So I just recently finished FMA Brotherhood for the first time and was wondering if I should go back and watch the original series now. I know that Brotherhood sticks to the manga but I'm curious if I should push on. Thanks!

FUCK YEAH

No, really, the original tells a completely different and much darker, slower paced story. Don't expect quite the same character arcs at all, especially with Ed and Mustang.

EDIT: Also, I didn't know we had a basic page for Full Metal Alchemist. Cool.

EDIT 2: I should have mentioned this one before, but pay attention to the goings on and remember characters. A lot of foreshadowing happens throughout.

The original Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the greatest tv series I've ever had the pleasure of watching. Not a huge anime fan and not a huge serialized tv series fan either but that show was something special. If you haven't seen it yet go and watch it. If you already watched it before then watch it again and marvel at all the subtle foreshadowing and bonus touches you recognize by knowing the outcome ahead of time.

Yeah. Watch it. It's damn good.

The original series has a far more interesting final act in my opinion.

Go for it.

@coakroach said:

The original series has a far more interesting final act in my opinion.

Go for it.

Yes. I love Brotherhood and count it as one of my all-time favorite anime series, but I can not deny that the original's approach to the consequences of violating the taboo is much more intriguing than Brotherhood's. The original is much more complex I think but at the same time, due to when it was made, less "epic" if you understand my meaning. The original doesn't end all that satisfying either, although I would strongly suggest seeing the movie, Fullmetal Alchemist Movie: The Conqueror of Shambala afterwards for greater closure to the series. Expect the first 34 episodes of the original to be familiar since they comprise the first 12 of Brotherhood. After that, you're in brand new territory. What I am trying to say after all this is, yes the original is very much worth seeing.

I just got the original seriese at wal-mart for around $14 just 2 weeks ago. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Fullmetal-Alchemist-The-Complete-First-Season-Full-Frame/15269611 I have never watched any anime before except Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: Legend of Korra. (actually i'm about to watch the episode from yesterday after I finish typing) I wanted to try watching an actual Japanese anime and picked Fullmetal Alchemist since everyone said it's the best. I've watched the first 5 episodes and so far i'm really enjoying it. Watching the dubbed versions since I miss out looking at the beautiful art from reading subtitles all the time. I guess I am not a true anime fan yet.

@Mendelson9 said:

I just got the original seriese at wal-mart for around $14 just 2 weeks ago. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Fullmetal-Alchemist-The-Complete-First-Season-Full-Frame/15269611 I have never watched any anime before except Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: Legend of Korra. (actually i'm about to watch the episode from yesterday after I finish typing) I wanted to try watching an actual Japanese anime and picked Fullmetal Alchemist since everyone said it's the best. I've watched the first 5 episodes and so far i'm really enjoying it. Watching the dubbed versions since I miss out looking at the beautiful art from reading subtitles all the time. I guess I am not a true anime fan yet.

Ah, don't ever let anyone tell you that watching dubbed doesn't make you a "true anime fan".

@Mendelson9 said:

...Watching the dubbed versions since I miss out looking at the beautiful art from reading subtitles all the time. I guess I am not a true anime fan yet.

No worries. I grew up watching dubbed and only over the last 5 years did I switch to 99% subbed. Being able to speed-read the subtitles and see everything on screen is a skill I learned over time. Now, I can't watch it comfortably any other way. Well, except for those shows I watched with English audio originally. The biggest influence on my decision to change was upgrading from a standard TV to an HD model. Reading blurry subs on an old SDTV just wasn't pleasant. These day I rarely run into a situation where I miss a line of subtitled text.

Subbed or dubbed really doesn't matter too much if you enjoy what you're watching. If you live in the US, Hulu has a large selection of dubbed anime you might want to check out. There's also Funimation.com for some other titles. Both sites, plus Crunchyroll, also stream subbed offerings if you want to take a look.

I have not seen Brothernood but the original series is one of my favorite anime of all time, possibly in my top 3.

Sure.

Yeah, that would make you appriciate Brotherhood even more.

