Is this any good

[Wolfsong]

I was yelled at the other day by a friend because I have yet to watch Fullmetal Alchemist. I promised, to get them to quiet down a notch, to look it up.
But I can't say I found the premise to be very interesting at all. Course, could easily be the case of miserable writing, but I'm not all that sure.

So to those who have watched this series, would you suggest the show, and why?

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Why is your friend yelling at you? Or do you mean like in a playful way?

Anyway, having seen both FMA in my younger years, and FMA Brotherhood maybe a year or two ago, if you're going to watch one of them, watch Brotherhood. It's considered the canon of the FMA story. Personally I enjoyed both of them when I watched them, granted I saw FMA forever ago so I'm not sure how I'd feel about it today. In case if you didn't know, the first FMA anime came out while the manga was still in production, so at some point the studio made up their own story which is vastly different from the manga. Then a number of years later, the studio produced FMA Brotherhood, which starts out the same as the original FMA anime (like the first episodes or two), but then follows the storyline of the original manga series.

Brotherhood was a good show though.The story addressed a number of themes I appreciated, like politics of war, redemption (Scar is a great character), morality, family love, etc, are present in the show. So if you want to watch both versions, by all means go ahead. But personally after watching Brotherhood, I can't justify why anyone would want watch the original FMA. Brotherhood is just simply better.

[ClaecElric4God]

Is this friend someone I know?
Anyways. Wolf. Look at my avatar. Look at my username. Look at the hopeless little emoticon in my sig. Yes, it's worth watching. Why? Because I said so. You should go watch it.

*wanders off before someone can yell at me for not watching FMA:B yet*

[Mr. SmartyPants]

*wanders off before someone can yell at me for not watching FMA:B yet*

I'll do it. Go watch Brotherhood. I think it's vastly better than the original anime.

[Thunderscream872]

I've only seen FMA (not Brotherhood), and I'd highly recommend it. Its definitely one of the best anime I've seen, second only to Gurren Lagann (though sometimes I go back and forth with myself on which one is better).

I could go into a number of reasons why you should watch it, but to keep it short and sweet I'll just stay this: FMA is an anime that presents allot of difficult moral questions for the characters. The main characters are forced to make difficult decisions, face there past mistakes, evolve as people, and come out better (or worse) for it. Basically, in my opinion, character development is the most important aspect to any anime, and FMA has amazing characters who get great development.

If you watch FMA (or Brotherhood), you're not gonna get one of these cheap stories with a bunch of stereotypical characters with pretty faces who have learned nothing by the end of the show. By the end of FMA, allot of the characters are not the same people they were at the beginning, and that's part of the reason I think its one of the best.

FMA:B does stick more closely to the source material and has less plot holes/inconsistencies, so you might wanna take that into consideration before watching either of them. I plan to watch Brotherhood myself sooner or later.

[Lynna]

FullMetal Alchemist: brotherhood is objectively good, as I like to say. This means that while no, of course not everyone on the planet is going to like it, they cannot deny it is good. It has a good plot, with only a single true plothole that I know of, that is complex and interwoven and intriguing. The characters are fascinating, and they change and grow, and have motives and goals and insecurities. All the foreshadowing comes together, and everything contributes towards the story (so pretty much no filler.) It is one of the best stories I have ever witnessed. It has some pretty deep themes, too, as Mr. SmartyPants mentioned, I got very emotionally involved with the story. It is a fantastic thing and you should watch it.

I saw FMA (2003) before I saw FMA: b. I haven't seen it in years. There are some people who like this one better, but I think it is mostly for nostalgic reasons. There were some weird, confusing plot happenings, an ending that was vaguely but not truly satisfying, some moments that felt very out-of-character, and just some overall "What?? Why would they do that??" things. That being said, I enjoyed it when I saw it.

[Mullet Death]

I'm not hipster, and there were SOME things I liked about it, but I actually didn't like it overall. No one seems to have mentioned the amount of heavy-handed, "God is dead" themes the franchise has. I nearly dropped both series because of the way religious belief, especially a rather Catholic-looking one (yes, yes, I know that's an anime trope and it wasn't necessarily about Christianity) is portrayed in the show. Anti-religious and just plain dark and depressing themes are the number one thing I don't like seeing in anime or any other art I consume, and they are overly abundant here. (Incidentally, I've never once actually dropped an anime; I have a finish-what-I-start mentality.) "Religious characters are the bad guys" and a sort of condescending attitude about people of faith are vibes I got from this show, including the stuff involving Scar.

There are certainly a handful of characters in the franchise that I loved, but like some kind of extra slap in the face, of those, one is quite famously killed off, and another famously receives a fate worse than death. The story is clearly meant to be tragic, and while there certainly are exceptions, for the most part, tragedy just ain't my thing. Life isn't all cat ears and rainbows, but I like fiction that stresses or reflects the goodness of life and people, that therefore reflects the goodness of their Creator. I don't need or want fiction to tell me life sucks and you just have to get over it and "move forward," and that was another theme I picked up in this show.

It's definitely not all bad; scenes with Izumi Curtis or Winry and her machinist obsession were hysterical to me, and Al is a sweet kid. Nevertheless it ultimately left a bad taste in my mouth.

