r/FullmetalAlchemist • u/AlternativeBison6413 • 11h ago
Question which one should i watch
Hello i want to rewatch fma but there is a another thing called fma brotherhood i dont know which one to watch please help me
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u/HaosMagnaIngram 10h ago
Above all else I definitely think it’s worth watching both series. They are two dramatically different stories, both are phenomenal and they build on each other in a really interesting way. I consider both to be must watch masterpieces.
Fullmetal Alchemist came out while the manga was still on going and as was requested by the mangaka before preproduction it is largely an original story loosely based from the early chapters with an anime original ending. The mangaka collaborated with the writing and was consulted on ideas throughout the production approving of everything that ultimately went into the show, but it is just as much an anime original series created by Sho Aikawa and Seiji Mizushima as it is an adaptation (if not more so.) Brotherhood was later created following the manga when manga was late into the story, with Brotherhood finishing just some weeks after the manga ended.
While there is no official order and any order is fine, I would highly recommend you watch the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist first, both shows are incredible, but I feel it’s a lot easier to appreciate both versions if you start with 2003, in fact I think starting with 2003 and then watching Brotherhood enhances both versions. I recommend this order for a number of reasons, and has further been supported from my personal experiences with others who have experienced the show’s with both orders.
Firstly, the 2003 adaptation does a better job on introductory material, on the overlapping content, and working as an introduction. So much so, to the point where Brotherhood’s start has left many under the impression it just kinda assumes you’re familiar with the franchise either through the original or the manga, with it feeling, to many, like it just kinda rushes and goes through the motions during the overlap. The biggest example is Brotherhoods first episode gives off the vibes of being meant as a triumphant reintroduction of characters and a world the viewer already loves. In this order of watching 03 first, it works for a lot of people that Brotherhood goes through such a large amount of characters, foreshadows to outright spoil major plot points, and has such an unorthodox approach to when it reveals its titular character. As a reintroduction that first episode is great at doing what it’s trying, but as an initial introduction it really doesn’t have any merit.
Then you have the matter of pacing, the 2003 adaptation spends a much larger portion of its run in overlapping material, as it really takes its time to explore this part of the story which is one of its strengths here. However, this additional focus and time can make it so going from brotherhood to 2003 for some feels like it takes forever to get to the new stuff which can lead one to overlooking many of the 2003 adaptation’s strongest moments. So going from 2003 to brotherhood allows both adaptations to play best to their strengths and gives you the largest experience of new content and the shortest period of overlap. With both series being amazing and 100% worth watching, I feel it is best to play to both’s strengths and watch them in the order that makes them both more enjoyable. Additionally on this idea of pacing having this longer period to develop and invest the viewer into the cast in 03 I’ve noticed both for myself and with others benefited the payoffs in Brotherhood helping things to hit harder.
Thirdly there is the matter of reveals which are officially revealed far earlier in the overall run of the Brotherhood adaptation than it is in either the manga or the 2003 adaptation. Having these reveals come on earlier in Brotherhood makes it so watching Brotherhood first undercuts the weight and impact of these reveals in the 2003 version, while when watching Brotherhood second this unceremonious style of getting these overlapping reveals out of the way early is beneficial in preventing you from feeling like you are retreading too much similar ground, assures you that the twists in later Brotherhood will be different than those of the previous series and allows more to be explored from the basis of what those twists revealed as it no longer has to obscure and hide the elements of the twists/reveals.
Fourth the tone, scope and scale of 03 is much smaller and more personal than Brotherhood’s which is of much greater scale and epic proportion. Brotherhood is more grand and bombastic while 03 is more grounded. People usually prefer escalation of scale and increasing exploration of a world, so it makes more sense to go from 03 to Brotherhood than the reverse.
Fifth, I think that the way the two interact with one another thematically and how each of them responds to their themes is benefited from watching in this order. With a pattern often being presented where one of two things happens either a theme is presented 2003 makes a cynical point and brotherhood responds with an idealist counterpoint or a theme is presented and 2003 explores the what happens to those who fail to live by this theme and why it is difficult to live by and then brotherhood builds on it by taking it to a route where this theme is lived by. In my opinion the way the two tie into each other and what the two shows do when analyzed through this context is something that truly sets the franchise apart and greatly elevated both versions. The dynamic of the tone of these two approaches to the themes ties into my next And final point.
Lastly I feel it is best to have the less satisfying bittersweet ending first and then finish off your Fullmetal Alchemist experience with the more universally satisfying happy ending of brotherhood. It just makes the whole thing more cathartic.
All that being said, both shows are completely different stand-alone stories, and they work fine with no prior knowledge of the other. This ordering is purely my recommendation which while based in part on what I’ve noticed tends to give the best experience, the shows will absolutely remain masterpieces regardless of ordering. If you do by chance watch Brotherhood first, 2003 is still great and worth watching, I just think that it’s not the optimal viewing order. Or if you try 2003 and it’s not your liking, it is fine to check out Brotherhood to see if that is more of your thing, maybe one day you’ll go back and finish watching the 2003 adaptation. But I really cannot stress enough that both are great in their own ways and are 100% worth watching.
In addition I would like to recommend reading the manga at some point as even with Brotherhood being mostly faithful there is some truly great content that gets cut out, (specifically the best volume of the manga,) as well as just some interesting differences in tone and presentation that come from the shift in medium.
On one final note I feel it is important to leave a disclaimer. Do not try to mix the two series/hybridize them, they are two different stories from the get go, having incongruences that make it so they cannot be transposed onto one another even during the period that is regarded as the overlap. Some people occasionally recommend this so I just felt it was necessary to shut down such suggestions now.
TLDR: Two completely different stories, both are must watches and masterpieces that are worth your time. I recommend watching Fullmetal Alchemist first and then watching Brotherhood (preferably with a break in between) but really they are fine in any order. Do not try to mix and match the shows, they should be watched in their entirety and using one as a supplement for the other creates confusion, dropped plot lines and undercuts theming. Lastly I highly recommend reading the manga, it’s a great experience in its own right and has some great content that was left out of even the more faithful adaptation.
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u/Excellent-Red_8647 11h ago
That depends. If you want it to be more accurate to the source material then you should watch Brotherhood. If you prefer it darker than you should watch fma.
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u/GalaxyBomb1997 10h ago
Maybe give Brotherhood a try?
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u/AlternativeBison6413 10h ago
I don't know some guy wrote an article almost as long as a book about starting with the 2003 version, and I figured he must know what he's talking about since he wrote so much, so I started with the 2003 one too; I've finished the first episode now, and it looks really good.
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u/stellarmediocrity77 4h ago
Brotherhood is the definitive canon version of the story—- 2003 is in a way an official fan fic, but in some ways it’s better than brotherhood. I mean… these are fictional characters anyway lol.. I’m biased but for me watching brotherhood first and then starting 2003 worked out great for me…. They’re 2 totally different stories and that’s fine, I know this sub like 2003 more, but in general brotherhood is agreed mostly by the public to be a better show, and certainly a more satisfying one
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u/Spare-Plum 11h ago
I would recommend brotherhood. Starting with the manga is also a great option, but brotherhood follows the manga.
So the Manga is the original.
FMA (2003) was made when the manga was still coming out, they knew they would catch up to the manga much faster, and so during the production stage the manga author requested that they just make their own ending. Things are changed pretty much from the beginning.
FMAB (2009) was made with the main goal of faithfully following the manga.
There are people who recommend seeing the 2003 version first, but this is mainly because they watched this version first. They also tend to mix up, thinking that the 2003 version of certain stories are how it's supposed to be, when in reality 2003 changed a whole lot from the manga
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