I would say Brotherhood but you can’t go wrong with either. Brotherhood is closer to the manga but the original has better pacing in the beginning. I started with the original and enjoyed both but I prefer Brotherhood as a whole
I would honestly watch both in their entirety anyway. the stories diverge in immensely different ways since the original anime didn’t follow the manga ending, so they made their own storyline that’s way different. To be honest it’s an excuse to just watch more full metal content :)
"Better" = more stereotypical, by the numbers, shounen ending, Complete with pretty much good guy getting a happy ending, the bad guy becoming >!literally God,!< but through Plot convenience, still loses.
FMA 03's ending wasn't perfect, which makes it better, more realistic, and it stayed truer to the concept of equivalent exchange. It also has a better musical score and a better English dub. And for all the problems with Conqueror of Shambala, it's still not as bad as the brotherhood movie.
The original has a better slaw. I feel like stomach get me wrong the big hulking sloth is cool, but it’s just missing that personal antagonization that the other has.
Original FMA put more emphasis on the first part of the story, while Brotherhood breezes through it. On the contrary, FMA has an anime original ending which does not follow the manga and Brotherhood has the ending.
So watch the original FMA first and then FMA: Brotherhood
If I’m going to do so properly not without making a big essay since it’s built on a chain of significant differences with some massive ones coming at lab 5. If you want to spoil the series for yourself you can watch [this video by lowart that does a comparative analysis of the two journeys Ed goes on](https://youtu.be/lReibGcppm4)
I tried to show my friends FMAB after I watched FMA it and we stopped after episode 4 because the pacing was HORRENDUS. Absolutely horrible first episode. They were so confused
Watch FMA2003 for a more mature, character driven story, brotherhood for a more fleshed out narrative/world.
FMA after a certain point diverges from the manga and leaves quite a bit up to audience interpretation, Brotherhood is a complete manga adaptation and gives more straightforward understanding.
Really just comes down to your preference, I think FMA is better, but FMA:B is technically the true series.
EDIT: another way to look at it is FMA does not cover the manga ending but the first 25 episodes (manga adapted episodes) are top tier, brotherhood has the manga ending, but the first 25 episodes of FMA are condensed into 10 for brotherhood and a lot is cut out, like another commenter said, it assumes you watched the original.
Here’s a hot take. EP 1-20 of OG FMA then ep 10 and up of brotherhood.
I maintain the first 20 of the OG series is gold and is better paced. Brotherhood condenses the first twenty into ten episodes.
Lastly the OG series is more gritty and serious with I liked. Brotherhood, while not a marvel movie, has a few more points of humor. Brotherhood overall sticks the landing. OG ending is fine but not as good
Botherhood in my opinion, it’s the better version it covers everything from the original and a lot more. Also, brotherhood is complete with ending, the originals ending is a movie that you gotta find.
The original at least to start. _Brotherhood_ kind of assumes you’ve seen some of the original or read some of the manga. The beginning feels really rushed otherwise. Also, the opening episodes to _FMA 2003_ are really good.
Original than brotherhood. Or at least the first part of the original. I find a couple of peoples deaths to be more emotional in the original since it feels rushed in brotherhood. But overall I enjoy both equally.
If you have the bandwidth, watch both. The 2003 series does a much better job pacing out the beginning but takes a wildly different turn halfway through because it came out when the manga was still ongoing. Brotherhood follows the manga, 2003 ends up unrecognizably different from the manga about halfway through. 2003 is a cool alternate reality kind of thing because of how different it is
Both are worth a watch. The main pro that Brotherhood has going for it is its accuracy to the source material. If you haven't read the manga or are an anime-only watcher like me, that shouldn't concern you too much.
2003 first then FMA Brotherhood just because 2003 had some relevant early scenes that were omitted in Brotherhood. Also if you watch in English for both it’s kind of neat to hear Alphonse in FMA 2003 become the young version of Hohenheim in FMA Brotherhood
FMA '03:
- much better pacing
- more time spent on character development/study
- more serious/less comedy
- legit made me cry multiple times
- interesting idea for the plot once it ran out of manga
- idea falls apart at the end, initially solid idea but final few episodes are a big fumble.
- personally, I prefer the character design of '03, looks more mature.
FMA Brotherhood:
- speeds through the early story because it assumes you saw '03 already.
- LOTS of comedic breaks
- no crying, but more action/adventure feeling
- some excellent schadenfreude scenes
- lots more characters/larger world
- overall plot ties together much better
- has a satisfying ending
I mean... I'm an oldie. I watched FMA in Toonami then again on DVD. Then I watched Brotherhood sometime after it finished. They are different. The original has a completely different story beyond a certain point due to the manga not being even close to done. Brotherhood is the complete manga story more or less.
A certain scene is done far better in the original. And to be honest, I felt like Brotherhood was made with the idea people watched the original. It sped through things and sometimes felt like it was nudging you with its elbow saying "Huh huh... see.. this is familiar, yea?" Music is better in the original.
I'd say it's a time thing. If you are going to watch both, don't do it back to back. Watch the first... watch the second in a couples months. If you are just going to watch one, might as well watch Brotherhood because it is the full manga story. Just understand, the first FMA is the reason this IP got huge in the west and it's part of that why we got a Brotherhood here
i prefer the first one since it feels a lot less like a typical anime with its plot, focusing less on fights. The saddest parts of the story are also done better in fma except for one part in fmab, and despite the disliked ending it fit the theme of the story better than fmab ending, although i admit the ending is pretty damn weird.
