"Hagane no renkinjutsushi" (2003) TV series 2003-2004

User Rating:

9.1/10   

Writers:

Joel Bergen (English version)
Joel Bergen (script)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

6 November 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

The Philosophers' Stone: those who possess it, no longer bound by the laws of Equivalent Exchange in Alchemy, may gain without sacrifice, create without equal exchange. We searched for it, and we found it.

Plot:

The Elric brothers' mother is dead and their father has long since abandoned them. Deciding to perform...

Plot Keywords:

Suit Of Armor | Alchemy | Alchemist | Military | Resurrection

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15	1:30 AM	TOON	Be Thou for the People	#1.9
Sun. Nov. 15	2:00 AM	TOON	The Phantom Thief	#1.10

Cast

Aaron Dismuke	...	Alphonse Elric (51 episodes, 2003-2004)
Vic Mignogna	...	Edward Elric (51 episodes, 2003-2004)
Romi Pak	...	Edward Elric (50 episodes, 2003-2004)
Rie Kugimiya	...	Alphonse Elric (50 episodes, 2003-2004)
Tôru Ôkawa	...	Colonel Roy Mustang (32 episodes, 2003-2004)
Travis Willingham	...	Colonel Roy Mustang (32 episodes, 2003-2004)
Sonny Strait	...	Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes / ... (31 episodes, 2003-2004)
Keiji Fujiwara	...	Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes (30 episodes, 2003-2004)
Takehiro Murozono	...	Warrant Officer Vato Falman / ... (27 episodes, 2003-2004)
Kyle Hebert	...	Warrant Officer Vato Falman / ... (27 episodes, 2003-2004)
Shin Aomori	...	Brigadier General Basque Grand (26 episodes, 2003-2004)
Jin Horikawa	...	General Hakuro / ... (26 episodes, 2003-2004)
Phil Parsons	...	General Hakuro / ... (26 episodes, 2003-2004)
Christopher Sabat	...	Major Alex Louis Armstrong (26 episodes, 2003-2004)
Kenji Utsumi	...	Major Alex Louis Armstrong (25 episodes, 2004)
Tetsu Shiratori	...	Master Sergeant Kain Fuery (25 episodes, 2003-2004)
Kevin Connolly	...	Master Sergeant Kain Feury (25 episodes, 2003-2004)
Shouko Tsuda	...	Izumi Curtis (22 episodes, 2004)

Also Known As:

Fullmetal Alchemist (International: English title) (USA)
Hagaren (Japan) (short title)

Runtime:

24 min (51 episodes) | USA:30 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Filipino | French | Italian | Portuguese | Spanish | Tagalog | English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:PG (some episodes) | Australia:M (some epiosodes) | USA:TV-PG (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) | UK:12 (some episodes) | UK:15 | UK:PG (4 episodes) | New Zealand:M (some episodes) | New Zealand:PG (some episodes) | Canada:14+ (TV rating) | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | USA:TV-14 (cut)

Company:

Aniplex

Trivia:

Nearly every member of the military (Mustang, Hawkeye, Fury, Havoc, Hughes, and even Riza's dog, Black Hayate) is named after some type of mid-20th century military aircraft. Most of them are WWII-era airplanes. The exception to the aircraft rule is Bradley, who seems to be named after a modern APC, which was named after WW2 General Omar Bradley.

Quotes:

Alphonse Elric: 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.

Movie Connections:

Remade as "Hagane no renkinjutsushi" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Merissa

A story with an ending no one I know could even guess

This series has one of the most amazing endings I've ever seen...ANYWHERE. Out the half dozen other people I know who've seen the entire series, not one of us was able to even come close to guessing the ending. FMA reminds me a bit of Harry Potter just in that, in both series, you have 1) child prodigies, 2) engrossing character growth and plot development, and 3) a story that individuals of all ages can appreciate and enjoy. One thing I appreciated and enjoyed very much about the series is that it's like one long fable--there's moral after moral after moral. As a side-note, it's one of the only animes that I've seen which spans several years, allowing for a lot more character growth and focus on the players in the story than is typically seen in most animes. Probably the single best anime that I've ever seen, and certainly in my Top 10 favorite stories of all time. Like Harry Potter though, it may at first appear to be a kids' story, but toward the end it's oriented more toward adults. Highly recommended.