FMA II: A Quick Review
So, through my lovely friend lovediamond I learned of the new FMA series that's being broadcast as of this posting, and I decided to sit down and watch the first three episodes. Here follow my very sketchy and addle brained thoughts!
Cut for possible spoilers...
YAY for having most of the voice cast back! This would totally have been a dealbreaker for me if they had changed too many of the principle cast members (Ed and Al, specifically, of course).
BOO for not having said Elric brothers doing the "equivalent exchange" dialogue in the beginning. That was about as iconic for me as "The year is After Colony 195..." or "Was it a dream? Or a vision? NO. It WAS. REAL."
Definitely happy about the increased investment in background illustration. Headquarters in Central now actually looks like a real building complex instead of bland white nothingness. Also, more points added for refraining from substantial alterations to character designs, costumes, etc.
That said, when did everyone gain weight? I mean, okay, I know that the camera isn't exactly kind when it comes to this sort of thing, but it seems that all of the characters put on a few pounds. It definitely shows in the faces. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something that niggles at you, like "I know something is different here, but i can't put my finger on it..."
The big problem for me, though, is that the pacing feels a bit off. Perhaps having seen the original presentation biases me a bit, but I feel like the first series was more even in its exposition. With these first three episodes, it's like they're trying to create properly paced episodes out of recap shows to satisfy all audiences, newcomers and old fans alike.
And this ties in with another criticism, which is that I don't quite understand why they're doing this series to begin with. Why are they starting from the beginning and retreading the old arcs? We've heard these stories before, and they was better told the first time.
For example, I feel that in the third episode, focusing on events in Lior, Rose's characterization was significantly undercut by portraying her as simply a woman of blind faith. In the original, her hopes were in some sense validated by the "evidence" provided in the guise of a bird speaking with the voice of her deceased beloved. I found her realization of the truth more poignant and meaningful as a result. Now she is reduced to the flat stereotype of the "dumb believer."
So...I don't know. Maybe they're rushing through all this stuff in the beginning so they can cover the material missed when they split the story from the manga. That would be my hope. Otherwise, this series seems relatively pointless to me, however nice it is to have it redone. (By the way, we get to see CRAZY DADDY WHO TURNS HIS DAUGHTER INTO A TALKING DOG in episode four...oh goody...)
Opening/Ending: Just one comment on the opening, in that I got a laugh out of how they show Al losing his body, and Ed losing his arm and leg, and then, since they kind of felt obligated to show her, they cut to Winry being buffeted by a stiff spring zephyr and looking surprised. The ending is absolutely adorable! Crayon-colored chibi is a check-plus in my book any day.
Cut for possible spoilers...
YAY for having most of the voice cast back! This would totally have been a dealbreaker for me if they had changed too many of the principle cast members (Ed and Al, specifically, of course).
BOO for not having said Elric brothers doing the "equivalent exchange" dialogue in the beginning. That was about as iconic for me as "The year is After Colony 195..." or "Was it a dream? Or a vision? NO. It WAS. REAL."
Definitely happy about the increased investment in background illustration. Headquarters in Central now actually looks like a real building complex instead of bland white nothingness. Also, more points added for refraining from substantial alterations to character designs, costumes, etc.
That said, when did everyone gain weight? I mean, okay, I know that the camera isn't exactly kind when it comes to this sort of thing, but it seems that all of the characters put on a few pounds. It definitely shows in the faces. Not necessarily a bad thing, just something that niggles at you, like "I know something is different here, but i can't put my finger on it..."
The big problem for me, though, is that the pacing feels a bit off. Perhaps having seen the original presentation biases me a bit, but I feel like the first series was more even in its exposition. With these first three episodes, it's like they're trying to create properly paced episodes out of recap shows to satisfy all audiences, newcomers and old fans alike.
And this ties in with another criticism, which is that I don't quite understand why they're doing this series to begin with. Why are they starting from the beginning and retreading the old arcs? We've heard these stories before, and they was better told the first time.
For example, I feel that in the third episode, focusing on events in Lior, Rose's characterization was significantly undercut by portraying her as simply a woman of blind faith. In the original, her hopes were in some sense validated by the "evidence" provided in the guise of a bird speaking with the voice of her deceased beloved. I found her realization of the truth more poignant and meaningful as a result. Now she is reduced to the flat stereotype of the "dumb believer."
So...I don't know. Maybe they're rushing through all this stuff in the beginning so they can cover the material missed when they split the story from the manga. That would be my hope. Otherwise, this series seems relatively pointless to me, however nice it is to have it redone. (By the way, we get to see CRAZY DADDY WHO TURNS HIS DAUGHTER INTO A TALKING DOG in episode four...oh goody...)
Opening/Ending: Just one comment on the opening, in that I got a laugh out of how they show Al losing his body, and Ed losing his arm and leg, and then, since they kind of felt obligated to show her, they cut to Winry being buffeted by a stiff spring zephyr and looking surprised. The ending is absolutely adorable! Crayon-colored chibi is a check-plus in my book any day.