Posted by  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Summary:
The Elric brothers arrive in the town of Lior to find that there’s a religious leader named Cornello who has been performing miracles. Upon witnessing it action, they realize that it’s alchemy without equivalent exchange, and they focus on the gemmed ring that Cornello is wearing. The two thus decide to pay a visit to the church and find a girl named Rosé praying, so Ed questions if she really believes that the dead can be resurrected like Cornello has been promising. Since she does, Ed reads her the list of materials that constitute the human body and notes how there have been no successful human transmutations. He believes that if science can’t do it, then praying can’t either, and he explains how alchemists are scientists who don’t believe in God. Ed finds it ironic that scientists are the closest to being God, and when Rosé calls that arrogant, he recounts a myth of a hero who flew too close to the sun and fell back to the ground.
In any case, Ed needs to get close to Cornello, so he arranges a meeting. Cornello knows that Ed is a state alchemist and has his lackeys try to take the brothers out, but Ed and Al are more than able to handle them. When Cornello himself appears, Ed accuses him of pretending that his alchemy is actually miracles, and he’s almost positive that Cornello is using the Philosopher’s Stone on his ring. Calling Ed a heretic, Cornello tries to get Rosé to shoot the Fullmetal Alchemist and reminds her of how he promised that he’d resurrect her dead lover. Rosé ends up shooting Al instead of Ed, but this doesn’t hurt Al because he’s just a suit of armor. Resorting to more drastic measures, Cornello brings out a chimera to face the brothers, but Ed is able to defeat it with the help of his automail arm and leg. The combination of Ed’s automail with Al’s empty suit of armor causes Cornello to realize that the two had tried to do a human transmutation to bring back the dead.
With Rosé in shock at the sight of all this, Ed tells her that this is the body of a criminal who has ventured onto God’s domain, and he questions if she’s ready to become like this. Cornello then turns his cane into a minigun and tries to shoot the brothers, but they’re able to escape using alchemy. After getting away from Cornello’s men, Ed and Al split up, and Al tells Rosé about how they failed to resurrect their mother and how his brother had to affix his soul to a suit of armor. Rosé, however, still believes that Cornello can do what the brothers couldn’t. Ed meanwhile waits until Cornello finds him and so that he can confront Cornello about what he’s doing with the Philosopher’s Stone. He gets Cornello to reveal that he’s with the church because it’ll give him believers who will sacrifice their lives for him, and what Cornello doesn’t realize until it’s too late is that Ed broadcasted this to the entire town via a speaker that Al created.
This infuriates Cornello, but he’s unable to beat Ed in a one-on-one battle, even after he strengthens his own body with the Philosopher’s Stone. Unfortunately, the Philosopher’s Stone shatters after the battle is over, meaning that it was a fake. In the aftermath, Ed and Al prepare to leave town, but Rosé tries to get them to hand over the Philosopher’s Stone. She doesn’t believe that it was a fake and thinks that the brothers are going to use it to bring back their mother, but Ed reiterates that the dead cannot be revived. This leaves Rosé at a loss for what to do, so Ed tells her to figure it out herself. He wants her to stand and move forward since her own legs are still good. Later that night, the defeated Cornello flees from the angry mobs and is met by Lust and Gluttony. Lust kills Cornello since he’s served his purpose, but she knows that they’ll have to start over again and that Father will be angry.
Preview
 |
 |
 |
Well if you’ve only ever seen the first series, this was definitely different (no birds at all for example, plus Cornello himself became monster-like). And what took two episodes for the first series became one episode here, however I thought it was all compacted pretty nicely, so it never really felt that they were rushing through the story. The key line towards the end where Ed tells Rose to move forward was certainly still there, and in comparing with the first series, Paku Romi makes Ed sound a lot darker and more serious this time around.
The action’s still pretty exciting as well, though I expect that from a BONES production after all the great work they did with the fighting in Soul Eater. If I had any complaints about this, it’d be that they used the split-screen technique a bit too much in the first half of the episode, to the point where it became somewhat distracting. In any case, next week is skipping ahead to Tucker and Nina, so I’m guessing that there won’t be as much rehash as feared after all.
I am still wondering how they plan to end this series. 😉
FMA!!!! this ep looks good like all the others so far x]
Great episode.
Sad that they did not use the Show Spoiler ▼
, but overall its good.
