TV5's Promo CM for Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Isang surprise para sa buong Pinoy Anime Circuit ang muling pinasabog ng BAGO AT NAG-IISANG TUNAY NA ANIME AUTHORITY ng Pilipinas, TV5. With barely two months after the anime's release in Japan, heto at ihahatid ng TV5 ang Pinoy-dubbed FRESH EPISODES ng FULL METAL ALCHEMIST: BROTHERHOOD!

Ang Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood ang itinuturing na most anticipated anime for 2009 at talaga namang sinusubaybayan ito ng buong mundo through fansubs and Animax. At dahil nga sobrang aniticipated, mistulang "too-good-to-be-true" ang balitang ipapalabas ito sa TV5. Fans expected na masyadong mahal ang acquisition ng license for outside broadcast nito lalo na't kasisimula pa lang nito.

But TV5 has cleared their doubts (myself included). Tuloy na tuloy na ang pag-eere ng FMA:B on May 22 at 7:30 p.m. PST. TV5 has proven na sinsero sila sa pagbibigay ng mga top-class animes in its entirety at hindi mga pipitsuging anime na ipinapalabas diyan sa tabi-tabi.

Matatandaang TV5 ang may hawak ng FASTEST ACQUISITION OF AN ANIME'S OUTSIDE BROADCAST LICENSE via Special A (less than a year after S.A was broadcast in Japan) pero sila rin ang tumalo sa sarili nilang record na ngayon ay via FMA:B na (SEVEN WEEKS AFTER ITS INITIAL JAPANESE BROADCAST). Ang TV5 rin ang naghatid ng isa pang anticipated anime tulad ng Code Geass at sila rin ngayon ang Philippine TV broadcast station na pinakamabilis ang pagdami ng aired anime titles under their hood.

With FMA:B marking TV5 reputation as Pinoy anime fans' haven deeper, mukhang makakaasa tayo na mas marami pang magagandang anime ang ihahatid sa atin ng TV5.

To know more about Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, read below or click here for a hyper clock up!

- Heco, the walking Philosopher's Stone

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 subordinates

Full 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...

- Heco Arandia, the first successfully transmutated human

p.s I will try to look for the episodes and post them regularly on the site. Stay tuned.