Something like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood [Archive]

Anderlith

2012-12-19, 09:13 PM

JDMSJR

2012-12-19, 09:17 PM

I suggest you give Cowboy Bebop a try...good drama and and action, with none of the stuff you say you dislike.

Tebryn

2012-12-19, 09:19 PM

I'm looking for something to watch, I like Fullmetal Alchemist & Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but I dislike anime in general. For some reason FMA never seemed like that much of an anime.

I don't like most tropes in anime, they are a turn off to watch. Things like
super swords
yelling the name of your attack
catgirls
anthromorphic anything
training to become super saiyen III, if you know what I mean
overacting (though I always found Alex Louis Armstrong to be hilarious)
"edgy" protagonist
mecha (I hate them, I'm sorry, I know I'm weird)
Tween Saviors, if they can't drive they have no business saving the world
No Dragonball
No One Piece
No Gundum
No Inuyasha

So if you think it's possible I'd like your suggestions for good stuff to watch & I apologize for being picky.

The things you've listed are very niche in anime and manga. There are things like Mushi-Shi that have nothing you've listed. Same with anything from Study Ghibli other than the Tween Saviors but not in the way you're using it.

Tengu_temp

2012-12-19, 09:43 PM

FMA is very much like an anime. You just seem to have this idea that most anime is Narubleach Z or giant robots, something that many people who don't know the medium well seem to think.

I second Cowboy Bebop. It's a very good show, and excellent for people who haven't seen much good anime.

Traab

2012-12-19, 10:09 PM

Wasnt Ed 12 at the start of FMA?

Kitten Champion

2012-12-19, 10:15 PM

Ao no Exorcist
Avenger
Durarara!!
Bakemonogatari
Blood+
Black Lagoon
Mnemosyne
Claymore
Berserk
Baccano!
Canaan
Darker than Black
Ergo Proxy
Princess Mononoke
Basilisk
Twelve Kingdoms
Seirei no Moribito
Earth Maiden Arjuna
Dantalian no Shoka
Vision of Escaflowne (Technically with Mecha, but well... it's primarily fantasy)
Gintama
Hunter x Hunter
Kekkaishi
Kurenai
Sorcerous Stabber Orphen
Blade of the Immortal
R.O.D - Read or Die
RD Sennou Chousa****su
Samurai Champloo
Scrapped Princess

Gavinfoxx

2012-12-19, 10:30 PM

He doesn't like super swords and you mentioned Berserk? Isn't that show, you know... one of the major ones that is known to have oversized swords?

Ramza00

2012-12-19, 10:33 PM

Its western animation and it is the second series but Avatar: The Legend of Korra seems to fit your bill

Eldariel

2012-12-19, 10:43 PM

I think Fate/Zero could work for you; in spite of Kiritsugu. Tho of course, it carries the opportunity cost of not playing Fate/Stay Night first and acting as a superspoiler, I guess.

Kitten Champion

2012-12-19, 10:52 PM

He doesn't like super swords and you mentioned Berserk? Isn't that show, you know... one of the major ones that is known to have oversized swords?

"Super" is relative. Certainly Guts wields very large swords, but it's hardly a zanpakuto -- the most remarkable thing about it is that Guts can wield it like a dinner knife.

Of course I would recommend it, although the manga is superior. If you like quality animation and cynically dark high fantasy it's a must.

Anderlith

2012-12-19, 11:04 PM

Wasnt Ed 12 at the start of FMA?

12 when he performed human transmutation, 14-15 when the series starts IIRC, he's 17-18ish when it wraps up. He may have been a young adult but he was old enough to not be a "kid"

Ramza00

2012-12-19, 11:26 PM

Note: This below info is for the manga and the 2nd tv show (brotherhod), the first anime has a vastly different timeline.

The "promised day" occurs in the spring of 1915. Edward Elric was born in 1899. Thus Edward Elric was 16 during the Climax/Falling action of the story where we see the "promised day."

Edward Elric gets married in 1917 according to the databook thus the "epilogue" takes place 2 years later.

Das Platyvark

2012-12-19, 11:32 PM

Code Geass ain't bad, if a little full of itself.
The Manga of Naüsicaa of the Valley of the Wind is everything I want in sci-fi, but the movie just doesn't live up, so if you're looking for something on-screen...
(This is not to say it's not a good movie, it's just not on the same level.)

Ramza00

2012-12-19, 11:38 PM

Code Geass ain't bad, if a little full of itself.

Half of Code Geass is mechs fighing each other. Sure there is a lot of chess, magic, politics, and xanatos roulettes but it is also lost of mechs fighting.

Forrestfire

2012-12-20, 01:07 AM

Baccano! is one of my favorite anime, and while it does have some overacting, it is nothing like the "Narubleach Z" style shows that you don't like.

Forum Explorer

2012-12-20, 01:31 AM

Baccano! Is an amazing anime. I'll add Cowboy Bebop as another.

Hmm bit of an obscure one but Witch Hunter Robin. Not as good as the other two and crock full of really questionable lines of logic but I liked it anyways.

Knaight

2012-12-20, 01:38 AM

Deathkeeper

2012-12-20, 01:39 AM

I would also say Cowboy Bebop. It has almost none of the things you listed. Spike can get angry, and on occasions the show is dark, but I wouldn't call it edgy.

