FMA VS FMA: Brotherhood, Which is Better?

Full Metal Alchemist is by far one of the best Anime's around, if your looking for a good starting point then it's the ideal anime to get you interested in other's, But its also a tad confusing.

One of the first things you will see is that other than the films their are two different versions of the Anime, FMA & FMA: Brotherhood. So you will most likely sit an ask yourself 'What's the difference?' and fortunately the explanation is quite simple. FMA was the first of the two to be produced in 2004 and is in the rather unusual position of being an anime that was made when the Manga by the same name was not yet complete, so the later half of the series is made up of pure guesswork and figuring out where the story might go. Now normally i'd say thats bad, but the truth is that it is done quite well, the story follows a logical flow of events that give it a good well rounded ending (further enhanced by one of the films ) that work well with the overall story.

FMA: Brotherhood on the other hand is the newer of the two, produced in 2009 it has the benefit of telling the story of the complete manga. The plot's overall goal is still more or less the same, but the events leading to it are almost completely different. with alternative scenarios and even the addition of completely new characters, it feels a little jarring at first as i had started with the origional series made back in 2004.

So to get to the point of this blog, which is better?. Well its a six and two three's problem, as you will most likely enjoy watching either of them. I would personally recommend them both because they are damn good and entertaining stories, however given the choice i would recommend watching brotherhood.

Brotherhood has a lot going for it, for intsance although you may not think it their is a substantial improvement in the quality of the anime. although their is only five year's between the two programmes the differences can be significant, like the use of 3D animation used in such a way that it compliments the 2D elements. Not to mention key story points such as crucial character development and sudden twists that will make you blurt out a 'huh?'. Also Brotherhood is nearly twice the length of its predecessor as it takes time to embelish on smaller story arks in a way that doesnt completely move you away from the main plot, as it all ties together quite nicely at the end with some surprisingly emotional moments along the way.

In summary it doesnt really matter which one you decide to start with as you dont loose anything by starting with the original series first, it just makes the major differences alot more noticeable. and brotherhood also has the great ability to immatate the whackyness of the manga, and not to mention some of the youngest characters will make your heart melt in half a second flat.

So what are you waiting for?, you guys have Anime to watch!.