Fullmetal Alchemist

FavoritedFavorite 35
Cartoon Network (ended 2006)
EDIT

Show Summary

  • Ended
Rated: TV-PG through TV-14 "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth." -Alphonse Elric

Edward and Alphonse Elric are two brothers gifted with the ability of alchemy, the science of taking one thing and changing it into another. However, alchemy works on the theory of Equivalent Exchange -- for something to be created, something else of equal value must be sacrificed. When their mother dies, Edward decides to do the unthinkable -- bringing her back to life by preforming Human Alchemy. However, both Edward and Alphonse know that by doing so they will be breaking one of Alchemy's biggest taboos.

Believing they have nothing more to lose, Ed and Al go ahead with their plan. Unfortunately, something goes horribly wrong and Ed loses his leg while Al loses his body. In order to save his brother, Ed sacrifices his arm for Al's soul and attaches it to a suit of armor.

Determined to correct what they have done and get their bodies back, the brothers decide to become State Alchemists to gain access to the State's enormous library on alchemy. There, they learn of the legendary Philosopher's Stone -- an item that allows an alchemist to bypass the Law of Equivalent Exchange. They soon learn that they are not the only ones after the Stone as other forces (including the Military) join in on the hunt.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Opening Theme #1: "Melissa" by Porno Graffiti Opening Theme #2: "Ready Steady Go" by L'Arc-en-Ciel Opening Theme #3: "Undo" by Cool Joke Opening Theme #4: "Rewrite" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation

Ending Theme #1: "Kesenai Tsumi (The Unerasable Sin)" by Nana Kitade Ending Theme #2: "Tobira no Mukou e (To The Other Side of The Door)" by YeLLoW Generation Ending Theme #3: "Motherland" by Crystal Kay Ending Theme #4: "I Will" by Sowelu

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Main Characters

Edward Elric: The older of the two brothers, he is also the most gifted. At the age of 12, he becomes the youngest person ever to pass the State Alchemist Exam. He is also a bit sensitive over being called 'short'.

Alphonse Elric: Edward's younger brother, he has a gentle spirit in spite of the menacing appearance of his suit of armor. Also a gifted alchemist, he is determined to restore Ed's limbs and to feel human again.

Winry Rockbell: Ed and Al's next door neighbor and childhood friend, Winry is an expert Auto-Mail mechanic who helped fit Ed with his limbs after the accident. She is close to both brothers, but is not afraid to let Ed have it when he deserves it.

Colonel Roy Mustang: Ed's immediate supervisor, Colonel Mustang is also known as the Flame Alchemist. A very private individual, he has his own agenda.

Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes: A military investigator, Hughes is a very easy-going, likable guy. Although not an alchemist, he has a talent with knives. He is currently obsessed with his baby daughter, of whom he can't stop talking about.

Scar: First known as the State Alchemist Killer, he believes State Alchemists are defying the sacredness of the Almighty God. He vows to kill all State Alchemists and anyone who gets in his way.

Lust: A Homunculus, her goal is to become fully human -- and she will use whatever means possible to achieve it. The Homunculi are beings created by a secret but evil alchemy.

Gluttony: Lust's loyal Homunculus comrade. Named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins, he is also the creepiest character, since his name refers to his enormous appetite to eat almost anything -- particularly human beings.

Envy: Another Homunculus who works with Lust. Also named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Envy has the ability to change form. Lust often uses Envy's skill to trick others into doing what she wants.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This guide follows the US dubbed version of the show, as it is aired on [Adult Swim]. If you are looking for the guide to the Japanese version of Fullmetal Alchemist, go to Hagane no Renkin Jutsushi.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOURCES: Information for this guide has been gathered from: The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), Anime News Network, CrystalAcids, and the many people who have contributed to the guide. Thank you contributors!moreless
8.8
out of 10
Avg Rating: Great
6,277 votes
  • Your Rating: 10
    "Perfect"
  • Your Rating: 9.5
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 9
    "Superb"
  • Your Rating: 8.5
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 8
    "Great"
  • Your Rating: 7.5
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 7
    "Good"
  • Your Rating: 6.5
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 6
    "Fair"
  • Your Rating: 5.5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 5
    "Mediocre"
  • Your Rating: 4.5
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 4
    "Poor"
  • Your Rating: 3.5
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 3
    "Bad"
  • Your Rating: 2.5
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 2
    "Terrible"
  • Your Rating: 1.5
    "Abysmal"
  • Your Rating: 1
    "Abysmal"
Rate Now!

Episode Guide

See All
S 4 :  Ep 11 Aired 11/17/07
S 4 :  Ep 10 Aired 3/18/06
go
Netflix
Subscription
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
S 4 :  Ep 9 Aired 3/11/06
go
Netflix
Subscription
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
S 4 :  Ep 8 Aired 3/4/06
go
Netflix
Subscription
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy
S 4 :  Ep 7 Aired 2/25/06
go
Netflix
Subscription
Amazon
Buy
iTunes
Buy

Cast & Crew

See All EDIT

Watch Fullmetal Alchemist Full Episodes

See All

Fan Reviews (625)

See All

  • The Best Anime I've Ever Watched!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By miran131, Feb 27, 2012
    Honestly, you can't get any better than FMA. It's got everything a good anime should have, and more. The theme, characters, plot, is amazing! Everything is perfect. I'd call this a masterpiece.

  • Huh!! Full metal alchemist is on again. I must have fallen asleep while I was watching it 3 hours ago.

