The same for Nina, although not as long. Some events happend in the one anime that never occured in the other, which, of course, led to the diverge in the plot. I prefer the events in the second anime, as they were plenty more and more surprising.

Overall, I prefer the second anime over the first mianly because of the more extensive plot of the second anime/manga than of the 1st anime.

So, your thoughts...?

[the_wolfs_howl]

I'd pretty much agree with your assessment. I greatly prefer the plot of Brotherhood, because it's so much more involved and it ends 100% better than the first anime. And almost without exception, I prefer the interpretations of the characters better in Brotherhood, too; they seem overall to be less cynical and less antagonistic towards things like God. (I just watched Episode 50 of the first anime again (dub version), and Mustang comes right out and says, "There's no such thing as God!" ._.)

However, I thought the music was better in the first anime, and I think they hit on emotions better in the first one too. Not that there's anything glaringly wrong with Brotherhood, and they basically just translated everything from the manga, but they would linger longer, draw out the emotion better, in the first one. A great example would be the scene when Ed comes out of Gluttony's stomach and Al is all trembling and telling him how worried he was. That scene wasn't in the first anime, but I really felt that they should have lingered more over those shots. I also felt like, ironically, the brotherly aspects of Ed and Al's characters were more poignant in the first anime

But I've always thought that you really have to take every version of the story to get the best picture. And that's also including both subbed and dubbed versions of the animes, because they often bring out slightly different nuances that both contribute to the story being told.

[Sapphire225]

[quote="the_wolfs_howl (post: 1407996)"]I'd pretty much agree with your assessment. I greatly prefer the plot of Brotherhood, because it's so much more involved and it ends 100% better than the first anime. And almost without exception, I prefer the interpretations of the characters better in Brotherhood, too]


I also thought the music was better in the first anime, it drew the tense scenes out better than the second, not that the second didn't have good ost as well, and Brothers was one of the best songs I've heard. Also, the same for me. The characters tend to be alot more emotional and human in the first anime than the second, or rather, it dwelved on their emotions better as realistically, increasing the drama. The nuances of the dub/sub aren't really too far apart, except for Al's voice, which sounds younger than the original. Frankly, I prefer Al's old voice, but it can't be helped since puberty is puberty.

I also, wished that they wouldn't have the anime exactly like the manga word-for-word. But I also wished that they hadn't left out some parts in the earlier episodes, which, to me, came out as kinda rushed. For example, The train incident and the Yousewell (Yorkwell?) mines were left out, with almost all the major characters being introduced in the first episode.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Brothers was one of the best songs I've heard.

DUDE YES I looooooooooooove that song so much, it's not even funny. I read and re-read the translated lyrics of the Russian version so many times that when I heard Vic Mignogna's rendition of it in English for the first time, tears came to my eyes (in a good way) at how it had been transferred into English. And I just love how that simple tune would weave its way into every sweet scene between the brothers, drawing out the emotion even better. That's something I sorely missed in Brotherhood.

The nuances of the dub/sub aren't really too far apart

Yeah, I suppose only uber-geek-fans like me would ever care The main ones I like to think about are Tucker's "woohoo I transmuted my daughter for no reason!" monologue in the dub, because it makes it a lot clearer why he did it (I like crazy-logic that makes at least a little bit of sense), and something that Al says in Episode 3, in the flashback to their childhood. They're coming home from seeing Winry when she just learned that her parents died in the war, and in the Japanese version Al just says something like, "I feel sorry for Winry." But in the dub, he says, "Poor Winry. Can you imagine what that would be like?" That bridges the gap between what he says and Ed's reaction of running to Trisha and sobbing much better.
In a similar vein, there were several moments in Brotherhood that I'd never understood before, even after poring over the manga a bajillion times. The best example is when Ed's in the hospital after Lab 5, and he's calling Winry to ask her to come out and fix his arm. When he tells her it's broken, he quickly holds the receiver far away from him, expecting her to yell at the top of her lungs. I never understood from the manga that he was just imagining it, but Romi Paku's voice made it all so clear!
...Okay, now I've confirmed myself as the biggest FMA nerd ever :B

I also, wished that they wouldn't have the anime exactly like the manga word-for-word. But I also wished that they hadn't left out some parts in the earlier episodes, which, to me, came out as kinda rushed. For example, The train incident and the Yousewell (Yorkwell?) mines were left out, with almost all the major characters being introduced in the first episode.

I agree]did[/i] flash back to the Youswell incident, if only waaaaay down the road.

[Yamamaya]

I'd pretty much agree with your assessment. I greatly prefer the plot of Brotherhood, because it's so much more involved and it ends 100% better than the first anime. And almost without exception, I prefer the interpretations of the characters better in Brotherhood, too]
Interestingly enough in Brotherhood Fuher Bradley says, "There is no God," right before [SPOILER]He is blinded by the light of the sun and Scar finishes him off.[/SPOILER] There were far too many useless characters in the first anime while in Brotherhood each character has it's purpose. Although some of the homonculi were better developed in the first anime a la Lust.