Now one is left to wonder on where they will insert the Coal Town, since they need to introduce Yoki…
FMA!!! this episode looks good like all the others so far. so excited, esp since there doesn’t seem to be alot of recapping the whole time x]
Holy crap that was a fast review =) ty
Szymek with the manga ending, since it’ll be ending very soon. 🙂
too fast!
Looks exciting. Thanks for the fast review! Looking forward to this one (well, I’m looking forward to all the FMA episodes…)
next episode is the bastard tucker
Cornello. You wouldn’t like him when he gets rebounded. CORNELLO SMASH! That was… weird.
It was an okay episode, they sped through it like it was directed by Yasuhiro Imagawa, but they covered all the important points.
I feel the rage well up in me just looking at the preview with Tucker. He has a shorter life in the manga (and therefore the new series), so maybe that’ll be theraputic.
The animation definitely looks better and more detailed than the original series, which is to be expected, even though the character designs are mostly the same.
I’m glad they kept the part where Ed tells Rose to move forward, since it was a very powerful scene.
@penguintruth:
Could you please refrain from mentioning manga spoilers concerning future episodes. Some of us haven’t read the manga, and others have not seen the original series, so we don’t need to know details before they are presented to us in the show.
Just how I imagined it would be. Thumbs up to Bones for this one. What was the previous studio that handled FMA again? Was it Bones too?
OH NO:
https://randomc.net/image/Fullmetal%20Alchemist/Fullmetal%20Alchemist%20-%2003%20-%20Large%20Preview%2003.jpg
Show Spoiler ▼
Urgh, looks like Gluttony “cleaned up” after Ed & Al left.
Rose shooting Al’s helmet, Cornello turning into a mosnter? Guess they’re trying to make things a little different from both the manga and the first anime.
*cough* I may need to *sniff* skip…the next…ep… *holds back the tears*
Chimera is next! D:
How many episodes is this series supposed to have?!?!?!
Is scar next?
Rose has a gun now?
@Mutio: Agreed
They said they were going to make the series more like the manga, but up until now everything has changed XD
Still, bones is doing a good job, and yay for paku romi ^^
And oh noes for the next episode T__T
http://www.animethinx.blogspot.com/
http://www.animethinx.blogspot.com/http://www.animethinx.blogspot.com/
Well its that time of year again where a cute little girl gets mutilated and turned into a dog which then is completely obliterated by scar.
im interested to see how they capture Ed’s emotions in the next episode, since the next episode was one of my favorites in the original series, mainly because it was a huge reality check for the characters.
wow so they’re starting over again, interesting
@Szymek & dasho?
Well if I were to guess I’d say that its going to be ongoing for at least a year so around 50 maybe more, so there won’t be a problem with adapting the manga ending.
Still I have to say that I don’t really like the whole idea of this series not being exactly like the manga. Ok so we got only minor changes and the whole point remains the same, but seriously BONES, you already made a series which derived from the manga. Now please give us a faithfull adaptation…
I’m glad that they aren’t “beating around the bush” and moving along with the story.
I hope that they give the author enough time to finish the Manga before they decide to make their own ending! Then we might end up with the same sort of thing we had last time!
@ebear
That shouldn’t be a problem. Each episode roughly covers 1 chapter, and the gap between the anime and the manga at the moment is over 90 chapters (i.e. almost 2 years). The manga will definitely finish before FMA Brotherhood, which eliminates the need to fabricate another ending.
Why did they make Rose so lightskinned? Were they scared to step on some toes or something?
Or did they want to differ her from the Ishbalans(even though Rose doesn’t have red eyes)?
@Megaman0
Rose was lightskinned in the manga in the first place.
Good episode. One bone to pick though. At the 13:00 mark, Ed had his metal arm on the left side, but a few seconds later, it’s back on his right side again.
Ah ok didn’t notice that when I read it the first time Thanks for the info…!
I think the reason why they don’t make this exactly like the manga is because we’ve watched it already, so they’re doing it like this so that we won’t have to watch the same all over again. I bet they’re gonna follow the manga later on, when we get past what the original series already covered from the manga.
its great, but i cant help but feel reluctant to watch the eps, probably because i totally ruined the experience with both the anime/movies AND the manga, DAMMIT ALL!!! if only i never read that mother@uking manga….oh well
@Zero
That frame is Ed’s reflection in Rose’s eye, so of course his automail arm will appear to be on the wrong side.
@Acylia
This episode was around 90% manga material imo, so they’re not deviating that much. While you may think we’ve seen these things before they’re not really the same. For instance the Nina and Tucker arc takes place in the present and the brothers meet them under entirely different circumstances. It will also end differently.
