Full Metal Alchemist - Quick Compairison

It has been requested of me to compare Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood to the original 51 episode series of which I am more than happy to go through.

   The original series came out while the manga was still relatively young. I’m unsure about the circumstances revolving around the TV series genesis, but it ended up limited to 51 episodes and a follow up movie. So within that time frame the writers of the TV Series had to complete their story using the manga as a basis and template with the help of the original creator. Within that context they created a story revolving around the brothers, Ed and Al and their search for the secrets of the philosophers stone in the attempt to regain the bodies they lost while trying to bring their mother back to life. During their quest they become embroiled in an insidious plot by a group of alchemically created individuals known as the Homunculi. As Ed and Al discover the dark secrets behind the Philosophers Store, the war with Ishbal, and the Homunculi, they begin to discover that the government they work for has sinister plans and history has a way of repeating it’s self. There search also brings them to the truth about their own existence and their long lost fathers whereabouts.

The second series Brotherhood follows the original series exactly for a number of episodes, although quite rapidly.  Some small story arcs have been omitted and the pace of the show is dramatic. In about half the time they covered the basic events that comprised the first season of the original, which culminated in the death of Huges. At this point the new series begins its trajectory from the original product into the role of following the manga. The largest difference I have noticed so far, which I’m unsure as to my thought on, is the origin of the Homunculi. In the original they were all born from people trying to transmute a human and each of the 7 Homunculi were tied to a character in the story. One was the result of Ed and Al trying to bring their mother back, one was the result of their teacher trying to bring her stillborn child back, etc. They represented a physical and consistent reminder to the characters follies and flaws. The Homunculi were also near immortal beings whose only weakness was when part of their original body was brought into contact with them. If my memory serves me as well I believe the Homunculi followed a reoccurring pattern, there would always be seven of them at one time, then some event would happen and all or most of them would ‘die’ until they were all revived once again through human foolishness or maliciousness…although I may have hallucinated that aspect. Now the Homunculi are the product of one person and are all working in concert with each other, where as before they were the product of a few people and only some of them worked together. In the original series one of the coolest surprises was upon finding out that Bradley was a homunculus.  In Brotherhood they gave that secret up in a pretty quick and uneventful scene…boooo.

    Another major difference I have noticed that lends its self to enriching the series is how the world of the series has grown, originally you just stuck with the country that Ed and Al are a part of, Ishbal and minor references to countries to the north and south. Now they have included a large, China-like, country to the Far East and seem to be incorporating more participation from the surrounding lands as well. While the war with Ishbal has remained and the suffering of its people persists, they have not focused as heavily on it as they did originally. One of my favorite characters, Scar, has fallen, so far, to a minor character, but I don’t see that lasting long given recent developments in the series. One of the most interesting plot lines in the original was dealing with Scar and his abilities and reasons for wanting to destroy all State Alchemists.

    By far the biggest change that I have welcomed whole heartedly is the much more reduced presence of the annoying Winry. I hate her character and every otaku driven stereotype she represents. I cheered at the end of the original series when Ed left her to herself, which might still happen in this series. I am curious to see what the manga’s resolution might be, as it is currently still in production. In the original series Ed ended up being sucked into an alternate world (the real world) where he was reunited with his father and his arm/leg with no way to return home to Al and Winry. I don’t foresee this happening, but I have never read the manga so I can’t say for sure. My original thoughts about the new series was that they would run through what the first one did and pick up where the movie left off (which also put a nice lid on the original series).

    So far the Brotherhood series has begun to diverge from the original anime and the story telling has been quite rapid. There have been some changes that are somewhat disappointing, like the death of Greed (which was really the turning point in the original) and the speedy death of Huges. I remember being on the verge of tears during his funeral in the original because you had spent so many episodes getting to like his insane antics and adorable family. He really was my favorite character in the original series…but in the new one he barely seems to have made a blip on the radar. I like the character of Barry the Chopper and his expanded role in the new series. In the original he was around for maybe 4 or so episodes and then killed off. Now he continues to show up and aids the State Alchemists in their missions. While he is a convicted mass murderer his character is actually comical and his antics are entertaining.

    When I originally found out about the new series I figured it was just a remake of the original, unaware the manga still ran and that the original manga diverged quite a bit from it. Before that knowledge I was content with watching another remake, as the series is probably one of the best shonen adventure stories made. It was precise, to the point, not filled with much wasted story and had characters that were more than just prefabricated personality types as found in all shonen titles. Now that I know it is going to be a different story in general I am even more pleased, because we get to spend time with old friends in new ways. My only fear is that it will succumb to the shonen trap of eventually be drawn out, boring and utterly off key.  My only hope is that it continues to be a quality series, that they retain some of the powerful story sequences and continue with the odd ball humor to break up the weight and seriousness of the series.