Full Metal Alchemist: RAGED
Everyone has seen or heard of Full Metal Alchemist, the insanely popular anime released in 2003 that captured the hearts of anime viewers everywhere. It focused on a short main character named Edward Elric and his brother who was unfortunately turned into a walking piece of armor, Alphonse. But everyone knows that. Do you know why everyone knows that? Everyone watched it. People were pulled in immediately to a vortex of alchemy and hardcore action. Edward rips off his cloak and becomes a total badass and all are seduced to the typical Naruto/Bleach ‘totally sweet’ factor. Once sucked into this spinning mass of awesomeness you can’t escape. The thing that you don’t realize is that it ISN’T awesome, it’s just CRAZY overrated and you think, “Well everyone else is cosplaying it so I better watch it…”
The Characters SUCK
The characters really do suck. I mean Edward is as stereotypical as you can possibly get and he is not dynamic at all. He’s boring and entirely predictable. Furthermore, he doesn’t look cool. I would go on about the rest of the characters but they are all the same, predictable and annoying. They just have this seemingly “badass awesome” factor that people are suddenly attached to. What is so good about Envy? Nothing he looks like a girl. What is so good about Alphonse? He is annoying and makes no contribution to the series at all, not to mention being an absolutely flat character. His armor isn’t even cool. It’s hideous and not only that but he has incestuous thoughts about his brother. Tell me I’m wrong…
JJanime writes:
“The characters are so likable, this alone is enough to give a reason just to watch this show. They grow on the viewer and you actually care for what happens to them. There is somthing about the characters that makes them seem belevable and realistic, therfore, you can relate to them all in some way or another. They are all well developped in every aspect to.
The reason I gave the character ‘9’ instead of ’10’ is because there is not enough of a variety of characters.”
This is a good example of someone sucked into the vortex, he seems to realize that the characters do indeed suck but thinks because they are “cool” that they are good. Are the characters really believable and realistic? Are they well developed? Ok, just think back a second and think about how god damn lame it was when Alphonse thought he wasn’t really Edward’s brother.
The Action SUCKS
By the action sucking I mean there is no action. You watch a few episodes and you see Edward fight some guys and you automatically think, “OH BADASS!” but then you forget to realize BONES is doing this to you on purpose. They stack the action in the beginning and make long annoying episodes that go nowhere in the middle. Sound familiar? Think back to one fight in the anime that was awesome. “Greed vs. Edward?” Oh I didn’t see that one coming since it was basically the only fight scene in the anime and lasted thirty seconds. Think about how many fricking times you thought a fight was going to start and it didn’t. They did it to you on purpose just to keep you watching in order to push their ridiculously weak plot.
The Plot SUCKS
Cataphract writes:
“In all actuality, 51 episodes probably was a bit too short for FMA; by the end, quite a few ends are left undone, as they simply did not have enough airtime to be fully explained. However, while on the topic of the ending, I say this: bravo. While not perfect, it certainly merits recognition, as most series often suffer a crippling, much-to-be-desired conclusion. FMA, though a bit rushed, ends with both originality and tact, leaving a very open end for a sequel while, at the same time, properly ending FMA as is.”
You know he’s heading in the right direction but he spends his time just praising FMA because he loves it while not being able to look at it objectively. You know why 51 episodes wasn’t enough? Because nothing happened. FMA rode an easy ride; they had a lot of viewers so they took it easy with the animation when they suddenly realized they had to end it. They created this so-called “complex” plot and tried to tie up the loose ends the best they could at the end. At the end did you think, “What the hell? That was stupid.” You probably did, or you probably tricked yourself into think “TOTALLY AWESOME”, but even you realized that there wasn’t even an ending fight scene to save face.
Bottom-line
FMA is overrated, pure and simple. The plot was poorly executed. There was no action. The characters are not dynamic. Everything is predictable. People cosplay it too much.
nathan said,
July 11th, 2007 at 11:57 am
man you suck. you are 18 and you still addicted to actions scenes. what a retard.stop writing stupid reviews when you can’t even understand the show. i can’t believe UT actually accepted you.
nathan said,
July 11th, 2007 at 3:19 pm
and seriously, go get a life loser. don’t just sit in front of the screen all day and reply every single comment in here.
