October 4, 2003 saw the emergence of what could be one of the best anime series of all time, that is, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi or Full Metal Alchemist. The story follows the quest of young alchemists Edward and Alphonse Elric who want to restore their bodies after losing it due to their attempt to return their deceased mother to life by human transmutation. The anime ended in October 2, 2004 after 51 episodes, and was later followed by a movie that is a sequel to the aforementioned anime series.
Critically acclaimed and commercially successful, the Full Metal Alchemist anime series ranked first in polls in Japan and won several awards in the United States. It has also became a top property of Square Enix, alongside RPG giant Final Fantasy.
But that was in the past.
In April 5, 2009, the epic was reborn under a new hood.
Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood is a remake of the phenomenal anime, only this time following closer to the plot of the manga canon (the first Hagaren only covered to about 13 chapters of the manga, then diverted away toward its own storyline). The subtitle "Brotherhood" actually is not part of the show's title (it is named "Full Metal Alchemist," same as the first anime), however, for the international fans to properly distinguish the first anime from this new project, Animax released the show as "Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood."
Edward and Alphonse Elric, the brothers we loved before is finally back.BONES, the studio which made the first FMA, still is the producer of Brotherhood. The show, of course, will be released HD. Paku Romi and Rie Kugimiya reprises their roles as Edward and Alphonse Elric, but the other characters' voice actors have been changed so expect something different with the emotion of the other characters' voices that we loved in the first FMA.
Will Brotherhood maintain, or even surpass, the achievements received by its predecessor? Only time will tell. As of this writing, the show had broadcast its 4th episode, wherein the events were still the ones we have already seen in the first FMA. So far, so good. It should be noted that even though the first few episodes were remakes of the first FMA's earlier episodes, the distinction is already manifested and the show radiates a darker mood, almost exactly how it was manifested in the manga.
Colonel Roy Mustang and his subordinatesFull Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood is indeed really living up to its fans' expectations and whether it will still that way, improve more, or decline; we can only wait until "Father" appears.
Alas, the REAL Homunculus lot! "Father" looks pretty creepy...p.s I will try to look for the episodes and post them regularly on the site. Stay tuned.
