Not so much that you notice it while watching, but it both does it smoothly and the transition makes sense. It organically gets darker as the show moves closer to its climax. 2003 balances its comedy and tone much better. A joke can happen in a super tense moment or an entire episode will have many jokes right after or during an intense episode. The comedic scenes are also too common and poorly timed and paced in the show. Some of the animation for the jokes went a little too far with what the show established. Throughout the whole of Brotherhood my biggest problem was the inconsistent tone. Brotherhood also has unique characters, but if you have only seen Brotherhood you are missing out on some great supporting characters. 2003 also has a variety of side characters that are either not in Brotherhood or are under utilized in Brotherhood. Special mention to Lust, Wrath, and Sloth compared to the Lust, Sloth, and Pride from Brotherhood. With a few exceptions, Brotherhood's homunculi are more basic compared to most of 2003's homunculi. They have much bigger implications, themes, and depth in the 2003 version. The homunculi are not just creations of Father. Scar and the homunculi are used much different in this version and I would argue better. It is not just an inferior version, it is a different but equally good version. It takes the same characters we love in different material. But it is in 2003 and it immediately tells you that Mustang is a badass that is not to be trifled with.Ģ003 may not be as accurate to manga, but it takes the skelton of the manga and creates a new story. But he was always great in 2003 and, a point I will mention later, Brotherhood may mostly follow the manga better, but Mustang's canon introduction is not in Brotherhood. It takes so long for Mustang to get good in Brotherhood. 2003 has a much smoother introduction to the world, the Elric brothers, and my personal favorite, Roy Mustang. Many people started with Brotherhood and I have no idea how they survived the first ten episodes or so when they do not even know who anyone is. I watched 2003 first and even I got whiplash from how fast the episodes went. I will highlight what I believe 2003 does really well or better than Brotherhood.īrotherhood's biggest problem is the first couple of episodes. It has issues and factors that I believe 2003 did better. So if you like to go in blind, skip the blog, watch 2003, and be amazed.įYI: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood will largely be referred to as 'Brotherhood' and Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) will be referred to as '2003' or 'FMA 2003.'Īs much as people treat Brotherhood as perfect, it is not. I will try to keep them light, but there are differences from Brotherhood to 2003. This blog is not to debate which is better, but to bring awareness to another version of FMA that is just as good and any fan of FMA should watch. It definately deserves the praise that it gets, but I would not call it perfect and the hype overshadows what I would argue is a version of equal quality. I am by no means saying any of this is a bad thing or that Brotherhood is a bad anime. It is number one on My Anime List (although briefly wasn't because of a certain anituber) and it is constantly recommended to new anime fans who have not seen it. The anime community praises Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood as one the greatest anime of all time.

There is something I need to get off me chest and hopefully enlighten some of you on.

Watch metal alchemist 2003 online