Jessie said,
September 17th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
well i loved it the end was sad but theres another movie=] and i do agree that that guy duse look like a fag but edward rocks i love him=]=] so dose al and envy really isnt a boy or girl…i dont think anyway
Anon said,
May 18th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
So, I’m supposed to be pissed off because someone disagrees with me?
I’m lost.
lsd said,
July 15th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
ANYONE AND I REPEAT EEVVEERRYYOONNEE WHO HATES FULL METAL ALCHEMIST SSSUUUUUCCCKKKSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stef said,
November 10th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Kudos to you. FMA is extremely overated. The plot became so complex to a point that it imploded in on itself. The main characters are both stereotypical, angsty-hot headed youth and the quiet reflective sidekick. The only thing different is the brotherly bond, thats it. The art is not jaw droppingly spectacular and the music quiet frankly sucks. These fans are going nuts defending Edward and Al. I hate to break it to them, Ed is a piece of paper.
Russ said,
February 6th, 2009 at 3:22 am
Totally agree with this review. I haven’t seen all of FMA, why would I want to waste 20+ hours of my life watching such a bad anime?
Can’t stand whiny, 15 year old protagonists, or sidekicks with the the voice of a 4 year old girl. Can’t stand pointless episodes that serve only to fill in time and plots that end in 20 minutes.
Can’t stand stupid protagonists that don’t use their powers intelligently. Why the fuck does he always make a dagger/sword instead of a gun like the bad guys? Sorry, but guns aren’t “evil,” the sword is only to suck in wapanese preteens who think swords are cool.
Sydney said,
April 4th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
I haven’t read all the comments, well because ther’s a lot. But anyway I am a fan of FMA. I enjoyed it to the very end and didn’t get bored with it. I liked all the characters and thought they were made well. I also enjoy Ouran High School Host Club but my friend hates it. What I’m saying is, everyone has their own opinion. Allyou people that are saying things like ‘anyone who hates FMA sucks’ are, I don’t want to say it but, stupid. Especially with how your writing these comments. Seriously, no one will take you seriuosly when your extending words like this comment ‘ANYONE AND I REPEAT EEVVEERRYYOONNEE WHO HATES FULL METAL ALCHEMIST SSSUUUUUCCCKKKSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!’ Doing that makes you seem very immature. I understand that some people don’t like FMA. If a thirteen year old can, I don’t see why you other people can’t.
A GIRL WHO CARES said,
July 5th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
NOOOOOOO!!!!! I JUST LEFT A GREAT MESAEGE BUT THAN MY COM. SHUT DOWN!!!!!!! TT_TT so this is gonna be short.i think Fma was good.its too harsh to say it SUUUUUCCCCKKKKKSSSSS!!!!! .but i have to agree that i think it is kinda obsessed to drees up in dumb cosplay…Sorry if you dont agree with me,BUT IM A 11 YEAR OLD GIRL AND IM NOT GONNA MAKE A HUGE COMMENT AGAIN,SO LAY OFF AND GET ON WITH UR LIFE PEOPLE! XP
a girl who cares friend said,
July 5th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
hey! Im Tay- i mean A GIRL WHO CARES friend!and i say: ITS NOT 2:19,ITS 3:24!!!!!!!!!!!!………..That is all…….. A GIRL WHO CARES says:sorry 4 all u fma fans or haters if u thought this was gonna be anything deeper…
FMA wtf! said,
July 24th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
this is obviously coming from a guy who only watches anime for the fight scenes and obviously is a moron with no tastes. this show isn’t quite an action packed show. if you are looking for action look somewhere else. its an emotional show based mostly on flashbacks and clever story telling. It just has such a good balance of humour, plot and character development and drama. thats what makes it so addicting. also if you don’t like it then just don’t watch it, don’t scream it out on the internet pretending you know something about it. that just proves how immature you are. Also the picture you put is a totally obscene representative of FMA watchers. i mean its just a retarded guy with a yellow wig and fake red contacts! theres tons of other anime out there with a cosplay fanbase, that doesn’t prove that the anime is bad. when you say the show is overrated, you barely stated any facts. simply obviously biased opinions from a person who either wasn’t thinking/paying attention at all when watching this show or didn’t even watch it and said a bunch of nonsense
FMA wtf! said,
July 24th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
also by the way i have seen much worse. i have seen a guy who dyed his hair blonde, gelled it, drew whiskers on his cheeks, and wore blue contacts. does that mean naruto sucks? does that mean bleach sucks? does that mean any anime with a decent audience sucks?
