#like the majority of complaints i’ve seen about fmab is that it’s too lighthearted so take that as you will

[damconcha]

Explaining the differences between FMA (2003) and FMAB cause why not

with no explicit spoilers for events, storylines, characters, etc.

Why are they different?

FMA 03 and the manga were coming out at the same time and FMA 03 was in danger of catching up to the manga. When this happens animes create filler to put some distance between the manga and anime but the FMA production team basically went Nah, imma do my own thing.

Which is exactly what they did bc instead of adding fillers they just straight up deviated from the manga.

This is why both animes while sharing the same cast and world, are so different.

How are they different?

To summarize these differences:

FMA 03 is a lot darker than FMAB

FMA 03 expanded on a lot of scenes, characters, arcs, and storylines

FMA 03 added characters, arcs, and storylines that weren’t in the manga

And FMA 03, you know, changed shit.

With the most notable being, the ending.

FMA 03's last episode isn't the conclusion. The 2005 movie Conqueror of Shamballa is

FMA 03 is DARK

I know I mentioned that FMA 03 is dark but holy fuck it’s a lot darker. To the point where if you asked someone the differences between FMA 03 and FMAB it’ll be the first thing they mention after the ending.

FMA 03 is a pretty dark anime don’t get me wrong but part of the reason why FMA 03 is seen as so dark is because in comparison FMAB is a lot more lighthearted. Now don’t get me wrong FMAB doesn’t shy away from its dark themes but FMA 03 not only embraces it but it delves deeper into them.

FMAB also has these comic relief moments to lighten the mood that FMA 03 just doesn’t have. FMAB is a surprisingly lighthearted anime, especially considering what it’s about.

How is FMAB's adaptation different?

FMAB, unlike FMA 03, stuck to the source material. It’s considered to be a completely faithful adaptation, which isn’t entirely correct.

FMAB was made with the thought that the viewers were fans of FMA 03, and were already familiar with the world and characters.

That’s why FMAB’s first episode feels like a recap and lore dump because that’s exactly what it is. Its purpose was to refresh the older fans' memories and reintroduce them to the world and characters.

This is also why FMAB feels so fast-paced for the first 15ish episodes. It’s bc they’re trying to get past the material they already adapted to get to the content that was never animated.

Though doing this means that FMAB just completely cut things out or trimmed them down.

For example, the Mining Town never got a proper adaptation in FMAB and they completely cut out the Train Battle but both of these were properly adapted in FMA 03.

That’s why FMAB tends to throw people off when Yoki appears later in the anime. The cast acts familiar with him but that part of the story just wasn’t adapted so viewers didn’t even know he existed until then.

So yeah, FMAB did stick to the manga, I just wouldn’t call it completely faithful.

I think that about sums up the differences without going too deep into it. If I forgot something or if you have any questions please let me know.

#when i say #the ending is different i mean it #actually now that i think about it #some people will probably mention that fma 03 is darker before they mention the ending #like the majority of complaints i’ve seen about fmab is that it’s too lighthearted so take that as you will #i tried to make this post as subjective as possible and i hope i did a good job at that #edward elric #alphonse elric #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fullmetal alchemist #fma 2003 #fma #fmab #fma brotherhood #fma 03 #fma conqueror of shamballa #conqueror of shamballa #hiromu arakawa #concha posts