Fullmetal Alchemist (anime)

For the second anime adaptation, see Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
Fullmetal Alchemist

Cover of the anime series's first DVD volume
鋼の錬金術師
(Hagane no Renkinjutsushi)
Genre Adventure, Science fantasy
Anime television series
Directed by Seiji Mizushima
Produced by
Written by Shō Aikawa
Music by Michiru Ōshima
Studio Bones
Licensed by
Revelation Films (Former)
MVM Films (Former)
Anime Limited (Current)
Network JNN, Animax
English network
Original run October 4, 2003 – October 2, 2004
Episodes 51
Anime film

Original video animation
Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection
Directed by Seiji Mizushima
Music by Michiru Ōshima
Studio Bones
Licensed by
Released March 29, 2006
Episodes 4

Fullmetal Alchemist (Japanese: 鋼の錬金術師 Hepburn: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) is an anime series adapted from the manga of the same name by Hiromu Arakawa. Comprising 51 episodes, it was co-produced by the animation studio Bones, Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS), and Aniplex and directed by Seiji Mizushima. It was broadcast on MBS in Japan from October 4, 2003, to October 2, 2004.

As in the manga, the series follows the adventures of brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are searching for the Philosopher's Stone so they can regain the bodies they lost in a failed attempt to bring their dead mother back to life. During production, Arakawa requested an original ending that differed from the manga. The first series ended with a sequel film, Conqueror of Shamballa, released in 2005. A second anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which closely adapts the manga chapters, was later broadcast in 2009.

Plot

The first half of the anime's plot adapts the first seven volumes of the manga, but then the plots severely diverge from each other by the middle of the story, specifically around the time where Roy Mustang's friend Maes Hughes is murdered by the homunculus Envy in disguise.[1] Dante, a former lover of Hohenheim and mentor to the Elric brothers' teacher, is the series' central antagonist. Centuries ago, Hohenheim and Dante perfected methods for making the Philosopher's Stone and achieved immortality by transferring their souls and intellects into other bodies as they age. Hohenheim was eventually overcome with the guilt of sacrificing lives to make the Stone and left Dante. Although Dante can still jump from body to body with the last stone she and Hohenheim created, she is not willing to risk the rebound of creating one herself. She thus uses the homunculi to encourage Edward and Alphonse, along with other equally desperate Alchemists to create another complete Philosopher's Stone for her.[2]

When Scar creates the Philosopher's Stone, at the cost of his life as well as the lives of 7,000 soldiers, he infuses it into Alphonse's metal body, which leads to Alphonse's kidnapping.[3] Edward goes and tries to rescue him, but is killed by Envy. Alphonse uses the Philosopher's Stone to revive his brother but disappears in the process. Dante tries to escape but she is killed when the homunculus Gluttony, whose mind she had earlier destroyed, fails to recognize his master. After being revived, Edward risks his life to bring back his brother and finds himself in a parallel world, while Alphonse recovers his original body. Determined to reunite with Alphonse, Edward becomes involved in rocketry research, intending to use that technology to return to his home world.[4] The story concludes in the film adaptation Conqueror of Shamballa, in which Edward's search attracts the attention of the Thule Society, which seeks to enter his homeworld—believing it to be Shamballa—to obtain new weapons to help them in World War II. Dietlinde Eckhart, a member of the Thule Society, enters the other world and tries to destroy Amestris. She is defeated by the Elric brothers, who decide to stay in Germany.

Production

During the development of Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa allowed Bones to work independently from her, and requested an original ending different from that of the original manga. She did not want to repeat the same ending in both media, and wanted to continue writing the manga to develop the characters. When watching the anime's ending, she was amazed about how different the homunculi creatures were from the manga and enjoyed how the staff speculated about the origins of the villains.[1] Because Arakawa was involved in developing the series, she was kept from focusing on the manga's cover illustrations and had little time to illustrate them.[5]

