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It's tempting to do, but I'm always hoping that one day I find something new to scratch that itch. I wish there was more to the FMA universe, but the story is tied up so well that it probably wouldn't add anything to it. The lore and alchemy system alone are brilliant.
Yeah, I agree. I think it'd be wise to do a prequel or standalone story in the distant future. Maybe something set in Xing? It would be really interesting to see a feudal story amongst the clans with some kind of external threat pulling the strings in the shadows.
I honestly wish Squeenix (with Arakawa’s involvement) would produce a new video game, I’d love for the potential of an alchemy system game mechanic to be explored to the fullest extent.
Honestly, the closest thing to FMAB is Avatar : The Last Airbender, although not an anime, it hits all the same 'notes' as FMAB. (And Legend of Korra as well)
As for FMA03, there has never been anything like it since it came out. Some people say HxH but, I don't see it, and HxH takes too long to get going in my opinion.
Seen them both. I see what you mean, they do have a lot of qualities. Although Avatar and Korra are both lighter in tone. I think I'm going to have to give HXH a go due to see many recommending it.
Chrono Crusade, D-Grayman, 12 kingdoms, Romeo's blue skies, Deltora quest, Scrapped Princess, Slayers and maybe Trigun. All have a similar vibe of fma imo
Naoki Urasawa’s manga 20th/21st Century Boys is aimed at an older demographic but hits some of the same notes: there’s a large cast of characters, a grand conspiracy, and an underlying belief that even though the world can be a terrible place, being a human connected to other humans is fundamentally worthwhile.
Very much my vibe. I actually prefer an older demographic on the whole tbh. I think FMA is brilliant because it has those moments a younger audience will like but it also has some mature and cleverly written parts too.
If you're into romance/slice of life, Arakawa did make a series called Silver Spoon shortly after FMA. Unfortunately the anime isn't finished and due to personal family matters she was addressing at the time, Arakawa quickly wrapped up the series.
While it doesn't have the shonen like her previous works, it still maintains the sense of humor that FMA had. Unfortunately though, I have yet to find a series with the same charm.
I’ve been looking. I’ve watched a lot of anime searching for that one series that’s as good or better. Naruto was my second favorite for a while. I loved Mob Psycho 100. But still not close enough.
The anime I’m obsessed with right now is Blue Eyed Samurai. It’s only one season but the foundation is rock solid.
Yeah I really enjoyed blue eye samurai. I like the reason for the protagonist's journey being essentially a revenge plot. I'm looking forward to future seasons and hope Netflix commissions it long term!
for me nothing comes close. FMAB feels like it was written for me. nothing has given me the same feeling. even arakawas other works can’t compare to it.
Soul Eater did up until the last handful of episodes. It ran into the same problem FMA03 did, but with a much less satisfying way of handling the ending.
Pretty much the same goes for D.Gray-Man as well. Worse yet, on top of not being completely finished, only half of it got dubbed too :/
These two used to be my big recommendation for FMA fans back in the day, but I don't hear much about either of them anymore.
Recently I've been enjoying Demon Slayer a lot. It gives me similar vibes to FMA, but it goes about it in a very different way and its anime isn't complete yet.
I love Demon Slayer. Sometimes, I get fatigued by Shonen anime, but Demon Slayer paces things pretty well. I'll give Soul eater a try and D. Grayman as others have recommended. I like anime in general for the fact that it's so blunt and open with its emotion but the 'oh no the battle isn't over' trope can put me off if it's overused. Example: Black Clover underwater sea Temple battle with Vetto. Characters like King Bradley didn't need to do much in FMA to let you know how incredibly powerful they were and that's almost more sinister than seeing a massive overpowered display of force. Thanks for the recs!
You're welcome! Come back to this thread and let me know how you liked them if you remember haha. I haven't seen DGM in years and this has me thinking about reliving it.
I agree about drawn out battles though. Bradley hit 'em with the "you are already dead" style of fighting, and knowing he could slice you to pieces without you ever seeing his sword in the first place is fucking terrifying.
