Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Turns Fifteen

The iconic anime "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood" commemorates its fifteenth anniversary since it first aired in Japan. This widely acclaimed franchise has left an indelible mark on the anime industry, attracting a devoted fan base around the world.

While both the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime and Brotherhood are praised as works of exceptional quality, many fans are surprised to find out that there are two completely different series. How did the series end up being adapted twice and why are they so different?

The "Fullmetal Alchemist" manga began publication in July 2001 and quickly gained popularity. The creator of the series, Hiromu Arakawa, was approached about an anime adaptation, which was eventually carried out by Bones Studios. The first anime debuted its premiere episode on October 4, 2003 and aired for 51 episodes until its finale a year later. At the time, the manga was only 28 chapters into what would be a 108-chapter run, so the end was still far on the horizon.

Arakawa has mentioned that although he had the end of the manga in mind from the beginning, he asked the animation studio to create its own story based on what had been published so far. In an interview with Newtype USA in 2006, Arakawa said that he saw "little point in having a story in different media if everything is exactly the same in all versions."

The first series was a huge success and was followed by an all-original film, "The Conqueror of Shamballa", in 2005. In September 2008, it was announced that a second anime was in development. This second series, now known as "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood", was produced by Bones Studios once again and was meant to be a faithful adaptation of the manga.

"Brotherhood" debuted in April 2009 and aired for 64 episodes before concluding in July 2010. Although some fans were concerned at the time that the manga had not yet ended, Bones Studios assured that the final episodes were already in production and that the series would end in the same way as the manga.

"Brotherhood" was a critical and commercial success and was popular enough to get an original anime film, known as "The Sacred Star of Milos", which debuted in Japan in July 2011. The reason there are two versions of Fullmetal Alchemist is simple: it's so popular, it deserves it.

The manga was popular enough to create an anime so early in its run that it had to create an original ending, and then that anime was popular enough to spawn movies of its own. It's only natural that "Fullmetal Alchemist" would be adapted again once the manga was (almost) finished, especially since the two had diverged so much. In addition, the franchise has continued to be adapted, including with a live-action "Fullmetal Alchemist" released in Japan in 2022.

Source: ScreenRant