Disclaimer: I did not quite know how to review FMA: Brotherhood, as it's not really split up into seasons like pretty much all of my other shows (Apparently it's split into parts based on the openings, but the division seems fairly arbitrary). This wouldn't be bad if it was 25-26 episodes like Toradora or Evangelion, but this is a 64-episode-long behemoth. I decided to do one massive review of the whole show, so expect what's easily going to be my longest review yet.
The story of Fullmetal Alchemist is incredibly complex, but it's based off of the sole premise. Two alchemist brothers named Edward and Alphonse Elric tried to recreate their dead mother, only to fail and loses parts (or in the case of Al, all) of their body as a cost. Their main goal is to find a Philosopher's Stone to get their bodies back, but that is absolutely not all the show offers. There's also a pretty important storyline about the mysteries homunculi (named after the 7 deadly sins) and their own evil plan, along with a country dealing with the fallout of a genocide and the many side characters who want the Philosopher's Stones for their own purposes. Despite these many disparate storylines, FMA does a great job of weaving them all together, constantly adding plot twists that either address the show's mysteries or completely pull the rug out from under the viewer. It's impressive just how well the story manages to hold up in the end. Pretty much ever character gets the screentime they deserve, and not a single moment from the show is forgotten.
Speaking of which, FMA Brotherhood has a large and amazing cast of characters. Ed and Al are obviously the center and heart of the show, and their dynamic is pretty amazing. They're complete opposites in so many ways, but they care so much about each other in spite of that. Other strong characters include Scar, who's a fascinating anti-villain, Mustang, whose wit and sheer intensity is so much fun to watch, and Winry, who heads some of the most emotional scenes in the show. Even the villains are pretty great too! Each of the homunculi have unique and well-defined personalities and steal the show every time they come on screen, with my personal favorite being the shapeshifting Envy. Another thing that FMA Brotherhood excels at is the world-building, which is so good the only show I can think of that can match it is Avatar. Armestris, FMA's world, is so well-defined and intricate. Right from the get-go, you can tell that the country has so much history to it. You know a world is great when it feels like you could take a full history lesson on it. And there are even other countries outside of Armestris that get some focus, like Drachma and Xing. It makes the world feel even more lived in, and the political drama side of the series that much more interesting. Out of everything FMA does right, I'd say the world-building is its biggest and most impressive strength.
Unfortunately, FMA Brotherhood is not a perfect series, as it does have some flaws. The biggest and most unanimously agreed-upon issue with the series is the pacing. The first few episodes rush through plot points for people who saw the original 2003 series, but even after that, the pacing just felt wonky. Some episodes felt like not enough happened, and others felt overstuffed. The overwhelming serialization of the show makes this even worse, as some episodes just don't feel like they can stand alone as episodes. For example, "The Fifth Laboratory" has some fun action and plot-twists, but when taken as a whole, it's basically just one long fight scene littered with exposition. This occurs several times throughout the show, where fight scenes are stretched out over the span of multiple episodes, causing the show's episodes to blend together. Aside from the frequently wonky pacing, I feel like the middle of the series, particularly during the third OP, suffers from a bit of a lull. The pacing is insanely slow (taking five episodes for Ed and Al to go to Fort Briggs), the action and twists are less frequent, and the show started to lose me a bit.
Thankfully, this lull ends around "The First Homunculus", and once the final Promised Day arc begins starting with "Upheaval In Central", FMA Brotherhood finally becomes something special. All of the cast converges in one massive twelve-episode-long final battle packed with insane action, crazy plot twists, awesome fan service, and tons of satisfying character resolutions. I think it's a shame that it took this long for the show to really grab me, but this final confrontation is absolutely worth the price of admission. It's amazing how everything is tied up in a neat bow, all of the themes are brought full circle, it's a nearly perfect ending and one of the best final stretches of episodes I've seen ever.
I watched the English dub for FMA Brotherhood which genuinely impressed me. I didn't hear a single weak link in the voice cast, pretty much everyone put their all into the roles, pulling off both the emotional and comedic moments. Nothing felt censored or half-baked, it's easily one of the best English dubs I've heard. In particular, I think Mustang's and Scar's voice actors absolutely killed it from start to finish. The animation is pretty solid too. The characters are expressive and the world is detailed, but while I do enjoy the comedic off-model moments, I do think the show overuses it a bit too much at times. As for the music, it's not the best I've heard from an anime but it's still really great and propellant, if a bit repetitive at times (that same action music plays all the time). FMA Brotherhood also has a whopping five OP and ED themes. In general, I think they're a bit of a mixed bag, I don't love all of them. However, there are a lot of great themes, particularly the ending themes. The 2nd and 4th ending themes in particularly help to pump you up after the end of an intense episode, albeit in completely different ways.
