I'm giving it a 9 simply based on the two anime series (nothing to do with any kind of manga influence)
Call this an '
anime only' review, which meant I wasn't bitching and whining with the first series cause it didn't follow the holy book of the manga.
I wasn't constantly comparing about which frames got animated and what didn't, nor did I care about any of all of that randomness.
I took all the hits, surprises, blows and mindfucks (and boy were there some) as they came for both series, hence this is my impression
Well for one, the first series was the first, I knew no better with the manga storyline, so the world, the homoculous' the theme and pace of the series was fine with me. Not to mention as the first released, it etched an eternal spot in my heart that, the excitement and rush of it all couldn't be replicated with Brotherhood. Brotherhood was like coming back to a loved family, seeing the guys all over again, this time in a completely different adventure.
Brotherhood for me in its own self was amazing though. Now I know why Arakawa never shows her face ever, she's a pure sadistic bitch who puts her characters through Hell and suffering no human should endure. They all mentally breakdown, they all are pushed within inches of their lives, they all see absolute despair, but that's what made the show sweet when we see the sheer willpower and strength of human beings (I beleive her message was to somepoint).
It's inspiring in that sense, and something I do give credit for. A very complex plot, twists beyond anything and alike many deep throught out, sucessful stories (well FMA1 had more of this nuance), we see that the lines between 'good and evil' aren't so clear cut.
Life is not that simple.
It's a 8/9 from me, based on the fact it got waaaay too Evangelion like at the end, I joked with my mate when I was done with the series saying:
"So wait, at the end of this all, it was about a black dude who had beef with a white dude and so, sought to destroy humanity just to get some freedom?! Yeah, I'd rather have the 1st series overall message then, than this, lol"
Another aspect was no matter how hard I tried, the characters from Xing
really didn't leave an impression on me. Perhaps because unlike Scar's race, there was no historical link or introduction to their world, I was disconnected with it and didn't care if they were there or not (of course she created them for them to play their part).
But the 4 of them (exc the panda) didn't do it for me.
On the otherhand, it was lovely to see more of Scar's people, race, beliefs and teachings evolve throughout the series that led to them playing their part in the final battle.
Perhaps a 9 was too giving from me since I'm besotted with Ed anyways, lol.
8.5 would be accurate, but as a show in itself, it definitely is an amazing series, an amazing world and storytelling from an incredibly talented individual.
Makes me glad to have been part of it all as part of the anime scene from 2003-2010
