Day 29- What did you think of the series’ end?

I feel like I may have accidentally answered this already in an earlier question, so I apologize if I sound like a broken record. I have varying opinions depending on which series you’re talking about. As I’ve mentioned before, the ending of the first series was very bittersweet for me. I loved the the brothers got to be together again in the end, but absolutely hated that they had to be separated from their home and everyone they cared about in order to remain a team. On top of this, they had to completely give up alchemy in order to live in our world, which was extremely depressing because it had been their passion for the entire series. I understood and appreciated the ending because it followed the ideas of equivalent exchange and sacrifice that the series had been building throughout, but it still made me sad and left me not quite satisfied with the turnout.

Brotherhood, on the other hand, had an absolutely spectacular ending. It tied up every loose end and was far more happy and optimistic than the original series. There was still a sacrifice, but it was far less substantial and much easier for my poor little fangirl heart to handle. Ed and Winry FINALLY got together and had a family, and nobody was forced to come live in our exceedingly boring world in order for the brothers to stay together. I was perfectly okay with Edward losing only his ability to perform alchemy, for he had done all he wanted/needed to do with the skill and was going to move on to research and improve it for others. All in all, it left me happy and fulfilled (unlike the first series), and I was very pleased with the outcome.

So that’s that. Both series are amazing in their own right, but Brotherhood had the better ending in my opinion. :)

Day 25- Roy Mustang: What do you think?

He’s dead sexy… in a mini-skirt.

No, but seriously. I LOVE HIM. Come on; just LOOK at his fabulousness. Just like my favorite ship in the series (which also involves him), I never really noticed or formed an opinion about him in the first time I watched the series. I was younger then, and more focused on Ed and the main storyline than anything else.

When I watched Brotherhood, however, I was able to appreciate all of the characters more, including the sexy bad-ass that is Roy Mustang. What I love about Mustang is that he’s an extremely real character. He has flaws, he screws up, and he doesn’t always makes the best decisions. What makes him awesome, however, is that he has a massive heart. When he messes up, he keeps chugging along and trying to fix his mistakes. He spends the entire series trying to improve his position and become the Fuhrer so that he can make Amestris a better place.

He falls off the wagon sometimes, but he always manages to find his way back to the right path. It’s this realism in him that makes him so awesome, and I love all of the humor and heart that was poured into his character throughout this series. So yes, I adore Roy Mustang and all of his dorky, awkward antics. I’m ecstatic to have this chance to dedicate an entire post to him, because he is truly one of my favorite characters in this series. <3

Day 22- Your opinion on the anime: raw or dubbed?

Definitely dubbed. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I don’t care; I love all of the English voices for the characters. Of course, I may be a bit biased because the dubbed version was the first I heard/watched, but it’s still my favorite even after hearing the original. I love all of the English voice actors for FMA, and it’s one of my goals to meet them all someday because they seem like such awesome people.

That isn’t to say that I don’t respect and appreciate the original voices, however (Hello? Romi Paku is an amazing person and voice actor). I’m the kind of person who doesn’t really have a preference overall when it comes to anime. I’ve watched several animes subbed and I’ve watched several dubbed. For some animes (such as Vampire Knight and Black Butler), I prefer the subbed version. For others (such as FMA, Ouran, and Nabari no Ou), I prefer the dub. It usually depends on which one I hear/get used to first. I’m not for that whole war between dubs and subs; I honestly don’t think one is inherently better than the other. There are good and bad Japanese dubs just like there are good and bad English dubs. Everyone has a right to watch whichever version they like best, however, and it annoys me when someone insists that all English dubs suck and tries to tell me which version to watch.

Also, I’d love to take this post to appreciate some of my favorite voice actors ever, whose voices help make FMA even better than it already is: Travis Willingham, Aaron Dismuke, Vic Mignogna, Colleen Clinkenbeard, Laura Bailey, Sonny Strait, Maxey Whitehead, J. Michael Tatum, Caitlin Glass, Todd Haberkorn, Wendy Powell, Monica Rial, Christopher Sabat, Jerry Jewell, and many others who deserve thanks and praise for their awesome work. Seriously, if I had the time to list everyone who ever did a voice in FMA, I would. <3 No matter what kind of hate English dubs get, I hope these guys know that there are lots of anime fans who appreciate what they help bring to us.

