Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the best anime of the 2000s. For a long time, it was the highest-rated anime on IMDb because of its compelling narrative. Hiromu Arakawa did a spectacular job building one of the best setups ever with the Elric Brothers trying to bring back their mother from the land of death. But Arakawa was always conscious about her gender when she published the manga.
When Fullmetal Alchemist began its serialization, the anime and manga industry was dominated by the Big Three of anime. All of them had male writers, and somehow, Arakawa thought that fans mostly preferred male manga artists. She knew Fullmetal Alchemist was a gender-neutral anime and could be enjoyed by all. Even after that, she took the initiative to change her pen name to resemble a man.
Hiromu Arakawa Did Not Want Fans To Neglect Fullmetal Alchemist
The anime and manga industry mostly includes male manga artists like Akira Toriyama, Eiichiro Oda, Masashi Kishimoto, etc. But it does not mean that the industry was dominated by men. There were several female mangaka like Naoko Takeuchi, Katsura Hoshino, Yana Toboso, etc., who created popular manga. Somehow, it was not enough to convince Hiromu Arakawa that fans would read Fullmetal Alchemist irrespective of her gender.
She was terrified of a sexist Shonen stereotype, which might have destroyed her manga before it even got popularity. Arakawa was so conscious about her manga not being able to soar through the heights due to her being a female. She thought Fullmetal Alchemist could become a female-centric manga from fans’ perspective, even though it follows the story of two brothers and has some bone-chilling revelations. For her, the only way to be accepted was to change her pen name.
Hiromu Arakawa’s original name is Hiromi Arakawa. Initially, she changed it to Edmund Arakawa so that people believed she was male. Then she changed it to Hiromu and carried on with it. Even though her main motive was to keep the audience focused on the manga, it also showcased her shy and reserved nature. She wants to keep her life private, and for Hero Tales, she took the name of Huang Jin Zhou.
Fullmetal Alchemist Became One Of The Most Popular Anime Of The Modern Generation
Fullmetal Alchemist manga earned worldwide popularity upon its serialization. When it was adapted into an anime, it repeated the manga’s success. The manga was adapted into two anime, with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood being the better anime adaptation of the two. Even though it did not fall under the Big Three of anime, it remains one of the very few anime to become successful in Japan and overseas.
Hiromu Arakawa’s masterpiece remains quite influential in the modern generation, with the fans still talking about the ending of the anime. The story itself was quite moving and left a deeper impact. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has 63 episodes, which is 12 more than Fullmetal Alchemist. There is a five-year gap between the two anime, and it was enough for the second anime to learn from its past mistakes.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
