Fullmetal Alchemist

The giant suit of armor is the little brother. Remember that.
It'll save your life.

So, I've talked about my introduction to anime before and one of the components of it was this anime series called Fullmetal Alchemist. I did pick up the manga in mortuary school, but I haven't kept up with it and I probably won't pick it up in the future unless someone I know already has them. If not, well, I know there's another anime called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood which follows the manga very well and I'll just watch it because apparently they're the same story, different medium.

However, I'm not talking about either of those. I'm talking about the anime television series that originally on Adult Swim beginning in November 2004 where I caught a few episodes here and there, but I never really got into it until after I'd started mortuary school in 2008 and began hanging out with a crowd of people who all watched and read that sort of thing.  Before then it was a passing fancy like, "Oh, that looks interesting, but... I haven't seen any of the episodes before this one or after this one and wikipedia only tells me so much about the story line. Oh well."

It wasn't anything that I was into at the time, so it didn't exactly rate on my "Things Hanorah MUST See" list.

Well, then... my friends were into it and everyone talked about it so I had to see what all the fuss was about. Naturally.

AND HOLY CRAP! HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THIS THIS IS--

The. Ending. SUCKS!!!!!!!!!

ARGHHHH!!!!!

Yeah.

That's pretty much how I reacted.  I didn't like the ending to the original anime series. It was stupid to me.

Die hard fans, feel free to flame me, but that's how I felt.

I mean, really? Really? Alchemy pulls on misery in our world? That's where you're going with all of that? Everything is equivalent exchange... but not really.  Really?

It just... didn't do it for me. Which, up until the big reveal, I was totally there. I was 100% in it and invested and I was crying when the characters were hurt and laughing when they had moments of joy. And Hughes... Oh my God...  I cried for hours because of Hughes.

If you haven't seen the series, this probably looks like a lot of rambling. So let's go back to step one. which is...
Fullmetal Alchemist is an anime television series that originally aired on Adult Swim beginning in November 2004 it was directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Sho Aikawa and based on a manga written by Hiromou Arakawa. Because the manga was still ongoing by the time the anime ended, the anime and manga begin to differ about halfway through.  Though Arakawa was present when they were writing the ending for the anime to give them insight into the world, she didn't actively take part in any of the writing whatsoever. So, those who are purists prefer the second series Brotherhood which follows the manga storyline better to this particular incarnation.

However, the only reason Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood exists at all is because the original anime series managed to gain such a following that leaked over to the manga and led to everyone wanting and anime adaption that followed the manga better.

In short, some people turn their noses up at Fullmetal Alchemist because it doesn't follow the original manga it's based on when the only reason they get an adaption that is so close to the manga is because of the excellence of the original series.

And, despite the ending, it is excellent.

I don't know a lot about animation. I don't know anything about film. What I do know is story-telling and this manga is an excellent story. It has brotherhood, redemption, love, sacrifice, magic (sort of), fighting, death, blood, gore, cuteness, humor, and well, all the things that make a Sci-fi/Fantasy animated series really good.   Ignoring the ending... and the movie, it would be in my Top Five Anime of All Time.

Unfortunately, the ending and the movie exist.

But, here's the thing. I like the ideas. I did.  The ideas were very interesting... besides... the one about where the energy for alchemy comes from. Izumi was an extremely interesting character. My only problem is that I wish they'd developed it more and given it more time.  Instead, it felt rushed toward the end and I just hate bad pacing. It felt rushed. I felt like I was being rushed in the end. Like the writers were being forced to finish it early. I don't know if that was true, but it really felt jarring to me.

And I put up with five Doctor Who finales by Russel T. Davies!

... As well as the ending to Avatar: The Last Airbender...

So, remember folks! Pacing can make or break your TV series. If you rush your ending, that's all you'll ever be remembered for.

Oh, and Equivalent Exchange!