r/FullmetalAlchemist03

I watched Fullmetal Alchemist for the very first time this past August, and it instantly became one of my favorite anime of all time. I absolutely fell in love with how it blends classic shounen comedy gags with incredibly dark, heavy themes.
But because I watched the series chronologically, I started with the ‘03 first. and so to me I prefer its tone. The dark, gritty animation style perfectly matched the brutal themes of the story.

Brotherhood is amazing, but the brighter, "white-washed" lighting and the way it exaggerated comedic gimmicks during serious moments took me out of the experience a bit. But I prefer brotherhood.
That being said, going into Brotherhood right after the brutal ending of 2003 felt incredibly healing. The overall plot, the character arcs, and the the theme songs of Brotherhood are unmatched. Plus, getting so many amazing Royai moments made it all worth it, they are easily my favorite "non canon but canon" couple.
I feel like a lot of people hate on the 2003 version simply because they watched Brotherhood first, which is a shame because both offer something beautiful.
For first time watchers I would actually suggest watching ‘03 first. Bc it explains a lot of characters and the themes with more explanation whilst brotherhood assumed people had watched those important moments before so they just got over with it quickly.
For people who don’t know, Fullmetal Alchemist has two versions, one came out in 2003 and the other in 2009, the first anime caught up to the ongoing manga and had to create an entirely original ending, while the second anime was made later to faithfully adapt the complete manga story.
The anime was being produced much faster than the manga chapters were being published. The creators knew they would quickly run out of source material. With the manga author's permission, the anime writers split away from the manga's plot about halfway through the series. They invented an entirely original storyline, a different origin for the Homunculi, a different main villain (Dante), and a much darker, anime only ending.
While the 2009 version adapted the whole manga from start to finish faithfully. With only the first couple of arcs being rushed as it was already covered in ‘03. So starting with ‘03 is highly recommend, the story shifts during the 5th laboratory arc. Watching brotherhood after this was like eating mom’s yummy soup during a bad cold. It was healing.

Anyways, Fullmetal alchemist is a must watch for anyone who wants to watch a show where it has great plot, characters, well written female characters, a power system that makes sense etc.