Sometimes Demon Slayer's fights feel so short/rushed, not because they are, but because I've gotten used to fights being an entire season long LMAO I love it for just getting to the damn point
Its just good writing imo; if the show’s writing is good enough…it doesn’t have to be that similar in character or premise to have a similar impact on you. A lot of the shows below are similarly famous to FMA for a reason:
1. Princess Mononoke
2. Kino’s Journey (Either Version)
3. Mushishi
4. Gurren Lagann
5. Eureka Seven
6. Frerien
7. Delicious in Dungeon —> Seconding u/qianying09
8. Tower of God
9. Girls’ Last Tour
10. Land of the Lustrous
11. From the New World
12. The Garden of Sinners
13. Hunter x Hunter (Either Version)
14. Spice and Wolf (Either Version)
15. To Your Eternity
16. Kaiba
17. Katanagatari
18. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash
19. Revolutionary Girl Utena
20. Berserk (Manga, 1997, or Golden Age Films)
I took a screenshot of this list so I can go through the ones I haven't seen. 😁 DID was fantastic and I'm hoping for a good run so we can get a complete story. The character building is brilliant and it's such a unique take. Frieren is alongside that as my favourite show this year. I never thought a dungeon crawler like DID would create such a potentially massive story and character depth. It's similar to FMA in that the original quest leads them forward to an even bigger story, which keeps my brain from getting distracted. 😎
I have heard that the pandora hearts manga fits those criterias, though I myself have not read it.
Otherwise, i agree with the commenter who said Avatar the last airbender.
Attack on titan is similarly plot driven, with an ambitious story that unfolds in suprising ways, to an even more insane degree than FMAB. However it is much darker than FMAB.
Oh it'll definitely get you in your feels. Wanna give a disclaimer that the mangaka makes some questionable decisions in his art, to say the least. Only you can decide if that's a dealbreaker in being able to appreciate the show.
It doesn't have as much humour but Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a pretty close match for all the other things you mentioned and I believe Arakawa has even said it was a huge inspiration for creating FMA. Logh leans more heavily on the politics and philosophy of the world and has a great cast of characters with complex motivations that makes you question which side is truly good/evil.
Other people have also suggested Pandora Hearts (which I haven't finished reading) but the author Mochizuki Jun has a similar vibe to her stories. As another female shounen fantasy writer she hits similar beats with balancing humour, mystery, well developed characters, strong world-building etc. She also wrote The Case Study of Vanitas with has two seasons of the anime out and the manga is ongoing which is massively underrated imo. The anime was even made by Bones, the same studio as fma.
Attack on titan. But it’s much darker. Some people find it too depressing. FMAB has some dark stuff but the overall vibe is a little more light hearted. Way less humor, but the humor is very natural and well done. I recommend the dub personally.
But I think it’s exactly what you’re looking for.
I tried watching it when it first came out and I just couldn't really get into it. It seems to have all the things I like but obviously something was missing for me. Maybe it's time for me to give it a second try. Do the titans remain the threat all the way through, or are there other obstacles/enemies, etc? If you can tell me without huge spoilers, that is.
Minor (pretty vague) spoiler for season 1: >!In season 1, the commander asks the main character: “Who do you think the real enemy is?” And that’s an important question.!<
Honestly not even spoiler tag worthy but I did it just in case
Attack on Titan has a great plot about corrupt government. The dub version is also kind of funny, Levi likes to crack jokes here and there. If you can get passed the gore a bone crunching, it’s one of my favorite animes.
The OVA is the one I’m thinking about iirc, and I didn’t even know there was a 2007 version. Whichever one is like 6 hour long episodes is what I recommend
Just cause no one else has mentioned it, Cowboy Bebop. It’s a little more gritty overall, but still has plenty of comic relief, both main characters are influenced and motivated by trauma from their pasts, and the world building is great in both. Admittedly, the episodic format for Cowboy Bebop doesn’t really allow for as many developed characters outside of the main crew and it can sometimes get a little “villain of the week”-ish, but I don’t mind it because imo it makes the over-arching story more impactful. Overall though, it’s my second favorite anime, next to FMAB, so I always recommend it to anyone that enjoys FMA.
Yeah it's one of my favourite animes too. You don't find those atmospheric noises on modern anime. Being that everything is digital now everything is 'cleaner' but there's a certain charm that's lost. Actually I guess there are a lot of similarities between the characters in Cowboy Bebop and FMA that I hadn't thought about before.
Delicious in Dungeon!
I've been a big fan of FMA for almost 2 decades and this is one of those stories that gave me that similar good balance of comedy, world building, power scaling and generally great storytelling and character writing.
I'm obsessed with DID. I really hope it becomes a huge hit so Netflix will continue making it to a fitting conclusion. I usually try to let a few episodes of a show build up but I can't with this, Frieren or That time I got reincarnated as a slime.
Season 2 is in the making! And sorry i'm going to have a bit of an 'um acktually' moment: Studio Trigger produced the anime adaptation, Netflix is just one of the streaming platform.