However, I thought the music was better in the first anime, and I think they hit on emotions better in the first one too. Not that there's anything glaringly wrong with Brotherhood, and they basically just translated everything from the manga, but they would linger longer, draw out the emotion better, in the first one. A great example would be the scene when Ed comes out of Gluttony's stomach and Al is all trembling and telling him how worried he was. That scene wasn't in the first anime, but I really felt that they should have lingered more over those shots. I also felt like, ironically, the brotherly aspects of Ed and Al's characters were more poignant in the first anime
.

IMO the music was about equal. As for the emotions, sometimes there was far too much angst in the first for its own good.

While the brotherly aspects were more poignant, Al suffered as a result. He felt like a much weaker side kick character in the first one. In Brotherhood he actually makes a difference.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

There were far too many useless characters in the first anime while in Brotherhood each character has it's purpose. Although some of the homonculi were better developed in the first anime a la Lust.


IMO the music was about equal. As for the emotions, sometimes there was far too much angst in the first for its own good.

While Brothers is a fantastic song, I agree with Yamamaya, the music was about the same. Same with Al.

I do have to disagree with characterizations though. Simply because Lust wasn't all I WANT TO BE A HUMAN JUST LIKE ALPHONSE doesn't mean she was weaker, and I don't think shifting focus from one character to another make one worse because one person was less developed. Bradley and Kimbley had far more character development than Lust because they were more important than Lust.

[Sheol777]

I never read the manga, but this series was phenomenal.

- homunculi are scary

- Roy Mustang gets knocked down a peg

- story telling is better

- and...I have a new hero KING BRADLEY!

...tell me he wasn't epic at the end of that series.

[the_wolfs_howl]

I do have to disagree with characterizations though. Simply because Lust wasn't all I WANT TO BE A HUMAN JUST LIKE ALPHONSE doesn't mean she was weaker

Maybe not. But killing her off so early in the story certainly damages her ability to show her complexity before the end. She was the first Homunculus to die, and especially with the way Brotherhood rushed through the beginning, Lust had relatively little time to have much characterization. Sloth was also a rather weak character, though I don't suppose he needed to be that strong - and I didn't really like firstanime!Sloth either :/

- and...I have a new hero KING BRADLEY!

...tell me he wasn't epic at the end of that series.

True, true. His battle with Scar was twice as cool in Brotherhood as in the manga, simply because of the quality of the animation. Still, I gave a rousing cheer when he kicked the can. He's one nasty dude.

[blkmage]

The criticism that Lust is a weak character in the manga/Brotherhood storyline because she was a more complex character in the original FMA anime is flawed. Why is it necessary that Lust's character be complex when that was never the intent of her character to begin with? The only reason people think Lust's character suffered is because of her elevated role in the first anime. That should have no bearing on the function of her character in a completely different story.

It's like arguing that the manga/Brotherhood storyline should have included Dante simply because she played such a large role in the first anime.

[Mr. Hat'n'Clogs]

The criticism that Lust is a weak character in the manga/Brotherhood storyline because she was a more complex character in the original FMA anime is flawed. Why is it necessary that Lust's character be complex when that was never the intent of her character to begin with? The only reason people think Lust's character suffered is because of her elevated role in the first anime. That should have no bearing on the function of her character in a completely different story.

It's like arguing that the manga/Brotherhood storyline should have included Dante simply because she played such a large role in the first anime.

That's exactly the point I was trying to get across.

Also, I wouldn't exactly call Sloth a weak character. He came in later, and wasn't as important as, say, Pride or Wrath, but he was an excellent rendition of Sloth. As Fish pointed out when we first learned how powerful he is, Sloth is a sin because it's a waste of our natural talents.

[Lynna]

Sloth was so funny XDDD And Envy isn't half is scary when he's stuck in a bottle XDDD

Although I thought it was sad Lust didn't get as much development in the second anime, they made up for it by further developing Greed,Envy, and Pride. (Especially Greed! he's now officially my favorite villain XD) I also loved the new characters from Xing (Mei, Ling, Lanfan, and Fu) and all the other characters that weren't in the first anime.

On the other hand, There were some really awesome scenes in the first anime, and I liked the art better. The plotline was also great, and it had a much smoother beggining than brotherhood

But brotherhood had the better ending XDDD It was allot more complex and involved allot more people than in the original. also, there was a nice, proper Ed/Winry ending,so I was allot happier with the way it ended (Ed and Al getting stuck in a world without alchemy that is about to have a war and being seperated fro winry and the others forever was just sad)

With the music, for background I think it was ALMOST equal, but the first anime was a tad bit better. I acctually liked the opening/ending songs better in brotherhod, though.