And while I like Blue (a.k.a. Ao no) Exorcist, the protagonist is a bit "edgy" in terms of his story (although in hindsight, it's not much worse than getting your body eaten when creating an abomination supposed to be your mother. Silly FMA.), although admittedly the character himself is rather upbeat. Plus he carries a magic katana, although it isn't that "super." So for this requester, I'd say nay.

Also, did I see Princess Mononoke in Kitten's list? A movie, rather than an anime, but an excellent one. I prefer Howl's Moving Castle and Porco Rosso in terms of that studio's films, but it's still excellent.

Abombom

2012-12-20, 01:44 AM

Fullmetal Alchemist still has many anime tropes though.

If you want something that breaks away from just about every anime trope (including rule-of-cool), check out Monster. It might as well be a TV show tbh.

Cowboy Bebop would be your best bet though. It's a classic.

Kjata

2012-12-20, 01:55 AM

thubby

2012-12-20, 01:56 AM

Bakemonogatari

Kekkaishi

i would recommend against these. kekaishi is very much a saturday morning cartoon, and bakemonogatari is so dependent on japanese culture that even otaku miss things.

claymore and berserk both feature overly large swords, but they're pointed out and treated as strange in-universe. so they avoid the stylistic problem you're trying to avoid.
they also feature more western fantasy motifs in addition to being fantastic works in their own right.

i will recommend "hellsing" if you dont mind an absolute blood bath. good in its popcorn movie way.
shamploo is similarly gorgeous, but lacks in story.

pretty much anything by ghibli is worth seeing.

"sword art online" might be to your liking. unfortunately, after a significant milestone (you'll know it) it starts rushing.

gits

"Millennium Actress" is a personal favorite, but it's unusual in a lot of ways. watch only if you're ready for something new.

Drascin

2012-12-20, 02:18 AM

Seirei no Moribito is extremely good. It's a fantasy series, but the magic isn't particularly prevalent, the feats of arms are largely realistic (there's nothing on the level of knocking arrows of of the air with weapons, for instance), and the characters and cultures truly shine. That the cultures do is unsurprising - it's based on a book written by an anthropologist who clearly knows her stuff, and adapted well. However, the characters then fit into the setting well, they are generally nuanced and believable, and there is absolutely nothing in it that is on your list*.

*Technically speaking, with enough distortion of certain definitions you could reach one item, but even then it's believable and the stretch is enough that I'd still use the term absolutely. Specifying more than this would unleash a lot of spoilers, so I won't.

I was going to say this. It's a really great series, not very long (26 episodes), the characters are masterful and almost all of them are relatable (this includes the ones on the antagonist side for the most part), and the choreography in the few fights is wonderful. It loses a bit of quality towards the end as things start to rush, but otherwise it's just plain a great series.

Also, I must say I find it weird that someone would find FMA to not "be anime-like". FMA seriously hits a million anime tropes. If you'd said Cowboy Bebop or something "less usual" like that I might see it, but FMA? It's mostly just well-plotted shonen (rare enough, I know, but still).

Kitten Champion

2012-12-20, 04:13 AM

The claymores in Claymore are claymore-sized.

The fact that they don't break given the stress they're put under is far more remarkable.

thubby

2012-12-20, 04:58 AM

The claymores in Claymore are claymore-sized.

The fact that they don't break given the stress they're put under is far more remarkable.

they're only slight longer than they should be (somewhere around 6ft+ if you base them off the rather tall characters that use them), but they're insanely broad and several inches thick if the blade-on shots are any indication.

they're less sword and more "slightly angled rod of steel".

Knaight

2012-12-20, 10:07 PM

I was going to say this. It's a really great series, not very long (26 episodes), the characters are masterful and almost all of them are relatable (this includes the ones on the antagonist side for the most part), and the choreography in the few fights is wonderful. It loses a bit of quality towards the end as things start to rush, but otherwise it's just plain a great series.
I'm not sure that I'd say almost all of them are - there's a convincing case to be made for all. There are some I manage to dislike quite a bit despite them being relatable, but they can still be related to. They all seem so very human, which is the main point.

Madara

2012-12-20, 11:04 PM

I was in a similar boat to you a few years ago. I thought anime was for "those wierdo Japanophiles" but eventually everybody talking about Death Note got me curious... So I tried it. I never said I disliked anime again.

It does have a wee bit of overacting. I'm not 100% what you mean by "edgy protagonist," but I don't think this one does. He isn't edgy, he's the villain. I don't mean "kills a ****load of people, but it's okay cuz he's THE HERO!" I mean the villain.

I second Death Note. Much like FMA, it doesn't overstay its welcome. It creates an amazing story of intrigue, and honestly, it ends up working just like any mystery thriller, with minor bits of action. The show tells its story, with no filler or wasted time, does a good job developing even minor characters, and throws enough spins to be enjoyable.

Also, its only 50 episodes, meaning its not to hard to watch the whole thing.

CarpeGuitarrem

2012-12-20, 11:22 PM

The answer depends on what you liked about FMA. I love a lot of these suggestions, but they're all very different from FMA. Some highlights, for instance...

Cowboy Bebop is a space western crossed with film noir.

Baccano! is madcap Quentin Tarantino-esque action in the 1920s, with supernatural elements.

Death Note is a drama about chessmasters trying to outwit one another, supernatural elements also involved.

