Hiromu
Arakawa's 'Fullmetal Alchemist' began serialization in July 2001 in
the magazine Monthly Shonen Gangan. It gained almost immediate
recognition as something truly special, and only a short while later,
an anime adaptation was greenlit and began airing on October 4, 2003
and lasted until October 2, 2004. Due to the anime starting so
quickly after the manga, the anime had to go at a slower pace in it's
adapted material, as well as creating 'filler' (material not present
in the original manga that often, but not always, doesn't do anything
to further the main storyline) episodes, before eventually going in
it's own direction separate from the manga - though it would
occasionally sprinkle certain elements from further in the manga into
it's storyline as well. Although the series was both a financial and
critical success both in it's home country of Japan and in the rest
of the world, and was extremely well received by fans in general, the
drastic difference between it and the manga lead to a divide in
opinions between Fullmetal Alchemist fans.
A
few years later in 2009, a new anime series entitled 'Fullmetal
Alchemist Brotherhood' began airing, promising to adapt the manga all
the way through unlike it's predecessor. True to it's word,
Brotherhood ended on July 4, 2010, roughly three weeks behind the
manga, which itself had just ended. This feat was almost unheard of
in anime adaptations, and was only accomplished through Arakawa's
willingness to share the final chapter's manuscript with the anime
staff prior to it's release.
Like
the prior anime, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood was a huge success
for everyone involved in it's release, and fans of the manga finally
had an animated version true to it just as they had wanted. Still
however, Brotherhood doesn't erase the success of the previous anime
series, nor did the first series take away from the manga and
Brotherhood when it followed. While the fandom at large seems to be
able to co-exist with each other peacefully enough, each fan still
likely has a favorite version, with some preferring the the first
anime because it was what introduced them to the franchise, while
others prefer the manga/Brotherhood for the same reason, or just
considering it to be the 'original' version of the story. While
neither opinion is objectively right, as everyone is entitled to
their preference, there does seem to be some worth in examining the
differences between the two versions.
The
"First Half"
While
I refer to this section by that title, it's not entirely accurate.
It's true that the material that's roughly the same between the two
series encompasses the first 25 episodes out of 51 for FMA, the same
material only takes up about 14 episodes out of 64 for Brotherhood.
There's no doubt though that this difference in episode count is a
big factor in why each of these episodes feels different from each
other even when they tell the same story.
The
first FMA has a bit of a slow start in retrospect. The first two
episodes launch you right into the thick of things with Ed and Al
investigating Lior, without much explanation as to who they are or
how exactly they ended up with their bodies the way they are. Episode
3 gives us the details of how the boys lost their mother and
attempted to bring her back, concluding with Ed and Al heading to
Central to become State Alchemists, giving a feeling that the story
is truly about to begin. In Brotherhood this is certainly true; for
the first series however, we are treated to about eight episodes of
filler where only certain small elements have any bearing on what's
to come.
In
the middle of the filler however comes one of the first series'
strongest points: the tale of Nina. The Elric brothers meet Nina and
her father, Shou Tucker, as well as the family's dog Alexander, when
Ed wants to learn more about biological transmutation. Tucker had
achieved fame a few years prior for transmuting a chimera capable of
human speech, but had fallen on hard times since then, his wife even
having left him. However, as the brothers quickly find out, Tucker's
wife didn't leave at all - Tucker had transmuted her and an animal
together to make his first talking chimera. They find this out only
when Tucker creates his second chimera capable of human speech...by
using Nina and Alexander. This action is irreversible, so when the
chimera Nina is killed soon thereafter by Scar, while the brothers
themselves view this as murder, it is sadly more an action of pity.
