The original Fullmetal Alchemist anime, though interesting at first, had to digress from the plot and had a non-canon ending. Next came Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, the anime remake that more or less adapted the whole story by Hiromu Arakawa.
However, one problem still persisted: the plot was still not adapted completely. Brotherhood did show the ending constructed by Arakawa, but there were several arcs that were either shortened or changed. According to fans, Brotherhood failed to be a true adaptation in its hurry to catch up to what the previous anime didn’t cover.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Failed to do Hiromu Arakawa Justice
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has been the highest-rated anime on My Anime List for a long time, and anime-only fans love it to no end. But only readers of the actual manga know how much Brotherhood skipped on the original arcs. Brotherhood has some clear differences from the manga.
Earlier episodes shortened the introductory stages of the manga due to its inclusion in the 2003 anime. Arcs from the latter parts of the manga were also cut, presumably due to time or budget constraints. For example, characters like Kimblee and Father were introduced extremely early in the anime, in the first episode itself.
The train battle, which showed Elric Vs. Bald and the Blue Squad was omitted, along with Hakuro’s ear wound. Fans are especially touchy about the Youswell ordeal, which was omitted along with Yoki’s introduction. Yoki debuts in later episodes with a flashback recounting the omitted parts in a hurry. Of course, May Chang’s first appearance was also cut.
Van Hohenheim’s personality was made too intense, and only his intelligence was shown, turning the scenes serious. The manga, on the other hand, showed how absent-minded Hohenheim actually was. The first anime adapted some side stories in which characters like Catherine Elle Armstrong and Black Hayate were introduced, but it was removed from Brotherhood.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Vs. Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 Anime
Back when the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime premiered in 2003, the manga was still ongoing and had only received five volumes so far. Only eight volumes were published by the time the anime ended its airing in 2004. Thus, Studio Bones could only animate a small percentage of the 27-volume manga. The studio was forced to introduce original elements, much like Boruto, and the ending was also completely different from that of the manga.
Brotherhood, on the other hand, had the whole manga at its disposal. The last episode aired subsequently with the last chapter of the manga. Thus, Brotherhood was intended to be a more faithful remake. Fans are of the opinion that Brotherhood often assumes that fans would already be familiar with the 2003 anime.
While both anime adapt the same manga, their tones, antagonists as well as ending are different. The first anime was more serious in its tone and focused on the emotionally driven characters, Shou Tucker and Barry the Chopper. In Brotherhood, these characters are minor antagonists. The 2003 anime had a completely anime-original villain, Dante, who was created just to conclude the series. Despite being an extremely interesting character, she does not hold a candle to Father’s overwhelming aura.
The Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime are available to watch on Crunchyroll.