@AlexanderSheen said:

Yeah, that would make you appriciate Brotherhood even more.

Bit of a backhanded compliment there, buddy?

@AlexanderSheen said:

Yeah, that would make you appriciate Brotherhood even more.

Bit of a backhanded compliment there, buddy?

I'd say go for it. Brotherhood has better action and a more cohesive narrative, but the original series is darker and a little bit more emotional. I think it's kind of a shame that you watched Brotherhood first. The original series takes a lot more time building up to some of the more powerful moments such as the stuff with the Sowing Life Alchemist, and when the prison is discovered, and that ends up making those moments more impactful then they were in Brotherhood. However since you already know the outcome you might not enjoy them as much. Still the original series is great and I doubt you'll regret trying it once you get past some of the slower beginning stuff that you already know.

@believer258: From the look of your avatar I'm guessing you know what you're talking about. I always had the same question, but never wanted to slog through the first dozens of episodes before it splits off. Where do you think a good place would be to start watching if I just want to see the big branching point and onward.

i watched the first few episodes and i thought it was really good, and i don't typically like anime.

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258: From the look of your avatar I'm guessing you know what you're talking about. I always had the same question, but never wanted to slog through the first dozens of episodes before it splits off. Where do you think a good place would be to start watching if I just want to see the big branching point and onward.

The beginning. The differences in tone, pacing, character reactions and development, and some foreshadowing are all important.

While some early events are definitely similar, they play out in different enough ways to keep it interesting. There are some episodes sprinkled around with events that are important later on that just don't appear at all in Brotherhood. Trust me, watch from episode 1 and understand that the story is not at all the same.

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258: From the look of your avatar I'm guessing you know what you're talking about. I always had the same question, but never wanted to slog through the first dozens of episodes before it splits off. Where do you think a good place would be to start watching if I just want to see the big branching point and onward.

The beginning. The differences in tone, pacing, character reactions and development, and some foreshadowing are all important.

While some early events are definitely similar, they play out in different enough ways to keep it interesting. There are some episodes sprinkled around with events that are important later on that just don't appear at all in Brotherhood. Trust me, watch from episode 1 and understand that the story is not at all the same.

Okay, well I think I watched up until some episode where they go to a mining town or something that wasn't in Brotherhood. This was before I learned Brotherhood more closely follows the manga. Maybe one day I'll get to the original again, I just found the start soo slow and plodding while Brotherhood seemed to be faster from the very beginning.

It's pretty much a completely different series.
 
Might as well.

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258: From the look of your avatar I'm guessing you know what you're talking about. I always had the same question, but never wanted to slog through the first dozens of episodes before it splits off. Where do you think a good place would be to start watching if I just want to see the big branching point and onward.

The beginning. The differences in tone, pacing, character reactions and development, and some foreshadowing are all important.

While some early events are definitely similar, they play out in different enough ways to keep it interesting. There are some episodes sprinkled around with events that are important later on that just don't appear at all in Brotherhood. Trust me, watch from episode 1 and understand that the story is not at all the same.

I second this. Some characters like Scar, Rose, and whatever their teachers name is feel completely different between the two series and you'll want to see it from the beginning to appreciate it. Although there are an episode or two of filler you can skip.

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258: From the look of your avatar I'm guessing you know what you're talking about. I always had the same question, but never wanted to slog through the first dozens of episodes before it splits off. Where do you think a good place would be to start watching if I just want to see the big branching point and onward.

The beginning. The differences in tone, pacing, character reactions and development, and some foreshadowing are all important.

While some early events are definitely similar, they play out in different enough ways to keep it interesting. There are some episodes sprinkled around with events that are important later on that just don't appear at all in Brotherhood. Trust me, watch from episode 1 and understand that the story is not at all the same.

Okay, well I think I watched up until some episode where they go to a mining town or something that wasn't in Brotherhood. This was before I learned Brotherhood more closely follows the manga. Maybe one day I'll get to the original again, I just found the start soo slow and plodding while Brotherhood seemed to be faster from the very beginning.

