film_nut wrote:
But without the emotional attachment to the characters, yeah it's awesome and all, but why should I care? The only moment in Brotherhood that I got really excited for was Mustang's GAR moment from Volume 2. Mostly because I was already invested in Mustang, Riza, and Havoc from the first series.
But other than Ed, Al, and Mustang, what characters did the first series even develop that much? In this series, EVERYONE gets their moments of development. I like the fact that, for instance, Mustang's crew are more than just comic relief this time around and can actually show off their intelligence and cunning. I really like that you see the depth and history of the relationship between Hawkeye and Mustang- in the first series you know that they're important to each other, but in this series you know WHY they're important to each other, and it's more complicated than just some kind of mutual attraction. I like that Winry has less of a passive role this time around, for instance creating her own emotional closure with Scar and even taking the initiative to pull herself out of the hostage situation she was in. I like that Olivier Armstrong is more than just a hardass general who yells all the time; she is the way she is because she has a strong moral code and she really does have a heart underneath that exterior. I like that her brother Alex is more than just a Large Ham and is trying to atone for fleeing the battlefield in Ishval. I like that Scar doesn't remain just a villain/antihero but rather through his experiences undergoes a tremendous amount of growth. I like that Kimblee isn't just a bomb crazy psycho, but is rather a charismatic sociopathic philosopher.
And it's not just about the characters. I like the hugeness of the world presented; the first series felt rather limited in comparison. Here you have Xing, Drachma, the great desert to the west, etc, and of course the Xerxes flashback. The Hohenheim backstory is a perfect example of why I like Brotherhood over the first series- the first series -told- you about about the past, -told- you about his relationship with the Big Bad. In Brotherhood, they don't just tell, they SHOW. You SEE the world of Xerxes, you SEE where Hohenheim came from and you SEE the nature of his relationship with Father. Brotherhood tells the story in such great detail that you really buy into the world presented much more deeply than in the first anime.
And then there's the plot. You really get the sense that they're building towards something huge, that the first 88 chapters of manga/49 episodes of anime are all just basically setup for the final arc. The scope is such that moments that were major plot points in the first series are nothing but part of the buildup for Brotherhood before the engine really gets going. You also get the sense that all the major players are incredibly intelligent, and deal with all the plot twists in a clever way. For instance, Fuhrer Bradley finds out that Mustang knows his identity as a homunculus. What does he do, attack him head on? Nope, he simply strips him of his entire support system and basically holds Hawkeye hostage. Hawkeye finds out the identity of the final Homunculus, but is under heavy surveillance. That conversation she's holding with Mustang is just banal chit chat, right? Nope, we actually find out that it's a coded message.
That basically sums up why I like Brotherhood so much. With the exception of possibly Monster, I've never seen another series with so many developed characters in such a huge yet tightly and invitingly told story over this many episodes. And Monster, being a much more subtle and pondering series, doesn't have quite the sizzle, excitement, and, well, badassness that Brotherhood does.
"Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth." -Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist (1st series)
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