Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the second anime adaptation developed by Bones based on Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist manga and directed by Yasuhiro Irie and written by Hiroshi Ōnogi. It was first announced in the 20th volume of the tankōbon manga series.[1][2] The series premiered on April 5, 2009, in the MBS-TBS Sunday 17:00 JST anime time block, replacing Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and ran weekly until the final episode aired on July 4, 2010. Voice actors Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya reprized their roles as lead characters Edward and Alphonse Elric.[3] The series is much more manga-like, unlike the 2003 anime.
On March 20, 2009, it was announced that the English title of the series was Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and that it would have its English premiere on Animax Asia with Japanese audio and English subtitles starting on April 10, 2009 at 8:30 a.m., five days after the Japanese premiere .[4] On April 3, 2009, FUNimation announced that they would stream episodes with English subtitles four days after they aired in Japan. Madman Entertainment will also stream "within days" of episodes airing in Japan.[5] On February 13, 2010, the English dubbed version of the series began its run on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and on May 26, 2012, it continued in 2013 until December 13, 2014 on Toonami.
After the final episode of the series premiered in Japan, it was announced that a film adaptation was in the works. The first trailer debuted in November 2010 and was titled Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Sei naru Hoshi. The film was scheduled for a Japanese release in July 2011, and FUNimation announced on their blog on May 21, 2011 that they had acquired the rights to the film. A dubbed version of the film was released in theaters in early 2012 and on DVD and Blu-ray in the spring. The film in the West is known as Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos.
Funimation's North American distribution and streaming rights for the series expired on March 31, 2016. Aniplex of America now handles English distribution for the series.
This anime series is not to be confused with the 2003 anime series (when compared to its Japanese title) or as its sequel and unrelated to the 13th volume of the 2003 anime series also titled 'Brotherhood'.
Although Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood follows the main plot of the manga, it has some clear differences from the original work (manga), with most of the omitted content from earlier episodes being removed, presumably due to its inclusion in the 2003 anime, while less frequent omissions later in the series were shortened, presumably due to time or budget constraints. A few examples of material changed from the original piece:
Introducing exclusive characters (Isaac McDougal, Ice Alchemist).
Earlier character introductions (Kimblee and Father are shown for a few seconds in episode 1).
Different settings for the first episode.
The train incident involving the Elrics' battle against Baldo and his Blue Troop is omitted, as is Hakuro's ear injury.
The Youswell Ordeal during which Yoki is introduced is omitted, although Yoki appears in later episodes and a brief flashback recounting the events of this omitted chapter is also shown. Additionally, due to May Chang's first appearance in Youswell also being cut, Youswell is only seen once in the series when May visits him a second time during the events of the manga.
Since the events of May Chang's first visit to Youswell were omitted, the dialogue during her second visit in the anime was changed to avoid confusion as the townspeople had not yet seen her in the anime version, unlike the manga.
Instead of the Elrics going to another library to look at Tim Marcoh's research after the National Central Library burned down, where Ed learned about Sheska from another librarian, the Elrics drive straight to Sheska's house and Maria Ross mentions who is sheska
Ed does not wrestle in Rush Valley like in the 2003 manga and anime.
Dominic's fear during his first meeting with Winry due to his past association with Pinako Rockbell is omitted.
The masked man from Ed and Al's Yock Island training is not shown.
The boys' stay at Dublith is greatly shortened, omitting Mason's appearance while shortening Bradley's arrival.
Ed's trip to South City to hand in his annual evaluation report is skipped.
Envy's skirmish with Lan Fan in Central is missing, as are Ling Yao and Gluttony, who later joined the battle.
Hohenheim's death is more drawn out than the original manga.
The Gaiden (side stories) manga that was featured in the 2003 series, where many characters were introduced, including Catherine Elle Armstrong and Black Hayate, are omitted.
When Greed is captured by Wrath and taken back to the Father, he is crucified in the manga, as opposed to being tied to a metal post in the anime. However, this scene was also adapted in the English manga due to the religious symbolism. In the English version, the cross is changed to a giant slab.
A flashback to the Elric brothers' past was shown a bit earlier on the train ride to Reola, whereas in the manga it wasn't shown until they arrived at their teacher Izumi Curtis' shop in Dublith.
How everyone learns of Hughes' death is depicted in many different ways in the manga and the 2009 series.
Some of the images at the end of the manga that show the aftermath of the story, such as Winry and Ed with their children (mostly known as the "New Elric Family Photo"), have been slightly altered. Examples include the addition of Paninya and Garfiel to the New Elric Family Photo, Vato Falman with a picture of what appears to be his children instead of the other Briggs Soldiers, and the picture of Mustang and Hawkeye being slightly altered, showing Mustang with a mustache and military hat.
In the 2009 series, Havoc's legs are fully healed by the end of the story, while in the manga we still see him in post-series physical therapy.
