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Been a while since I gave a full out review. This series is quite epic in terms of length and characters, so I will need to break it down quite a bit.
Smaller stuff first.
Animation/Artwork - I, for one, really enjoyed the artwork style of this series. The intentional odd colors on the walls were quite enjoyable to see. And of course, the characters looked great. Some mistakes all around, like forgetting which arm ed lost, but overall, I'd give it an 8.
Consistency with source - This was amazing. They were incredibly close to the actual manga, so you felt like you were watching the actual manga instead of an adaptation. Not to mention, finishing within 3 weeks of the manga's end prevented major spoilers. 10.
Pacing - Again, this was great. At no time did I feel that the anime was rushing things or going to slow. Note, this is the anime. The manga at the middle I thought was too slow. 9.
Onto the 2 more major things.
Plot - This section is divided into 5 "arcs" as I'd like to call them.
1. Original FMA - This section did really really well to keep old viewers entertained. They managed to move through it nice and quickly, and managed to keep me entertained. 9
2. The East - Best arc of the series. It seemed at this point, every week I wanted more. From the death of Lust to being in Gluttony's stomach with Envy, to meeting father... This was what made the series interesting. Not to mention, I loved all the investigation and talks about what was really happening. 10
3. Briggs - This arc to me was just boring. I'm sorry if you loved it, but the entire thing with Kimblee trying to find scar and General Armstrong acting all tough made me want for the episode to end so I could do something else. And Sloth just wasn't an interesting character. Not to mention, there was nothing more to investigate, and everyone was forced silent. 4
4. Escape from Briggs - This arc, however, was much better. I found it interesting with the chimeras, and the actual betrayals of Kimblee. Since this includes the battle with Pride, I have to say that it was really amazing that they could hold out a battle with Pride for 1.5 episodes and keep it interesting. 7
5. The promised day - Pure epic battle. Though weren't armstrong and the Curtis husband on that stairwell for like... 5 episodes? 9
Overall - Great plot at the start and the end, but the middle was dull. 8.
Characters -
Naturally, there are too many characters to list, so I'm going to get some of the ones that stuck out.
Ed - This guy is just cool. There's nothing else to say.
Mustang - Same thing as Ed, just more powerful. He drove the series for the protagonists.
Envy - THIS CHARACTER MADE THE SERIES. I don't care what drove the main plotline, but the most interesting plotline was about Mustang trying to find Hughe's killer. And every time Envy appeared, it became exciting. She was the epitome of an antagonist, and so fun to watch. If Envy wasn't part of the series and lets say Lust killed Hughes, then it'd be boring.
Sloth - Sloth was the dullest most uninteresting character out there. Yeah, he was supposed to be dull, but the manga could've at least had him have a more interesting plotline.
Major Armstrong - A strong willed character is only interesting when her soft side is revealed. It never was. Not a good character.
Winry - <3 <3 <3
Scar - It was nice to see him change from a ruthless killer to a good heart, but it got annoying after a while to hear him repeat about his changes.
Overall Characters - One interesting thing is that outside of Winry, not a single character needed to be female. Each character played a male role, or could easily be adjusted to one. Which seems strange to me that a country that is that prejudiced against Ishbalians would be so gender equal. I'd say an 8.
Overall - This show kept me entertained for over a year, and it's something I will remember. While I wouldn't rate it like a Clannad or Kanon, it does deserve a high rating. I'll give it a 8.6, truncated to an 8 in the voting.
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