Broadcast and release

The animation studio Bones adapted the manga into a 51-episode anime series. It was directed by Seiji Mizushima, written by Shō Aikawa and co-produced by Bones, Mainichi Broadcasting System and Aniplex. Character designs by Yoshiyuki Itō. The anime premiered on Mainichi Broadcasting System, TBS, and Animax in Japan from October 4, 2003; it ran until October 2, 2004, with a 6.8 percent television viewership rating.[6][7][8][9] During the making of the anime, Arakawa was present in meetings to advise the staff about the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, though she did not write for the television series.[10] The series has been released as thirteen DVDs from December 17, 2003, to January 26, 2005, in Japan by Aniplex.[8][11] During January 2009, Bones released a "DVD box archives" of the anime. It includes the first anime of fifty-one episodes, the film, the CD soundtracks, and guidebooks from the series.[12]

The English dubbed version of the anime was produced by Funimation Entertainment and debuted on the Adult Swim block of the United States cable channel Cartoon Network on November 6, 2004.[13] Canada's YTV began airing it on March 3, 2006.[14] In the United Kingdom, the anime was broadcast by Rapture TV and AnimeCentral.[15][16] Animax Asia broadcast the series in the Philippines, India, and South Asia.[17][18][19]

Funimation Entertainment released the series as DVD volumes between February 8, 2005, to September 12, 2006.[20][21] Funimation later re-released the series into two DVD volumes in 2009 and again in 2010.[22] In the United Kingdom, MVM Films distributed the first eight volumes of the series; however, Funimation gave the rights over to Revelation Films.[23][24] In Australasia, Madman Entertainment released the series in two DVD volumes.[25]

A series of five original video animations (OVAs) were also released. Most of these are side stories and do not expand on the plot. In March 2006, a DVD featuring these OVAs was released in Japan as Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection.[11] Funimation acquired and dubbed the "Premium Collection" in late 2008 for English release.[26] The DVD was released in English on August 4, 2009.[27]

Film

A film sequel to the first anime, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, was produced by Bones and premiered in Japanese theaters on July 23, 2005.[28] The film follows Edward Elric's attempts to return to his homeworld, having lived for two years in our world—which exists in a universe parallel to his own—while Alphonse is equally determined to reunite with his brother. Funimation Entertainment released the English DVD on September 12, 2006.[29]

Music and soundtracks

The music for Fullmetal Alchemist was composed and arranged by Michiru Oshima.[30] TV Animation Fullmetal Alchemist Original Soundtrack 1 was released on March 24, 2004, in Japan; the CD has thirty-three tracks, including several background sounds and the first opening and ending theme songs.[31] Although never released officially, a version of the Russian track "Brothers" (Russian: Братья, Bratja; Japanese: Burācha) from this CD has been recorded in English by Vic Mignogna—who played Edward Elric in the English dubbed version. TV Animation Fullmetal Alchemist Original Soundtrack 2 was released on December 15, 2004, and contains thirty tracks.[32] TV Animation Fullmetal Alchemist Original Soundtrack 3, released on May 18, 2005, contains twenty-seven tracks.[33]

Fullmetal Alchemist: Complete Best and Fullmetal Alchemist Hagaren Song File (Best Compilation) are compilations of the soundtracks that were released in Japan on October 14, 2004, and December 21, 2005, respectively. A bonus DVD, exclusive to the US release, contains a music video for Nana Kitade's "Indelible Sin".[11][34] Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie Conqueror Of Shamballa OST, which contains forty-six tracks—all of which were used in the featured film Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa—was released on July 20, 2005.[11] During December 2004, a concert titled "Tales of Another Festival" was staged in Tokyo and Osaka. It featured performances by several musical artists from the television series and narrations by the voice actors. A DVD of the concert titled Fullmetal Alchemist Festival—Tales of Another was released in Japan on April 27, 2005.[11]

Other

Three artbooks titled The Art of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Anime (TVアニメーション鋼の錬金術師 ART BOOK TV Animēshon Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Artbook) were released in Japan; only the first was released by Viz Media.[35] An artbook from the second anime titled Fullmetal Alchemist Official Drawing Collection was also released in November 2010.[36]

A series of five fanbooks titled TV Anime Fullmetal Alchemist Official Fanbooks (TVアニメ 鋼の錬金術師 オフィシャルファンブック TV Anime Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Ofisharu Fan Bukku), each containing information about the anime and several interviews with the staff of the series.[37] Additionally, a series of four guidebooks about the second anime series was released between August 2009 and August 2010.[38][39] An anime character guide book called Fullmetal Alchemist Anime Profiles (TV Animation Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Kyarakore) was released in Japan and in the United States.[40]

