| Fullmetal Alchemist | |
 |
| The cover of the first Japanese manga volume featuring Alphonse and Edward Elric |
| 鋼の錬金術師 (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) |
|
|---|---|
| Genre | Adventure, Science fantasy |
| Manga | |
| Written by | Hiromu Arakawa |
| Published by | Enix (2001-03) Square Enix (2003-10) |
| English publisher | Australia, New Zealand: Madman Entertainment Canada, United States: Viz Media Singapore: Chuang Yi |
| Demographic | Shōnen |
| Magazine | Monthly Shōnen Gangan |
| Original run | August 2001 – June 2010 |
| Volumes | 27 |
| Light novel | |
| Written by | Makoto Inoue |
| Illustrated by | Hiromu Arakawa |
| Published by | Square Enix |
| English publisher |  Viz Media |
| Original run | 2004 – 2010 |
| Volumes | 10 |
| TV anime | |
| Directed by | Seiji Mizushima |
| Written by | Shō Aikawa |
| Studio | Bones |
| Licensed by |   Madman Entertainment Funimation Entertainment Revelation Films |
| Network | MBS, TBS, Animax |
| English network | Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) Cartoon Network (Adult Swim) YTV        Animax Asia Rapture TV,AnimeCentral Hyper Animax |
| Original run | October 4, 2003 – October 2, 2004 |
| Episodes | 51 |
| TV anime | |
| Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood | |
| Directed by | Yasuhiro Irie |
| Written by | Hiroshi Ōnogi |
| Studio | Bones |
| Licensed by | Madman Entertainment Funimation Entertainment Manga Entertainment |
| Network | MBS, TBS |
| English network | C31, TVS Super Channel Cartoon Network Animax Asia AXN Asia(Philippine feed; exclusive programming) Hyper SIC Radical |
| Original run | April 5, 2009 – July 4, 2010 |
| Episodes | 64 |
| Related | |
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The episodes
from the anime Fullmetal Alchemist are based on Fullmetal Alchemist manga by
Hiromu Arakawa.Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most
advanced scientific techniques known to man, the story follows Edward and
Alphonse Elric, two alchemist brothers, who want to recover parts of their
bodies lost in an attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.
Fullmetal
Alchemist was first aired on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) in Japan from
October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004. It later aired on Cartoon Network's Adult
Swim block in the United States from November 6, 2004 and its remake, Fullmetal
Alchemist: Brotherhood, is still airing on Saturdays at 1:00 AM.A theatrical
release titled Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, a sequel
to the television series, premiered in Japanese theaters on July 23, 2005; and
it premiered in the U.S. on August 24, 2006. A series of five original video
animations (OVAs) were also released. The majority of these OVAs are side
stories and do not expand on the plot. In 2009, a new anime, named Fullmetal
Alchemist: Brotherhood for the English release started broadcast in TV Tokyo
being directed by Yasuhiro.
The first
series has been released in a series of thirteen DVDs from December 17, 2003 to
January 26, 2005 in Japan. Funimation also released the same series of DVDs
from February 8, 2005 to September 12, 2006 in the United States. MVM had
released the first eight volumes in the United Kingdom; however, Funimation
gave the rights over to Revelation Films. In March 2006 a DVD featuring the
OVAs was released in Japan with the name of Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium
Collection. Funimation acquired and dubbed the Premium Collection, which was released
on August 4, 2009.During January from 2009, Bones released a "DVD box
archives" of the anime. It includes the first anime of 51 episodes, the
film, the CD soundtracks, and guidebooks from the series.
Eight pieces
of theme music are used for the episodes—four opening themes and four ending
themes. Each of the theme songs were performed by artists under Sony Music
Entertainment Japan's label, whose anime distribution unit, Aniplex, handled
the production and music production for the series. The music score was
composed and arranged by Michiru Oshima. "Melissa" by Porno Graffitti
is used during episodes 2–13, "Ready Steady Go" by L'Arc-en-Ciel
follows it until episodes 25, "Undo" by Cool Joke is used until
episode 41, and "Rewrite" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation is used until
episode 51. For episode 1, the ending is "Melissa" by Porno
Graffitti. "Kesenai Tsumi" (消せない罪?, "Indelible Sin") by
Nana Kitade is used for episodes 2-13, "Tobira no Mukō e (扉の向うへ?,
"Beyond the Door") by Yellow Generation is used for episodes 14-24,
episodes 26-41 use "Motherland" by Crystal Kay for the ending, and
"I Will" by Sowelu is used for episodes 42-50. All episodes that
originally opened with "Melissa" and "Undo" had "Ready
Steady Go" shown in place of those songs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim
and YTV's Bionix. The DVD releases from Funimation include all openings in
their original places and format.
Fullmetal
Alchemist: Brotherhood, known in Japan as Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Fullmetal
Alchemist, is the second independent anime adaptation developed by Bones from
the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series by Hiromu Arakawa. While the studio Bones
produces the new series, Yasuhiro Irie works as director, and Hiroshi Ōnogi as
writer.The series follows the story of two alchemist brothers, Edward and
Alphonse Elric, who want to restore their bodies after a disastrous failed
attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy. Unlike the first
anime, which had its own original story, the second series follows the story of
the manga.
