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flamealchemist · 1 day

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Drawing of the Elric brothers by Yutaka Nakamura, one of the key action animators for FMA: 2003

#fullmetal alchemist #fma #alphonse elric #edward elric #fma 03 #fma official art #fma 2003

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psuedostar · 2 days

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Some more Ed sketches feat: Al!<3 my iPad broke so expect more traditional art for a bit until I can fix or get a new one.

#edward elric #fma #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #fmab #fanart #illustration #alphonse elric #sketch #traditional art #fma 03 #the elric brothers #feral child

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salvidida · 2 days

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Everything about Scar's treatment in Brotherhood sucks so bad, but there was something specific that has been bothering me for awhile. I hadn't been able to quite put my finger on what it was since watching FMAB for the first time recently (as a lifelong 03 fan). So I rewatched FMA 03 again and it finally clicked what it was that further upsets me about Brotherhood regarding Scar, besides the more obvious imperialist propaganda and racism:

The Elric's relationship to him.

Now obviously Ed's racism towards Scar in Brotherhood is pointed out frequently enough, but it doesn't stop there. It's the way that Brohood Ed is incapable and fully resistant to ever bridging that gap besides a deeply uneasy allyship-of-convenience. Al is also fully distant from Scar, besides their mutual antagonism in the earlier arc. And nothing more is really explored here between these characters.

And I didn't realize how much I valued the way 03's Scar, Ed, and Al contrast, overlap, mirror, battle, and support one another. Their fates and goals are inseparable. Alchemy's impact on the Elrics' lives is reflected with Scar's life and his brother's, as well as their familial relationship to their own brothers; many point out the similarities between 03 Scar and Al, with some noting how Ed and Scar's brother match each other. And the way the Elrics here are more able to engage with the harsh realities that inform Scar's choices and actions versus that of their place as Amestrians, and for Ed as an active member of the military who, despite wanting to cling to his principle of never taking a life, at times can see Scar's point of view and even, with reticence, sympathize with him (Al even more so).

There are layers to the relationship across these three characters. The tension and humanity that arises is a driving force in revealing the dialectics of this show. It's to the point that Al and even at times Ed defend Scar when talking with other characters towards the end of the show, and they even ultimately owe their lives to him (the philosopher stone and grand arcanum that allowed both Ed and Al to live, and for Al to regain his body). And the bond between the Elrics help Scar to forgive his brother, to speak aloud that he loves him in his final moments, before triumphantly accomplishing his goal against the Amestrian military, saving the remaining Liorans, and saving Al from becoming Kimbly's final bomb.

And there are other moments, such as Scar helping Al in Lab 5, telling him he sees his unmistakable humanity after Al helps him save Ishbalan refugees. Scar attempting to help Ed in Lab 5 after he refuses to sacrifice the prisoners for the Philosopher Stone, because he sees the humanity in Ed too, the humanity that can resist merely being a ruthless military dog and scientist. The way Scar treats Al almost like a little brother of his own, and when he mentions that Ed and his older brother share the same kind eyes- said at a time when Scar still harbours ill feelings for his brother's taboos and his sacrifice; which becomes all the more poignant when he forgives his brother before creating a Stone passed down to the Elrics. Scar mentions having sworn off specifically targetting state alchemists post-Lab 5, and this feels like his way of sparing the Elrics of his wrath, even as he holds fast to fighting against an oppressive system with necessary violence. The material here is rich for analysis and appreciation! It doesn't settle on more digestible, black-and-white character archetypes and plot conveniences.

There's a reason why the final outro for 03, where it flashes across four deceased characters who mattered to the Elrics, includes Scar. The man is in the ranks of Trisha, Nina, and Hughes! This isn't a mistake, the writers are intentionally showing the indelible impacts of these people who they cared about.

But with FMAB, it's exceptionally flat here and entirely derogatory. Ed hates Scar, and the narrative treats him as wholly right to do so. Scar needs to repent and reform to the side of his genociders, and never shall these characters interact or converse beyond putting a stop to Father. Scar was nothing more than a vehicle to reach his murdered brother's alchemic research, and an example to be made of any radical who so much as raises a finger against the State. All three of these characters want nothing to do with each other, and that's about as far as we get with them. In Scar's own words, he's nothing more than the 'ooze' (the poison) that arises from military conquest, and by the end of the show it's clear that, even with Scar saving the entire country that destroyed his life, to the Elrics, he will always be that 'ooze'.

