7 June 2009: I'd probably like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood had I not seen it before
I want to say Winry saves Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood,
but even that's not true.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Fullmetal Alchemist II, Full Metal Alchemist ~Here We Go Again~...no matter what you call it, it suffers from the nagging problem that it feels like a clip show of something I've already seen before. I'm told Brotherhood is supposed to be more faithful to the manga (which I have not read), and I'll even presume the manga is better than the first anime. Nevertheless, this retelling of Fullmetal Alchemist feels very redundant, and I can't help but enjoy it a lot less than I think I otherwise might. Then again, it's possible the show actually sucks, and I'm blinded from seeing it because I want to like it. In any case, I rank it below both Queen's Blade and Asura Cryin' this season—a rather sorry position for such an esteemed title.
IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME
The recast voices are only a small part of the problem. Not that many were actually changed, and since I don't really know the original voices of the supporting cast all that well, only Winry and Lust really sound wrong to me. I can't say the pace is off either, because although it is faster, it doesn't especially seem rushed. Most likely the biggest problem is that I have seen the original and this is just different. There's a good chance I'd be saying the same thing about the original anime adaptation now had the shows been switched. Chalk this up as a cautionary tale about how first impressions can cement dispositions and preferences, I guess.
