Many otaku are content with the fact that it’s considered the best anime of all time — and they may have a point.
Summary:
- Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood often tops different lists of best anime ever made.
- It remakes an already beloved series while staying faithful to the manga.
- With a huge cast of interesting characters, it has many other strengths, including its animation and worldbuilding.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has been sitting within the top 3 highest-ranked anime on MyAnimeList since it ended, actually being THE number 1 for the longest time. It tops many “best anime” lists and is considered an ultimate recommendation to everyone, even people who don’t like battle shounen and anime in general.
It might be somewhat puzzling that one series gets so much love, but there are a multitude of reasons for FMA:B to have the reputation it deserves — let’s look at the most important ones.
A remake of a great anime, faithfully adapting a great manga
First off, the 2003 adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist was far from bad. It’s the opposite, actually: before Brotherhood was even a thing, the old FMA was actually the go-to recommendation for new anime fans.
However, with how beloved the manga was, there was eventually a change in opinion: while FMA 2003 is still undoubtedly considered great, it didn’t follow the manga, which at the time of its release still wasn’t finished. An actually faithful adaptation of one of the most well-acclaimed manga of all time was also an improvement compared to one of the highest-rated anime of all time — and as such, FMA:B’s ratings jumped through the charts.
Highly developed cast
Another huge positive about Fullmetal Alchemist (both of its versions, actually) is its cast dynamics. The duo of Ed and Al is very fun to watch and follow, and the contrast between them only highlights each of their personalities. And the rest of the cast doesn’t just sit there in the corner, either: every major character is well-developed, their actions and motivations written in a very logical way that’s easy to follow, and the ways they interact with the main duo and influence it are unmatched by anything else in the genre — and, arguably, in the anime medium.
Many other strengths
In the end, these are hardly the only factors that made FMA:B so popular, of course. The anime is great overall, with epic animation and action, a power system and world that are very intuitively understood but allow for many plot twists and interesting fights, and, of course, you shouldn’t forget the epic music of the anime, either. In the end, it takes the battle shounen formula and perfects it — and, most importantly, does it in quite a small amount of episodes.
With many series going on for hundreds of episodes, they might feel like a slog, but Brotherhood is only 64, and you can feel the tension throughout the entire run, with no boring moments in sight. Perhaps this is the best anime ever made, after all.