Alernate retelling of the 2003 anime, Fullmetal Alchemist.
1 series - 64 episodes
Opening Theme:
"again" by YUI (episodes 1-14)
"Hologram" by NICO Touches the Walls (episodes 15-26)
"Golden Time Lover" by Sukima Switch (episodes 27-38)
"Period" by Chemistry (episodes 39-50)
"Rain" by SID (episodes 51-63)
Ending Theme:
"嘘 - Uso (Lie)" by SID (episodes 1-14)
"Let it out" by Miho Fukuhara (episodes 15-26)
"Tsunai Da Te (つないだ手; Tied Hands)" by Lil'B (episodes 27-38)
"Shunkan Sentimental" by SCANDAL (episodes 39-50)
"RAY OF LIGHT" by Shoko Nakagawa (episodes 51-62)
"Rain" by SID (episode 63)
"Hologram" by NICO Touches the Walls (episode 64)
Key Animation:
Brain's Base, Production I.G., Telecom Animation film, BTO (episodes 21, 31), GK Entertainment (episodes 37, 47), Sung San (episode 7)
Backgrounds:
Dayuan Animation, Kusanagi (23 episodes), Feng Animation (10 episodes), Green (10 episodes), Telecom Animation Film (4 episodes), GREEN Daibun (4 episodes), Beijing Golden Pinasters Animation Company (episode 6), GREEN Chichiharu (episode 6), Atelier Rourke 07 (episodes 36).
ReviewBrothers Edward and Alphonse try to resurrect their dead mother using alchemy, but use of a taboo magic has a price. Edward's loses a leg, but his brother takes the brunt of the price, losing his entire body, existing as a disembodied soul. To save his brother, Edward attaches the soul to a suit of armour, an act which costs him an arm. A friend fits new “automail” limbs to Edward, who then vows to find the Philosopher's Stone as a means to undo the damage they have done to their bodies. He and Alphonse set out on their quest, which takes them into several conflicts.
Fullmetal Alchemist was first released as an anime in 2003. The first version was a huge hit and gained a large fan following, so you might be forgiven for wondering why anyone would put all that at risk by redoing the entire series less than a decade later. Brotherhood can best be thought of as a fan-service anime. It addresses the criticisms of fans who were not happy that the original series deviated away from the manga on which it was based. To be fair, that had to happen as the first anime was made while the manga was still being produced, forcing the anime producers to come up with their own plots and conclusions. Brotherhood was made when the manga was drawing to a close, and so was able to keep its plot line throughout.
The new version faithfully follows the manga story and retells it in animated form. The artwork is near faithful to the manga too, capturing the both the look and feel of Hiromu Arakawa's illustrations. If anything, it's almost too faithful, playing out some scenes for an unnecessarily long time. While a manga may need to dwell on every nuance of a scene to convey its meaning, doing so in an anime can make it seem self indulgent, and a viewer who has never seen the original may be left wondering what all the fuss was about. Be warned, the early episodes in this series are quite poorly done. It's almost “ anime light” in feel, as if they didn't have much budget for those episodes. In fact the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime went into more plot detail than this version, which is odd as the budget for Brotherhood was a lot higher than the original had to work with. You'll need to stick with it before the story finds its pace, which it does with gusto. Once its up to speed, the series bowls along.
The animation quality is much higher than the first anime with character movements more fluid, which is understandable given the higher budget. The show has a warmer feel, the light seems to have an orange palette to it. Unfortunately, since the 2003 offering, Japan has succumbed to the Murray Gold school of background music. While the original Alchemist had the atmosphere of a quiet brotherly quest, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood throws a music sting into every space it can find. Perhaps soundtrack albums make so much revenue they're aiming for maximum profit.
Overall, Brotherhood is the better anime of the two versions. However, its predecessor is more accessible to someone new to the Fullmetal franchise. That said, I would recommend this version if you can only spare the time to watch one. Just be aware that the opening episodes feel like a chore to watch.