Totally unlike anything on the silver screen at the time, amid serious westerns, dramas and crime movies, Star Wars is unabated, unabashed fantasy fun, it beguiles you. You fall in love with the movie and you want to share it with your friends. Only your friends don't give a crap. "Meh" or "I'll check it out someday" - likely never.

You've seen Star Wars but no one else has, your pent up frustation and disappointment wells inside you. It's depressing, no? That something so worthy of attention at the time goes unnoticed and ignored.

Let's imagine it was 1998 and you were the only person who played Ocarina of Time - the game that went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time. But no one at the time wanted any part of it. So your friends were playing good and decent games like Resident Evil 2, Metal Gear Solid and Half Life, even Banjoo Kazooie. But they weren't playing a game that was on a whole other level, whose scope and execution still puts many modern games to shame. They weren't playing Ocarina of Time. You reminded your buddies of its existence, you begged, threatened and pleaded with them to try it, but not a single baited hook was taken.

I feel like this, I feel like holding a giant plate of delicious roast beef up to a bunch of dogs noses, only for them to turn away and munch on dried dogfood, instead.

When I wrote, in August 2013 (almost a year and a half ago) about: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: One of the Best TV series I have ever seen,

I said:

"I've seen a lot of movies, watched a lot of tv series, played a ton of amazing games. And across all of that, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood ends up as one of the best experiences I've had, across all media."

Did you think I was kidding? Did you think that this was some niche pursuit, a series "only an anime fan could like?" This is not the case. How many copies of your average blockbuster game sells these days? Would it surprise you to learn that FMA has sold over 64 million copies?

Re-treading old ground, I've already stated that:

"Brotherhood.... once it gets going it's like an unstoppable freight train of awesome that never stops. It builds and builds and builds to an ending so suprising, exciting and enjoyable that I literally forgot to breathe. I had to physically remind myself to intake air during the penultimate episode, was leaning up off my bed. I would equate the series to the epicness of Lost if you ever made it through that series to the end. The only difference with Brotherhood is that it's almost a perfect series. In most tv shows live action or animated there is some redundancy there, some episodes that are average or not worth bothering with, badly written etc. Brotherhood feels like everything is just.... perfect.

It's such a good series that I won't even recomend you rent it. I would say you should buy the whole series on Bluray stat, then sit back and have the ride of your life."

I wasn't kidding then and I'm not kidding now, you need to see this series. But let's be obstinate bastards for a second and don't take my word about it. Let's look at what other people have to say about it. Google search "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Reviews" and you'll get a very interesting statistic: 24'807 people have rated the series on imdb and the average meta score is 4.5 stars out of 5. But delve deeper and read the user reviews and you'll perhaps get a grasp of why this series is so highly regarded.

"Pretty much the best show made in the history of mankind" says one user "If i told myself 10 years ago or so that the best series i would ever see was an Anime i wouldn't have believed it. This series made me laugh out loud, cry and bring up pretty much every part of human emotion possible. The characters and story are pretty much flawless and there is little to none loose ends."

"Of all movies and shows I've seen in my lifetime - if i would have to recommend one single series to someone it would be this one without hesitation. If I had an enemy i hated in real life more than anything - even i wouldn't be so cruel as to deny that person to see this show. I could deny them food instead and it would be merciful. Thats how good this show is."

Another user says "If you are going to watch one anime in the entirety of your life time Choose Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood." An original FMA fan eventually recognised its greatness here: "As the episodes began to fly I realized that it wasn't good, it was great. After finishing the series I knew without a doubt in my mind that what I had witnessed was my favorite anime of all time""

Another user says "This is absolutely one of the greats. It has profound characters, an awesome and unpredictable story and has some of the best anime scenes I ever saw."

This isn't even a question of people who watch anime and people who don't. This series is good enough for any mainstream TV watcher from the likes of The Walking Dead to Game of Thrones will enjoy, indeed a user review said "I'm not a fan of anime and manga but Hiromu Arakawa's work is one of several which have to be seen. An amazing story, and a must-see."

So do yourself a favour, as this only benefits you, not me - get your head out of your backside and pick up this series for Christmas, it's that good and will likely stack up well against any AAA game you pick up too. I'll leave you with more user review quotes:

"No complaints, seriously. FANTASTIC."

"Probably the greatest animated entertainment ever made"

"If you only ever watch one anime make it this one. If you watch anime anyway and haven't seen FMAB, do so. It would be a complete waste of your life if you were hit by a meteorite before you saw it. Do yourself a favour, buy this. It's not a lot of money for the epic adventure you are about to experience. It may well be the best money you ever spent."

"FMA: Brotherhood is a great, massive series that is thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end"

"When I first saw Brotherhood, I was kind of an anime hater for nonsensical reasons, mainly stemming from longstanding shame over an unhealthy obsession with Yu-Gi-Oh as a kid. Hey I was a Freshman, I was stupid like that. I give this example because I want to explain just what this show did. This show is simply a must see for any anime fan, and I would recommend them for just about anyone who isn't an anime fan too. I don't know how many times I've watched this show through, but it deserved every single rewatch. It is a cavalcade of heartwarming, tearjerking, and awesome wrapped up in an intelligent plot with probably the single most endearing cast I've ever seen. Watch it, you won't be disappointed."

"To put it simply, this anime is nearly perfect."

"I haven't seen a better series of anything ever i don't think"

"If you want to be amazed, addicted, emotionally lifted, press the start button on this show."

"A near Perfect Show and my favourite of them all. I don't watch many anime. But This has gotten me into anime, and none have beaten it. a ten out of ten."

"Masterpiece - When you watch 1 or 2 episode then you won,t resist to watch all the series not even a single episode in this series is boring. If you say it is the best show ever than you would not be wrong. This show is the masterpiece 10 out of 10"

"Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an absolute must watch for anyone, it has brilliant story, characters, animation"

"One of the masterpieces among TV series - I would rate this TV series as easily one of the best ever made."

"I have to say, as a beginner entering Anime world is pretty daunting task.The huge collection of Anime's in internet makes one wonder, where do I begin? As I Google'd some 15 anime websites claiming they have the best must watch list, every one of them evenhandedly had Fullmetal Alchemist:Brotherhood ranked the 1st or 2nd in their respective must watch list. The series is either ranked 1st or 2nd,rarely 3rd."

"The only word to describe this anime is stupendous."

"Words can not fathom how incredible this anime is."

It's 1977. I am 2!

Yay time to nap!

I only need to watch a couple episodes to get hooked. The trick is focusing my attention enough to actually haul my ass and watch it.

Shit's been happening lately that has prevented a lot of things to go the way I want them to be, my fridge broke, and the asshole technician hasn't brought it back yet, I am working Mon-Sun at different hours, and although this has brought a lot more financial wiggle room thanks to the increased income, it is taking its toll with me in regards to stress and tiredness, today the living room TV also broke!

I can't wait for this year to be over.

Steel has his own personal fridge and he complains just because it broke? The aristocracy in Mexico really is too much!

Meh.

gamingeek said:

Stop making quips and start watching FMA Brotherhood

Sample clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZagIVaC0uMg

I'll check it out someday.

Looks like it's on Netflix.  My chances of actually watching this increased...slightly.

travo said:

Looks like it's on Netflix.  My chances of actually watching this increased...slightly.

Make sure you watch Fullmetal Alchemist BROTHERHOOD, not the earlier lesser series.

SteelAttack said:

I don't have it on Netflix or Crunchyroll.

Funimation has the rights, you can try their website but it's better to buy it on bluray and then sell it if you don't take to it.