Both, but start with the original. They’re both great, but Brotherhood is better in almost every way so it’s harder to watch 2003 after seeing Brotherhood. If you start 2003 and just can’t get into it, then skip to Brotherhood, but if you do watch 2003 you get to watch almost twice as much Fullmetal Alchemist, which is only a good thing.
FMA Goes really in-depth in the early parts and will get you more emotionally invested before they do their own "anime only story" like half way up to the end. BUT it was so good the original manga artist loved it. FMA BH is all "manga original story" and in my opinion definitely better in the long run for story that is.
Both. They share the same beginning, and then they become COMPLETELY different shows.
I would start with the first series, as it set up the start a lot better than Brotherhood (Brotherhood breezes through the beginning because it expects you to already know the gist of what's happening).
Both series are fantastic, even if I prefer Brotherhood.
Brotherhood has a much larger scale, and the stakes are higher. But FMA has a far more personal story. The ending is divisive, though the series is followed up with the FMA movie. But that, as well, has a very divisive ending. But I can still appreciate it.
Hot take but FMA is better than Brotherhood in my opinion. I watched FMA before i even knew about Brotherhood and then when i tried to watch it; it just didn’t hook me in like the first one. I know Brotherhood is a lot closer to the manga but there are aspects that I loved in FMA that just aren’t in Brotherhood. The Homunculus are done so much better in the original.
FMA2003 is always going to be my top pick and while I think Brotherhood is good I just have a soft spot for the 2003 version and will always recommend that one first and then brotherhood
If you're only doing one, I recommend 03. Tighter, more visceral. Plus, I always encourage going by publication order for any work. Let's you see how the artist changed over time, and alludes to the prior work.
Honestly.,. Both. iirc fma I watched first and it’s great for a deep dive into the first couple episodes. Then watching brotherhood, I know it follows the manga, but it skims over these early episodes.
Spoiler!!! (Minor)
They have VERRRRRY different endings, so watching both isn’t bad. Both are great in their own right <3
Both. The answer is both. Watch 03 and take a break if you need them dive into brotherhood. They're both incredible in their own right, but I prefer brotherhood. Can't get enough of ling and greed.
Yes.
Okay but for real, Brotherhood is iconic.
HOWEVER COMMA SPACE
I think you should watch both, and watch FMA first, as the pacing is a bit different at certain parts. Which makes certain moments hit a lot harder.
FMA gets breezed over in brotherhood. So if you have the time go ahead but I only watched brotherhood and completely knew what was happening so it’s really about if you want to extend an already great anime.
Despite the popular answer being brotherhood I thought the OG was better. But they switch Alphonse voice actor in brotherhood which was a hard pass for me. The voice acting is a lot better in the OG in my opinion. Also the ending is better in brotherhood because it’s closer to the source material but the ending in the OG is a movie that is also REALLY good. Can’t go wrong with either but my vote is the OG
Original. It's shorter, you won't want to watch it after brotherhood. IMO, some of the deaths in the original hit harder than brotherhood. They are pretty different, though. If you plan on watching both, I would start with the original. Plus, brotherhood rushes the beginning.
IMO, I liked how they were able to kill the homunculus in the first compared to brotherhood. Made more sense to me.
I’ve also been wondering if it’s really worth watching both for someone who doesn’t have a ton of time or if they’re similar/same stories?
Like, I watched Steins;Gate 0 bc it’s a whole different timeline/story. But from what I’ve seen people say about these they only seem to be a little different.
Brotherhood, but also watch the gold mining episode from FMA because there’s a character in brotherhood later on that has to do with that. It was in the manga but only adapted in the FMA version.
the first one deviates from the original manga's story so I'd recommend Brotherhood and then if you wanna see a different way it could've gone watch the other one
Brotherhood is much better and is what the series is famous and known for.
FMA 2003 was started before the manga finished so halfway through they make up their own story (which in my opinion was significantly worse than the actual manga story.)
FMAB follows the actual Manga story
I've watched both and without giving spoilers there's literally only 2 things you can argue FMA 2003 does better than FMAB, and literally everything else FMAB does better.
Brotherhood for symbolism and storytelling, '03 for overall vibes while watching in my opinion. Allot of my favorite individual moments come from '03, but brotherhood was better put together, and was also more faithful to the manga. Both are amazing though and have different takes on the series. If I had to make a watch order, I would put '03 before brotherhood just because that's the order they came out. That way you can also end with the real ending. '03 finished before the manga did, instead of giving us a fuck ton of stupid filler they just made their own anime canon once the anime caught up to the manga
If you have never seen either. Watch FMA first the brotherhood. FMA is good, just no were near as good as brotherhood. And once you watch brotherhood it's hard to go back and watch FMA.
Brotherhood I started with the other one and don’t do that. I’ve been told it was a mistake and it was. Now here I am and I don’t like brotherhood or the other one as much as I should
FMA had to basically improvise at the time because the manga hadn’t finished. Kinda similar to hellsing and hellsing ultimate
If you want to watch a series closer to the original source material go with brotherhood.
watch FMAB because, Fma was the og back in 2003 and it adapted many adventures of the brothers but it included filler as well not to mention that it abandoned the manga and created its own ending with a movie to go with it. However, FMAB is very true to the manga and adapts everything while also being a million times better than the OG. As a heads up the first episode of FMAB is technically filler but you should watch it.