The pace does pick up a good bit very soon but it never gets as fast as Brotherhood. That's intentional and very much integral to the story's mood. At the end, you'll see that the slower and more contemplative goings-on are in stark contrast to Brotherhood's hyperactive idealism.

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

@DoctorWelch said:

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

Whoa, really? If you thought Brotherhood's was heavy and thoughtful, wait 'til how you hear how the original deals with the theme of equivalent exchange, among several other themes.

@DoctorWelch: I would say that the original is quite a bit more heavy than Brotherhood actually. Darker and more depressing. Like the teachers puking up blood was used much more comically in Brotherhood, and wasn't taken as lightly in the original. The beginning had a few more light hearted episodes, so I can see why you got this impression.

I Prefered the original for some reasons. I thought brotherhood got crazier at the end but I didn't like the ending as much as the original.

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

Whoa, really? If you thought Brotherhood's was heavy and thoughtful, wait 'til how you hear how the original deals with the theme of equivalent exchange, among several other themes.

Maybe I just thought that because I wasn't expecting something as well thought out as it was. The last few episodes shocked me how smoothly and elegantly they explained things without making it seem too cheap. I guess I gotta go watch the original now.

THANKS A LOT GUYS! JUST ONE MORE THING I WANT TO DO BUT DONT HAVE TIME FOR! >:(

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

Whoa, really? If you thought Brotherhood's was heavy and thoughtful, wait 'til how you hear how the original deals with the theme of equivalent exchange, among several other themes.

Maybe I just thought that because I wasn't expecting something as well thought out as it was. The last few episodes shocked me how smoothly and elegantly they explained things without making it seem too cheap. I guess I gotta go watch the original now.

THANKS A LOT GUYS! JUST ONE MORE THING I WANT TO DO BUT DONT HAVE TIME FOR! >:(

Make sure you tell us your thoughts at the end. I love talking about and comparing the two series.

@AlexanderSheen said:

Yeah, that would make you appriciate Brotherhood even more.

Bit of a backhanded compliment there, buddy?

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

Whoa, really? If you thought Brotherhood's was heavy and thoughtful, wait 'til how you hear how the original deals with the theme of equivalent exchange, among several other themes.

Maybe I just thought that because I wasn't expecting something as well thought out as it was. The last few episodes shocked me how smoothly and elegantly they explained things without making it seem too cheap. I guess I gotta go watch the original now.

THANKS A LOT GUYS! JUST ONE MORE THING I WANT TO DO BUT DONT HAVE TIME FOR! >:(

The ending is fantastic, though I think you have to watch the movie to tie it all up. It's been a while since I watched so I could be wrong.

@Turambar said:

@believer258 said:

@AlexanderSheen said:

Yeah, that would make you appriciate Brotherhood even more.

Bit of a backhanded compliment there, buddy?

A well deserved one honestly. The original had a very well paced arc for its first half, giving Edward's rise as an alchemist far more time to attention than the latter. But its final conclusion really fell to shit.

I feel like the anime's ending is fine, it's just the full movie that follows really sucks. It was supposed to fix the few issues left at the end, not fix them and then break them again.

Either way, I'm over that and I just enjoy the journey that the original takes you on. For me, the darker and more cynical tone and more introspective anti-heroic ideals are more interesting than Brotherhood's uber-optimism. But, I do greatly enjoy Brotherhood as well and can definitely understand why someone might prefer it. I also think a full viewing of both is really necessary to fully enjoying the series and appreciating your preferred take on things, particularly because I can name no other time where a story does this sort of thing.

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

Whoa, really? If you thought Brotherhood's was heavy and thoughtful, wait 'til how you hear how the original deals with the theme of equivalent exchange, among several other themes.

Maybe I just thought that because I wasn't expecting something as well thought out as it was. The last few episodes shocked me how smoothly and elegantly they explained things without making it seem too cheap. I guess I gotta go watch the original now.

