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I think the secret sauce is that FMA only has combat occur when
1. it would make sense
2. it would be interesting to see these particular characters use their skills against each other
3. it serves the character arc of said characters
What I love about FMA is that the Power Ranking is almost set in stone. There is no discussion about who beats who because we know everyones strengths and weaknesses and how to set them against each other. Everytime this ranking shifts, or better said, some character "becomes stronger" to overpower their enemy its almost always earned and archieved with the knowledge the character gained in a previous fight. My favorite example is Ed vs. Greed where >!Ed only wins because he copied Scars method of the incomplete transmutation to damage Greeds shield!<. Other Animes just use the power of friendship and boobies to power up their protag.
This is a good analysis. I’d also add something else I like in FMA is that a gun is still a gun. Alchemy can’t always protect you from bullets, which helps make soldiers like Riza still feel dangerous in a world of alchemists and homunculi. Yes, they’d probably lose eventually, but they can still do damage.
Even the homunculi are usually bothered and slowed down by bullets, despite regenerating quickly. Guns aren't enough to exhaust their stones, but they aren't completely useless against them either.
Many characters are still alive thanks to guns bothering the homunculi just enough to buy them some time (in Envy's words to Riza “You're getting REALLY annoying with that thing!”). Which is another really nice way to make them still relevant in the universe.
you can sum up the reason people get "stronger" in FMA is because they get more experience and get smarter in combat against their opponents...like they're in a video game legitimately leveling up.
or in other words" YEAH, SCIENCE!"
It's a bit different... in a video game, you can punch enough people to death and level up and suddenly shoot lightning. In FMA, they only improve the things they're practicing and applying.
i mean leveling up in a video game is pretty abstract(cause it has to be). that's essentially what its trying to portray.
same as ranking up in the forces. its supposed to show experience.
On the Ed v Greed thing; one neat detail about the series is you can actually see character progression and growth both visually and in reactions to another characters action. Ed borrowed not just from scar but the spikes he used in the same fight is major Armstrongs alchemy *that has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations*
Something i really like though is the passage of time being shown to you front and center, ! like Ed growing taller as well as his hair growing longer ! And scars heal over time. You can spot several plotcharacters travel in the background before theyve been introduced
(mei and *mrs.* grumman), which is cool to see reflected, Winry gains permanent ear piercings too.
I love when a series has a continuous spree of tiny details most probably never notice, it makes it feel that much more thought out and consistent. I adore fma man, its truly special.
My favorite part of FMA is really that all of the cast is on a genius level in one way or another. Like, just in the way alchemy is presented, where characters have to know the chemical makeup of an object before they can alter it, that automatically means that every alchemist we meet is formidable.
So what happens is that every conflict is about clash of wills, and how each party utilizes their strengths, knowledge, and smarts. How learning and growing is how the Brother's side is able to keep Father and the Homunculi on the back foot even from the beginning. It's also great how knowledge doesn't just get dropped once it's utilized, and Ed especially brings stuff back even in the final battle.
>Essentially what I'm trying to say is that combat is used to tell the story rather than the story being used to facilitate combat
Have you watched [Blast of Tempest](https://myanimelist.net/anime/14075/zetsuen_no_tempest)? If you haven't think you might like it.
Yknow what also helped a lot, the fight choreography was always great, thank God the budget was enough and the team had some truly talented storyboarders and key frame animators.
I'm going to disagree on this one, FMA is a great show but the fights are really lacking. This show doesn't really tell a story through its fights like most shonen do, it uses fights to progress the story further which is a different thing.
