The second adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's award-winning manga Fullmetal Alchemist, titled Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, is widely considered one of the greatest anime series ever made. With immaculate world-building, exciting action, rounded and multidimensional characters, and an emotionally resonant story Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood shows us just how great shonen anime can be.

The only problem with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is that it sets such a high standard for all anime, shonen or not. I's not easy to find an anime like Fullmetal Alchemist to watch after it's over. Fortunately, plenty of great anime like FMAB are out there if fans know where to look. Such series may have a similar tone, worldbuilding style, or theme to appease any fan of FMAB.

Update December 18th, 2023 by Louis Kemner: This list of great anime like Fullmetal Alchemist has been updated to adhere to CBR's current publication standards.

20 The Gene of AI Explores Humanity's Relationship With Science

The Gene of AI is a new sci-fi anime in the Summer 2023 anime lineup. It's an anime like Fullmetal Alchemist because it features a slick, suave scientist protagonist who often questions what it really means to be human. Hikaru Sudo will gladly help people with their modified bodies and minds, but he also won't sugarcoat any bad news he needs to deliver to his patients.

Like FMA:B, The Gene of AI is a thought-provoking series that bravely explores what happens when humanity and science blend to a frightening degree. Instead of making homunculi or chimeras, though, these people are making androids that can provide artificial love, or tinkering with the human body until it becomes something else entirely.

19 Spy x Family Mixes Humor With Cool Action in a Stylish Setting

Spy x Family is aesthetically similar to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood with its charmingly retro setting. While FMA is steampunk fantasy Germany, Spy x Family is more like 1960s Cold War-era Germany, complete with stylish outfits, typewriters, and even what looks like the infamous Trabant car.

The protagonist also feels like Edward Elric, a slick blond spy with quick wits and a big heart. Superspy Loid Forger/Twilight is no scientist, but he's still a creative, resourceful agent who can invent his own ways out of trouble, just like Edwarad can.

18 Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Fuses Humanity With Morally Shady Technology

A variety of cyberpunk genre anime series feel like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood since they blend technology, ethics, and the human condition in bizarre ways. Thematically, FMA is almost cyberpunk with a 1910s aesthetic, making it similar to Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

The antihero David Martinez, like Edward Elric, is a hot-tempered rogue with a heavily modified body, and he will push himself to the limit to fight other modified superhuman beings, too. David also gets his own love story, like Ed, though David's own love story will end in tragedy while Ed happily settles down with Winry Rockbell.

17 Saga of Tanya the Evil Is Set in a Steampunk World

Saga of Tanya the Evil is primarily an isekai anime series while FMA isn't, but it can still be considered a great anime like FMAB in broad strokes. Both series are based on turn of the 20th century Europe, being parallel worlds with strong German elements.

Antihero Tanya Degurechaff is a reborn salaryman who uses magic and weapons of war to rise in the ranks, fighting endless bloody wars in an extended World War I to get ahead. Like Ed, Tanya can cleverly blend steampunk tech with supernatural powers to win countless battles, though Tanya isn't fighting for a good cause like Ed is.

16 Science Fell In Love, So I Tried To Prove It Should Remind Fans of Edward Elric's Love Life

Any anime fan who enjoyed Edward Elric as a flustered, science-loving tsundere lover should try Science Fell In Love, So I Tried To Prove It. The two main characters are both like Ed, being awkward in person and ignorant in the ways of romance, but they have a good heart and know what they want deep down.

Ayame Himuro and Shinya Yukimura are both in love, but they don't know how to express it, so they'll test their feelings in every way they know. Romance can be graphed and quantified, they believe, because science doesn't lie, and that's something Edward Elric can relate to.

15 The Magnificent KOTOBUKI Is a Fun Dieselpunk Adventure

Anyone who loved the steampunk setting of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, should try out The Magnificent KOTOBUKI. It's a short but gorgeously animated cel-shaded series with some light steampunk and heavy dieselpunk elements for a cool retro feel.

The main characters are all ace fighter pilots, and they'll take on any job that pays well enough. It's a dusty, desolate, Wild West kind of setting with colorful characters and cool technology, and of course, eye-popping dogfights from beginning to end.

14 Fairy Tail Is Packed With Colorful Fantasy Action

Fairy Tail is a long-running and hugely popular anime series doesn't quite have the same prominence as the Shonen Jump "Big Three," but it comes close. It's a cheery fantasy series centered around the titular Fairy Tail guild and the agents who will take on any job.