In Brotherhood Scar committed what the Elrics clearly considers to be the ultimate sin: he killed Winry's parents, and no matter the circumstances surrounding that event, no matter what else changes, no matter which mass murderers, monsters, and genociders the Elrics can sympathize with, humanize, befriend, and forgive, Scar will never be anything more than an unforgivable murderer. The best everyone gets here is moving on and living seperate lives. Nothing more.

The fact that Ed openly wishes he could beat the shit out of Scar, he verbalizes as such while Winry patches him up and Miles lectures him about the value of reforming the military regime to include more racialized people for its imperialist complex. And the big mercy Ed in this moment offers to Scar is... Not kicking the shit out of him after all.

The juxtaposition between these adaptations, the cold hatred of FMAB versus the entangled, poetic antagonism and comradery of FMA 03 makes experiencing the former anime so depressing. Until watching Broho it never dawned on me just how much I truly appreciated the complexities between Scar and the Elrics in 03. Finding Scar's Earth counterpart at the end of Shambala wasn't just a fun cameo: it feels like a road that leads back to an ally.

At least now I have something I can more consciously enjoy whenever I revisit 03, while articulating yet another reason why I can't stand Broho.

#fma #fma 03 #fmab #this def needs editing but its late and i wanted to get my thoughts out there #the antagonism and humanity and comradery of 03 is achieved with so much subtlety and skill #it never ceases to blow me away #eta: ok so i spruced up the post a bit. this is still a bit of a messily written meta but eh #also i'll probably reblog this later on with further analysis and examples of how 03 handles the Scar-Elrics bond

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pluviatrix · 7 months

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oct. 3 pt 2.

also:

#fullmetal alchemist #fma #fmab #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #edward elric #alphonse elric #fma 03 #fma 2003 #mj art

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oatmealaddiction · 8 days

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Okay but the weirdest thing about the whole "Brotherhood is better you should skip 03" discourse that's become commonplace now, it sort of forgets the world Brotherhood came out in and why you should watch the original Fullmetal Alchemist. When Brotherhood came out, the original Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the most beloved and most watched animes of all time. Brotherhood assumes you the audience have already seen it because of course you have, everyone has seen it, so it skips important information and speeds the story up because it doesn't want to bore you with things you already know. Have you ever wondered "hey why does the first episode of Brotherhood kind of suck, and why am I being introduced to like 50 new characters, and why are they acting like I know what the hell an alchemist is?" It's because Brotherhood thinks you've seen 03.

The first 7 or so episodes of Brotherhood constitute dozens of chapters in the manga, and the first 25 or so episodes of the original Fullmetal Alchemist. The Nina Tucker episode in Brotherhood, in FMA 03 takes up nearly three episodes. Yoki gets a backstory in 03 and it's genuinely one of the best episodes and taken directly from the manga and Brotherhood glosses over it because: duh, you've already seen it. And so if you skip the original you miss out on dozens of really great character building episodes like Ed and Al meeting Hughes for the first time and getting to spend a whole episode helping him free a train from terrorists, or Ed and Roy having a duel that expands on the relationship they have, or episodes where the brothers just help out random people in towns before the major story gets going.

The original also paces itself quite a bit better than Brotherhood and is more in line with the mangas storytelling. In the manga we don't find out about The Gate until nearly two dozen chapters in, and the same goes for the original anime. Like, that's a twist reveal in those stories, and it's weird that the most watched series is the one where they tell you all about The Gate in the first two episodes because they assume you've already seen the original show.

