Let's talk about the mess that is Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Hello, dear readers.

In stark contrast to the cascade of positive reviews Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood has, this relatively short write up is going to hit many fans in the raw nerve. Am I new to anime? No. Am I a Shounen lover? No. Perfect- the least amount of bias.

Before we begin, I'll give you a little background on what this anime is about. In essence, two brothers decide to revive their dead mother, but failed and one brother, Al, lost his body. The other lost his leg and later, his arm. These two then decide to be civil servants, while also attempting to achieve their goal- to get their bodies back.

The first few episodes start with explaining the events of FMA, summarising its plot and staying true to the manga. Without spoiling, it's impossible to do a decent review, so beyond this point those who haven't watched the anime I urge you to form your own opinion about it before continuing.

The humor of FMAB relies solely on long awkward pauses and cartoon imagery that's often overused and bland. The same gag is used so often that it destroys the immersion that FMAB already lacks.

But this anime is a Shounen, right? Let's focus on the fight scenes then.

The opening fight between Elsa and the brothers was shockingly the best in the anime. Huge chunks of ice being generated, the skills of other state alchemists being displayed- one couldn't ask for a more exciting battle. The "Oh my god he doesn't need a transmutation circle!" opened the door to many possibilities, leading the watcher to believe that Ed is full of potential and maybe (?) OP.

However as the anime goes along, we learn that he has the fighting ability of a chimpanzee, with him barely using any alchemy during fights and instead, using the same spear every battle. If you had the ability to create giant pillars to chase after a pickpocket toddler, what would you do against a serial killer? He could perhaps...

1) throw rocks that turn into spears like Baldy Fist
2) turn moisture into water
3) try to IP man his fight against a seasoned war veteran (Ding ding!)

This leads me to another flaw. It's barely explained what alchemy actually is. Sure, the "LaW 0f 3quIvaLeNt EXchAnG3" is shoved down our throats every opening sequence, but the exact mechanism is yet to be explained. Why can't Ed just create a metal box every time he needs to catch someone like Lan Fan? I know Chinese women are known for their ferocity, but saying she can break through steel is too much. Again, there's just so much potential in Ed that the anime refuses to use. Lust's death was satisfying to say the least, but for someone with the ultimate spear, it's barely been used properly. She couldn't even kill 2 men with it, and then she died shortly after all that trash talking. If this doesn't make it into the top 10 saddest anime deaths, I don't know what will.

Let's talk about the music. When I mused about what to write for this section, I actually asked myself- was there even a single musical note in the entire anime? The soundtrack was so forgettable and sometimes even mismatched. I would still give credit to the first OP of the anime, as that was written beautifully.

Regarding the plot, the anime has tons of potential. I daresay the directing of the whole anime was what pulled FMAB down. If Yasuhiro Irie had taken the anime to a Tokyo Ghoul cum Akame ga Kill-esque plot, I think the plot would have been much better represented. For an action orientated anime, the pacing is terrible. With fight scenes mixed with cartoony reactions and humor, I can't help but compare this to Gintama. Gintama balances between comedy and action so well, with the occasional remarks from the leads leaving a smile on my face. I found the casual conversations between Al and Gluttony, and Ed and Envy ridiculous- they're the villains for crying out loud!

To conclude, it was an interesting watch. This anime has loads of potential but its pacing and overall direction needs tweaking. I often found myself dissociated from the anime and staring blankly at the screen. To others, FMAB may be a a gift from Santa himself. To me, FMAB will always be an anime that one would only watch after getting their brains fried by the better, more immersive seasonal anime. Unfortunately, I fall into the minority who dislike FMAB.