The
events around Nina and Tucker stay largely the same between the two
series, with the fate of Tucker himself being one of the only major
differences, and yet, I can't help but find the first anime's
portrayal of the events even sadder. A part of it is bias from seeing
that first no doubt, and seeing such a tragic sequence of events is
definitely going to leave a strong impression on you the first time
around. Even beyond that though, in the first series we meet the
Tucker family an episode before everything goes terribly wrong. One
episode might not sound like a lot, but it is enough to show us how
adorable Nina is, and how much of a trooper she has become growing up
with no mother and a father who is focused very much on his work. We
even grow fond of Tucker himself in this episode, as he comes across
as an incredibly dedicated, albeit slovenly man, but one who is more
than willing to help Edward and Alphonse by allowing them to check
out his research. In just one episode's time, we get to know the
characters fairly well, and even begin to care for them, perhaps even
thinking they're going to be a part of the larger background cast,
only to have the rug pulled right out from under us in the most
devastating way possible just one episode later.
Brotherhood
however only gives us one episode with Nina and Tucker. Even if one
hadn't seen the previous anime, or read the manga, or had the events
spoiled for them, it just doesn't seem to leave near as much of an
impression in this version of the story. There's also the fate of
Tucker, which I eluded to previously. While some no doubt prefer his
quick demise from Scar, and while I personally do wish he had died in
the first incarnation as well - seriously, how hard would it have
been to have him stumble out from underground in the chaos during
Shamballa and have Hawkeye headshot him? - there is something to be
said about his first anime fate being worse than death, and fitting.
We're never quite told whether Tucker did it to himself somehow or if
someone else did it to him, but for Tucker to be turned into a
painfully designed chimera himself, and spend the rest of his pitiful
life attempting to bring life into a Nina doll he's made, literally
cradling it while scribbling on the wall the last time we see
him...in some ways, that's a far more poetic justice.
The
events surrounding Nina are definitely a major moment in the ongoing
story in both versions, but if there is any one moment that trumps
even it, it's the death of Maes Hughes. A favorite character for
practically every fan, Hughes enters the series in a different way
between the two series and even the manga, but one thing is made
immediately clear in every incarnation - this is a man in complete
and total love with his family. Faithfully devoted to his wife and
almost sickeningly doting on his young daughter, and somehow still
left with enough care and love to spread to his friends, Hughes is
arguably one of the most stand-up characters in all of fiction. When
he begins looking into the corruption of the military and trying to
find out more about the Humonculi, and stumbles upon a huge secret
that the bad guys can't let out, he is deemed too smart to live by
them, and is attacked by Lust. He puts up a fight as best he can and
manages to get away with Maria Ross tagging along behind him, but due
to the missing mole on her cheek, he quickly realizes it's not Ross
at all. Injured and desperately trying to reach Mustang on the phone,
Hughes slits the shape-shifting Envy's throat, but it takes more than
that to kill a humonculus - and it's then that we're hit with it.
Changing into the form of Gracia, Hughes' beloved wife, Envy fatally
shoots Hughes and leaves him to bleed to death. It's the most tragic
way imaginable for a character like Hughes to spin off the mortal
coil.
Again,
like with Nina, the events surrounding Hughes' demise are roughly the
same between both versions, with both concluding with a military
funeral, the heartbreaking cries of Elicia, and the reveal of his
posthumous promotion to Brigadier General, as well as Mustang
swearing vengeance upon Hughes' killer once he finds them. The way
things play out after this however are incredibly different, as this
is the the major turning point at which the two series go in
different directions (there are the events around Greed that
technically appear in both versions, but as they occur so late in the
first anime and are so radically different, we'll cover them in the
next section). I might again be biased, but the way things turn out
in the first series have always held much more weight in my mind. As
with Nina, the amount of time in which we get to know Hughes is a
major factor, only on a larger scale this time. In Brotherhood,
Hughes appears right away in the filler episode 1, but he's gone by
episode 10. In the first series however, Hughes appears in 5 (again
in filler, curiously enough) and doesn't get offed until episode 25.
We almost literally have twice as much time to get to know the
character, which serves to drive the knife in all the harder when
it's his time to go.
In
addition to more time spent with him, we also get to see the
development of his father complex in the first series, whereas it's
already there in Brotherhood. When we're introduced to Hughes in the
2003 anime, Gracia is pregnant and we're made witness to Elicia's
birth, and therefore get to see super-husband Hughes transformed into
super-father Hughes. In Brotherhood we do get to see the birth of a
child, but it's relegated to Rush Valley, which does carry more story
to it than the 2003 version of the locale, but it still doesn't feel
as deep and major when it doesn't tie in to one of the core aspects
of a major character like Hughes.