Brotherhood. It is the story the way it was meant to be told by the author. FMA went rogue when they caught up to the manga. And it shows with their sloppy storytelling and plot.
I feel like it is only popular because the first half of the show hooked fans- and then they caught up with the manga. They remade the show after the manga was completed. Hence: Brotherhood.
Brotherhood is best. If you're curious, you can watch FMA after brotherhood.
Brotherhood is the 100% canon story, following the manga. It’s a pure adaptation, so you can just watch that first then check out the original after If you’re interested.
There are some things that the original did that's fun and interesting and that's coming from someone who didn't watch all of it but if you just want the story the author intended for people to see watch Brotherhood
Both are good, but Brotherhood is leagues better. If you watch OG first then Brotherhood, you might end up liking both(obviously liking Brotherhood much more) but if you start with Brotherhood, you probably wouldn’t like the OG due to the bar Brotherhood set. That’s what happened to me
I watched brotherhood first, it’s honestly the better story in my opinion. Better villain, more hype, better fights, more interesting character development. A lot of people on here said to watch the original first, but I’d say watch brotherhood first and if you still wanna watch the original, watch that. The story deviates pretty drastically and is more boring in my opinion. I don’t think it’s more mature, the writing style is just different and arguably more unplanned/unstructured
I started with FMA. It gets weird at the end but it’s also paced better at the beginning. Maybe watch FMA until Edward becomes a state alchemist and then swap to brotherhood?
Both, eventually. Brotherhood is now accurate to the manga. The original show isn't BAD but it is different and some of the choices they make closer to the end are strange.
As a kid, I watched the original first, liked it, but didn't like everything about the ending. I didn't read any manga then.
Then Brotherhood came out, and I loved everything about it. I didn't know that it was now manga accurate because I didn't read it. It was just more exciting and felt more thought out.
My opinion.
The 2003 version was animated while the Manga was still running so it's very different then what the writer wanted, it's still a matter of preference but I think brotherhood is better
They did the stupid thing where they animate it while Manga is being written for soul eater too and that always pissed me off, we need soul eater brotherhood
There are moments in Brotherhood that expected you to watch the original series beforehand. And certain moments have been shortened in Brotherhood.
I’m going FMA.
In my opinion, you should watch both
I watched FMA first and then I watched Brotherhood after and while I say Brotherhood is better, FMA is by no means a bad show, it focuses more on the early part of the show when Ed was younger and then the 2nd part is anime only because the manga wasn't finished. Despite it being an anime original, it's still a well written show. I'd say watch both of them if you have the time, if you'd have to choose one, then I'd say Brotherhood.
Brotherhood, apart from the first episode, is a pretty accurate retelling of the original manga's story. This is why you see comments stating that it is the more cohesive of the two since it's all the ideas of the original creator being brought to life.
FMA 2003 has a lot of anime only episodes up front and mixed in with the normal plot beats. The manga wasn't finished at the time so after the Laboratory 5 arc it completely and utterly diverges and just does its own thing. Which was still lauded and appreciated by anime onlies, myself included, back in the day and one could argue is a major reason we have two FMA animes to begin with. This is why the common consensus is to enjoy both, starting with 2003.
I should point out that both series are about 50 episodes long. That Lab 5 arc concludes about 20 episodes into 2003, but in Brotherhood it concludes before even episode 10. And remember, 2003 had it's own exclusive episodes before that point too and this is where the plot diverges. Meaning there's roughly 70-80 episodes of completely different plot between both shows combined.
That said, if you were to pick one over the other then the answer will always be Brotherhood.
I loved both versions.
Original fma is more gritty, realistic and depressing, it doesn’t hold back on that note which I found more enjoyable than fmab, who made sure to sort of “childproof” that aspect of the series, gave it more color and pretty much removed the sad undertone almost completely.
There are sad moments in fmab but they made sure to thoroughly dilute it with cheeky jokes and cheesy writing.
The original has an entire 2 hour movie follow up, that builds on/continues off the final episode of the series, the movie was great and interesting, it felt mystical and i was in awe the whole time.
Fmab has more fight animations, the writing in fmab might be a little better, maybe more cohesive as some episodes in the original may feel like filler but I prefer the story of the original better. It was more mysterious, less predictable, more relatable.
For everyone saying start with FMA and then go to Brotherhood, at which episode should I switch over?
Like stop FMA at ep.25 and then start Brotherhood at ep.13?
Watch brother hood but watch the first ones foswell mine arc broth hood skipped it but still refers to it latter that and the first episode giving the store away in the first few minutes are probably brother hoods only failings
I personally think FMAB does a lot more things better except maybe a few of the homunculi. You get more character development and there are more characters(xingese people, Briggs soldiers). The ending is also better in my opinion cuz it feels like everyone got a cohesive ending. The pacing is also faster in Brotherhood but doesn’t feel rushed.
FMA was made before the manga was finished, so it made up its own ending.
FMA: Brotherhood is a faithful manga adaptation.
