My first contact with FMA was via the first anime adaptation which was airing on local TV 4 to 5 years back. Yes, at that time, I still watched TV. The first thing that caught my attention was the opening sequence which featured “UNDO” by Cool Joke. At that time, I was new to the world of anime and the like. Hence, it was no surprise that I devoured nearly all the anime I came into contact with. FMA was no exception.
I began following the local airing of FMA for a couple of weeks before I decided to get my ass off staring at the TV and position myself facing the computer screen instead. The few episodes that I watched on TV were more or less the more exciting ones of the entire anime, so the series left quite an impression on me. I started reading the manga.
The manga was awesome. It possessed what I was looking for; Battles and comedy, just like majority of Shonen manga. To me, the concept of Transmutation seemed like a novelty, making it an even more enjoyable read for me. After reading a few volumes, I decided to place it on hold while I watched the anime right from the beginning.
That was a decision that shouldn’t have been made.
The anime started off decent, and I still derived a little enjoyment from watching it up to the point where I watched on TV. However, everything soon spiraled down shortly after that. Somewhere around episode 40, boredom crept in. Eventually, at around 45, I found myself sleeping within less than 10 minutes into the show. That was when I decided that enough was enough and dropped the show.
After dropping it, I got quite sick of FMA because of all the draggy crap. I still had much of the manga left unread, but due to the dip of interest in the show, I never bothered going back to it since I thought that the anime was totally based on the manga, since where I read up was had similarities to what I watched. Eventually, I learned that the two were different, but my laziness got the better of me when I saw how far I was lagging behind from the current chapter.
It was until last month when one of the students from the recent homestay emailed me asking what manga I liked. I mentioned stuff like One Piece, Eyeshield 21 and Bakuman, and in return, he asked if I’ve read FMA. After further email exchanges, I decided to restart FMA. After all, the guy liked FMA’s manga a lot, and considering how we had similar tastes in music, it might be the same for manga too. Also, a new FMA anime was going to be out anyway, so I thought, why not?
I love the Shonen genre and I’m not afraid to admit it
Rereading FMA was actually quite addictive. Strangely, for someone like me who has a memory that isn’t functioning too well, I could actually remember some of the portions that I read before years back. After reading past those portions and moving on to the chapters that I’ve never touched before, a sense of regret slightly tingled within me. With material beyond what I had read being this awesome, I really shouldn’t have dropped it.
The Homunculus are an interesting bunch
I blame the first anime for making me drop the manga. Other than the OPs and EDs it had, much of it was barely decent, or even quite horribly dull. Thankfully, there’s now a faithful new anime for FMA. Nothing beats adaptations that remain steadfast to quality original material.
This brings up the question of the originality of adaptations. Some people like them with as much originality as possible, while others like me would like them to be the exact copy of the original, just in a different medium.
Where do your tastes lie?
Why you noob?
Anyway, the new adaptation is awesome so far though.
Yes, it’s totally following the manga, and that’s awesome.
I like anime more when it either correspond with the manga and add to it a deeper level (when nothing is changed but it’s more like an ova to manga) or it’s the exact copy. I hate anime which change something. Yet there are also cases like with Welcome to the NKH! when the manga was terrible… So to sum up it depends on the content of the manga but if manga is good there can be nothing worse than changing something…
With me happened the exact opposite, in early episodes I found it boring but when it reached the original episodes, I really began to enjoy the anime much more. So yeah I preferred the original episodes to the manga episodes, please don’t beat me.
Still, I prefer the actual manga to the 1st anime, I am really looking forward to see the new manga material animated.
I started to read the manga last year but I dropped it at Chapter 26… Maybe with the new adaptation I will retake the manga again…
I have to say I actually liked the first series -to a point-. It was enjoyable until about the point where you dropped off. Still, the first FMA series was one of the series that got me stuck on anime after a medium level of interest spread over a few years (though nowhere as influential to me as Rurouni Kenshin and G Gundam), so I have to give it credit.
I really liked the manga too — It’s quite solid in comparison to a number of other series in the Shounen genre and it’s one of the few monthly series that I actually have the patience to follow and wait for constantly. I hope this adaptation will fare well — and considering that I’m already waiting in the early morning hours of Sunday for it, I can say it’s accomplished something so far. XD;;
I buy the manga and enjoyed it. But didn’t like the 1st season of the anime. i also watch it on TV back then, if memory still serves, every sunday on Chn U at 3 or 4pm. maybe it’s because it’s a long anime at 50 episodes, shown only once a week. it took me one year to finish it. secondly i didn’t like the alternative storyline different from the manga. this i understand as the manga is still ongoing that time.
speaking of manga, the manga takes too long to release a volume, but the time a new volume is released, i already forgotten the happening of the previous volume.