It
might sound like I'm entirely pro-2003 series, but there are two
aspects to the aftermath of Hughes' death that Brotherhood has that's
somewhat lacking in the first series. Both of which however tie in to
the concluding storylines as well as some key characters, so I'll
discuss those in a later section.
If
you noticed a pattern here, it's that the difference between the two
takes on the first parts of the series largely comes down to time.
While in the first series things are more fleshed out, despite being
arguably bogged down by filler at the same time, they do take longer
to get through and thus longer to start getting to the real meat of
the story. Brotherhood however speeds through the earlier material,
which dampens the effect of the storytelling in that portion of the
story. This was likely an unavoidable compromise however. They
couldn't not cover those events as they were all important to the
ongoing narrative, but the two series were only about five years
apart in creation, a little too soon to not have to get through the
familiar territory faster and get to the new material before fans
lost interest. Brotherhood's greatest fault with this material isn't
really a fault of it's own making, so it's a little more forgivable
when looking back.
Concluding
Storylines
The
first parts of the two series stay roughly the same, but after that
point they begin to diverge greatly, with storylines heading in
entirely different directions and including different characters -
with some characters that appear in both versions actually being
completely different themselves.
One
of the biggest differences occurs with the humonculi, what they are,
where they come from, and what their purpose is. In both series,
humonculi are artificially created humans with strange powers and an
insane healing factor that practically makes them immortal. The
similarities between the two somewhat stops there. In the first
anime, the humonculi are later revealed to be the results of failed
human transmutation, an additional 'sin' for those who would attempt
it, as well as being what they get in return for what they give up to
the Gate. This leads to an even more traumatic outcome for the Elric
brothers and their teacher Izumi Curtis, with Sloth and Wrath
respectively turning out to be homunculi they created, given the very
likeness of their deceased mother and child.
The
humonculi in Brotherhood however have no connection to human
transmutation whatsoever. They instead originate from their Father,
who is himself the original Humonculus, who was himself created
through alchemy but not the human transmutation variety. Father
created them from his own body by purging himself of 'human'
emotions, specifically those of the seven deadly sins, which he
considered unworthy. As such, the humonculi are literal incarnations
of the sins that serve as their names, whereas in the first series
their names seem to stem either from the emotion that brought the
alchemist to try and bring someone back, or just the nature of their
character. The naming and creation scheme serves some of the
humonculi better in one version than it does in another.
-
Lust in the first series was created when Scar's older brother tried
to bring back the woman he loved. Love and lust can certainly be seen
as two sides of the same token, so presumably that is why she was
created as that sin. For her Brotherhood version, we're just left to
assume that Father actually had a frisky side, which is kind of
terrifying in retrospect.
-
Gluttony however seems to work out better via his Brotherhood origin.
We might not know who Gluttony originally was in the 2003 series, but
it's hard to imagine how gluttony would have been a reason someone
tried to revive him. The character just being the incarnation of
Father's hunger seems more fitting.
-
Envy is a bit of an odd one out in that both origins fit him but in
different ways. In the first series he is the first homunculus, a
result of Hohenheim and (presumably) Dante's attempt to bring their
child back to life. It's more likely that a sense of loss is what led
to his transmutation rather than Hohenheim being envious of anyone,
but Envy himself is shown to be extremely jealous of Hohenheim's care
for the Elric brothers. His name definitely stems from his nature,
though admittedly that works even better in Brotherhood where he
quite literally is 'Envy' incarnate.
-
Greed, like Envy, is one that seems to get his name from his very
nature and thus makes a little more sense via his Brotherhood origin.
In the 2003 series the only note about his origin is that Dante
created him, and it's left unclear exactly what greed she had when
she transmuted him.
-
Wrath, honestly, is a bit of a weak character in terms of fitting his
sin in both versions, despite being two entirely separate characters
in both. The 2003 Wrath is the result of Izumi's attempt to bring her
child back to life, and it's almost impossible to imagine how wrath
would tie in to that. The child Wrath is certainly vocal about his
wish to kill her for it, and is thus filled with the emotion, but it
still falls a little flat in the naming scheme. Brotherhood's Wrath
however is Fuhrer Bradley, and while this version is likewise filled
with fury and readiness to slaughter, he almost seems more 'prideful'
than anything.
