Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is a more canonical approach to Fullmetal Alchemist. But fear not: whether or not you’ve seen the show before, you are in for a treat!
On the surface, Brotherhood is the story we have all come to know and love that chronicles the Elric brothers on their path to redemption. However, there are a few notable changes here. The most notable change is that this version of the show (much like Dragon Ball Kai) is supposed to follow the manga material closer than the first version.
Shonen anime (or anime in general) can be frustrating sometimes. I mention shonen anime in particular because they run so long that it is almost inevitable that they will catch up with the manga (if it hasn’t already finished). It happened with (to name a few) Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, Naruto, and Rurouni Kenshin.
Oh the PAIN! The Jin-chu (revenge) arc is easily the best story arc in the entire Rurouni Kenshin series (the Samurai X OVA is a flashback that occurs during this story arc). However, it was never animated because after the season of filler, the show’s popularity had declined. Nobuhiro Watsuki’s Buso Renkin wasn’t animated until the manga ended, and I’m pretty sure that Kenshin’s anime had something to do with that decision.
I have never read Fullmetal Alchemist’s manga past the first volume (it is the only one I own, ha), but I will say that I was very satisfied with the way the original television series ended. In fact, The Conqueror of Shamballa (the movie that capped the first series off) reigns as one of my favorite endings ever to an anime series.
That being said, the anime and manga series started to part ways somewhere around the halfway point, and Bones is here to right all wrongs. Do you know what that means? Fullmetal Alchemist in High Definition!!!
I was happy to see that Romi Paku and Rie Kugimiya (my favorite voice actor) reprise their roles of Edward and Alphonse Elric, respectively. I won’t get into details, but some of the other voice actors were either switched around or changed outright. I miss Roy Mustang’s old voice, but it wasn’t a deal breaker by any means. Each character seemed to fit their role.
Only two episodes have aired thus far, and for the most part, they don’t venture outside of the bounds of the manga. They kind of take a teaser/introduction approach that introduces the characters without completely rehashing the information that was presented in the first series. For example: They focus on Edward’s introduction to the Fuhrer King Bradley instead of showing his test with Mustang.
I admit I was a bit worried about the series feeling rehashed, but if they can continue to keep things fresh I will be along for the ride.
