Remembering Fullmetal Alchemist on October 3rd
October 3rd is sort of anniversary for FMA. It's the day the fans remember the series because of the message on Ed's pocket watch "Don't Forget 3, Oct 11 marking the day he and Al burned down their house and set out on their journey to restore their bodies. I usually forget to post on this day but since it is 2011 and the 11 corresponds to 1911 it seems extra special to say something today since it marks the 100th anniversary of that fictional event (well not really but close enough). ;)
I originally became a fan of the FMA manga in a round about way. When I first heard of FMA I thought it was a sequel to Full Metal Panic (a series I was only casually into) but then I started hearing more about the series and realized it was something else & pretty popular. At the time I was really into watching all the new/popular series (partially because I was a relatively new fan to anime and my tastes had not been completely formed) so I wanted to check it out. Unfortunately I was in college and downloading anime fansubs was not an easy task, so instead I decided to read the manga.
I read the first couple chapters and thought it was your typical shounen story. The main character seemed to solve everything easily and the villains seemed one dimensional so after the 1st Volume I put it aside and didn't read more.
Fast forward and the anime was licensed by Funimation, I decided I would give the anime a shot when it aired on Adult Swim. It was the 3rd episode Mother that really got to me and this is when I decided to give the manga another chance (not really realizing at this point how different the manga and anime would end up being).
Because I was watching the FMA anime weekly but reading the manga at my own pace (this was before the manga was licensed by Viz); I actually ended up catching up with the manga much more quickly than I did the anime. But overall I watched the first anime and read the manga simultaneously; I quickly discovered I much preferred the manga to the point it was becoming my favorite series ever.
Before I discovered FMA, Inuyasha was my favorite manga. Inuyasha (along with Ranma 1/2) was probably what got me into anime/manga in the first place so it has a special place in my heart. But whereas Inuyasha really let me down in the end; and I just don't know if it was worth all the effort I put into it, FMA turned out to be something absolutely wonderful. Even back when I first admitted it was my favorite manga, I never expected to love it as much as I do now. So even saying it is my favorite series, is not really doing it justice.
I have said it before but I have been obsessed with a lot of long running series before but they have always let me down. It's one of the reasons I stopped watching continuous US TV series, because I just don't trust them. I also try to stay away from long running manga as well now (One Piece being an exception).
I think at first I expected FMA to let me down too, but it never did. Maybe when I first started reading the manga I had thoughts and opinions on what I wanted to happen but the FMA manga was so good that really I stopped caring what Arakawa did and just let her tell me this amazing story. There was nothing I wanted because I loved everything. In fact I would say I couldn't possibly dream up anything as good.
The very first thing that attracted me to FMA was the brotherly love between Ed & Al. It was probably the 2nd-4th volume that first really cemented me a fan of the series (don't get me wrong though whereas the first volume didn't make me a fan at first, I now adore that volume and don't know why I couldn't see it's awesomeness back then).
Overall the first anime also focuses on the love between Ed & Al and this is what made the series such a big hit. But one of the reasons why I prefer the manga and why I think FMA is such a remarkably special series is the manga takes things further.
The story starts out about the love of Ed & Al but as the story progresses we realize Ed & Al don't just have each other but so many other characters who love & care about them.
I think people mistakenly think Ed & Al are not as close in the manga because it isn't just focused on them in the story. Of course Ed & Al care about each other but they care about a lot of other characters as well. Let's just say the manga has a much more expansive view of family. And while I had issues with Brotherhood I think the series did get this, especially in one of the opening sequences when we see just Ed & Al suddenly being surrounded by more and more friends/loved ones/allies.
But to take it one step further all these characters that care about Ed & Al actually have their own back stories and motivations so we learn to care about them too; separate from Ed & Al's story. I know some people think there are too many characters in FMA. But never have I seen such a large cast of characters so well developed (from major to minor characters).
I would say next to Lord of the Rings FMA for me has the most fully developed world. But whereas LOTR developed it's world through mythology and history; FMA makes its world come to life by the many characters that inhabit it (all of different ages, sizes & backgrounds). Ed & Al are what started my love of FMA but as the series developed I fell in love with every character.