-
Sloth is easily the weakest one on the naming scheme regardless of
which series is being discussed. The 2003 Sloth is the accidental
creation of Ed and Al's transmuted mother. Nothing about her actions
nor her character fits the sin at hand, and while an argument could
be made that the brothers were 'lazy' in not waiting to learn more
alchemy before trying human transmutation, it's easier to call them
'hasty' which is the exact opposite of sloth-like. Brotherhood's
Sloth, a huge wall of muscle of a man, definitely fits his name
better. He's slow moving, doesn't appear to be too swift or even
capable of thought much further than following orders, and constantly
complains about what he has to do and would rather just do nothing -
but then a curve ball is thrown with the revelation that, when he
wants to be, he's the fastest of the humonculi. It's a bit of an odd
turn that comes out of nowhere.
-
Finally, Pride is another character that's different between the two
shows. 2003's Pride is the Fuhrer, and while we don't get much with
the character after this revelation, he does seem to be a bit more
'prideful' than 'wrathful', despite being shown to have a burning
rage within. This could possibly be due to him being a homunculus
that somewhat does come from a human, but the second Greed was much
the same and didn't seem to fall prey to this issue. Brotherhood's
Pride comes in the form of Selim Bradley, the Fuhrer's 'son', who is
the first second-generation homunculus created by Father. The
character definitely shows signs of being proud, sometimes overly so,
of his homunculus nature, so he fits his naming scheme well, even if
it does leave the Fuhrer a little more in question.
One
last thing seems worth mentioning about the humonculi, and that's
their motivation or lack there-of. In Brotherhood, they (barring
Greed) seem to possess an almost unflinching loyalty to their Father.
Other than Greed who is off doing his own thing much of the time, and
most of them taking a perverse delight in causing humans pain, they
don't seem to have much else going on. In the first series though,
they almost all seem to have their own things going on in the
background, with the exception of the Fuhrer being Pride being
introduced too late for us to know what else he might have going on.
Lust however wants to become human and seems to form some attachment
to the person she was before; Gluttony has a soft spot for Lust (who
wouldn't?) that seems far deeper than the shades his Brotherhood
incarnation has; Envy absolutely loathes Hohenheim and by extension
Ed and Al; Wrath shares a similar loathing for Izumi and yet has a
child's desire for it's mother, which he misplaces towards Sloth; and
Sloth longs to sever her connection towards the Elrics because she
too seems to have some recollection of her former self. The humonculi
are a devastating force in both versions of the story, but perhaps
due to their origin, they feel more 'human' in the first series.
In
both versions of the story, there lies a final 'big bad' that lies in
wait behind the homunculi, having them work to their own means for a
goal that largely benefits only them rather than the humonculi as
well. I've already talked a bit about Father, but in the first series
the humonculi are working for a woman named Dante. Dante and
Hohenheim were celebrated alchemists, as well as lovers, in a
forgotten city from hundreds of years prior to the FMA storyline, who
one day succeeded in creating a Philosopher's Stone. The attempt left
their city almost barren of life, and Hohenheim on the verge of
death, so Dante acted quickly and on a whim, used the Stone to bond
Hohenheim's soul to that of another man. The act not only saved his
life, but it revealed to them a clear path to eternal life, a path
that Hohenheim would grow to resent. Eventually he left Dante, who
grew more and more embittered as time went on. Separately, they both
discover a snag in their immortality however - their stolen bodies,
which innately reject their souls, begin to decay over time, and the
process begins to happen faster with each jump to a new body. While
Hohenheim resigns himself to this fact and wants to live a peaceful
life with his new-found family (at least until he finds himself
unable to allow them to see his decay), Dante becomes obsessed with
just jumping to a new bodies at a faster rate in a vain attempt to
keep escaping death. This gives rise to a problem in the form of her
dwindling supply of Philosopher's Stone left by Hohenheim, and thus
she comes up with a plan to cause tragedies throughout the country in
an attempt to coax gifted alchemists into searching for the
Philosopher's Stone. To perform this task, she begins to gather
humonculi that she finds to do her bidding.
