Official series artwork for the Brotherhood anime
Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Shonen; Sci-fi/Action
Author: Hiromu Arakawa [other works include Stray Dog and Hero Tales]
Story Premise: Alchemy. It is the science of deconstructing and reconstructing matter-- but it is not an all-powerful art. In order to obtain something, something of equal value must first be lost. And for some alchemists,this seems to be painfully true.
Edward and Alphonse Elric, two gifted young alchemists, spent the majority of their childhood as misunderstood orphans. Their father left them with no explanation when they were just toddlers, and their mother died of a sudden illness only a couple of years later.
In a desperate attempt to bring their mother back to life, Edward and Alphonse broke the greatest taboo of alchemy and committed the 'worst possible sin'... but the attempt failed, and there was a terrible rebound. With 'trespassing in the domain of God' comes a hefty price-- Edward lost an arm and a leg. Alphonse lost his entire body and was locked into an empty suit of armor that can feel nothing. At a young age, both brothers learned the solemn truth of human life: People don't come back from the dead. Not ever.
Now, with Edward armed with steel prosthetic 'automail' limbs, the brothers burn down the house they once called home and leave their hometown to begin their journey towards regaining what they lost. Edward joins the Amestrian military's state alchemist program so that he and his brother may support their quest. Edward is the youngest person to have ever passed the test, and is admired by just about every alchemist in the nation for his genius. But despite this, he is hated by many of the common citizens, for the state alchemists are considered to be the military's 'walking weapons.' Even so, Edward decides it is his duty to shoulder this heavy burden to pay for his sins.
To allow them to restore their former bodies, Edward and Alphonse seek the greatest power in all of alchemy- the legendary Philospoher's Stone. But along their journey to uncover the stone's whereabouts, they begin to unravel a huge and ancient sinister plot. This dark conspiracy involves the entire country, and villains who aren't exactly human-- and it may involve the Elric brothers far more than they might think. Is everything they know about alchemy, and about their country, a lie? Who are these strange evil people, and what do they have planned for the citizens of Amestris?
Why you should read it: Arakawa masterfully creates many three-dimensional characters that we grow to know and love throughout their quest. From page one, readers feel a connection with the Elric brothers and their tragic story of loss and the heartache of loneliness, which tugs on your heartstrings. Most people have lost someone important. Most people can imagine how painful it must be to be alone in the world. Most people can understand that it's hard to live like an adult when you're only a child, and that it must be terrible to feel hatred towards oneself. Because most people know this sort of life would be hard, they can empathize with the pain Edward and Alphonse deal with on a daily basis.
The hot-headed, rude, and impulsive, yet soft-hearted Edward and the polite, selfless, and sweet Alphonse make an incredibly powerful and intelligent duo whose adventures and feelings never cease to draw you in, whether they're just enjoying themselves or fighting a powerful enemy. Their close bond as brothers, and as best friends, is touching to say the least.
The other main characters are also wonderfully developed and extremely varied in personalities; from the ambitious and seemingly selfish and cocky Colonel Roy Mustang [the Elric brothers' commanding officer] to the strong-willed and energetic Winry Rockbell [the Elric brothers' childhood friend and Edward's secret love], and many more.
And though these characters are lovable and funny, they're also real- each has their own demons that they must constantly struggle to overcome and lessons that they strive to learn. Many of them have dreams and ambitions that seem far out of their reach. And on top of that, most of them are inspirational-- they learn from their mistakes and continue to move forward. They learn to see the consequences of their own actions. They learn what it truly means to be human, and why that is such a precious thing in a world full of darkness and hatred. They learn to overcome every obstacle, to depend on and protect one another, and to never stop seeking the truth, no matter how hard it may be to face.
The story is extremely fast-paced and dynamic, with twists and turns in every chapter that never fail to shock readers. They can't help but keep turning the pages to know what comes next! As the plot that envelops the military and the entire country slowly begins to be revealed, readers are horrified by the evil of the story's villains and by the cold-heartedness of their ruthless actions. Readers cheer the heroes on, praying that they can defeat and overcome these sinister people and put a stop to their dastardly plan.
The villains of the series are the sheer epitome of evil, including corrupt officials, monsters in human flesh embodying the seven deadly sins, and a man who could perhaps be the devil himself as their leader. They work from the shadows without a single thought for anyone else, and only see their selfish goal. From the revenge-crazed and heretical Scar [who eventually makes a surprising turn] to the psychotic and sadistic Envy, readers hate to love and love to hate these characters.
All in all, this is a heart-pounding and tear-jerking read that you will never be able to forget, and will miss when it's over.
Highly Reccomended.
Anime Versus Manga: The anime based off of Fullmetal is a source of confusion for a lot of people. This is because it has something rare to a manga series: TWO completely separate anime titles.
When the manga was still in its very early stages, it reached a huge level of popularity and an anime was in high demand. So, despite the limitations of the story's progression, Funimation decided to produce an anime anyway. At first the arrangement worked for the most part.
The anime was quite successful, but it had no choice but to dwell from the storyline a bit to take up time while Arakawa worked on the manga version. Certain story arcs were lengthened and several non-canon filler episodes were added. But it became clear rather quickly that it would be difficult to keep up an entire anime series using these methods.
And so, Arakawa contacted Funimation and requested that they continue with the anime without relying on the manga story at all. In other words, she gave them the creative liberty to finish the story whatever way they wanted to. That is how the first Fullmetal anime came to be, and because of this it is completely different from the manga story-- it doesn't even have the same main villain as the manga!
Years later, hardcore Fullmetal fans desired an anime that was closer to the manga story. They wanted to see their favorite scenes and characters portrayed with movement and color. And so, Arakawa and Funimation agreed on the production of a second anime-- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
The fan frenzy surrounding the release of the title was, simply put, INSANE. By this point the manga had advanced much further, and many characters and scenarios needed to be formally introduced to the silver screen. Both the manga and the original anime series had also gathered a new hoard of fans. This presented a unique fan base oppurtunity, and one that I can safely say is a whole lot of fun. Fans of the original anime, fans of the manga, and fans of the new brotherhood series could all get together and discuss the differences in the titles, and which they preferred.
Both series have successfully reached the end of their run, and the manga was also wrapped up in mid-2011. Many people did not like the idea of having two completely different anime titles for the same manga, but I personally love the idea, and here's why: We get to know the cast that much better. As I stated before, the anime began while the Fullmetal manga was in its very early stages. We got to know the Elric brothers through two separate story lines that eventually went in different directions. We got to see different sides of the story and different dimensions to the characters. And by the time Brotherhood came around, everyone already knew the cast SO WELL despite the fact that the manga was not even in its final stretch yet! Yes, by the second episode of Brotherhood, you literally feel like a part of that Brotherhood (and I suspect that's why they named it that.)
One last tidbit: I personally disliked the approach of the original anime and greatly prefer the manga storyline and the brotherhood anime. Brotherhood is a rare example of an anime that portrays the manga story PERFECTLY.
Really gorgeous fanart I found online (credit to original artist)
