Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood review by Chandler Wang

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an anime that's more or less in the vein of classic cartoons, kind of like Avatar: The Last Airbender. Although this makes it a bit cheesy at times, the show is also surprisingly dark in places and is a strong show overall. It has a large and interesting cast of characters for both protagonists and antagonists, has an intriguing and complex plot, and has many underlying themes and messages. Once the show got going, the ending credits of each episode made me both frustrated for the episode to end and excited for the next to begin. The show explores many different ideas and conflicts through its various characters and settings - war, revenge, redemption, death, hatred, forgiveness, and humanity. One aspect of the show I particularly enjoyed was the Seven Deadly Sins - Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Wrath, Envy, and Sloth - personified. It was interesting to see each of these sins portrayed as a villain, and it made for unique characters that you wanted to see develop. When Envy or Sloth first step onto screen, you know what sin they're based on and expect them to be jealous or lazy, but wonder just how their sin is going to be portrayed. The heroes of the story are also interesting, often with troubled backstories and interesting motives. The show is an engaging and interesting watch and has much to offer throughout. 8.5/10.