Fullmetal Alchemist vs. Brotherhood: Differences & Which Is Better?
Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist manga has become one of the best-known and one of the most beloved stories ever to come from Japan. The original manga had a total of 27 volumes and it was adapted into an anime series twice – as Fullmetal Alchemist and as Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. In this article, we are going to compare these two anime series for you. So what are some of the core differences between Fullmetal Alchemist & Brotherhood?
Although adapted from the same manga, Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime differentiate in several technical factors such as animations and soundtrack. The core differences though are in its characters and plot which are vastly different.
In the rest of the article, we’ve summed up and compared those differences for you, so let’s discuss this topic in a little more detail.
The differences between Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
As far as Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is concerned, they are basically the same anime, but with several important differences. So no, Brotherhood is not a sequel to the original anime, but rather just another adaptation with some key differences that we are going to examine and analyze in the following paragraphs. So, let’s go:
1. Animation
The original anime had a solid animation. The colors were excellently chosen and executed, the backgrounds were nice and the overall drawings were great. The fights were also properly dynamic and the whole animation was really on a very, very high level. The main issue was the relatively large number of stills present throughout the anime, but even that wasn’t – well, not really – a big deal.
Anime series are notoriously known for not being consistent with good animation, especially after the production studio changes after some time. Brotherhood was, luckily, produced likewise by the studio BONES, the same studio that gave us the great animation back in 2003. And BONES kept its reputation as Brotherhood was even better when it came to animation. All of the things that worked well in the original series were kept, but the backgrounds were better animated and the “talking head” effect was mostly eliminated throughout the series.
So, although the differences in animation aren’t that big, we can say that Brotherhood provided us with better and upgraded animation than the original series.
2. Soundtrack
The soundtrack was really a strong element of the original series. Both the anime and its movie sequel featured a beautiful and memorable soundtrack composed by Michiru ลshima. The most famous composition is undoubtedly “Bratja”, which was played multiple times throughout the original series – as a vocal version, violin, and piano solo. “Bratja” is today considered to be one of the greatest anime compositions in history. Brotherhood, on the other hand, never produced such a memorable composition as the original series, but the soundtrack, composed by Akira Senju, was still beautiful and pretty enjoyable if you ask us. While you read, enjoy “Bratja”:
As far as the opening and ending songs go, each series had its original songs. The songs, along with their artists and the episodes they were used in, for the original series were:
Opening songs:
- “Melissa” by Porno Graffiti (episodes 1-13)
- “READY STEADY GO” by L’Arc-en-Ciel (episodes 14-25)
- “Undo” by Cool Joke (episodes 26-41)
- “Rewrite” by Asian Kung Fu Generation (episodes 42-51)
Ending songs:
- “Kesenai Tsumi” (Indelible Sin) by Nana Kitada (episodes 2-13)
- “Tobira no Muko he” (To the Other Side of the Door) by YeLLOW Generation (episodes 14-25)
- “Motherland” by Crystal Kay (episodes 26-41)
- “I Will” by Sowelu (episodes 42-50)
All of this changed during Brotherhood, which also included three insert songs, something which wasn’t featured in the original anime. The songs were:
Opening songs:
- “Again” by YUI (episodes 1-14)
- “Hologram” by Nico Touches the Walls (episodes 15-26)
- “Golden Time Lover” by Sukima Switch (episodes 27-38)
- “Period” by CHEMISTRY (episodes 39-50)
- “Rain” by SID (episodes 51-60 & 62)
Ending songs:
- “ๅ – Uso (Lie)” by SID (episodes 1-14)
- “Let it Out” by Miho Fukuhara (episodes 15-26)
- “Tsunai Da Te” (Tied Hands)” by Lil’B (episodes 27-38)
- “Shunkan SENTIMENTAL” (Sentimental Moment)” by SCANDAL (episodes 39-50)
- “RAY OF LIGHT” by Shoko Nakagawa (episodes 51-62)
- “Rain” by SID (episode 63)
- “Hologram” By NICO Touches the Wall (episode 64)
Insert songs:
- “Let it Out” by Miho Fukuhara (episode 27)
- “Rain” by SID (episodes 52 and 61)
- “RAY OF LIGHT” By Shoko Nakagawa (episode 64)
Before you continue, here’s the 4th OP song from Brotherhood for your enjoyment:
3. Characters
Strictly character-wise, there is a large number of differences between the two series. Fullmetal Alchemist followed Arakawa’s manga during its first half, after which it went its own way and became more original.
This is much due to the fact that the original manga was not finished when the anime aired and the writers didn’t have a lot of material to work with so they became creative.
This led to some supporting characters being explored more in the second half of the anime, while others – that appeared later on in the manga – never appeared in the show. In that aspect, Brotherhood, which followed the original manga, was more accurate in terms of character introduction and development.
A big change was made to the Homunculi, the main villain of the whole series. Each Homunculus was named after one of the Seven Deadly Sins.
In both anime series, Lust, Gluttony, and Envy remain essentially the same and faithful to the manga, with the exception of Lust being the primary antagonist in the original series with a massively expanded role, while in Brotherhood, Lust is the first of the Homunculi to die.
However, the other Homunculi – Pride, Wrath, Sloth, and Envy – are completely different. In Brotherhood, Wrath is Fuhrer Bradley while Pride is his son. However, in the original anime, Bradley is actually Pride.
Wrath was a failed transmutation of Ed and Al’s mentor, Izumi, in the original anime, while Greed is created by Izumi’s mentor. Arguably, most startling of all is Sloth, who in the original is actually Ed and Al’s mother Trisha. This, of course, wasn’t kept in Brotherhood.
All of these differences changed how the Homunculi were created in both series. In Brotherhood and the original manga, all the Homunculi are created by Father, the true antagonist of the series.
However, in the original series, a Homunculus is created from a failed human transmutation that was found by Dante.
In addition to all of this, because each Homunculus is actually a recreation of a previous human when a Homunculus comes in contact with a remnant of their former selves in the original series, they are extra vulnerable.
There are also other smaller differences scattered throughout the two series, but it would take up too much of your time to list absolutely all of them, so we are going to wrap this up with the last major difference – the final villain.
Namely, Dante and Father both have ties to Hohenheim, with Dante being a former immortal lover of the Elric Brothers’ father while Father is tied with his origins as an alchemist and an immortal.
While Father creates the Homunculi, Dante just stumbles upon them in the original series. Their plans are different, and as the series becomes increasingly centered around their goals and wants, the plots further divide.
4. Plot
The last major differences between the two series are their plots. Namely, due to the fact that the producers of the original anime ran out of material from the manga at one point, they decided to continue with the show, but the writers created a completely original storyline for the remaining episodes.
On the other hand, Brotherhood was able to follow the manga and finished its run with the manga, which enabled it to fully adapt Arakawa’s original story, without making things up along the way.
Having said this, we have to state that the first 26 episodes of the original anime and the first 10 episodes of Brotherhood are completely identical plot-wise, as they adapt the manga up to the point when Maes Hughes dies.
After that, the original manga went its own way with an original plot, while Brotherhood continued by adapting Arakawa’s story as it was presented in the manga.
The original anime relied heavily on cliffhangers and although a large portion of it was original, there was very little filler content.
Brotherhood is a completely different experience for those that have seen the original anime series but haven’t read the manga.
Why? Simply because Arakawa’s story is different from the story of the original anime. In that aspect, you will see a lot of familiar faces and situations, but in a completely different context, which might be a tad confusing.
As far as the endings go, the ending of Brotherhood, which was faithful to the original manga, was praised for its authenticity and its epic character.
On the other side, the ending of the original anime is most often quoted as its worst part, with reviews ranging from horrible to bizarre. The original anime actually ends with the Movie Conqueror of Shamballa, which is – in our opinion – pretty strange.
Namely, Ed gets sent into an alternate dimension similar to ours, where he ends up trying to survive in a fictional version of Nazi Germany while the other characters try to find him.
The ending involves a lot of characters scattered across dimensions, which caused a lot of confusion among fans, Greed taking on a new transformation, and a cameo from Hitler. Because why not.
Fullmetal Alchemist & Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood: Which One Is Better?
As you can see, the differences aren’t that numerous, but they are large as far as the narrative is concerned.
Brotherhood would be a better choice if you ask us because it faithfully adapts Arakawa’s manga and presents the story as it was meant to be told; surely, this iteration might lack originality, but people don’t always like when things are drastically different.
And with the first series, they are – Fullmetal Alchemist has a completely original narrative during its second half, which can be confusing and not appealing to everyone. This is, of course, just our opinion and you can watch both if you prefer it like that.
