Summary

• Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood has numerous episodes that stand out as its best.
• Some of its episodes are great for their stellar artwork, animation, and overall directon.
• Other episodes are great for their incredible action and emotional story beats.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is often touted as one of the best anime, if not the best, and it’s easy to see why. The story is structured in a way that’s easy to get into while still having moments of maturity and complexity, and that level of accessibility has allowed it to maintain a fanbase of old and new anime fans for over a decade.

Even after 15 years, Studio Bones’ Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is still considered one of the best anime ever made. The combination of action, animation, and character writing makes every episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood great to watch, and even with how much anime has evolved since the show first premiered, it still holds up incredibly well, even by modern standards.

Some episodes of the series, in particular, are especially worth praising, as each one perfectly encapsulates what makes the anime so endearing.

10 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #22: "Backs in the Distance"

This Episode Highlights Why Edward & Winry’s Relationship Is So Good

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #22, “Backs in the Distance”, as Edward continued to fight Scar, Edward called Scar out on killing Winry’s parents, something that Winry ended up overhearing. Winry pulled out a gun in an attempt to shoot Scar, and when Scar escaped, Edward stayed behind to comfort Winry and reassure her that she shouldn’t be a killer.

“Backs in the Distance” is an episode that perfectly captures the emotional highs of Fullmetal Alchemist’s writing. Winry learning the truth of her parents’ death was as emotional as one would expect it to be, and going off of that, the way Edward comforted Winry did an excellent job of highlighting how well they each other and why their relationship is so pivotal to the story. Add in the beginning of Scar’s character development into a more heroic figure, and it’s a great episode, all around.

9 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #1: "Fullmetal Alchemist"

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s Premiere Set The Series Off On A High Note

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #1, “Fullmetal Alchemist”, opened the series with the Elric brothers ing other characters in the hunt for Isaac McDougal, a former state alchemist who had suddenly gone rogue. McDougal attempted to use his ice-based alchemy to destroy Central, but thanks to the Elric brothers and their friends, the disaster was narrowly averted.

It had been five years since the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime ended, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s premiere was a great way of easing people back into the story. While the contents of the episode were entirely original to the anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood did a great job of capturing the basics of the story and characters people knew and loved, and with plenty of great animation and direction, to boot. It was a great introduction to the anime, and the series never failed to capitalize on its momentum.

8 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #4: "An Alchemist's Anguish"

Nina’s Fate Made For Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s Darkest Story

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #4, “An Alchemist's Anguish”, Edward and Alphonse met with Shou Tucker, a state alchemist who once created a talking chimera in the hopes he could help them in their quest to regain their bodies. As the Elric brothers combed through Shou’s research, they bonded with his young daughter, Nina, and the friendship they formed made it all the worse when they discovered that Shou had turned Nina into a chimera to keep his license.

Between the score, animation, and overall direction of the episode, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood perfectly captured the tragedy of Nina’s fate and how much it affected Edward’s worldview, said tragedy made even worse by her unceremonious death at Scar’s hands. It’s one of the most important stories in Fullmetal Alchemist’s overall narrative, and Brotherhood did a perfect job with it.

7 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #30: "The Ishvalan War of Extermination"

The Ishvalan War Was As Dark As Everyone Made It Out To Be

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #30, “The Ishvalan War of Extermination”, was dedicated largely to showing off everything that happened in the war with Ishval. The episode went into great detail on how horrified Mustang, Hawkeye, Armstrong, and many more friends of Edward and Alphonse were of the murders they were forced to commit, all of which was coupled with showing the cruel experiments Marcoh was forced to conduct to create a philosopher’s stone.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #30 did an incredible job of capturing the horrors of war for everyone involved, and even with how many episodes were left in the series, it never once stopped following that idea. Brotherhood’s take on war might not be as extensive as the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime, but it does a great job of getting to the heart of the matter, either way.

6 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #19: "Death of the Undying"

Mustang Killed A Homunculus In As Flashy A Way As Possible

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #19, “‘Death of the Undying”, Mustang was ambushed by Lust during an investigation and was seemingly killed. As Lust was about to kill Alphonse and Hawkeye, however, Mustang was revealed to have barely saved himself with his flame-based alchemy, and he then set Lust ablaze over and over again until she finally exhausted her philosopher’s stone and died.

