Fullmetal Alchemist
Series, 2003, The 2003 anime, Set in Amestris
Fullmetal Alchemist is #1 of 4 in release order and #3 of 4 in chronological order in the Fullmetal Alchemist.
The story
Two young brothers are raised as alchemists, but when they are severely injured trying to perform a forbidden act, they begin searching for the one thing that can save them; the fabled philosopher's stone.
Fullmetal Alchemist recap
Edward Elric, the young Fullmetal Alchemist, and his brother Alphonse, a soul in a suit of armour, search for the Philosopher's Stone to restore the bodies they lost trying to revive their mother. Ed joins the military as a State Alchemist under Roy Mustang. The early episodes follow the manga: the false prophet Cornello in Liore, Shou Tucker turning his daughter Nina into a chimera, and Scar, an Ishvalan who kills State Alchemists. From there the story splits off. The brothers learn the Stone is made from human lives, and that the homunculi, Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Greed, Sloth, Wrath and Pride, are the failed results of human transmutation; Sloth was created from their own attempt and wears their mother's face. Scar turns himself into a Stone inside Al's armour. Maes Hughes is killed, and the homunculi are revealed to serve Dante, an ancient alchemist and the former lover of the brothers' father, Hohenheim, who has been switching bodies for centuries and wants a new Stone.
Fullmetal Alchemist ending explained
In the final battle Envy kills Ed, and Al uses the Stone inside him to bring his brother back, losing his body. Ed gives up his own life to restore Al's body, and wakes up through the Gate in a version of our world in the 1920s, while Al, back in his ten-year-old body, has lost his memories of their journey. Dante is killed, Mustang kills Pride, and the brothers are separated, a story concluded in Conqueror of Shamballa.
Ratings
IMDb 8.5/10, MyAnimeList 8.12
Where it fits
- Release order: first, before Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa.
- Chronological order: after Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, before Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa.
What to watch before Fullmetal Alchemist
Nothing. Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) doesn't continue an earlier version, so it stands on its own.
Cast
- Romi Park as Edward Elric (voice)
- Rie Kugimiya as Alphonse Elric (voice)
- Megumi Toyoguchi as Winry Rockbell (voice)
- Toru Okawa as Roy Mustang (voice)
- Ryotaro Okiayu as Scar (voice)
- Naomi Wakabayashi as Sheska (voice)
- Nana Mizuki as Wrath (voice)
- Miyoko Aso as Pinako Rockbell (voice)
- Michiko Neya as Riza Hawkeye (voice)
- Mayumi Yamaguchi as Envy (voice)
- Houko Kuwashima as Rose Thomas (voice)
- Masashi Ebara as Van Hoenheim (voice)