Monster is a modern-day psychological thriller.

Geostationary

2012-12-21, 02:38 AM

Seconding Baccano!, and also Durarara!!, which is written by the same author and takes place in the modern day. Think magical realism with some youth gangs thrown in. Both are excellent stories with good music and lots of well-written characters, which is saying something when each show has at least two-dozen of them.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex- an excellent series taking place in the near future, it focuses on a special team in the Japanese government that specializes in counterintelligence, information warfare, and special operations. Focuses on the impact of technology, has cyberpunk and transhuman themes, and is one of the best animes produced IMHO. Also has some excellent music and action. There are mechs, but they're in keeping with the setting and are actually in the applications and designs you would see them in- research was done here, and it shows. Also very philosophical at times, but in a good way.

Tiki Snakes

2012-12-21, 02:42 AM

Slightly surprised to see no-one has recommended Trigun, given the not entirely dissimilar moral core.

Edit - Seconding Black Lagoon and Visions of Escaflowne (The series, anyway). Aw, hell, maybe Darker than Black too, though again, more the first series than the second.
Ergo Proxy was quite entertaining, but deeply confusing and close enough to depressing that they actually have a Radiohead song for the ending theme and it doesn't seem entirely out of place.

TheSummoner

2012-12-21, 02:51 AM

Death Note is a great one, though it's only great the first time through since everything that makes it great is due to not knowing what happens next. After that, it is merely really really good. Avoid spoilers like the plague.

If you like dark stuff, I would reccomend Deadman Wonderland. Kid's entire middle school class is slaughtered. Kid is framed for it. Kid gets sent to a place that is half prison, half amusement park. It's a fairly short one and a bit like watching a train wreck. What happens on screen is messed up and horrible, but you can't look away. If you've ever seen Superjail, it's a bit like what Superjail would be if it wasn't played for laughs.

Finally, I'm gonna throw an old one that I've been rewatching recently out there. .hack//sign is an anime that takes place in a fictional virtual reality MMORPG. One of the players find that he is unable to log out of the game and has no memory of anything that happened before or of his life outside of the game. Not much of an action series... It's more about the interaction of the characters as they try to figure out what's behind a number of weird happenings in the game world.

MLai

2012-12-21, 04:20 AM

Kitten Champion

2012-12-21, 05:53 AM

@ .hack//sign:

This isn't a flame or challenge against the poster who recommended it. This is just my opinion of this anime:

It's pretty boring. I am a person who doesn't mind watching anime that has no action. But literally nothing ever happens in this anime. Not just no physical action, but also no narrative action. It is literally just people walking around and talking about the same things over and over again.

The only reason I watched the entire thing is because I liked the art style and at the time I was in an anime drought.

Bee Train productions all face that sort of problem, but the dot.Hacks were especially dense and anticlimactic. Literally in the case of Hack//Roots, which simply cuts to credits before the climax occurs and starts the next episode after. It's the most confusing direction I've seen in anime to date.

Noir and Avenger are the two Bee Train products I would advocate, they've got problems but are not nearly so frustrating and the action is satisfying.

Oh, I'm adding Tegami Bachi and Gosick onto my recommendations.

Eldan

2012-12-21, 09:20 AM

If you like dark stuff, I would reccomend Deadman Wonderland. Kid's entire middle school class is slaughtered. Kid is framed for it. Kid gets sent to a place that is half prison, half amusement park. It's a fairly short one and a bit like watching a train wreck. What happens on screen is messed up and horrible, but you can't look away. If you've ever seen Superjail, it's a bit like what Superjail would be if it wasn't played for laughs.

I really hope they continue Deadman Wonderland some day. The story doesn't really end in the Anime and none of the mysteries are cleared up. There's a manga that apparently has a much longer story, but I couldn't manage to read it. After seeing the action animated, the manga just felt wrong.

Somewhere

2012-12-21, 10:26 AM

Tegami Bachi is a great series; I would second the recommendation.
It's basically an adventure shounen series. It's shounen cause it's serialized in one of Shueisha's monthly shounen magazines, but no, it's not like One Piece/Naruto/Bleach.

I also recommend Fantastic Children, if you want something with an excellent plot. It's...a sci-fi/mystery/seinen love story? The love story aspect is more in the background with the sci-fi mystery in the foreground.

The Bushranger

2012-12-21, 10:34 AM

If by "Mecha" you mean simply giant robots and not AI-equipped aircraft, I'll go out on a bit of a niche limb and suggest Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze ("Battle Fairy Yukikaze"). Only a miniseries, alas, but it has remarkably realistic air combat action against Evil Aliens, what's not to like. :smallbiggrin:

Sith_Happens

2012-12-22, 12:15 AM

Lot of great suggestions so far. I'm going to throw Last Exile into the pile. It's set in a Victorian-esque world, except with airships. The main characters are a pair of orphans scraping by as couriers, who find themselves tied up in a web of war and political intrigue revolving around a mysterious ship called the Exile. Not sure what else to say, besides that the plot and airship battles are both very well-done.

Oh, and just to be a contrarian, I'm also going to recommend (Tengen Toppa) Gurren Lagann. It hits almost every single item on your "don't like" list... but in an extremely self-aware and deliberately exaggerated way that crosses right back over into being pure, unadulterated amazing.

