| 2 hours ago |
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![Read it. Watch it. Love it.
Getting friends or people in general to watch your favorite shows can be tough. Getting friends and people to watch anime or read manga who don’t usually watch or read it is like…extremely tough. Like “this is flippin’ ridiculous how people dismiss this” tough.
When it comes to Fullmetal Alchemist, I wish everyone on this planet would give it a try. I would throw the manga volumes at passing people while walking to work. I would sit outside grocery stores handing out free samples of DVDs. I would be that person going door step to door step handing out pamphlets asking “Have you accepted Edward Elric into your heart yet?” I love this animanga so much that I’m willing to write up a huge post listing reasons why Fullmetal Alchemist, FMA for short, is amazing and why you should read it. watch it. love it.
DISCLAIMER:
Here’s the thing, I’m not going to tell you to read manga and watch anime. If it’s not your thing, that’s okay! If you’ve tried and hated it, that’s totally fine! I am not here to force you to read anime or manga. This post is ultimately to lure you to try out Fullmetal Alchemist despite it being an anime/manga. I’m trying to get those who have never tried to read or watch anime/manga to leap over those prejudice thoughts and ideas that have been conceived toward the medium. If that is the only reason holding you back, this post’s purpose is to help shine positive light on Fullmetal Alchemist as a narrative driven story, like any show or book you’ve read, and not only as an anime or manga.
Now that that’s out of the way lets get this party started.
[warning extremely long party ahead][[MORE]]
AWESOME THINGS ABOUT FMA
+ Eurocentric Fantasy: This may be a simple, even disagreeable reason, but I quite like that Amestris feels very similar to Europe around the first and second World Wars, unlike most fantasies which are set in medieval England (or Feudal Japan in this case). It feels as if Arakawa altered history. Instead of focusing on physics and getting planes in the air, people discovered how it could be utilized Alchemy for war. Everything feels familiar, but slightly off. Cars, tanks, radios, heavy artillery and trains exist but no signs of planes or televisions. Definitely a world somewhat relatable.
+ Narrative: FMA has one of the best narratives I’ve read period. The pacing, the flow between humor and serious moments. The multiple arcs involved don’t feel like arcs because the transitions between events are so smooth and overlap with one another. It’s nearly seamless. Multiple characters take the lead with the narrative and somehow it never feels cluttered or confusing. Nor does it ever feel there are useless story arcs or characters—no filler whatsoever. And when the story is at its most intense near the end, it never loses focus. It never false bottoms out right at the climax. It never rushes to the finishing line. Speaking of endings, it actually ends. Like any good series, TV, movies, books, FMA tells the story it set out to tell and then ends. No extended plot lines. No filler arcs to keep the show/comic going take in more cash. Story told. The End.
+ Character Driven Story: I don’t want to compare it to this, but the comparison works extremely well. ASOIAF may be a fantasy with dragons, zombies, scary ass ice people, full on battles, shadow babies, clashing politics, and maidens fighting bears, but it’s ultimately about the characters. FMA is the same way. You have alchemy, a whole mystery itself along with the Philosopher Stone and who are these strange humans that’s head grows back after it’s been decapitated? But without the people continuously asking these questions and pursuing answers, facing horrible truths or pushing themselves to limits to find what they need, risking their philosophies, there wouldn’t be a story to tell. This sort of leads to the next point.
+ Characters: Obviously, if a story is character driven, the characters have to be the foundation. I find it pointless trying to explain to you the kind of people Arakawa has created for this series, but every single one of them, antagonists, protagonists, major, minor, are worth something. None of them are used and thrown to the side. No devices. These are solid individuals with ambitions and demons of their own, who are there until the end.
+ Feminism: I think it’s extremely important to point out that FMA has top notch female characters. I’m not going to sit here and explain how each female defies the heroine stereotype or the badass heroine stereotype or pretty much any image women have been depicted in the media today. And the best part of it all, the men don’t just acknowledge, but openly say how much they need these women in their lives. And not just as wives or sisters (that too) but as people. As mechanics. As friends. As teachers. As bodyguards. And they all enjoy being a woman. Arakawa fucking gets it.
+ Worldliness: There is a world outside of Amestris believe it or not. Different countries. Ruins of old civilizations. Entire different cultures. Different religions. Different races. And when there’s difference, there’s conflict. Racism pops up frequently. War, conflict and death is a pillar of this series. There is the heavy sense of realism that sort of dampens the light heartedness. Just when you’re enjoying the fantasy, these serious, relatable conflicts remind you of how real FMA can be.