THANKS A LOT GUYS! JUST ONE MORE THING I WANT TO DO BUT DONT HAVE TIME FOR! >:(

Make sure you tell us your thoughts at the end. I love talking about and comparing the two series.

Yeah I think it would be really interesting to get the perspective of someone who watched Brotherhood first.

Thanks for all of the feedback. Maybe someone should start a discussion topic about the two series where everyone can always go back to (if someone hasn't done it already).

Yeah Brotherhood is outstanding, I watched the original a good few years ago but have completely forgotten about anything that went on in it.
 
But yeah I really enjoyed brotherhood.

@Hunter5024 said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

Whoa, really? If you thought Brotherhood's was heavy and thoughtful, wait 'til how you hear how the original deals with the theme of equivalent exchange, among several other themes.

Maybe I just thought that because I wasn't expecting something as well thought out as it was. The last few episodes shocked me how smoothly and elegantly they explained things without making it seem too cheap. I guess I gotta go watch the original now.

THANKS A LOT GUYS! JUST ONE MORE THING I WANT TO DO BUT DONT HAVE TIME FOR! >:(

Make sure you tell us your thoughts at the end. I love talking about and comparing the two series.

Yeah I think it would be really interesting to get the perspective of someone who watched Brotherhood first.

As someone who read the manga first, blargh at how the first series handled the ending. *stops self before ranting*

@Cloudenvy said:

@Hunter5024 said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

Whoa, really? If you thought Brotherhood's was heavy and thoughtful, wait 'til how you hear how the original deals with the theme of equivalent exchange, among several other themes.

Maybe I just thought that because I wasn't expecting something as well thought out as it was. The last few episodes shocked me how smoothly and elegantly they explained things without making it seem too cheap. I guess I gotta go watch the original now.

THANKS A LOT GUYS! JUST ONE MORE THING I WANT TO DO BUT DONT HAVE TIME FOR! >:(

Make sure you tell us your thoughts at the end. I love talking about and comparing the two series.

Yeah I think it would be really interesting to get the perspective of someone who watched Brotherhood first.

As someone who read the manga first, blargh at how the first series handled the ending. *stops self before ranting*

Wait, you finished the entire manga before finishing the original anime series? If I'm not mistaken, Arakawa had to speed up making the manga so that it would be done in time for them to finish making Brotherhood.

@believer258 said:

@Cloudenvy said:

@Hunter5024 said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@believer258 said:

@DoctorWelch said:

@Hunter5024: @believer258: One last question. Is the story as...heavy...I guess? I just really found Brotherhoods story and ending to be more adult and philosophical than I was ever expecting, while the original seemed more like a kids show. Does that change?

Whoa, really? If you thought Brotherhood's was heavy and thoughtful, wait 'til how you hear how the original deals with the theme of equivalent exchange, among several other themes.

Maybe I just thought that because I wasn't expecting something as well thought out as it was. The last few episodes shocked me how smoothly and elegantly they explained things without making it seem too cheap. I guess I gotta go watch the original now.

THANKS A LOT GUYS! JUST ONE MORE THING I WANT TO DO BUT DONT HAVE TIME FOR! >:(

Make sure you tell us your thoughts at the end. I love talking about and comparing the two series.

Yeah I think it would be really interesting to get the perspective of someone who watched Brotherhood first.

As someone who read the manga first, blargh at how the first series handled the ending. *stops self before ranting*

Wait, you finished the entire manga before finishing the original anime series? If I'm not mistaken, Arakawa had to speed up making the manga so that it would be done in time for them to finish making Brotherhood.

Yeah, I did.

@believer258 said:

@AlexanderSheen said:

Yeah, that would make you appriciate Brotherhood even more.

Bit of a backhanded compliment there, buddy?

I like the original one too, by appreciating Brotherhood, I meant appreciating that it exist at all. It gives you a different story, making Fullmetal Alchemist complete. Like you said, the original is darker and slower, whereas Brotherhood is lighter and faster. For me, I like the happier version and - as my shounen side shows - I like that it has more fighting scenes.