Deathkeeper

2012-12-22, 12:20 AM

Oh, and just to be a contrarian, I'm also going to recommend (Tengen Toppa) Gurren Lagann. It hits almost every single item on your "don't like" list... but in an extremely self-aware and deliberately exaggerated way that crosses right back over into being pure, unadulterated amazing.

I wasn't going to bring it up, but he's right. For a while it borders on parody in certain scenes. Although it's worthy to note that the dub, while good, falls short on one major character which makes it less enjoyable than the sub for me (and I always prefer the dub if it's decent).

CarpeGuitarrem

2012-12-22, 12:58 AM

Lot of great suggestions so far. I'm going to throw Last Exile into the pile. It's set in a Victorian-esque world, except with airships. The main characters are a pair of orphans scraping by as couriers, who find themselves tied up in a web of war and political intrigue revolving around a mysterious ship called the Exile. Not sure what else to say, besides that the plot and airship battles are both very well-done.
To elaborate: there are mini-airships having World War I-style dogfights. It's awesome.

Don Julio Anejo

2012-12-22, 04:02 AM

Interestingly, I got my dad to accidentally watch FMA once, which got him into anime for a short while, and he has very similar tastes (at least according to the little snippet in the OP).

He liked very, very much: Black Lagoon. Partly because he really likes the whole pirate shebang (so much that he goes scuba diving with a metal detector in the Caribbean looking for treasure). But partly because it's that good. Fairly realistic (for anime) portrayal of modern-day pirates, lots of action, a little escapist.

Also: Ghost in the Shell. Seirei no Moribito. Madlax.

He didn't like: Cowboy Bebop (boring/repetitive if really good style), Monster (nothing ever happens; at all... can't comment more, I haven't seen it), Code Geass (he couldn't look past giant robots to get into the amazing plot).

My own recommendation: just for the hell of it, try Fate/Zero if you can look past the fairly anime-tropish plot (7 wizards summon 7 mythic heroes to fight for them in a Battle Royale), if only because Alexander (yes, THE Alexander) is made of so much win.

Edit: completely forgot. Great Teacher Onizuka. Just... get past the first 20 minutes. It's completely not about a pervy teacher (well, sorta). 20-something virgin jock weaboo Onizuka becomes a teacher because he's a complete perv, but in the end becomes simply an amazing educator/guide out to help everyone in his classes.

MLai

2012-12-22, 06:03 AM

Oh, and just to be a contrarian, I'm also going to recommend (Tengen Toppa) Gurren Lagann. It hits almost every single item on your "don't like" list... unadulterated amazing.
I 3rd this. FYI, I absolutely hate super robot anime. I have never watched Gundam/Macross/Robotech/SuperFortress/PowerRangers/Whatever-its-called franchises I don't care how good the war story and characterization is supposed to be.

I don't like Transformers either.

But TTGL is good. Binge-12-eps-in-1-night type of good.

Morph Bark

2012-12-22, 06:35 AM

But TTGL is good. Binge-12-eps-in-1-night type of good.

Agreed and thus fourthed. I've prettymuch always disliked mecha anime a lot. Gundam never appealed to me, Neon Genesis Evangelion turned me off quickly and Macross (even Frontier) was kind of dull all-in-all. TTGL was the first "mecha" anime that I loved with the passion of a thousand suns. (Before then I did like Code Geass' first season, but not because of the mecha.)

One series that anime sites apparently recommend due to similarities with FMA (supposedly) is Baccano!. I have yet to see it myself, but I want to, as it is by the same people who made Durarara!, which I enjoyed, though that one took a few eps to really take off.

Since you say you thought it didn't feel like "much of an anime" and go on to list primarily a few cliches, I'd like to approach it from the other end and say that I think you might prefer anime that feel less Japanese. Because of that, I recommend Cowboy Bebop and Trigun, which also have very good dubs from what I've heard. Trigun might have overacting, but it's more comedic than dramatic.

Tengu_temp

2012-12-22, 07:06 AM

Nitpick: Gundam and Macross are not super robot shows, they are real robot shows.

I personally wouldn't recommend TTGL here. Yes, it's an awesome show. It also goes completely against what the OP is looking for, and I doubt he'll like it.

Baccano is indeed a great show, better than Durarara in my opinion (though DRRR is still very good) - and it's the one most people see first, seeing that it's both older and that Durarara has some references to it. It's also much more violent: I don't think if anyone died in Durarara, flashbacks aside, while Baccano has lots of bloody death all over the place. Of course, since it's first and foremost a gangster show, that's to be expected.

Morph Bark

2012-12-22, 07:30 AM

While Gundam and Macross are not super robot shows, they are still mecha. Nobody used the terms "super robot" or "real robot" prior to your post.

As for TTGL, I give it a 50-50 chance here. Yes, it goes against just about all of the OP's wishes. However, the same was the case when I started watching it, and I was very pleasantly suprised, and the same goes for all my friends who've watched it (including one who isn't into anime at all, though he only saw the movie version, which the OP could try instead, though it skims over a lot of things, which I presume he doesn't like).

Something that might be a big plus for Baccano is that it takes place in a similar time period ('20s as opposed to WWI-like). Plus, doesn't it also include alchemy to some degree?

