isac11 - 2014-09-23 23:23:15

Amazing story and characters. Did I mention it has the best soundtrack ever?
Equally as good as Brotherhood (watch both). One of the greats. If you haven't already watched it, get to it.

hwalker - 2014-08-01 01:40:14

Story

Fullmetal Alchemist has a very intriguing premise, and this premise is what motivates viewers to continue watching the show, even through its more boring parts of the show. Will the Elric brothers get their bodies back? My main problem with the story is the filler. The filler is the more disappointing part of the story, while some of the side stories maintain interest others fall flat, terribly. I believe that shows can be good with filler as long as the filler is interesting, it's hit or miss with the side stories, I found that only a few were memorable, or even mattered in the overall progression of the plot. The main story however, is fantastic. With all the twists and turns the show throws at you it's hard to not like it, even better is that the show can still shock you towards the end of the show. This is also sort of where the show falls flat as the ending is awful. Since the show is 50+ episodes, it is important to end on a high note. The ending is cheap and stupid and only aggravates. The true ending to the plot is seen in the movie Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa. While this review covers Fullmetal Alchemist and not The Conqueror of Shamballa, the ending to the show will matter not the movie. Seeing as the ending sucks, and the filler takes up a very large portion of the show I can't say the story's perfect. 7/10

Animation

The animation for the show was great for its time, however does it pass the test of time. For the most part yes. However during fight scenes short cuts are taken and it gets a pretty annoying. The animation for the opening and ending themes are really good. Unfortunately, no scenes jump out at me for being really spectacular and that's disappointing. 8/10

Sound

The soundtrack for Fullmetal Alchemist is really good. Unfortunately, a lot of songs are repeated over the course of the show and those songs are the most memorable. Not because they are particularly really good, but because they are hammered into your brain. There are 4 openings to the show, 3 are superb and fit the show perfectly and the other is just okay and kinda fits the show. And just so you know that one opening is the third one. However all openings are really memorable. The endings are really good as well, my personal favorite being the fourth one. It is jazzy and sentimental. Fullmetal Alchemist's English dub is one of those dubs that surpasses the original Japanese, and no one questions its quality. It is that good, if you have the chance watch the dub you will love it with solid performances across the board with special mention to the voice of Ed who nails it in every way possible and should win an award. 9/10

Character

Fullmetal Alchemist has a pretty large cast the mostly consists of the heroes, the side story filler story characters, and the villains. Edward and Alphonse receive a lot of development and the story develops them in a way that shows how far they would go to acheive their goals and in that aspect the show does a great job. However, it is unclear whether they have learned anything by the end because the ending cheats, but that's just my personal opinion. The filler characters are pretty irrelevant and while some make apearances at the end of the show, they never feel important and as far as characters go they suck. The hommonculi are great villains and all of them are well developed. However, the main villain (who I'm not going to tell you about because of spoilers) is really poor. Her back story is interesting but she isn't, since she isn't in the show until later in the show, only adding to the poor ending.

Enjoyment: 9/10

Overall

Collectively, Fullmetal Alchemist is a really good show, and earns it title as a classic anime. However, it isn't without faults and while I did enjoy most of the show the ending still sucks and that takes away from the experience as a whole. However I believe Fullmetal Alchemist is a lot of fun and is a truly enjoyable experience. At this point in time Fullmetal Alchemist is licensed by Funimation Entertainment. It is available on DVD not Blu-Ray. It is also available for legal streaming on Netflix and Hulu. 8/10

pluettgen - 2014-02-17 01:37:01

Fullmetal Alchemist...this is my first review of a series with more than 26 episodes. This one has 51! It's a reasonably big commitment, depending on how much free time you have.

I'd like to preface this review with the fact that I had watched Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which is the second adaptation of the series, and the one that follows the source material (manga), prior to watching this one. As such I was constantly comparing the two shows throughout, but in this review I will be leaving all but a single section free from comparisons.