I say that the animation for this series is good but the storyline is being chopped along to much. Of course, unless this series get to make me cry like the first one i would not like this one as much.
NOBODY WATCH THE NEXT EPISODE. YOU WILL NEVER STOP CRYING.
Oh man, are they gonna skip the train episode? Well, not that it matters soo much…
Hmm, it took me some time getting used to the new seiyuu for Rose but she did a good job. For my Houko Kuwashima fix I’ll just have to continue watching Valkyria Chronicles where she is using a similar voice.
One thing is for sure, I miss the song BROTHERS where they played in the end of the whole Lior arc in the old series.
btw. I wonder if the OP/ED will change at least as many times as in the first series. Hopefully we’ll see more than 2 OPs.
This episode was overall pretty good, but i still have a mixed reaction towards it. Granted i liked how they got to the nity grity of things rate away and didn’t spread it out too far. Though i would of liked it to at least give a little more development on some of the characters.
The overall pacing of this series is kinda bothering me a bit. Its like they trimmed down the original story, then put it in fast forward. I’m aware its going to cover more story then the original series did, but it may become a jumbled mess if they keep telling like this.
I wish i knew how i would feel if i haddn’t seen the original series. I remember being discusted by the human transmutation and really feeling for the characters. Seeing roses lovers behind the sheets in the first one was horrific too. Really made you hate the priest. I think they’re rushing it a bit imo. Would be nice to see what someone who hasn’t seen it before thinks. I can just imagine them being confused, but guess ill never know. Meh, off to read the manga lol.
I have never seen the original FMA and I can tell you… up till now this is the best anime I have seen this year. Though I don’t know what you guys are talking about, but it seems like the next episode is gonne be a nice one. I’m looking forward too it ^^
PS. I know… it’s unbelievable that I haven’t watch the first series. 😛
@helium
“The stupid green overgrown parrot” moment is one of stupid fMA1 filler moments a lot of us would rather live without.
Too fast, too lighthearted.
Guess it’s time to rewatch the original. 😛
Though it couldn’t have been done differently given that it’s the second time it was done…
Oh well. At least it wasn’t bad.
So, up until now,
Episode 1 = filler
Episode 2 = chapter 24
Episode 3 = chapters 1 & 2
Looks like next episode will skip directly to chapter 5. Does that mean we’ll skip through the coal mining town and the train episodes?
I’m not really sure how I feel about this faster pacing. on one hand, since I’ve seen the original show, I feel good, though on the other hand, I feel like this remake is made as a complement to the original anime series, rather than a faithful manga adaptation.
If someone who had no interaction with FMA what-so-ever wanted to know the complete story, he would have to read the manga or watch the two anime series in parallel. It feels so far that the two anime series both offer only a part of the story told in the manga before the original anime deviates completely that is.
great episode i just saw it and it was amazing! it really did stick to the manga except in some parts, but still its way better than the first series. I thought it was going to be bad because of all of the other people’s comments but it’s really well made and the character designs are better than the first seasons’!!!! I really love full metal!!!!!
Yeah, in the manga they pretty much straight went to Tucker and Nina.
It was cool to see the big automail craziness Ed trasmuted on his arm, since it was in the manga and not the first anime.
🙂
Looks like they are trying to speed through the arcs that were covered in the first series so they can get to the break point and follow the manga to the end (if the manga makes it in time). How many eps is his scheduled for? I hope at least 52 like the first series, or things will be way too rushed, especially since the manga has many more characters and subplots.
If they’re skipping to Tucker and Nina, then they’re skipping the coal mining chapter and the train hijack chapter where they first introduced Mustang and his crew. Since they’ve already introduced Mustang and the coal mining chapter only has that comic relief guy, that must the reason they’re skipping it.
Noooo!!! Poor Nina. 🙁
Nina’s arc was the one story I didn’t want to see again. It was such a sad scene in the 1st FMA, I still get shivers thinking about it.
One episode for Lior? The differences with the original season are really starting to show.
Truth be told, as much as I like this, I’m starting to think the first series did better at juggling the dramatic with the humorous. I get that this is more like the manga in the sense that dramatic moments are interspersed with some comedic elements and such, but the first series didn’t cut up the dramatic tension with some super-deformed weirdness as much as in this series and that’s why it made such an impact. Still, it’s incredibly polished, this series, and that’s reason enough I’ll keep watching.
…this is just strange…but at least the Chimera looks better.