Prime32

2012-12-22, 11:12 AM

My own recommendation: just for the hell of it, try Fate/Zero if you can look past the fairly anime-tropish plot (7 wizards summon 7 mythic heroes to fight for them in a Battle Royale), if only because Alexander (yes, THE Alexander) is made of so much win.Eh... It's also a prequel to Fate/stay night (the original VN that is; the anime adaptation doesn't cover the parts being prequelised), and it's a lot harder to enjoy F/SN if you've seen F/Z first. Read the F/SN Let's Play (http://fsn.seorinwastaken.com/archive/) or something.

Somewhere

2012-12-22, 11:38 AM

Onizuka's personality may or may not count as overacting. He is extreme (....ly awesome).
And he can't be a weeaboo, he's Japanese, so he's an otaku :smalltongue:
But hell, I've seen the GTO anime 5 times and the 1998 live action drama twice, so it's probably my favourite series ever. So yea, I'd second the recommendation.

INoKnowNames

2012-12-22, 11:42 AM

Sith_Happens

2012-12-22, 11:50 AM

Gonna throw out another + for Ghost in the Shell and Cowboy Bebop. Two eternally amazing shows that would be far more sedate than the Cartoony Shonen Adventures that fill up a lot of airways recently.

Last I time I checked (though that was a while ago), Adult Swim still airs both of the above on infinite loop.

INoKnowNames

2012-12-22, 11:55 AM

Last I time I checked (though that was a while ago), Adult Swim still airs both of the above on infinite loop.

I'm unfortunately scheduled with the Graveyard Shift, so I can't actually catch Toonami the way I used to. I thought they were trying a couple of new shows in that slot, actually...

I remember when I was little and stayed up to watch the uncut shows... :smallsmile:

Sith_Happens

2012-12-22, 11:58 AM

I wasn't going to bring it up, but he's right. For a while it borders on parody in certain scenes. Although it's worthy to note that the dub, while good, falls short on one major character which makes it less enjoyable than the sub for me (and I always prefer the dub if it's decent).

I'm going to guess Nia pre-time-skip? I guess it's a matter of taste, but either way I'd say that this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAjF_g2GF34) more than makes up for it.:smallcool: Please pay no mind to the title of that video, I'd rather not derail this thread with a dub vs. sub war.

danzibr

2012-12-22, 12:04 PM

If you watch Berserk be prepared to be disappointed. Great anime while it lasted. *While it lasted.*

Unfortunately our tastes in anime are almost exactly opposite. I like the ridiculous powering up and stuff. A great show without as much powering up is Kenichi. I'd also suggest Fushigi Yuugi.

EDIT: But as for like FMA... I'm not sure anything exactly fits the bill. You could watch the original FMA anime.

Anderlith

2012-12-22, 06:04 PM

Last Exile seems to be right up my alley. I'll check it out. I'll look into Avatar/Avatar: Legend of Korra, as well.

Thank you for your help, by all means keep recommending things & talking about anime ;)

@danzibr, I've watched everything about FMA ever, I love it. Started out with the first one, but I like Brotherhood better (even though it's shorter :'( )

The Bushranger

2012-12-22, 11:55 PM

On the subject of Yukikaze, I'll leave this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=m-pN_BWkeKY#t=4s). :smallwink:

erikun

2012-12-23, 01:42 AM

How has nobody mentioned Spice and Wolf yet? It doesn't have much action, and so may not fit if you're looking for something similar to FMA:B. It does, however, have very good characters, and I enjoyed watching it just for that.

Kino's Journey is worth checking out, if you can locate it. Kino is a very likable character, and the places you go are both interesting and thought-provoking.

If you have a few hours, try sitting down and watching The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. It is very "anime", but in an Alice-Through-The-Looking-Glass sense and not what you are thinking.

If you don't mind watching subtitles, Wakfu is definitely worth checking out. And since it's in english from the start: Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva.

Tengu_temp

2012-12-23, 03:13 AM

Spice and Wolf has some gratuitious Barbie Doll-level nudity in the beginning, and one of the two main characters is a wolf-girl. But make no mistake, this is not a fanservice show, or one filled with silly and/or cutesy shenanigans. It's a very slow-paced anime about medieval economics (yes, seriously) and the relationship between two witty and really likable characters. It's a great show, don't let the parts I mentioned discourage you and give it a watch.

Nobody used the terms "super robot" or "real robot" prior to your post.

MLai did.

Dr.Epic

2012-12-23, 03:37 AM

@danzibr, I've watched everything about FMA ever, I love it. Started out with the first one, but I like Brotherhood better (even though it's shorter :'( )

Brotherhood is over ten episodes longer than the original anime.

Mono Vertigo

2012-12-23, 06:18 AM

I see nobody has mentioned Monster yet.
It's about a talented Japanese surgeon, Dr. Tenma, who's working in pre-1989 Germany. One day, two critical patients arrive at the same time, and he has to choose which one he'll save: a little boy who was shot in the head, or the most important monetary contributor to the hospital. He chooses the kid. The other one doesn't survive. Tenma starts getting punished for it.
But his problems get solved very quickly thanks to a few strategic and mysterious deaths.
10 years later, the Wall has fallen. The consequences of his actions come back. They are horrifying.

It's taking place in modern Europe, with no magic, no gigantic sword, no chosen ones, nothing. It mixes politics and history among the drama itself. Tenma is not a teenager anymore when the story starts. All characters look unique and are not necessarily pretty, like in most anime. No good deed goes unpunished; good and optimistic characters don't get a better time than the cynic or outright evil ones (Tenma is among the most selfless and caring characters, and you'll see what he gets for it).
I recommend it greatly.

