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Fullmetal Alchemist - Brotherhood Official Discussion Thread

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duckroll

Member
Episode 19 is one of the best episodes of the entire series. It is also the first major showpiece for a young up and coming animator - Yoshimichi Kameda. FMA:B is his first major project as a key animator and he has done some AMAZING work to showcase his talent.

He handled the entire sequence between Mustang and Lust at the end of the episode, including the in-between animation. If you enjoyed how he used a brush stroke style instead of standard outline drawings for the final rush of Lust at the end, then you'll love some of the other scenes he handles later in the series.

I shit on FMA:B a lot, but the entire production is worth it in the end simply because it "discovered" an animator like Kameda. It's really refreshing to see amazing work from fresh blood in Japanese animators, instead of getting excited about the same bunch of animators all the time.
 

Trickster

Member
ILikeFeet said:
Ep 19

gat damn this episode was worth it just for seeing Mustang kill Lust. I get the feeling she will be coming back though (don't spoil it!). how did she die in the first series? and Hoenheim appears (fully)! I didn't expect that to happen. can't wait for the next episode :D

The scene where Mustang BBQ's Lust, is as far as I'm concerned the best scene of the entire series, as well as the best animated scene. It's absolutely amazing, such a "fuck yeah! *fistpump*" moment :D
 

Blader

Member
Ep. 19 was badass. Unfortunately, Mustang's final killshot on Lust was already spoiled for me because someone made a gif of it a long time ago, but it was still a damn cool scene.
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
Last night's dub reminded me why I loved that episode so much. Just so much packed into it. The ending was great too, I'm actually OK with them chopping off the last half as long as the intro before the ending and "Let it all out~" are intact. Those are the most important parts of the song and it was a shame previous dub eps didn't have them.
 
duckroll said:
Episode 19 is one of the best episodes of the entire series. It is also the first major showpiece for a young up and coming animator - Yoshimichi Kameda. FMA:B is his first major project as a key animator and he has done some AMAZING work to showcase his talent.

He handled the entire sequence between Mustang and Lust at the end of the episode, including the in-between animation. If you enjoyed how he used a brush stroke style instead of standard outline drawings for the final rush of Lust at the end, then you'll love some of the other scenes he handles later in the series.

I shit on FMA:B a lot, but the entire production is worth it in the end simply because it "discovered" an animator like Kameda. It's really refreshing to see amazing work from fresh blood in Japanese animators, instead of getting excited about the same bunch of animators all the time.

This has me thinking. Is creating animation scenes such as that a really complicated process duckroll?

I've always wondered how hard it is to create a scene such as that.
 

duckroll

Member
Galactic Quail said:
This has me thinking. Is creating animation scenes such as that a really complicated process duckroll?

I've always wondered how hard it is to create a scene such as that.

In terms of production it's not really complicated in the sense that one person generally does it, and all he needs is time and talent. But it's pretty damn hard to animate outstanding sequences, especially involving special effects (good looking explosions, flames, dust, things breaking apart, glass shattering, missile trails, etc) because you need tons skill and patience to be able to recreate something that looks natural and cool when you're drawing it frame by frame.
 
duckroll said:
In terms of production it's not really complicated in the sense that one person generally does it, and all he needs is time and talent. But it's pretty damn hard to animate outstanding sequences, especially involving special effects (good looking explosions, flames, dust, things breaking apart, glass shattering, missile trails, etc) because you need tons skill and patience to be able to recreate something that looks natural and cool when you're drawing it frame by frame.

My god..sounds to me like it would take a hell of amount of time to do something like that, judging by the fact that you said it requires "patience", and "frame by frame".

& usually one person does a scene? My respects to animators. :lol

Must be a hard, yet rewarding job.
 

duckroll

Member
Galactic Quail said:
My god..sounds to me like it would take a hell of amount of time to do something like that, judging by the fact that you said it requires "patience", and "frame by frame".

& usually one person does a scene? My respects to animators. :lol

Must be a hard, yet rewarding job.

I was actually talking about the Mustang vs Lust scene in particular when I said "one person". It's not always the case of course. What usually happens is a single animator draws all the keyframes of a continuous sequence. Which means as long as the "camera" doesn't cut away, it's done by one person.

This isn't really that time consuming since that usually means a second or a few seconds at most, and keyframes can usually just be 10 drawings or so in such a sequence. The rest are known as in-between frames, and they're filled in by less experienced animators who are generally newer to the industry, or just outsourced to South Korea.

On the other hand, for movies or series where the studio is actually interested in letting animators do really creative stuff, outstanding animators generally get to animate their own entire scenes. This would mean that instead of just being assigned to animate a single continuous sequence, they animate every sequence in an entire on-going scene (like a fight for example). This is a lot more time consuming and challenging, but also gives such scenes much more consistency, especially if the animator has well known trademark styles.
 
