Netflix’s Fullmetal Alchemist on the small screen

Tune into Netflix right now for the live-action adaptation of the phenomenal Japanese manga and anime series Fullmetal Alchemist. Produced by Warner Bros. Japan, the film was first announced last year, and will adapt a portion of the manga/anime, which ran from 2001 to 2010, into a two-hour standalone film. The film will be scripted by the manga’s original author Hiromu Arakawa and will be directed by Fumihiko Sori, who once worked on visual effects for the film Titanic in 1997.

Like the source material that inspired it, Fullmetal Alchemist follows two young siblings, Edward and Alphonse Elric. Trained alchemists from birth, the two suffer a drastic accident in the process of trying to alchemically revive their mother, causing Edward to lose an arm and leg while Alphonse loses his entire physical body. Desperate to save his brother, Edward uses alchemy to bind Alphonse’s soul to an empty suit of armour, so he can still travel and speak with him. Determined to undo this mistake and return his brother to his body, Edward sets out to find the Philosopher’s Stone, a mysterious artefact said to give alchemists unlimited power.

While initially controversial thanks to its all-Japanese cast (the original characters and setting appeared to be European), the film has been garnering mixed reviews from fans since its release on Monday, many likening the film to the Japanese-produced, live-action adaptation of Death Note (2006), a positive sign as far as manga/anime adaptations go.