Father's
goals in Brotherhood, however, are somewhat different. Created by
some form of alchemy using blood from Hohenheim (or as he was known
then, Slave 23), he started life as just Homunculus, a black puff
cloud or 'dwarf in the flask'. He longed to be free of this
imprisonment, as well as all other restrictions of a 'mortal' life,
and so he deceived Hohenheim and the king of Xerces into trying to
create a Philosopher's Stone with which to make the king immortal. It
was Hohenheim, who held the dwarf's flask, that stood at the center
of the circle however, and thus they that were imbued with the souls
of the entire kingdom and granted immortality. That wasn't enough
however, and over the centuries he (now going by the name of 'Father'
from his homunculi children) worked tirelessly in creating the nation
of Amestris on the location he discovered was the center of the
planet. In activating the circle along with five 'Sacrifices' -
humans who had seen the Gate of Truth in attempting Human
Transmutation, which became Ed, Al, Hohenheim, Izumi, and Roy - he
was able to open the planet Earth itself's gate, and took the power
of 'God' for himself.
The
aspirations of these two villains are completely different in scope,
as are the characters themselves different in attitude. Dante is a
woman spurned and turned bitter by the harshness of the world around
her, blaming the human race for her own personal tragedies and
deeming them worthless and herself worthy of standing above the rest.
Despite her ego however, Dante is a desperate character, at the end
of her ropes by the end of the series. When we first meet her, it's
in the form of an old woman, but she quickly abandons that form to
possess the body of a young woman named Lyra. And yet, in just a
short amount of time after that, her new body is already starting to
decay. If it weren't for her ego and her desperation, Dante would
surely be smart enough to realize that at this increasing pace, her
next body would probably begin to rot the very instant her soul
entered it, and there would be no escaping that form once assumed -
but being in the face of death would tend to make one a little less
level-headed than usual.
Father
however starts out simultaneously with both more and less than Dante
does. While on the one hand he already has a form possibly 'superior'
to a human's - there's no indication that he's not already immortal
in some sense prior to the fall of Xerces - he also is cursed with a
form that cannot continue to live outside of the safety of his flask.
It's perfectly understandable why he would want to be able to leave
the flask, as that wouldn't be much of a life at all. In his
arrogance however, he's not only willing to sacrifice countless human
lives to achieve this, he's willing to sacrifice even more to gain
the power of 'God' and put himself firmly above all of humanity.
While both Dante and Father are definitely arrogant, as villains tend
to be, Dante is in a desperate struggle to keep on living, whereas
Father just wants to achieve more and more power. It is these
differences that, for me at least, make Dante both the more
relateable and the more loathsome of the pair. She's human herself
and thus should be more than able to feel what a human life is worth,
at least more so than the inhuman Father, and yet, who hasn't at
least once thought about the concept of immortality?
On
a cosmetic level too, Dante has one more advantage in my opinion.
Father is just one of many male final villains in the realm of shonen
anime and manga, though he is a particularly well-written one. Dante
however stands out being a woman that's behind it all rather than
just playing a supporting role, a rarity in stories aimed primarily
at younger males. It's a bit of a silly reason to have a preference
one way or the other, I'll admit, but I can't help but feel that it
does add something to the series, and is a bit ironic that the series
gets it's female final villain from the first anime's male director,
whereas Brotherhood gets it's male final villain from it's female
author.
It
should come as no surprise that given these completely different
villains and reasons for events to happen, as well as an abundance of
characters unique to Brotherhood (and a few unique to the first
series) that the resolutions of the story end up being quite
different too. The ending to the first series is expanded upon by the
follow-up film, but for the moment let's focus on the series' ending.
By the end of the 2003 series, Al's armor body has itself become a
Philosopher's Stone as a result of a transmutation circle created by
Scar's final actions. While the boys try their best to keep it under
wraps while fending off both the Homunculi and the corrupted factions
of the military, they end up drawn into a final gambit with Dante.