This series has it all: action, magic powers, drama, humor, tragedy, and shadowy conspiracies and plots to conquer or destroy the entire world. Its visual style isn't far off from that of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, either.

13 The Ancient Magus Bride Has Strong Fantasy and Folklore Elements

This series is a bit light on action, but it is smartly written, and fans of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood will like its emphasis on folklore, mystery, early 20th-century style settings, and its lofty themes and plots.

The Ancient Magus Bride has a modern setting, but the characters spend time in more remote and rustic parts of the world, and it feels like fans have truly gone back in time, in all the right ways. Protagonist Chise Hatori just got a second lease on life with Elias to guide her, a skull-headed mage who is now her fiance and teacher.

12 Dr. Stone Focuses on Science and Adventure

Edward Elric was a smart scientist protagonist in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, so fans of his will definitely like Senku Ishigami in Dr. Stone, too. This is a partial isekai anime with strong edutainment value, teaching viewers all about hard sciences such as chemistry, geology, engineering, and medicine.

Human civilization came crashing down when a bizarre energy wave trapped everyone in stone, and 3,700 years later, Senku broke free to rebuild everything himself. Senku may not have alchemy or a metal arm, but this series is still an anime like Fullmetal Alchemist, where science, hope, and the power of friendship can triumph over despair.

11 Plastic Memories Is About Romance, Technology, and Humanity

Anime fans shouldn't be fooled by the shiny and colorful visuals of this short sci-fi anime series. Plastic Memories is deeper than it looks, and it explores themes such as facing your own mortality, what it means to be human, and whether an artificial intelligence counts as a real person or not.

The co-lead is Isla, a robot girl who helps her company retire other robots who are at the end of her life, and she doesn't have long to live, either. Her co-worker Tsukasa is her all-too-human friend, and eventually, lover, and he has to contend with his plastic girlfriend's ticking clock. It's a tear-jerker that also asks all the cool and tough philosophical questions along the way.

10 Attack On Titan Is an Excellent Gaslamp Fantasy Story

The military plays a major role in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and similarly, the military forces in Attack on Titan play a central role in the story, too. This post-apocalyptic, military, supernatural anime focuses on three young protagonists who have devoted their lives to fighting the human-eating Titans and avenging humankind.

This is an anime like Fullmetal Alchemist because its initial plot soon becomes vastly complicated and unpredictable, with major deaths and shocking revelations keeping viewers engaged throughout. Attack on Titan also has a stylish gaslamp fantasy vibe that should resonate with FMAB viewers.

9 Neon Genesis Evangelion Is a Smart Sci-Fi Story

Anime fans who enjoyed the psychology, philosophy, and religion in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, will find more of the same in Neon Genesis Evangelion. This is a classic 1995 anime series animated by studio Gainax and created by Hideaki Anno.

Evangelion is a tale about teenagers piloting giant robots to fight giant monsters in a post-apocalyptic world. However, the real story is about growing up, struggling with depression, social anxiety, sexuality and intimacy, the Hedgehog Dilemma, and loads of other philosophical, psychological, and religious issues. But, while Brotherhood's fairly tragic story has a happy ending, Evangelion’s mind-numbingly dark narrative is a whole different animal.

8 Gurren Lagann Mixes Humor With Action and Advanced Technology

There’s far more to the Gurren Lagann anime than its many shonen cliches and conventions would suggest. Thus, fans of Brotherhood might find this mix of comedy and tragedy appealing. Gurren Lagann’s story is a simple one, two best friends set out on a mission to fight the tyrannical Spiral King in a giant robot named Gurren Lagann.

It’s a story about friendship and growth, about overcoming obstacles, and about dealing with loss. The two main characters, Simon and Kamina, are like a dynamic duo of foster brothers, who may feel reminiscent of Edward and Alphonse Elric in FMAB.

7 Made In Abyss Has Elements of Mystery and Adventure

Made in Abyss is set in a town that surrounds a mysterious, giant hole in the ground called the Abyss. Protagonists Riko and Reg embark on a journey to the bottom of the Abyss in search of Riko’s mother and much-needed answers about the Abyss. The descent into the Abyss is an arduous and dangerous task as the Curse of the Abyss threatens to inflict potentially fatal illness upon those who attempt to make their way back.

The emotional turmoil in Made In Abyss is derived from a looming sense of dread that inevitably befalls viewers as they watch these characters go through horrific experiences. In a similar fashion to Brotherhood, Made in Abyss offsets these sad moments with bits of pure adventure and light-hearted fun. The world-building and character development are masterfully done, making Made in Abyss a true gem.

