Discussion One Piece vs Full Metal Alchemist

[◆ T.D.A ◆]

FMA is more mature, and focuses a lot more mature topics, while One Piece does a really good shounen action manga.

 

[bittman]

It appears I've already voted on this, but I've forgotten whatever reasoning I had at the time.

Voted One Piece.

Basically, I believe FMA has better characters, more realism and a far better story than almost any other manga to date. The story continually flows, characters are relatable and emotion is gained.

But on the other hand, One Piece manages to hit a few more emotions than just hitting a couple very deeply. OP goes from whacky to emo in half a chapter, and despite these violent moodswings, it still works frightfully well. There is nothing I would claim OP is the best at, but it does everything very well. Not many mangas make me feel like they do EVERYTHING!

Oh, and there is one thing OP has that others don't. Longevity. Assuming One Piece ever finishes in our lifetime, it will be a story people talk about years, or even decades, after it's gone. Few mangas can really claim this.

 

[DARK]

Fullmetal Alchemist is overrated in my opinion. It’s not as dynamic a story as one would think. It’s rather difficult to innovate with a series, whose villains are two-dimensional (with the exception of Greed, and maybe Envy). The plotline is also rather direct and does not ask for many plot twists. Once we’ve established the brothers’ history and the motives of the homunculi and Father, it was not really hard to predict what will happen next.
It was disappointing how the subject of alchemy, as a whole, is not really touched upon. It is true that the “law of equivalent exchange” has been pressed right down our throats, but the series seems to be more theological than historical. The last few chapters focuses on a being who wishes to become greater than God, to be able to create people on its own.
I also find it disturbing how there have been failed chimeras like Nina/Alexander, yet a few chapters later we get “perfect” chimera. Their transformation and later deaths, which was one of the most emotionally-driven scenes in the story, were all in vain. It also doesn't help that Ed and co. later team up with chimera, a practice that he was so against when he tried to kill Shou Tucker. It's as if the story writes itself, and seems to ignore a lot of the events tied in before so.
That’s not to say that this series doesn’t have its pluses, however. I thoroughly enjoyed the Maes Hughes murder plotline, especially at the climax where Mustang was literally going to burn Envy, only to be stopped by Ed. I also loved it when Winry goes face to face against her parents' killer, and has the courage and willpower to not take revenge.
Hate me all you want, but I did not enjoy either Father or Hohenheim as characters in the series. Their flashbacks were a bit, how do you say, boring. So the main villain curses a half-beaten slave with immortality? Speaking of Hohenheim, we get it; he’s a deadbeat dad who left his family behind. Is it any necessity for him to be involved in the plotline up to the very end?
As soon as I read the manga, I instantly knew the ending. Ed sacrificing something to get his brother’s body back, as the law of “equivalent exchange” was pressed down our throats. It turned out to be his alchemy prowess… Great. And he raises a family with Winry? Great… And he has two kids? Great… And Alphonse decides to research alkehestry in the east? As if the past 20 or so chapters haven’t inferred that Alphones wanted to learn alkehestry!
One Piece, on the other hand, has many areas for innovation. It’s not just one storyline stuck together; there are many characters, each with a different role, history, abilities, etc. What I like about One Piece, more so than any shounen, is that it constantly changes. It doesn’t pick a storyline and sticks with it for the end of the series. Rather, it allows a storyline to develop through the characters. There are just so many things going on with One Piece; there is not one story arc or battle that is the same as any other.
Ace and Whitebeard dying at the hands of the World Government and Blackbeard’s crew, respectively, moved me far more than any death in this series. I felt more connected to the characters in One Piece, simply because they aren’t just “there.” Oda actually provided the readers insight on each character, even if it was only just commentary from other characters.
Fullmetal Alchemist, to me, is a brand of comedy (even in the most serious of times, the characters will always still mock Ed’s shortening height) and fight scenes. Truth be told, the fighting scenes in Fullmetal Alchemist are amazing, especially when anime adapted from Brotherhood. But, the story itself doesn’t speak to me. The characters don’t speak to me.
You can hate me all you want for stating my opinion, but even if I were to read the entire manga over again from start to finish, more than likely my judgments won’t waver.

 

[hibar90]

Both stand on top shonen IMHO. It depends on what are you looking for in a manga. If you are looking for a story with good flow you will like FMA better. This manga is very consistent. However, some might not like the setup (such as me). I feel the writer has fail to captivate me enough into FMA universe. I don't find it interesting/exciting enough to say something "woah that would be cool" or "woah! that's awesome". It lacks excitement for me, but the characters and the story is very cool.

On the other hand OP is full of excitement. For instance the recent war, though has small contribution to the plot's progression, it was exciting chapter from chapter for 10 weeks straight. It has also more well developed character. Not in term of quality but quantity. I think OP can play with reader's emotion better than FMA. I think it's the more cartoonish art that allows more extreme action and facial expression to convey deep emotional feeling.

 

[Jorge D. Dragon]

I like them both, though I prefer One Piece more. It is really masterpiece. It is like you live the life of the characters. It's like a real adventure of a childhood. Something like a dream.