With the recent news of a live-action Fullmetal Alchemist film, it’s another piece in the puzzle of how the rights are working for the anime adaptation. Funimation has confirmed that the streaming and home video rights for the 2003 series Fullmetal Alchemist will expire on July 31st, 2016.
The company talked about this back in February, stating, “Funimation licenses these rights for a limited time, after which they revert to the original Japanese license holder. After these dates, these titles will be removed from our streaming service on Funimation.com, and we will not be reprinting any more home video products.”
The Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood property went through this with the film back on March 31st, 2016 when it expired.
Plot concept: In this world there exist alchemists, people who study and perform the art of alchemical transmutation—to manipulate objects and transform one object into another. They are bounded by the basic law of alchemy: in order to gain something you have to sacrifice something of the same value. The main character is the famous alchemist Edward Elric—also known as the Fullmetal Alchemist—who almost lost his little brother, Alphonse, in an alchemical accident. Edward managed to attach his brother’s soul to a large suit of armor. While he did manage to save his brother’s life, he paid the terrible price of his limbs. To get back what they’ve lost, the brothers embark on a journey to find the Philosopher’s Stone that is said to amplify the powers of an alchemist enormously; however, on the way, they start uncovering a conspiracy that could endanger the entire nation, and they realize the misfortunes brought upon by the Philosopher’s Stone.