Given that there are 64 episodes, it's telling that the show has a bunch of high points:
An Alchemist's Anguish: I'm sure most people who have seen the show were wondering about my opinion on this iconic episode, and honestly, I didn't love it. I admire FMA's guts for what they did to Nina and it sickened me like no show I've ever seen, but the fact that we barely saw Nina just made it feel like shock value for the sake of it. I'd probably be less cynical if we spent more time with Nina and Tucker, which is apparently what happened in the 2003 version.
Separate Destinations: All this time, I was wondering where "It's a terrible day for rain" came from, and now I know. Even though the whole episode was just focused on Hughes's death, it's absolutely devastating and tough to watch.
Those Who Lurk Underground: The first "season finale" of the bunch, this episode has the powerhouse reveal that Bradley is a homunculus too, which explains a lot about the big conspiracy in the military. There's also some crazy action in the sewers, and a long final scene that introduces the rest of the homunculi.
Death Of The Undying: This episode was less than a half-hour long. In it, Mustang and Havoc got stabbed, Barry died, Lust was destroyed, Al's armor was destroyed, we learn Al's soul is decaying, and Ed runs into his father. It's an absolutely relentless series of nonstop twists and surprises that left me absolutely breathless. The voice acting is phenomenal, the animation is great, it's easily the best episode of the show and it's not even close.
Father: This episode finally had Al and Ed confront the one the homunculi call Father, and it absolutely lives up to the hype. Ling becoming Greed, Scar learning about Envy, Alphonse saving May, and Gluttony getting fatally injured. Similarly to "Death Of The Undying", this episode is relentless and action-packed, but it leaves me most excited for the potential of Scar joining the good guys.
The First Homunculus: After a pretty boring streak of episodes, FMA regain its stride with one of the coolest twists in the series. The reveal that Bradley's son is the first homunculus Pride was brilliantly executed, with just enough hints that it gives you this feeling of satisfaction for finally figuring it out. It helps that Pride makes an incredibly strong and creepy first impression.
Upheaval In Central: Pretty much the entirety of Part 4 was set-up for "The Promised Day", meaning that it had better been spectacular. Thankfully, it was. "Upheaval In Central" was action-packed and satisfying, as tons of old characters return and everyone storms the city. It's amazing just how well things seem to go for most of it, which only makes that cliffhanger with the Mannequin Soldiers that much more painful.
Combined Strength: I'm mostly putting this episode on the list for having probably the best fight scene in the whole show. Alphonse vs Pride and Kimblee using the Philosopher Stone is beautifully animated and packed with tons of creative choreography. Otherwise, it had a lot of the same badass and satisfying moments that populate this final stretch of episodes.
Eye Of Heaven, Gateway Of God: Easily the darkest hour of the show, this episode kills off pretty much the whole cast. Look, normally I'm not a fan of these sorts of twists (Infinity War, EoE), but I think it was executed well here. Aside from that horrifying ending, though, we do also get some character development. Scar finally uses alchemy, and Ed finally admits that he's short!
He Who Would Swallow God: Easily one of the, if not the most, satisfying episode in the whole show. Hohenheim turning the tables on Father and returning everyone's souls in one fell swoop is absolutely amazing, but we also finally get the deaths of Pride and Wrath! Not to mention the fact that we also finally learn all of the mysteries surrounding alkahestry.
A Fierce Counterattack: This episode is basically just a love letter to the side cast, with this crazy sequence of them all barraging Father with all they've got. Not to mention the many sacrifices the main characters make, with Hohenheim saving Izumi, Al saving May, and of course, Al giving up his soul to return Edward's arm.
The Other Side Of The Gateway: This is it, the final battle with Father and it was absolutely worth it. Father had easily one of the most satisfying and humiliating defeats I've ever seen (maybe second to Envy), and of course not everyone could have survived. Ed giving his alchemy to save Al is obviously a great moment, as was Hohenheim's death, but what really got me was Greed's sacrifice, a heartbreaking end to an amazing character.
Journey's End: This was a really sweet end to the series. A heartwarming denouement that addresses pretty much the whole cast and ties things up incredibly neatly. While the episode is basically just an extended epilogue, I like that the show took the time to reward the viewer for pretty much every plot thread.
Overall, Fullmetal Alchemist is a strong show with a large and likable cast of characters, an epic and intricate plot, phenomenal world-building, and a great ending. It suffers from pacing issues, especially in the beginning and middle, but when it finally gets good in the final fifth, it gets really good.
4/5 Stars
Favorite Episode: Death Of The Undying
Update: So I just rewatched FMA recently and you know what? I think it holds up so much better on a second watch. The whole story is so tightly-knit, I was stunned at how much was set-up all from the very beginning. I enjoyed An Alchemist's Anguish way more knowing how much it would affect Ed for the rest of the series (though the Nina twist is still one of the most sickening things I've ever seen in a show), and I forgot just how fantastic the action and soundtrack is. The pacing issues are definitely still a thing, especially in the third arc, but it's nowhere near as bad as I claimed it was in the review. I still wouldn't give it a perfect 5/5, but it's a fantastic anime that deserves at least a 4.5/5.
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