FMA wtf! said,
July 24th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
also i agree with kelly. if you didn’t like it, why would you research information on it? why did you find a picture of some doofus cosplaying FMA? why would you go to the trouble of going to a forum entitled FMA and then yell it out to the millions of people it is now visible to and force your own opinions on others, even those who haven’t even watched it. sounds like somebody is a lonely nerd with no life. i was shocked when i found this article because if you think FMA’s plot is poorly thought out, then you have a real problem. if you actually watch the episodes closely again back to back i can guarantee that you will think twice about what you posted. tsktsktsk.
Vincent Kresse said,
July 31st, 2009 at 10:48 pm
hey I liked the 2005 anime but i know where your coming from. The new 2009 anime is better
kitty said,
August 30th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
fma is not that bad, u just have issues
anime fan 4 life said,
February 21st, 2010 at 11:20 am
fma seems to be bashed on alot.. yea it is main stream and everyone watches it but it was a serise from a while ago (early 2000’s) and the story line isnt all bad i like it but i dont only watch mainstream anime like i think alot of people who watch this show do. i think that most people that watch this anime dont really watch alot of other anime and they just watch it on adult swim just like blood+ and bleach and stuff like that. I see what you mean by its full of fillers and doesnt have alot acton. But the fillers are needed to fill in the plot. True that they could of just made early episodes but i think that it was intended so that you would try to get connected with the characters. But i think that it has a good story line and that most syfi anime fan would love this show. im not a die hard full metal alchemist fan but i dont think that its so bad that everyone should bash on it for some flaws that most animes have.
Wirelessyoshi said,
March 13th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
FMA is one of my favorites animes of all time, and I consider it as one of the three greatest animes I have ever seen. And I’m not saying this as a guy who has limited experience with anime, or who is sucked into the ‘shounen’ vortex. I really thoroughly enjoyed the show. I didn’t find the characters to be ‘ultra badass’ or whatnot, or even believable. Fuck believable characters- anime is about characters that captivate you, not characters that you can relate to real life so well that there is no point in watching the show anyways. Look at Kamina from Gurren Lagann- nothing like any person I’ve met in real life, and yet, he’s become a legend to anime viewers. Spike Siegel is another one (and trust me, NO ONE matches up to his badassness). But the main point is, the characters aren’t believable because there’s no believable situation about kids using alchemy to bring their mother back, it’s fiction. And I thought it was great fiction.
Having not read the manga (I ended up watching watching FMA surprisingly late through the years of watching anime), I was captivated. It was surprisingly dark, had some great twists (Homunculus being creations of failed human transmutations), some great characters (Mustang, Hughes, Ed), and had a pretty interesting and fun plot. I wasn’t too bothered by the filler episodes, and the lack of action didn’t bother me too much because I genuinely enjoyed the plot. That being said, I don’t see how there wasn’t ‘any action’. Even the glimpses of action (Ed vs. The Empty Shells at 5th Lab, Mustang vs. Pride, Ed vs. Greed, etc.) were a blast. Enhanced by great background music, a good script, and plot twists to keep you interested, I thought it was great, and didn’t take itself too seriously.
