Here's how Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood differ from each other. Created by Hiromu Arakawa,Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the virtually popular and successful manga series of all fourth dimension and has been developed into animation, movies and live-activeness. While it's commonplace for a hit manga to be given the anime adaptation treatment, it's not standard practice for there to be ii separate serial based on exactly the same material. This is the situation fans observe themselves in withFullmetal Alchemist.

The originalFullmetal Alchemist anime began airing inside a year of the manga's publication debut. Working to unlike schedules, Arakawa encouraged the anime to deviate from her own story and come with something original. Unfortunately, anime originals oftentimes tend to be divisive, and so it proved withFullmetal Alchemist, leading to the production ofFullmetal Alchemist: Alliance in 2009 which was more authentic to the manga.

Consequently, both versions of the anime begin in near-identical fashion. The backstory and goals of Edward and Alphonse Elric are the same, and most of the major settings and characters remain in place. Large plot points from the first act occur in both shows, and Arakawa's fictional universe works more or less by the same rules. But in that location's a betoken around the episode 30 marking where the 2003Fullmetal Alchemist anime begins to diverge from the manga and begins to spin its own yarn.Brotherhood begins animating untouched textile by episode 10, which means there are enough of differences between the two versions.

The Homunculi

One of the biggest differences betweenFullmetal Alchemist andBrotherhood lies in its villains. Both versions of the story feature the Homunculi as recurring enemies for the Elric brothers, and since these characters appear early on, their bones function and overarching seven mortiferous sins theme remain consequent. Still, the backstory of each Homunculus and their true nature are completely altered. In the initial 2003 anime series, each Homunculus is the unintended consequence of an alchemist attempting man transmutation - the "sins" of alchemy returning to haunt the creator. Animalism was born when Scar'southward brother tried to resurrect his girlfriend, Sloth was the result of Ed and Al trying to bring back their mother, Wrath appeared from Izumi'southward failed transmutation, and Greed, Envy, Pride and Gluttony were all created by the series' arch-villain. InBrotherhood, the entire Homunculus origin changes - all of the creatures are simply made past the main villain, Father.

As well every bit their backstories, each Homunculus likewise experiences vastly unlike journeys in the 2003 series andBrotherhood. Sloth is a motherly adult female inFullmetal Alchemist, posing equally the secretarial assistant to King Bradley who is revealed to be Pride. InAlliance, Sloth is merely a tunnel-digging monster, while Pride is King Bradley's son and the King himself is Wrath. Because of Lust'southward sympathetic origin story in the 2003Fullmetal Alchemist anime, she aligns with the Elric brothers, but her death sends Gluttony into a state of low.Brotherhood's Gluttony is actually Father's failed attempt at creating a Gate of Truth and the Homunculus ends up being killed past Pride. Where Ed defeats Greed in the original anime series, the Homunculus is captured and transferred into someone else inAlliance. As a by-product of the 2003 anime'south Homunculus mythology, the remains of the transmuted humans human action as a weakness to their respective villains.

Envy'south story is one of the biggest changes. TheFullmetal Alchemist anime depicted this Homunculus every bit a serpent-like creation, who wanted to find its father through the Gate of Truth, but the final grade ofBrotherhood's Envy is a 1-eyed hulk who eventually takes its own life, consumed past its own jealousy.

Fullmetal Alchemist'south Villain - Dante & Father

When the firstFullmetal Alchemist anime began to cover its own original material, the story had nevertheless to reveal its true villain, and so was forced into concocting a fresh adversary - a mysterious woman called Dante. Centuries old, Dante was the lover of the Elric brothers' male parent, Hohenheim. The couple managed to continuously cheat death using philosopher's stones, simply afterward Hohenheim dumped Dante for Trisha Elric, his ex resorted to using Homunculi equally her minions, promising she could restore their homo forms. After Dante's quest for eternal life is exposed, she's killed by her ain servant, Gluttony, who she previously sent on a mindless eating rampage.

Dante doesn't be inBrotherhood or the original manga, and the main villain is instead revealed to be Father - the original Homunculus. Similar to the 2003 anime but without the romance angle, Edward and Alphonse's dad is much older than he seems, and was once a slave to an alchemist who created Male parent based on Hohenheim's claret. Begetter took on a life of its own and conspired to ensure that the unabridged state of Xerxes would be sacrificed to provide him with a proper physical form. Thrown into the deal, Hohenheim himself is fabricated immortal, although he had no knowledge of the conspiracy and later on devotes his life to defeating Father.

Edward & Alphonse Elric

Every bit the master protagonists ofFullmetal Alchemist, Edward and Alphonse Elric aren't substantially contradistinct between the two anime serial. The brothers' designs, personalities and motivations remain largely consequent, with almost of the changes happening effectually them rather than to them. With that said, there are a few alterations to Ed and Al's personal stories and characterizations. For example, the State Alchemist exam is a proper exam in the earlierFullmetal Alchemist anime. Ed trains for the occasion under Shou Tucker and and so sits a proper exam alongside other budding candidates. Ed's prodigal talent gets the ameliorate of the situation inAlliance -all the tiny alchemist does to attain his qualification is transmute a spear and threaten King Bradley with information technology.