I wonder how they’ll introduce Yoki, since they’re skipping the coalmine town.
Not that it’s important- Yoki is a largely irrelevant character in every incarnation of FMA. But at least he hit Pride with a car in the manga.
Maybe he’ll end up being an officer that tries to capture Scar and ends up being captured by him.
Did Kuwashima Houko voiced Rose in the second series episode? or was it another seiyuu?
i hope this series follows the manga
@Guido
Nah, Rose is voiced by Satsuki Yukino this time around.
By this point I realized that the coloring and pastel-ness of the art is trying to evoke Arakawa’s paint illustrations on the volume covers. I think that’s neat.
Looking good so far, but I do agree that they should cut back on the super-deformed stuff, cause it’s quite jarring with how sudden they whip it out when they do. I wonder how they’re going to handle Yoki now. I can either see Mustang looking at a report and making an offhand comment about him being fired for corruption in the near future, or they insert it somewhere else, like on the way to Dublith or something.
hey i thought this was going to be a new season. will this FMA season just be recapping the first season? with just a few changes?
@Kathryn: This isn’t a sequel or second season to the first season. This is a remake which is supposedly following the manga story but with a few changes here and there(at least in the order but so far its following pretty close to the chapters it’s covered). The beginning of the manga is very similar to the first series but with a few changes here and there. Once it gets further on you’ll see a significant differences between the two series.
Satsuki Yukino is Rose now and not Houto Kuwashima?
So Kagome took over for Sango.
lol so much less dramatic then the first series.
but more comedic… I like.
I like the 1º series better. I mean, this episode action was too childish for me(Cornelio transformed into a monster and the scene where Ed and Al are being chased by Cornelio’s followers. Plus the Art). For an anime like Soul Eater was good, but it doesn’t suit Fullmetal ALchemist.
production quality seems lower than last series.
hated cornello’s voice.
the pacing of this episode sucked in the beginning again. just because most of us know the elric brothers from the first season doesnt give them an excuse to not develop the characters again. =/
and what was up with all the “split the screen in half!” scenes?! completely lame if used more than 5 times like it happened here.
the only scene that i actually liked was the one with al and rose on the balcony. but that scene ended pretty abruptly without a very good transition so… =/
so highlights: opening song, romi paku’s voice acting, balcony scene, last scene (its so cheap to use lust as an ender. she could say anything and it’d be so awesome), ending song. the first half of the episode looked pretty rushed again.
overall: an improvement from the last crappy episode at least. the first half of this ep was rushed and awkward, but it got better later. still not as good as the first episode of the series.
@Kevin
Actually its higher.
First series were hand-painted sd quality animation.
Second series uses full hd cg animations.
Its just that artistic style is a lot closer to how manga looks(down to the pastel backgrounds used in manga covers).
So while its artistically different(and looks better, for me), FMA2 has a way bigger budget than fma1.
@Lelouchsama
The original manga isn’t as serious as the first anime. This new anime is supposed to be closer to the manga. So pretty much, FMA1 was just an adaptation to appeal to more mature audiences.
@Vertigo
Actually no.
FMA manga blends the comedy and “dark moments” together really well, while first fma anime was too serious and emo for its own good.
I wouldn’t say that its for different audiences or something, its just that manga(and thus fma2) will have a bit more comedic moments, interchanging with dark moments, which, basically will fix one of major “RAGEEEE” moments I had about fma1(omg~ we are screwed up~! oh gosh how screwed the world is~ let’s day and go to Hitler Germany~).
Seriously I have nothing ago angsty plot moments, but FMA1 way overdid that.
that…..is cool.
Recycled content is not what looks cool, especially here where the first season made waves of success. they decided here to tone down the seriousness and cut some slack out of the facets of alchemy. Roze is puzzled after being tolf opf the elements od the human body…
After reading some comments, I thought that wouldn’t it be nice if people would be more mindful of the things that they are posting? I have just read some comments and I believe that those lines were capable of spoiling the story for people like me who haven’t read the manga yet. Far worse for those who haven’t watched FMA1.
When the time comes that this series had reached the point where the storyline isn’t synchronized w/ FMA1 anymore, I can’t imagine myself refraining from browsing the comments section. =(
Hmm, what what up with the ‘Cornello Smash!’ scene? Bleh. Though I was glad the freakish boyfriend-bird didn’t show up. ^_^
Rose and the gun was a little unnecessary? They’ve already got Show Spoiler ▼
Animation is still really nice, but the split screens were overused. I’m not sure the ratio of humor:drama is quite right yet, but I guess they’ll balance things out better as they go along.
this felt a little ruched to me.
