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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Premieres on U.S. TV

The Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood television anime series will premiere on Cartoon Network 's Adult Swim programming block at midnight EST/PST early Sunday morning in the United States. The weekly English-dubbed episodes will also be available, as a download-to-own option, on the PlayStation Network and Zune Marketplace on Sundays. Each new dubbed episode will then stream from the Adult Swim website on Wednesdays.

Like the first Fullmetal Alchemist television series in 2003-2004, the ongoing Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime adapts Hiromu Arakawa's dark fantasy manga about two brothers who risked their bodies with human alchemy to unsuccessfully resurrect their mother. Now the two attempt to restore their bodies by seeking the illusive Philosopher's Stone, and they are not alone in their quest.

Unlike the earlier anime effort, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood follows the manga more closely; Arakawa has acknowledged that her manga is coming to an end soon. The new anime retains the same main cast from the earlier anime's English dub, except for two recasted characters and one all-new character. Maxey Whitehead replaces Aaron Dismuke as Alphonse Elric, and J. Michael Tatum already replaced Dameon Clarke as Scar in the Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection video spinoff. Bryan Massey plays the new character Isaac McDougal.

Funimation began streaming the television anime series in Japanese with English subtitles in North America last April, and it will release Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Part One on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on May 25. Viz Media published the 22nd volume of the original manga last month.

Image © Hiromu Arakawa/FA Projects, MBS