So, where to begin? Fullmetal Alchemist is a comparatively 'long-running' anime series set in a fantasy/steampunk sort of world, filled with lush forests, barren plains, sandy deserts, towering mountains, small towns and sprawling cities. In this world, people willing to learn it can use alchemy, the science of breaking down and reassembling substances and objects into new ones. Alchemy is governed by strict rules, the most important of which is the law of Equivalent Exchange; in order to obtain, something of equal value must be lost.

It is our two main characters, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who learn this law the hard way, when they attempt to bring their mother back to life. If all of alchemy is governed by the law of Equivalent Exchange, what could possibly equal the value of a human soul? As a result of their efforts, the two brothers each pay a severe price for their foolhardy actions, and are now determined to undo the damage they have caused themselves.

In order to right their wrong, they must find the Philosopher's Stone, the only thing rumoured to be able to ignore the law of Equivalent Exchange. And so we have our story. What follows is a complex and difficult adventure filled with a great mix of drama, comedy, sadness and violence.

Fullmetal Alchemist can be quite dark. But it also has a lot of laughter in it. It strikes a great balance, being dead serious and emotional when it needs to be, and light-hearted and fun in between. The story is, at first, a little slow, with some mystery surrounding certain characters and a lot of time being spent in the past, establishing the main characters' background. It's necessary for the story and helps to set up future plot points and characters, so it pays off later.

The story is quite interesting and absolutely keeps you invested, with a few good twists, turns and character revelations.

[Skip this paragraph if you don't want my thoughts on the ending; there are no direct spoilers though] The ending, however, while decent, is left partially open, requiring you watch the movie, "The Conqueror of Shamballa". You will want to watch the movie after finishing the series, and my thoughts on it can be found here: [to be updated when I review the movie, whenever that is]. In short though, the ending, while tying up most of the plot points, does not completely satisfy, but could still be considered the end if you don't want to watch the movie.

Characters! Fullmetal Alchemist has quite a lot of them, actually. Our mains are the aforementioned brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric. Both of these characters are well-developed and likeable, with Ed getting a bit more depth that Alphonse. He is short, something he hates being reminded of. He is hotheaded and quick to act, but also quite intelligent and resourceful. He makes for a great lead, with a good mix of brains and brawn, backed up by his knowledge and skills with alchemy. Al, the younger of the two, is calmer, a little naive and childish. Understandable and fairly accurate for someone his age (around 14-15 throughout the series).

There is such a range of other secondary mains, supporting and recurring characters, that I am not going to describe them. Particular standouts include Roy Mustang, Winry Rockbell, Scar, Alex Armstrong and Maes Hughes. The great thing about this characters is that not a single one is unnecessary or serves no purpose. Everyone has a role to play they each contribute to the story in their own way. The more prominent characters also get some decent depth put into them.

Fullmetal Alchemist was made in 2003. As such, the animation looks a little old, and at times it does show its age, but for the most part holds up really well. It was certainly good for its time. Early on it isn't particularly impressive but really becomes fluid and involved later down the line. The character designs are quite cool, and detailed, especially the military uniforms, and Ed's usual attire. One thing that came up when I was watching Fullmetal Alchemist is that nostalgic feeling, thinking about the cartoons and anime I used to watch as a kid, like Pokemon, Digimon and all that. It was good.

Soundwise we have a pretty good soundtrack, although it is reused quite a bit throughout the 51 episode series. If you like it, good, you'll continue to like it; if you don't, you won't be happy because there isn't a lot of variety. Unfortunately the 4 openings and 4 endings are all average at best, with nothing standing out for me, personally.

I watched Fullmetal Alchemist dubbed, and boy, is it a great dub. Really solid work from the entire cast. At times I wasn't totally okay with Alphonse' actor, but considering that kid was 12 when he voiced him, he did an awesome job!