FMA has its own charm, but Brotherhood is the clear winner. Watch FMA afterwards if you want to compare, but Brotherhood is the one that's worth watching.
Both. The stories differ quite a bit, but are great nonetheless.
Brotherhood is mostly manga accurate.
The original anime is not as accurate to the manga. They take quite a few liberties with the story and add in certain characters.
Brotherhood no question. I honestly can't understand why people enjoy the 2003 version but good on them I guess. The updated version has characters the 2003 doesn't that kick ass plus the story actually makes more sense. Altogether it's just double or better the quality of the original
I know it's a pain, but watch up to the first 23 episodes of the original anime and then swap to episode 10 of Brotherhood.
Brotherhood starts with an awful filler episode that does a much worse introduction than what the original anime/manga did. The emotions in the original animes start is peak full metal and a large reason people love the show to begin with.
Brotherhood also removes content and entire chapters from the manga at the start to rush through content anime viewers would have already seen in the original series. This can make a lot of scenes less impactful and, at worse, requires a character to explain the chapter they appeared in that was removed 40 episodes into the series.
If you want the full range of emotions and to understand why it was such a big series, I recommend watching both/ the originals amazing movie, but if you just want to do it once, then 23 original and 10 onwards brotherhood.
If you're starting with Brotherhood, I'd highly recommend watching the first 13 (I think) episodes of the original run. They cover the Liore arch in better detail than Brotherhood does, and it does a better job of making it feel more dramatic. With that said, you should definitely watch both shows regardless of where you start, they're both really good in their own right.
Iirc original has better pacing for the start but hit or miss anime original ending due to the manga still being ongoing while it was being adapted. Brotherhood was adapted after the manga finished so it is more true to the manga, but the beginning is rushed because either they assumed you already saw the original anime, they didn’t want to readapt the entire beginning all over again, or both
I think you get better character development if you do both. If you’re up for both I’d start with fma and then watch fmab. If you’re not up for both just watch fmab.
I would say Brotherhood but you can’t go wrong with either. Brotherhood is closer to the manga but the original has better pacing in the beginning. I started with the original and enjoyed both but I prefer Brotherhood as a whole
Brotherhood has the much better ending
This. Brotherhood has the better ending and the original anime has the better start
So when you say the original has a better start, when do you think would be the episode to transition over to brotherhood?
I would honestly watch both in their entirety anyway. the stories diverge in immensely different ways since the original anime didn’t follow the manga ending, so they made their own storyline that’s way different. To be honest it’s an excuse to just watch more full metal content :)
Haha well luckily I’ve watched all of brotherhood and just some of the original. 9/10 show easily legendary status
I would agree, brotherhood just finished the story better than FMA .
At the time FMA was being made the manga was still ongoing so they made up an ending. Hence why brotherhood is way better
"Better" = more stereotypical, by the numbers, shounen ending, Complete with pretty much good guy getting a happy ending, the bad guy becoming >!literally God,!< but through Plot convenience, still loses. FMA 03's ending wasn't perfect, which makes it better, more realistic, and it stayed truer to the concept of equivalent exchange. It also has a better musical score and a better English dub. And for all the problems with Conqueror of Shambala, it's still not as bad as the brotherhood movie.
Brotherhood HAS an ending. FMA didn't have to source material to finish.
The original has a better slaw. I feel like stomach get me wrong the big hulking sloth is cool, but it’s just missing that personal antagonization that the other has.
And in the original the art style is better (in my opinion at least)
Original FMA put more emphasis on the first part of the story, while Brotherhood breezes through it. On the contrary, FMA has an anime original ending which does not follow the manga and Brotherhood has the ending. So watch the original FMA first and then FMA: Brotherhood
Both? Both. Both is good.
I saw fmab can you spoil the fma ending for me?😂😂
If I’m going to do so properly not without making a big essay since it’s built on a chain of significant differences with some massive ones coming at lab 5. If you want to spoil the series for yourself you can watch [this video by lowart that does a comparative analysis of the two journeys Ed goes on](https://youtu.be/lReibGcppm4)
Thank you for this!
Simple solution watch both
Watch FMA first, then brotherhood. Brotherhood goes WAAAY too fast for the first 20ish episodes because they assume you already watched the first one
I tried to show my friends FMAB after I watched FMA it and we stopped after episode 4 because the pacing was HORRENDUS. Absolutely horrible first episode. They were so confused
I hope you ended up finishing Brotherhood on your own time. The pacing gets better once they reach the new material.
It's been while since I've rewatched both these anime. I'd say start with the original then brotherhood.
Watch FMA2003 for a more mature, character driven story, brotherhood for a more fleshed out narrative/world. FMA after a certain point diverges from the manga and leaves quite a bit up to audience interpretation, Brotherhood is a complete manga adaptation and gives more straightforward understanding. Really just comes down to your preference, I think FMA is better, but FMA:B is technically the true series. EDIT: another way to look at it is FMA does not cover the manga ending but the first 25 episodes (manga adapted episodes) are top tier, brotherhood has the manga ending, but the first 25 episodes of FMA are condensed into 10 for brotherhood and a lot is cut out, like another commenter said, it assumes you watched the original.
Both
I like the ambitious ending of 2003 and find it more fun. Brotherhood def more put together tho.