Oh, noooooooo! The first rule you should pick up from any purist is that Animes frequently butcher amazing Manga! I don’t even watch Anime adaptations (except for one). I’ll only watch a show if it was Anime first. I only see the point of adaptations is if they bring more attention to their source.
Also, “Fullmetal Alchemist” is one of the best Manga, by one of the most skilled writers/artists I’ve seen. I love her work because it is so consistently good.
Gordonator > I would actually want to start on collecting the series, but in Japanese. Yet, the volume count deters me. For now, I’ll just stick to reading it in the digital format.
goodyfun > Actually, I mostly watch adaptations just for the sake of witnessing how loyal they are to the original work.
FMA was among my first steps into the world of fansubbed anime and personally (having watched it a couple times through) I loved it throughout. Once I started to read the manga a few years later, while I enjoyed many of the new advancements that weren’t in the show, I didn’t get the same feeling I got from the anime.
So far the second FMA’s been an even more awesome version of the original so it’s among Cross Game and Higashi no Eden at the top of my ‘can’t wait for next ep’ list. K-ON, Tears to Tiara and Sengoku BASARA trailing closely behind.
And the first Gurren Lagann movie was amazing. I’m probably going to watch it like 10 times before the Ragan-hen DVD release in, uh, 7 months?
I realised that the Gurren Lagann fanboy within me has die down quite a fair bit ever since I’ve not touched anything related to it after I watched the movie in Tokyo. Hopefully, the second movie can reignite the flame.
Also, with the exception of Tears to Tiara and Sengoku BASARA, your watch list is exactly the same as mine.
If you haven’t checked them out, you really should. SB has some seriously funny character interactions and everything’s really overblown in a good way. T2T also has interesting characters and well-done fight scenes.
Dull? For real? I may not be a manga snob but I know good anime..i’ve been watching since the days of saturday morning anime on sci-fi…so early 90s probably. There was nothing wrong with the original series..granted I never read all the manga. SO for me especially this is a real treat after watching the original 51 episodes countless times and the movie ofcourse…for me the series is amazing start to finish…and post fifth lab it really takes off to one of my favorite endings in anime history. Did not reading the manga do me good here?! The first FMA was anything but dull compared to ANY anime before its time…..all that content in 51 episodes with every piece fitting perfectly. The only problem I had with the first series was the first half. There were too many “filler” episodes but they were necessary to build the characters and immerse ourselves in their world…but then again when it comes to fillers and FMA i only regard maybe 3 or so in 51…thats pretty effin good when it comes to anime.
I could really dive in here because I am quite the avid FM supporter(even if I haven’t read all the manga…sorry i’m an anime fan not manga)BUT YA this serious is something to watch. I love every second of it and it seems like they abbreviated the beginning on purpose because the fans know the story. Its like the first series on crack and is epicaly awesome…I still will stand by my opinions of the first series though and suggest watching it in its entirety before watching this one.
FMA is worth consideration in any of its forms and there isn’t enough of it..watch it all
Blame FMA?!?!?!? As my late friend would say FOAD…btw episode 41 is holy mother and is great, so is episode 42, 43, 44, and so on until the end. The movie is the only direction the series went that would classify as “dull” to me..instead of continuing an impossible storyline they made a recreation. Awesome work and I love how for me this is like rewatching the series and being put in the position of watching the “true” storyline for the first time…I hope it lives up to its predecessor because the first series was a true masterpiece …especially the end and the direction the creators of the anime took to diverge from the manga. I’m so glad I don’t specify this as a “I like the book better” type thing because its not…..the first series was storytelling at its finest.
/rant off
sorry I use alot of periods! And you are a noob!
I think the art from the first anime is a bit better, but after all, the storyline DOES disappoint…
Damn its releasing too SLOW i cant wait anymore IVE READ CHAPTER 90-100 FOR 10 TIMES ALREADY!! im so gonna buy it if i have money again hehe ;p damn why do i live in a country where theres no anime >:[ fucking holland I wish i lived in america or england -.- damnit
PS Ed is so adorable~<3
Edward Elric is SO MUCH BETTER then Edward Cullen!!!
fma brother hood is good but I like the first season it had so much feeling into it one of the best fillers out of all animes I watched.