Wow, ep 62 was amazing!
I liked how Ed was totaly kicking father's ass moreso here than in the manga. Anime captured it perfectly.
I wish more adaptations were like this... I'm looking at you Shippuuden.
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
Hey, can we hold off on spoilers for episodes that haven't legally aired/streamed in the US yet? At least use the spoiler tags.
 
duckroll said:
I was actually talking about the Mustang vs Lust scene in particular when I said "one person". It's not always the case of course. What usually happens is a single animator draws all the keyframes of a continuous sequence. Which means as long as the "camera" doesn't cut away, it's done by one person.

This isn't really that time consuming since that usually means a second or a few seconds at most, and keyframes can usually just be 10 drawings or so in such a sequence. The rest are known as in-between frames, and they're filled in by less experienced animators who are generally newer to the industry, or just outsourced to South Korea.

On the other hand, for movies or series where the studio is actually interested in letting animators do really creative stuff, outstanding animators generally get to animate their own entire scenes. This would mean that instead of just being assigned to animate a single continuous sequence, they animate every sequence in an entire on-going scene (like a fight for example). This is a lot more time consuming and challenging, but also gives such scenes much more consistency, especially if the animator has well known trademark styles.

That's really interesting. I really got to hand it to these animators for doing a wonderful job on the fight scenes in Brotherhood. It's really something to think about now when I watch fights or whatever. Thanks for the heads up Duckroll!
 

ThatObviousUser

ὁ αἴσχιστος παῖς εἶ
The next ep is titled
The Other Side of the Gate
? Really? Hrm... why does that sound so familiar... :p
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
SUDDEN ATTACK! CHARACTER PROTECTS OTHER CHARACTER BY STANDING IN FRONT OF THEM WITH ARMS OUT! PROTECTED CHARACTER YELLS EMOTIONALLY! ALL HOPE SEEMS LOST! BUT WAIT! SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF NEW CHARACTER(S)!

SUDDEN ATTACK! CHARACTER PROTECTS OTHER CHARACTER BY STANDING IN FRONT OF THEM WITH ARMS OUT! PROTECTED CHARACTER YELLS EMOTIONALLY! ALL HOPE SEEMS LOST! BUT WAIT! SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF NEW CHARACTER(S)!
 

StoOgE

First tragedy, then farce.
I liked this episode.

Ed,fucked shit up.

That said, Evilore is right. Even the characters that "sacrificed" themselves don't seem that bad off considering God just unleashed holy hell on them.
 

B.K.

Member
The new guy that's voicing Hohenheim in the dub is pretty bad. Well, he isn't really bad, but he just doesn't fit Hohenheim at all. It's the guy that voiced Gendo in Evangelion 1.01/1.11 and the Director's Cut episodes of the series. He sounds just like Gendo in FMA. Pretty bad choice.
 
EviLore said:
SUDDEN ATTACK! CHARACTER PROTECTS OTHER CHARACTER BY STANDING IN FRONT OF THEM WITH ARMS OUT! PROTECTED CHARACTER YELLS EMOTIONALLY! ALL HOPE SEEMS LOST! BUT WAIT! SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF NEW CHARACTER(S)!

SUDDEN ATTACK! CHARACTER PROTECTS OTHER CHARACTER BY STANDING IN FRONT OF THEM WITH ARMS OUT! PROTECTED CHARACTER YELLS EMOTIONALLY! ALL HOPE SEEMS LOST! BUT WAIT! SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF NEW CHARACTER(S)!




SPOILER THAT SHIT!
 

Kilrogg

paid requisite penance
(Episode 60 and following)

I know I've already said this, but I still don't understand why
the sacrifices don't die once Father is done with his God transmutation thing. Even though it gets reversed afterwards thanks to Scar and Hohenheim, the transmutation actually happened, didn't it? So why are all the sacrifices still alive? To me it doesn't look like Father's transmutation was interrupted midway, so the sacrifices shouldn't be alive (why would they be called sacrifices otherwise?).

Still, I'm enjoying the ending.
 

ILikeFeet

Banned
Episode 20 or something

Hoenheim is a dick :\ anyway, to find out were weren't as close as you thought is pretty brutal. other than that, so-so episode.
 

Harpuia

Member
Oh man, ep 63... I loved it.
I was expecting Hohenhiem to die..but greed? ;-;
Oh, btw, is the manga done now? I really want to check out the final chapter. I wasn't going to finish it on the manga, but since the fight with Father/
Al being revived
happened, I think there's not much to the last ep besides standard epilogue stuff. Also, was I the only one that saw
Ed sacrificing his alchemy powers coming?
 

