Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Review: A Mature Story Wrapped in a Kids' Show

I finally sat down and watched all 64 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and I get the hype now.

This is the 2009 to 2010 anime adaptation from Studio Bones, directed by Yasuhiro Irie and based on Hiromu Arakawa’s manga.

It’s the second anime adaptation of the source material, and unlike the 2003 series, it follows the manga faithfully all the way through.

I watched it in the original Japanese with subtitles, and after spending that much time with the Elric brothers, I have a lot to say.

A Kids’ Show That Respects Its Audience

The basic premise is that two young brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, attempt to bring their dead mother back to life using alchemy.

It goes catastrophically wrong. Edward loses an arm and a leg, and Alphonse loses his entire body, with his soul bound to a hulking suit of armor.

From there, the brothers set out to find the Philosopher’s Stone to restore what they lost.

What surprised me most about this show is that it’s ultimately aimed at younger viewers, but it absolutely does not talk down to them.

The story deals with genocide, military atrocities, the long shadow of war, a couple losing a baby to miscarriage, and the moral weight of taking a human life.

You almost never see this in Western media made for kids. The instinct over here is to sanitize anything heavy, soften the edges, and reassure the audience that everything is going to be fine.

Brotherhood goes the other direction. It trusts younger viewers to handle real themes, and the story is so much stronger for it.

A Story That Trusts Its Viewers

The plotting in Brotherhood is genuinely impressive, especially when you consider how many characters and storylines it juggles across those 64 episodes.

Mysteries get set up early and pay off many episodes later, sometimes in ways you didn’t see coming but that feel completely earned.

The central theme of equivalent exchange, the alchemy rule that you can’t gain anything without giving up something of equal value, runs through every major decision the characters make.

It’s not just a magic system. It’s the philosophical core of the entire show.

Every character feels fully written. The villains have motivations. The supporting cast has arcs.

Even minor characters who could have been throwaway figures get moments that make them feel real.

Scar and Alphonse Are the Standouts

Scar has one of the best character arcs in the entire show.

He starts as an antagonist with a brutal mission of revenge, and where the show takes him over the course of the series is genuinely moving.

His journey forces you to grapple with cycles of violence, forgiveness, and what it means to carry trauma forward without letting it consume you.

Alphonse is the heart of the show.

Despite being trapped in a suit of armor and unable to feel anything physically, he handles every situation with more grace and compassion than almost any other character.

His patience with people, his ability to talk down hostile situations, and his genuine kindness in the face of his own tragedy make him one of the most likable anime protagonists I’ve ever encountered.

The Goofy Humor Doesn’t Always Land

Here’s my biggest complaint. Brotherhood has a habit of breaking its own tone for jokes that feel like they belong in a different show.

The running gag about Edward’s height gets old fast.

Someone will casually call him short, and he’ll explode into a screaming, flailing chibi fit while everyone around him just kind of watches.

It happens constantly, and it happens in moments when the story is otherwise dead serious.

The chibi reaction faces are another offender. You’ll be in the middle of an emotionally heavy scene, and suddenly the characters morph into squashed cartoon versions of themselves for a beat of comic relief.

It pulled me out of the show every single time. I understand this is a staple of the shonen genre, but I don’t have to enjoy it.

The Japanese Voice Cast Is Excellent

I cannot say enough good things about the Japanese voice performances in this show.

Romi Park voices Edward Elric, and she is phenomenal.

It’s common in anime for adult women to voice teenage boys, and Park demonstrates exactly why. She gives Ed a youthful intensity that a male actor would struggle to match without it sounding forced.

Rie Kugimiya voices Alphonse, and her performance carries so much of the emotional weight of the show.

Alphonse is a soul in a suit of armor, but Kugimiya makes him feel completely human in every line.

The rest of the cast is just as strong. Every major character feels like the actor truly understood them, and the heavier scenes hit hard because of it.

Animation That Holds Up Reasonably Well

Brotherhood is now over fifteen years old, and you can tell.

The animation doesn’t have the polish of a modern Studio Bones production or anything coming out of MAPPA or Ufotable today.

But character designs are clean and expressive, action scenes are choreographed well, and the show looks consistent across its long run.

One fun note. Hiromu Arakawa, the original manga creator, is a woman, and her character designs lean into beautifully drawn, incredibly buff men in a way that newcomers to anime might find amusing.

That’s about the extent of the “anime weirdness” on the fanservice front. There’s no leering camera, no awkward beach episodes packed with bikini shots. Just a lot of broad shoulders.

Overall, the animation does its job. It’s not going to blow you away by modern standards, but I have no real complaints.

A Soundtrack That Fits Without Standing Out

The music is composed by Akira Senju, and it does exactly what a good score should do.

It supports the scenes, elevates the emotional moments, and never gets in the way.

The problem is that almost nothing stuck with me after the credits rolled.

It’s a functional soundtrack rather than a memorable one. You won’t catch me hunting down the OST to add to a playlist.

The opening and ending themes are catchy in the moment, but the score itself just sort of exists in service of the story.

An Ending That Actually Ends

This is what I appreciated most about the entire show, and it’s something modern storytelling almost never does anymore.

Brotherhood has a real epilogue.

After the climax, the show takes time to follow the heroes back home, show what they do with their lives, where everyone ends up, and how the experience changed them.

So much of modern television is desperate to set up sequels, leave threads dangling for a continuation, or end on a vague note that “leaves room for interpretation.”

Brotherhood actually completes the journey. The hero returns home, applies what he learned, and moves on to the next chapter of life.

It’s deeply satisfying, and it’s the kind of ending I wish more stories had the confidence to commit to.

Final Verdict

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood absolutely deserves its reputation.

The story is mature, the characters are richly written, the voice acting is excellent, and the ending sticks the landing in a way that most shows can’t.

The shonen goofiness is going to be a barrier for some viewers, especially if you’ve never watched anime before. The chibi outbursts and the constant short jokes can pull you out of an otherwise gripping story.

But push through it. This show is worth your time.

If you enjoy anime even a little, Brotherhood is essential viewing. And if you’ve been on the fence because you heard it was a “kids’ show,” let that be the thing that draws you in rather than the thing that pushes you away.

It’s a kids’ show that treats its audience like they can handle anything, and that’s exactly why grown adults still talk about it more than fifteen years after it aired.

–

Images in this article are from IMDB and used under Fair Use.