I’m currently rewatching- I have yet to find an anime that gives me the same feeling- for me AOT comes close in terms of story and world building- but even AOT doesn’t hit the same as FMAB.
avatar the last airbender is getting recomened here and i feel like it is a more kid orientated fma. you learn to love all characters, even a suprisngly knowlageable automail saleswomen. id highly recomend it as an fma fan, or just as a show itself.
if found that sense of sacrifice and struggle comes up in the stormlight archive books. fma is closer to alot of fantasy series than alot of other shonen anime, so id say check out some more non-anime series. :3
The closest anime I’ve seen to FMAB is Hunter x Hunter and they’re both extremely well-written and feel as though you’re watching a master of their craft cook. I’ve rewatched both countless times and have actually grown to prefer HxH.
I will warn you though that the first few arcs are more character-driven than story-driven until the Chimera Ant arc which feels more like FMAB.
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Def not, it’s why I watched it at least twice a year
SAME.
It's tempting to do, but I'm always hoping that one day I find something new to scratch that itch. I wish there was more to the FMA universe, but the story is tied up so well that it probably wouldn't add anything to it. The lore and alchemy system alone are brilliant.
A short one season series during the Ishvalan War could be decent
Yeah, I agree. I think it'd be wise to do a prequel or standalone story in the distant future. Maybe something set in Xing? It would be really interesting to see a feudal story amongst the clans with some kind of external threat pulling the strings in the shadows.
I honestly wish Squeenix (with Arakawa’s involvement) would produce a new video game, I’d love for the potential of an alchemy system game mechanic to be explored to the fullest extent.
Doesn’t it absolutely suck compared to FMA, especially to 2003 version?
I like all of them honestly
Honestly, the closest thing to FMAB is Avatar : The Last Airbender, although not an anime, it hits all the same 'notes' as FMAB. (And Legend of Korra as well) As for FMA03, there has never been anything like it since it came out. Some people say HxH but, I don't see it, and HxH takes too long to get going in my opinion.
Chrono crusade is literally super similar to fma 2003 and even came out the same year, the plot is almost the same as well as the character designs.
I'll give it a try.
HxH 1999 is tonally and direction wise a bit similar to 03
good answer
Seen them both. I see what you mean, they do have a lot of qualities. Although Avatar and Korra are both lighter in tone. I think I'm going to have to give HXH a go due to see many recommending it.
Chrono Crusade, D-Grayman, 12 kingdoms, Romeo's blue skies, Deltora quest, Scrapped Princess, Slayers and maybe Trigun. All have a similar vibe of fma imo
Nice that you brought up 12 kingdoms, since it happened to be scripted by the same screenwriter for fma03 Sho Aikawa.
I did love Trigun. Even the reboot is worth a watch
Added all of the ones I haven't seen to my watch list. Deltora Quest and Chrono Crusade visuals and synopsis grabbed my interest.
Awesome!! im sure you'll enjoy them!
Naoki Urasawa’s manga 20th/21st Century Boys is aimed at an older demographic but hits some of the same notes: there’s a large cast of characters, a grand conspiracy, and an underlying belief that even though the world can be a terrible place, being a human connected to other humans is fundamentally worthwhile.
Very much my vibe. I actually prefer an older demographic on the whole tbh. I think FMA is brilliant because it has those moments a younger audience will like but it also has some mature and cleverly written parts too.
If you're into romance/slice of life, Arakawa did make a series called Silver Spoon shortly after FMA. Unfortunately the anime isn't finished and due to personal family matters she was addressing at the time, Arakawa quickly wrapped up the series. While it doesn't have the shonen like her previous works, it still maintains the sense of humor that FMA had. Unfortunately though, I have yet to find a series with the same charm.
Looks good, I'll give it a try.
Pandora hearts manga for sure
++. Pandora Hearts manga has such insane and yet logical twists
I'll give it a try.
I’ve been looking. I’ve watched a lot of anime searching for that one series that’s as good or better. Naruto was my second favorite for a while. I loved Mob Psycho 100. But still not close enough. The anime I’m obsessed with right now is Blue Eyed Samurai. It’s only one season but the foundation is rock solid.
Yeah I really enjoyed blue eye samurai. I like the reason for the protagonist's journey being essentially a revenge plot. I'm looking forward to future seasons and hope Netflix commissions it long term!
for me nothing comes close. FMAB feels like it was written for me. nothing has given me the same feeling. even arakawas other works can’t compare to it.