Bebpo

Banned
Kilrogg said:
(Episode 60 and following)

I know I've already said this, but I still don't understand why
the sacrifices don't die once Father is done with his God transmutation thing. Even though it gets reversed afterwards thanks to Scar and Hohenheim, the transmutation actually happened, didn't it? So why are all the sacrifices still alive? To me it doesn't look like Father's transmutation was interrupted midway, so the sacrifices shouldn't be alive (why would they be called sacrifices otherwise?).

Still, I'm enjoying the ending.

Honestly the plot of the show doesn't make much sense if you think too hard and is full of holes. I'm enjoying the last 10 eps of the anime more than I did in the manga because the presentation is nice, but I really have to turn my brain off because the story/writing of FMA manga/brotherhood is disappointing and safe. It was so promising for the first half or 3/4ths of it while all these interesting subplots and main plots and mysteries and characters were setup and then when things are explained and everything has to end it's a total letdown. I honestly just don't think the author is a good writer.
 
Kilrogg said:
(Episode 60 and following)

I know I've already said this, but I still don't understand why
the sacrifices don't die once Father is done with his God transmutation thing. Even though it gets reversed afterwards thanks to Scar and Hohenheim, the transmutation actually happened, didn't it? So why are all the sacrifices still alive? To me it doesn't look like Father's transmutation was interrupted midway, so the sacrifices shouldn't be alive (why would they be called sacrifices otherwise?).

Think about it this way and it'll make sense.

They were being used to transmute, not being transmuted. Only those who have seen the Truth can transmute without circles hence they are important sacrifices. The thing he forced them to transmute was the Earth using himself, they were not being transmuted. It's the same thing as when Pride forced mustang using a circle, just that he is now forcing 5 people at once.

Or something along them lines.
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
(ep 63)
Truth: "CORRECT ANSWER, YOU WIN, HERE'S YOUR HAPPY ENDING"

Despite everything that led up to this...despite all my previous complaints...

I'm still taken aback by how terrible and pathetic the above ending is.

0/10, up from -1/10 thanks to Hohenheim.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
EviLore said:
(ep 63)
Truth: "CORRECT ANSWER, YOU WIN, HERE'S YOUR HAPPY ENDING"

Despite everything that led up to this...despite all my previous complaints...

I'm still taken aback by how terrible and pathetic the above ending is.

0/10, up from -1/10 thanks to Hohenheim.

:lol

Funny, I found that to be fitting - especially given the first quarter/half of the series when Ed and Al were just trolling along studying the philosopher stones. It's one of those "you had the answer in you all along" type endings.
 

DarkKyo

Member
Personally I liked the ending...
And my god is it satisfying to see Al's body in the real world.

Also, it wasn't as simple as "you win"... Ed had to give up his life's work and the living he's built for himself, as well as everything that made him unique.
 

Arthrus

Member
B.K. said:
The new guy that's voicing Hohenheim in the dub is pretty bad. Well, he isn't really bad, but he just doesn't fit Hohenheim at all. It's the guy that voiced Gendo in Evangelion 1.01/1.11 and the Director's Cut episodes of the series. He sounds just like Gendo in FMA. Pretty bad choice.

Mustang has a weird voice too... I really don't like it.
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Dechaios said:
Personally I liked the ending...
And my god is it satisfying to see Al's body in the real world.

Also, it wasn't as simple as "you win"... Ed had to give up his life's work and the living he's built for himself, as well as everything that made him unique.

They ended the show by saying that
ultimately, alchemy doesn't bring you anything, especially if you overstep the bounds of humanity. It's why "Father" ultimately loses to Truth after all.

Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask people here - Izumi's slippers, the reason they keep cutting to them is because they're bathroom slippers? (The whole WC thing) :lol
 

DarkKyo

Member
Without spoiling anything, was there a post-ending part of the manga? Or is episode 64 gonna be filler? I guess what I'm asking is.. did the manga end at the end of episode 63?
 

firehawk12

Subete no aware
Dechaios said:
Without spoiling anything, was there a post-ending part of the manga? Or is episode 64 gonna be filler? I guess what I'm asking is.. did the manga end at the end of episode 63?

No, 63 covered about the first half of chapter 108. There's a full denoument coming, thankfully.
 

GaimeGuy

Volunteer Deputy Campaign Director, Obama for America '16
Dechaios said:
Without spoiling anything, was there a post-ending part of the manga? Or is episode 64 gonna be filler? I guess what I'm asking is.. did the manga end at the end of episode 63?
Episodes 63 and 64 are covering the final chapter of FMA, whch came out officially a little over two weeks ago, and is 112 pages long.
 

grandjedi6

Master of the Google Search
EviLore said:
(ep 63)
Truth: "CORRECT ANSWER, YOU WIN, HERE'S YOUR HAPPY ENDING"

Despite everything that led up to this...despite all my previous complaints...

I'm still taken aback by how terrible and pathetic the above ending is.