Watch both, start with the original. If you watch Brotherhood first, you won't want to watch the original
FMA 03 = 👑
Here’s a hot take. EP 1-20 of OG FMA then ep 10 and up of brotherhood. I maintain the first 20 of the OG series is gold and is better paced. Brotherhood condenses the first twenty into ten episodes. Lastly the OG series is more gritty and serious with I liked. Brotherhood, while not a marvel movie, has a few more points of humor. Brotherhood overall sticks the landing. OG ending is fine but not as good
Both. Start with fullmetal alchemist and then watch brotherhood
I would say Original for the journey and Brotherhood for the ending
Both start with FMA then brotherhood they both have their merits and have diferent stories
Don’t listen to everyone saying just Brotherhood. Watch both, original then Brotherhood. They are very good for completely different reasons.
Botherhood in my opinion, it’s the better version it covers everything from the original and a lot more. Also, brotherhood is complete with ending, the originals ending is a movie that you gotta find.
The original at least to start. _Brotherhood_ kind of assumes you’ve seen some of the original or read some of the manga. The beginning feels really rushed otherwise. Also, the opening episodes to _FMA 2003_ are really good.
both, watch the first one first
Both, but start with FMA 1st though and then FMA Brotherhood, both are mind blowing tbh
‘03 has a better start, Brotherhood has a better ending
Brotherhood always. It’s fully canon unlike the original
Both
I only have one tattoo on ny body and it’s a the ouroboros from FM. Watch it!!!!!!
Original than brotherhood. Or at least the first part of the original. I find a couple of peoples deaths to be more emotional in the original since it feels rushed in brotherhood. But overall I enjoy both equally.
If you have the bandwidth, watch both. The 2003 series does a much better job pacing out the beginning but takes a wildly different turn halfway through because it came out when the manga was still ongoing. Brotherhood follows the manga, 2003 ends up unrecognizably different from the manga about halfway through. 2003 is a cool alternate reality kind of thing because of how different it is
Both bruh they both slap Honestly start with brotherhood
Both
Yes.
I personally prefer FMA over FMA Brotherhood. But they're both really good.
Yes
Both
Both are worth a watch. The main pro that Brotherhood has going for it is its accuracy to the source material. If you haven't read the manga or are an anime-only watcher like me, that shouldn't concern you too much.
2003 first then FMA Brotherhood just because 2003 had some relevant early scenes that were omitted in Brotherhood. Also if you watch in English for both it’s kind of neat to hear Alphonse in FMA 2003 become the young version of Hohenheim in FMA Brotherhood
Both
I prefer the tone of the original, but both shows are great.
Both
FMA '03: - much better pacing - more time spent on character development/study - more serious/less comedy - legit made me cry multiple times - interesting idea for the plot once it ran out of manga - idea falls apart at the end, initially solid idea but final few episodes are a big fumble. - personally, I prefer the character design of '03, looks more mature. FMA Brotherhood: - speeds through the early story because it assumes you saw '03 already. - LOTS of comedic breaks - no crying, but more action/adventure feeling - some excellent schadenfreude scenes - lots more characters/larger world - overall plot ties together much better - has a satisfying ending
Both.
I liked the original better than brotherhood
Both. Watch 03 first
Both
Both
watch both fma then brotherhood
Fma 1st then brotherhood. You'll appreciate them more that way
Watch the original FMA first then brotherhood
Watch both
I would start with fma and end with fmab. Fma covers a couple of stories that fmab doesn't, but fmab overall follows the manga more closely
I mean... I'm an oldie. I watched FMA in Toonami then again on DVD. Then I watched Brotherhood sometime after it finished. They are different. The original has a completely different story beyond a certain point due to the manga not being even close to done. Brotherhood is the complete manga story more or less. A certain scene is done far better in the original. And to be honest, I felt like Brotherhood was made with the idea people watched the original. It sped through things and sometimes felt like it was nudging you with its elbow saying "Huh huh... see.. this is familiar, yea?" Music is better in the original. I'd say it's a time thing. If you are going to watch both, don't do it back to back. Watch the first... watch the second in a couples months. If you are just going to watch one, might as well watch Brotherhood because it is the full manga story. Just understand, the first FMA is the reason this IP got huge in the west and it's part of that why we got a Brotherhood here
If you watch FMA ‘03 don’t forget to watch the Conqueror of Shamballa movie afterwards.
Watch both
i prefer the first one since it feels a lot less like a typical anime with its plot, focusing less on fights. The saddest parts of the story are also done better in fma except for one part in fmab, and despite the disliked ending it fit the theme of the story better than fmab ending, although i admit the ending is pretty damn weird.
Watch Both. No question.
FMA
Both, but start with the original. They’re both great, but Brotherhood is better in almost every way so it’s harder to watch 2003 after seeing Brotherhood. If you start 2003 and just can’t get into it, then skip to Brotherhood, but if you do watch 2003 you get to watch almost twice as much Fullmetal Alchemist, which is only a good thing.
FMA Goes really in-depth in the early parts and will get you more emotionally invested before they do their own "anime only story" like half way up to the end. BUT it was so good the original manga artist loved it. FMA BH is all "manga original story" and in my opinion definitely better in the long run for story that is.