I read a comment about how comparing FMA to NGE is like comparing Titanic to Pulp Fiction. I enjoyed NGE at first, and it still holds a place in my heart, but to be honest, I see it more as Titanic than Pulp Fiction. Even the writers of NGE admitted that the Christian symbolism in that show meant NOTHING, and was put in there just because they were interested in it. While the show set a great mood, and had some great anti-stereotype characters, the execution (in my opinion) sort of fell on it’s face at some points (due to rushed production and stress). At the same time though, very powerful stuff came out as well (especially episode 24). I was one of the few people that actually loved the TV ending as well, but man oh man was “End of Envangelion” crap. NGE is the one that I find is praised without merit sometimes. It was really good, and I would put it in my top 7 or something, but it could’ve been better. IMO the FMA directed by Mizushami that strayed away from the manga, bested it, in my opinion. Watching FMA Brotherhood, which actually has the better plot, is proving difficult, because it feels like it’s lacking one thing: heart.
Regardless, everyone has the right to their own opinion. I just think that FMA is and always will be a classic and touching tale about KIDS (who act like kids) going through a lot of rough stuff while believing in the principle of equivalent exchange.
Se said,
April 25th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Enjoy your crappy Naruto while I enjoy FMA and Brotherhood (aka masterpieces). You probably hate Monster too just for the sake of hating good anime.
Arale said,
May 25th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
I agree with this article 100%. This anime is highly overrated. I’m not saying this because it’s popular, either. There are a few popular anime that I really like. I’m saying it because it’s the truth.
To everyone who is throwing insults at the writer of this article, learn to grow up. One of my biggest pet peeves is the fact that you can’t discuss likes and dislikes within the anime community without someone taking it personally. Take a lesson in maturity folks.
Jade said,
October 27th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
If you do not like the anime, do not read the original manga. For a manga written by a WOMAN it is plauged with sexism towards woman. Yes, the woman are “badass£ but you still have many sexist traits, such as having to serve/follow the orders of men (Riza Hawkeye), cry to much for stupid reaons such as for “those who will not cry from themselves” (Winry Rockbell and Mei Chang) or because they thnk the one they love is dead (Riza, again), is turned into a Dansel in Distress on MORE THAN ONE OCCASION, and saved by MALES (Riza, Ran Fan and Mei), plently of scenes featuring MALE characters daving FEMALE characters, but NONE featuring the opposite, and many other sexist things.
Jade said,
October 27th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
I like FMA, just not the sexist in it.
ghostmist said,
November 6th, 2010 at 12:27 pm
Full metal Alchemist, the anime, was the first one that gripped my attention from beginning to end after watching just one episode. It was episode 4, An Alchemist’s Distress, when it aired sometime back. From then on I can safely say I became addicted.
I got my hands on the original anime, then the second – the Brotherhood anime, which suited the mange mora so I am more fond of it. It was pretty rewarding to see the action and combat play out.
There was more ‘drama’ than I shall say ‘action’ but that I what I appreciate the anime for, is that you get to see the staionary frames of a 2-D manga paper you’ve been reading all the time, play out on the screen, in all it’s tecnhical, flashy, sound-effects, mood music, goodness.
The characters are unorthodox. Yeah… not every character or more so, main character, has to be alluring and knight-in-shining-armor to be appreciated or even relatable. The fact that he tends to be predicatable and falters make him, dare I say it? More human — more relatable.
I did not see what the big deal about Envy was either, but Envy was granted a prolonged role in the manga to a bitter and pitiful end, so the anime follows.
I enjoyed every episode. I related to some little thing in each of the characters – even some of the dual nature fo the bad guys.
I appreciate how the women were portrayed, especially Olivier as the Impenetrable Wall / Snow Queen, Hawkeye as the sniper, Winry as the engineer / mechanic, Lan-Fan as the ninja bodyguard, Mei-Chan the prodigy, Maria Ross the scapegoat, and Izumi Curtis as the sensei. << There's plenty shares of badass there if you wanna look it up.
Alphonse's character could have been more eveloped. Well… yes again, the invisible rules of aesthetics says even a walking hunk of armor need to be pretty and attractive, eh? Who cares????
His menaching armor and gentle personality is quite an oximoron in any case. That as the fact that only he has the temperament to be his brother's partner. I do appreciate the irony that the 'little' brother gets turned into a protective suit of menacing armor while the bigger brother remains the Red Shrimp, throughout the series until the end.