MLai

2012-12-23, 07:43 AM

Last Exile seems to be right up my alley. I'll check it out. I'll look into Avatar/Avatar: Legend of Korra, as well.
Wait. Wait wait wait.
You haven't seen Last Airbender and Legend Of Korra yet??!
You're asking for something that will keep you riding the FMA high, and you haven't seen bending yet??!

Forget every single other suggestion in this thread. Go watch both Avatar series.
If watching this doesn't convince you of the above, then you don't truly like FMA. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54srZLuYfb0)

MLai did.
Seems like there's a definition of "super robot" that I'm not aware off.
I called Gundam/Macross "super robot" because they fly around in outer space with acceleration which defies their tonnage, and they fight using not just rockets but also lightsabers. I don't know how that sounds like "real robot" to you.

Starbuck_II

2012-12-23, 08:24 AM

I'm looking for something to watch, I like Fullmetal Alchemist & Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but I dislike anime in general. For some reason FMA never seemed like that much of an anime.

I don't like most tropes in anime, they are a turn off to watch. Things like
super swords
yelling the name of your attack
catgirls
anthromorphic anything
training to become super saiyen III, if you know what I mean
overacting (though I always found Alex Louis Armstrong to be hilarious)
"edgy" protagonist
mecha (I hate them, I'm sorry, I know I'm weird)
Tween Saviors, if they can't drive they have no business saving the world
No Dragonball
No One Piece
No Gundum
No Inuyasha

So if you think it's possible I'd like your suggestions for good stuff to watch & I apologize for being picky.

But overacting, tween saviors, antropmophric are all in the tv show. So you aren't really saying what you mean.
Both Ed and Alex Louis Armstrong overreact everytime they can (Ed overreacts when short jokes happen).
Ed and his brother start out tweens and technically since Alphonse has no body to age stays that way (Ed gets older at least).

All the antromorphic chimera people are there in Brotherhood.

Anderlith

2012-12-23, 04:10 PM

But overacting, tween saviors, antropmophric are all in the tv show. So you aren't really saying what you mean.
Both Ed and Alex Louis Armstrong overreact everytime they can (Ed overreacts when short jokes happen).
Ed and his brother start out tweens and technically since Alphonse has no body to age stays that way (Ed gets older at least).

All the antromorphic chimera people are there in Brotherhood.

They aren't tweens, & they grow up in the show. Ash Ketchum is a tween.

Ed & Alex Louis Armstrong... It may be hypocritical, but I have not enjoyed any other anime that had constant ham acting. Also their bits are sparing, they aren't doing it all the time. I also made it a point to mention that Alex Louis Armstrong is exempt from that rule. His sister is not though, I didn't like her at all

The human chimera (at least outside of battle) Don't have dog's ears & cat's tails, or animal noses, or paw feet. Non of them look like bad Thundercat clones, or catgirls.

Tengu_temp

2012-12-23, 05:28 PM

Seems like there's a definition of "super robot" that I'm not aware off.
I called Gundam/Macross "super robot" because they fly around in outer space with acceleration which defies their tonnage, and they fight using not just rockets but also lightsabers. I don't know how that sounds like "real robot" to you.

All mecha break laws of physics on a routine basis. The big difference between real robots and super robots is that the former are treated more like machines of war, while the latter are more like superheroes. There are mecha shows that are more on the real side than Gundam or Macross, but these two pretty much started the real robot genre.

Dr.Epic

2012-12-23, 06:07 PM

They aren't tweens, & they grow up in the show. Ash Ketchum is a tween.

Yeah, because there's such a huge difference.:smallwink:

Don Julio Anejo

2012-12-24, 04:56 AM

There is a difference, though. FMA takes itself for the most part seriously. It does have over-the-top moments, but they are not the focus of the show and are explicitly little asides for comedic effect. I.e., Armstrong is for the most part treated as a proper, serious character rather than a big ham moron with speeches that have been passed down the Armstrong line for generations. He's a proper military officer and usually acts as such.

Same with Ed: he goes berserk over perceived insults to his height, but his exaggerated reactions are again only used for comedic effect, not taken seriously by both the show and the characters and usually treated as exactly that: over-hammed, over-exaggerated reactions. Heck, if they did a Western live-action prime-time version of FMA, these two things are probably the only elements that would be changed, the rest of the show would probably be kept the same. Even Mustang's miniskirt speech would probably stay (but would become either deadpan or sarcastic).

Contrast: TTGL. Pick any random scene. Pick. Any. Random. Scene. Which was probably why I could not get past a single episode.

lord_khaine

2012-12-24, 06:09 AM

Wait. Wait wait wait.
You haven't seen Last Airbender and Legend Of Korra yet??!
You're asking for something that will keep you riding the FMA high, and you haven't seen bending yet??!

Forget every single other suggestion in this thread. Go watch both Avatar series.
If watching this doesn't convince you of the above, then you don't truly like FMA.

I second this motion, you really should get started on Avatar, the last airbender now :smallsmile:

Deathkeeper

2012-12-24, 09:26 AM

I'm going to guess Nia pre-time-skip? I guess it's a matter of taste, but either way I'd say that this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAjF_g2GF34) more than makes up for it.:smallcool: Please pay no mind to the title of that video, I'd rather not derail this thread with a dub vs. sub war.

