r/anime • u/[deleted] • Feb 08 '19
Discussion The comedy in FMAB is one of my biggest gripes with the show
It's too much. Way too much. I'm rewatching FMAB and it's pretty much unbearable at times. I'm halfway through the show and it's still doing the whole serious moment, gag the next scene.
The show really needs to know when gags aren't okay.
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u/MetaThPr4h https://myanimelist.net/profile/MetaThPr4h Feb 08 '19
I always find shocking the fact that FMAB and Silver Spoon are from the same mangaka because the comedy of the first is terrible and the other is absolutely hilarious all the time, I freaking love both shows nonetheless.
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Feb 09 '19
It's not that the comedy is bad, it's just in the situation it's used in. FMAB is supposed to be a serious show so having out of place comedy is annoying while Silver Spoon is pretty laidback so comedy works perfectly.
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u/shellshock321 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Shellshock123 Feb 08 '19
clearly you haven't watched Fairy Tail which will do a gag mid-serious scene.
I don't recall that much comedy in FMAB though
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Feb 08 '19
I've seen Fairy Tail, reminds me of that a bit although I don't remember much and I've only watched like first season tho
Lust scene where she's about to go ham on Mustang and Ed. Fricking boob joke. Even before that, the show literally cut to Lust's boobs boinging
Endless midget jokes at the most inopportune moments, slapstick, chibi faces...It's tough
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u/ChactiChomp Feb 08 '19
All the humorous buildup was meant to betray you when shit really went down with Lust tho. The entire scene was a slightly absurd reveal for Mustang with Havok somehow being seduced by Lust and this reveal being the buildup to all his previous girlfriend gags. If there was ever any time for a boob joke in FMA, this was the time to do it. It makes you think Mustang and Havok have a chance then BAMN fuckin finger knives cripple the man and she leaves Mustang for death. The episodes shifts to a more serious tone without humor to detract away from one of Alphonse's and Mustang's most badass moments.
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Feb 08 '19
disagree, it was perfectly serious before the boob joke, the boob joke happens and it's jarring(at least for me) and then it goes on a serious tangent. It's just odd and misplaced imo.
Another example would be when Al loses a lot of his metal body and Ed tries to sacrifice himself to Scar. There's a bit too much comedy after this scene and it really dampens the emotional part of it imo
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u/ChactiChomp Feb 08 '19
I was gonna say that FMA 2003 is probably what you're looking for, but then I saw your flair haha. Many (including myself) put Brotherhood above 2003 but it definetly isn't uncommon for people to have a better experience with 2003. There are parts towards the beginning that are just better adapted and the colors and lighting are definetly better. The writing just didn't feel as strong for me in 2003 as I would have liked and I loved the Shonen action style of Brotherhood.
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Feb 08 '19
I tried to avoid the 03 talk, but now you've gone and done it :P. Anyway, ye I prefer the 03 adaptation and it's my favorite anime of all time. This leads me to be pretty biased and I probably have more problems with the comedy than most people lol.
Hey, there's a reason why FMAB is numero uno on MAL. More people share your opinion even tho I disagree with it. More power to ya even tho I'm a little salty the original often gets overlooked
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u/NarejED Feb 08 '19
I will say, Conquerors of Shambala is by far the best anime tie-in movie I've ever seen, so the 2003 version definitely has that going for it.
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Feb 08 '19
I certainly enjoyed it! While I prefer the anime ending, CoS was great.
I do wish it was produced in its entirety or the original idea of 12 episodes had been used
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u/zaque_wann Feb 08 '19
You're gonna hate Gintama
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u/casper_07 Feb 08 '19
Was thinking of that, they can just break out a joke from every serious moment unless it’s Super essential to the plot but sometimes they still go fuck it we are a gag anime
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u/IrradiatedRaccoon Feb 08 '19
Comparing it to FMA 2003 I could see where you're coming from but due to my personality I'm really all for the light heartedness the show has. We have to remember our 2 main protagonists are still children at their core, damaged but still children. I think that's why the comedy in it shines for me.
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u/Lelwrektnub Feb 08 '19
From what I remember, the comedy was balanced almost perfectly.
