joy and shadows

I have been told that many of the 'filler' eps of FMA become less-fillery as time goes on-- all roads lead to the main plot. Still haven't watched this weekends, but yes. Al needs hugs. ~~From Winry.~~

From:

I can kindasorta see why ppl call Winry a canon Sue, since she does seem to have taken a page out of Avril Lavigne's Book O'Fashion, but I like her nonetheless.

Oh, and Ed in the shower scene? So. Wrong. *snicker* Jailbait.

From:

IMO, Winry can't be a canon Sue, because any Sue who knew what she was doing would've dived for Ed's crotch in that scene instead of the frikkin' pocketwatch. XD

Ed in the shower is the reason I caved and added "anime jailbait" to my LJ interests.

From:

*snicker* If Ed had any brains, he'd go to the same mechanic as Jet and Vash to get that little something extra installed.

From:

I suppose when all you have to do is clap your hands together to make just about anything, you don't think as much about the 'extras!'

From:

That's true. XD

From:

Its filler is not nearly as entertaining as Samurai Champloo filler, and I enjoy the show a lot more when we are not having a Wacky Adventures of Ed and Al episode. While this is an exaggeration, over 52 eps it's unavoidable that the plot will come in dribs and drabs.

The plot in FMA is built more gradually in the first season with a greater emphasis on developing the characters and the political background of the world they inhabit, often through dialogue. There's actually only 2 truly filler episodes in FMA, episode 10 in the first season and another in season 2. Even those have plot hidden away in them. Most of the time FMA does plot-centric episodes or transition episodes. I differentiate betwen transition and filler as the former being expository plot wise and moving things along, while the latter is entertainment centering around the characters and not the plot. Nearly everything in FMA has to do with the plot, however, sometimes quite indirectly. In the second season the plot action moves along faster because we're more familiar with the characters and how they will react to a given situation. Actually, starting from episode 21 it's an almost unrelenting plot ride, with the exception of one episode way down the line that's 92% filler and 8% plot, but much loved by fans anyway for its quirkyness.

I think you and I just have taste-differences when it comes to things like comparing to SC to FMA. For the majority of its episodes (I'm only to 21 right now), I've found SC to be alternating between amusing and boring. It rarely emotionally moves me because I don't feel all that connected to the characters, and the lack of plot has long frustrated me because random antics isn't enough for me, and I want my shows to be more ambitious and exciting than that. FMA is all about the plot and all about the details that require you to pay attention, while putting the characters in what feels like real enough danger that I care about their safety. In SC, the only time I really worried about anyone's safety was in episodes 20 and 21, when I actually thought Jin or Spike might die. Up until then I've been unconcerned about their fates, and that unconcerned feeling often left me feeling apathetic toward the characters. I never felt a need to watch more SC except after episode 20. Whereas FMA was crack for me, and I was always frustrated at having to wait for an episode to come out.

SC has also had the odd side effect (for me) that, while we see way more time spent on with the characters doing daily things in SC, I often feel I don't know the characters as well as I do the characters in FMA. Like, everything we know about Mugen and Jin and Fuu comes from knowing what it's like to walk down a road with them in the middle of nowhere and what it's like to fight with them-- we know a lot about superficial stuff but less about internal stuff. Heck, 21 episodes in and we've still gotten only 1 of 3 backstories. Looking at FMA in episode 21, I felt like I knew the two main characters on a much deeper level.

Regardless, I will hopefully get to watch the rest of SC soon and get caught up to where you are.

I would like to see more of the Seven Deadly Sins; so far Lust and Gluttony have put in an appearance, and my guess is that Pretty Bishie Guy who was Head Priest is Pride. That leaves Sloth, Greed, Jealousy, and Anger

Hm. You're not quite caught up to the CN episodes, then, which just aired #19. What episodes exactly have you seen?

I won't adress your theory there (you'll find out as you watch), but I can say that you eventually meet all the Sins over the course of the series. The villains, Sins and otherwise, all get a fair share of character development.

From:

sarcasticval.livejournal.com

Thank you. You've summed up my extreme love for FMA in words far more eloquent than I could ever hope to use. Word, gal. Word. I can't comment on the SC (And I think South Carolina every time I see that abbreviation) content of your post as I've only seen the first six episodes, but I have mad love for you referring to the characters as Jin and Spike, because that's totally how I think of them to.

*scurries back to her little fangirl corner of the internet*

From:

::rereads::

Oh my god. I *did* say Jin and Spike.

Well that's a slip if ever there was one.

From:

uiggu.livejournal.com

Very Freudian!

