FULL METAL ALCHEMIST (2003 SERIES)

This anime has a special place in my heart for its heart. lol. There is no anime that brings such an attention to the little details and carefully crafts every little interaction like FMA. From the start of the story, Full Metal Alchemist brings its guns and shocks the audience with its candor.

Ed and Al Elrich lose their mother, and attempt to revive her using forbidden alchemy. Things go down from there, and Ed and Al go on a journey to fix the damage that was done. Along the way they get involved in a secret plot that is destined to unfold into war, and are targeted by the Humunculi, a group of non-humans with secret powers who are named after the seven deadly sins. This anime pulls no punches with its story - it fully fleshes out every possible detail and is never predictable.

While the 2009 Brotherhood series is a darker addition that takes the series down its manga route (the second half of the 2003 series was given its own original second half that is as different from Brotherhood as can possibly be), I think it lacks the charm and characterization of the original series. The 2003 series builds up well, has a healthy amount of filler to flesh things out just enough, and then moves into a pretty satisfying second half. Brotherhood rushes through the first half and never really stops to smell the roses - and while the main plot is compelling on paper its delivery is too forced and doesn't have the solid backbone of humanity that the 2003 series presented so well.

There's a stigma on FMA that I want people to be aware of - that the mainstreamness of the anime can have people judging it by its cover and not bothering to see the genius that lies beneathe the colorful characters. Don't make this mistake. It is one of the greatest animes of all time, only topped by the surprising #1 anime that is coming up next.