The extent of the Elric brothers' abilities is likewise slightly contradistinct between anime serial. In the 2003 iteration, Ed is capable of performing abracadabra without the demand to depict a transmutation circumvolve, making him one of the most talented in his field. Alphonse, on the other hand, however needs to draw regular transmutation circles, at to the lowest degree until he obtains the ability of a philosopher's rock. InBrotherhood, even so, both Elric brothers can perform circle-less alchemy thanks to their dabbling in human transmutation.

Altered Fullmetal Alchemist Characters

Although Ed and Al don't change significantly, plenty of otherFullmetal Alchemist characters practice. Mostly speaking,Brotherhood moves at a faster stride, despite having a higher episode count, which means that the 2003 anime series takes more than time to explore certain figures. Edward and Alphonse's female parent Trisha is a prime example, with far greater color to her graphic symbol in the 2003 edition. InBrotherhood, Trisha is more of a plot device to get theFullmetal Alchemist story rolling.In the same vein, the Elric brothers develop stronger bonds with Maes Hughes and his family than they practice inAlliance, and even aid deliver the man's child. Later actualization early in the story, Rose is more important in the original anime, every bit Dante plans to apply the girl as a make new vessel.

Conversely, someFullmetal Alchemist characters relish more than pregnant roles inBrotherhood, most notably Riza, whose connection to Mustang is explored in more item, and Tim Marcoh, who is killed by Gluttony in the first anime, just enjoys a much bigger role inBrotherhood.

Rather than being more prominent in one series than the other, some characters' stories are equally vital just markedly unlike. The man responsible for killing Winry's parents is revealed to be Roy Mustang in the 2003Fullmetal Alchemist anime, simply Scar committed the crime inBrotherhood. Meanwhile,Brotherhood sees Mustang get blind as a result of inbound the Gate of Truth and a completely revamped story in invented for Scar. This shady character's starting time anime backstory involves an unnamed alchemist brother who replaces Scar's arm with a philosopher's stone. Redeeming himself somewhat, Scar dies to protect Alphonse.Brotherhood changes this, and Scar's powers instead come from combining alchemy with alkahestry. Scar also survives until the end of the story, helping overcome the Homunculi, and his personality is generally more focused.

Further contradistinct characters include Shou Tucker, who becomes a chimera in the 2003 anime and tries to bring back his daughter Nina, who he previously merged with the family dog. Scar puts paid to any such redemption story inBrotherhood by redecorating the room with Tucker's innards.

Missing Characters & Places

Because theFullmetal Alchemistmanga was still ongoing when the first anime aired, there are many additions to Arakawa'south story that wouldn't go far into the 2003 series and vice versa. The TV-original material adds the Tringham brothers to the mix - a couple of young alchemists posing as Edward and Alphonse to access land resources and terminate their father's research. Although this sub-plot doesn't characteristic inAlliance, it does derive from a spin-off novel. The first anime series also replaces Hughes with the decidedly less friendly Frank Archer. Elements of Arakawa'south manga that featured solely inBrotherhood include the Briggs soldiers and the country of Drachma, too every bit the Xing country and everyone associated with it. The ice alchemist Isaac McDougal is also exclusive toBrotherhood, but isn't from the original manga.

The Ending & The Real World

Given that the twoFullmetal Alchemist anime serial have such contrasting paths, it's no surprise that they conclude in entirely dissimilar means. For the first anime series, the Gate of Truth is revealed to exist a portal to the "real" globe, and abracadabra is explained as energy created by deceased souls that laissez passer through the gate. Edward enters the gate, submits his own life as equivalent commutation payment and restores his brother's body, trapping himself in 20th century Globe while Al and Winry remain on the other side. This tragic ending is expanded upon in theConqueror of Shambala movie, in which Alphonse manages to reunite with his brother on Earth shortly before the outbreak of Globe War Ii. Not great timing.

None of this happens in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood . In a much happier ending, Ed only has to pay for the render of Al's body with his ability to perform alchemy, and this process also restores his own missing arm. Despite no longer being able to do alchemy, Ed settles down and starts a family with Winry, living a peaceful life without being dragged through a portal and forced to worry about the looming shadow of Adolf Hitler.

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Craig Elvy (3658 Articles Published)

Craig first began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016, several years after graduating college, and has been ranting e'er since, by and large to himself in a darkened room. Having previously written for various sports and music outlets, Craig's interest soon turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of scientific discipline fiction and comic books finally came into its ain. Craig has previously been published on sites such as Den of Geek, and after many coffee-drenched hours hunched over a laptop, part-time evening work eventually turned into a full-time career covering everything from the zombie apocalypse to the Starship Enterprise via the TARDIS. Since joining the Screen Rant fold, Craig has been involved in breaking news stories and mildly controversial ranking lists, but now works predominantly every bit a features writer. Jim Carrey is Craig'due south top acting choice and favorite topics include superheroes, anime and the unrecognized genius of the High School Musical trilogy.

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