“Brothers Edward and Alphonse seek the Philosopher's Stone to restore their bodies after a failed resurrection.”
Fullmetal Alchemist
鋼の錬金術師
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Based on your preference for character-driven stories with layered emotional arcs, this title's exploration of identity and belonging would deeply resonate. The pacing mirrors series you've rated highly, and its thematic depth aligns with your appreciation for nuanced storytelling...
However, the slow initial episodes might test your patience given your history of dropping shows that don't hook you early. The art style shift in the middle arc could also be a concern...
Synopsis
Brothers Edward and Alphonse seek the Philosopher's Stone to restore their bodies after a failed resurrection.
Edward Elric, a young, brilliant alchemist, has lost much in his twelve-year life: when he and his brother Alphonse try to resurrect their dead mother through the forbidden act of human transmutation, Edward loses his brother as well as two of his limbs. With his supreme alchemy skills, Edward binds Alphonse's soul to a large suit of armor. A year later, Edward, now promoted to the fullmetal alchemist of the state, embarks on a journey with his younger brother to obtain the Philosopher's Stone. The fabled mythical object is rumored to be capable of amplifying an alchemist's abilities by leaps and bounds, thus allowing them to override the fundamental law of alchemy: to gain something, an alchemist must sacrifice something of equal value. Edward hopes to draw into the military's resources to find the fabled stone and restore his and Alphonse's bodies to normal. However, the Elric brothers soon discover that there is more to the legendary stone than meets the eye, as they are led to the epicenter of a far darker battle than they could have ever imagined.
What people say
Community consensus
Derived from 232 sampled reviews
What 232 viewers settled on.
Mostly aligned
σ 1.47 · some divergence
5.9 pts
Recommenders 9.1 · others 3.3
↓ 1.19
Running avg · Jan 2007 → Apr 2026
- 9 “This will probably remain one of my most liked animes of all time forever. The story is interesting, the characters are made well, and FMA is all around awesome.”
- 10 “It was great it takes you through the eyes of people who fight to get back what they once had the anime ending is fantastic but the movie ending well was nevermind i just feel sorry for winry”
- 10 “Wow. Just, wow. I usually mostly only watch slice of life anime, but this was such a great series that I think I might consider watching more of this genre. I loved all the character development...”
Watch Order & Related
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See all credits →Production slate
- Format 51 × 24′ eps × min
- Total runtime 20h 24m all episodes
- Aired Oct 2003 – Oct 2004 Fall 2003
- Source Tv media type
- Rated R 17+ (violence & profanity)
- Ref. BS-0101 catalog
Produced by
- Aniplex Producer
- Dentsu Producer
- Square Enix Producer
- Mainichi Broadcasting System Producer
Licensed by
- Funimation Licensor
- Aniplex of America Licensor