Throughout the course of fighting, the Homunculi are dwindled down to
just Gluttony, his mind destroyed by Dante and left with nothing but
his hunger; Envy, who captures the Philosopher Stone transformed Al;
and Wrath who has his human limbs (originally Ed's) taken back to the
Gate. Sloth, the Homunculi Ed and Al created trying to revive their
mother, has since been killed by the boys, and the Fuhrer is defeated
by Roy at much risk to his own life. The truth of the Gate and how
alchemy works is revealed when Dante sends Ed through it, only for
him to wind up in World War 1 London, in our world. Hohenheim, who
was also sent through the Gate by Dante, reveals that not only does
everyone from Ed's world have a doppelganger in this one, the deaths
of people on this side become the energy required for alchemy to work
as well. Ed's doppelganger is killed by a downed plane, sending Ed
back to his world, where he ends up dying in a fight with Envy.
Enraged and filled with sorrow, Al uses his Philosopher's Stone
before Dante can to bring Edward back to life. Envy is caught up in
the transmutation as well, and willingly goes to the other side in
pursuit of Hohenheim, leaving Dante with no Philosopher's Stone and
no more henchmen, save for the hunger-crazed Gluttony who promptly
turns on her, and (by implication) devouring her. Ed, now with his
fully natural body restored, transmutes himself to bring Al back. The
result of this lands Ed back in our world, with his automail limbs
intact, and no way back. In his world however, Al is restored to life
in his real body, at the same age he was when it was taken from him,
and with no memories of anything since the night they tried to revive
their mother. Separated but still determined, the boys head down
separate paths but vow to one day meet again.
The
end of the 2003 series leaves much to be desired for fans wishing for
a more conclusive or happy ending. This led to the film 'Conqueror of
Shamballa' to be released in 2005, giving a new, additional ending to
the series. The film shows us that Ed has been hard at work on our
side of the gate, learning about rocketry in Germany alongside Alfons
Heiderich, the doppelganger of his brother. Unbeknownst to him,
events that would eventually lead to World War II are being set in
motion, and the Thule Society is obsessed with finding a way to
'Shamballa', a world said to have weapons greater than any the world
has ever seen. Shamballa however is actually Ed's home world, and on
the other side of the Gate, Al has also been hard at work trying to
find a way to bring Ed back. With the help of an automail equipped
Wrath, Al ends up being able to create a more stable Gate to our
world by transmuting Wrath and Gluttony. At the same time in our
world, Dietlinde Eckhart, the leader of the Thule Society, at last
manages to create a stable Gate of her own by using Envy, who had
become trapped in the form of a dragonic serpent, and the sacrificial
blood of Hohenheim. The Gates become one, and Eckhart is able to
storm into Ed's world with her soldiers, intending to raid and
destroy it for their weapons. It is only through the combined efforts
of Ed and Al, with help from Mustang and many others, that Eckhart is
stopped. Ed takes the surviving soldiers and their warship back
through the Gate intending to destroy it once back in our world to
prevent anything like this from happening again, even though it will
leave him stranded in our world. He tells Al to stay behind and
destroy the Gate on their side, but Al leaves that task to Mustang
and instead stows away on the ship, wanting to stay with his brother.
Going through the Gate restores Al's memories of the years they spent
searching for a Philosopher's Stone, and the brothers are at last
reunited, albeit stuck in our world where alchemy doesn't
traditionally work, with the task of destroying their Gate. With this
new challenge ahead of them, the crisis averted gives way to the
tension in the air before the coming of World War II...
This
additional ending, while more conclusive than the ending the series
had, still didn't sit well with every fan. While we were allowed to
see a little more of where everyone ended up at the end of the
series, very few if any character fates were what we could really
call 'happy'. Ed and Al ended up together, but only by leaving the
world they called home behind, and Ed never did get his
non-prosthetic limbs back. Despite much shipping, Ed and Winry didn't
end up together nor did they ever confess their feelings to each
other. Roy lost an eye, it's unclear if he regained a higher standing
in the military after the events of Shamballa, and he and Hawkeye
never became a couple either. The ending was still far too
bittersweet for some fans to really get behind.