The series
premiered on April 5, 2009, on MBS-TBS' Sunday 5:00 pm JST anime timeblock,
replacing Mobile Suit Gundam 00. On March 20, 2009, it was announced that it
would receive its English language premiere on Animax Asia, with Japanese audio
and English subtitles, from April 10, 2009, at 8:30 p.m, five days after its
Japanese premiere.On April 3, 2009, Funimation announced they would stream
English subtitled episodes 4 days after they air in Japan. Funimation later
suspended the release of new episodes of the series for a few weeks due to an
incident involving an episode of One Piece being downloaded before it had aired
in Japan.However, the episodes are now back on the Funimation website as well
as on the official Funimation channel on YouTube. The episodes become available
for streaming from Funimation every Thursday at 10 a.m. CDT. All episodes are
also available on Hulu, and new episodes are added 14 days after their airing.
Madman Entertainment will also stream it "within days" of the
episodes airing in Japan. English dubbed episodes of the show started showing
February 13, 2010 at midnight on Adult Swim, as part of their Saturday anime
block.
Aniplex
began releasing the series in DVD and Blu-ray on August 26, 2009. The first one
contains two episodes and an original video animation (OVA). Three more OVAs
were included in the fifth, ninth and thirteenth volumes alongisde four
episodes. Other volumes feature four episodes and no OVAs. A total of sixteen
volumes were released, with the last one on November 24, 2010.Funimation also
began releasing the episodes in Blu-ray and DVD volumes each of thirteen
episodes on May 25, 2010.
Brotherhood's
music composer is Akira Senju. Ten pieces of theme music were used in
Brotherhood. The respective opening and ending themes for the first 14 episodes
are "Again" by Yui, and "Uso" (嘘?,
lit. "Lie") by Sid. From episode 15-26, the respective opening and
ending themes are "Hologram" by Nico Touches the Walls, and "Let
It Out" by Miho Fukuhara, respectively. From episode 27-38, the respective
opening and ending themes are "Golden Time Lover" by Sukima Switch,
and "Tsunaida Te" (つないだ手?, lit. "Tied Hands")
by Lil'B. From episode 39-50, the respective opening and ending themes are
"Period" by Chemistry, and "Shunkan Sentimental" (瞬間センチメンタル
Shunkan Senchimentaru?, lit. "Sentimental Moment") by Scandal. From
episodes 51-62, the respective opening and ending themes are "Rain" (レイン
Rein?) by Sid, and "Ray of Light" by Shoko Nakagawa. While episodes
63 and 64 do not use opening themes, they use "Rain" and
"Hologram", respectively, for the endings.
 |
| Fullmetal Alchemist volume one DVD cover by Funimation |
 |
| Cover of the Japanese release of the first Fullmetal Alchemist light novel |
Fullmetal
Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no Renkinjutsushi?, literally "Alchemist
of Steel"), is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu
Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European
Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of
the most advanced scientific techniques known to man, the story follows the
brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who want to restore their bodies after a
disastrous failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.
The manga
was serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine (starting August
2001 and ending June 2010) and was collected in 27 tankōbon volumes. It was
adapted into an animated television series of 51 episodes by Bones from October
4, 2003, to October 2, 2004, later followed by a film sequel that concluded the
story of the anime. Fullmetal Alchemist would later spawn a second series
called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which first premiered in Japan on
April 5, 2009, spanning 64 episodes, and ending on July 4, 2010. A multitude of
spin-off novels, original video animations (OVAs), drama CDs, soundtracks, and
video games have been adapted from the series. A collectible card game,
multiple supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other
merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.
The manga
has been licensed by Viz Media for publication in the United States, with 27
bound volumes released currently. Although there are no major differences with
the Japanese version, some pages have been edited to avoid minor references to
western theology. Funimation Entertainment has dubbed the anime episodes in the
United States and Canada, and has also released them in all English-speaking
DVD regions. The English version of the film premiered in a limited number of
U.S. theaters on August 25, 2006, and was later released on DVD. Funimation and
Destineer have also been releasing the video games from the series.
In Japan,
the Fullmetal Alchemist manga has enjoyed exceptional sales of 50 million
volumes sold as of 2010. The English release of the manga's first volume was
the top-selling graphic novel during the year 2005. In two TV Asahi web polls,
the anime was voted #1 most popular anime of all time in Japan. It was
nominated in six of the eight categories for which it was eligible at the
American Anime Awards in February 2007, winning awards in five of them.
Reviewers from several media generally had positive comments on the series.
Plot
Edward and
Alphonse Elric are two alchemist brothers searching for the legendary catalyst
called the Philosopher's Stone, a powerful object which would allow them to
recover their bodies (which were lost in an attempt to bring their mother back
to life through alchemy). Born in the village of Risenbul from the country of
Amestris (アメストリス Amesutorisu?), the two brothers lived there with
their mother Trisha Elric. Their father, Van Hohenheim, left home for unknown
reasons and years later, Trisha died of a terminal illness, leaving the Elric brothers
alone. After their mother's death, Edward became determined to bring her back
through the use of alchemy, an advanced science in which objects can be created
from raw materials. They researched Human Transmutation, a forbidden art in
which one attempts to create or modify a human being. However, this attempt
failed, ultimately resulting in the loss of Edward's left leg and Alphonse's
entire body. In a desperate effort to save his brother, Edward sacrificed his
right arm to affix Alphonse's soul to a suit of armor. Some days later, an
alchemist named Roy Mustang visited the Elric brothers, and proposed that
Edward become a member of the State Military of Amestris in exchange for more
research materials to find a way to recover their bodies. After that, Edward's
left leg and right arm were replaced with automail, a type of advanced
prosthetic limb, built for him by his close family friends Winry Rockbell and
her grandmother Pinako.
