I love this thread! I have three songs that I associate with certain kinds of potential scenes. It may fit or it may not.
Soap&Skin - Me and the Devil (during a montage in the morning after the end of episode 2. Abel rotts in some room. Rosie and AJ are watching him. Clementine prepares her plans for the Delta.)
Teho Teardo & Blixa Bargeld - A Quite Life (it plays while the group, led by Clementine, is on their way to the Delta to confront Lilly.)
Massive Attack - The Spoils (during a montage after the win against the Delta. Losses on both sides. Hours go by. Funerals are being held for both communities.)
I compiled this over the years and figured you needed to have a read. Spoilers.
The story holds up for the whole run with a satisfying and complete ending. The large group of characters are all interesting in their own ways. Too many shows either drag on, are cut short, or have too many loose ends. Brotherhood is as close to being like a good epic novel as anything on TV. There's no fanservice and there's no female character only existing for the sake of being the damsel in distress and that made it so much easier for me to get into the story.
It's an amazingly well done series, with such an ambitious plot and fleshed out cast of character it's hard to end up really "hating the show". It never really stumbles over its own size, and leaves no stone unturned by the end, which is quite the astounding feat given the scale.
The storyline is another aspect that could have left FMA:B flat on its face, but instead serves as another strength. It deftly handled characters who are all over the map at different times (from Edward recovering to Al with the chimeras to Roy pulling the strings at central in the lead up to the end). And everything that gets brought up in the beginning has its place at the end, like the aforementioned swap of Alphonse's soul for Edward's arm (also fucking Mei fully committed to sacrificing the life of the man she loves to save the world), the mentions of Ishval and the presence of the homunculi throughout time, the bits and pieces of Father, the set up of Selim as a homunculus (also that amazing scene of Riza and Roy talking in code), Maria Ross's fake burning and her return, Havoc being consigned to a wheelchair but still contributing in any way he can to the man he committed his life to, Bradley's hands shaking at Hughes's funeral only for it to be revealed as anger later, Hoenhein's counter circle, etc. Every aspect of this story has a purpose and will be brought back later, which asks its viewers to think deeply whenever they watch something, just in case it might come back later.
It also deals well with very human emotions, and features, in what can be at times a very funny and light hearted show, some of the saddest and most terrifying moments. We all know about Maes's death and Nina the chimera, but don't forget Armstrong's inability to stop anything in the Ishval war despite having all this strength, Captain Buccaneer's heroic death (with two of my favorite lines of all time: "How about we walk King Bradley down to hell together?"/"There's a place that's just a little higher than the peak of Mt. Briggs. I will see you there."), Greed offering his Philospher's Stone but unable to save the old man's life, Izumi Curtis and the loss of her child and the relief that comes when she realizes that the thing she brought back wasn't her baby again, the hopelessness Riza feels when she thinks Roy is dead, Envy's suicide, etc. All of these are times where it has (from what can tell) successfully conveyed emotions and feelings that most of us are lucky enough to never ensure in real life.
Despite the plot twists it takes, FMA:B doesn't suffer as a result because of those on a rewatch. Instead, I've found it only enhances the experience. We, the viewers, can more easily pick up on Bradley and Selim's tics early on, we can sympathize with Scar's revenge streak, we know what Hoenheim is doing walking all around. Suddenly, we're not so much focused on trying to pick up everything that happens along the ride and instead can choose to enjoy and delve into whatever aspect piques our interest the next time around... and with all that went into this series, you can never be quite finished with details to discover.
Putting aside exciting sci-fi alchemy being a new twist on magic, it boils down to one thing.
Cohesive world-building.
It is the same reason why Avatar: The Last Airbender is critically acclaimed in Western society despite being an animation.
From the alchemy to the characterization to the plot itself, everything is molded for the world's thesis rather than attached arbitrarily to fulfill the writer's whim. This level of planning is why Arakawa's next work, Silver Spoon, was an instant success even though it fantasy thrills of FMA.
That is why others are saying it has broad appeal. Everything fits together, so little air time is spent lecturing about how things work. It can all be presented or stated in an intuitively accessible manner.
This level of consistency, simplicity, and deepness is what gives it the broad appeal to be #1.
The only anime that come close are DBZ and Hunter x Hunter.
TDLR: It's so good because of the story, the animation, the character development, the philosophical subtext, the political commentary, the sub-plots, the finale, the soundtrack, the humour, the antagonists, the supporting characters, the dramatic twists and its broader appeal to even western audiences. Doesn't feel too japan-ey.
Comments
Openings? Best anime of all time btw.
you’re wrong
I'm not in the mood for an arguement, but Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is the best anime of all time.
And then it's DBZ.