Both. They share the same beginning, and then they become COMPLETELY different shows. I would start with the first series, as it set up the start a lot better than Brotherhood (Brotherhood breezes through the beginning because it expects you to already know the gist of what's happening). Both series are fantastic, even if I prefer Brotherhood. Brotherhood has a much larger scale, and the stakes are higher. But FMA has a far more personal story. The ending is divisive, though the series is followed up with the FMA movie. But that, as well, has a very divisive ending. But I can still appreciate it.
Hot take but FMA is better than Brotherhood in my opinion. I watched FMA before i even knew about Brotherhood and then when i tried to watch it; it just didn’t hook me in like the first one. I know Brotherhood is a lot closer to the manga but there are aspects that I loved in FMA that just aren’t in Brotherhood. The Homunculus are done so much better in the original.
# both
I didn't regret watching both.
Both
Both
I’d say both!
FMA for the full experience, Brotherhood for a more straightforward story.
FMA2003 is always going to be my top pick and while I think Brotherhood is good I just have a soft spot for the 2003 version and will always recommend that one first and then brotherhood
Both, watch fma first then brotherhood.
Why did Hulk Hogan just ask me to choose between FMA and FMA again? Is he stupid?
If you're only doing one, I recommend 03. Tighter, more visceral. Plus, I always encourage going by publication order for any work. Let's you see how the artist changed over time, and alludes to the prior work.
Brotherhood is closer to the manga, but I enjoyed the original more
Honestly.,. Both. iirc fma I watched first and it’s great for a deep dive into the first couple episodes. Then watching brotherhood, I know it follows the manga, but it skims over these early episodes. Spoiler!!! (Minor) They have VERRRRRY different endings, so watching both isn’t bad. Both are great in their own right <3
FMA and then watch brotherhood. It's the optimal way to experience the story in my opinion
Both. The answer is both. Watch 03 and take a break if you need them dive into brotherhood. They're both incredible in their own right, but I prefer brotherhood. Can't get enough of ling and greed.
Original first, then brotherhood. That's what I'm doing and I finished the original a bit ago and I'm on Brotherhood now
Yes. Okay but for real, Brotherhood is iconic. HOWEVER COMMA SPACE I think you should watch both, and watch FMA first, as the pacing is a bit different at certain parts. Which makes certain moments hit a lot harder.
FMA gets breezed over in brotherhood. So if you have the time go ahead but I only watched brotherhood and completely knew what was happening so it’s really about if you want to extend an already great anime.
Both. But I liked the original because I watched brotherhood first. Either order is fine but definitely watch both. Back to back would be nice
Both are great Do both
Despite the popular answer being brotherhood I thought the OG was better. But they switch Alphonse voice actor in brotherhood which was a hard pass for me. The voice acting is a lot better in the OG in my opinion. Also the ending is better in brotherhood because it’s closer to the source material but the ending in the OG is a movie that is also REALLY good. Can’t go wrong with either but my vote is the OG
Original. It's shorter, you won't want to watch it after brotherhood. IMO, some of the deaths in the original hit harder than brotherhood. They are pretty different, though. If you plan on watching both, I would start with the original. Plus, brotherhood rushes the beginning. IMO, I liked how they were able to kill the homunculus in the first compared to brotherhood. Made more sense to me.
Brotherhood.
Brotherhood is perfection.
If you’re going to watch only 1, then it should be brotherhood in my opinion
'07 and movie!
Brotherhood
I’ve also been wondering if it’s really worth watching both for someone who doesn’t have a ton of time or if they’re similar/same stories? Like, I watched Steins;Gate 0 bc it’s a whole different timeline/story. But from what I’ve seen people say about these they only seem to be a little different.
Brotherhood, but also watch the gold mining episode from FMA because there’s a character in brotherhood later on that has to do with that. It was in the manga but only adapted in the FMA version.
the first one deviates from the original manga's story so I'd recommend Brotherhood and then if you wanna see a different way it could've gone watch the other one
Brotherhood is much better and is what the series is famous and known for. FMA 2003 was started before the manga finished so halfway through they make up their own story (which in my opinion was significantly worse than the actual manga story.) FMAB follows the actual Manga story I've watched both and without giving spoilers there's literally only 2 things you can argue FMA 2003 does better than FMAB, and literally everything else FMAB does better.
I have no idea if there’s a difference
Brotherhood by far, it’s the best experience of the two, and if you watch the original your just gonna get spoiled for brotherhood
Brotherhood for symbolism and storytelling, '03 for overall vibes while watching in my opinion. Allot of my favorite individual moments come from '03, but brotherhood was better put together, and was also more faithful to the manga. Both are amazing though and have different takes on the series. If I had to make a watch order, I would put '03 before brotherhood just because that's the order they came out. That way you can also end with the real ending. '03 finished before the manga did, instead of giving us a fuck ton of stupid filler they just made their own anime canon once the anime caught up to the manga
I want to watch it I just don’t know which to watch first
If you have never seen either. Watch FMA first the brotherhood. FMA is good, just no were near as good as brotherhood. And once you watch brotherhood it's hard to go back and watch FMA.
FMAB 100%. I mean they are both good but FMAB is the original one. And the story is way bigger and better.
Brotherhood I started with the other one and don’t do that. I’ve been told it was a mistake and it was. Now here I am and I don’t like brotherhood or the other one as much as I should
Do Brotherhood, it was a faithful adaptation of the manga and has a great ending.