From:

I have noticed that each ep does tie in to the main storyline, yes, but my only complaint is that FMA does move along slowly. The only reason I have a bitch with this is because I have the attention span of a gnat with ADD, and at 52 eps, FMA is a significant time investment. So far stock price has risen about 25%, if you want to think of it that way, but I guess I have a little farther to go before I start seeing why the anime community has multiple spontaneous orgasms when anyone says "FMA!" (Except when Hughes is onscreen. I can understand that. XD)

I would agree we have taste differences, but hell, anyone with the same tastes as me would be downright boring. As far as Samurai Champloo is concerned, the grumble about the series from the get-go was that it had no plot, and you and I are in total agreement there. However, most of the series I've watched recently have been TEH ANGST. NTHT was angsty, RahXephon is angsty, FMA is angsty, Bleach is funny/angsty, Saiyuki is funny/angsty... you get the idea. And while I may have my Fangirl License revoked for saying so, I'm not an angst whore, and TEH ANGST gets old after a while.

Which is where SC comes in. This is not to say that there is no angst in the series; what I like is that it's not the main point of the series. The main point of the series - to me - is the journey they're taking and what happens along the way. Not every event has to change the world. I like seeing Mugen being an ass. I like seeing Fuu begin to grow up. I like Jin, especially when he interacts with Shino. SC is funny and snarky and irreverent, and the typical anime archetypes get turned on their ear when SC gets hold of them. Like, the gay Dutchman. The rapping bigshot. The Americans playing baseball. No plot? No problem. No series has ever made me laugh out loud like SC. And get a little misty, too, here and there. If the series hasn't gone over their personalities with a microscope... well, to tell you the truth, it's something of a relief.

I also like that SC has bluntly addressed several issues that don't appear that often in anime, specifically drugs, sex, and Christianity. For example, when Jin falls for Shino, it feels... real, for lack of a better word. Or, if the situation is exaggerated, you can still watch it and laugh and say "yeah, I know what that's like."

It's kind of like this - I already kindasorta know how FMA is going to end. Not because I got spoiled, but because it hasn't broken any conventions yet. Someone/many ppl will die, possibly Ed or Al, and Ed/Al will either 1. not find the Philosopher's Stone (anime rarely gives a happy ending) or 2. will find/make it, but it will be at such a high price that they will wish they hadn't done it. If it doesn't turn out that way, I will be happily and pleasantly surprised.

That having been said, I'm sure you'll hear more from me about FMA before the ride is over, and it's certainly engaging enough. The alchemy appeals to me on a professional level, besides that. We'll see, as the episodes tick off. :)

From:

jaina.livejournal.com

I just finished the baseball episode.

...

OMG FAVORITE EPISODE OF ANYTHING EVER.

From:

I know. They canNOT redub the Americans. The Engrish put tears in my eyes.

From:

uiggu.livejournal.com

WORD WORD WORD

Oh my God. I cried laughing.

From:

They had me at "FUCK THAT!" I was laughing so hard that my husband came in from the other room to see what was so funny.

From:

It's kind of like this - I already kindasorta know how FMA is going to end. Not because I got spoiled, but because it hasn't broken any conventions yet. Someone/many ppl will die, possibly Ed or Al, and Ed/Al will either 1. not find the Philosopher's Stone (anime rarely gives a happy ending) or 2. will find/make it, but it will be at such a high price that they will wish they hadn't done it. If it doesn't turn out that way, I will be happily and pleasantly surprised.

I could look at that theory and say "both" and "neither" at the same time, and I wouldn't be wrong. It's.... way complicated in ways I can't even begin to explain. But I was surprised. Oh, was I suprised. I made "WTFOMG?!" faces several times while watching. In fact, you should remain spoiler free as long as you can, because suprise is what is best about FMA. FMA bludgeons you over the head with teh surprise, and induces the orgasms you mentioned earlier, even as your brain melts on the floor. I think if you read spoilers because you're not really sure if you're going to like the series, you'll be shooting yourself in the foot.

I don't know if, objectively, FMA broke any conventions. I guess it means what kind of conventions you're talking about. I think it's not so much that the things it contains (magical boy hero with daddy issues, angst, action adventure, heartbreak and tragedy, loss, coming-of-age stuff, dirty politics) that I found made it stood out as the overal product. The depth of character development (I love all of them, even the baddies, so very much) and the intricacies of the plot, all happening in this alternately bright/colorful and darkly animated world... and the shock value. FMA owns my soul for shock value. I guess it's just that you take your average anime with these things, and make it 5 times better.