Edward then
became a State Alchemist (国家錬金術師 Kokka Renkinjutsushi?), an
alchemist employed by the State Military of Amestris, which infamously
annihilated most of the Ishbalan race (Ishbal) in the past decade. Becoming a
State Alchemist enables Edward to use the extensive resources available to other
State Alchemists. The brothers set off in search of the Philosopher's Stone as
a means to restore their bodies. Throughout their journey, they meet allies and
enemies, including those who are willing to do anything to obtain the
Philosopher's Stone; Scar, one of the few surviving Ishbalans, who seeks
vengeance on the State Alchemists for the destruction of his race; and the
homunculi, a group of human-like creatures who carry pieces of the
Philosopher's Stone inside themselves, and from it derive the ability to
survive almost any harm.
As the story
progresses, Edward and Alphonse discover the vast expansion of Amestris was the
result of the homunculi, who created and secretly control the State Military.
The homunculi and much of the high-ranking military officers are commanded from
behind the curtains by the creator of the homunculi, a man simply known as
"Father", who gained immortality through a Philosopher's Stone, which
he created by tricking Hohenheim centuries before the series' timeline. He
plans to use Amestris as a gigantic transmutation circle in order to transmute
the entire country for reasons unknown to the Elrics. When Edward and Alphonse
discover Father's plans, they, along with other members of the State Military,
set out to defeat him.
As the
forces collide, one by one, the remaining homunculi are defeated and Central
city's troops are enlightened about the truth of the situation. Father tries to
transmutate Amestris to gain god-like powers but Hohenheim manages to stop him.
A weakened Father is defeated by Edward with his original arm, Al having
sacrificed himself to bring it back. After Father is trapped within the Truth,
Ed sacrifices his ability to use alchemy to bring Alphonse back in his original
body. The Elrics return to Resembool, but two years later, they separate in
order to repay the people who helped in their journey.
Differences in the first anime adaptation
The first
half of the anime's plot basically follows that of the manga, but the plots
severely diverge from each other near the middle of the story, when Ed and Alphonse
reunite with their teacher Izumi Curtis. A former lover of Hohenheim, the
former mentor to their own teacher, Dante, acts as the series' main antagonist,
appearing only in the anime. Centuries ago, the two perfected methods for
making the Philosopher's Stone, achieving a sort of immortality by transferring
their soul and intellect into others' bodies as they age. Hohenheim was
eventually overcome by the guilt of sacrificing lives to make the Stone and
left Dante. Although Dante is still able to jump from body to body with the
last stone she and Hohenheim created, she does not possess the complete
knowledge on how to make one. She uses the homunculi to spur Edward and
Alphonse, along with other Alchemists equally desperate, into creating another
complete Philosopher's Stone for her.
When Scar
creates the Philosopher's Stone, he infuses the stone into Alphonse's metal
body, making him the main focus of Dante's efforts leading to him being
kidnapped. When Edward goes to rescue him, he is killed by the homunculus Envy.
Alphonse uses the Philosopher's Stone to revive his brother but disappears in
the process. Dante tries to escape, but she is killed when the homunculus
Gluttony, whose mind she had earlier destroyed, fails to recognize his master.
After being revived, Edward risks his life to bring back his brother in
exchange. As a result, Edward ends up in a parallel world, while Alphonse
recovers his original body. Determined to reunite with Alphonse, Edward becomes
involved in rocketry research, with the intention to use that technology to try
to get back to his home world.
The story is
followed in the film Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa,
which takes place two years after the anime's narrative. While Ed is working in
Germany to find a way to return to Amestris, Dietlinde Eckhart, a member from
the Thule Society, discovers the existence of Ed's world and starts giving him
hints to open a portal to Amestris. Alphonse, having been looking for his
brother after two years, also discovers the portal and opens it at the same
time as his father Hohenheim opens the one from Germany, allowing Dietlinde to
enter Amestris and try to conquer it. Edward reunites with his brother and they
join forces to defeat Dietlinde. Knowing the danger that both worlds are now
connected through the portal, Edward returns to Germany to destroy that side of
the portal, knowing that he would be trapped there forever. Alphonse secretly
follows him, having decided to stay with Edward.
Production
After
reading about the philosopher's stone, Arakawa said that she became attracted
to the idea of using alchemy in the manga. She liked it so much that she
started reading books relating to alchemy, which she found very complicated
because some books contradicted others. Arakawa was attracted more by the
philosophical aspects than the practical aspects.For the Equivalent Exchange
concept, she was inspired by the work of her parents who had a farm in Hokkaidō
and always had to give all their effort in order to earn the money to eat.
Arakawa
wanted to integrate social problems into the story. She gathered information
watching news programs and talking to people, such as refugees, war veterans
and former yakuza. Several plot elements expand on these themes, such as Pinako
Rockbell caring for the Elric brothers after the death of their mother, and the
brothers helping people all over the country, to gain an understanding of the
meaning of family. When creating the fictional world of Fullmetal Alchemist,
Arakawa was inspired after reading about Europe during the Industrial
Revolution period; she was amazed by how different the people from different
countries were, in terms of their culture, architecture, and clothes. She was
especially interested in England during this period and "added to it her
own original flavor to turn it into a fantasy world."
When the
manga began serialization, Arakawa had in mind how the story would end. As the
plot continued, however, she felt some characters were maturing and decided to
change some scenes, resulting in some sketches of the faces of the characters
being improvised.In creating the characters' designs, she comments that the
manga authors Suihō Tagawa and Hiroyuki Eto are her main inspirations, and
describes her artwork as a mix of both of them. The easiest of the series
characters for her to draw was Alex Louis Armstrong, as well as little animals.
Due to the fact she likes dogs, Arakawa added several of them in the story.
Arakawa made comedy central in the manga because she thinks it is intended for
entertainment, and tried to minimalize focus on sad scenes.
When the
number of manga chapters was around 40, Arakawa commented that as the series
gets near the end, she will try to make the story faster until getting to the
conclusion. To avoid making chapters less entertaining than others, unnecessary
details from each of them are removed and a climax is developed. The removal of
minor information is also necessary since the number of pages that Arakawa has
to work with in Monthly Shōnen Gangan is not enough to cover all the storyline
content she wants to add. As such, certain characters' appearances were limited
in some chapters.
During the
development of the first anime, Arakawa allowed the anime staff to work
independently from her, and requested having a different ending from the one in
the manga. She said that she would not like to repeat the same ending in both
media, as well as to make the manga longer to work more in the development of
the characters. When watching the ending of the anime, she was amazed about how
different the homunculi creatures were from the manga and enjoyed how the staff
speculated about the origins of the villains.As Arakawa also helped the Bones
staff in the making of the series, she was kept busy from focusing on the
manga's cover illustrations and had little time to make them.
Media
Manga
 |
| This panel from volume 8 shows some of the changes in the graphics that Viz Media made in changing from the original release of Fullmetal Alchemist (left) to its English release (right). |
Written and
drawn by Hiromu Arakawa, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series is serialized in
Square Enix's monthly manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan. It has been
serialized since Monthly Shōnen Gangan's August 2001 issue (published on July
12, 2001) and has been completed with chapter 108 marking an end to the series,
as of June 2010.A side-story to the series was then published in the October
issue of Monthly Shōnen Gangan on September 11, 2010. In the July 2011 issue of
the same magazine, the prototype version from the manga was published.
Square Enix
compiled the chapters into 28 tankōbon volumes. The first volume was released
on January 22, 2002, with the last one released on November 22, 2010. A few
chapters have been rereleased in Japan in two "Extra number"
magazines and Fullmetal Alchemist, The First Attack, which features the first
nine chapters of the manga as well as other side stories. On July 22, 2011,
Square Enix started republishing the series in kanzenban format. Viz Media is
releasing the manga in North America. The first volume was released on May 3,
2005, and has presently ended it's run when the final volume, volume 27, was
released on December 20, 2011. On June 7, 2011, Viz started publishing the
series in omnibus format, featuring three volumes in one.
The content
of the manga released by Viz in the United States were mostly consistent with
the original material. As of October 2011, the only edits that have been made
were to a set of twelve panels from the original volume 8, depicting the
character Greed tied to a cross-shaped stone slab in crucifixion style. In the
North American version the stone was redesigned to become round in each
panel,as commented by Viz to avoid references to Christianity. This change in
the manga was made with the approval of Arakawa.
In
Singapore, the manga is being published by Chuang Yi. Publishing in both
English and Simplified Chinese, nineteen volumes have been released in English,
while twenty-one volumes have been released in Simplified Chinese. In Poland,
Japonica Polonica Fantastica is publishing the manga - as of January 2010,
eighteen volumes have been released. In France, the manga is being released by
Kurokawa. Volume eight, released in September 2006, was available also in a
collector's edition, which consisted of the book packed with the original
comedic novel Flame Alchemist, focusing on Roy Mustang's schedule. Prior to
this, this novel was only available with the limited edition of volume six in
Japan. In Brazil, Editora JBC is publishing the manga with forty-four volumes
equivalent to the first original twenty-two volumes having been released
currently. In Italy, the manga is published by Panini Comics using the label
"Planet Manga".In South Korea, it is published by Haksan and was
serialized in Booking.
Anime series
Fullmetal Alchemist
The
animation studio Bones adapted the manga into a 51-episode anime series. It was
directed by Seiji Mizushima, written by Shō Aikawa and co-produced by Bones,
Mainichi Broadcasting System and Aniplex. Character designs were handled by
Yoshiyuki Itō. The anime was broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System, TBS,
and Animax in Japan from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004,with a 6.8 percent
television viewership rating. The English dubbed version of the anime was
produced by Funimation and debuted on the Adult Swim block of the United States
cable channel Cartoon Network on November 6, 2004. A year and a half later,
Canada's YTV began airing it on March 3, 2006. The anime's later story and
conclusion by Bones is different from the manga due to a request by Arakawa.
During the making of the anime, Arakawa was present in meetings to give the
staff insight into the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, though she did not
actively take part in any writing for the TV series.
The series
has been released in a series of thirteen DVDs from December 17, 2003 to
January 26, 2005 in Japan.Funimation Entertainment also released the same
series of DVDs from February 8, 2005 to September 12, 2006 in the United
States.MVM had released the first eight volumes in the United Kingdom; however,
Funimation gave the rights over to Revelation Films. A series of five original
video animations (OVAs) were also released. The majority of these OVAs are side
stories and do not expand on the plot. These OVAs also include a live action
segment with Alphonse Elric travelling around a city. In March 2006 a DVD
featuring these OVAs was released in Japan with the name of Fullmetal
Alchemist: Premium Collection. Funimation acquired and dubbed Premium
Collection during the end of 2008 for English release.The DVD was released in
English on August 4, 2009. During January 2009, Bones released a "DVD box
archives" of the anime. It includes the first anime of 51 episodes, the
film, the CD soundtracks, and guidebooks from the series.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
In the 20th
volume of the manga, creator Arakawa announced that a second Fullmetal
Alchemist anime series was being produced. Bones produces the new series with
Yasuhiro Irie as director and Hiroshi Ōnogi as writer. The title of the series
is also Fullmetal Alchemist in the Japanese version, although as Hagane no
Renkinjutsushi: Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Hagane no
Renkinjutsushi: Furumetaru Arukemisuto?, abbreviated as 鋼の錬金術師FA)
to differentiate it from the 2003 series. The series premiered on April 5,
2009, on MBS-TBS's Sunday 5:00 pm JST anime timeblock, replacing Mobile Suit
Gundam 00, and voice actresses Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya reprised their roles
as main characters Edward and Alphonse Elric respectively. Unlike the first
anime which had an original story, the second series follows the story of the
manga. On March 20, 2009, it was announced that the English title of the series
was Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and that it would receive its English
language premiere on Animax Asia, with Japanese audio and English subtitles, on
April 10, 2009, at 8:30 p.m, five days after its Japanese premiere.Aniplex
started releasing the series in Blu-ray and DVD on August 26, 2009, with the
first containing two episodes and an original video animation (OVA).Two more
OVAs were included in the fifth and ninth volumes alongside four episodes.
Other volumes feature four episodes and no OVAs. A total of sixteen volumes
were released, with the last one on November 24, 2010.
On April 3,
2009, Funimation announced it would stream English subtitled episodes four days
after they air in Japan. Madman Entertainment will also stream it "within
days" of the episodes airing in Japan. Funimation later suspended the
release of new episodes of the series for a few weeks due to an incident
involving an episode of One Piece being uploaded before it had aired in Japan.
However, the episodes are now back on the Funimation website as well as on the
official Funimation channel on Youtube. In September 2009, Funimation announced
the cast for an English dub of the series.On February 13, 2010, the English dub
of the series premiered on Cartoon Network and ended on September 25, 2011.
Funimation also began releasing the episodes in Blu-ray and DVD volumes each of
thirteen episodes on May 25, 2010, and finished on August 2, 2011 with a total
of five volumes.
Films
A film sequel to the first anime, Fullmetal Alchemist the
Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, was produced by Bones, and premiered in Japanese
theaters on July 23, 2005. The film follows Edward Elric's attempts to return
to his homeworld, having lived for two years on Earth, which exists in a
parallel universe to his own, while Alphonse is equally determined to reunite
with his brother by any means necessary. Funimation Entertainment released the
English DVD on September 12, 2006.
Following the second anime's ending, an announcement was
shown regarding a new Fullmetal Alchemist film. A teaser trailer began
streaming in November 2010 in the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood official
site, confirming that a movie entitled Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of
Milos would open throughout Japan in July 2011. It was directed by Kazuya
Murata, while the script was done by Yūichi Shinpo. Set within the second
anime's storyline, it follows the Elrics going to another country to capture a
criminal. Funimation has licensed the film, releasing it in selected theaters
within the United States on January 2012, and will release the film on DVD and
Blu-ray in April.
Light novels
A series of six Fullmetal Alchemist Japanese light novels,
written by Makoto Inoue, have been published by Square Enix. The novels are
licensed for an English-language release by Viz Media in North America, with
translations by Alexander O. Smith.Although Arakawa did not write the novels,
she did illustrations for them, including covers and frontispieces. The novels
are spin-offs of the manga series and follow the Elric brothers on their
continued quest for the Philosopher's Stone. The first novel, Fullmetal
Alchemist: The Land of Sand, was animated as the episodes eleven and twelve of
the anime series. The fourth novel also contains an extra story about the
military called "Roy's Holiday". Novelizations of three of the
PlayStation 2 games, Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel, Curse of the
Crimson Elixir, and The Girl Who Succeeds God—have also been written. The first
was authored by Makoto Inoue and the rest by Jun Eishima.
Drama CDs
There have
been two series of Fullmetal Alchemist audio dramas. The first volume of the
first series, Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 1: The Land of Sand (砂礫の大地
Sareki no Daichi?), was released before the anime and tells a story similar to
the first novel. The Tringham brothers reprised their roles in the anime.
Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. 2: False Light, Truth's Shadow (偽りの光 真実の影 Itsuwari no Hikari, Shinjitsu no Kage?) and Fullmetal
Alchemist Vol. 3: Criminals' Scar (咎人たちの傷跡 Togabitotachi no Kizuato?) are
stories based on different manga chapters with the addition of other characters
from the State Military from the series.
The second
series of audio dramas, available only with purchases of Shōnen Gangan,
consists of short stories. There are two stories in this series, each with two
parts. The first, Fullmetal Alchemist: Ogutāre of the Fog (霧のオグターレ
Kiri no Ogutāre?), was included in Shōnen Gangan's April and May 2004 issues,
while the second story, Fullmetal Alchemist: Crown of Heaven (天上の宝冠
Tenjō no Hōkan?), was found in the November and December issues.
CDs
 |
| Cover of Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa Original Soundtrack |
The music
for Fullmetal Alchemist was composed and arranged by Michiru Oshima, who won
the 5th Tokyo Anime Award in the category "Best Music" for Fullmetal
Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa. TV Animation Fullmetal Alchemist
Original Soundtrack 1 was released on March 24, 2004 in Japan and contained
thirty-three tracks, including several of the background sounds used during key
points in the main series and the first opening and ending theme songs.
Although never released officially, a version of the Russian track
"Brothers" (Russian: Братья, Bratja; Japanese: Burācha) from this CD
has been recorded in English by Vic Mignogna, the voice actor who played Edward
Elric in the English dubbed version. TV Animation Fullmetal Alchemist Original
Soundtrack 2 was released on December 15, 2004 and contained thirty tracks.TV
Animation Fullmetal Alchemist Original Soundtrack 3, released on May 18, 2005
contained twenty-seven tracks.
Fullmetal
Alchemist: Complete Best and Fullmetal Alchemist Hagaren Song File (Best
Compilation) are compilations of the soundtracks that were released in Japan on
October 14, 2004 and December 21, 2005, respectively. A bonus DVD, exclusive to
the U.S. release, contains a music video for Nana Kitade's "Indelible
Sin". Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie Conqueror Of Shamballa OST, which
contained forty-six tracks, was released on December 21, 2005. All are tracks
used in the featured film Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of
Shamballa. During December 2004, a concert titled "Tales of Another
Festival" was staged in Tokyo and Osaka. It featured performances by
several of the musical artists from the television series as well as narrations
by the voice actors and actresses. A DVD of the concert entitled Fullmetal
Alchemist Festival - Tales of Another was released in Japan on April 27, 2005.
Fullmetal
Alchemist: Brotherhood's music composer is Akira Senju. The first CD soundtrack
from this anime was published on October 14, 2009. The second CD soundtrack
from the anime was published on March 24, 2010.The third and final CD
soundtrack became available on July 7, 2010.Finally, Fullmetal Alchemist Final
Best, a compilation of openings and endings songs, was released on July 28,
2010.
On June 29,
2011 Original Soundtrack of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos
(FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Nageki no Oka no Seinaru Hoshi), composed by Taro
Iwashiro, was released.
Video games
Video games
based on Fullmetal Alchemist have also been released. The storylines of the
games often diverge from those of the anime and manga and feature new
characters. Square Enix has released three role-playing games (RPG)—Fullmetal
Alchemist and the Broken Angel, Curse of the Crimson Elixir, and Kami o Tsugu
Shōjo—and one fighting game, Dream Carnival, for the PlayStation 2. Bandai has
released two RPG titles, Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo (鋼の錬金術師 迷走の輪舞曲 Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Meisō no Rondo?) and
Fullmetal Alchemist: Sonata of Memory (鋼の錬金術師 想い出の奏鳴曲
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Omoide no Sonata?), for the Game Boy Advance and one,
Dual Sympathy, for the Nintendo DS. Bandai also released another RPG, Fullmetal
Alchemist: To the Promised Day (鋼の錬金術師 Fullmetal Alchemist 約束の日へ
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Fullmetal Alchemist Yakusoku no Hi e?), for the
PlayStation Portable on May 20, 2010, in Japan. Destineer released a game based
on the trading card game in North America for the Nintendo DS.Of the seven
games made in Japan, Broken Angel, Dream Carnival, Curse of the Crimson Elixir,
and Dual Sympathy have seen international release; the others have not been
released internationally. For the Wii, Akatsuki no Ōji (暁の王子?,
lit. Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn) was released in Japan on August
13, 2009. A direct sequel of the game, Tasogare no Shōjo (黄昏の少女?,
lit. "Fullmetal Alchemist: Daughter of the Dusk"), was released on
December 10, 2009, for the same console.
Funimation
licensed the franchise to create a new series of Fullmetal Alchemist related
video games to be published by Destineer Publishing Corporation in the United
States. Destineer released its first Fullmetal Alchemist game for the Nintendo
DS, a translation of Bandai's Dual Sympathy, on December 15, 2006, and has
commented that this will be the first of many titles that they plan to release.
On February 19, 2007, Destineer announced the second game in its Fullmetal
Alchemist series, the Fullmetal Alchemist Trading Card Game. This title was
released October 15, 2007. A third game for the PlayStation Portable titled
Fullmetal Alchemist: Senka wo Takuseshi Mono (背中を託せし者?)
was released in Japan on October 15, 2009. The game was announced for a
European release with Namco Bandai being the publisher on March 4, 2010. The
massively multiplayer online role-playing game MapleStory also received special
ingame items based on the series as tie-in.
For the RPG
games, Arakawa oversaw the story and designed its characters, while Bones, the
studio which would be responsible for the anime series, produced several
animation sequences. The developers looked at other titles for inspiration,
particularly Square Enix's action role-playing game Kingdom Hearts, in addition
to other games based on manga series, such as Dragon Ball, Naruto or One Piece
games. The biggest challenge they had to overcome was to try to make the title
a "full-fledged" game rather than a simple
"character-based" game.Tomoya Asano, the assistant producer for the
games, noted that development spanned more than a year, unlike most
character-based games.
Art and guidebooks
The
Fullmetal Alchemist franchise has several artbooks for the manga and the anime;
three manga artbooks called The Art of Fullmetal Alchemist (イラスト集
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST Irasuto Shū Fullmetal Alchemist?) were released by Square
Enix with two of them also by Viz Media.[94][95] The first contains
illustrations made between May 2001 to April 2003, spanning the first six manga
volumes, while the second has illustrations from September 2003 to October
2005, spanning the next six.The last one includes illustrations from the
remaining volumes. For the anime, three artbooks with the name of The Art of
Fullmetal Alchemist: The Anime (TVアニメーション鋼の錬金術師 ART BOOK TV Animēshon
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Artbook?) were released in Japan, while only the first
was released by Viz Media. An artbook from the second anime titled Fullmetal
Alchemist Official Drawing Collection was also released in November 2010.
The manga
also has three guidebooks; each of them contain timelines, guides to the Elric
brothers' journey, and gaiden chapters that were never released in a manga
volume. Only the first guidebook has been released by Viz Media, under the name
of Fullmetal Alchemist Profiles. An anime character guide book called Fullmetal
Alchemist Anime Profiles (TV Animation Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Kyarakore?) was
released Japan as well in the United States. A series of five fanbooks have
also been released with the name of TV Anime Fullmetal Alchemist Official
Fanbooks (TVアニメ 鋼の錬金術師 オフィシャルファンブック TV Anime Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Ofisharu Fan
Bukku?) containing each one information of the anime as well as several
interviews with the staff of the series. Additionally, a series of four
guidebooks focused on the second anime series were released from on August 12,
2009 to August 2010. A new guidebook titled "Fullmetal Alchemist
Chronicle" (鋼の錬金術師 CHRONICLE?) was released in Japan on July 29, 2011
which contains more information on what happens after the end of the manga.
Other merchandise
Action figures, busts, and statues from the Fullmetal Alchemist anime and manga have been created by leading toy companies; primarily Medicom and Southern Island. Medicom has created high end deluxe vinyl figures of the characters from the anime. These figures are exclusively distributed in the United States and UK by Southern Island. Southern Island has also released their own action figures in 2007 of the main characters. These figures and a 12" statue were scheduled to release in 2007. Southern Island has since gone bankrupt, putting the figures on permanent hiatus. A trading card game was first published in 2005 in the United States by Joyride Entertainment. Since then, six expansions have been released. The physical game was retired on July 11, 2007.Destineer released a Nintendo DS adaptation of the game on October 15, 2007.
Reception
Manga reception
In March
2007, the manga has sold over 27 million volumes in Japan, while as of March
2008, the number increased to more than 30 million.With the release of volume
24 in December 2009, the series had a total of 40 million units printed, while
with volume 27, the copies increased to over 50 million. As of January 10, 2010
every volume of the manga has sold over a million copies each in Japan.Along
with Yakitate!! Japan, the series won the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award for
shōnen in 2004. During 2008, volumes 19 and 20 sold over a million copies,
ranking as the 10th and 11th best seller comics, respectively from Japan.In the
first half of 2009, it ranked as the 7th best-seller from Japan, having sold
over 3 million copies.Volume 21 ranked 4th, with more than 1 million copies
sold and volume 22 ranked 6th with a similar number of sold copies.Producer
Kouji Taguchi from Square Enix said that Volume 1's initial sales were of
150,000 copies and changed to 1.5 million copies after the first anime aired.
Prior to the second anime's premiere, each volume sold about 1.9 million
copies, and then it changed to 2.1 million copies.The series is also one of Viz
Media's best sellers, appearing in "BookScan's Top 20 Graphic Novels"
and the "USA Today Booklist". It has also been featured in the
Diamond Comic Distributors' polls of graphic novel and The New York Times Best
Seller Manga list.The English release of the manga's first volume was the
top-selling graphic novel during the year 2005. In a survey from Oricon in
2009, Fullmetal Alchemist ranked ninth as the manga that fans wanted to be
turned into a live-action film.
