It’s hard to believe that this show, once unrivaled on the MAL ratings board, has now turned 15 years. Ever since that last episode aired, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (FMAB from here on out) has continued to capture the imagination and emotions of its viewers. It’s the sort of show that can remain consistent and enjoyable, many years into the future and that happens to be due to its incredible writing. From characters that feel weighted within the world that they inhabit, to moments of profound grief or awestruck. FMAB has remained a steady pillar within the anime community since its last episode aired, back in 2011. Granted, more modern and inevitable series would emerge to finally subvert its long standing status as the highest rated anime on My Anime List (MAL). But that doesn’t mean that it still isn’t one of the most phenomenal shows ever adapted from its source material nor does it stand idly by with its voice acting chops. This is a show that started many a voice actors career and it was a fandom defining moment at conventions back in the day. Yet, the themes of loss, pursuit of knowledge and the choice to live freely remain steadfast aspects of the show and manga’a overarching appeal.

The show’s overarching question, being what would happen to bring back a loved one or find your own freedom, is addressed in many forms. The main one that is presented in the show, is the pursuit of Alphonse and Edward Elric to restore their bodies after committing the ultimate taboo: Human Transmutation. A sin so great in their world that it forces you to face the ultimate truth and in the process, losing apart or a whole aspect of oneself. It wasn’t an action many of the characters in the show made on a whim. Be it the actions of Izumi Curtis to give life to a child she never got to see live, or that of Alphonse and Edward simply wanting to spend more time with their mother. The show tackles issues of how far one would go in order to spend time with those now lost. Ultimately this presents as grief and regret. However in this world, Human Transmutation only begets more loss and bears an ultimate cost for one’s hubris in that pursuit. Be it a leg, your innards or even your entire being. The price paid to learn the truth varies from person to person, but it becomes clear as day that, we are powerless to ever bring those we have lost back to life. While facsimiles can be created, in the form of homunculus, they are never truly the original person that they once were. It is almost poetic how the homunculi are treated as near perfect beings and yet, through their inception via father, they represent the most immoral aspects of humanity. Thus they are an ugly, malformed representation of life.

Yet, they at their core hold the very essence of the pursuit of life, immortality and forbidden knowledge: The Philosopher’s Stone. A very real concept that real-life alchemist had pursued for generations. In FullMetal Alchemist this stone is the forbidden fruit, a creation of malice and of life itself. There hangs within the medium a sense of irony. To create the very thing needed to give one the ultimate power is that of life itself. While for Alphonse and Edward, they simply seek a means to restore their bodies and to use its power to finally see their mother returned. But through their journey, the dark secret behind the stones is revealed and through its truth a realization is made. No matter the cost, there are some lines that no one person, should ever cross. While its power is indeed vast, as demonstrated through Father and Van Hohenheim, it is ultimately a device deemed to be of a last resort or even atonement. We see this when Dr Marco, the progenitor of the stones creation in Amestris, taking it upon himself to use the stones to heal and seek forgiveness versus for power absolute. No matter how you shake it, the truth is ugly and the truth is all seeing.

The Shows excellent use of eyes and their importance goes beyond just art of literally subtext. It’s why characters like Roy Mustang, who upon opening their portal, lose their sight. It’s why we see so much of characters eyes throughout the show. Eyes are the tools through which we plot our futures, through which we experience life and loss, happiness and sadness. Eyes are all important to both our heroes and our villains. It’s why King Bradley (Wrath) has an ultimate eye, an ability to see and predict his opponents movements. It’s why the stern eyes of Scar are so heavy, so full of anger. It’s why the ultimate truth Is lacking eyes. Through our hubris we open our portals and see only one large eye. For it is the eye of god and it will show us the truth of this world. The fact that this world’s representation of God is a humanoid being with no eyes is just perfect. For a being of immense power, they have seen all there is to be seen and known. Now their eye is the one that will judge others

This series ability to really get one person to sit and think about the morality of it all, still astounds me. It’s why Father or as he was known, The Dwarf in The Flask is the anthesis to Truth. A being made of its very essence, that seeks to be the one to surpass truth in its entirety. It’s the way this series personifies all of its characters, villains included that just gives this show a weight that is often lacking in much of the medium. It is a series that is not afraid of making you feel pity for the villains. Even if they are morally reprehensible beings, they still very much have desires and drive. Rather than being just a plot point or a device to grow the main characters, they instead express their views, their anguish through the foils that they represent. It’s why the Homunculi are the seven deadly sins, aspect of their father that he wished to rid themselves of in pursuit of becoming the ultimate being. Yet is this very rejection of what made Father unique that would pose to be its very undoing.

Just talking about the show makes me incredibly nostalgic for it. It very well is a series that lives with you and shapes you. It implores you to really consider the actions and path you’ve walked in life. A question that I often find others asking me in regards to what makes this show worth watching even today, is if it really matches up to what else is out there. Most notable against the series that finally dethroned it on MAL, Frieren Beyond Journeys End. To answer that I would also need to finally get around to publishing my article covering Frieren. But to provide an answer now: Yes it does. Something I have come to find about shows and series that I adore or find to be the best crafted, is if it can bring me to tears. FMAB has within it several such moments. It allows you time to fall in love with characters, with the narrative and then it breaks you down, bit by bit. There’s a reason the moment Shao Tucker transmutes his daughter and their family dog into a Chimera. It’s beyond just shock value or being a meme. It’s a moment in the show that truly demonstrates the abhorrent steps we humans can take in order to further our own goals. It is a show that will also take what makes us human and show us a path to redemption. Van Hohenheim’s redemption and drive to rediscover his humanity after being forcefully given an immortal body is one of my favorite sub-plots to the series. It’s a series that again, will make you cry and still desperately love its characters and path. It’s this shows characters, they really just jump off the page and screen and embed themselves within you. Maybe they are the reason why I can’t just simply shake this show off.

While I for one don’t care much about the bickering on what makes an anime truly the height of the genre, I do think there is still some credence to having shows like this and Frieren sharing the limelight. These works of art deserved to be shared, experienced and loved. While this was not the first anime to be built on the manga of the same name, it does happen to be the one that follows the continuity of the source material much more faithfully than it’s 2003 inception. Which I am most certain has something to do with how well it has been received over the years. Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is a dark, sorrowful, emotional story that is filled with hope, ambition and truth. It is a series that I have watched every year for the past 15 years and it remains a series that I can still find meaning from to this day.

While I do wish that its 2003 counterpart had been much better received for what it was, it does deserve your views nonetheless. However that would be easier said than done at this point. As the 2003 version remains as lost media for much of the streaming world to this day. That’s why I implore you to watch this series. You can enjoy Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood in its entirety on Crunchyroll!

Did you ever watch this series? What was a moment that stuck with you from it? Personally, I adore every moment we get with Maes Hughes and Alex Louis Armstrong.

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