But anyway, I could sum up my appeal for FMA in one sentence: It felt like a novel to me. I love books, and for me FMA was like a novel in the guise of an anime. Maybe that's why the talkyness and slower development didn't bother me. But after episode 15 I was in love with the show... and in the middle of the second season I was ready to declare it "best anime ever", hinged only on the condition that the ending didn't leave me burned like Evangelion's ending. And then when I ended up loving the ending (episode 51, the last episode, is one of the ones I've rewatched the most), that was it. It can't get better than this as I can see. It's like someone thought of the perfect anime made just for me, suited to all my tastes and all my loves, animated it, and dropped it on my local website for downloading.

You know how the Sixth Sense spawned a lot of movies with "twisted WTF endings"? I would be happy if FMA spawned a new surge of intelligent action/adventure anime. That would make me happy.

Okay, that's enough gushing. I'm sure you've heard all that before. Sorry, it's just FMA tends to make me gush.

From:

pellaz wrote a killer post-series fic. KILLER. It's slightly Elricesty but so, so, so worth it.

From:

I thought you were watching it on AS?

Then again it's hard to keep track of how far everyone is ahead.

From:

Yeah, AS, but I ran into too many spoilers, woes. I still don't know everything but I do have a rough idea of how it ends now (but not, amusingly, a lot of the stuff in the middle!).

From:

It's too bad that you were spoiled. Still, at least you can enjoy the stuff in the middle. :)

From:

I always figure if the spoilers ruin it entirely, it wasn't very good in the first place. XD

From:

I did just have a thought, though. Racism and genocide are big themes in FMA, one that's hinted at in early episodes and really starts to kick in with the 20s episodes. The subtle way that the issue is handled over the course of the series was not something I'd seen in anime before unless it was about Japanese history. War is a popular anime theme, but genocide, not so much. At least in the anime I've watched so far.

specifically drugs, sex, and Christianity. For example, when Jin falls for Shino, it feels... real, for lack of a better word.

I also love the drugs, sex, Christianity, prostitution, and other stuff that historically was part of that period. The historical setting, and those aspects of it, have been one of the things that made me keep watching SC.

Shino was the prostitute that Jin fell for and wanted to save, right? I also liked that storyline. It felt mature, and deftly handled. Sincere.

And while I may have my Fangirl License revoked for saying so, I'm not an angst whore, and TEH ANGST gets old after a while.

:laugh: I'm an angst whore. Probably became one some time between The X Files and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Although, I know what you mean about one type of anime getting tiring after a while. FMA does push hard to be the Angstiest Anime Ever, but for some reason that never bothered me much because the characters never seemed to let it be all they were about. I don't define Ed, Al, or any other characters solely by their angst the way I define Sasuke (from Naruto) solely by his angst. Total angst gets boring cause a character that wallows is dull. I require balance, and FMA always manages to beat me near to death with angst, then turns around and says, "Don't cry! Laugh! We love you! Hug an Alphonse!" and everything seems okay again for a while.

I'm sure you'll hear more from me about FMA before the ride is over, and it's certainly engaging enough.

That's good to know! I'd suggest you finish season 1 (up to ep 25) at least.

In the last week I've posted 1-10 in fansubs on my journal. I also started a community,

sneezeanime, where I posted them, and where

donna_c_punk has promised to post episodes 11 and 12 in the next few days. In the next month or so I plan to post the whole series, with probably 5-10 episodes a week, depending on how nice yousendit decides to be to us.

From:

War is a popular anime theme, but genocide, not so much. At least in the anime I've watched so far.

Understandable, esp. since the Japanese have glossed over issues like persecution of the Ainu. Introducing the concept into popular entertainment is one way of raising the awareness of it, and where only harmony is supposed to exist, the discordant notes get tuned out. I wonder if Ishbal is something of an allegory for situations like the Balkans.

As far as angst in FMA is concerned, it's Alphonse who tugs at my heartstrings far more than his brother. Ed's your standard overachiever, and he really does need a swirlie (at least at this point in the series) but Al's so sweet and innocent. He definitely got the short end of the stick, but he's making the best of it that he can. It was a stroke of genius to get a kid about his age to voice him in English instead of a female VA, as it makes Al so much more believeable.

scathachdhu said it werll - you hear his voice and it breaks your heart that the poor baby has to go through such hell.

Thanks for your offer of the fansubs.

scathachdhu was nice enough to send me all 51 eps, so I'm all set until the end. :)

From:

aitai.livejournal.com

augh!!! i love samurai champloo...still somewhat behind at episode 7 or 8 or thereabout. jin just rocks so much *sigh*

From:

Jin... is wonderful. Wait until ep 11. *gets all weepy at the thought*

From:

Just one more thought-- I totally agree with you about Hughes. I find him one of the hottest FMA characters, possibly the hottest. And if you like him now, wait till you see him take off his glasses in episode 23 or 24. OMGhe'ssomyanimeboyhusband.

From: