Introduction
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is difficult to follow because its strongest qualities are tightly connected.
Alchemy has understandable rules. Edward and Alphonse have a personal goal that keeps the story grounded, while the world around them gradually expands into military politics, national history, moral conflict, and a much larger mystery. Even major battles usually matter because of what they mean for the characters or the central story.
So the best anime to watch after Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood depends on which part you want to preserve.
Hunter x Hunter is the strongest choice for strategic powers and long-term character growth. Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic emphasizes fantasy exploration and political worldbuilding. D.Gray-man moves toward darker supernatural conflict, Attack on Titan offers the most tightly layered mystery and political tension, and Dororo focuses the experience around a smaller, deeply personal journey.
Everything below is spoiler-free.
Quick List: Best Anime Like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
- Hunter x Hunter (2011) — Best if alchemy’s rules, tactical battles, character growth, and expanding adventure were your favorite parts.
- Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic — Choose this if you want another fantasy world shaped by different nations, power struggles, friendship, and exploration.
- D.Gray-man — Best if you want the darker supernatural side of FMAB with an organization-based cast and heavier emotional themes.
- Attack on Titan — Pick this if hidden history, political conflict, major revelations, and a carefully connected plot mattered most.
- Dororo — Best if Edward and Alphonse’s personal struggle was more important to you than the scale of the larger world.
1. Hunter x Hunter (2011)
Start Here for Rules, Strategy, and Character Growth
Hunter x Hunter is the strongest overall recommendation after Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but not because the two stories look especially similar.
The stronger connection is how both series make abilities more interesting by giving them structure.
Fullmetal Alchemist establishes principles around alchemy that limit what characters can do. Hunter x Hunter eventually develops its own highly detailed ability system where conditions, information, preparation, and individual strengths can shape the outcome of a confrontation.
That means fights can become problems to solve rather than simple contests of power.
A Larger Journey That Keeps Changing
Hunter x Hunter also shares FMAB’s interest in young characters developing through increasingly complicated experiences.
Gon begins with a straightforward personal goal, but his journey continually introduces new places, organizations, challenges, allies, and risks.
The major difference is structure.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood steadily connects its cast and conflicts to one central narrative. Hunter x Hunter is more willing to change the type of adventure from one major arc to another.
That makes it a good follow-up if you want the sense of discovery and progression but do not need another story with FMAB’s tightly unified construction.
Best For
Choose Hunter x Hunter first if tactical combat, clear ability mechanics, friendship, and watching young characters grow were what kept you invested in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
For more recommendations built around tactical battles, exploration, and character progression, continue with Anime Like Hunter x Hunter: 5 Anime to Watch Next.
2. Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
For the Fantasy World Beyond the Main Characters
Magi is the better choice when Amestris itself was one of your favorite parts of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
FMAB does not treat its country as a simple background. Military institutions, neighboring regions, historical events, political decisions, and competing interests all influence the story.
Magi offers a similar reason to keep exploring.
Its fantasy journey moves through kingdoms with different cultures and political structures while gradually expanding the conflict beyond one group of adventurers.
Adventure and Politics Grow Together
The series begins with a stronger sense of colorful fantasy adventure than FMAB, including dungeons, magic, and large-scale exploration.
But the world becomes more important as different rulers, nations, and ideas come into conflict.
That is the main reason to choose Magi rather than expecting it to duplicate FMAB’s tone.
It is generally more overtly fantastical, and its power systems and environments create a different visual identity. What feels familiar is the idea that a young hero’s adventure can gradually connect to conflicts much larger than the original goal.
Best For
Watch Magi if your favorite part of Fullmetal Alchemist was learning how a larger fantasy world worked.
It is the strongest recommendation here for viewers who want exploration, friendship, magic, multiple nations, and political conflict in the same journey.
3. D.Gray-man
When You Want the Darker Supernatural Side of FMAB
D.Gray-man is the clearest option if the darker parts of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood were what stayed with you.
It follows young fighters working within an organized group against supernatural threats, giving the story a strong sense of collective responsibility rather than focusing entirely on one independent hero.
Its gothic visual identity is noticeably different from FMAB, but the emotional connection is easier to see.
Characters carry difficult burdens, and battles often exist alongside questions involving sacrifice, responsibility, loss, and what it means to protect other people.
An Ensemble Fighting the Same Larger Threat
Another useful connection is the importance of the supporting cast.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood works partly because Edward and Alphonse are surrounded by soldiers, allies, rivals, and other characters whose actions continue to matter.
D.Gray-man also benefits from an organization-based ensemble where different characters bring their own abilities and personal histories to the conflict.
The major difference is atmosphere.
D.Gray-man leans further into gothic supernatural imagery and a longer battle-shonen structure. It is less appropriate if what you want most is FMAB’s compact, carefully closed narrative.
Best For
Choose D.Gray-man if you want another supernatural action story with a young protagonist, meaningful supporting characters, darker emotional themes, and an organization fighting a larger threat.
4. Attack on Titan
For the Mystery Behind the World
Attack on Titan is the strongest recommendation if Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood became more compelling every time its world revealed another hidden connection.
Both stories reward viewers for remembering earlier information.
What initially looks like a relatively simple conflict gradually becomes connected to history, institutions, political interests, and information that changes how earlier events can be understood.
Attack on Titan pushes that experience into a much darker and more intense direction.
Politics and History Are Part of the Main Story
The similarities become especially clear once the focus moves beyond individual fights.
Military structures matter. Political decisions matter. History matters. Characters have to make choices without always having complete information.
This makes Attack on Titan a better FMAB follow-up for viewers interested in narrative construction than for viewers simply searching for another magic system.
The biggest difference is tone.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood regularly balances serious material with adventure and humor. Attack on Titan sustains much more pressure and presents violence and conflict with a heavier atmosphere.
If that difference works for you, it offers the strongest alternative for long-term mystery and carefully connected revelations.
Best For
Pick Attack on Titan if FMAB’s hidden history, political conflict, expanding mystery, and long-term payoff were more important than its lighter adventure elements.
If political conflict, survival pressure, and hidden history are what you want more of, continue with Anime Like Attack on Titan: 5 Anime to Watch Next.
5. Dororo
For a Smaller, More Personal Journey
Dororo is the recommendation to choose if the scale of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was never the main reason you cared about it.
At the heart of FMAB are two brothers trying to recover what they lost after a disastrous choice.
Dororo also places a deeply personal goal at the center of its journey.
Hyakkimaru travels through a dangerous historical fantasy world while trying to reclaim what was taken from him, with Dororo becoming an important companion along the way.
Identity Matters More Than Worldbuilding
This is where Dororo differs most from Hunter x Hunter, Magi, and Attack on Titan.
Its appeal is not primarily a huge power system, political structure, or endlessly expanding world. The focus is much closer to the protagonist and what his journey means for his understanding of himself and other people.
That gives the action emotional significance without needing FMAB’s larger interconnected conspiracy.
Questions about humanity, loss, sacrifice, and compassion carry much of the experience.
The historical setting and supernatural threats also create a more direct and stripped-down adventure.
Best For
Choose Dororo if Edward and Alphonse’s emotional goal was the part of Fullmetal Alchemist that mattered most to you.
It is the strongest option here when you want a more focused journey built around loss, identity, companionship, and difficult choices.
Which Anime Should You Watch First After Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood?
There is no single series that recreates every part of FMAB, so the best first choice depends on which strength you want to preserve.
If You Want the Best Overall Follow-Up
Start with Hunter x Hunter (2011).
It is the strongest match for viewers who want another young cast, structured abilities, tactical confrontations, character growth, and a world that continues expanding as the journey progresses.
If Worldbuilding and Nations Interested You Most
Choose Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic.
Its kingdoms, fantasy cultures, magical systems, and political conflicts make exploration itself a major reason to keep watching.
If You Want Something Darker and More Supernatural
Try D.Gray-man.
The organization-based cast and emotional supernatural conflicts provide a familiar connection while moving further into gothic fantasy.
If the Large Mystery Was Your Favorite Part
Watch Attack on Titan.
It offers the strongest alternative for viewers who enjoyed discovering how politics, history, organizations, and earlier events were connected.
If You Want Another Personal Journey About Recovering What Was Lost
Pick Dororo.
It reduces the scale but preserves the emotional importance of a protagonist moving forward after a profound loss.
FAQ
What anime is most similar to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood?
Hunter x Hunter is the strongest overall recommendation from this list if you want a similar balance of character growth, strategic abilities, adventure, and expanding worldbuilding.
The storytelling structure is different, however. FMAB is much more tightly organized around one overarching plot.
What should I watch if I liked FMAB’s political story?
Start with Attack on Titan if you want a darker story involving military institutions, history, political conflict, and major revelations.
Magi is the better choice if you want politics inside a more colorful fantasy adventure.
Which anime is closest to FMAB’s emotional side?
Dororo is the strongest choice if the protagonists’ personal struggle and themes of loss and humanity mattered most.
D.Gray-man is better if you want those heavier emotions combined with a larger supernatural organization and ensemble cast.
Related Anime Recommendations
- Anime Like Hunter x Hunter: 5 Anime to Watch Next — Best if tactical powers, exploration, and long-term character development are what you want to preserve.
- Anime Like Attack on Titan: 5 Anime to Watch Next — Continue here if political conflict, hidden history, military tension, and major revelations were your favorite elements.
- Anime Like Frieren: 5 Anime to Watch Next — A better direction if fantasy travel, character reflection, and a carefully developed world matter more than constant action.
- Anime Like Jujutsu Kaisen: 5 Anime to Watch Next — Choose this when supernatural abilities and faster modern battles are the main things you want next.
- Best Shonen Anime to Watch: 5 Great Series — Use this broader guide if you want to compare different types of shonen rather than find the closest FMAB-style experience.
Conclusion
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is difficult to replace because its action, characters, power system, politics, emotional story, and worldbuilding all support the same larger narrative.
That is why the best next anime depends on the part you miss most.
Hunter x Hunter is the best overall starting point for strategic abilities, character growth, and adventure. Magi is the better choice when the world itself is what you want to explore, while D.Gray-man moves toward darker supernatural conflict and an organization-based cast.
Choose Attack on Titan if FMAB’s hidden history and political mystery kept you watching, or Dororo if the most important element was the emotional journey of characters trying to recover something that was taken from them.
Rather than searching for another series that copies Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, identify the part of FMAB you most want your next anime to preserve. These five recommendations each provide a different answer to that question.