I'm huge fan of anime, although I seem to go through varying phases of pickiness. Sometimes I'm all about the zany romantic comedy series, and other times I want the action-packed mecha battle-fests. About five years ago, I saw the first Fullmetal Alchemist series, and loved it. The heroes, the villains, the notions of life, death, and magic, all were perfectly suited to my tastes at the time.
I was aware of the manga upon which the anime was based, but it wasn't until much later that I learned of the extreme differences between the manga and the animated series. At first, I was annoyed. Several of the characters that had developed over the course of the anime were killed very early in the anime, particularly the homunculi Lust and Greed. The motivations and sometimes the very identities of the protagonists and antagonists were very different or even changed completely. I refused to let these changes get in the way of my fond memories of the series, and I stopped following the manga for some time. I later learned that the changes to the anime from the manga were necessary, as the anime was finished long before the manga was. The liberties taken in the anime had to be done, since there was no end for the manga in sight. I was alright with this, and was content to ignore the manga.
All this changed last year when Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood premiered. At first, I was offended. "What was wrong with the first series?!?", I wondered. I was perturbed that this anime was being remade so quickly, and I failed to see what a new series could possibly bring. Like a sucker and despite myself, I started watching the new series, largely thanks to its free availability on hulu. At first, I didn't notice much of a difference. There's an extra fight with some exposition, and one of the enemies is almost immediately revealed. Other than that Brotherhood, like the series before it, starts in much the same way as the manga so there aren't that many liberties to be taken.
After a few more episodes, the differences between the first anime and the new Brotherhood series begin to become more apparent. New characters were introduced to me, and I soon learned that Brotherhood was actually following the manga very closely. It made little sense why this series stay so faithful to the manga when the last series didn't, until something finally occurred to me. The creators of the manga had the end of their story figured finally figured out. Now that they had the ending for the manga, they could produce a anime series that follows the manga almost exactly, and actually have them both end it in the same way.
After more episodes, I began to realize that the plot, especially the plans and machinations of the "Final Boss" were much more grand and epic than the first series. The origins of the villainous homunculi made much more sense and every character, including all of the new additions from the manga, were much more fleshed out.
The series is now over, both in manga and anime form. It was an awe-inspiring journey, and although I'm huge fan of the characters and setting and am sad to see them all go, I'm glad that the complete story was told. I encourage you to check it out on hulu while it's still free.
I liked the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime quite a lot. I liked Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood even more. Everything about the new series is bigger and better, and while I'll always have fond memories of my first exposure to the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, the first series has been completely and utterly outdone. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is simply awesome, from beginning to end and is nearly peerless.
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