Fullmetal Alchemist. Those words are music to my ears. I love Fullmetal Alchemist. I love it like a shopaholic loves payday. FMA is my zen.
I am familiar with the tv series, (or 'anime' for you psycho whores of Japanese culture.) the comic series, (or 'manga' for . . . you know what I mean.) and one of the videogames. The PS2 FMA game I played sucked, but I really liked the tv series. The show was my introduction to FMA, and man, what an introduction. The first thing I noticed was the dubbing was not a hackjob. They actually sounded, good. Compared to Pokemon, the dubbing was godlike. And not only that, I was really impressed with the depth of the characters that are Edward and Alphonse. And the setting, a setting fully realized, and the concept of alchemy; everything blew me away! That was, until I read the graphic novels . . .
. . . Only to be blown away again! The writing was even sharper, the characterization even deeper, the timeline even longer! The FMA comic series is one of the greatest works of literature in human history. I have read volumes 1 through 10 thus far, and even then, I can't get enough. I have an addiction; an addiction to FMA fiction. Someone help me.
However, while overall I prefer the manga series, the anime series actually has some advantages over the manga series. For example, the fight scenes look better. There's music, and pretty good music I might add. I like the anime portrayals of Lt. Col. Maes Hughes and Rose more than their manga portrayals, but there is only one interesting anime-only character; Dante. Which is not as many as the interesting manga-only characters.
Now, the manga lasts longer than the anime series. (51 episodes plus 1 movie vs. 7o-something chapters and counting.) The artwork is bloodier, more visceral. I like the manga portrayals of Lt. Hawkeye, Paninya, Barry the Chopper, Fuhrer Bradley, Shou Tucker, and the Homunculi more than their anime portrayals. Also, the manga has "Father," Lin Yao, and May Chang. (May's so cute! She's my 3rd favorite character behind Ed and Al.) And the "omake" sections at the end of each book are a hoot. But regardless, both versions are great.
Say, the title of this entry is "Super Elric Bros." If I had the skills, I'd make a series of pictures using graphics from the old NES version of Super Mario Bros. 1, and show an 8-bit Edward struggling ever so much to jump up and reach the blocks. Alas, though, he is too short, and can't reach. Then I'd show another panel of someone saying, "Wow! You're so short, you can't even reach the blocks!" Which of course would prompt what I call an Edward Moment(tm). The next panel would show him with his teeth jagged, shouting, "AAAGGGHHHH!!!!! DON'T CALL ME SHORT!!!! I'M NOT SHORT!!!!! AAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!" Oh well, at least he'll always have his alchemy and his dashing good looks.
Oh, FYI, I've read some volumes of the Trigun manga. I've never seen the anime, but I know a little about the manga and its sequel, Trigun Maximum. I can some them up in three words: It. Sucks. BALLS.
LATE EDIT: Yeah, this was obviously before I read the later volumes, and learned that Arakawa's portrayal of Rose and Hughes still made more sense than the older anime version's. Hey, fancy that; FMAB didn't exist when I first wrote this. Weird.
But yeah, I still think the Trigun manga sucks.