That fake "badass" thing you are referring to, is probably Edward's firey personality he really cannot help most of the time to get worked up over. He take the responsibility to restore their bodies and their lives, and forgive the fifteen (I think he was fifteen to sixteen) year old's quirks and spasms as he struggles through being a spoilt troubled guilt-ridden military dog while foguring our their restoration, and plunging into somehting apprehensively more complex and on a far more grander scale than them just restoring their bodies.
ghostmist said,
November 6th, 2010 at 12:33 pm
Jade I see your point. But you forgot Izumi, theres nothing major I do not like about her character. And you forgot Olivier, who saved al her men she could have and as a short pretty blond woman, always kept her battallion in line and thinking on their feet — great feat for any man, muchless a woman, especially if the men’s egos get ahead of them.
It puzzled me that they were ‘attached’ to a main male character in some way made themselves weaker, like Lan-Fan to the Prince, Hawkeye to Mustang, Winry to Ed, Mei-Chan to Al, and Trisha to Hohenheim. But they also drew strength from it.
A far cry from animes.mangas that feature bad-ass women as smexy leather-clad well-endowed pinpricks that are somehow downplayed emotionally behidn their own egos anyways.
dude said,
May 19th, 2011 at 1:01 am
I completely agree with this article. I’ve tried watching this show along with brotherhood on several occasions. To me its just VERY boring, I find that the characters are lame and predictable along with the plot. Honestly I just found the whole thing very boring, and to all the comments bashing the guy’s article: it’s his opinion people. He’s allowed to post his opinion, whether for or against the series. Last time I checked that’s what reviews are for. So grow up kids, just because his opinion differs from yours it doesn’t make it any less valid. And to the chick with the whole suicidal friend story, REALLY? If your not full of shit (which I believe you are) if some lame-ass anime is all she has to live for, then she should probably go ahead and end it all because it wont get any better for her. So to sum it up, everybody has differing opinions, yours is no more right or wrong than the next persons.
CA said,
June 29th, 2011 at 6:35 am
The reason the first anime sucked as hell was because the anime caught up with the manga. It then just had to fill it up with random horseshit and after that, -wola- manga was near it’s end the anime basically was remade and called ‘brotherhood’.
I hate this because not only the first anime sucked as hell, but the rest of it’s seasions (forgot what it was called) were just spinoffs and lies from the actual manga story! WHAT A SHAM! It’s a waste of my time and their money! Making an anime early while the manga is only like 2 volumes, IS POINTLESS!
You’ll just find yourself overleading the actual manga story and then saying ‘OH WE’RE FUCKED!’ and then your gonna have the author shove metal. . . .things up the producer’s ass and have you, the animator and script writer, to have to finnish what you started. In FMA case, Create a pack of annoying fuck’in fillers and grabbing other necessary pieces shit from their asses and serve them to us!
Next time I hope that ALL Animators would stop trolling us with their filthy shitty fillers, or worse the whole anime series itself like FMA, and just bloody ANIMATE the damn manga like what they’re paid to do.
Still with all of this out, I MYSELF HATE ALL OF FMA! that’s my opinion and I wont say more as all of my reasons are already taken by the people above me : /
Really. said,
July 28th, 2011 at 2:46 am
I love FMA. I really, really do. It changed my life (cheesiness ftw) and yes, I want to post a long angry comment about how everyone who hates the series is an idiot, but I won’t.
I will say, however, that most of you are making yourselves look like idiots. In the end, you’re not going to change the other guy’s mind. All that’s going to happen is that you escalate into ALL CAPS SWEARING RAGE and therefore make yourself (and fellow FMA fans) look like an immature brat. That goes for FMA haters too.
Things are mainstream for a reason, guys, and FMA is one of those cases where mainstream isn’t bad. The plot is highly original (I have no idea where you draw resemblances to other series) it’s easy to connect with most of the characters, and all around it’s believable. Arakawa did her research.
Humans often dislike what they can’t understand.
Saph said,
October 27th, 2011 at 6:13 am
Agreed (although, Envy was pretty hot). The first few episodes were pretty badass, but then it was just the same crap over and over again. The characters don’t learn anything, their goals don’t waver in the slightest (which is sort of the point, but do we really have to see every fucking thing that happens to them if it doesn’t affect the story?), none of them know how to fight intelligently, and christ they’re annoying!