    1.8
    "Abysmal"
    By UltimateFlow, Oct 31, 2011
    One word: BOORING!! thats one way of describing this anime.

    Yup, prepare to hate me.

    This is got to be the most melodramatic anime ive seen in a while, and its very repetitive(not in a good way). Most fans of the show says its the best thing ever, and if you say its horrible it is considered heresy.

    The plot- it basically starts with Ed and Al trying to revive their mom back but fails. Due to their mistakes of trying to play god. Satan takes their body parts so he can play god by creating !!!SPOILER!!==Amunculi or whatever !!!!END SPOILER!!!! thus they go on a journey to find a philosopher stone, similar to Dragonballs or Sacred Jewel Shards except there is alot of counterfeit stones. And instead of Martial Arts and/or Magic they use Alchemy. Seems pretty interesting does it. NO... one of the major flaws is that they always get into trouble in some city, ALWAYS.. This would be good if they had some sort of development or plot advancement. NO,, ED still angst over his arm and Al's condition. And the plot goes no where but "we have to get the stone". This goes on intill they encounter the bad guys and a plot twist that I can predict a mile away.

    Voice Acting/Animation- The voice acting is pretty good considering its a dub, The actors play their roles really well. The dub might be better than the sub. As for the animation. Its pretty generic, tho Al's armor looks pretty cool other than that, We have lame fight scenes and characters that do nothing but talk talk talk talk. All this talking seems unnecessary, i mean just fight already we know its coming. The creator seems to try to hard to make the series more intelligent and deep. Im not buying it.

    Characters- Boy where do I start. Lets start with ED, All he does is angst. There are moments where he *Tries* to be heroic but I find it quite laughable. I never seen a character that angst so much (Shiji, whatever his name is, from Eva might beat Ed) He just moans and complain about how bad his life was when he was a kid from losing his limb to a plot twist that you should see for yourself "hint, its about losing his limb" *SHOCKING!!* Al seems to be more wise about it but he too has moments were he angst over his lost body. OK We get it now, lets moove on please, time is slipping away.. as for the rest of the cast we have your intellectual cool guy, big strong guy, aloof female leader, the anti hero, stereotypical villains that are just evil for the sake of being evil they also have a ability of not dieng (Not another CEll/majin buu/Naruku) , the mentor, The mechanical genius, basically any stereotype you can think of. other than Ed and Al I can see no trace of depth in them at all other than being stereotypes. They do have a few oddballs but they either get killed off or killed by the hero. Greed and that soulless armor guy is one example. As mentioned above most of these character do nothing but talk for an entire episode or two, or 15-20 episodes. They rarely fight and if they do its usually just as lame and boring as the constant speeches. I would have liked it if it had some point to it, buts its usually revolves over the same bullcrap; The philosopher stone, amuculi, gates of hell, war. And lets not forget about the constant plot twists. Basically character development in this series revolves around plot twists because Emo=deep and emotional oh I forgot... realistic toomoreless

  • If that kid says "equivalent exchange" one more time...

    1.0
    "Abysmal"
    By BigGamma, Oct 31, 2011
    I get it. He's the Fullmetal Alchemist. You don't have to remind me eight times per episode. This show is 100 miles of dull with maybe 2 minutes of story or action thrown in to make you think you're being rewarded for having the concept of equivalent exchange spoon fed to you over and over again. And, as if being bludgeoned to death with the show's theme wasn't bad enough, I'm supposed to believe that drawing a circle on the ground then shooting lightning out of one's hand is science? Even forgiving its standard Anime short-comings (budget-saving static dialogue scenes, broken and confusing english dub, unnecessary J-pop soundtrack) the valuable time I wasted watching this tripe was not equal than the anger and regret I received in exchange.moreless

  • One of my favorite animes!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By jakratchet12, Jun 26, 2011
    I am actually glad this show ended since I can't stand shows that go on forever (naruto) but this show was just awesome I liked the characters and above all the story. I like the idea of two brothers wanting their mom back that they try to bring her back with alchemy and they pay for it and they have to go on a long journey mainly to turn al back into a human and not be in a giant suit of armor. And it just was an amazing show I'm not a big fan of full metal alchemist brotherhood thoughmoreless

  • This show is an entertaining ride I enjoy watching it every chance i get it's funny and informative and sad and funny I like Ed he's just awesom and funny.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By anna-chan, Mar 27, 2011
    I haven't seen all four seasons actually I haven't seen all of a season but I really liked the episodes I have seen even if they were really sad the first episode i saw fully was 'Mother' sad but very intriguing. Tho. I haven't seen most of the episodes i have read some of the manga which is a little different from the show but just as entertaining. The first time I saw a part of an episode it was one that Mustang declared that when he became Furer(spelling?) he would make all of the women wear tiny mini skirts. great first impression Right? but that was a little before I really got in to the show and I'm glad i did I'll watch it for as long as I can.moreless
WRITE A REVIEW
 

Fullmetal Alchemist Forums


Add a Topic See All
Last Activity
Replies

Photos

See All

Related Shows

Contributors

Become a contributor
More
Less

TV Listings

Full Listings

More Info About This Show

Categories

Animation, Science Fiction

Themes

alternate history, back from the dead, bloody and violent, characters with hidden agendas, coping with death

TV.com Properties | Shows | Videos | News | Listings | Forums | People | Photos | TV.com Blog

CBS Entertainment | About TV.com | About CBS Interactive | Jobs | Advertise

© 2012 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Ad Choice | Terms of Use