Fullmetal Alchemist

So this one is weird beyond the obvious deva ju. I think while it has some cool ideas it makes a few massive missteps for one the pacing feels totally off for the story as a whole. There is some stuff I like and I think the music is really good although I did notice an egregious reuse of the same 5 tracks as well as completely baffling placements. There was one bit that made me think it was by that fake deaf composer because it was just so off 🤣 The animation is another point of contention for me but not because it’s bad I thought it was really pretty in parts or at least I would if I could find any video that didn’t look like it was from 1999. Official sources and piracy it all looks incredibly compressed in that early 2000s/90s way. I think the lead up to the end is really well done but I think the way things conclude or leave off depending on the specific example is incredibly disappointing. I appreciate the time spent on characters and their relationships but I don’t feel like I got anything I didn’t get from the manga with the sole exception of Hughes. The way they handle the Homculi is super neat and I was invested (albeit after 20 or 30 episodes of indifference) but the stuff with the gate is just. Weird. One of the things I like best about the manga and brotherhood is that everything feels like it makes sense and everything is paid off. I think this is a swing and a miss, analyzing the show on its own merits is damn near impossible having seen the source material and successor. Update: I read a bunch of other reviews on here to see what people say and all I saw was people saying “it’s better” so I might be in the minority. Granted I didn’t see much reasoning behind it in the top reviews lol.