So, finally I will compare this series to Brotherhood. I liked it more! I'm pretty sure. It's been a while since I watched Brotherhood so I may have to revisit it again, but I felt like this first series had a bit of a tighter story, and was definitely darker. The characters, both existing and original for the series, were all great and handled very well, with a shout-out to Frank Archer, who was pretty cool. I think where the original series pales a little in comparison to Brotherhood is in the soundtrack, but otherwise they are pretty close, with the original series just coming out on top.

Well, there you have it. Fullmetal Alchemist is a great series and an awesome adventure. It's well constructed and stands up pretty well, 11 years after it aired. Should you watch it or Brotherhood? I say both, but maybe start with this one.

bpagac - 2013-10-20 04:31:51

"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy’s first law of equivalent exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world’s one and only truth."

I'm typing this review, and i wonder to myself, "Why am i doing this? What can i say about a show that's been talked about to death?", and you know what, i don't exactly have a clear answer. Fullmetal Alchemist premiered a decade ago and is still to this day, one of the most beloved and well known anime of our recent generation. It's so well known that talking about it almost seems redundant as about 90% of anime fans have already seen it, and if they haven't seen it then they at least have heard of it, know the premise, and might even know some of the more shocking twists in it. But over the past few years, more and more people have begun to disregard it all thanks to a little thing called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, to the point where i've heard Brotherhood fans say to people on several occasions that they shouldn't watch the original series and just go watch Brotherhood, which i answer to with a big, "Huh?". But this isn't about Brotherhood, i'll cover that elephant in the room if i ever choose to do a review of it. No this is about the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime, and why if you haven't already seen it, then you should check out as soon as possible.

Story (10/10)

As i said it's almost pointless to sum up the plot that everybody already knows but, formulaic procedure wins. The story is about the two Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse, who try to use a blend of science and magic called alchemy to bring their mother back from the dead. Things go terribly wrong however, and in the process Edward loses an arm and a leg, and Alphonse loses his entire body, being forced to fuse his soul with a body of armor to survive. They soon join the country's militia, the state alchemist division to be precise, in order to search for a item of great power called the philosopher's stone, in order to revive their bodies back to their original forms. The idea of two brothers setting off on a journey is already a concept that could fill an entire show, but then there's also the story of the them joining the military and how their more childish outlook and views clash with the military's actions, which is also enough to fill an entire show. But then there's also the military itself and it's mission to reform the country, and also the soldiers that wish to change the military to better the country, and then there's the evil forces that the Elric brothers encounter with their own mission and backstory, and so on and so forth. Fullmetal Alchemist has enough plot lines to fill up 10 different anime, which could easily just make for a cluttered mess of ruined potential, but the story in Fullmetal Alchemist is a well written, perfectly paced, and air tight. But even so this seems like a lot for just a battle shounen, but you can't really call it just a battle shounen as it seems like the show has just about every genre you can think of all in one. There's action, adventure, comedy, drama, supernatural, super power, military, romance, mystery, thriller, horror, shock jock, fantasy, and sci fi, all in one. Once again, having so much in one show could easily be the death of it, but all of these genres are performed well and at just the right moments, even having them clash at times just to prove a point. And if that wasn't enough, this show completes every plot point and every character saga, and still has room for filler. To some the concept of adding filler is a bad thing, but in this case i find being able to have filler more of a compliment than anything. If you haven't gotten what's good about the story of FMA from this, let me sum it up for you. Fullmetal Alchemist is an emotional, action packed, well written saga and above all, is fucking big, displaying a vast world of different cultures, inventions and religions that just sucks you in from the very beginning.