This image perfectly highlights what FMA is about
Finally what gets on my last nerves (because I am overly sensitive when it comes to FMA) is when people dismiss the FMA manga as just being a story of Good VS evil with no gray. Well personally there was plenty of gray in the story with characters like Greed, Roy, Riza, Scar, etc. But I feel people think this because the story has a relatively happy ending. And a common issue is people mistake darkness for deepness.
Now I have nothing against a dark/dramatic story and I have some favorite series in that category. I would even say my favorite type of endings are usually bitter sweet. However, a happy ending does not suddenly mean a story is not deep. FMA had one of the deepest, most beautiful endings I have seen in fiction. People are disappointed when things mostly go the way of the protagonists, not realizing that things only went their way because they struggled and worked together throughout the entire series. It was not an easy win, but a win with pain & sacrifice. As the series said in the beginning
A Painless Lesson, is one without meaning. One Who does not sacrifice anything cannot achieve anything
The ending did not negative this message , it strengthened it. All the characters did go through so much to get what they achieved. Nothing was gained for free.
However as we see at the end of the story Ed & Al try to overturn the law of equivalent exchange and make it something more positive. Instead of 1:1; if someone gives you 1 you give 2. Because Ed & Al are just awesome like that & are always trying to make things even better.
In the end equivalent exchange is not how the world has to work but how people should live their life. If you get something, try to give back. Work for what you want. And sometimes we might go through something painful, but we might gain something through this experience as well. I always felt FMA was looking at the best of things.
Which again is enforced by what Ed does give up in the end. I actually felt some people in the fandom were more upset about this than Ed. What Ed gave up was a big part of him, but instead of looking at it negatively he realized the positive gain of what he gave up.
In one of the best sequences of the manga, Ed is up fixing the roof with his hands and realizes how much quicker he could get it done if he still could use alchemy...but then he reflects that if he had fixed the roof with alchemy, he would have missed the beautiful view.
This overall positive message permeates FMA: Characters working together and relying on each other, looking at the best of things, not giving up even when things look bad, etc. And trust me nothing I say can truly give my feelings for this series justice. But to conclude Fullmetal Alchemist is a series that fills you with hope and personally I think that is a beautiful thing.
Also Happy Birthday Insaneladybug I know you don't follow FMA but you are born on a pretty cool day in my book. Hope it's a great one for you! :-)
I originally became a fan of the FMA manga in a round about way. When I first heard of FMA I thought it was a sequel to Full Metal Panic (a series I was only casually into) but then I started hearing more about the series and realized it was something else & pretty popular. At the time I was really into watching all the new/popular series (partially because I was a relatively new fan to anime and my tastes had not been completely formed) so I wanted to check it out. Unfortunately I was in college and downloading anime fansubs was not an easy task, so instead I decided to read the manga.
I read the first couple chapters and thought it was your typical shounen story. The main character seemed to solve everything easily and the villains seemed one dimensional so after the 1st Volume I put it aside and didn't read more.
Fast forward and the anime was licensed by Funimation, I decided I would give the anime a shot when it aired on Adult Swim. It was the 3rd episode Mother that really got to me and this is when I decided to give the manga another chance (not really realizing at this point how different the manga and anime would end up being).
Because I was watching the FMA anime weekly but reading the manga at my own pace (this was before the manga was licensed by Viz); I actually ended up catching up with the manga much more quickly than I did the anime. But overall I watched the first anime and read the manga simultaneously; I quickly discovered I much preferred the manga to the point it was becoming my favorite series ever.
Before I discovered FMA, Inuyasha was my favorite manga. Inuyasha (along with Ranma 1/2) was probably what got me into anime/manga in the first place so it has a special place in my heart. But whereas Inuyasha really let me down in the end; and I just don't know if it was worth all the effort I put into it, FMA turned out to be something absolutely wonderful. Even back when I first admitted it was my favorite manga, I never expected to love it as much as I do now. So even saying it is my favorite series, is not really doing it justice.
I have said it before but I have been obsessed with a lot of long running series before but they have always let me down. It's one of the reasons I stopped watching continuous US TV series, because I just don't trust them. I also try to stay away from long running manga as well now (One Piece being an exception).
