Chad's Netflix'ed Fullmetal Alchemist, and we watched disc one (episodes 1-4) tonight.
We watched the dubbed version. I have seen complaints about the translation, but I am an ignorant furriner, and I liked the actors' voices, particularly the lovely contrast between Alphonse's childlike voice and his exterior—a brilliant idea, that—but also Edward's snark. I admit that I had a little trouble taking it as seriously as live drama because of the, to my eye, over-the-top visual conventions for things like action scenes or emotional reactions. I imagine familiarity will help with some of that.
The plot of the first two episodes didn't grab me very much (the desert town with the preacher and the Philosopher's Stone), though the . . . what? personified sins? . . . are intriguing. I'll keep watching because I like the brothers and want to know what's happening with them, though I did yell a bit at the gender thing with the fourth episode (the tomboy who is fixed and wears pretty dresses again! ugh).
*resists going looking for a cute brothers icon, tonight*
[Edit: episode titles for reference: 1: "To Challenge the Sun"; 2: "Body of the Sanctioned"; 3: "Mother"; 4: "A Forger's Love."]
Dub vs. sub: I find that I can watch a sub if I'm really invested in the story; otherwise I watch the dub because it requires less mental energy. The first time I watched the first eight episodes, I watched the dub. When I was hooked (at #7), I went back and watched the sub. I actually still prefer the English Al, but I adore the Japanese Ed.
And that is a terribly cute icon.
The fourth disc comes out next week, and I'm super excited.
I got the screencap for my icon here if you're looking for some.