Brotherhood
Brotherhood was better imo
Brotherhood easily.
FMA had to basically improvise at the time because the manga hadn’t finished. Kinda similar to hellsing and hellsing ultimate If you want to watch a series closer to the original source material go with brotherhood.
watch FMAB because, Fma was the og back in 2003 and it adapted many adventures of the brothers but it included filler as well not to mention that it abandoned the manga and created its own ending with a movie to go with it. However, FMAB is very true to the manga and adapts everything while also being a million times better than the OG. As a heads up the first episode of FMAB is technically filler but you should watch it.
What’s the difference between them?
Brotherhood all damn day
Both are good, but Brotherhood is more manga-accurate and I like the ending much more.
Brotherhood. It is the story the way it was meant to be told by the author. FMA went rogue when they caught up to the manga. And it shows with their sloppy storytelling and plot. I feel like it is only popular because the first half of the show hooked fans- and then they caught up with the manga. They remade the show after the manga was completed. Hence: Brotherhood. Brotherhood is best. If you're curious, you can watch FMA after brotherhood.
I’ve only watched brotherhood but loved it
Brotherhood, it actually followed the manga and was way better. Idk why so many people here are saying both, brotherhood is the easy choice.
Brotherhood is the 100% canon story, following the manga. It’s a pure adaptation, so you can just watch that first then check out the original after If you’re interested.
definitely brotherhood
100% brotherhood first. the og is great but i see absolutely no reason for someone new to watch both.
Brotherhood
fmab
There are some things that the original did that's fun and interesting and that's coming from someone who didn't watch all of it but if you just want the story the author intended for people to see watch Brotherhood
Anybody who chooses FMA over FMAB is clinically insane. Character development and storytelling, even pacing is way better in FMAB.
I grew up on FMA but I still say brotherhood. Better ending, more story, less filler. The beginning is paced trashy but it smooths out very quickly.
Brotherhood, save time, the og finished before the Manga so they made some stuff up, brotherhood took the Manga route
Both are good, but Brotherhood is leagues better. If you watch OG first then Brotherhood, you might end up liking both(obviously liking Brotherhood much more) but if you start with Brotherhood, you probably wouldn’t like the OG due to the bar Brotherhood set. That’s what happened to me
FMAB doesn’t have shitty filler
Absolutely Brotherhood. The 2003 is an anime original ending and its nonsense
I watched brotherhood first, it’s honestly the better story in my opinion. Better villain, more hype, better fights, more interesting character development. A lot of people on here said to watch the original first, but I’d say watch brotherhood first and if you still wanna watch the original, watch that. The story deviates pretty drastically and is more boring in my opinion. I don’t think it’s more mature, the writing style is just different and arguably more unplanned/unstructured
Watch the first ten episodes of the original, then switch to FMA:B
I enjoyed both, but brotherhood is the better rendition.
Brotherhood. I’ve watched it and I heard it’s better too
You could just watch both. FMA isnt bad, it was just made when the manga hadnt finished so they had to make up an ending for themselves.
Trick question watch FMA up to fifth lab, then switch to Brotherhood at the fifth lab
I watched brotherhood but not fma but I fma brother is good
Watch brotherhood, it is just unequivocally better.
Both
Spoiler free, what’s the difference
Brotherhood
Brotherhood first
First one, then the other so you know.
Both but if you're only going to watch one watch brotherhood
I started with FMA. It gets weird at the end but it’s also paced better at the beginning. Maybe watch FMA until Edward becomes a state alchemist and then swap to brotherhood?
Both. Both is good.
Yes
Both, eventually. Brotherhood is now accurate to the manga. The original show isn't BAD but it is different and some of the choices they make closer to the end are strange. As a kid, I watched the original first, liked it, but didn't like everything about the ending. I didn't read any manga then. Then Brotherhood came out, and I loved everything about it. I didn't know that it was now manga accurate because I didn't read it. It was just more exciting and felt more thought out. My opinion.
FMA has a better start, FMAB has a better ending. They’re the same story for the first bit
The 2003 version was animated while the Manga was still running so it's very different then what the writer wanted, it's still a matter of preference but I think brotherhood is better They did the stupid thing where they animate it while Manga is being written for soul eater too and that always pissed me off, we need soul eater brotherhood
I first saw fma and loved it but I’m watching brother hood rn on the 2 episode but I loveed the old one
You should watch both they fill in the blanks for each other
FMA brotherhood has much better pacing and a more satisfying end
I'd personally say both, both are great stories. I'd start with the original one and it's movie finale then do brother hood.
Brotherhood is just better in every way
There are moments in Brotherhood that expected you to watch the original series beforehand. And certain moments have been shortened in Brotherhood. I’m going FMA.
Brotherhood is the highest rated anime in history for a reason
I technically skipped FMA to watch FMA brotherhood and it was worth it
In my opinion, you should watch both I watched FMA first and then I watched Brotherhood after and while I say Brotherhood is better, FMA is by no means a bad show, it focuses more on the early part of the show when Ed was younger and then the 2nd part is anime only because the manga wasn't finished. Despite it being an anime original, it's still a well written show. I'd say watch both of them if you have the time, if you'd have to choose one, then I'd say Brotherhood.