The first series was a lot more serious than this episode. For example, the part where Ed named all the elements for a human, it should be a very dark subject but here, they made it funny?!
hmm i like the new style and everything and i like how they are able to make it so difrent even with the same storyline, tho what really bothers me with the series is when they attatch the comedy parts directly into the action, i would just rather see “all the shortie jokes” and “funny animations” when there actuelly isnt happening any action, because in my personal opinion i just think it really distroys some really good action/fighting scenes which i thinm is a critical mistake since it seems like this series is much more action based then the first one.
@Unknown Voice
Don’t give me that “emo” bullshit. The first series was never “emo”, it was realistically dramatic for the subject matter.
And don’t emphasize “Nazi Germany”, like it was ever even a big part of the first series. It was just a nod to similiarities between the world, and technically even the movie was more about the Thule Society than the Nazis proper. People who say “LOL NAZI ENDING” weren’t paying attention. You’re just piggybacking on a hate meme.
Honestly when it comes to the Cornello/hulk thing, I’m just going to pretend it didn’t happen. Other then that I thought the 3rd ep was well done. Didn’t feel as rushed as ep 2 for instance, and it felt more like the manga then the first FMA anime did. Don’t get me wrong–I liked the first anime, but I LOVE the manga.
And Kabayongtao? I agree that people chould be careful of their spoilers; but at the same time if someone doesn’t want to run across them, the only safe thing to do is not read the comment/discussion boards :p
c’mon now penguintruth, it was a little emo. that were serious about a lot of things. too serious sometimes. like every little thing the brothers learned was some dark secret of hell that shouldnt be messed with lest we all burn in damnation behind the black gates …… or something like that. i like the comedic moments that are in the series this time around. i never thought the fight with Cornello was never supposed to be serious anyway. fine, if you wanted it to be the first time the brothers were serious in fighting someone, go ahead and make it dramatic, but after the first episode with the ice dude, and the second episode with the flashbacks, why should a fight with a random priest that transmutes a gatling gun out of a cane supposed to be dramatic. the only parts that were supposed to be serious were the end with Rose and when they first met rose. as for the next episode, i dont expect chibi moments as much and most of us know why.
I was scared that this would be too much like the 1st series, but it was sufficiently unique and different. In some ways, this series has proven to take on a lighter (more comedy) tone to balance the dark themes, which is welcome.
I hope they can continue to sprinkle in new things (like Cornello becoming monster boss) through the rest of the new series.
@Unknown Voice
I thought Arakawa made the comedy the main focus of the manga. At least Wikipedia says, “Arakawa made comedy central in the manga because she thinks it is intended for entertainment, and tried to minimalize focus on sad scenes.”
@Mark
Well, its not exactly true.
Comedy IS one of central elements, but its intermixed with Drama and serious moments.
Arakawa holds “Entertaining reading” as one of the most important aspects to manga, thus her FMA is a lot more dynamic and fast paced, with comedy stuff there and there.
However that does not mean that she decreased the drama and “sad” scenes. FMA manga can be incredibly dark and sad when Arakawa wants and jump to light hearted moment if she wants.
Overall while first fma anime had the message of despair, darkness and brotherly bonds, Arakawa brings a different kind of message in the manga(and thus in FMA2) – moving forward.
Yes, the world can be dark and etc, but the main idea behind the FMA manga is characters living through it and moving forward with hope for something better ahead. You could almost say that the quote Ed says to Rose in this ep IS the main idea behind the show.
So overall, while manga and FMA2 will be a little more optimistic, it won’t be “comedy central”, like wikipedia makes us think. 🙂
@Mark
Anybody can edit content on Wikipedia, don’t take what is written there as fact.
so this follows the exact chronology, albeit with minor adjustments….
@Unknown Voice: “(omg~ we are screwed up~! oh gosh how screwed the world is~ let’s day and go to Hitler Germany~).”
lol
@Unknown Voice
If this had been the first FMA series I saw, I would definitely be unsettled by the unnecessarily brusque pace, and the jarring juvenile humor – such rapid SDification (like when they escaped) is just too silly and does more harm than anything else. Arakawa owes a LOT to the first FMA’s directors and whoever decided to favor seriousness over stupidness, or as eth put it, “juggling the dramatic with the humorous”. I’ll try to keep watching to see the story develop, and for its high quality… I really hope they don’t keep throwing crap into cool moments though.
nice ep
The follow 90% of the manga. Looks good. I reread the volume 1 and even the Alphonse kicking that guy in the head while saying excuse me was there.
