I am back with another anime highlight, and boy how I love this particular anime.  This anime highlight is on Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.  It is hands down one of my favorite animes of all time (in my top four) and may just topple my number 1 (Death Note).  I love the human drama and the beautiful story told about two brothers.  Check out this fantastic fan made trailer by mockingjaime from youtube.com.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has so many good things going for it, but before I get into those things here is a quick synopsis for those who do not know much about the series.  Fullmetal Alchemist, a manga series written by Hiromu Arakawa, is the epic story of two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, two young prodigy alchemists.  Alchemy is the art of transmutation, of taking one object of equal mass and value and turning it into something else.  This is best explained in the quote below:

“Alchemy: the science of understanding, deconstructing, and reconstructing matter. However, it is not an all-powerful art. It is impossible to create something out of nothing. If one wishes to obtain something, something of equal value must be given. This is the law of equivalent exchange; the basis of all alchemy. In accordance to this law, there is a taboo among alchemists. Human transmutation is strictly forbidden. For what could equal the value of a human soul?”- Narrator opening episodes 2-8. ¹

This is the hard lesson that the Elric brothers learn when they try to resurrect their dead mother by using the forbidden human transmutation with disastrous consequences: Edward loses a leg and Alphonse loses his body.  Desperate, Edward does another transmutation in order to save his brother and ties his brother’s soul to a suit of armor, and in the process loses his arm.  From that point forward, they go on a headlong search to find the mythical philosopher’s stone, which is rumored to be able to bypass the rule of equivalent exchange and give any alchemist who uses it immense power.  The brothers go on this search for this stone in order to try and get their bodies back, but they soon learn that there is a dark secret surrounding the philosopher’s stone and the core of the nation, Amestris, that they live in.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is the 2009 adaptation of the manga series which follows the original source material closer than the 2003 adaptation named Fullmetal Alchemist.  Most fans prefer Brotherhood over the original adaptation for several reasons, but both are good in their own way.

Fair warning: from this point on there are spoilers ahead!  

The Characters

The characters really made this anime remarkable.  They are flawed and human and characters that you grow to love.  The Elric brothers’ bond really drive the heart of the show, and their sad story is heartbreaking, but they also represent hope and the quality of dogged perseverance I love in characters.  You love their bond and how, sometimes, it is not easy being brothers who have been through what they have.  Even so, they would still do anything for each other.  And for as young as they are, they have been through more hell than a normal person.

Along with the Elric brothers we have Edward’s automail mechanic, Winry, the granddaughter of the woman who took Ed and Al in after their mother’s death.  Not only is Winry a Rosie the Riveter independent sort of character, but she is brave, strong and smart which is a female character I really appreciate.

I also love the flawed nature of characters like Roy Mustang and Scar.  Roy Mustang is a character I quickly grew to love, but he is definitely a character that has a dark past.  When you learn of the Ishvalan genocide and his role in this, it is heartbreaking since he is a character that you love.  They do not try to gloss over his involvement, but that is the beauty of this anime.  He knows that what he did was wrong and he starts to doubt the very orders and establishment which ordered the extermination of the Ishvalans.  He vows to become the Furher, which is the leader of the country of Amestris, in order to right the grave wrongs his country has committed.

And then there is Scar.  Scar’s story is sad and his path of vengeance is understandable since it was his country of Ishval that was exterminated.  At times his vengeance can be merciless, and even cruel as seen in the part with Nina.  Even so, Scar soon learns the true reason for his people’s extermination and the darkness that lies in the center of the country of Amestris.  Even when he comes into contact with some of the very people who had a hand in that extermination, he decides to put aside his hatred to stop an even bigger disaster and loss of life.  Scar’s development of a character is really a beautiful arc.

You also grow to love the supporting cast like the Brigg soldiers, the Armstrongs, Lan Fan and Ling Yao.  Meeting these characters let us catch a glimpse of the much bigger world around Amestris.  I love the comical side of Ling as well as his honorable view of how a king should really care for his people.  And I found the interaction between Ling and Greed, who has taken over Ling’s body, to be so well down and interesting.

And how can I forget the main antagonists in the story: Father and his homunculi who are the living embodiments of his seven deadly sins.  The homunculi are powerful and seemingly inhuman, but there are times when they do show some human emotions like Envy’s pathetic death when he realizes he had always envied the lives humans got to live.

But, hands down, my favorite homunculus Greed.  We get to see two different versions of Greed, which is interesting.  His core attitude is somewhat the same even if he doesn’t have the same memories as the other Greed. Greed wants all the power and all the world at his feet which makes him a hard Homunculi to control for the Father character.  Out of all the Homunculi, he is the only one who thinks for herself and makes his own decisions.  He also has a stubborn and even noble streak in him.  Though he views his companions as possessions, he still feels pain when he loses them.

In the end, Greed gives his life to save Ling, and to weaken Father.  He is the only homunculus who shows the most humanity out of all of them, and the only one to fight alongside the humans.  He learns what it is truly like to have true friends and comrades.  His death actually made me tear up, but it was not in vain as he played a pivotal role in taking down the main villain who is only known as Father.

And Father is a truly terrifying megalomaniac who is willing to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of people in order to gain immortality and ultimate power.  Father’s power is overpowering, but his death is somewhat sad and pathetic.  And father is a copy of the man named Van Hohenheim, who is the father of Edward and Alphonse.

Van Hohenheim, the father of the Elric brothers, is also a character that I grew to love.  It was hard, at first, to understand why he did the things he did until the truth was revealed in the very end.  When the truth of who is really is and why it was he left is revealed, it is like a stab to the heart, and his death was beautiful and heartbreaking as he died kneeling in front of his wife’s grave.

The Plot Line

The story line is one of the best stories I have come across.  It’s moving, heartbreaking, action packed and thought provoking.  It is a story of what it truly means to be human, and asks the question of what would you give up to save the ones you love.  It has the right mix of action, philosophical ideas, humor and drama.  The characters were deftly developed.  There are no two dimensional characters in this.  Without giving away too much of the story, it is masterful and well deserving of the high rating it has on IMDB and many other rating systems (IMDB: 9.1 out of 10, TV.com: 9 out of 10).  If there is any anime that I would suggest for newcomers and those who love anime to watch, this would be it. And I love the last line of the entire series that really resonated with me.  It is a quote from Edward Elric:

“A lesson without pain is meaningless. For you cannot gain something without sacrificing something else in return. But once you have recovered it and made it your own… You will gain an irreplaceable Fullmetal heart.”- Edward Elric, Source: Fullmetal Alchemist wikia quote page.

The Art Work and Music

Art style and musical score of any anime are important factors that I take into consideration when I look into watching a new anime.  And I will have to say that Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood does not disappoint.  Does it use some of the typical tropes in anime? Sure, but very sparingly.  The artwork is crisp and well done and I liked the era chosen for the story to take place which is the early 1900’s Europe.  I liked the character designs and use of clothing styles, car and architecture styles of that era.

And the music is absolutely stunning.  Musical soundtracks of any show, anime or live action, are critical in accentuating the story and drama enfolding.  Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood’s score is moving, and heartbreakingly beautiful.  It isn’t as fast paced as some other scores, but then neither is this anime.  This anime has so much heart and it can be heard in the sweeping score.  It is reminiscent of the era as well as having more classical music sound quality.  Check out a bit of the soundtrack below.

So if you want a really moving and intelligent anime, check out Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood.

1.) Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood wikiquote page