+ Themes and Philosophies and God: FMA is a sneaky bastard. Tons of parallels between multiple characters. Multiple themes. Multiple philosophies put to the test. And then there’s this thing about God, about religion, which, to be quite honest, I myself am still trying to figure out. There is depth to work with within FMA, but it never feels like Arakawa is throwing it in your face. No deer in the headlights and blaring horns moments. It’s can be very subtle at times. The series is for anyone. All ages. All minds. It has a high entertainment value, but it also carries heavy questions that you’ll want to find answers for or characters that leave you wanting to analyze and peel back the layers like an onion (the more you peel the more you cry too). You don’t have to. She’s not asking you to respond or even does the responding for you via other characters. But it’s there to find if you go looking for it.
Lastly, of course FMA is not perfect. There are flaws, but there are by far way more pluses that outweigh the minuses. it isn’t perfect, but it’s damn close and I am not afraid to admit that. It deserves the high praise it has received. It’s not labeled as one, if not the best shounen manga’s out there (and arguably it’s one of the best things I’ve read) for nothing.
I’ve had (and is still having) a wonderful experience with FMA and I know others who have had equally, if not more of a great experience. Both who love anime/manga and haven’t even attempted to watch/read anime/manga have claimed that FMA changed their lives. I’m not guaranteeing that it will, but it’s something very unique and I hate hearing and seeing people refusing to experience it for themselves only because it comes in a package they find weird and forgein.
So if you’ve made it this far, HIGH FIVE AND THANK YOU FOR READING ALL OF THIS. If I’ve some what peeked your interest and willing to give it a shot, here’s where you can read and watch the series at your leisure.
Online Manga: Fullmetal Alchemist ch. 1-108 (this also includes extra side stories/comics at the end of volumes that have nothing to do with the main story. Fun little things) / Extra 108.1 epilogue
Anime [Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]: Hulu (subbed). Torrents both dubbed and subbed. (Sorry for the lack of links. You can find streaming for FMA:B and FMA anywhere with Google. As for downloads, thepiratebay has plenty of options—individual episodes, full packages, bluray, etc, and I’ve never had trouble with piratebay)
I hope this somewhat got you salivating to read/watch FMA, or at least grabbed your curiosity.
I’m horrible with conclusions so this is where I sneak away now.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/3907fe4832d7a1c776be2b334a7d8556/tumblr_mnc5dm2RjQ1qe3hnzo1_r1_500.png)
Read it. Watch it. Love it.
Getting friends or people in general to watch your favorite shows can be tough. Getting friends and people to watch anime or read manga who don’t usually watch or read it is like…extremely tough. Like “this is flippin’ ridiculous how people dismiss this” tough.
When it comes to Fullmetal Alchemist, I wish everyone on this planet would give it a try. I would throw the manga volumes at passing people while walking to work. I would sit outside grocery stores handing out free samples of DVDs. I would be that person going door step to door step handing out pamphlets asking “Have you accepted Edward Elric into your heart yet?” I love this animanga so much that I’m willing to write up a huge post listing reasons why Fullmetal Alchemist, FMA for short, is amazing and why you should read it. watch it. love it.
DISCLAIMER:
Here’s the thing, I’m not going to tell you to read manga and watch anime. If it’s not your thing, that’s okay! If you’ve tried and hated it, that’s totally fine! I am not here to force you to read anime or manga. This post is ultimately to lure you to try out Fullmetal Alchemist despite it being an anime/manga. I’m trying to get those who have never tried to read or watch anime/manga to leap over those prejudice thoughts and ideas that have been conceived toward the medium. If that is the only reason holding you back, this post’s purpose is to help shine positive light on Fullmetal Alchemist as a narrative driven story, like any show or book you’ve read, and not only as an anime or manga.
Now that that’s out of the way lets get this party started.
[warning extremely long party ahead]
| 10 hours ago |
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A painless lesson is one without meaning. One who does not sacrifice anything cannot achieve anything.
| 1 day ago |
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Cool! You are a tiny alchemist just like everyone says!
| 5 days ago |
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HAPPY REALLY BELATED BIRTHDAY NANA (SEMPAI) AND JUST FOR BEING AN AWESOME PERSON!
| 6 days ago |
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Nope. Greed.
| 1 week ago |
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ya meme ∆ 10 favorite series/books
the mediator series by meg cabot
“What’s a mediator you ask? Oh, a person who acts as a liason between the living and the dead. Hey, wait a minute…what’re you doing with that strait jacket?”
| 2 weeks ago |
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ya meme ∆ 10 favorite series/books
the 5th wave by rick yancey
”I will teach you to love death. I will empty you of grief and guilt and self-pity and fill you up with hate and cunning and the spirit of vengeance. I will make my final stand here…
Slapping my chest over and over until my skin burns, my heart on fire. And you will be my battlefield.”
| 2 weeks ago |
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ya meme ∆ 10 favorite series/books
ender’s game by orson scott card
“Peter, you’re twelve years old. I’m ten. They have a word for people our age. They call us children and they treat us like mice.”
| 2 weeks ago |
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You said anything I want. So, get on your knees.
| 2 weeks ago |
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