Reception

The first Fullmetal Alchemist anime premiered in Japan with a 6.82 percent television viewership rating.[9] In 2005, Japanese television network TV Asahi conducted a "Top 100" online web poll and nationwide survey; Fullmetal Alchemist placed first in the online poll and twentieth in the survey.[41][42] In 2006, TV Asahi conducted another online poll for the top one hundred anime, and Fullmetal Alchemist placed first again.[43]

The first Fullmetal Alchemist won in several categories in the American Anime Awards, including "Long Series", "Best Cast", "Best DVD Package Design", "Best Anime Theme Song" ("Rewrite," by Asian Kung-Fu Generation), and "Best Actor" (Vic Mignogna—who played Edward Elric in the English version). It was also nominated in the category of "Best Anime Feature" for Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa.[44] The series also won most of the twenty-sixth Annual Animage Readers' Polls. The series was the winner in the "Favorite Anime Series", "Favorite Episode" (episode seven), "Favorite Male Character" (Edward Elric), "Favorite Female Character" (Riza Hawkeye), "Favorite Theme Song" ("Melissa", by Porno Graffitti), and "Favorite Voice Actor" (Romi Park—who played Edward in the Japanese version).[45] In the "Tokyo Anime Fair", the series won in the categories "Animation Of The Year" (Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala), "Best original story" (Hiromu Arakawa) and "Best music" (Michiru Oshima).[30] In the About.com 2006 American Awards, Fullmetal Alchemist won in the categories "Best New Anime Series" and "Best Animation".[46][47] The second film, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, won three awards at the Burbank International Film Festival.[48]

IGN named the first anime the ninety-fifth-best animated series. They said that although it is mostly upbeat with amazing action scenes, it also touches upon the human condition. They described it as "more than a mere anime" and "a powerful weekly drama".[49] The IGN staff featured it in their "10 Cartoon Adaptations We'd Like to See" feature, with comments focused on the characterization in the series.[50] The character designs have been praised; critics said they are different from each other.[51] Samuel Arbogast of Theanime.org said the flashback sequences were annoying.[52] Lori Lancaster of Mania Entertainment called the plot wonderful, and said it is "[a] bit of a tragic coming of age story mixed in with the Odyssey". She wrote, "There is enough action, drama and comedy mixed in to keep most viewers interested. This is one of those anime series that is likely to become a classic."[51]

The series has also received some negative reviews, with Maria Lin of animefringe.com saying that the show's themes "are held hostage by… excessive sentimentality". She criticized the ending, saying that "no character has changed from how they were in the beginning. There have been no revelations. Even as the show tries to show that the Elric brothers are coming into their own as they pursue the stone, they're really not, because they keep on making the same mistakes over and over again without… fundamental change in their ideals. The adage of the soldier and his acceptance of losing his leg is lost on them."[53]

Reviewers praised the soundtrack of the first anime for its variety of musical styles and artists, and the pleasant but not too distracting background music.[54] DVDvisionjapan said the first opening theme and the first ending theme are the best tracks of the series.[55]

