An anime like no other. Edward and Alphonse Elric are two brothers who live in a world similar, yet completely different from our own. In their world, science takes a completely different form: alchemy, where one can understand a compound, break it down, and then reconstruct it into something with the same properties. Depending on its use, alchemy can do a variety of things, ranging from creating toys out of sand to using the elements of the human body to make a living bomb. However, one must never defy the laws of equivalent of exchange, or the consequences will be unimaginable. The worst way to break to this rule is to attempt human transmutation, the revival of the dead. But that is exactly what Ed and Al attempt to do when they try to bring back their deceased mother. But things go horribly wrong. Despite having all of the chemical ingredients found in an adult human, there is nothing that equates for a soul. As a result, Al loses his body and Ed loses one arm and a leg. Now with Al's soul placed in a suit of armor and Ed given metal replacement limbs, the two join the state military in order to find the Philosopher's stone, a legendary substance and the one way to break the laws of alchemy without suffering any consequences, in order to gettheir bodies back. However, they unintentionally uncover a conspiracy linked directly to the very military they have become dogs for, and find that the price of returning themselves to normal may not be worth it.

This anime is unlike many found nowadays. There is an obvious dark theme to this story that is normally withheld in other popular anime, the violence is a lot more severe, and the effects of serious wounds are actually depicted realistically. Like many other great anime, however, it has an incredible cast of characters whose personalities are shown in such detail, and the story is a perfect balance of seriousness and comedy. The scenes with conversation aren't overdone, and the scenes with action don't get drawn out for too long. The music used for the series, as well as the voice actors used in either Japan or America, are well-picked and each fits the anime and each character perfectly. And don't worry when you finish it, for a different version is available as well. You will NOT want to miss out on such a fantastic anime.

Note: This is the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime series. The second is called Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. They both exist entirely seperately.

Positives:
* Good series for a general audience. It was a good pick for Adult Swim.
* Alchemy is an interesting theme for an anime series. It was also a good idea to keep it light, rather than gloomy.
* Branches off from the manga at the half-way point, which actually makes the show more interesting
* Dub is pretty good, as is the Japanese language original
* Music is pretty good. A couple of the theme songs may find their way to your iPod.

Negatives:
* First half of the series drags on for too long
* Some of the character designs are... interesting. Luckily, the major characters look good and are well-rounded.
* The show is not entirely self contained: you will need to watch Conqueror of Shamballa after this series.

Overall:
If you're on a site like this, you've probably already seen FMA or intend to, as Fullmetal is considered a 'definitive' anime series. As for my opinion, I think Fullmetal Alchemist is a solid show, overall. It's also a good series to introduce to someone who is newer to anime, as it's set in a European-like country, which makes the show more accessible to Western audiences. Another upside is that there's generally a good balance between exposition and action, so you'll never really feel a big lag that will make you want to give up on the show. I'm generally a big mecha fan, so a good balance between story and action is essential to me, and I walked away from FMA satisfied with the balance.

The big question, though: this or FMA: Brotherhood? I can't answer that, nor can anyone else at this point. Who knows if Brotherhood will stay faithful to the manga until the very end?

I've watched this anime time and time again, and never tire of it. There's always something that you may have missed the first time that you watched it, which makes it that much more interesting. Character development is excellent, and makes you fall in love with many if not all of the wacky character's you'll find (Not that way! D:). The story line is the best part of this anime. Every issue that arises is a result of a principal called "Equivalent Exchange", which the two main characters Edward and Alphonse Elric have applied not only to science, but their lives.

What I find interesting about this anime is that the Alchemists do not have "super powers", or "magic". Far from it. They're simply scientists that use alchemy to get things done as well as fight. Alchemy is not an all-powerful art, however. For many alchemists, they require a circle to perform transmutations (Edward being one of the exceptions), and they also need to abide by the law of equivalent exchange. Something cannot be made from nothing.

Ultimately, any anime fan will find this show both entertaining, but perhaps even learn a bit from it. It's a "must-watch", and once you start, you'll get hooked!

"The flow of the world moves in one direction... and we must not disrupt that." -Izumi Curtis

this is an awsome story, its so uniqe, buh the animation could hav been better. the charaters ecspecially edward, were excellent ^-^ well in the begining it was sad cause he lost his mother, tht was harsh.

Two Brothers Set Out On A Journey to Find A Magical Stone The Philosopher Stone... They Are Trying To Regain Their Body/Body Parts... Al The Metal Suit Lost His Body As For His Brother Ed Lost His Right Arm And Left Leg... Trying To Bring Their Mother Back To Life... MY GOD Just The 1st 10 Episodes And You'd Be Hooked

Everything works on one principle, equivalent exchange, including the science of alchemy. When young boys Edward and Al Elreic lose their mother to an incurable disease, they attempt a forbidden human transmutation to bring her back to life.

They believed themselves to be prepared with all the elements of the human body on hand to exchange for their mother. They were wrong. Edward loses one of his legs and Al loses his entire body, in a final bid to save his brother, Edward trades one of his own arms to transmute his brothers soul into one of the armoured suits in the room. The two are left a sorry mess. One a young boys soul in a huge empty suit of armour and the other with two artificial limbs known as auto-mail, usually a sign reserved for war veterans.

With no hope of ever restoring their mother, Ed and Al set to putting things right, restoring their bodies. But for that they will need the legendary alchemist stone. Unfortunately for them, it's not just legendary, it's also more of a rumour, but this doesn't dissuade the boys, who set out on an epic journey chasing any leads they they can find. A lot of mysterious forces and obstacles stand in the way, a corrupt military, several homunculus and a man obsessed with wiping any signs of alchemy off the face of the earth. Even in the end, it's price may not be something the boys are willing to pay.

The art of full metal alchemist is of a standard anime style. The world is some sort of modern alternative dimension, different enough to be interesting, close enough to not need to explain what general objects are or do. The comic contains a lot of sarcastic humor to compliment the plot and will no doubt appeal to a broad audience. A caution though, Full Metal Alchemist does have some strong themes and scenes concerning parts of the story when human transmutation is involved, for example the very first page has a very vivid image of Edward dragging his bloody stump of a leg across the ground.

Full Metal Alchemist is an interesting and inspiring story of two brothers trying to right their own wrongs, along the way overcoming some huge metal and physical obstacles. Even though it is in a sense, fantasy, it touches on some very realistic issues that are in the world today, like religion, racism, war and the morality of science in general. Full Metal Alchemist is without a doubt one of the greatest and most unique stories ever written.