0/10, up from -1/10 thanks to Hohenheim.
There's still 1 more episode left, which should be more than enough time to give generic happy endings to all the other characters too :/
 

B.K.

Member
Why's everyone so disappointed with a happy ending? It's a shonen manga and anime. Isn't a happy ending required for shonen?
 

Bebpo

Banned
B.K. said:
Why's everyone so disappointed with a happy ending? It's a shonen manga and anime. Isn't a happy ending required for shonen?

Difference between "happy" and "boring by the books". FMA's ending hits all the notes in the "generic shounen character" outline, but it's better to wait a week and be more specific after the last ep airs.

I think the people disappointed with the generic happy shounen ending are disappointed because the first FMA anime didn't end up as a generic shounen show and thus was able to have a more interesting and more powerful ending.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Is there something wrong with
a happy ending
?

I thought that particular resolution was pretty spot on and made perfect sense given the general themes of the series. It is kind of an "oh, duh" moment, but it's one that could only really come to mind after all the experiences that they've been through along the way, as well as a maturation and a realization of what "the Truth" really is.
 

remz

Member
Bebpo said:
I think the people disappointed with the generic happy shounen ending are disappointed because the first FMA anime didn't end up as a generic shounen show and thus was able to have a more interesting and more powerful ending.
The first anime ending was fricking stupid.
How did the first series end?
They all
go to nazi germany through the gate
 

DarkKyo

Member
Bebpo said:
Difference between "happy" and "boring by the books". FMA's ending hits all the notes in the "generic shounen character" outline, but it's better to wait a week and be more specific after the last ep airs.

I think the people disappointed with the generic happy shounen ending are disappointed because the first FMA anime didn't end up as a generic shounen show and thus was able to have a more interesting and more powerful ending.
First FMA anime ending was interesting at the time but now that I've experienced the manga story I really can't appreciate the other anime anymore.
firehawk12 said:
What? :lol
It's true. The other side of the gate is our world as a parallel universe and they wind up in Germany before WW2... The idea behind the gate in the first anime is that all the horrible tragedies like war and the dropping of the atom bomb happen on our side in order to fuel the alchemy on their side....


.... yep.
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Bebpo said:
Difference between "happy" and "boring by the books". FMA's ending hits all the notes in the "generic shounen character" outline, but it's better to wait a week and be more specific after the last ep airs.

I think the people disappointed with the generic happy shounen ending are disappointed because the first FMA anime didn't end up as a generic shounen show and thus was able to have a more interesting and more powerful ending.
But didn't most people HATE that ending? The one that was overly complicated and left a ton of major plotlines INCLUDING THE ENTIRE POINT OF THE SERIES dangling, waiting to be resolved in a subpar movie?

I actually kind of liked it for what it was as it worked for that series, which had tossed anyway any real pretense of genre and had pretty thoroughly abandoned most of the themes of the manga for different themes of its own. The manga and Brotherhood, for example, emphasize All is One, One is All, the cycle of life and the connection between one's self and the world. The first anime focused instead on sacrifice, equivalent exchange (which, for that matter, it also threw out in the ending altogether, even downright saying the philosophy was false). The first anime's ending fit with that theme of sacrifice above all else, though, whereas Brotherhood's ending seems to fit the theme of oneness.

They both seem appropriate for their respective approaches to the material, if you ask me. I think Brotherhood's approach is a bit more honest and less cynical, though.
 

DarkKyo

Member
MetatronM said:
Is there something wrong with
a happy ending
?

I thought that particular resolution was pretty spot on and made perfect sense given the general themes of the series. It is kind of an "oh, duh" moment, but it's one that could only really come to mind after all the experiences that they've been through along the way, as well as a maturation and a realization of what "the Truth" really is.
Yeah, I think I like this ending a lot.

Edward becomes the least conceited human with the most power, and he realizes that he can give up his incredible powers and be "humbled" in order to save the life of his younger brother.

What I want to know is how long Al's body+soul would have stayed in that limbo state between the gate and the world.... It made sense for just the body to stay there, but why would his whole self remain? Because god allowed it to see if Ed could really retrieve it?
 
I guess I should post this here seeing how its a old topic on the manga thread.

Black-Wind said:
Just finished FMA from start to finish over the course of this week for the first time . . .LOVED IT!

Its My 2nd favorite complete Manga (1st is Part 1 of Battle Angel).
This is one of those mangas where you don't sigh when someone has a fight . . . I never felt bored when reading any fight which can't be said for most any manga I have read 0_o. Likely because all the characters are so interesting and have their own charm.

The ending was GREAT and charming but I wish they would have
used their dad to bring Al back. I think that would have been a great final gift to his sons seeing as he was a major reason why they did tried to bring their mother back and like he said . . . its his fucking job to do what he can for them.

10 stars!
 
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