Art (8/10)

Fullmetal Alchemist was made by studio BONES and is probably the show most responsible for the seemingly endless pockets of money that the studio had for many years. But this was an early work, so it's not exactly perfect. The show didn't have all that much of a budget to work with, and there were times when it showed, inconsistent character designs, jagged edges, and one or two episodes in particular that looked fairly cheap. But the show is still overall a good looking show. What impressed me most was probably the shading in it and how perfectly it was used to represent different emotions and foreshadowing. The character facial designs also helped this, done well enough at times that two characters could just share a scene together, with zero dialogue, and in just one stare, convey all the emotions they need to get across. Of course this is a battle series, and you can tell that this is where a good chunk of the budget was spent, with fluid animation and splendid choreographing that kept your eyes firmly glued to the screen. Fullmetal Alchemist is a good looking show with some dents here and there, but the moments of brilliance shine right though.

Sound (9/10)

The soundtrack is comprised completely of orchestral pieces, all of which compliment their scenes quite well. It's in the background, always noticeable but never overpowering, a perfect accompaniment to the show. But, to tell the truth, nothing on the OST really sticks out on it's own and it's not really a soundtrack that you listen to on it's own. A good soundtrack nonetheless but nothing spectacular. If i was only judging the sound based off the soundtrack then i'd probably only give it a 7 or 8 out of 10, but there's one more important thing to talk about. The dub. This was an early Funimation show, but i'm guessing that they knew ahead of time how big the show would be, because they really brought their A game for it. Talking about Vic Mignogna as Edward Elric is almost as redundant as telling people about the plot to FMA, he's great as the role, and it's the number one reason why he has so many fangirls. Plus this was also the show that launched Travis Willingham's career for his performance as Roy Mustang, which is well deserved. And i'd be remiss to not mention Christopher Sabbat's performance as Major Alex Louise Armstrong who just does the role complete justice as though IT WAS A PERFORMANCE HANDED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG FAMILY FOR GENERATIONS. There are plenty of other big names like Johnny Yong Bosch and Luci Christanson playing ver small roles which are always nice to hear. But the thing that really impressed me about the dub is that they had actual kids playing the kids including a 12 year old Aaron Dismuke doing a bang up job in his first performance as Alphonse Elric. It's definitely a show worth checking out dubbed.

Character (10/10)

A story as big as Fullmetal Alchemist need a big cast, and not only is this cast supplied, but their also just as well written as the story itself. First off we have out two main characters Edward and Alphonse Elric. Edward is the prodigy of the two, the genius who often makes the decisions of what the two of them will do, which can proof to be disastrous at times, considering that with great intelligence and curiosity comes an overwhelming temptation to the dark side. He's the one who decided to resurrect their mother, he's the one who decides to join the military, and he's the one who constantly has to struggle with doing the right thing and doing the things that most benefit them. But he's still just a kid, and with so comes a certain naiveté towards things. He's quick to learn from his mistakes and often feels guilt for what his actions have causes, and is driven with a strong determination to set things right, making him the ideal protagonist. Alphonse on the other hand is the philosopher, usually being the moral compass of the two and keeping his older brother grounded to the right side. Between the two brothers, he loses the most, but instead of being angry and bitter about it, is often friendly and optimistic and hates to see people suffer for his sake, giving him great guilt as well for what his brother has to go through for his sake. These are of course, only the two main characters, and Fullmetal Alchemist has nearly 40 supporting and recurring character, meaning characters that show up for more than two episodes and have a role in the overall plot. And you know what, each and every one of them is left unresolved. Like the story, the characters of Fullmetal Alchemist are memorable, well written, and big. But the most important thing that these characters do in the series, is acknowledge and represent the importance of family bonds, from the relationship between the Elric brothers, to the relationship between the military soldiers, and event he weird relationship between the Homunculi of the series that form their own little family in a way. From the arrogant but gentle hearted Colonel Roy Mustang, to the incredibly manly glittering Major Alex Louise Armstrong, to the Homunculi that oppose the Elric brothers, all of the characters of Fullmetal Alchemist are fleshed out and memorable.

