The ever-winding story of the Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse, is revisited in this new series Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Raised by their sickly mother after their father’s disappearance, the Elric brothers knew only tragedy when she died suddenly when they were both very young. Already quite adept at basic alchemy, the both set up a transmutation circle to revive her, both children not understanding what the cost for such an exchange would be. The transmutation failed and Edward lost his leg in the process, and Alphonse lost his body. To save his brother’s soul and to prevent the lost of anyone else he loved, Edward sacrificed his right arm to blood-bind Al’s soul into an old suit of armor. (Don’t ask why there was medieval armor in their basement; I don’t know either.) From the time that Edward was old enough to do so, he set out to join the ranks of alchemists for the State so that he could find the whereabouts of the fabled Philosopher’s Stone that could possibly undo all the wrong they had done as children and regain his brother’s body. What the brothers learn, however, is that nothing is ever that simple and there is a law of equivalent exchange for every action in life.
Any long-time fan of the series knows that the premise of the story is only a small catalyst in the grand scheme of the series. The original series was largely driven by the complex and intricate character developments and the tangled web of internal conflicts of the State and interpersonal relationships among the characters, both good and bad. That’s what cemented Fullmetal Alchemist as an instant classic among anime and manga. Brotherhood is no less engaging and retains all the humanistic characters and conflicts of the original, as well as preserving the interwoven comedic relief that is indispensible to a series that has such dramatic undertones.
Anyone familiar with the original manga, which came first, knows that the first FMA series followed along with its story only up to a certain point, at which the manga’s production in Japan wasn’t fast enough to match the production of the anime, and so both veered in somewhat different directions. That said, Brotherhood isn’t exactly a retelling of the story at hand, because everything is, essentially, the same as before. However, it does follow more closely with the manga’s plotline, so there will be noticeable differences past the initial beginnings as well as characters unseen in the original and more depth given to some of the more minor ones.
Fans and newcomers to the series alike will find no lacking in the animation quality, either, as Studio Bones returns once again to do the animation and designs for Brotherhood just as they had for the original and the movie. Nowadays it’s really hard to find TV-quality anime that has not only a stellar story and characters, but artwork to match it. Quality of every kind isn’t skimped with FMA, and even the new songs and music for the show are top-notch. Sadly, my fangirlish heart bleeds at the lack of L’Arc~en~Ciel in the musical line-up, but we can’t always have everything. (Though, you came as near as can be to having everything with this series.)
Personally, even though Brotherhood is full of awesome, I’m not sure why they’d go back and reboot the series to its manga’s roots other than riding the gravy train of popularity while it’s still in its prime. However, it is nice for those like myself who haven’t read the manga (I’m sure that’s probably a crime in several states) to see the story again as it was meant to be. It’s a refresher on an iconic anime that needs to be seen by any and all fans of animation, Japanese or otherwise. Heck, convert non-anime fans with this series and dare them to tell you “cartoons are kids’ stuff!”