Fullmetal
Alchemist has generally been well received by critics. Though the initial
volumes were felt to be formulaic, critics noted that the series grows in
complexity as it progresses. Arakawa was praised for being able to keep all of
her character designs unique and distinguishable, despite many of them wearing
the same basic uniforms. The characterization of the protagonist Edward
balances between being a "typical clever kid" and a "stubborn
kid", successfully allowing him to float between the series' more comical
moments and its underlying drama without seeming false.Reviewers celebrated the
development of the characters in the manga, with their beliefs actively
changing during the story forcing them to grow in maturity. Mania
Entertainment's Jarred Pine found that the manga can be enjoyed by anybody who
has watched the first anime despite the similarities in the first chapters.
Like other reviewers, he praised the dark mood from the manga and how it
balances the humor and action scenes.The development from characters who have
little appearances in the first anime was also praised by Pine.In a review from
volume 14, Sakura Eries from the same site liked the revelations in spite of
the fact that there are still several story arcs that need to be resolved. She
also praised the development from the homunculi such as the return of Greed as
well as their fights.
Anime reception
The anime
premiered in Japan with a 6.82 percent television viewership rating. In 2005,
Japanese television network TV Asahi conducted a "Top 100" online web
poll and nation-wide survey; the Fullmetal Alchemist anime adaptation placed
first in the online poll and 20th in the survey.In 2006, TV Asahi conducted
another online poll for the top one hundred anime, and Fullmetal Alchemist
placed first again. Fullmetal Alchemist was also a winner in the American Anime
Awards in several categories. These include "Long Series", "Best
Cast", "Best DVD Package Design", "Best Anime Theme Song"
("Rewrite," by Asian Kung-Fu Generation), and "Best Actor"
(Vic Mignogna, Edward Elric's English voice actor). It was also nominated in
the category of "Best Anime Feature" for Fullmetal Alchemist the
Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa. The series also won most of the Twenty-Sixth
Annual Animage Readers' Polls. The series was the winner in the "Favorite
Anime Series", "Favorite Episode" (episode seven),
"Favorite Male Character" (Edward Elric), "Favorite Female
Character" (Riza Hawkeye), "Favorite Theme Song"
("Melissa", by Porno Graffitti), and "Favorite Voice Actor"
(Romi Park, Edward's Japanese voice actor). In the "Tokyo Anime
Fair", the series also won in the categories "Animation Of The
Year" (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala), "Best original
story" (Hiromu Arakawa) and "Best music" (Michiru Oshima).[71]
In About.com 2006 American Awards, Fullmetal Alchemist was the winner in the
categories "Best New Anime Series" and "Best Animation".
The series
has become one of the top properties of Square Enix along with Final Fantasy
and Dragon Quest.
It was named the 95th best animated series by IGN.
They commented that although it's mostly upbeat with amazing action
scenes, it also touches on the human condition. They described it as
"more than a mere anime," and "a powerful weekly drama."
The staff also featured it in their "10 Cartoon Adaptations We'd Like
to See" with comments focused in the characterization the series
features.
The designs of the characters have been praised remarking they are
different from each other. Flashbacks have been criticized to be
annoying as they are repeated several times.Other reviewers compared the series with an Odyssey as part tragic,
part coming of age story. The plot and the music have been celebrated to
be very entertaining.
Criticism towards the anime focused on the large number of sentimental
scenes in the series abused to evoke kneejerk emotional responses from
the viewers. The ending was also the basis of one negative review noting
that Edward's beliefs did not change at all as he tried once again to
bring somebody back to life.
Reviewers have praised the soundtrack for its variety of musical styles
and artists, and the pleasant but not too distracting background music.DVDvisionjapan considered the first opening theme and the first ending
theme as the best tracks of the series, remarking that they made a good
combination of anime and song.The initial episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood received criticism from members of the Anime News Network staff, who felt that repeating events from the first anime led to a lack of suspense.Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge noted that the entertainment in these episodes lay in the differences in the characters' actions from the first series, and how some episodes had original content which focused on the emotional theme from the series. In another review, Beveridge praised the new fight scenes as well as more drama which made these episodes "solid". Chris Zimmerman from Comic Book Bin agreed with Beveridge as the series "turns around and establishes its own identity" due to the inclusion of new characters and revelations not shown in the first series, increasing its depth. The animation was also noted to be superior than that of the first anime, with comments focused on the characters' expressions as well as the way the fight scenes were executed. Much praise was given to the climactic episodes for the way action scenes and morals were conveyed, with many finding them superior to the conclusion of the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime. The way the series closed was found satisfactory by critics to the point of being called "A virtually perfect ending to an outstanding series." In April 2010, it was listed as the 6th best anime between April 2009 and March 2010 by Animage.
Light novels reception
The first Fullmetal Alchemist novel, The Land of the Sand, was well received by Jarred Pine of Mania as a self-contained novelization that remained true to the characterizations from the manga series. He notes that while the lack of backstory makes it geared more towards fans of the franchise than new readers, it was an impressive debut piece for the Viz Fiction line. Ain't It Cool News also found the novel to be true to its roots, and that while it brought nothing new to the series, it was compelling enough for followers of the series to enjoy a retelling. As a whole, the reviewer felt it was a "work for young-ish readers that's pretty clear about some darker sides of politics, economics and human nature." Charles Solomon of the Los Angeles Times noted that the novel has a different focus than anime series, with The Land of Sand "creating a stronger, sympathetic bond" between the younger brothers than is seen in its two episode anime counterpart.
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