Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

:

Season 2
Season #: 4, 2, 1
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9.0

Universal acclaim- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 28
  3. Negative: 1 out of 28
  1. TNF1343
    Mar 1, 2014
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Review for Seasons 2 & 3:

    Given how little time is spent on each Season, you'd think Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood would spend every precious moment doing something important. I mean, we're talking roughly 5 hours per Season here. If a Season is that short, I expect the plot to move a bit faster than the pace of a snail. Sadly, after Season 2's greatness, Season 3 of FMAB does just this, and takes the series right back to the quality Season 1. Of course Season 1 was far from bad, but I feel like the third Season didn't live up to its expectations set by the Season prior.

    Well, let's start with the better of the two, shall we? Season 2 quickly shows us that the series will go above and beyond the first from now on. The Führer comes in quickly, and by the end of the episode, we learn that he's a Homonculus who's controlled by some sort of Hoenheim doppelgänger. So while we don't learn the bad guys' true intentions until Season 3, we learn that 'Father' is pulling the military's strings.

    Part two only really stumbles twice. Near the beginning, we're given another episode dealing with Hughes' death emotional fallout. Yeah, Ed, Al, and Winry just learned about it, and I did specifically mention how sad it was in my previous review but, come on. Hughes was a side character and not much more. The viewers have dealt with his death a long time ago. No need to sully the emotional impact by dragging it out by an extra 20 minutes.

    The next misstep comes after the highs of "Death of the Undying". In one of the best episodes to date, Barry the Chopper's story gives us more insight on the enigma that is Alphonse's body, and sees the determined Mustang continuously burn Lust until she was no more, proving that the Homunculi can, in fact be killed by people other than Father. Hoenheim's surprise appearance was the cherry on top... however, the next episode didn't follow through as much as I hoped.

    At this point I, and many others were almost positive that Hoenheim was Father. I kept waiting for something huge to happen, when he suddenly left giving us a vague warning and a hint leading to the episodes only important discovery. "Father Before the Grave" gave Ed, Al, and Izumi the relief that they didn't kill their loved ones, but it doesn't offer much outside of that. Hoenheim was effectively wasted here, and the scene between Ed and Al at the end didn't have the potency it should have either.

    The series quickly gets back on the right foot, providing us with a hell of a lot of gut exploring, limb severing fun. It all cumulates in a fantastic finale that renews Ed's hope. I won't be forgetting the powerful moment where he bursts through The Gate of Truth, vowing to get Al back to his original state.

    As for Ling and May, I think they make great additions to the roster. May's voice actor tips the annoying scale a bit too far but her and her little panda/cat thing are cute little badasses. Meanwhile, Ling, desperate to lead his clan to glory walks right into the enemy's trap. I doubt his story is over yet; the day his plan comes into fruition would be a satisfying one, seeing how much of a headstrong individual he is. He was also a solid source of comedy throughout his appearances.

    So, after the big fight's conclusion and a breath-taking scene involving the Elric brothers, Mustang, and the Führer, the show doesn't do a whole lot outside of spin its wheels. The best part of this would have to be the flashback from the Ishvalan War. And that doesn't exactly signify much in the way of progress does it? I mean, things happen during the middle of the Season but the pace doesn't pick up until our heroes get to the north.

    Looking back at these two Seasons, it's surprising to see how Season 3 didn't seem to know the show's past strengths. The pace is the obvious one but I feel the lack of strongly written villains here. Envy's mostly absent, and Kimblee's treatment has been odd to say the least. He's straddling an awkward line between being very creepy to being just the right amount of unsettling. It's hard to put into words, but he's just not doing it for me. And they tried a bit too hard to make Pride/Selim Bradley eerie but something about his voice or the weird echo effect didn't sell it. Another consistent strength is obviously Roy Mustang and his elaborate plans. He's sadly underutilized this Season, although he does have a pretty damn good reason.

    I'm no writer but I think the best thing for the show would be to have the notes deciphered sooner, perhaps even midway through the Season (Note: I forgot to mention this in my first review but I should mention that I didn't watch FMA or read any of the manga so I'm unaware of any of the version differences). That way, a lot of the fat is cut, and then we're given perhaps the more interesting results of the revelation(s?) sooner. No matter how many problems that irritated me during the latest Season I've watched, I find it hard not to be optimistic about FMAB going into S4.    … Full Review »
  2. jppcouto
    Aug 28, 2011
    10
    The best series ever! Foi tudo muito bem feito pela parte da Bones (estudio do anime) e da
    Arakawa (autora do manga), o primeiro anime do FMA    The best series ever! Foi tudo muito bem feito pela parte da Bones (estudio do anime) e da
    Arakawa (autora do manga), o primeiro anime do FMA acabou de forma
    trágica (Ed morre e todas as esperanças que ele e os seus amigos tinham
    vão por água a baixo). O mais fantástico disto tudo é que foi preciso
    chegar o Brotherhood (que é outra perspetiva da historia que no fundo
    é a original) para que o Ed conseguisse tudo aquilo que não tinha
    conseguido no primeiro anime: recuperar o braço e perna, o corpo do
    irmão e ficar com a Winry... Sem dúvida a melhor série de anime (se uma
    pessoa vir a série toda do início ao fim, é impossivel não gostar...) (enfim, impossível...)    … Full Review »
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