Enjoyment and Overall (10/10)

In case you haven't been able to tell, i love Fullmetal Alchemist, very few series have made me love them this much. I'm not really sure what i can say about this series that i haven't already said. It's an epic tale of love, determination, and passion that every one should check out. We never needed a movie, the series ended fine on it's own, and just because Brotherhood now exists, doesn't mean we should disregard this series, personal tastes aside. Fullmetal Alchemist is a series that is completely on par with the original manga and proof that a series doesn't need fidelity to succeed. I'll leave off with this quote, which is technically from Brotherhood but screw it, it works.
"There’s no such thing as a painless lesson. They just don’t exist. Sacrifices are necessary. You can’t gain anything without losing something first. Although, if you can endure that pain and walk away from it, you will find that you now have a heart strong enough to overcome any obstacle. Yes…a heart that's Fullmetal."

arnold.mcglynn - 2013-09-06 05:04:06

I’m usually on the fence on anime moving away from its source materials to provide their own take on the series. But having watched FMA: Brotherhood I am certainly please it did. Why? It's because of the differences between Brotherhood and 2003 that has kept the series interesting rather than feeling like a typical older version of the reboot where you knew what’s gonna happen or what are that certain 'plot twists' are. The final episodes will not be discussed and constructive criticisms are welcome :)

Note: There will be comparisons between FMA and FMA: B

+ As said previously, FMA is definitely different from his son in terms of plot.

+ Where it Focuses more on the philosopher’s stone, origins of homunculus and equivalency more than FMA: B did.

+ It has also Kept the story interesting with plot twists and the mysteries surrounding the stone and military.

- The pacing of the show is alright overall, but there are times where it was either too rushed or too episodic, but of course none of which that would throw anyone off.

Subjective:

The comedy aspect of the show is fairly entertaining at times, but it does get in the way and ruin moments of tension. But it’s just personal preference :P

+ Fluid at times and especially shines when it comes to the action but apart from that, fairly decent throughout the course of its run.

+ The characters are much more developed then FMA: B’s and I was pleasantly surprise the depth they gave to the homunculus.

- Due to its large cast, not everyone gets the same amount of development or screen time which is expected however could've been better rather than wasting it on fillers :/

Subjective:

(As mentioned above) There are times where I felt that the character developments are wasted for fillers, but oh well, preference ;)

+ (OST) It serves its purpose throughout the series

Subjective:

(OST) Nothing memorable apart from some OPs and EDs

(VOICE) Only seeing the ENG Dubbed, it’s pretty good and has its moments. The side characters though (that appears here and there), I felt could’ve been better.

FMA is an enjoyable show as a whole despite its ups and downs. Having watched FMA:B already, I found it all the more enjoyable, and I’m sure it’ll be Vice Versa to whoever who was watched 2003 first as they move on to Brotherhood. This is definitely a show I’d recommend and would be a great gateway (both FMA and FMA: B) for non-anime watchers.

If I would to compare FMA to FMA:B on which I love better, I can't. They are like apples and oranges, both of which are awesome:3

Overall: 7.8 (8)

adams.laurence - 2013-08-25 23:15:17

Fullmetal Alchemist: 2003 or Brotherhood, or Who Cares...

jeffrey90 - 2013-08-16 02:28:39

Fullmetal Alchemist was always a great show with likable characters and a fun yet dark story at first. My only gripe with the series is with the plot as it gets closer to the end. The more and more it tries to add concepts from our world into this one, the more I was taken out of the the story. The final nail in the coffin for me was the ending. I hated the ending of this show and found it rather stupid. The ending did not satisfy me in any way and opened up such a large plot hole that I couldn't even believe it.

While I must still credit Alchemist to being a VERY VERY good show, I still must always suggest that one watches this show first and then Brotherhood so that you get the lesser or the two shows out of the way first.

dessie41 - 2013-08-14 04:23:44

When my cousin recommended this to me, I was a little skeptical. I'm very, very new to the world of anime and usually do not watch shounen. Also, I usually like down-to-earth, typical life stories, rather than fantasy. But what I found here was more human than any anime I've seen before.