All that said, if you must watch it to see what all the fuss is about but don't want to bother watching both, I will echo that Brotherhood is by far the better series.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

but I like fiction that stresses or reflects the goodness of life and people

I think FMA Brotherhood does cover that as well. I agree with your statements of it having dark elements in the storyline (which I will go the other direction as you. I appreciate darkness because it encapsulates a part of what the human condition is), but there are still characters that stress the goodness of people, with the most notable example being Al. He's the symbol of light and goodness in the horrible world that the two brothers partake in, right? He's basically the moral for Edward despite being the larger victim of the two.

You have believable characters that are bad (or rather, with a moral imperative that is against most others. AFAIK I think only a small number of characters are truly "evil"), and you have believable characters that are good. I think that's a strength to FMA:B in that there isn't this strict dichotomy everywhere you go. There's a lot of grey because that's what life really is: a whole lot of greyness.

I don't need or want fiction to tell me life sucks and you just have to get over it and "move forward," and that was another theme I picked up in this show.

So it's been some time since I've seen it, but I don't think that's the overarching theme of the show. At least I think it's half of it. What I picked up was how the main characters reconcile their fatalistic attitudes towards how much life sucks, and evolving to doing what needs to be done to make life more just, better, and good. I think that's the development of the characters, particularly both Ed and Al but especially Ed. On top of that, you have numerous characters on their individual paths towards atonement for their sins. I think that's a pretty positive message.

[Wolfsong]

Why is your friend yelling at you? Or do you mean like in a playful way?.

She posted under you, mate. Should be answer enough.

Well, I note definitely a lot of notice for the characters, and the plot. Most everyone seems to rate it pretty highly.

Still, anti-church themes do somewhat trouble me. Do they show commonly in the plot as a major part, or is it various person's opinions?

[Ante Bellum]

Why would you watch anime when you could watch something good like not-anime?

[Wolfsong]

Why would you watch anime when you could watch something good like not-anime?

....trolling. *sigh*
Why would you hang around an anime site if you like to watch stuff like not-anime?

[Xeno]

Post does not address topic or contribute to conversation.

[Lynna]

Why is your friend yelling at you? Or do you mean like in a playful way?.

She posted under you, mate. Should be answer enough.

Well, I note definitely a lot of notice for the characters, and the plot. Most everyone seems to rate it pretty highly.

Still, anti-church themes do somewhat trouble me. Do they show commonly in the plot as a major part, or is it various person's opinions?

Various persons opinions, and I think it's only really brought up in one or two episodes.

A lot of people talk about how FMA presents an atheist worldview, but to be honest, I think it is better described as a pantheist worldview (everyone is God). Not that that makes it better, but either way, it is more a backdrop to the story than the main focus.

[Wolfsong]

Why is your friend yelling at you? Or do you mean like in a playful way?.

She posted under you, mate. Should be answer enough.

Well, I note definitely a lot of notice for the characters, and the plot. Most everyone seems to rate it pretty highly.

Still, anti-church themes do somewhat trouble me. Do they show commonly in the plot as a major part, or is it various person's opinions?

Various persons opinions, and I think it's only really brought up in one or two episodes.

A lot of people talk about how FMA presents an atheist worldview, but to be honest, I think it is better described as a pantheist worldview (everyone is God). Not that that makes it better, but either way, it is more a backdrop to the story than the main focus.

Hmm....alright, thank you.

[Anirac]

I watched FMA and I'm not a big fan of it. It was good enough to be in my memory, but not to earn a place among my top 5. Good action, good character progression, good storyline... but no spark here.

[Xeno]

To properly answer the op and not just post a stupid picture, FMA was alright. Brotherhood was better, but still not anything amazing. I don't really get all the noise over the shows. Worth watching but you're not missing anything if you dont.

[skreyola]

I've been enjoying FMA:B, what I've seen (staying behind where I've read in the manga, and having trouble finding more volumes at a price I can afford). I'd say your friend may be onto something. You may or may not like it, but it's definitely worth seeing. You'll find some parts in it that will resonate with you, I'm sure, whether it's the visuals, the story, or just a moment here and there. If nothing else, it is definitely a thought-provoking show.

[WorldsTraveler]

The story is clearly meant to be tragic, and while there certainly are exceptions, for the most part, tragedy just ain't my thing. Life isn't all cat ears and rainbows, but I like fiction that stresses or reflects the goodness of life and people, that therefore reflects the goodness of their Creator. I don't need or want fiction to tell me life sucks and you just have to get over it and "move forward," and that was another theme I picked up in this show.

I’m surprised to find someone with the same opinion of FMA as me. I watched about half the original series when it aired on TV, and while the plot and characters were certainly great, I realized after a while that it made me feel tired and sad afterwards. I thought it was just me.

I don’t regret watching it though. The characters are gold. Seriously, I think that’s one of the strongest factors in FMA. The cast is charming and unforgettable. You laugh and cry along with them, and then laugh and cry alongside hundreds of fans all around the world who love them just as much as you do. I enjoyed the time I spent with them immensely, even if it was short. (No offence, Ed, I promise. In fact, we need more petite protagonists.)