Perhaps
because of this, or as part of the original plan all along,
Brotherhood received a much happier ending - though the characters
had to fight just as hard to achieve it. Ed, Al, Hohenheim, Izumi,
and Roy all had to fight tooth and nail alongside Scar, Ling Yao (a
prince of Xing who came to Amestris in search of immortality, and
somewhat found it by becoming the second Greed for a time) and his
assistants Lan Fan and Fu, Mei Chang (a princess also from Xing who
came looking for immortality as well), Alex Louis Armstrong and his
sister Olivier Mira Armstrong, and the remainder of Roy and Olivier's
soldiers in a mass attempt to stop the machinations of Father. Having
achieved 'God' at long last but becoming the last person on his side
standing, Father is almost too much for our heroes to handle, even
weakened by a plan of Hohenheim's and struggling to contain all of
his power. Through the fight, Greed is pulled out of Ling's body,
Al's armor body is wrecked, and Ed's automail arm is destroyed with
his good arm pierced through by a construction bolt, holding him in
place for Father's next attack. Seizing their only chance, Al
transmutes his soul back to the Gate where his body is waiting, to
give Ed his real arm back. With his powers of alchemy restored, Ed is
able to pummel away at Father until the power of 'God' consumes him,
taking him back to the Gate from whence he came. With humanity saved,
Ed quickly begins to think hard on how to get Al back, and it's only
when he realizes how many people are waiting for them that he figures
out at long last how to win against Equivalent Exchange. Transmuting
himself to arrive at the Gate, Ed trades away his own inner Gate
which had been steadily growing with every new friend and encounter
he had made on their journey. Ed loses his ability to use alchemy
forever, but in exchange he is able to take Alphonse - now back in
his original body - back home. While Roy and the rest of the soldiers
that worked with them begin work to rebuild the government of
Amestris without corruption, and the travelers from Xing head back
home, Ed and Al head home, complete and whole at last (though Ed did
and forever will have an automail leg). Time passes, and the brothers
decide to go their separate ways, Al heading to Xing and other
eastern countries to learn more about their styles of alchemy, while
Ed heads west to learn what they have to teach. Together they hope to
combine their learnings to prove a new theory they have that can
replace Equivalent Exchange, and make the world a better place.
Before Ed leaves however, he and Winry finally confess their feelings
for each other, and while we're left in the cold as to whether the
brothers' theory works out the way they want, a photograph reveals
that at the very least, they have finally achieved happiness, as Al
is seemingly with Mei, and Ed and Winry have married and have two
kids.
This
ending, straight from the pages of the manga, is a much happier one
and much more in tune with what a lot of fans wanted for the
characters. While there are certainly still some sad fates, such as
the earlier demises of Nina and Hughes, or later ones such as
Buccaneer (one of Olivier's soldiers), Fu, and Hohenheim, even some
of them are portrayed in a more positive light in the end. Buccaneer
went out like a true soldier and hero for his cause, as did old man
Fu. Hohenheim managed to save the world that he had unwittingly put
in peril, and finally passes away in front of his wife's grave to
join her in the afterlife. Ed also remains stuck with an automail
leg, but all things considered there are far worse fates - he and Al
even joke that it's probably Winry's preference that he keep it
anyway. After everything the boys went through from such a young age,
it's easy to see why this would be the ending that people would want
for them, even the ending that they deserve.
But
is it really the best ending?
The
Gate of Truth
The
biggest difference between the two versions of the story has always
seemed to me to be their tones. It's been said by many fans that
while the original Fullmetal Alchemist is an incredibly dark series,
the manga and Brotherhood is even darker. Honestly, though? I believe
the opposite to be true. There are certainly some dark elements that
appear in Brotherhood that didn't appear in the first series, but
that's due to the events in question not even being in the first
series. For the events that do appear in both, Brotherhood doesn't
seem to make them any darker. If anything, I would argue that it
tends to make them lighter. There's humor in the first series, but
the second relies upon even more jokes at the expense of Ed's height,
super-deformed antics, and gags in general. Not that this is a bad
thing as they're all well done and enjoyable, but it does make the
overall feel less dark to my eyes than it does others it seems.
