Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Part One DVD Review

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When Aniplex announced that they were rebooting Fullmetal Alchemist under the new name Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, fans were concerned about how the company would change their beloved anime.
Aniplex's main reason for the reboot was to make the plot adhere closer to Hiromu Arakawa's original manga, and it appears to have succeeded. It works well, both as a sequel to the original anime and as an introduction for FMA newbies.

Brotherhood hits the ground running, with brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric locked in battle against a rogue Alchemist who wants to kill the mysterious King Bradley. Essentially, the filmmakers are saying that, either you know the original series well enough that you don't need the back-story, or you'll pick it up along the way.
The major story of how Edward and Alphonse violate the laws of Alchemy in order to return their dead mother to life – and the heavy price they pay for that transgression – is handled in a couple of flashbacks. Aniplex knows the fans are salivating for the good stuff, and want to get to it as soon as possible.
In comparison to the previous series, Brotherhood has a softer, richer palette in keeping with its steampunk vibe. The animation is less cartoony, and more adult but there are plenty of chibi moments – especially when it comes to the running joke about Edward's height. Unlike the first series, Brotherhood also wastes no time getting gritty, especially with a darker sequence featuring a fellow Alchemist who is also willing to violate a few ethical boundaries in order to maintain his standing. There's no shortage of blood and violence, but it can often ricochet into comedy without warning. That can be occasionally off-putting, but not enough to hurt the series.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood DVD Extras
Other than the usual textless tunes and trailers for other FUNimation properties, there are English cast commentaries for Episodes 1 and 10. Thankfully, there's always someone there to keep the voice actors actually discussing their work on the anime, and not getting off-track with in-jokes, which has been a problem with FUNimation audio commentaries in the past.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood a Solid Reboot

While hardcore FMA fans will find plenty to criticize with this remake, Brotherhood is a great reboot of the franchise. It sweeps newcomers into the action without coddling them or leaving them in the cold and, more importantly, it has that magical X-factor where you keep wanting to punch up the next episode right after the previous one ended.

By Dominic von Riedemann