Actually, I liked Nia pre-time-skip (is that a spoiler?) since she sounded exactly like TT's Starfire, which I found funny. I'm actually referring to Kamina. In the original, he was mostly badass in a quirky way. The dub makes him a goofball in a cool way, and there's a big difference between those two.
But otherwise I DO like the dub, even (Especially!) that line :smallbiggrin:

And oh yeah, OP, while I still hold to Cowboy Bebop, I'm positive you'll like Avatar if you like FMA. Korra might be better if you want something shorter and more serious, but the original is amazing.

V For the record, I LOVED that line in the dub for the sheer silliness. That being said, the subbed version wasn't nearly as hammy (still hammy though), since his narration made more sense; he said he'd be writing and eating some chips, instead of taking chips AND EATING THEM!!!

Terraoblivion

2012-12-24, 09:33 AM

Let me get this straight, the OP is specifically saying that he doesn't like overacting and people are recommending Death Note? You know the show with a ridiculously over the top scene of a guy eating potato chips that isn't even made as a joke and the "eradicate, eradicate, eradicate!" scene? Really, I have a hard time thinking of any other show with as much overacting that isn't intentionally going for comedy with it.

As for recommendations, the Read or Die OVA might work well for the op and even if not, it's only three episodes, so it's a pretty small investment of time. The show is essentially what you'd get if you crossed James Bond and X-Men, added a pinch of steampunk and made the main character an adorable, socially awkward nerd. The plot is kinda thin, unlike that of the tv show that followed it, but the action scenes are some of the most inventive out there with amazing choreograph and clever use of the various superpowers of the heroes and villains. It also sets up the even better tv show, which has a slower pace and a far more involved and complex plot, but also a middle schooler as one of the main heroes, though it does treat her very differently from the various Ash Ketchums and similar.

The Bushranger

2012-12-25, 12:21 AM

Even Mustang's miniskirt speech would probably stay (but would become either deadpan or sarcastic).

Wasn't that only in the original anime and not Brotherhood?

Morph Bark

2012-12-25, 05:32 AM

Wasn't that only in the original anime and not Brotherhood?

I looked it up, and apparently that scene was part of an omake, that appeared in episode 13 of the original anime. The series diverge at the end of episode 12, but it could easily have been put in the second series as well, considering it's an omake and thus only really used for humorous value.

Calemyr

2012-12-26, 10:40 PM

Kjata

2012-12-26, 10:58 PM

Terraoblivion

2012-12-27, 06:18 AM

The other scene is Mikami writing. In any case these are just the two most extreme scenes, the show is known for overacting and ham in general. It also has Misa's voice acting and inflicting that on anyone counts as torture according to the Geneva Convention.

Prime32

2012-12-27, 09:04 AM

I would like to nominate Steins;Gate for consideration.

Short version: a quite likely clinically insane man who envisions himself as a champion of anarchy accidentally turns his microwave oven into a time machine.

Long version: Absolutely guano insane, yet in the end everything fits together in a really odd way.

Crap, the short version's longer than the long version.Steins;Gate is great... though some of the characters use a lot of 2ch slang (generally translated into 4chan slang), so if you don't know what, say, a "waifu" is you might be confused. :smalltongue:

It is a pretty serious story despite the eccentric cast.

MLai

2012-12-29, 12:54 AM

I actually found Steins;Gate very slow to get started. For a man who is supposedly a conspiracy theorist and self-proclaimed mad scientist, he and his group carried the idiot ball for a loooooooong time after discovering time travel.

Actually, he carried an idiot ball for the entirety of the series, even if he switched it for a smaller one after a while. I don't really like the main chara, because of it. But at least he's not a "Friendship makes me strong!" tween ninja/ card player/ monster collector.

Tengu_temp

2012-12-29, 07:00 PM

I found Okarin to be a very realistic character: assured about his own genius and certainly of above average IQ, yet dumb like a sack of bricks at the same time due to his lack of common sense, and with such terrible social skills that he can't even tell he's being a jerk to other people most of the time. Tell me you don't know anyone like that. Nerddom is full of such people.

Okay, there is one difference: his hamminess and neuroses make him an amusing character, rather than annoying.

Somewhere

2012-12-29, 07:10 PM

And Miyano Mamoru does a great mad scientist laugh.
Unfortunately, whoever's the dub voice for Okarin just doesn't have the vocal range to include such laughing.

Tengu_temp

2012-12-29, 07:19 PM

Well, he already played a hammy mad genius once (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_note), so he has practice!

cdog

2014-01-09, 06:04 PM

you can just **** urself then you have pretty much described every anime and dragon ball z was one of the best animes i have ever seen

Anderlith

2014-01-09, 06:30 PM

Wow, I can't believe this topic is still floating in the forums.

I also can't believe someone would Necro this thread just to hate.

Btw I did watch Dragonball & Dragonball Z through out my childhood. It's just that I've grown up & don't find it satisfying to watch Goku charge up his attack for 15mins

Ibrinar

2014-01-09, 07:22 PM

you can just **** urself then you have pretty much described every anime and dragon ball z was one of the best animes i have ever seen
Your knowledge of anime seems quite shallow, so please don't use phrases like "pretty much every" when you don't know enough to really make such a judgement. (or maybe you are just a clumsy troll.)