I cannot bestow enough praise on Fullmetal Alchemist. I adored its story, and was enthralled by its characters. Even the slapstick humor made me laugh. (including the over used "Ed is short" gag). If you are reading this review wondering if the anime is worthwhile, I assure you it is. Screw Brotherhood ( Don't kill me, please), this version is great all on its own.

I usually have nothing to say about dub vs. sub, but I just wanted to mention that I thought Romi Park did an amazing job as Ed. I got used to her voice, so when I heard Vic Mignogna, I was like " He sounds too old". It's just a personal preference though. He did an amazing job, but I felt Park's Ed conveyed more of the childlike innocence and at the same time the fierce conviction that characterizes Ed.

The best anime I've ever seen, hands down.

mariela03 - 2013-07-28 05:58:40

After watching the entire Fullmetal Alchemist series, I quite enjoyed it.I've watched some episodes to brotherhood recently, it's interesting but the 2003 Fullmetal in my opinion was quite excellent.Art: I fell in love with the art. It didn't feel like a normal anime art style. It had richer and deeper colors, the animation to the series was phenomenal. I prefer the art and the style of animation of the 2003 FMA to the FMA: Brotherhood.Characters: I really liked how the 2003 FMA introduced the characters and their stories. In FMA: Brotherhood, the background stories to the characters went by fast @_@ I really like it took the time to introduce the characters in the original FMA. I also liked how they added more story to some characters (nina, maes hughes, etc.) I know when I saw the episodes with Nina in the original FMA compared to FMA:B, after seeing her with the brothers for a long while and coming to the part when she was turned to a chimera and killed by scar, that just made me tear up. I felt the pain the brothers felt ( i mean come on D: shou! why did you do it?!)Music: Being a music junkie, I fell in love with the music to the series!Overall: I love this series! I laughed my butt off, I cried my eyes out! Exceptional series, I can't stop watching it!