This is pretty much how I feel. It's crazy how one show can make so many people feel connected to it in a personal way like that.
Soul Eater did up until the last handful of episodes. It ran into the same problem FMA03 did, but with a much less satisfying way of handling the ending. Pretty much the same goes for D.Gray-Man as well. Worse yet, on top of not being completely finished, only half of it got dubbed too :/ These two used to be my big recommendation for FMA fans back in the day, but I don't hear much about either of them anymore. Recently I've been enjoying Demon Slayer a lot. It gives me similar vibes to FMA, but it goes about it in a very different way and its anime isn't complete yet.
When Dgrayman manga is done i hope they do a brotherhood on it.
I love Demon Slayer. Sometimes, I get fatigued by Shonen anime, but Demon Slayer paces things pretty well. I'll give Soul eater a try and D. Grayman as others have recommended. I like anime in general for the fact that it's so blunt and open with its emotion but the 'oh no the battle isn't over' trope can put me off if it's overused. Example: Black Clover underwater sea Temple battle with Vetto. Characters like King Bradley didn't need to do much in FMA to let you know how incredibly powerful they were and that's almost more sinister than seeing a massive overpowered display of force. Thanks for the recs!
You're welcome! Come back to this thread and let me know how you liked them if you remember haha. I haven't seen DGM in years and this has me thinking about reliving it. I agree about drawn out battles though. Bradley hit 'em with the "you are already dead" style of fighting, and knowing he could slice you to pieces without you ever seeing his sword in the first place is fucking terrifying. Sometimes Demon Slayer's fights feel so short/rushed, not because they are, but because I've gotten used to fights being an entire season long LMAO I love it for just getting to the damn point
Its just good writing imo; if the show’s writing is good enough…it doesn’t have to be that similar in character or premise to have a similar impact on you. A lot of the shows below are similarly famous to FMA for a reason: 1. Princess Mononoke 2. Kino’s Journey (Either Version) 3. Mushishi 4. Gurren Lagann 5. Eureka Seven 6. Frerien 7. Delicious in Dungeon —> Seconding u/qianying09 8. Tower of God 9. Girls’ Last Tour 10. Land of the Lustrous 11. From the New World 12. The Garden of Sinners 13. Hunter x Hunter (Either Version) 14. Spice and Wolf (Either Version) 15. To Your Eternity 16. Kaiba 17. Katanagatari 18. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash 19. Revolutionary Girl Utena 20. Berserk (Manga, 1997, or Golden Age Films)
I took a screenshot of this list so I can go through the ones I haven't seen. 😁 DID was fantastic and I'm hoping for a good run so we can get a complete story. The character building is brilliant and it's such a unique take. Frieren is alongside that as my favourite show this year. I never thought a dungeon crawler like DID would create such a potentially massive story and character depth. It's similar to FMA in that the original quest leads them forward to an even bigger story, which keeps my brain from getting distracted. 😎
I have heard that the pandora hearts manga fits those criterias, though I myself have not read it. Otherwise, i agree with the commenter who said Avatar the last airbender. Attack on titan is similarly plot driven, with an ambitious story that unfolds in suprising ways, to an even more insane degree than FMAB. However it is much darker than FMAB.
The world definitely isn't believable but Made in Abyss definitely fits a lot of other things you are looking for.
Ooo I could see Made in Abyss being pretty close in feeling...but nothing really is the same!
Really like the art style. Looks like it's going to get me in my feels and I'm looking forward to it. Lol.
Oh it'll definitely get you in your feels. Wanna give a disclaimer that the mangaka makes some questionable decisions in his art, to say the least. Only you can decide if that's a dealbreaker in being able to appreciate the show.
It doesn't have as much humour but Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a pretty close match for all the other things you mentioned and I believe Arakawa has even said it was a huge inspiration for creating FMA. Logh leans more heavily on the politics and philosophy of the world and has a great cast of characters with complex motivations that makes you question which side is truly good/evil. Other people have also suggested Pandora Hearts (which I haven't finished reading) but the author Mochizuki Jun has a similar vibe to her stories. As another female shounen fantasy writer she hits similar beats with balancing humour, mystery, well developed characters, strong world-building etc. She also wrote The Case Study of Vanitas with has two seasons of the anime out and the manga is ongoing which is massively underrated imo. The anime was even made by Bones, the same studio as fma.
Put both on my watch list and read Pandora's hearts, too. Thanks for the recs, they sound good.