Lust’s death is one of the most iconic deaths in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and for good reason. Not only was it incredibly cathartic to finally see one of the Homunculi die, but the animation and music used for Mustang’s killing of Lust did a great job of capturing the intensity of the scene and stands out as one of the best scenes in the entire anime. It was one of the heroes’ first genuine victories over the Homunculi, and it never fails to be great to watch.

5 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #26: "Reunion"

This Episode Subjected Edward To Incredible Drama

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #26, “Reunion”, as Edward and Ling fought Envy, Edward realized that they could use Envy’s philosopher’s stone as a means of escaping the artificial Gate of Truth in Gluttony’s stomach. As Edward performed the human transmutation ritual, he encountered Alphonse’s malnourished body in the real Gate to Truth, and while they didn’t have time to talk before Edward was thrown out, Edward swore he would come back for him.

In addition to the drama of Edward having to compromise his morals by performing human transmutation, Edward’s tragically short reunion with Alphonse’s body was a great reminder of what Edward was fighting for, and the animation that accompanied every scene sold the drama even further. Episode #26 can be seen as the halfway point of the story, and that’s largely thanks to the incredibly dramatic story beats from start to finish.

4 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #40: "Homunculus (The Dwarf in the Flask)"

Hohenheim’s Backstory Made Him The Series' Most Tragic Character

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #40, “Homunculus (The Dwarf in the Flask)”, revealed Hohenheim’s backstory as a slave who was given an education by Father when he was just a black mass in a flask. As the years went by, the dwarf in the flask manipulated events to have Hohenheim and himself at the center of a massive human transmutation ritual that forced the souls of Xerxes into the two of them, essentially turning them into living philosopher’s stones.

The drama of Hohenheim gaining a life for himself only to have it ripped away and forced to live as a monster was nothing but heartbreaking to watch and perfectly played into the theme of ironic punishment in the story. In a single episode, Hohenheim went from being a complete enigma to the anime’s most tragic figure, and it was great to see how his story continued to play out from there.

3 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #54: "Beyond the Inferno"

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Perfectly Closed Out Mustang & Envy’s Arc

Contains discussions of suicide

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #54, “Beyond the Inferno”, Mustang was talked out of killing Envy in a way that would make him be consumed by anger. Envy didn’t understand why that worked or why a group of people like them who should hate each other weren’t fighting, and Edward finally realized that Envy was jealous of humanity’s capacity for forgiveness, the reveal humiliating Envy so much that he killed himself.

Seeing Mustang avenge Hughes’ death while maintaining his humanity was a cathartic end to one of the anime’s biggest story arcs, and as despicable as he might have been, Envy’s suicide did a great job of making even someone like him feel pitiable in his final moments thanks in no small part to the direction of the scene. Every episode in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s final arc was great, and episode #54 was one of its biggest highlights.

2 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #62: "A Fierce Counterattack"

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Delivered The Ultimate Climax

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #62, “A Fierce Counterattack”, continued the final fight against Father, with Father losing his sanity and control over his powers thanks to losing too many lives. When Edward’s automail was destroyed, Alphonse sacrificed his soul so Edward could get back his original arm and keep fighting, and in a fit of rage, Edward started beating up Father without ever giving him a moment’s rest.

“A Fierce Counterattack” was everything the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime needed in its climax. Seeing Father become even more dangerous as his plans fell apart excellently heightened the tension, and even with what it cost to get to that point, Edward’s lengthy beatdown of Father as everyone cheered him on made for one of the most cathartic moments in the anime. Episode #62 was the emotional peak of the anime, and it’s still easily one of its best episodes.

1 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #64: "Journey's End"

The Series' Finale Still Stands As One Of Anime’s Best

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood episode #64, “Journey’s End”, two years after Father’s defeat, Edward and Alphonse are continuing their research into alchemy in the hopes of going past the restrictions of equivalent exchange. As Edward leaves for the West, he proposes to Winry by asking her to share half her life with him, and her saying she’ll give him everything gives Edward a hint about overcoming equivalent exchange.

With the action of the main story already finished, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood’s finale was able to focus solely on closing everything out and putting everyone somewhere new and doing so highlighted that the core of the story was always the humanity of the cast. There was no better finale the show could have asked for, and that makes it easily stand as the best episode of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.