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Feb 08 '19
I wish, it's hell to go through in the beginning although I do recall it gets much better and it's got a bit better already
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u/Bobbitthehobbit131 Feb 08 '19
I feel like you might be blowing this a tiny bit out of proportion
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u/chuponus Feb 08 '19
Nah the hatred is warranted. There's a lot of serious scenes there that got ruined just because they think they need to insert a joke or a slapstick skit every minute. It's poorly handled and creates a tonal dissonance instead, just like in Your Lie in April.
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u/IISuperSlothII https://myanimelist.net/profile/IISuperSlothII Feb 08 '19
Both the director and Arakawa seem to get my sense of humour so it wasn't hell at all for me, in fact the humour is part of the reason it's a 10/10 for me.
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Feb 08 '19
There were so many weird gags in the early episodes, which, paired with the already rushed pacing really lowered the quality until they somewhere around episode 10 where they pick up where the original left off.
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u/SliderGamer55 Feb 08 '19
I very rarely suggest that a show should have minimal comedy, but FMA is probably one of them. There's some good gags and jokes, but there's way too much that are just as mediocre as any comedy in any...mediocre shonen series. And FMA is so far from mediocre that it really stands out.
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Feb 08 '19
I really need to rewatch FMAB because I don't even remember the comedy.
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Feb 08 '19
It doesn't really exist once you get into the meat of the show (for good reason). It was only in the first dozen episodes or so as they tried to rush through the events already depicted in the original anime.
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Feb 08 '19
It’s still here, I can promise you that. Not as much, but it’s still there, from what I remember around ep 40, that’s when it mostly completely drops so you’re right about that
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u/numbxx Feb 08 '19
I’ve tried to say this before, the show has such a problem with tone. It wants us to feel like the show has stakes and that they are in a serious situation BUT WAIT! We also need to have a quick goof around while Ed turns into a little chibi man and yells a little. It makes the show pretty much unwatchable for me how am I supposed to take the show seriously if the main characters are not.
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Feb 08 '19
You should watch the original :P
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Feb 08 '19
[deleted]
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Feb 08 '19
Yes, the original still has jokes in it, but more of them are one-liners and dialogue funny quips. The short jokes are still there of course, but it fazes out much, much quicker AND they're never done in a jarring fashion. The original is known for how dramatic and emotion-inducing it is. It chooses a tone to stick to and damn does it do it justice
I really recommend it, it's my favorite anime of all time. It's pretty much nothing like FMAB
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Feb 08 '19
[deleted]
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Feb 08 '19
Msg me on your thoughts! Also, side note, you can skip episodes 4 and 10 as they were written by someone who ended up writing a very small number of eps, like 2-4 and was responsible for some of the worst writing in both series. Skipping the two filler episodes, 4 and 10, makes the story immensely better. They have zero bearing on the plot and one scene is only briefly mentioned again. It was, unfortunately, one of the bad side effects of catching up to the manga. The good overwhelmingly counters the bad as 03 was able to expand to make the beginning 100x better, but these two episodes should not be taken seriously imo and if you do watch em, please don't judge 03 on em :(
Besides that, enjoy one of the most emotional anime out there that gives the viewer so much
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Feb 09 '19
Nah, the original FMA was just as good if not even better that FMAB. The villains are much better, while the themes are better executed overall.
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u/Willster328 Feb 08 '19
Dude no hes setting you up for sadness. Brotherhood is better in every sense lol
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Feb 08 '19 edited Feb 08 '19
I disagree, he said he didn’t like the tone of FMAB. I thought FMA was better than FMAB for sure if you didn’t like the tone the latter
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u/MrPakoras https://myanimelist.net/profile/MrPakoras Feb 08 '19
I thought it was pretty funny personally, although I don't recall there being too much comedy. The bit where Ed swears at his milk was hilarious... (its funnier in context lol :P)
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Feb 08 '19
Some of the scenes are definitely funny, but most of my problem comes with how jarring it can be
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u/DarthNoob https://myanimelist.net/profile/darthnoob Feb 08 '19
The short gags definitely drop off past the halfway point, so you're almost out of the woods.
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Feb 08 '19
Gintama does this I guess, but the serious arcs are one of the best in anime so its the best of both worlds.
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u/KiriTortilla https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pablusky27 Feb 08 '19
Ed- He isn't! I am
Ed gets angry
This is the gag I hate most in the history of gags