Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t an anime fans can get into with light expectations. Hiromu Arakawa’s storytelling produces a swift and dark tale that deals with some heavy themes. The manga and anime are both heavily acknowledged and liked by a fan following that dedicatedly finds opportunities one after another to praise the series. They have a special place in their heart for the series.
With how big of a pedestal fans put Arakawa’s series on, it becomes very important to deal with any following content that comes out with regard to it as well. It is regarded as one of the rare few animes with a perfect ending that has ample representation and mesmerizing characterization. So it was obvious that when the live-action movie came out, everyone was furious.
Fullmetal Alchemist’s Miss with Hiromu Arakawa’s Lack of Involvement
During an interview with Natalie, Hiromu Arakawa talked about Fullmetal Alchemist’s live-action movie and how much contribution she had made to its making. The film is regarded as an unfortunate adaptation. While it isn’t exactly the worst, fans do regard it to be one of the weakest attempts from Netflix’s side for a live-action adaptation.
It’s just not how I do things, I think believe in ‘leaving the job to the specialists.’ So I simply think, ‘I’m looking forward to the finished work.’
The live-action movie had a lot of problems with many fans finding it to be simply bad. Unlike Arakawa’s writing, the movie’s story is spread out randomly which comes off as a bigger mess than it could have been. While the mangaka had a lot of praise for the cast and crew, she did admit that her involvement in the making of the movie had been minimal.
There weren’t many tips and advises being pushed forward and she gave the director their freedom under the assumption that they knew what they were doing. Her decision to leave things alone may have just caused the movie’s failure because of how awry it went.
The Same Formula Cannot Apply Everywhere
While the movie derailed drastically because Hiromu Arakawa wasn’t very involved in its making, she added that as an author, she only knew how to write and draw manga. When it comes to anime and live-action movies, that was never her department to begin with. As a result, she chose to stay out of the making of both projects.
That was the case with the anime as well, but I feel that I should, ‘apologize for being an author who does not work.’
Her minimal involvement with the anime worked out in Arakawa and the fans’ favor. The anime received a lot of praise and is even regarded as a near-perfect series with everything that it showcases. On the other end of the spectrum lies the live-action film. The anime’s success could have thrown the mangaka off with how good or bad the live-action film could be.
It was a mess through and through with Netflix also receiving a lot of hate for the adaptation. Overall, had Arakawa been involved like Eiichiro Oda was for One Piece, things could have been truly different and much better for the movie as well.
Fullmetal Alchemist is available to watch on Netflix.
