Anime Fullmetal Alchemist-Brotherhood

Anime, Japanese cartoons and Manga, Japanese comics, have been very popular in my household for many years. I was introduced to both media from my daughter but I never explored them till now. Through the years, anime has been talked about whenever my grown children are together, even my grandson has his favorites. Cruising Netflix for something different to watch, I started watching Fullmetal Alchemist-Brotherhood. What's amazing about this manga/anime is that is was written and illustrated by a woman, Hiromu Arakawa.

Fullmetal Alchemist is about two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric and they can wield alchemy.  Alchemy is using the earth's crust energy to metaphysically change matter or called Transmutation. The main creed goes that you can't make something from nothing, it's an even exchange and you can't bring anything back from the dead. These two boys try to use alchemist circle to bring back their deceased mother and in the process, one lost his body and the other lost an arm and a leg. Ed, uses alchemy to put his brother's soul into a suit of armor and Ed got automail prosthetic limbs.   They then meet Izumi Curtis, who becomes their sensai, teacher in alchemy and in martial arts.

Ed is then recruited by the military and has to pass an extensive exam. Upon passing the test, King Bradley the Fuhrer gives Ed the symbolic title of Fullmetal. He is the youngest alchemist. The brothers learn about the Philospher Stone and about it's power so they go in search of the formula. But what they find in their research quite horrific.

The made up country is Amestria and is a military state so the alchemist are a line of defense because of their abilites of transmutation.

There are 64 episodes which each are 24 minutes long. The series is a continuating saga of the brothers and the other characters.  I'm over half way through the series. Fullmetal Alchemist is such a well written anime and well illustrated that I have gotten hooked.