Leon said,
January 3rd, 2012 at 2:22 am
wow…really? Fullmetal is such a good show. incredibly realistic, incredibly creative, and incredibly brolliant. I have never seen a show where the scenes actually make me feel……….ANYTHING! I actually cared about the characters (and that is a hard thing for a shhow to make me do). All the characters learn and grow as the show progresses, and the ending (in brotherhood) was great (it was too depressing in the first series, but still good). And what the fuck do you guys mean “over rated?” what the hell is your definition of over rated? i think you all just hate the show and call it over rated. In fact, im suprised anyone would call any of the characters faggots. all of you…..are just so tasteless. If you like Naruto, One Piece , or Bleach over this anime…then go to hell.
lalala said,
March 28th, 2012 at 1:46 am
AN ANIME ISN’T ALL ABOUT FIGHT SCENES GOD DAMMIT all anime even stupid shows, need some sort of plot development, they timed the fight scene’s well, and technically envy’s a boy, he was ed’s older brother as a baby, but died, and hohenheim tried to bring him back to life. and of course al would think ed wasn;t his brother he hardly remembers anything DUMBASS, he was being tricked to think that those memories were implanted, and dude, it was lame at some parts, but they didn’t follow the manga’s plot that strictly in the first one, so they did another one, “brotherhood” which i must say is considerably better but i’m still mad. btw you look nothing like ed, you faggot
Lauren said,
March 31st, 2012 at 10:17 am
I totaly agree. FMA is one of the lamest, childish, shallow, overrated shows I’ve ever seen. it’s not funny, there’s no drama because the characters suck, it’s not sad because the cahracter suck. please watch good anime like slayers next where there is actually badass characters and action and story and comedy and all that shit that makes up good anime and then talk about FMA you anime noobs.
slayers next is on hulu so you have NO DAMN EXCUSE.
Doc Professor said,
March 31st, 2012 at 12:27 pm
Jade, what?
What?
Are we reading the same manga?
When was Lanfan ever a “damsel in distress?” You mean when she cut off her own arm to save Ling? Because, y’know, that was her doing that. To save him.
Roy being in a leadership position over Riza? How about the fact that he brought her in specifically because he needed someone to watch his back and keep him from going too far? Riza’s the real leader there.
And hell, did you just forget about Olivier Armstrong? The woman who runs all of Briggs and is a MUCH higher rank than Mustang?
No scenes of female characters saving males? Uh, hello, May totally saved Scar from a bullet-related death when Ed and Al were using him to hunt a homunculus. Uh, hello, did you forget the ENTIRE SCENE where Riza got Mustang to stand down before he took his revenge on Envy?
Are you really saying Riza crying is sexist? Did you just block out the part where she first pumped Lust full of a million bullets and THEN broke down? Crying isn’t a sign of weakness, you chump, it’s a sign that you’re HUMAN. Winry cries for Ed because she hates seeing him shut himself down, because HE’S the weak one. His stoicness is a facade, because he states himself that he carries a sign of his weakness around in his pocket. DON’T FORGET, 3 OCT 11.
Finally there’s a manga out there with a whole array of strong, interesting, complicated, unique female characters and someone out there is stupid enough to think it’s sexist that they’re able to express a wide array of emotions.
Harry Tuttle said,
March 31st, 2012 at 12:58 pm
Doc Professor is basically speaking the truth.
FMA may not be perfect gender roles wise (almost nothing is), but if you think “it is plauged with sexism towards woman”, then I believe you’re the one with sexist prejudices and need to address them. Crying equals weakness? No woman saves a man in the series? Holy fucking Christ, I don’t even know which manga you’re reading, but it’s not FMA for sure.
And yes, even though the above review is childish and nonsensical, the 2003 anime sucked balls. What’s new?
Wow. said,
May 13th, 2012 at 12:34 am
I’m sorry. Two of your reasons for not liking Ed and Al were because they didn’t look cool. Wow. Good job, Your review is terrible.
LOL! XD
CTH said,
August 10th, 2015 at 10:02 pm
I smell a shonen addict.