Yup, this is just as it sounds. A rant. If you dont like my opinions, I suggest you leave this page.....
Let me start off by saying that I, like most of you, watched the first FMA as an opening up and introduction to the series. True i have a deep connection to the first anime because of this fact, but this is not the only thing i am relying on to write this article. I am going to use the following paragraphs to look at both of the series from a somewhat "logical" standpoint and also compare and contrast some of the events in the anime to tell you what i liked and what i didnt.
First the definition of anime that is true to my opinion and through my experiences watching the many anime that i have, is this -----
"Life is NOT good and sometimes you just have to push through with the hand that God has decided to deal you."
True in real life and true of the message of anime.
Truth is that we as Americans are used to the "fairy tail " endings in cartoons such as with Disney. Children are shielded from the world and what it is really like until it hits them all at once when they are older (like me) Maybe if the children grow up knowing the pain of those that have suffered they wouldnt laugh about death and torture, like so many of the young children do these days. Japanese anime has and always will show and expose children to those realities.
To make sure this is "Fact" and not just my opinion, lets take a look at some other random anime and their meanings ---
Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles/ xxxHolic - Watanuki and Syaoran had to make MANY sacrifices in order to save the ones they loved. Syoaran created a life that had no meaning and risked killing that life to save his true love. And the message of xxxHolic is all too clear that EVERYTHING comes with a price of EQUAL value. Basically if you want something in life you are going to HAVE to pay for it.
Kuroshitsuji 1&2 - Enter 10 year old Ciel Phantomhive who had EVERYTHING taken away from him in the matter of one night. Fire killed his parents and he was captured and taken in on the black market as a sex slave. Was rescued by the salvation of a demon and is now hell bent on revenge. The demon, Sebastian Michealis, now a butler and faithfully serving and carrying out the youn ciel's wishes and acts of revenge..... in exchange for his very soul.
And yes in case you were wondering, even main stream battle manga like
Bleach - Ichigo: "If fate is a millstone, then we are the grist. If i cannot protect them (his friends) from the wheel(of fate, death,ect), then i at least wish for the power to protect them while they live. Ichigo even knows that even a SOUL REAPER cannot escape death.
If the three shows discussed above was not enough of a variety or not enough information was provided to satisfy your tastes, then lets go into the history of anime.....
It basically started around the beginning of ww2 and, being the time, most of the themes that they incorporated into their works were of strife and hardship (If you have a "Happy ending" Like Brotherhood, that kind of defeats the purpose.) They do this in order to make their country's youth as well as the rest of the world understand the suffering that they went through and are still going through b/c of their "one child law" that was only purt in place to regulate the population of their ever-shrinking territory.
Now what does all of this have to do with Brotherhood? Well, the reason that i hate this series soooo bad is because it messes with the rule of life and death and obviously "Equivelent exchange" flew right out the window. You can NOT gain anything without losing and cannot lose without gain........but, when God is involved.....the rules change. He wouldn't return your body to Earth if He had already taken it to the other side.....That is why the first anime is so touching, They knew their chances were 10 to none and God was winning, but in the end (when Ed was in London) he realizes that the good that he had done for people in his own world and the fact that he was still alive in London was the "gain" that he recieved. They knew that just being alive and having each other was enough and that you shouldnt want anymore them what you have. Live for the day and enjoy life.
Let me start off by saying that I, like most of you, watched the first FMA as an opening up and introduction to the series. True i have a deep connection to the first anime because of this fact, but this is not the only thing i am relying on to write this article. I am going to use the following paragraphs to look at both of the series from a somewhat "logical" standpoint and also compare and contrast some of the events in the anime to tell you what i liked and what i didnt.
First the definition of anime that is true to my opinion and through my experiences watching the many anime that i have, is this -----
"Life is NOT good and sometimes you just have to push through with the hand that God has decided to deal you."
True in real life and true of the message of anime.
Truth is that we as Americans are used to the "fairy tail " endings in cartoons such as with Disney. Children are shielded from the world and what it is really like until it hits them all at once when they are older (like me) Maybe if the children grow up knowing the pain of those that have suffered they wouldnt laugh about death and torture, like so many of the young children do these days. Japanese anime has and always will show and expose children to those realities.
To make sure this is "Fact" and not just my opinion, lets take a look at some other random anime and their meanings ---
Tsubasa Resevoir Chronicles/ xxxHolic - Watanuki and Syaoran had to make MANY sacrifices in order to save the ones they loved. Syoaran created a life that had no meaning and risked killing that life to save his true love. And the message of xxxHolic is all too clear that EVERYTHING comes with a price of EQUAL value. Basically if you want something in life you are going to HAVE to pay for it.
Kuroshitsuji 1&2 - Enter 10 year old Ciel Phantomhive who had EVERYTHING taken away from him in the matter of one night. Fire killed his parents and he was captured and taken in on the black market as a sex slave. Was rescued by the salvation of a demon and is now hell bent on revenge. The demon, Sebastian Michealis, now a butler and faithfully serving and carrying out the youn ciel's wishes and acts of revenge..... in exchange for his very soul.
And yes in case you were wondering, even main stream battle manga like
Bleach - Ichigo: "If fate is a millstone, then we are the grist. If i cannot protect them (his friends) from the wheel(of fate, death,ect), then i at least wish for the power to protect them while they live. Ichigo even knows that even a SOUL REAPER cannot escape death.
If the three shows discussed above was not enough of a variety or not enough information was provided to satisfy your tastes, then lets go into the history of anime.....
It basically started around the beginning of ww2 and, being the time, most of the themes that they incorporated into their works were of strife and hardship (If you have a "Happy ending" Like Brotherhood, that kind of defeats the purpose.) They do this in order to make their country's youth as well as the rest of the world understand the suffering that they went through and are still going through b/c of their "one child law" that was only purt in place to regulate the population of their ever-shrinking territory.
Now what does all of this have to do with Brotherhood? Well, the reason that i hate this series soooo bad is because it messes with the rule of life and death and obviously "Equivelent exchange" flew right out the window. You can NOT gain anything without losing and cannot lose without gain........but, when God is involved.....the rules change. He wouldn't return your body to Earth if He had already taken it to the other side.....That is why the first anime is so touching, They knew their chances were 10 to none and God was winning, but in the end (when Ed was in London) he realizes that the good that he had done for people in his own world and the fact that he was still alive in London was the "gain" that he recieved. They knew that just being alive and having each other was enough and that you shouldnt want anymore them what you have. Live for the day and enjoy life.
