15 best anime on Netflix to kickstart your obsession
Best Anime on Netflix: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
While we have previously listed other fantasy and adventure anime in this list, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, for the sake of full disclosure, does lean more on the mind-boggling and weird side of anime storytelling. While the messages and themes of this anime are very human-based and relatable, they are hidden under thick layers of symbolism and sometimes graphic imagery. But we still included Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood on our list of best anime on Netflix to kickstart your obsession for those who are fans of darker storytelling that challenge religious mindsets. After all, hopefully, everyone approaching anime already knows their tastes when it comes to mainstream entertainment.
Raised by their mother Trisha Elric and fathered by famous alchemist Hohenheim who abandons the family early on, brothers Edward and Alphonse start to show a natural gift, and curiosity, for alchemy early. After their mother passes away from illness–another common theme in anime–Edward and Alphonse begin living with their friend Winry Rockbell and her grandmother. The Elric brothers, still set on learning alchemy, become apprentices to Izumi Curtis and advance their skills quickly. When Edward and Alphonse return home, the brothers come up with a morbid plan to defy the laws of alchemy and use their new skills to bring their mother back from the dead.
The taboo alchemy ritual, however, goes horribly wrong, and Edward loses his left leg, while his younger brother Alphonse loses his entire body. To bring back his brother, Edward sacrifices his arm and attaches Alphonse’s soul to a metal suit of armor, himself later receiving metal prosthetics from Winry. Edward and Alphonse eventually become government-sanctioned State Alchemists, working to both find a way to get Alphonse’s body back and uncover a deep-rooted government conspiracy of which their estranged father might play an intimate part.
The 64-episode dark fantasy, steampunk anime is more of a leap story-wise for those new to anime, but it’s also an anime that’s renowned in anime circles, often recommended for its strong familial themes and focus on the laws binding together nature and humanity. Anime excels in its ability to make you think about the world you live in and the laws that govern our everyday choices, which is what has made Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood the success it is. The anime is appealing to newbies as well in that it wastes no time getting right to the heart of the story and throwing viewers into the fray at full speed which is why it’s high up on our list of best anime on Netflix.