SO... THAT HAPPENED.

[genarti]

Today is (well, was, unless you're in a timezone where it's still the 5th) bookelfe's birthday! In celebration of this august occasion, we decided to do the logical thing: spend the day kicking around a library, come home and make assorted junk food from the freezer, and watch episodes of the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime. With alcohol. (Not a lot of

Comments

[peri_peteia]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL ALL OF THIS.

This is still more coherent than my liveblogs I did of the first eight episodes, though.

[genarti]

I think if we weren't trading the laptop back and forth it might've been less coherent -- you should see our IM conversations when we're reacting to things and not in the same room.

There was a lot of inarticulate shrieking, though.

[peri_peteia]

I BET.

I swear I spent the entire time making this face O____o

[bookelfe]

Hahaha, we skipped the first bunch for a reason! THE ENDLESS FLASHBACK HAS ALREADY BEEN EXCELLENTLY COVERED. (Well, that and we'd both already seen Liore, Land of Evil Parakeets.)

[elle_white]

Haha, having watched the first anime before reading, I can attest to how little sense that series makes. When I finally started reading the manga, all these awesome things started overwhelming me! Here was a coherent plot that actually made sense and contained character that were far more realistic!

I'm so glad I got into the manga shortly after experiencing the first series and the movie. *shudder*

[genarti]

Hee hee. I'm afraid that I have very little ability to approach the first anime as a totally new entity -- I try, but having come to Brotherhood first and the manga shortly thereafter, and imprinted hard on both, I have a very hard time totally separating it! WHICH MAKES MANY THINGS BEWILDERING.

(I do have to say that there were many decisions of character logic I found somewhat inexplicable even aside from manga precedent, though. Um. Yes.)

[astridv]

I never watched any of the first series, I gathered from reviews and from the occasional bits of inexplicable characterization that pops up in fic from time to time that it'd be... not to my taste.

"Brother, I'm sleeping with Dad."

LOL WUT

[genarti]

Yeah, that's what I've gathered too, but I wanted to give it a go! Partly to have seen some to supplement the hearsay, but partly just for the hilarity, I have to admit.

AND YEAH I KNOW. The gist in context was more "Brother, I know you hate Dad and want nothing to do with him, but I'm going to go talk with him and spend the night there." BUT IT WAS A REALLY UNFORTUNATE TRANSLATION.

Then Hohenheim wanders off in the middle of the night and Al comes back in a tizzy going "Brother, Dad just left! Halfway through the night! I don't know where he went! ;_;" and it DID NOT GET LESS AWKWARDLY UNFORTUNATE.

[bookelfe]

I SPENT ABOUT TEN MINUTES AFTER THAT UNABLE TO SAY ANYTHING BUT "I -- WHAT -- I -- WHAT --"

TOO TRAUMATIZED, CANNOT COPE

[bookelfe]

ACTUALLY GEN JUST QUOTED IT AT ME AGAIN AND I FLAILED SO HARD I HIT HER IN THE FACE

I AM NOT ACTUALLY KIDDING ABOUT THAT

[ojuzu]

*coughs* This is why I've kind of stayed away from FMA fandom, tbh. Nearly all of it seems based around the first anime, and sometimes I can't stop myself from yelling THESE CHARACTERS DO NOT ACT LIKE THAT or SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PLOT DEVELOPMENT at the screen and furiously backbuttoning.

*squints at Scar's backstory* Um, what. That is so do not want I don't even. (Brb, going to cleanse my mind with cinaed's fics.)

[genarti]

A whoooooole lot of it is based around the first anime, yeah. And part of my reason for wanting to see some is to have a better idea of what characterization and pairings are based on stuff that's actually in the first anime, versus just your standard fandom WTFery! Answer so far seems to be some of each, unsurprisingly.

And AHAHAHAHAHA. Scar's backstory is completely bewildering if you're coming from the manga. THERE'S MORE WE DIDN'T EVEN SAY. (But cleansing one's mind with cinaed's fics is always an excellent plan.)

[bookelfe]

We are planning on watching some Scar episodes of Brotherhood in the very near future. Arakawa!Scar, I miss you! ;____;

[evil_little_dog]

I want to come back and read this when I'm more coherent/don't have sisters telling me I need to help with Mom's yardwork/etc.

BUT YAY.

Such yay.

(And yes, I still don't get the Roy/Ed stuff, despite the first anime. Seriously? A couple of looks and we build a relationship? Why isn't there more Maes/Roy, then?)

[genarti]

Hee hee hee. ENJOY! Our notes, on the other hand, will be no more coherent when you come back.

(Ahaha oh my god yes. I mean, I don't ship Maes/Roy, because Maes is canonically the happiest married man ever, even aside from the fact that I am an unabashed Hawkeye/Mustang shipper. But... uh... if you feel like having slash goggles in this instance, THERE'S A LOT TO BUILD FROM THERE. Way more than I saw for Roy/Ed even in this version! Although I will admit that there's more to build from in the first anime than in the manga, I suppose.

[evil_little_dog]

I ship Maes/Roy but only if Riza and Gracia know about it and they are okay happy completely involved with it. Because the OT4 is a fun way to go. Just sayin'. (Not that I'm a mod for that comm on LJ, or anything. *cough*)

Now, the art that the anime magazines put out for the first anime is so blatantly Roy/Ed shippy, you can't wedge a piece of paper between the two (which really creeps me out but, you know, having to deal with pedophiles in previous jobs, etc).

And let's go on the art thing, too - WHY IS ED SO PRETTY and Winry so plain? Seriously? Why?

[genarti]

Yeah -- that's not how I read the relationships, and it's not how I write them, but I have no problem with consenting polyamory in fic! Discreetly shuffling somebody's canonical spouse offscreen or making their canonically happy relationship an unhappier one, however, I do mind.

I have heard this about the shippy art! I haven't seen any of it, though. (And yeah, I gotta say, I do not expect to ever get over the age difference there. Roy is 30ish! Ed is 15! This matters to me, and it should matter to them.)

As for the Ed pretty and Winry plain thing, either this is in art I haven't seen or I just don't read it the same way, because I haven't run across any such. I'm okay with that, however.