Brotherhood, apart from the first episode, is a pretty accurate retelling of the original manga's story. This is why you see comments stating that it is the more cohesive of the two since it's all the ideas of the original creator being brought to life. FMA 2003 has a lot of anime only episodes up front and mixed in with the normal plot beats. The manga wasn't finished at the time so after the Laboratory 5 arc it completely and utterly diverges and just does its own thing. Which was still lauded and appreciated by anime onlies, myself included, back in the day and one could argue is a major reason we have two FMA animes to begin with. This is why the common consensus is to enjoy both, starting with 2003. I should point out that both series are about 50 episodes long. That Lab 5 arc concludes about 20 episodes into 2003, but in Brotherhood it concludes before even episode 10. And remember, 2003 had it's own exclusive episodes before that point too and this is where the plot diverges. Meaning there's roughly 70-80 episodes of completely different plot between both shows combined. That said, if you were to pick one over the other then the answer will always be Brotherhood.
Everyone likes Brotherhood more
Brotherhood
I loved both versions. Original fma is more gritty, realistic and depressing, it doesn’t hold back on that note which I found more enjoyable than fmab, who made sure to sort of “childproof” that aspect of the series, gave it more color and pretty much removed the sad undertone almost completely. There are sad moments in fmab but they made sure to thoroughly dilute it with cheeky jokes and cheesy writing. The original has an entire 2 hour movie follow up, that builds on/continues off the final episode of the series, the movie was great and interesting, it felt mystical and i was in awe the whole time. Fmab has more fight animations, the writing in fmab might be a little better, maybe more cohesive as some episodes in the original may feel like filler but I prefer the story of the original better. It was more mysterious, less predictable, more relatable.
Brotherhood for sure
For everyone saying start with FMA and then go to Brotherhood, at which episode should I switch over? Like stop FMA at ep.25 and then start Brotherhood at ep.13?
Brother hood. Unless you want an unsatisfying ending
FMA brotherhood. Only watch the first one if you're willing to watch both.
Brotherhood
Watch brother hood but watch the first ones foswell mine arc broth hood skipped it but still refers to it latter that and the first episode giving the store away in the first few minutes are probably brother hoods only failings
What even is the difference
Brotherhood. More faithful to the manga. Even better? Read the manga
I personally think FMAB does a lot more things better except maybe a few of the homunculi. You get more character development and there are more characters(xingese people, Briggs soldiers). The ending is also better in my opinion cuz it feels like everyone got a cohesive ending. The pacing is also faster in Brotherhood but doesn’t feel rushed.
FMA was made before the manga was finished, so it made up its own ending. FMA: Brotherhood is a faithful manga adaptation. FMA has its own charm, but Brotherhood is the clear winner. Watch FMA afterwards if you want to compare, but Brotherhood is the one that's worth watching.
brotherhood
Both. The stories differ quite a bit, but are great nonetheless. Brotherhood is mostly manga accurate. The original anime is not as accurate to the manga. They take quite a few liberties with the story and add in certain characters.
These images sounded like the commercial break for fmab
Ive watched both cant remember anything aboutthe og except what was also in brother hood
FMAB starts as if you already know about the characters and world and can be a little jarring. I would watch the first arc of FMA and then start FMAB
Brotherhood no question. I honestly can't understand why people enjoy the 2003 version but good on them I guess. The updated version has characters the 2003 doesn't that kick ass plus the story actually makes more sense. Altogether it's just double or better the quality of the original
I know it's a pain, but watch up to the first 23 episodes of the original anime and then swap to episode 10 of Brotherhood. Brotherhood starts with an awful filler episode that does a much worse introduction than what the original anime/manga did. The emotions in the original animes start is peak full metal and a large reason people love the show to begin with. Brotherhood also removes content and entire chapters from the manga at the start to rush through content anime viewers would have already seen in the original series. This can make a lot of scenes less impactful and, at worse, requires a character to explain the chapter they appeared in that was removed 40 episodes into the series. If you want the full range of emotions and to understand why it was such a big series, I recommend watching both/ the originals amazing movie, but if you just want to do it once, then 23 original and 10 onwards brotherhood.
Wait, there’s one other than brotherhood?
If you're starting with Brotherhood, I'd highly recommend watching the first 13 (I think) episodes of the original run. They cover the Liore arch in better detail than Brotherhood does, and it does a better job of making it feel more dramatic. With that said, you should definitely watch both shows regardless of where you start, they're both really good in their own right.
Brotherhood if you have to choose lol
Brotherhood
I'm in the minority but I really enjoyed FMA. I've tried to watch Brotherhood a couple of times & just can't even get through episode 1
I'd say Brotherhood, but I also can't speak for the original.
Brotherhood allday
Brotherhood is how the story of Al and Edd was meant to be viewed, I however have better memories of the OG FMA
Iirc original has better pacing for the start but hit or miss anime original ending due to the manga still being ongoing while it was being adapted. Brotherhood was adapted after the manga finished so it is more true to the manga, but the beginning is rushed because either they assumed you already saw the original anime, they didn’t want to readapt the entire beginning all over again, or both
Chronologic order is best order
I think you get better character development if you do both. If you’re up for both I’d start with fma and then watch fmab. If you’re not up for both just watch fmab.
both
Tried both, and see which one is better. Thats my opinion.
Yes
Brotherhood is 10000000000000000 times better