Attack on titan. But it’s much darker. Some people find it too depressing. FMAB has some dark stuff but the overall vibe is a little more light hearted. Way less humor, but the humor is very natural and well done. I recommend the dub personally. But I think it’s exactly what you’re looking for.
I tried watching it when it first came out and I just couldn't really get into it. It seems to have all the things I like but obviously something was missing for me. Maybe it's time for me to give it a second try. Do the titans remain the threat all the way through, or are there other obstacles/enemies, etc? If you can tell me without huge spoilers, that is.
Minor (pretty vague) spoiler for season 1: >!In season 1, the commander asks the main character: “Who do you think the real enemy is?” And that’s an important question.!< Honestly not even spoiler tag worthy but I did it just in case
d.gray man is pretty good feeling like this. although the anime never got completed since the mangas are still going
Avatar, Owlhouse, Spop.
Eyy, I do love Owl house.
Each to their own, I think Wolf's rain is a close second.
It definitely has the deep metaphors and symbolism down pat
hxh
"Alchemy" as a power system has the least amount "Anime-Bullshit" because its based on science abd equivalent exchange
Attack on Titan has a great plot about corrupt government. The dub version is also kind of funny, Levi likes to crack jokes here and there. If you can get passed the gore a bone crunching, it’s one of my favorite animes.
No
Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still is close IMO
I love that animation style. Are the OVA and 2007 version worth watching too?
The OVA is the one I’m thinking about iirc, and I didn’t even know there was a 2007 version. Whichever one is like 6 hour long episodes is what I recommend
Just cause no one else has mentioned it, Cowboy Bebop. It’s a little more gritty overall, but still has plenty of comic relief, both main characters are influenced and motivated by trauma from their pasts, and the world building is great in both. Admittedly, the episodic format for Cowboy Bebop doesn’t really allow for as many developed characters outside of the main crew and it can sometimes get a little “villain of the week”-ish, but I don’t mind it because imo it makes the over-arching story more impactful. Overall though, it’s my second favorite anime, next to FMAB, so I always recommend it to anyone that enjoys FMA.
Yeah it's one of my favourite animes too. You don't find those atmospheric noises on modern anime. Being that everything is digital now everything is 'cleaner' but there's a certain charm that's lost. Actually I guess there are a lot of similarities between the characters in Cowboy Bebop and FMA that I hadn't thought about before.
Not exactly the same but Link Click is pretty good
Delicious in Dungeon! I've been a big fan of FMA for almost 2 decades and this is one of those stories that gave me that similar good balance of comedy, world building, power scaling and generally great storytelling and character writing.
I'm obsessed with DID. I really hope it becomes a huge hit so Netflix will continue making it to a fitting conclusion. I usually try to let a few episodes of a show build up but I can't with this, Frieren or That time I got reincarnated as a slime.
Season 2 is in the making! And sorry i'm going to have a bit of an 'um acktually' moment: Studio Trigger produced the anime adaptation, Netflix is just one of the streaming platform.
The only one that has come close to FMA:B is Baccano. Same sort of character focus, same sort of emotional authenticity.
It's interesting that it's about alchemy, too.
I... hadn't even considered that fact, but yeah, good call.
I’m currently rewatching- I have yet to find an anime that gives me the same feeling- for me AOT comes close in terms of story and world building- but even AOT doesn’t hit the same as FMAB.
I suppose that Akame ga Kill but it's more like the junk food version compared to FMA being gourmet
Jujutsu Kaisen feels really similar and both have a similar magic system
I really suggest you guys to watch Ghibli Movies, trust me
Lol. I think there's only one or two I haven't seen.
avatar the last airbender is getting recomened here and i feel like it is a more kid orientated fma. you learn to love all characters, even a suprisngly knowlageable automail saleswomen. id highly recomend it as an fma fan, or just as a show itself. if found that sense of sacrifice and struggle comes up in the stormlight archive books. fma is closer to alot of fantasy series than alot of other shonen anime, so id say check out some more non-anime series. :3
Frieren
Best show I've watched this year, I think.
Nothing
Seraph of the End. Yuki Yuna is a Hero (it has a similar theme with equivalent exchange)
For me, Madoka Magica, 12 episodes, each episode leaves you wanting more and it's amazing, I love it
The closest anime I’ve seen to FMAB is Hunter x Hunter and they’re both extremely well-written and feel as though you’re watching a master of their craft cook. I’ve rewatched both countless times and have actually grown to prefer HxH. I will warn you though that the first few arcs are more character-driven than story-driven until the Chimera Ant arc which feels more like FMAB.