Also, this video is adorable proof that subs and dubs can get along, and I absolutely love it. With that, I am done. *peacefully climbs off of my soap box*

Day 18- Your thoughts on Brotherhood

I LOVED IT. If you haven’t gathered from the last 17 days of this challenge, Brotherhood completely changed my entire opinion on the series. I liked it before, but Brotherhood got me completely and utterly OBSESSED. The story was just so much better, and it made so much more sense. The animation was absolutely gorgeous, and the ending left me satisfied rather than wondering what to do with my broken feelings. I mean, I can’t hate anything FMA related on principle, but Brotherhood was definitely the better of the two series in my humble opinion.

I was never one of the people who worried that Brotherhood would ruin the original series. I knew that if it was done, the dedicated people over-seeing it would make sure it was done right. That’s just one of the awesome things about FMA; it has so many people who care about it that the directors wouldn’t dare do anything to maim it. So yeah. Long story short, Brotherhood was awesome and I loved it. That is all. <3

Day 13- Would you ever take the risk and do human transmutation?

Seriously? Anybody who has seen the show and gotten ANYTHING out of it knows the answer to this question. Of course I wouldn’t, not even for someone I really care about. Maybe I’m taking a bit of a religious stance on the subject, but this is the opinion I’ve gathered. The entire point of the series (or one of the points, at least) is that living creatures are not meant to be brought back from the dead. More importantly, this is not the type of thing humans were granted the power to do. Part of the beauty of this series is it teaches all who watch it how to cope with death rather than trying to change it, because realistically we can’t control the inevitable. Death is a natural part of life, and in the end each and every one of us is going to die. We may miss those who are gone, but we have to trust that we’ll see them again someday when we pass on.

I love my friends and family with all my heart, and I would of course do anything for them. But I know that, if something like human transmutation existed in the real world, they wouldn’t want me to go against nature, break taboos, and sacrifice everything to bring them back. Mustang learns this himself in one of the later episodes of Brotherhood, when he refuses to use human transmutation even to save Hawkeye, who we know is extremely important to him. In that one scene, he demonstrates the lesson that the entire series is supposed to teach us: we should never try to play God and change fate. We should accept death for what it is and learn to move on, keeping the person in our memory and living our lives to the fullest in their stead. Ed and Al eventually learn this lesson as well, fulfilling the main story arc of the series and creating a truly beautiful narrative.

So, to shorten a very long-winded rant, my answer is no. I would not perform human transmutation, as it would most likely end very badly and cause more problems than it solved.

Well, it is technically Day 9 (because I’m slow and posted 8 late). Decided to do this now before I forget later.

Day 9- Your thoughts on the first anime

Okay, I know a lot of FMA fans might hate me for this, but… My opinion of the first series has been SEVERELY tainted by Brotherhood. Seriously, after seeing Brotherhood and then going back to re-watch the original series, I wondered why I ever liked the original. I’m not saying the story or the animation is bad; it’s obviously wonderful or I would never have liked FMA in the first place. And, as the old anime is the first one I ever saw, it’s always gonna have a special place in my heart.But Brotherhood was just pure perfection; the old series just can’t compare to it. The storyline is just so wacky when compared to Brotherhood and the manga; it doesn’t make nearly as much sense.

Another thing I love about the second series that the first just doesn’t have is the satisfying ending. Not just a satisfying ending, but many more adorably satisfying couple moments for Ed and Winry and Mustang and Hawkeye. I never really noticed or cared about Mustang and Hawkeye in the first series because you don’t get any of their history or backstory. There’s just so much more of everyone to love in Brotherhood. Besides that the first series doesn’t have Ling, Lan Fan, Olivier, or Mei Chang. I love all of those characters, and I would have never even known they existed if it hadn’t been for the second series. The first series just went off on this weird tangent and left me feeling a strange mixture of sadness and dissatisfaction. The second series further ignited my inner fan-girl and I will never be able to look at the first series the same way again because of it.

So yeah, those are my thoughts. I still love it, but definitely not as much as Brotherhood. It’s just not as good of a series overall. Also, the above episode in its entirety was the best part of the entire first series. Just saying. That’s one thing the old series will always hold over Brotherhood; plenty of hilariously quote-able lines to torment our favorite voice actors with.