What's more, people don't know that Hiromu Arakawa helped write for the anime while she was still in the middle of writing the manga, and as a result was inspired to write scenes in Brotherhood that the anime did first. That scene of Edward getting impaled by a falling beam? Directly inspired by a similar scene in the original anime. There's a lot of little instances of that and they're great when you can recognize parallels and things in Brotherhood that are direct references to the original anime, but people don't notice any of that anymore. Because the original anime is just an automatic skip these days, and it's a bummer because people don't realize what a giant it was back before Brotherhood was released. They treat it as *bad,* not realizing it was one of the most beloved anime of its time and the problems people take issue with have a lot more to do with personal taste than any kind of actual flaw in the writing. Brotherhood was never meant to dethrone it, and the original anime was always supposed to be part of the viewing experience which is why those first few episodes of Brotherhood are so fast paced. So like, please stop telling people Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 is a skip, or it's bad, or you don't need it because Brotherhood is better. Regardless if you think Brotherhood is better or not, the original wrote Brotherhood's check. It was huge, it was beloved, and Brotherhood is *banking* on the knowledge you've seen all of it and loved it. And trust me when I say there is so much to love about the original series. It's still my favorite branch of the FMA franchise, and it's worth your time, I promise you.

#Fma 03 #FMA #fullmetal alchemist #Fma:b #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #fma brotherhood #Legitimately though the original is so fucking good #The music alone makes it worth the watch #Also the art direction is better fight me #mild spoilers

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iconicname · 7 months

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never turn back

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erachiiii · 4 months

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The edception is real

#wasn't gonna do this meme #but then this idea popped up in my head #fullmetal alchemist #fma #fmab #fma 03 #fma brotherhood #edward elric #myart

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eelektrossfan · 4 months

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[ID: Screenshot redraw of fullmetal alchemist, there’s Alphonse on metal armor piggy backing Edward, a blond kid with a bright red coat sleeping on Alphonse’s back, they are in the middle of the night in a town slightly lit, the artist’s signature is on the bottom left. / End ID]

Gift (for MYSELF HAHAH <- very normal)

#decided to treat myself with a good old screenshot redraw #if you know this shot by memory #sorray #in my defense the screenshot was blurry your honor #fma art #fma al #fma alphonse #fma edward #edward elric #alphonse elric #fma 03 #fullmetal alchemist #screenshot redraw #fanart #character illustration #illustration #vermiixart #digital art #fma

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fma-03lric · 5 months

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Why I like 03's automail reveal in liore more than BH prompted by this pic I encountered again:

When I compare the scenes visually, I really really like how proportionally larger Ed's automail is in 03 to the rest of his body. It's more bulbous and thicker around the shoulder portion. When we get a forward facing shot of Ed you can see clearly how far the anchoring port comes across his chest. It's up to the juncture of his neck and over his pectoral muscle.

Despite Winry's wonderful talent and work with automail, you can only make such a durable high functioning model so slim. 03 in general highlights Ed's more childlike qualities. It makes use of visual contrast to point that out as well. To me, seeing the automail on him is like seeing a domestic cat have a panther paw. Much too powerful and encompassing for the size of it.

It's yet another reminder that he's a kid in an adult world. Too smart and too young and having made such a large mistake. It's very fitting for the overall tone of 03.

(the animation of Ed tearing his coat over his shoulder was also sick as fuck in 03 like holy god it was awesome)

#fma fmab #edward elric #fma 03 #fullmetal alchemist #possibly part of the reason he wears so many layers #to hide the bulkier side

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raffa-taff · 7 months

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Silly comic I made a bit ago because as soon as I thought of it I needed to draw it

#fmab #fma brotherhood #fma 03 #fma fanart #fma 2003 #fma alphonse #alphonse elric #fullmetal alchemist #mutant mayhem #donatello tmnt #tmnt donatello #tmnt mutant mayhem #crossover #teenage mutant ninja turtles fanart #tmnt donnie #tmnt 2023 #fnaf

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wickedcriminal · 8 months

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Nothing makes me happier than unhinged Ed being like "yep!! That's MY blood!! I drew that while I was bleeding out!! :DD" and Armstrong reacting about as well as you'd expect

#fma 2003 #fullmetal alchemist #fma manga #edward elric #alex louis armstrong #major armstrong #alphonse elric #fma 03 #fullmetal alchemist 2003

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flamealchemist · 9 months

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