References

  1. 1 2 "Equivalent Change". Newtype USA. A.D. Vision. January 2006.
  2. ↑ Director: Seiji Mizushima (February 4, 2006). "A Rotted Heart". Fullmetal Alchemist. Episode 45. Cartoon Network.
  3. ↑ Director: Seiji Mizushima (November 12, 2005). "Theory of Avarice". Fullmetal Alchemist. Episode 35. Cartoon Network.
  4. ↑ Director: Seiji Mizushima (March 18, 2006). "Laws and Promises". Fullmetal Alchemist. Episode 51. Cartoon Network.
  5. ↑ Arakawa, Hiromu (2005). 鋼の錬金術師 パーフェクトガイドブック 2. Square Enix. pp. 168–172. ISBN 978-4-7575-1426-3.
  6. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist". Sony. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
  7. ↑ "鋼の錬金術師". Bones. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
  8. 1 2 "History of Hagaren" (in Japanese). Aniplex. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved April 15, 2008.
  9. 1 2 "2007 profile" (PDF). Square Enix. October 2007. p. 6. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  10. ↑ インタビュー (in Japanese). Yahoo. Archived from the original on February 20, 2007. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "鋼の錬金術師 DVD and CD" (in Japanese). Sony. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  12. ↑ "鋼の錬金術師 Box set archives" (in Japanese). Aniplex. Retrieved December 7, 2008.
  13. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist on Adult Swim Saturday". Anime News Network. November 5, 2004. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  14. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist on YTV". Anime News Network. February 10, 2006. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  15. ↑ "Anime on Rapture". Rapture TV. Archived from the original on June 20, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist showtime". AnimeCentral. Archived from the original on June 20, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Animax Philippines June 2006" (PDF). Animax Asia. April 13, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 21, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  18. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist". Animax (India). April 13, 2006. Archived from the original on February 29, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Animax South Asia August 2006" (PDF). Animax Asia. July 26, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1: The Curse (Episodes 1-4) (2004)". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 13: Brotherhood (Episodes 49-51) (2004)". Amazon.com. Retrieved October 10, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist DVD and Blu-ray products". Funimation Entertainment. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  23. ↑ "Full Metal Alchemist: Volume 8". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  24. ↑ "New Funimation Distributor revealed". UK Anime Net. November 14, 2006. Archived from the original on November 21, 2006. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  25. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist Collection 2 (V7-13) (Fatpack)". Madman Entertainment. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  26. ↑ "Report: Funimation Gets Fullmetal Alchemist Premium". Anime News Network. January 14, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2009.
  27. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium OVA Collection". Amazon.com. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  28. ↑ "Japanese Box Office". Anime News Network. July 27, 2005. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  29. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie - The Conqueror of Shamballa (2006)". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  30. 1 2 "Tokyo Anime Fair: Award Winners". Anime News Network. March 27, 2006. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
  31. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi) Original Soundtrack". CDJapan. Retrieved December 23, 2013.
  32. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi) Original Soundtrack 2". CDJapan. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  33. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi) Original Soundtrack 3". CDJapan. Retrieved April 6, 2008.
  34. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist - Complete Best (OST)". CDJapan. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
  35. ↑ "The Art of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Anime". Viz Media. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  36. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist Official Drawing Collection". Neowing. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  37. ↑ "鋼の錬金術師 BOOKS" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Archived from the original on August 21, 2008. Retrieved April 19, 2008.
  38. ↑ "TV ANIMATION 鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK" (in Japanese). Square Enix. Retrieved October 23, 2009.
  39. ↑ "TV ANIMATION 鋼の錬金術師 FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST OFFICIAL GUIDEBOOK 4". Neowing. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  40. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist Anime Profiles". Viz Media. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
  41. ↑ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime". Anime News Network. September 23, 2005. Retrieved June 29, 2007.
  42. ↑ "TV Asahi Top 100 Anime, Part 2". Anime News Network. September 23, 2005. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  43. ↑ "American Anime Award Winners". ICv2. February 26, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2008.
  44. ↑ "Animage Awards". Anime News Network. May 12, 2004. Retrieved April 8, 2008.
  45. ↑ Luther, Katherine. "Best Animation". About.com. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  46. ↑ Luther, Katherine. "Best New Anime Series". About.com. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
  47. ↑ "Burbank International Film Festival, Sept 15-18". Burbank International Film Festival. Retrieved 5 Dec 2011.
  48. ↑ "95, Fullmetal Alchemist". IGN. January 23, 2009. Retrieved January 23, 2009.
  49. ↑ "10 Cartoon Adaptations We'd Like to See". IGN. August 7, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  50. 1 2 "AnimeonDVD: Fullmetal Alchemist Set 1 (of 4)". Mania Entertainment. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  51. ↑ "T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews: FullMetal Alchemist Review". T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews. Retrieved March 23, 2008.
  52. ↑ Lin, Maria. "Animefringe.com: Anime Debunked: Fullmetal Hype". Animefringe. Retrieved April 10, 2008.
  53. ↑ Crocker, Jeremy (May 11, 2004). "Fullmetal Alchemist Episodes 1–30". Anime News Network. Retrieved April 17, 2008.
  54. ↑ "Fullmetal Alchemist Original Soundtrack 1 Review". DVDvisionjapan. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
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