Fullmetal Alchemist: Prototype

Series experience:


I watched Brotherhood a few years ago, and the manga earlier this year. Read this right after finishing the manga

Short review: Fullmetal Alchemist: Prototype is an alternative first chapter to the acclaimed Fullmetal Alchemist manga series. Given that there aren’t too many differences with the original first chapter, we get to see the what-ifs for Arakawa had she continued the plot in this manner. Prototype is an interesting way to visit the origins of the beloved Elric brothers where our protagonist Ed is a little (hehe) bit more cruel and the rules of alchemy are a bit less strict.

Full review:

Warning: review contains spoilers

Disclaimer! I really enjoy reading prototype chapters, so I usually don't have bad reviews for them. Most of the ones I’ve read belong to longtime shounen series, and it’s always entertaining to see the humble beginnings of some of the most popular stories in the anime world. There could be tons of differences or just a few slight changes, but it’s always interesting to meet well-known characters in a different light, sort of like a parallel universe. For Fullmetal Alchemist’s prototype, we have almost the exact same plot as the first chapter of the manga. Ed and Al visit a city with a corrupt leader and well, do something about it. We learn about the basics of alchemy and the law of equivalent exchange, and get a little sneak peek of the powers of the philosopher's stone. During the climactic fight, we get to see Ed and Al’s big reveals of their missing body parts and a little backstory of why they ended up like that. The similarities pretty much end there, though.

Though the basics of the world are quite intact, we can see that this is as the title says, a prototype. The law of equivalent exchange seems to be unperfected, and there are some slips in terms of /equality/ in transmutation. The whole religious cult plotline is not really existent in this one, which gives off a really one-shot feel, making it so that the story could basically end here. Creating the whole Letoism issue, and adding the homonculi into the mix, shows us that after this chapter, Arakawa really worked on the scale of her story. Still, some foundations were really laid well in the prototype chapter, such as the whole Al being misunderstood as the state alchemist gag, the searching for the philosopher’s stone plotline, and finally, the whole reason the Elric brothers performed the taboo of human transmutation.

This chapter also has a slightly different characterization for Ed, where he turns the greedy, cruel dictator into an iron statue - giving him the eternal life he’s always wanted. The full-length manga has a different take on Ed, who almost never agrees to killing people and would be very against doing something like this. This part of the prototype was pretty badass though, and the darker tone of this chapter would be enjoyable for fans of the 2003 series. Regarding the art, this chapter doesn’t really differ from the main series; we have the usual clean cut drawings we see in the manga.

Overall, it is a pretty fun read and I think if I had read this as a oneshot I would be curious enough to want a next chapter. It’s a nice thing to read if one is looking for a fun oneshot, but it works just as well for an individual looking to get into the world of Fullmetal Alchemist but isn’t quite sure what to expect. I believe, of course, that any longtime fan of the series would not want to miss this either.

Plot 7/10

Art 8/10

Characters 8/10


Overall personal enjoyment 7.5/10

Thank you for reading!

Review for the serialized manga series: Fullmetal Alchemist Review