Separate Destinations - Analyzing the Music of Fullmetal Alchemist's Finales

Exploring how the music of FMA 2003 and FMA Brotherhood's endings reflect their drastically different conclusions.
Timestamps:
0:00 Intro - The Homunculi
0:56 Homunculus, 2003
2:30 Pride, Brotherhood
4:35 Mortal Sin, Brotherhood
5:23 Sin, 2003
8:20 Dante and the Danse Macabre, 2003
11:18 Father and the Philosopher's Stone, Brotherhood
13:12 Ante Meridiem - Awakening the God Behind the Gate, Brotherhood
15:35 2003's Huge Original Twist
16:39 Beethoven 5, 2003
18:24 Chopin Étude Op. 10, No. 3, 2003
22:31 The Way Home, 2003 Ending
23:52 Senju's Best Hits, Brotherhood
(Philosophorum Omega, Sorrowful Stone, Consonance, Main Theme)
26:42 Epilogue ~ A New Journey ~, Brotherhood
28:10 Lullaby of Resembool, Brotherhood Ending
29:30 Conclusion and Outro
Videos and Performances used:
Franz Schubert - String Quartet No.14 in D minor, D.810 (Alban Berg Quartett)
• Franz Schubert - Strin...
Saint-Saëns: Danse macabre - Tito Muñoz/SWR Symphonieorchester
• Saint-Saëns: Danse mac...
Gustav Mahler - Symphony No. 4 - 2 (1/1) - Leonard Bernstein
• Gustav Mahler - Sympho...
Shostakovich: Quartet No. 8, Op. 110, III. Allegretto
• Shostakovich: Quartet ...
Gamelan
• Sound Tracker - Gamela...
Thank you to my artist and friend @trisarahtops_c
sarahecruz.myportfolio.com/an...

[@stickyrice1127]

FMA 2003 just has so much going for it: attention to emotional depth, complex villains, and a first rate score.

[@nintendonut100]

This video is reminding me of how much I adore the last chunk of FMA 03.

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

It’s… a LOT better than people give it credit for!!

[@eoghbass2886]

Couldn’t be me crying from 18:42 until the end of the video 😭 I love both shows so much!

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

FMA just hits those chords, man.

[@animonk1001]

Brilliant video and very beautifully broken down. Both series are my favorite animes of all time but 03’s themes and music just hit me in a way nothing ever will again. All the songs are absolutely brilliant and Bratja is a crowning jewel for the soundtrack.

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

It’s like Oshima cracked the code of instant melancholic nostalgia with the OST. The way tears well up in my eyes when listening to it is 2nd to NONE.

[@animonk1001]

@@CelShadedMusicTheory you get it 💯👏🏼 brotherhood has a bombastic grandiose feeling to it which makes for a unique take that contrasts 03 very well too!! I just tend to lean towards the melancholy nostalgia feeling that invokes me to feel to the point of tears something that most music in anime hasn’t moved me to do.

[@AdmarilDarius]

Even after all these years, I'm still not over just how sinister Dante's theme is. It seems to creep into everything. "Hommunculus", "Dante" and "Dancing" aren't even as far as it goes. "Deep Forest" and "Precautionary Rules" also have the melody.

[@catboyedward]

i love fma’s ost soo much!

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

After a full hour of analysis I can honestly say SAAAAAME lol

[@mr.l3938]

I prefer the fma03 series ending way more but i gotta say both versions are way too amazing bruh

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

I love that they both manage to develop their own distinct themes and sense of catharsis. FMA03 might have less narrative closure than some would like, but the emotional impact of its conclusion can’t be overstated!

[@mr.l3938]

@CelShadedMusicTheory imo fma03's ending is more thematic buildup since the beginning the law of equivalent exchange was questioned and broken in big and small ways so it does make sense and fmab is dramatic buildup since the plot builds into something epic That's how I see the endings but no disrespect on both versions tho

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

Yup, I fully agree, FMAB doesn’t abandon equivalent exchange, but it generally becomes a less important element with the introduction of alkahestry changing things up. 03 is largely informed by equivalent exchange, questioning its logic, what it means for the world, the characters, and the themes of the story.

