Full Metal Alchemist, brotherhood or standard

[Cyanoxide]

Back When I was previously an active user on here I recall a lot of the LG community were big Anime/Manga fans and I'm not sure if that has changed over the years but I'm hoping it hasn't. I personally have never been a massive Anime fan. I've watched a few series here and there (Dragon Ball, Attack on Titan, One Punch Man and a few others) but I always had a preference to a good old live action series as oppose to an animated one.

That being said, I've gotten a bit of a taste for it recently and one series that has always interested me is FMA, I've known about it for quite a long time but have never bothered to watch it but I'm finally ready to do just that!

So I went to download a couple of episodes and discovered to my despair that there are two versions. After doing some research on google I can see that this is a widely discussed topic but I'm curious to know your take on it. Which would you guys recommend to watch and why (The original or Brotherhood)?

From what I've read it seems for the most part that people recommend skipping the original and just watching Brotherhood and I have a suspicion that I'm going to do exactly that but I'd love to know your opinions as oppose to the complete strangers I've found on Google.

[Kingz V]

10/10 brotherhood is the best anime of all time.

need i go into detail?

[Cyanoxide]

You don't need to but it would help aha.

I was a bit concerned after watching the first episode as there was no origin or context. I knew the jist of it but I was worried that they weren't going to explain everything as they may have been targeting people who had already watched the original. I was quite relieved to find out that the origin/context episode was in the second episode which was a bit odd order wise if you ask me but I like it so far.

[Kingz V]

Brotherhood just seems to have more, although it could seem more condensed there ends up being more characters, the best example of this is the Homunculi.

i actually watched the first FMA before brotherhood even.

I would still recommend FMA:brotherhood for those new to anime. It is second only to Cowboy Bepop on my list.

[Cyanoxide]

Well I'm about 25 episodes in now and I'm really enjoying it. Was thinking I'd watch one or the other but now I'm thinking of watching both.

[scamerella]

standard is way better imho

[n_n]

I only ever watched brotherhood, because I heard it followed the manga storyline more closely. Definitely pretty high on my list. Still plan to watch the first anime...as I heard from the same set of friends that it can easily feel like the side adventures the Elric brothers rather than just a weaker version of the two.

[Cyanoxide]

I only ever watched brotherhood, because I heard it followed the manga storyline more closely. Definitely pretty high on my list. Still plan to watch the first anime...as I heard from the same set of friends that it can easily feel like the side adventures the Elric brothers rather than just a weaker version of the two.

I'm just finishing up the Brotherhood series now, one more episode to go as of writing this (And I believe there's a movie as well) but I definitely still have the itch to watch more so I think I'd be happy with a "side quest". I'm tempted to try my had at some FMA artwork as well. I've found the series to be quite satisfying and I think I can safely put it on my list of favourite animated series.

[n_n]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I personally would love to see fan art

I feel like I need to add a disclaimer I'm honestly not sure how far standard differs from brotherhood in regard to the main storyline. I've only heard second hand that it tends to have an episodic/side questy/'things they also did' vibe while having the same animation style. Still have a huge list of other thing my spouse & I are watching before we hit standard. It kinda fell low on the list since we both enjoyed brotherhood so much and are a little worried to tarnish that. xD

[C0FFINCASE]

standard is way better imho

I agree. The original release is darker and more coherent.
Brotherhood, while more faithful, has in my opinion a really terrible end.

[GayaLyfe]

Brotherhood > Standard. Better storyline.

[CL0V3R]

I personally didn't like the original FMA very much for what ever reason. I may try going back and watching it again. I did really like brotherhood over all though.

[Cyanoxide]

I personally didn't like the original FMA very much for what ever reason. I may try going back and watching it again. I did really like brotherhood over all though.

I'm currently in the process of rewatching the original, from what I've seen I prefer Brotherhood but it's nice to get some context on some of the things that got missed in Brotherhood

[brobecks]

If you haven't watched it yet, I'd recommend watching the 2003 anime FIRST, then watching Brotherhood. I think they're both worth a watch to be honest.

The first anime goes into greater detail for the first ~25 episodes or so, but brotherhood breezes through all of that. I think the 2003 anime gives the main characters a lot more depth, especially in the beginning, than Brotherhood does, but, ah, BH does tend to be my favorite, since that's the one my favorite character is in haha.

TLDR: Both are worth a watch. 03 first, then BH.