I liked the episode. I thought the art when Ed told Rose to stand up on her own two feet was exceptionally beautiful.
Points to the person who said Kagome took over for Sango, oh the lol. I also agree with the person who thought that it seems they’re fast-forwarding.. I hope they slow down when they hit original material.
Dont know abt u guys but it kinda felt flat..The episode from the 1st show had more class and felt heavy hearted…This had more of a comedic approach..And btw i dont think he turned into dat monster kinda thing in the manga…Cud some1 plz MakE SURE dat if is gonna follow da manga…Send an email at auto7on11@hotmail.com if u find out ty
CORNELLO ANGRY! CORNELLO SMAAAAAAAAASH!
lol. FMA FTW!
@ scherzo
Even though I agree that the pacing is a bit fast and the humor could have been handled better in this episode, IMHO Arakawa owes NOTHING to the first FMA’s directors. Fullmetal Alchemist would have been a huge hit with or without a more serious, heavier anime, or even with a poorly done anime. With all its SD moments and silly humour it was an award-winning manga even before BONES decided to adapt it into anime. And good manga series have been known to survive bad anime adaptations and survive it well (not saying that any of the FMA anime series had been bad).
I somewhat agree with Unknown Voice in that the 1st anime overdid it a little. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the emotions of the 1st series and thought it was well-done and very effective in what it wanted to achieve. But to me, a lot of my favourite characters became…weaker in the anime, as in weaker-willed, less intelligent, more prone to freak-outs, etc, for the sake of more emotions and drama. While it made sense in the anime, having seen the manga first, I just don’t like seeing those characters portrayed that way. Just personal opinion.
They did a good job making it different from the first anime, and they included one of my favorite sequences from the manga (Ed’s crazy grin as he makes that blade.)
Cornello HULKING OUT randomly kind of bothered me, but at least it didn’t last long.
@Mei:
Actually IMO Arakawa does owe heaps to the first FMA Anime. I know countless people who started reading the manga only after watching the series – including me and all my friends. I’m not saying the first season was necessarily good – in fact most people I know only started reading the manga because the ending of the anime was unsatisfying. Either way, FMA would probably have been a huge hit anyway, but nowhere as popular or famous as it is now. Takes the KEY Visual Novels, Haruhi or K-ON! for example. Before the Anime, they were relatively unknown outside of Japan, and yet now everyone who watches anime knows them.
I actually much prefer the Manga STORY, but really prefer the first Anime Series when compared to this new season. The first anime may have been overly-dramatic for you guys (not me personally but meh)….but this new “Lior” story is way too underdeveloped IMO – Rose doesn’t have much character, half the action scenes are overtaken by Chibi scenes with some typical weird chibi-style escape. This is just my opinion anyway..just wanted others to know that not everyone prefers this new more light-hearted style over the darker original.
@PYROtechnic
The reason I don’t think that Arakawa owe anything to the first FMA anime is because “owe” suggests some kind of lop-sided relationship between the creator and the producer of a product. It’s like saying Arakawa is one of those no-talent singers who only became rich and famous because some record company decided to market/sound-engineer/lip-sync her to greatness. It can be argued that it is the anime that owes Arakawa for providing the SOURCE MATERIAL for its success. And Arakawa and her manga aren’t the only ones who benefited from FMA fame. BONES the company that produced the anime, members of production team of the anime, Square-Enix the company that is the driving force behind the FMA merchandise, Shounen Gangan the magazine in which FMA is serialized, EVERYBODY became more famous outside of Japan, everybody benefited from Arakawa’s creation.
So my point is, saying that Arakawa owe the anime is like saying the Beatles owe their record company for their success. It’s true that The Beatles benefited greatly from the record company for its expertise in marketing, mass-producing, and its ability to launch The Beatles’ music into mainstream mass-media, but the record company also benefited greatly from the high quality of the raw materials that the Beatles provided. The two rose together in fame and fortune. In fact, the record company that rejected the Beatles for having “no talent” became just a nameless mention in “Beatles Fun Facts”.
Besides, it’s not like Arakawa and the anime-makers act all ungrateful to each other,quite the opposite actually. Therefore IMO it’s a very lucky and happy thing that both sides have each other, but neither side “owes” the other.