[@mr.l3938]

@CelShadedMusicTheory facts I also think that if 03 has narrative closure it would kinda betray everything the series was about nothing is perfect but it's in that imperfection that you can find beauty but u are right

[@Cwohlenkamp]

I was afraid that you had gone away and I wouldn't get Pt. 2. So happy with all of your content. Keep up the amazing work!

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

I’ll never be gone for good!🫡 Thank you for your patience!

[@elisabethmkheidze2023]

This is soo awesome! I've been dragging my feet on watching FMA, just because I love Brotherhood so much. Thanks for this. Because of you video immana beging watching it. LOVE your work, btw.

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

Do It! I really wanted to show that FMA03 has unique merits to Brotherhood because I adore it. Thank you for watching! Also you're a great artist, wow!

[@elisabethmkheidze2023]

@@CelShadedMusicTheory heey! Thank you! Appreciate it! Didn't expect for someone to check out my doodles. Glad you enjoyed it!

[@MooseEatsBears]

Mr. Cel, you do a fantastic job of analysing music theory of things I HAVEN'T SEEN YET. It's such a joy to see a new upload, yet such a disappointment when I see it's of something I haven't seen, like with Arcane and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. Alright. Time to finally watch FMA so I can continue enjoying your content =) I'll be back eventually! I'll go re-watch your Akira and Ghost in the Shell videos in the meantime.

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

Well consider any show or movie I make a video about to be my highest form of recommendation! 😆

[@Kevin-kr6bd]

Great analysis I love it

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

So glad you enjoyed it, thanks so much for watching! :)

[@Chairman_Miao]

17:33 LMAO

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

I’m glad somebody caught this 😆

[@Crantr0n]

i imagine this is fantastic but i am at work rn, commenting for that Algo Rhythm

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

Bless you, laddy!

[@Crantr0n]

@@CelShadedMusicTheory is Al Goreithm funnier? anyway finally getting around to it lmao another banger dude!

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

ALphonse GORElricITHM

[@Crantr0n]

@@CelShadedMusicTheoryit's so elegant

[@jumokumokumoku]

I loved your previous GHIBLI video essay so much. It was so well written and wanted to ask you if I could make a Japanese ver out of yours. It’s so sad that the video was banned but hope you could re-upload it after re-edit! Cheers from Japan 🙌🗼

[@LunamrathP]

I was just thinking about your last video not a few days before you uploaded this. You did the music of FMA incredible justice here, making me think about some of the scores in new ways despite being a long time and obsessive fan. What would you say your overall favorite is if you had to pick one? For me, it's The Awakening.

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

Thank you so much! From Brotherhood "The Awakening" is also my favorite which is why I really wanted to highlight it, I love minimalistic orchestral writing and it's so interesting how it incorporates elements from gamelan! 03 is a little harder for me since I lived with it for such a formative part of my life. If I had to choose one I'd probably say "Sin" because it so beautifully, triumphantly, and tragically caps the journey of some of the show's best characters. I didn't mention it, but there's a cue named "Love" which introduces the theme used in "Sin," but with much calmer orchestration, it's gorgeous!

[@LunamrathP]

@@CelShadedMusicTheory I definitely get what you mean about '03 being around for a formative part of your life. I think that's why given so many beautiful choices for a favorite in '03, "Brothers" still sticks out to me the most. It brings me back to another time. That said, wow, yeah, "Love" is definitely overlooked. I look forward to whatever you decide to tackle next, whenever that may be. Cheers until then.

[@emiliojosecanoperez6656]