joesph73 - 2013-05-18 10:39:36

There was a period starting around 2003, when there was only one anime that was on everyone's lips. Nothing had made such a big stir since "Cowboy Bebop" half a decade earlier (excluding mass marketed joke anime such as "Pokemon"), and it would be a few years before there would be anything else that made such a big splash again ("Death Note"). That anime is, of course "Fullmetal Alchemist". And for an anime with such a big reputation, the first question that always comes to mind is: does it live up to the hype? In my opinion, it's an emphatic YES.It's no secret that I dislike anime humour in general, but I took an immediate liking to "Fullmetal Alchemist" despite it containing an abundance of exactly the kind of over the top humour that I hate. It caught my attention straight from the word go with its powerful statement about equivalent trade in the opening credits: "People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something. You must present something of equal value in order to gain something". It's the kind of statement that strongly suggests that interesting things lies in store and it's going to be an emotional rollercoaster of a show where sacrifices often has to me made. I found the first couple of episodes to be very promising, with the chemistry between the Elric brothers and their admirable determination to reach their goal especially inspiring. One of the defining moments is when Edward Elric (who is the main character) tells a girl who is wallowing in self pity and despair to get up and walk forwards, pointing out that she still has her legs at least. This may not sound like much, but when you consider that it's advice from someone who doesn't have all of his own limbs but who is still moving forward without complaint, then it suddenly gains a considerable amount of potency. However, after this intriguing opening, "Fullmetal Alchemist" made me wait quite a few episodes before showing me something special. And that special something is episode 7: "The Night the Chimera Cried". It's a shockingly dark episode, and despite the lack of extreme graphical violence or anything like that, it manages to be one of the most vividly disturbing episodes I can remember seeing. It's an episode that gives a brief glimpse of the vast ambitions of the show, and I honestly think it's up there as one of the best single episodes of anime ever.However, this fantastic episode is followed by a few more fairly ordinary episodes (these episodes are good, they just ain't special) before things starts to pick up again, and luckily this time it doesn't stop. Twists and turns seem to appear in every episode, and it really is gripping, edge of the seat stuff throughout. I think some of the twists would have surprised me more if I didn't have this friend (who'd already seen it) who kept dropping spoilers at me. My point is that even though I enjoyed it immensely, I probably could have enjoyed it even more, which is a huge achievement in itself.As much as I was drawn in by the plot, I have to say that it's not as tight as it could have been. Allegedly, the anime went on its own track in the second half of the series, but it often "borrowed" explanations from the source manga, so the story ended up as a weird hybrid of the two. Not surprisingly, this resulted in some cracks in the plot that aren't filled in. Googling for answers after I'd watched it didn't help as I mostly found more questions that hadn't even occurred to me before. The plot development towards the end of the series regarding the other side of the gate also feels a bit weird, like it doesn't mix very well with the rest of the plot. That said, the good parts are so good that it's still one of the most awesome storylines around even taking into account the flaws. Most of the story execution is simply sublime, and it also contains some extremely powerful death moments, so I recommend you prepare some tissues beforehand in case of waterworks.I feel the need to comment on the jpop/jrock opening and ending themes used in "Fullmetal Alchemist", because despite having like a trillion different ones, most of them are pretty bad, and comes with awful WTF-worthy lyrics such as "Ready Steady give me good luck! Ready Steady never look back!" With these crap OP/ED themes marring the music credentials of this series, it's a good job that the rest of the sound department is actually pretty solid. The voice acting is of a very high standard, with the performances really shining through in the climatic scenes. The OST may have very few stella tracks, but the they way they are utilised for the background music is really effective. There is one track that does stand out, and it's a song called "Brothers" (it's sung in Russian I think, but it's worth googling for the lyrics because they're so poignant and so closely related to the series). In many ways this song can be regarded as the theme representative of the series. Not only is it played in various forms throughout (often during the most emotional moments), but it's also a song that highlights the central aspect of the show - the relationship between the two protagonists, the Elric brothers. Seeing the two of them argue, seeing them fight side by side, and seeing them willing to sacrifice so much for each... it's a truly beautiful, touching sibling relationship. "Fullmetal Alchemist" has a wonderful set of supporting characters too. Maes Hughes is a prime example. Though most of the time he acts like a jackass, when things gets serious, he's as sharp as knives and reliable as a rock, and he's a character who is really easy to warm to. Even the villains of "Fullmetal Alchemist" are memorable and many are even likeable. The pick of the bunch is Lust, who undergoes tons of character development and through this becomes the kind of villain who can really hijack your sympathies. The Character designs themselves are simplistic but very distinctive in style and therefore very recognisable. The artwork looks nice and clean in general and the special effects used for alchemy is great to watch.Like I said before, I'm not a fan of anime comedy in general. Although I was little put off by the comedy at the start of "Fullmetal Alchemist", as the series got more and more dark and intense, I can't help but feel the comedy works quite well as comic relief. Having said that, it isn't always appropriately timed. I tend to find that the comedy situations that leads into a serious one work out quite well, but the reverse isn't so good, with the comedy often end up ruining the mood of the serious situation that came before.Ultimately, there's a lot more to "Fullmetal Alchemist" than what meets the eye. The escalating chaos in brought about by the Elric brothers through their good intentions and the oppression of Ishbal paints up some surprisingly bleak and complex political dilemmas. And also, the core values at the heart of the equivalence trade principle are thought provoking and are morals that can be easily be applied beyond the scope of the anime. These are just some of the things that gives "Fullmetal Alchemist" a layer of depth and maturity that transcends its shounen label. And this is why, even though its extraordinary success owes a lot to the weight of the huge marketing campaign thrown behind it, I think the hype is completely justified. It's a show that has deservedly earned its place amongst the all time greats.