These are the best anime openings
Go to sleep?
My hero opening 2 & 3 are good too.
To bring things back on topic, I want Ymniam Orch to play during a fight
I love this thread! I have three songs that I associate with certain kinds of potential scenes. It may fit or it may not.
Soap&Skin - Me and the Devil (during a montage in the morning after the end of episode 2. Abel rotts in some room. Rosie and AJ are watching him. Clementine prepares her plans for the Delta.)
Teho Teardo & Blixa Bargeld - A Quite Life (it plays while the group, led by Clementine, is on their way to the Delta to confront Lilly.)
Massive Attack - The Spoils (during a montage after the win against the Delta. Losses on both sides. Hours go by. Funerals are being held for both communities.)
I compiled this over the years and figured you needed to have a read. Spoilers.
The story holds up for the whole run with a satisfying and complete ending. The large group of characters are all interesting in their own ways. Too many shows either drag on, are cut short, or have too many loose ends. Brotherhood is as close to being like a good epic novel as anything on TV. There's no fanservice and there's no female character only existing for the sake of being the damsel in distress and that made it so much easier for me to get into the story.
It's an amazingly well done series, with such an ambitious plot and fleshed out cast of character it's hard to end up really "hating the show". It never really stumbles over its own size, and leaves no stone unturned by the end, which is quite the astounding feat given the scale.
The storyline is another aspect that could have left FMA:B flat on its face, but instead serves as another strength. It deftly handled characters who are all over the map at different times (from Edward recovering to Al with the chimeras to Roy pulling the strings at central in the lead up to the end). And everything that gets brought up in the beginning has its place at the end, like the aforementioned swap of Alphonse's soul for Edward's arm (also fucking Mei fully committed to sacrificing the life of the man she loves to save the world), the mentions of Ishval and the presence of the homunculi throughout time, the bits and pieces of Father, the set up of Selim as a homunculus (also that amazing scene of Riza and Roy talking in code), Maria Ross's fake burning and her return, Havoc being consigned to a wheelchair but still contributing in any way he can to the man he committed his life to, Bradley's hands shaking at Hughes's funeral only for it to be revealed as anger later, Hoenhein's counter circle, etc. Every aspect of this story has a purpose and will be brought back later, which asks its viewers to think deeply whenever they watch something, just in case it might come back later.
It also deals well with very human emotions, and features, in what can be at times a very funny and light hearted show, some of the saddest and most terrifying moments. We all know about Maes's death and Nina the chimera, but don't forget Armstrong's inability to stop anything in the Ishval war despite having all this strength, Captain Buccaneer's heroic death (with two of my favorite lines of all time: "How about we walk King Bradley down to hell together?"/"There's a place that's just a little higher than the peak of Mt. Briggs. I will see you there."), Greed offering his Philospher's Stone but unable to save the old man's life, Izumi Curtis and the loss of her child and the relief that comes when she realizes that the thing she brought back wasn't her baby again, the hopelessness Riza feels when she thinks Roy is dead, Envy's suicide, etc. All of these are times where it has (from what can tell) successfully conveyed emotions and feelings that most of us are lucky enough to never ensure in real life.
Despite the plot twists it takes, FMA:B doesn't suffer as a result because of those on a rewatch. Instead, I've found it only enhances the experience. We, the viewers, can more easily pick up on Bradley and Selim's tics early on, we can sympathize with Scar's revenge streak, we know what Hoenheim is doing walking all around. Suddenly, we're not so much focused on trying to pick up everything that happens along the ride and instead can choose to enjoy and delve into whatever aspect piques our interest the next time around... and with all that went into this series, you can never be quite finished with details to discover.
Putting aside exciting sci-fi alchemy being a new twist on magic, it boils down to one thing.
It is the same reason why Avatar: The Last Airbender is critically acclaimed in Western society despite being an animation.
From the alchemy to the characterization to the plot itself, everything is molded for the world's thesis rather than attached arbitrarily to fulfill the writer's whim. This level of planning is why Arakawa's next work, Silver Spoon, was an instant success even though it fantasy thrills of FMA.
That is why others are saying it has broad appeal. Everything fits together, so little air time is spent lecturing about how things work. It can all be presented or stated in an intuitively accessible manner.
This level of consistency, simplicity, and deepness is what gives it the broad appeal to be #1.
The only anime that come close are DBZ and Hunter x Hunter.
TDLR: It's so good because of the story, the animation, the character development, the philosophical subtext, the political commentary, the sub-plots, the finale, the soundtrack, the humour, the antagonists, the supporting characters, the dramatic twists and its broader appeal to even western audiences. Doesn't feel too japan-ey.
Yeah.