The wildly popular Fullmetal Alchemist began as a manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa. It has released twelve volumes in a japanese magazine that currently has not ended. Studio Bones adapted it into a 51 episode anime that ran from 2003 to 2004 in Japan. An official movie sequel called Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shambala was released in 2005. The series also has multiple game titles for Playstation 2, Gameboy Advance, and Nintendo DS. For it's voyage to America the Fullmetal Alchemist manga was licensed by VIZ Media and the anime by Funimation. It began broadcasting on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim lineup on November 6, 2004 and is still airing new episodes today.

Fullmetal Alchemist is set in a world much like our own. The only difference is that the laws that govern the universe are fundamentally different, and those who study the laws can do amazing things. Here people can use alchemy to change one substance into another. It's not magic, alchemy has rules that must be followed. The first rule is called Equivalent Exchange and it says that equations must balance out. This means that you can only produce something with the exact same mass as you put in. The second law is to never ever alchemize anything into a human. Human alchemy is therefore forbidden because of the danger and the high price. Some alchemists believe that there may be a way around Equivalent Exchange. The legendary Philosopher's Stone is a substance that can amplify alchemical power to amazing levels. With the stone alchemists may be able to produce the most elusive of all substances: the human soul.

Years ago young and talented Edward and Alphonse Elric willingly broke this rule in an attempt to bring their beloved mother back from the dead, not fully realizing the consequences. Not only did the transmutaion miserably fail but Ed lost his leg and Al lost his entire body. By sacrificing his arm Ed was able to bind Al's soul to a menacing suit of armor. Edward's missing limbs were replaced by auto-mail prosthetics and he quickly joined the miltary as a means to find a way to restore his brother and himself as they once were.

Working for the state, Ed is given the codename "Fullmetal Alchemist," and constantly searches for the Philosopher's Stone, as it may be the only way to return him and Al to normal. Ed highly dislikes being a dog of the military, but he believes it is the only way to accesss the information and resources he needs to find the Philosopher's Stone. Ed and Al quickly find that most citizens mistrust the corrupt government and military. Rumors of murderous state alchemists are abound and ghastly tales of military deeds don't give the common people much faith. As the Elric brothers' good reputation grows they become targeted by strange beings named after the seven deadly sins. They hear stories of their long lost father, a very skilled alchemist who mysteriously disappeared when they were young. They also find that the government is involved in dark and horrible alchemical experiments. Edward and Alphonse have to quickly decide who they are willing to fight for and where their allegiances lie as they are pulled into a conflict that's on a larger scale than anyone could've imagined.

"Water, 35 liters. Carbon, 20 kilograms. Ammonia, 4 liters. Lime, 1.5 kilograms. Phosphorous, 800 grams. Salt, 250 grams. Saltpeter, 100 grams. Sulfur, 80 grams. Fluorine, seven-point-five. Iron, five. Silicon, three grams. And trace amounts of 15 other elements."

"What's that?"

"It's all the ingredients of the average adult human body, right down to the last specks of protein in your eyelashes. And even though science has given us the entire physical breakdown, there's never been a successful attempt at bringing a human to life. There's still something missing. Something scientists haven't been able to find in centuries of research. ...and in case you're wondering, all those ingredients can be bought on a child's allowance. Humans can be made cheap. There's no magic to it."

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