Dhruv Sharma
No other anime in history has been able to split the viewer’s experience so brilliantly with two same yet different anime series. More often than not, it’s the manga adaptations that turn out to be extremely flawed in terms of pacing because of the lack of freedom that directors have. But contrary to that, a lot of the times, anime creators often end up taking their freedom for granted because it gives them a chance to adapt their own style for once and they often go way overboard with originals. Anime original and manga adaptation, both are like two different sides of a coin and both have their own downfalls. But very rarely will you find an anime that has been adapted using both ways and still manages to do fairly well in both of these formats. The original ‘Fullmetal Alchemist‘ and the adaptation that came later, ‘Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood’, have both shined in their own unique ways but one always has to be better than the other, which in this case is the loyal adaptation.
The original ‘Fullmetal Alchemist’ was released when the manga was still in production. With the available volumes of the source material, the creators decided to start off the anime series but they soon ran out of enough material and had to take their own path. While I do personally appreciate the darker path that the first one takes by deviating from the typical shounen foundation that it lays, it’s the ending of this one that later leads to its downfall. ‘Brotherhood’ faces the same fate as most other manga adaptation and ends up going way too fast. But one big advantage of ‘Brotherhood’, which is not apparent initially, is its high production value. ‘Brotherhood’ came out almost 7 years after the original, which makes it pretty obvious that the animation will be much better. But this change is only noticeable during action scenes and also, if you look closely, you can see that each character has a sense of sharpness that did not exist before.
Speaking of characters, that’s another aspect where the manga adaptation outshines the initial version and forms a solid foundation with its rich characters. Though almost all the main characters are still pretty much the same, it’s the new supporting characters that add more value to the overall story of ‘Brotherhood’. Almost none of the characters that appear throughout the story come off as boring because each of them has a fixed motive that compliments the plot.
But then again, unlike most viewers, I still don’t see the two as different anime series and that’s because both have a unique charm of their own. ‘Brotherhood’ is surely as good as its predecessor and in some aspects, it also turns out to be better. But the same can be said about the original and we should just feel grateful that we actually got to experience the same premise twice in two outstanding ways. I don’t think any other anime series will ever be able to pull off something similar. So those who have missed out on either of the two series really need to go back and watch it.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Season 2 Release Date: When will it premiere?
‘Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood’ season 1 premiered on April 5, 2009 and came to an end on July 4, 2010. The ending of the entire series is utterly perfect but I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. The way it ends suggests that there will probably be no new seasons of the anime. But there is still a little hope because in 2018, the original writer of the manga had announced that he will be writing a new bonus volume for the entire ‘Brotherhood’ series. So let’s keep our fingers crossed and hope that ‘Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood’ season 2 release date could fall sometime in 2020 or 2021. We will update this section as soon as we hear more.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood English Dub:
The English Dub of ‘Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood’ is available on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Amazon Prime, AnimeLab, and Funimation.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Plot:
The law of equivalent exchange suggests that “in order for something to be obtained, something of equal value must be lost”. This is where the journey of the two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric — one of whom is an alchemist — begins. After losing their mother, they try to resurrect her by performing a human transmutation ritual. But this ritual goes freakishly wrong and both of them end up paying a big price for even attempting something of this sort. Edward, the alchemist, ends up losing two of his limbs and his brother ends up losing his entire physical presence. Alphonse’s soul now rests inside a big silvery suit of armor and Edward has metallic limbs, thus giving him the title of “The Fullmetal Alchemist”.
Three years later, Edward wants to now reverse all the damage that was caused to him and his brother after the human transmutation ritual. The only way he can do this is by finding the philosopher’s stone that holds the greatest powers ever known to alchemy. The two brothers set out on a journey to find this hidden mythical relic with few members of the military on their side. But soon, they get caught up in a conspiracy that not only stops them from looking for the stone but also threatens their very existence. The outcome of this will either be in their favor and make them normal human beings again or it will entirely take away the humanity that is left in them.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Characters:
Edward Elric
Edward Elric, commonly nicknamed as Ed, is the main protagonist of the anime, who loses his right arm and left leg after a human transmutation ritual goes wrong. After this event, he becomes the youngest person to ever become a certified State Alchemist. But even three years after the incident, he regrets everything that happened because more than him, his brother had to suffer the consequences of the ritual. He only loses his limbs but his brother loses his entire physical body and because of that, Edward is now on the lookout for the philosopher’s stone that is their only hope.
On the outside, Edward is a very immature and foul-mouthed character who often gets into brawls, taking advantage of his metal fists. He is also very short-tempered and almost everything he does purely has a selfish reason behind it. But the few people who are very close to him, know his nature very well. They know that he would even give up his own life for the well-being of the ones he cares for. He has suffered greatly throughout his childhood and when he sees someone else in pain, he often takes it upon himself to help them out and make things better for them.
Alphonse Elric
Alphonse Elric is Edward’s younger brother who ends up losing his entire body after the human transmutation ritual. Edward, being an Alchemist, somehow manages to save Alphonse’s soul and traps it in a giant shiny suit of armor. Contrary to his huge and mature appearance, Alphonse is still a child at heart who dreams of living his childhood like other kids of his age. But his giant appearance does not allow him to live a normal life. He feels very insecure about how he looks and fears if he will ever be able to live normally or not. He even hates being reminded of how he is because it just triggers his insecurities even more. A childlike innocence still reflects from his eyes that seek warmth and acceptance. He never really takes his power for granted and is very kind to most people around him. He is also often mistaken as “The Fullmetal Alchemist” because of his appearance.
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