I think at first I expected FMA to let me down too, but it never did. Maybe when I first started reading the manga I had thoughts and opinions on what I wanted to happen but the FMA manga was so good that really I stopped caring what Arakawa did and just let her tell me this amazing story. There was nothing I wanted because I loved everything. In fact I would say I couldn't possibly dream up anything as good.
The very first thing that attracted me to FMA was the brotherly love between Ed & Al. It was probably the 2nd-4th volume that first really cemented me a fan of the series (don't get me wrong though whereas the first volume didn't make me a fan at first, I now adore that volume and don't know why I couldn't see it's awesomeness back then).
Overall the first anime also focuses on the love between Ed & Al and this is what made the series such a big hit. But one of the reasons why I prefer the manga and why I think FMA is such a remarkably special series is the manga takes things further.
The story starts out about the love of Ed & Al but as the story progresses we realize Ed & Al don't just have each other but so many other characters who love & care about them.
I think people mistakenly think Ed & Al are not as close in the manga because it isn't just focused on them in the story. Of course Ed & Al care about each other but they care about a lot of other characters as well. Let's just say the manga has a much more expansive view of family. And while I had issues with Brotherhood I think the series did get this, especially in one of the opening sequences when we see just Ed & Al suddenly being surrounded by more and more friends/loved ones/allies.
But to take it one step further all these characters that care about Ed & Al actually have their own back stories and motivations so we learn to care about them too; separate from Ed & Al's story. I know some people think there are too many characters in FMA. But never have I seen such a large cast of characters so well developed (from major to minor characters).
I would say next to Lord of the Rings FMA for me has the most fully developed world. But whereas LOTR developed it's world through mythology and history; FMA makes its world come to life by the many characters that inhabit it (all of different ages, sizes & backgrounds). Ed & Al are what started my love of FMA but as the series developed I fell in love with every character.
This image perfectly highlights what FMA is about
Finally what gets on my last nerves (because I am overly sensitive when it comes to FMA) is when people dismiss the FMA manga as just being a story of Good VS evil with no gray. Well personally there was plenty of gray in the story with characters like Greed, Roy, Riza, Scar, etc. But I feel people think this because the story has a relatively happy ending. And a common issue is people mistake darkness for deepness.
Now I have nothing against a dark/dramatic story and I have some favorite series in that category. I would even say my favorite type of endings are usually bitter sweet. However, a happy ending does not suddenly mean a story is not deep. FMA had one of the deepest, most beautiful endings I have seen in fiction. People are disappointed when things mostly go the way of the protagonists, not realizing that things only went their way because they struggled and worked together throughout the entire series. It was not an easy win, but a win with pain & sacrifice. As the series said in the beginning
A Painless Lesson, is one without meaning. One Who does not sacrifice anything cannot achieve anything
The ending did not negative this message , it strengthened it. All the characters did go through so much to get what they achieved. Nothing was gained for free.
However as we see at the end of the story Ed & Al try to overturn the law of equivalent exchange and make it something more positive. Instead of 1:1; if someone gives you 1 you give 2. Because Ed & Al are just awesome like that & are always trying to make things even better.
In the end equivalent exchange is not how the world has to work but how people should live their life. If you get something, try to give back. Work for what you want. And sometimes we might go through something painful, but we might gain something through this experience as well. I always felt FMA was looking at the best of things.
Which again is enforced by what Ed does give up in the end. I actually felt some people in the fandom were more upset about this than Ed. What Ed gave up was a big part of him, but instead of looking at it negatively he realized the positive gain of what he gave up.
In one of the best sequences of the manga, Ed is up fixing the roof with his hands and realizes how much quicker he could get it done if he still could use alchemy...but then he reflects that if he had fixed the roof with alchemy, he would have missed the beautiful view.
This overall positive message permeates FMA: Characters working together and relying on each other, looking at the best of things, not giving up even when things look bad, etc. And trust me nothing I say can truly give my feelings for this series justice. But to conclude Fullmetal Alchemist is a series that fills you with hope and personally I think that is a beautiful thing.
Also Happy Birthday Insaneladybug I know you don't follow FMA but you are born on a pretty cool day in my book. Hope it's a great one for you! :-)