This
extends to some of the character's as well. Take Barry the Chopper
for instance. In Brotherhood we're only introduced to him after his
soul has been bonded with a suit of armor. His actions after the fact
are mostly played for laughs. Even when he's trying to kill someone,
or actually has killed someone, it's almost too easy to shrug off
with an 'Oh, that Barry!'. Somehow his personality, which is just
dripping with sadistic, and yet humorous, love of killing - a'la
Freddy Krueger - just comes off as humorous. In the first series
however, we're treated to seeing Barry as he was before Lab 5. A
thin, somewhat feminine - considering he tricks at least two people
into thinking he actually is female - man, hiding in plain sight in
the middle of Central and chopping people up left and right. He's
taken seriously as a threat, even coming close to killing Ed and
almost forcing Ed to kill him in self defense. Even when he's
captured by the authorities he simply gives up with a shrug and a
grin, as if it doesn't even matter after all the fun he's had. True,
both versions of the character end up getting beaten rather easily by
Alphonse, and resort to messing with his head in a ploy to gain the
upper hand - but in 2003 Barry's case, it feels like another way for
a truly screwed up individual to assault someone, whereas for
Brotherhood Barry it feels as if it's the only way he's ever had much
of a chance of victory.
The
animation and character designs play a major factor in this as well.
The Brotherhood designs stay closer to Arakawa's original artwork,
which is amazing and fits very well with what Brotherhood is opting
to do - it really shouldn't have been done any other way. Everyone is
far more round however, and the lighting schemes chosen for
everything, even the darker scenes, just seem to be rather bright at
times. Not unfittingly so, but compared to the dark, often moody,
lighting of the original anime, it definitely feels as everything
isn't near as dire as it was in the first series. Considering that
the worst threat of the original was the death of many humans for the
sake of one living forever, versus Brotherhood's threat of an
in-human being killing all humans to become a God, that's definitely
a bit surprising when you step back and notice it.
The
scores reflect this difference in mood as well. While I'm not as
familiar with Brotherhood's score as I am the 2003 versions, I still
can't help but notice that it's pieces - while still fitting for
every scene and sounding good as well - doesn't carry as much weight
as some of the theatrical quality pieces in the previous series. The
lack of 'Brothers', an insert song used to great effect in the 2003
anime, about the brothers' guilt for what they've done, is sorely
felt.
It
should be noted that I'm not trying to say that Brotherhood ISN'T a
dark series at times, or that this lighter feel is a bad thing in any
way. I'm just pointing out how I personally find the argument that
Brotherhood is the darker of the two tales to be somewhat faulty, as
well as pointing out the difference in tone. When all is said and
done, Brotherhood just feels like a shonen title to me - a very, very
well written one, that is one of the most enjoyable tales I've ever
experienced from the genre, but a shonen title none the less. I've
nothing against the shonen genre either, as most of my favorite
titles are shonen; it's where my anime and manga fandom found it's
start. When I come to Fullmetal Alchemist however - and I admit to
full bias in saying this - I just expect more somehow. I expect this
grand feeling of an epic that defies it's genre and medium of story
telling, and for me at least, I find that in the 2003 version.
That's
what it comes down to in the end I think - what it is you want out of
Fullmetal Alchemist. I can't say for sure if what you want out of it
is or isn't colored by which version you encounter first, or if it
has more to do with any pre-conceptions you might have about what the
series is, but irregardless of what it is, everyone is still entitled
to their preference. And while I might prefer the 2003 version in the
end, some of my favorite things still happen in Brotherhood alone. I
love the character of Ling Yao, I like seeing the characters get the
happy ending they deserve, and I love having an animated version of
the manga to enjoy - but I just find myself longing for that
bittersweet, 'you have to make the best out of a bad situation' feel
of the first anime.
When
all is said and done, we're all Fullmetal Alchemist fans, and we all
love the franchise and the characters for many of the same reasons
that are universal to both series. Perhaps, even though that's in
opposition to much of what this has been written about, we should
focus more on the similarities between the two series rather than how
they're different? Maybe, just maybe, that's Equivalent Exchange.
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