REVIEW: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Anime)

During my long break from anime, where the only productions I really watched were a bunch of Ghibli films, I'd completely missed the first adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist into a television series. Highly regarded as one of the best anime series of all time, this first adaptation did the unthinkable; it adapted a manga that was still in production and unfinished and did it well with a satisfying conclusion! If you've read my review of Berserk you'll know that this is as rare as unicorn poop. However, problems arose when the Fullmetal Alchemist manga was finished and people could read the story that could-have-been if the anime had just waited a bit and adapted the source material more faithfully, which in this case far surpassed the television series in terms of scope, depth and quality. Henceforth a second commissioned television series was born, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (to give its English title), which aimed to be as faithful an adaptation as possible not only in terms of plot and characters, but also aesthetically and stylistically. While many anime aficionados recommend that you still watch the first adaptation before the new one, I couldn't be bothered and jumped right in, so bear in mind this review comes from someone with no preconceptions and who knew nothing about the story of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Although Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has a very large cast of characters, the focus of the plot is still very much on the plight of protagonists Edward and Alphonse Elric and their quest to return themselves to normality. In this fictitious fantasy/steam-punk world there are many powerful alchemists, who assist people in their daily lives and who often sign themselves over to the government and work as 'State Alchemists', earning themselves more freedom and a large salary. The fundamental law of alchemy is 'equivalent exchange' which dictates that to obtain something, something of equal value must be given up; which ties in with other important laws and taboos such as trying to bring the dead back to life. After their father leaves the family, Edward and Alphonse study alchemy from an early age, and when their mother dies from the plague they break the taboo of 'human transmutation' and attempt to bring her back. It all goes horribly awry, and following the law of equivalent exchange Edward looses a leg and Alphonse his entire body (which roughly equals enough human matter to recreate their mother); heartbroken, Edward sacrifices one of his arms to bind Alphonse's soul to a suit of display armour. This is the basic set-up of the storyline, as Al trapped in a suit of metal and Ed with replacement mechanical arms and legs embark on their quest, to obtain a 'philosopher's stone', a powerful alchemical item that will allow them to regain their normal human bodies.

As I mentioned above, there is actually a *huge* cast in this anime series, and it really is testament to the amazing writing and direction that they're all given the time to develop and grow throughout the series. Most of the "good guys" are fellow state alchemists, such as Roy Mustang the 'Flame Alchemist' and his loyal band of soldiers, who all survived a horrendous and bloody war lovingly dubbed the "Ishvalan War of Extermination". This conflict, which was basically a large-scale ethnic cleansing, acts as the catalyst for pretty much all the main characters involvement in the storyline and is a large ugly stain on their past, which they're all struggling to come to terms with. One of the initial antagonists of the story is actually a survivor from the war on the losing side, the people of Ishvala, and his personal vendetta against the country that subjugated his people; you're never really sure who are (if indeed anyone is) the heroes. As the plot develops though, the true antagonists are eventually revealed, but I really don't want to spoil anything as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is probably best viewed without knowing too much. The picture above shows one of these mysterious and incredibly threatening characters and the central "baddie" really is one of the strengths of the series, along with the incredibly complex and finely woven plot. While there are no cheesy twists or cliffhangers in-between episodes, there is a lot of development and multi-layered storytelling, which is very satisfying in the way it all comes together and is neatly wrapped up by the end.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is not a 'shounen' anime, but there is a fair amount of fantastically animated fight scenes, often between different alchemists as they throw spells at each other and transmute the environment around them. I watched this entire show on blu-ray in high definition and the animation looked absolutely *gorgeous*, rivaling anything you would typically see in a large budget feature film (in fact there are a couple of Fullmetal Alchemist films that apparently look nowhere near as good as this television series!). The production quality all-round is actually very high, as this is the same studio who made the original adaptation, giving them essentially a practice run before this series in which they obviously honed their skills. In terms of the soundtrack, the orchestral score is fantastic and perfectly fits the mood and action onscreen, while the openings are some of the best I've seen recently; especially the first one - I *love* the first opening! One thing I didn't expect though, in terms of production, was the art style and how close it is to the manga, including all the crazy faces and visual humour. I'll put a picture in the final paragraph to try and illustrate what I mean, but it's something that took a while to get used to and that I was not expecting given the dark and often violent subject matter in the majority of the series.

I've talked at length now about this series, and hopefully I've communicated with heavy use of hyperbole and superlatives just how much I enjoyed it; Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is one of the *very best* anime I've ever watched. This was the final show I started watching during my "animarathon" over the summer holiday this year, and it was a real cracker to end it all on. Along with Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion, I've found a new personal favourite and it's going to be hard to move on to the next big thing. If you like fantasy/steam-punk settings, magic, lots of action, and incredibly deep and complex plots, you should definitely check out this definitive version of an amazing story. There are also four OVAs and a feature film set in the same universe as Brotherhood, so I might check them out, if I do I'll amend this review in the future to include them.