If You Only Watch One Anime, This Is The One
There is a ton of anime out there, and the prospect of getting into the medium can be incredibly daunting for a beginner. It’s important to watch a great series right off the bat, so you can understand how amazing the medium can be and get you interested in checking out more. For my money, the series that will help someone new to the medium want to dive in headfirst is Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Now, there are plenty of right answers to the question of what is the “one” anime you should watch. Prestige series like Cowboy Bebop and Neon Genesis Evangelion could easily fit in this category, and classic shonen like Dragonball Z and Naruto have been entry points for a lot of people.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a palatable sixty-four episodes that keep you entertained the entire way through. Of course, there’s much more to love about the series than just being easy to binge.
But Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has pretty much everything you could want from an introductory series — a great story, a cool power system, beautiful animation, great fight scenes, lovable (and hate-able) characters, and a satisfying ending.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is also all-killer, no-filler — literally, whereas some other big-name anime might intimidate someone with the prospect of hundreds of episodes to take down.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a palatable sixty-four episodes that keep you entertained the entire way through. Of course, there’s much more to love about the series than just being easy to binge.
The anime is an adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa’s manga that takes place in 19th-century Europe and follows brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric.
Bones, the studio best known for series like Mob Psycho 100, Space Dandy, Noragami, Bungo Stray Dogs, My Hero Academia, and more, handles the animation.
Using the art of alchemy, the two attempt to bring their mother back to life, leading to a horrible accident that destroys Edward’s arm and leg and Alphonse’s body, forcing Edward to bind Alphonse’s soul to a suit of armor. The boys then join the State Military as alchemists to seek the Philosopher’s Stone to restore their bodies.
Their search for the Philosopher’s Stone leads Edward and Alphonse through numerous trials and tribulations, including a government conspiracy, the truth of their father’s past, and the threat of various homunculi with the names of the seven deadly sins.
Truly, it’s hard to find much to dislike about this anime. Both protagonists are likable characters who follow interesting arcs, and all the side characters bring their own interesting stories to the table as well.
On the flip side, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has some truly heinous villains (it’s ok to skip the episode with the little girl and the dog on rewatches, we all understand), but also introduces plenty of villains that you end up sympathizing with.
Of course, an anime wouldn’t be great without some stellar animation, and this series delivers that in spades. Bones, the studio best known for series like Mob Psycho 100, Space Dandy, Noragami, Bungo Stray Dogs, My Hero Academia, and more, handles the animation.
Bones, as they typically do with their anime series, certainly brings its A-Game to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The fight scenes are especially dynamic, and the alchemy powers of the characters are brought to life in stunning detail.
Oh, and if you typically can’t decide between dubbed or subbed versions, you’re safe to go with either in this series, as the voice casts for both are pretty great.
Another plus of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is that the alchemy power system is fully explained and well-defined early on, and the series sticks to it. Some anime can get pretty crazy with the changes to the power systems, but FMAB creates a believable (as far as literal powers go) system and world. It’s a detail that not everyone cares about, but it’s cool to see.
One important thing to note if you decide to jump into the world of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is to make sure Brotherhood is the one you watch. There is another version of the anime simply titled Fullmetal Alchemist that, while it has its merits, isn’t as good. The main reason for this is the fact that Fullmetal Alchemist eventually had to divert from the manga since the manga wasn’t finished yet.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was able to adapt the manga in its entirety, so it tells the story as creator Hiromu Arakawa intended it to be told. So, whether you’re new to anime or you’re an anime fan who just hasn’t seen the show yet, the series is well worth the watch. You can stream the series in its entirety on Funimation.