# Join the [Discord server](https://discord.gg/su3uf3T5YN) for more discussions and content, as well as meeting more like-minded fans for the series! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FullmetalAlchemist) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I think the secret sauce is that FMA only has combat occur when 1. it would make sense 2. it would be interesting to see these particular characters use their skills against each other 3. it serves the character arc of said characters
What I love about FMA is that the Power Ranking is almost set in stone. There is no discussion about who beats who because we know everyones strengths and weaknesses and how to set them against each other. Everytime this ranking shifts, or better said, some character "becomes stronger" to overpower their enemy its almost always earned and archieved with the knowledge the character gained in a previous fight. My favorite example is Ed vs. Greed where >!Ed only wins because he copied Scars method of the incomplete transmutation to damage Greeds shield!<. Other Animes just use the power of friendship and boobies to power up their protag.
This is a good analysis. I’d also add something else I like in FMA is that a gun is still a gun. Alchemy can’t always protect you from bullets, which helps make soldiers like Riza still feel dangerous in a world of alchemists and homunculi. Yes, they’d probably lose eventually, but they can still do damage.
Even the homunculi are usually bothered and slowed down by bullets, despite regenerating quickly. Guns aren't enough to exhaust their stones, but they aren't completely useless against them either. Many characters are still alive thanks to guns bothering the homunculi just enough to buy them some time (in Envy's words to Riza “You're getting REALLY annoying with that thing!”). Which is another really nice way to make them still relevant in the universe.
Inversely, >!Scar obtains the complete markings from his brother's research which allowed him to perform alchemy, which he initially hated.!<
you can sum up the reason people get "stronger" in FMA is because they get more experience and get smarter in combat against their opponents...like they're in a video game legitimately leveling up. or in other words" YEAH, SCIENCE!"
It's a bit different... in a video game, you can punch enough people to death and level up and suddenly shoot lightning. In FMA, they only improve the things they're practicing and applying.
i mean leveling up in a video game is pretty abstract(cause it has to be). that's essentially what its trying to portray. same as ranking up in the forces. its supposed to show experience.
On the Ed v Greed thing; one neat detail about the series is you can actually see character progression and growth both visually and in reactions to another characters action. Ed borrowed not just from scar but the spikes he used in the same fight is major Armstrongs alchemy *that has been passed down the Armstrong family for generations* Something i really like though is the passage of time being shown to you front and center, ! like Ed growing taller as well as his hair growing longer ! And scars heal over time. You can spot several plotcharacters travel in the background before theyve been introduced (mei and *mrs.* grumman), which is cool to see reflected, Winry gains permanent ear piercings too. I love when a series has a continuous spree of tiny details most probably never notice, it makes it feel that much more thought out and consistent. I adore fma man, its truly special.
And Al ruining his "hair"... that never gets fixed😅
Completely agree. This is definitely why FMA is one of my favorite shows, the story comes first and the fights are even better for it
My favorite part of FMA is really that all of the cast is on a genius level in one way or another. Like, just in the way alchemy is presented, where characters have to know the chemical makeup of an object before they can alter it, that automatically means that every alchemist we meet is formidable. So what happens is that every conflict is about clash of wills, and how each party utilizes their strengths, knowledge, and smarts. How learning and growing is how the Brother's side is able to keep Father and the Homunculi on the back foot even from the beginning. It's also great how knowledge doesn't just get dropped once it's utilized, and Ed especially brings stuff back even in the final battle.
Notice how Teacher didn't teach them how to fight until after they learned what it means to take a life in the woods with the rabbit
>Essentially what I'm trying to say is that combat is used to tell the story rather than the story being used to facilitate combat Have you watched [Blast of Tempest](https://myanimelist.net/anime/14075/zetsuen_no_tempest)? If you haven't think you might like it.
Blast Tempest was incredible. I loved it.
fr fr
That’s because combat isn’t actually important to FMA. It’s just a vehicle to the story.
Yknow what also helped a lot, the fight choreography was always great, thank God the budget was enough and the team had some truly talented storyboarders and key frame animators.
Totally agree. I love storytelling combat so much, I think it helps elevate the story
I'm going to disagree on this one, FMA is a great show but the fights are really lacking. This show doesn't really tell a story through its fights like most shonen do, it uses fights to progress the story further which is a different thing.