''
Fullmetal Alchemist'' is an anime series loosely based on the
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
of the same title by
Hiromu Arakawa. Set in a
fictional universe
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
in which
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
is one of the most advanced scientific techniques, the story follows two alchemist brothers named
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
and
Alphonse Elric
is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga series and its adaptations created by Hiromu Arakawa. Alphonse is a child who lost his body during an alchemical experiment to bring his deceased Trisha El ...
, who want to recover parts of their bodies lost in an attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.
Produced by Bones and directed by Seiji Mizushima, ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' was first aired on
TBS Television
TBS may stand for:
Entertainment
* Taipei Broadcasting Station, a radio station in Taipei, Taiwan
* Tokyo Broadcasting System, a stock holding company in Tokyo, Japan
** TBS Television (Japan), a television station
** TBS Radio, a radio stati ...
in Japan from October 4, 2003, to October 2, 2004. It later aired on
Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
's
Adult Swim
Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim
Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...
and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...
block in the United States from November 7, 2004, through March 19, 2006.
A theatrical release titled ''
Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa'', a sequel to the television series, premiered in Japanese theaters on July 23, 2005;
and it premiered in the U.S. on August 24, 2006.
A series of five
original video animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
s (OVAs) were also released. The majority of these OVAs are side stories and do not expand on the plot. In 2009, a new anime, titled ''
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood'' for the English release, started broadcast on
MBS
MBS may refer for:
People
* Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia
* Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepalese politician
Places
* MBS International Airport (IATA code: MBS), Freeland, Michigan, US
* Mari ...
and TBS, being directed by
Yasuhiro Irie.
''Brotherhood'' is an independent second anime series adaptation that directly follows all the events of the original manga, and is not related to the first anime series.
The first series has been released in a series of thirteen DVDs from December 17, 2003, to January 26, 2005, in Japan.
Funimation also released the same series of DVDs from February 8, 2005, to September 12, 2006, in the United States. MVM had released the first eight volumes in the United Kingdom; however, Funimation gave the rights over to
Revelation Films
Revelation Films is a British film and television production and distribution company delivering visual entertainment via cinema, television and digital platforms.
Tony Carne founded Revelation Films in 1992 as a video and television production ...
. In March 2006 a DVD featuring the OVAs was released in Japan with the name of ''Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection''.
Funimation acquired and dubbed the ''Premium Collection'', which was released on August 4, 2009. During January from 2009, Bones released a "DVD box archives" of the anime. It includes the first anime of 51 episodes, the film, the CD soundtracks, and guidebooks from the series.
Eight pieces of
theme music are used for the episodes—four opening themes and four ending themes. Each of the theme songs was performed by artists under
Sony Music Entertainment Japan
, often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...
's label, whose anime distribution unit,
Aniplex, handled the production and music production for the series. The music score was composed and arranged by
Michiru Oshima
Michiru (満, みちる, ミチル) is a Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include:
*, 1970s J-Pop artist
*, Japanese composer
*, Japanese pop singer and songwriter
*, Japanese voice actor
*, Japanese anime scriptwriter
*, Japane ...
.
"Melissa" by
Porno Graffitti is used during episodes 2–13, "
Ready Steady Go Ready Steady Go may refer to:
Television
* '' Ready Steady Go!'', a 1963–1966 British music TV programme
* Ready Steady Go (Pakistani TV series), a 2017–2020 sitcom
Music
* ''Ready, Steady, Go!'' (album), by Drake Bell, 2014
* "Ready Stead ...
" by
L'Arc-en-Ciel
L'Arc-en-Ciel ( French: 'The Rainbow', stylized as L'Arc~en~Ciel), also known as Laruku, is a Japanese rock band, formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist tetsuya and vocalist hyde. Following the departure of original members hiro and pero, guitarist ...
is used during episodes 14–25, "Undo" by
Cool Joke
Cool Joke is a Japanese rock band formed in 2001. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist Hiroya Ishikawa (石川 寛也), guitarist Suguru Asabatake (麻畠 卓) and drummer Hiroyuki Saitō (斉藤 広幸). In addition to Ishikawa, Asaba ...
is used during episodes 26–41, and "
Rewrite" by
Asian Kung-Fu Generation is used for the last 10 episodes. For episode 1, the ending is "Melissa" by Porno Graffitti. by
Nana Kitade
is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to being the lead singer of the rock band The Teenage Kissers, she has (or had) success as a solo artist, model, actress, and fashion designer. Kitade is particularly known for her songs ...
is used for episodes 2–13, by
Yellow Generation is used for episodes 14–25, episodes 26–41 use "Motherland" by
Crystal Kay
is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host.
After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, '' Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese ...
for the ending, and "I Will" by
Sowelu
better known by her stage name, Sowelu, is a Japanese pop/ R&B singer signed onto Avex Group's label Rhythm Zone.
History
Her career started in 2002 with the release of her first single ''Beautiful Dreamer'', a soft love ballad which did ver ...
is used for episodes 42–50. All episodes that originally opened with "Melissa" and "Undo" had "Ready Steady Go" shown in place of those songs on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and
YTV's
Bionix Bionix may refer to:
* Bionix (TV programming block), a program block on the Canadian channel YTV
* Air Creation BioniX, a French ultralight trike wing design
* '' AOI: Bionix'', a 2001 album by De La Soul, and its title song
* Bionix AFV, a famil ...
. The DVD releases from
Funimation include all openings in their original places and format.
__TOC__
Episode list
OVAs
Home media release
Japanese
English
References
Specific
General
*
*
External links
The official North American website for the anime series
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Fullmetal Alchemist Episodes
Episodes
Fullmetal Alchemist