This made me very curious in rewatching the anime and trying to combine the first episodes of each series together as to make a more complete journey for Brotherhood. The biggest problem I have with Brotherhood is how it doesn’t reintroduce the characters to a new audience very well and requires the viewer to watch the original in order to enjoy Brotherhood to its fullest extent. This led me into falling down the complete spiral of fandom madness as I rewatched the first 25 episodes of the Original 2003 anime and 10 episodes of Brotherhood over and over again to see how I could implement the best of the original into Brotherhood without creating too many continuity errors, a separate project of my own. After all this time, after all this extensive research, I finally found the truth hidden within the truth.
…this is the devil’s research. The secret ingredient to the perfect FMA fan edit…is humans.
It’s… it’s just impossible…
Nah, just kidding, it’s just really hard and would require an extensive amount of editing to implement all of the best parts of 2003 into Brotherhood. I eventually quitted because it would require way too much time and effort to find all the little details that needed to be removed or cleaned and then edit all that without the proper tools required to fulfill my ultimate goal. It just ended up becoming a mess trying to combine the two and I only ended up back where I started.
I decided what I really needed from 2003 to accomplish the vision I had is the character development all the way up to the introduction of Lab 5. After that, I planned to have the rest of the story from there on be told by Brotherhood with no more edits whatsoever. So here’s my notes:
“
Fullmetal Alchemist Fusion Project:
Edits combining both Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, incorporating both of the anime’s best qualities. All of the openings will be included throughout the episodes, evenly. This will serve as an alternate way of watching the show rather than just a compilation.
Warning, make sure Hawkeye’s hair and Scar’s backstory remain consistent
FMA Ep 1-2 (slight edits here and there to ensure continuity like how Cornelius moves the statues without being there, the ouroboros dream sequence that pretty much goes nowhere, etc.)
FMA Ep 3 (Include scene showing the door and Truth as well as the scene of dialogue between Roy and Maes in FMAB Ep 2)
FMA Ep 4-7 (Untouched)
FMA Ep 8 (Include dream sequence from FMAB Ep 5 after the opening)
FMA Ep 9 (Cut out the majority of the scenes that set up Dante, the maid)
FMA Ep 10 (Untouched)
FMA Ep 11-12 (Cut out scenes with Russel doing alchemy without a circle and the second plot with Lust as well as any mention of Marcoh)
FMA Ep 13 (When Mustang is explaining the Ishvalan war, insert much of the exposition given in FMAB Ep 5 towards the end of the episode cut out mention of Marcoh)
FMA Ep 14 (Begin with scene involving Lust, Envy, and Gluttony in FMAB Ep 5)
FMA Ep 15 (Cut out Ishval backstory)
FMAB Ep 1 (Cut introduction of Maes Hughes to maintain continuity and add city shot)
the murder of the Warioware Alchemist from the beginning of FMAB Ep 4 at the end of the episode
Put Fullmetal vs Flame arc after the events of the series leading up to the laboratory
”
I kind of quitted and towards the end when I realized that my plan didn’t really make much sense anymore and the continuity and pacing would just be all messed up if I were to complete the edit, even with the advanced tools I would need to complete it.
This was just the basic blueprints of an idea I wanted to fulfill. Maybe it can help you guys come up with something better or at least stir up more interest in something like this. I don’t know. I just don’t feel like wasting more time if I can’t really go anywhere with the project anymore. It’s time for me to get back to my daily responsibilities as a human being.
I just hope someday my wish would come true to perfectly combine both worlds and create a better experience for the future fans of Fullmetal Alchemist…
That or they will just remake the series again.
(AH, who am I kidding. The comment section here is probably dead by now).