life's better on saturn

Characters (Backstory)

Scar - By backstory, I don’t just mean their traumas or how they got to canon, but rather moments where they aren’t like… suffering. I think it would add to characterization.

Royai - (Not necessarily romantic) Again, would’ve helped with world building.

Resembool Characters - We have few mangacaps showing the shenanigans the trio and various side characters would get into, so again, world building.

Paninya - I honestly didn’t enjoy that whole plot about her being corrected for stealing. Again, 03 fixed this up a good bit.

XING CHARACTERS - Maybe it’s my intense love for period Chinese dramas, but I really really wanna see how the royal elimination process worked, maybe give Lan Fan a bit more of an independent personality, and have an elaboration on Mei and how being on the lower ranking side changed her fate.

Overall Elaborations on…

Ishvallan Culture!!! - SERIOUSLY. 03 did some of it, but again, I wanna see more. Also pre-massacre Ishval too. Clothing, form of Alchemy (if there was any), and their damned possible relation to the People of Xerxes.

Xingese Culture

The Elric’s Xerxian Ancestry - I think one of the biggest cop outs was not having Ed and Al find out they descended from the ancient people. That would’ve been really interest, actually. It’s also a way of Forcing Characters Together (writing device) and making it so that Hohenheim actually had another reason to grab the brother’s interest.

Other minority ethnic groups in Amestris/Immigration

In-World Alchemy beyond the Rules

Add In…

More diversity - No doubt the majority race in Amestris is white(?) and native-born Amestrian, but we do see other racial minorities exist. I think it would’ve been interesting if characters came from different places, like if Winry was of Cretan descent or if Mustang was half-Xingese or if Sheska was Drachman, etc…

Xerxian Features - YOURE TELLING ME YOU’RE SITTING IN THE MIDDLE OF A DESERT AND NOT ONE OF YALL ARE BROWN.

Xerxian Features on Elrics - Maybe a bit darker skin + I think their heritage might help them emphasize with Scar as both their people faced genocide. They can both stand for the Lost People in the aftermath of ethnic killings because they lowkey didn’t allow Scar any sympathy in 2009 but i digress 😐

More Ishvallan Characters - If they did it in 03, they can do it now. And ffs, more female Ishvallan characters.

Liore being relatives of Ishvallans - This was canon in 03, and I think it’s a good plot point also I may or may not have been jumpscared by white Rose the first time I watched fmab

Gay Characters - love you, Garfiel, but we need more.

Exclude…

Briggs - I literally HATE THIS FUCKING ARC IDK HOW ANYONE CAN LIKE IT ITS LITERALLY THE WORST IN THE SERIES I LITERALLY SAVED THE CHAPTERS AND EPISODES NUMBER THAT IT STARTS ON SO I CAN SKIP IT ITS SO UNENJOYABLE ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY.

Scar killing Winry’s Parents - So this wasn’t handled well like. At all. And also, it backfires because logically if you wake up and see the Aryan Stereotype who’s been killing your people and you just had a major concussion would you not crash tf out /hj??? (Also, another point about diversity—Why do Winry’s parents look the same 😭)

I’m not necessarily saying I want Mustang to be the perpetrator either, just that I rather it be the Amestrian government who did it. Higher impact, less victim blamey.

Briggs

Winry Fanservice Scene - Just… Gross 😭

Nitpicks/Weak Opinions

- Edwin would not settle down and have children that fast

- Why does Edward’s hair have that ugly yellow outline 😕

- I could be insane but Brotherhood puts so much more of an emphasis on cleavage than 2003 did.

- HORSES!!! Though I’m pretty sure animating them is difficult, so that gets a pass.