6 Violet Evergarden Explores the Tender Side of Humanity in a Steampunk Setting

Violet Evergarden is a 2018 anime by Kyoto Animation that follows the titular character’s journey of rejoining society after having spent most of her life fighting in the war. Viewers will meet Violet – now an Auto Memory Doll, writing letters for other people – in her search to give her life a new purpose and understand her major’s final words "I love you."

One of the themes Fullmetal Alchemist deals with is war and its aftermath. Mustang and Hawkeye are haunted by what they’ve done in the name of their country, for example, and in Violet Evergarden, fans empathize with Violet’s suffering as she struggles to move on after everything she’s been through during the war.

5 Steins;Gate Intrigues Fans With Intricate Science Fiction

Steins;Gate is a sci-fi anime about a self-proclaimed mad scientist named Okabe accidentally discovering time travel, thus setting off a chain of events that no one could have predicted. By altering the timeline, the scientist Okabe inadvertently saved the life of the girl he would later fall in love with, but at the same time, he essentially doomed his childhood friend.

Much like Ed and Al are fighting to find a way to get their original bodies back without causing other people pain and suffering, Okabe is on a mission to find a way to save his best friend without sacrificing anyone. Tensions run high in the second half of the show as Okabe grows ever more desperate when faced with an outcome that appears to be inevitable.

4 My Hero Academia Focuses on Exciting Shonen Action

While it doesn’t have the dark and mind-numbing sorrow of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, My Hero Academia does have well-written characters with interesting story arcs, a narrative that is consistently entertaining, battles that have stakes and are actually fun to watch, and stunning animation by studio Bones, which also did Brotherhood. My Hero Academia is about a Quirkless boy named Izuku Midoriya who dreams of becoming a hero like his idol All Might.

Serendipitously, Izuku/Deku ends up inheriting All-Might’s Quirk and enrolls in the prestigious UA High to train to become a hero. Along the way, he meets some old and new friends, fights villains, and grows both as a person and as a hero. The wide supporting cast of characters is equally interesting with tons of fun quirks and personalities.

3 Baccano! Has Alchemy and Homunculi

Baccano! is an anime unlike any other. Set in the early decades of the 20th century, the story is told in a non-linear fashion, focusing on multiple seemingly unrelated characters. The various storylines run parallel to each other, collide, and intertwine highlighting the intrinsic mayhem of the narrative and its quirky characters. The wide cast of characters is nothing short of fascinating, as every single person adds something of value to the story and gets to be the protagonist.

Alchemy, immortality, homunculi, and the philosopher’s stone are all present in this incredibly well-written and directed anime series that is guaranteed to grab your attention from the very first second and hold it to the conclusion. But alchemy isn’t the only aspect of Baccano! that fans of Brotherhood will find enjoyable. There’s also the exciting soundtrack, an opening that is impressive on every level, fascinating characters, a well-thought-out story, and great humor.

2 Death Note Features Smart Characters in a Bloody Battle of Wits

The critically acclaimed and widely popular manga/anime by written by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, Death Note, is an absolute must-watch for any anime fan. The protagonist Light Yagami is a genius high school student who decides to use his intellect and the Death Note to cleanse the world of evil under the name Kira, while the world’s best detective L does everything in his power to uncover Kira’s true identity and put a stop his crusade.

This gripping and suspenseful thriller is an anime like Fullmetal Alchemist because it will make viewers ponder some important questions about morality, ethics, and the human condition. Anyone who enjoyed the philosophical debates about humans and humanity in Brotherhood will find Death Note’s debates about moral relativity, good and evil, and justice just as compelling. Plus, the characters are incredibly well-written, layered, and fascinating to watch. The soundtrack, the art and animation, and most importantly the story, are simply fantastic.

1 Silver Spoon Is A Fine Story From Fullmetal Alchemist's Author

Following the completion of Fullmetal Alchemist, Hirumu Arakawa started publishing Silver Spoon, a story about Yuugo Hachiken, a boy who gets tired of trying to live up to everyone’s expectations and decides to enroll in an agricultural high school in the Hokkaido countryside to escape the stress brought upon by his parents. With Hachiken way out of his comfort zone, all kinds of hilarious situations and developments ensue.

Anime fans who loved the comedic side of Fullmetal Alchemist will like Silver Spoon's humor even more, since it came from the same creative mind. On top of that, much like its spiritual predecessor, Silver Spoon has a fantastic cast of well-written and interesting characters and a story that’s heartwarming, educational, and constantly entertaining.