BeerMug Paladin

2014-01-09, 08:03 PM

I'm looking for something to watch, I like Fullmetal Alchemist & Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but I dislike anime in general. For some reason FMA never seemed like that much of an anime.

I don't like most tropes in anime, they are a turn off to watch. Things like
super swords
yelling the name of your attack
catgirls
anthromorphic anything
training to become super saiyen III, if you know what I mean
overacting (though I always found Alex Louis Armstrong to be hilarious)
"edgy" protagonist
mecha (I hate them, I'm sorry, I know I'm weird)
Tween Saviors, if they can't drive they have no business saving the world
No Dragonball
No One Piece
No Gundum
No Inuyasha

So if you think it's possible I'd like your suggestions for good stuff to watch & I apologize for being picky.
Seeing as how FMA breaks the 'no tween protagonist' rule, I'm going to suggest one of the few animes I've seen besides Brotherhood that I also liked.

Madoka Magica.

F.H. Zebedee

2014-01-10, 01:28 AM

If you want something like FMA, my three best recommendations are:
1: Baccano: Same time period, very similar atmosphere. Takes itself a little more seriously, but full of awesome twists and cool ideas, and wonderful fight choreography.
2: Legend of Korra/Avatar the Last Airbender: Again, similarly delightful setting with brilliant scripts and possibly the most gorgeous choreography ever animated. On top of that, it started in English, so the voice acting is all already spot on.
I'd recommend starting with the Legend of Korra and working backwards if you like it and are still hankering for more. Korra is much more tightly plotted and doesn't waste any time launching into a pretty fun plot.
3: Scrapped Princess: Until Baccano came out, a serious contender for the closest series in tone to FMA. Wonderful character designs, an interesting plot that brings all sorts of neat ideas into play, and great atmosphere. It's the weakest contender on my list, but that's only because the other two are some of the best animation ever committed to film.

The Fury

2014-01-10, 03:17 AM

I'd recommend starting with the Legend of Korra and working backwards if you like it and are still hankering for more. Korra is much more tightly plotted and doesn't waste any time launching into a pretty fun plot.

I'd actually recommend against this, though that's only my opinion. Though Korra has more of the early 20th century aesthetic that FMA does.

As for other stuff... As many have said Baccano is pretty decent, though I thought the last couple episodes were weird. I won't get into why because, y'know spoilers, but I'm apparently the only person alive that's had problems with those episodes so make of that what you will.

As BeerMug Paladin has said, Madoka Magica is good too. I'm not sure how much about the show you you know, but I will say that even though the characters are around thirteen to fourteen year-old girls it might not be what you'd generally expect.

MLai

2014-01-11, 09:11 AM

As for other stuff... As many have said Baccano is pretty decent, though I thought the last couple episodes were weird. I won't get into why because, y'know spoilers, but I'm apparently the only person alive that's had problems with those episodes so make of that what you will.
As BeerMug Paladin has said, Madoka Magica is good too..
Don't worry, you're not alone but I'm more controversial than you: I did not like Baccano at all. IMO, it's a very predictable and straightforward story that is made artificially mysterious by all the confusing time hops. Momento this was not.

As for Madoka Magica... I don't recommend watching it until you're much deeper into anime than you are now. But since this is a necro thread, you might be an anime otaku by now, who knows.

Marvin Lee

2014-06-26, 10:55 AM

Hello,
I'm the new guy here but I was wondering why no one mentioned "Black Butler" Once you get past the first 7 episodes. "They were good but they tried to make to comedy too wacky" But the show soon gets a grasp on its dark humor. I WOULD PUT THIS SHOW TOE TO TOE WITH FMA AND FMA-B. The acting is superb. Plenty of acting like FMA but also had the tension of Death Note. Btw: spoiler. Death Note goes to sh*t when the main good guy dies half way through the series which I thought was a ploy until I find that he really did die and it seems like he didn't have too.

Lord Raziere

2014-06-26, 01:05 PM

D. Grey Man:
Its about this kindhearted guy named Allen Walker who fights against demons. its dark. its less about the over-the-top action, and more like a dark urban fantasy set in the early 20th century, where this guy called the Millennium Earl is basically the closest thing to the devil on earth, making deals with people grieving over peoples deaths to bring them back to life, however its a trick, and the person comes back as an akuma, twisted to be a weapon for the millennium earl, and Allen basically goes around exorcising them so that their souls may rest in peace again.

Chrono Crusade
Its about a badass nun and a kindhearted bound demon fighting demons to try and get back the nun's kidnapped brother, set in another dark urban fantasy setting, somewhere between 1920-1940, I forget exactly when.

Trinity Blood
Its about this kindhearted guy who is like a vampire, but he in fact a vampire who feeds on other vampires in defense of humanity, again urban fantasy-kinda-sci-fi with strong catholic church/christianity stuff in it. the action here is little, its more about exploring the themes of a cold war between humanity and vampires and all the political stuff going on. oh and all this is sort of actually on another planet and the vampires are actually sort of advanced tech-cyborg people, its kind of hard to explain since it never got past 25 episodes or so, when it clearly was going for something longer, still very good though.

yeah, once you get past all the Narubleach Z in anime, you start finding Dark Christian Urban Fantasy With Badass Nuns instead.