Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
SHOW TYPE
TV
SHOW LENGTH
24 min
PROTECTION
TV-14
RELEASED
2009
Two brothers search for a Philosopher's Stone after an attempt to revive their deceased mother goes awry and leaves them in damaged physical forms.
Two brothers lose their mother to an incurable disease. With the power of "alchemy", they use taboo knowledge to resurrect her. The process fails, and as a toll for using this type of alchemy, the older brother, Edward Elric loses his left leg while the younger brother, Alphonse Elric loses his entire body.
To save his brother, Edward sacrifices his right arm and is able to affix his brother's soul to a suit of armor. With the help of a family friend, Edward receives metal limbs - "automail" - to replace his lost ones. With that, Edward vows to search for the Philosopher's Stone to return the brothers to their original bodies, even if it means becoming a "State Alchemist", one who uses their alchemy for the military.
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Comments and reviews
Guest 2b41
anonymous
Sep 10, 2026
This review is mainly meant for anyone who watched Fullmetal Alchemist and is either considering Brotherhood, has watched a few episodes and not liked it, or has read one of the negative reviews and was put off. When I first heard about Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I was skeptical. Seeing as the original Fullmetal Alchemist is the first anime I have ever completely watched and is the spark that ignited my obsessive love of anime that I have today, a redo seemed unnecessary to say the least. What could possibly be improved upon a show as fantastic as Fullmetal Alchemist? With hesitation and doubt in my heart I started watching the series... and instantly hated it. I won't lie, my first impressions were not only that the show didn't live up to the original, but that it was also an abomination that was dancing on the grave of a greater show. I cried, I screamed, I broke things, I didn't do any of the above because I'm exaggerating and not actually crazy, but I was still quite upset. The criticisms bubbled up inside me until I was frustratingly glaring at the TV appalled at such changes as Alphonse's voice actor, or a lack of the opening starting with the classic "in those days, we really believed..." lines from Al. With each passing episode the insults to Fullmetal Alchemist seemed to grow, episodes that were lovingly crafted in the original series were apparently being lightly brushed on. Moments in the original that got me hooked fell flat in Brotherhood, and I was fed up and ready to write the letter of complaint to end all letters of complaint. But then, my eyes began to open. Right around episode 13 where the plot of the two animes separates I started to think that this story might actually be good. As the episodes began to fly I realized that it wasn't good, it was great. After finishing the series I knew without a doubt in my mind that what I had witnessed was my favorite anime of all time. The story of Brotherhood is better than that of the original on so many levels that the two shows truly don't compare. After having my eyes opened I was forced to drop the rating that I gave to the original to an 8 simply because now I knew how much lost potential it had. If you enjoyed the story of Fullmetal Alchemist, stick with Brotherhood and I guarantee you that you will not regret it. Not only is the plot and storyline vastly improved upon and more satisfying, the animation, music (in my opinion at least, some disagree), characters, and overall feel is far better. Therefore, if you are a true fan of the original series don't give up on Brotherhood after only a few episodes like I was so tempted to do, it is a show that grows into something that will go down in history as one of the greats of animation history and you shouldn't miss out.