Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist is an anime series directed by Seiji Mizushima, written by Sho Aikawa, musically composed by Michiru Oshima, and produced by Masahiko Minami, Hiro Maruyama, Ryo Oyama, and Studio Bones. It was the first adaptation of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series, which it was written by Hiromu Arakawa and published by Enix from 2001 to 2003 and Square Enix from 2003 to 2010.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Breathtaking animation, especially during the fight scenes.
 * 2) Very appealing art style and unique character designs.
 * 3) Good voice acting in both sub and dub.
 * 4) A large, great cast of characters, each one possessing a unique personality.
 * 5) Excellent character development.
 * 6) A very well fleshed out combat system. Perhaps not as much as your typical shonen battle anime and manga such as Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, and Hunter X Hunter, among others, but Alchemy is still used in a very unique and interesting way.
 * 7) Incredible, action packet, heart-pounding fight scenes.
 * 8) Well written drama.
 * 9) Interesting themes which often touch on the human condition.
 * 10) Nice comedy which has been worked well into the story so it doesn't seem out of place, such as the running gag of Edward Elric being mocked for his short size.
 * 11) The homunculi are great villains.
 * 12) Phenomenal soundtrack.
 * 13) The origins of the Homuncuili were more interesting in this series than in Brotherhood. In Brotherhood, they were simply an extension of Father's soul, whereas in this series they were the products of failed human transmutation, which fits better within the themes of Fullmetal Alchemist.

The Only Bad Quality

 * 1) The ending is very flawed. No character has changed from how they were in the beginning. There have been no revelations. Even as the show tries to show that the Elric brothers are coming into their own as they pursue the stone, they're really not, because they keep on making the same mistakes over and over again without… fundamental change in their ideals.

Videos
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Trivia

 * The Chimera in FMA has been a very notorious scene of the series and it has what has led to Shou Tucker being extremely reviled in the anime community even Hiromu Arakawa herself did not like the character either.