Congratulations, my sincere admiration for your work. Your videos are incredible, rigorous, and necessary divulgation works about anime soundtracks and the musical universe of Fullmetal Alchemist. I've waited for the second part to leave my comment. I've followed all your anime soundtrack videos, "Ghost in the Shell", "Akira", "The Girl Who Leap Through Time", etc. Let me tell you that your work is an inspiration for me and my research. I've spent four years writing a Doctoral Thesis in Spain about the history and evolution of anime soundtracks from the 30s to the start of the XXI century. The universe of anime is a huge score full of fantastic melodies, incredible harmony, eclectic styles, sound variety, and narrative intelligence. The music in anime is more than music. Music in anime is pure anime. Nowadays, there are a bunch of fantastic composers with incredible proposals and sounds, like Yugo Kanno ("Jojo's" and "Psycho-Pass"), Yutaka Yamada ("Vinland Saga"), or Taku Iwasaki ("Bungo Stray Dogs") among others. Oshima Michiru has other brilliant soundtracks with elaborate melodies, harmony, and narrativity, like "Rokka no Yuusha" and "Little Witch Academia". Senju Akira is an expert in writing beautiful tracks, as he proved in one of his works before FMA, "Red Garden". In this score, we can hear some of the sounds and harmony decisions that he'd expand in FMA some years later. In fact, I start my thesis with a Senju quotation about the significance of the music in FMA, similar to the interviews you quote in the first part. If it is of interest, I leave here the link to my thesis in Google Scholar. I've written it in Spanish, but at least the abstract is in English. I hope I can see my work translated into English someday. (scholar.google.es/scholar?hl=es&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=las+bandas+sonoras+del+anime+y+la+animaci%C3%B3n+japonesa&btnG=) I encourage you to continue making videos of anime soundtracks because music in anime is an incredible field that needs more dissemination. Congratulations, thank you for your labor. Finally, I share with you a KZbin video of mine about the anime "SHIKI" and its soundtrack and music. This video is in English because it is a presentation I exposed in an international telematic seminar. It hasn't the same quality as your videos, but I hope you enjoy it (sorry for my English pronunciation). The music of "SHIKI" is by Takanashi Yasuharu, better known for "Fairy Tail" and "Naruto Shippuden". In "SHIKI", the music has an emotional and narrative sensibility that makes the soundtrack essential to understanding the true essence and message of the anime (kzbin.info/www/bejne/faXWqHSqbKeCnKM). Thank you again, and I'll see you in future videos. P.D. I love both FMA series. The two are incredible masterpieces and if you truly are a fan of FMA, you can't choose one anime above the other. The two are beautiful works.

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

Thank you so much! You’ve definitely brought up some all time greats. I adore Yugo Kanno’s Psycho Pass OST. His “Rakuen” piano solo at the end of the first season is utterly impeccable scoring work and helped to create one of the most iconic scenes in modern anime. I also love his score for Birdy the Mighty, a too often overlooked anime! Also Great Days from Jojo part 4 is one of my favorite OPs of all time. My favorite from Taku Iwasaki is definitely Katanagatari where he combines tons of elements of traditional Japanese melody/instrumentation with some surprisingly dense impressionist and mid 20th century harmonies, even some elements of Bulgarian singing like in GitS! Other Oshima favorites of mine are Shirayuki-hime and So Ra No Wo To, further examples of her beautiful sense of romanticism in the orchestra. That and her beautifully subtle music for the video game ICO, one of my all time favorites! I’ve surprisingly never watched another work scored by Senju, I’ll definitely need to give more of his osts a listen. Congratulations on your thesis it sounds fascinating! Let me know if it’s ever translated as I only read Spanish at around a 2nd grade level 😭

[@legerdokai581]

I'm sad you didn't talk about Scar's theme from 2003 and how badass it is.

[@mrnoblemonkey8401]

Great video!!

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

Thank you!!

[@DrOD-zx1yb]

Could you analyze the music of MAFIA II? It would be interesting to see you explore some of the removed orchestral pieces as well.

[@josemaker5252]

Oh god. I subscribed to this channel only days ago after watching your superb Ghost in the Shell video and a couple others. I didn't expect you to release another video after an 11 month hiatus, but I'm glad you did ❤

[@CelShadedMusicTheory]

Welcome! Glad I caught you at a good time! 😆 11 months isn’t my longest drought, but I intend to not make a habit of that haha. Thank you for watching!

[@StevesCrafts]

I don't know if it counts, but I hope you've watched Conquerer of Shambala, the movie thats *supposed* to cap off the 03 story in true finality.

[@aprendendoguita2119]

songbook ???

[@Kisuke._-_.Urahara1-b2c]

I want to watch the original fullmetal alchemist but I can't find it, so can someone tell me where it is, please?

[@mdandrews]

When Chopin plays in 2003 I almost have to turn the show off. It’s too gut wrenching.