TW: HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD!
I’ve always had a soft spot for this series, having watched some of the original version made in 2003
when I was a kid. However, nothing prepared me for just how great FMAB was.
It’s incredible how almost every episode left me on the edge of my seat, with the plot almost never stagnating at any point in the show. Even with the one filler/recap episode it had, they still managed to turn it into something interesting as we got to truly enter Hohenheim’s perspective for the first time. Although I’m not huge on fight scene, I love how almost every battle seems evenly matched, where each opponent could easily turn the tides through sheer willpower, creativity, or luck.
Most of all, I am enraptured by Hiromu Arakawa’s incredible writing, and the level of creativity and nuance she put in both the characters and themes of the show. I’m surprised at how many characters I found myself growing attached to, and was almost equally surprised to see how most of their stories ended in really satisfying ways, which I can only imagine is a difficult feat when you have so many characters to handle. As a woman, I really love how the female characters like Riza, Winry and Olivier were written, where they were equally as strong/important as their male counterparts. Rather than being delegated to support roles, women were central to the movement of the plot, and most importantly, their femininity was seen as part of their strength rather than a defect or weakness. I also found myself really liking the villains (Father + The Homunculi) where I could almost relate to their pitiful struggles of trying to subconsciously become the very thing they detested.
As someone with younger siblings, I can easily put myself in the shoes of Edward, and I adore how the care him and his brother have for each other are truly the heart of the show. Their fate is equal parts horrifying and tragic, yet the show focuses less on assigning blame and getting revenge for this tragedy and more on finding and loving oneself, which I find uniquely beautiful. It is “Fathers” incapability to truly accept himself as human that leads to his doom (among other things) and it similarly Edward’s acceptance of his humanity that brings him (and his brother) happiness and peace. As Edward said, there is no such thing as a painless lesson, and this beautiful journey has made me reflect on the nature of sacrifice and effort, how I may need to sacrifice the life I’ve accustomed myself to in order to be who I want to be.
Anyways it’s a great show and had a big impact on me and I kind of want a FMAB inspired tattoo now lol
Top 5 (ish)
- Lingreed (both separately/combined!)
- Ed
- Envy
- Riza
- Tie between Roy/Scar