11 Anime Like Fullmetal Alchemist Where Science and Magic Collide

Still carrying the Elrics' journey around in your chest years after the credits rolled? Plenty of anime like Fullmetal Alchemist deliver the same rare mix: a rule-based power system with real costs, a quest driven by family and sacrifice, a military or political conspiracy simmering underneath, and a tone that can be laugh-out-loud funny one minute and devastating the next. Nothing is quite FMA, but the closest ones get surprisingly near.

Both versions of the series are long complete, the 2003 anime and the manga-faithful Brotherhood, and FMA remains one of the most beloved anime ever made. The exciting part is that creator Hiromu Arakawa has finally returned with a brand-new fantasy, fresh material from the same mind for the first time in years. Need a refresher on which version to watch? Our Fullmetal Alchemist watch order breaks down 2003, Brotherhood, and the movies.

We ranked these from closest match to loosest by how much each shares Fullmetal Alchemist's actual build: a rule-based power system with a price, a family-driven quest, a political backdrop, and a balance of adventure, humor, and heavy emotional weight. A quick table sits up top, with honest notes at the end.

11 anime like Fullmetal Alchemist at a glance

If you just want the fast read, here is the whole roster. The Similarity column is our call on how close each one gets to Fullmetal Alchemist itself, not how good the show is on its own.

Streaming rights shift by region, so these are a starting point. Check what is available where you are before you commit.

The anime most like Fullmetal Alchemist, ranked

Here are the anime like Fullmetal Alchemist that genuinely share its build, ranked from the closest match to the loosest. The Similarity Rating is our read on how near each one gets to Fullmetal Alchemist specifically, not how good the show is overall, and we kept the stars to whole numbers. The build we are measuring against is simple: a rule-based power system with a price, a family-driven quest, a political backdrop, and a balance of adventure, humor, and weight.

1. D.Gray-man

Similarity Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: Allen Walker is a young exorcist whose cursed left arm is an Innocence, a weapon forged to destroy the Akuma, machines built from grief and trapped souls by the villainous Millennium Earl. He joins the Black Order, a religious organization waging a secret war to stop the Earl from unmaking the world. The series mixes gothic horror, tragedy, and shonen action. It is darker and sadder than it first appears.

D.Gray-man is the undisputed gothic sibling to Fullmetal Alchemist. Set in a European, pseudo-Victorian steampunk era, its Black Order functions much like FMA's State Military, deploying cursed youths called Exorcists who wield anti-Akuma weapons against an ancient evil. The villains, a family of immortals called the Noah, are distinct archetypal sins, a clear echo of FMA's Homunculi. Most tellingly, the core tragedy springs from humans breaking taboo to resurrect dead loved ones, a forbidden act that only produces horrific, corrupted biomechanical monsters, which is FMA's human-transmutation nightmare almost beat for beat. The gothic tone and the organization-versus-immortals structure make it the closest fit on the list.

2. Hunter x Hunter

Similarity Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: Gon Freecss sets out to become a Hunter, one of the elite license-holders who track treasures, beasts, and people, hoping to find the father who left him behind. Along the way he gathers friends as fierce as they are damaged, and learns a precise, rule-bound power system called Nen. What starts as a bright adventure keeps curdling into something darker and more dangerous. It is widely held as one of the greatest shonen ever made.

Hunter x Hunter is the gold standard for rigid, conditional power systems and moral ambiguity. Like alchemy, its Nen system runs on strict contracts, vows, and self-imposed limitations, which is equivalent exchange in its purest form: the more you restrict yourself, the more power you get back. The Chimera Ant arc in particular chews on the same deep questions FMA loves, human cruelty, biological superiority, and the terrifying price of trading away your own life force for strength. It pairs that with an epic, family-driven quest and a swing from joy to devastation. For the rule-based-power core, nothing comes closer. Our anime like Hunter x Hunter list goes even deeper.

3. Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic

Similarity Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: In a world of sprawling empires and mysterious dungeons, a cheerful boy named Aladdin befriends the ambitious Alibaba, and the two set out to conquer a dungeon and change their fortunes. What follows is a vast political adventure about kings, slaves, war, and destiny, powered by a magic system tied to a force called magoi and the djinn who grant immense power. The cast is enormous and the stakes keep climbing. It is an epic in the truest sense.

Magi shares FMA's grand geopolitical scope and its moral complexity. Behind its vibrant Middle Eastern aesthetic sits an intricate story about systemic slavery, military colonialism, proxy wars, and the corrupting pull of a dark force called Black Rukh, which directly echoes the way Father's transmutation circles manipulate the fate of entire nations in FMA. Young heroes are forced to grow up fast inside forces far larger than themselves, and the balance of rousing adventure, comedy, and heavy themes is deeply FMA. It is more high-fantasy and less science-flavored, but the rule-based-magic-plus-political-epic build is a strong match.

4. Attack on Titan

Similarity Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: Humanity huddles behind enormous walls while towering, man-eating Titans roam the land outside, until the day the walls are breached and Eren Yeager swears to wipe the Titans out. He joins the military's elite Survey Corps, throwing himself into a desperate war, only to discover that the truth behind the Titans is far darker than anyone imagined. He also gains the power to transform into a Titan himself. It builds to one of the most talked-about stories in anime.

Attack on Titan is a direct thematic match for the dark military core of FMA's Amestris. It is a militarized society sealed inside a vast conspiracy, with a military police force covering up state secrets and a government built on a horrific truth: that ordinary humans are being turned into monstrous weapons through what amounts to biological alchemy. That reveal rhymes closely with FMA's own buried national atrocities and its people-as-ingredients horror. It is grimmer and far less funny than FMA, and it swaps alchemy for a different kind of body horror, but the military-conspiracy-and-human-weapons build is a strong match. Our anime like Attack on Titan list has more.

5. Trigun

Similarity Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: Vash the Stampede is a legendary gunman with a sixty-billion-double-dollar bounty on his head and a reputation as a walking disaster, yet the man himself is a goofy, doughnut-loving pacifist who refuses to kill. As two insurance agents trail him across a harsh desert planet, his tragic past and the philosophy behind his mercy slowly come to light. The series blends slapstick comedy with heavy moral weight. It is a cult classic with real soul.

Trigun, in both the 1998 original and the 2023 Stampede reboot, lands close to FMA on a few very specific points. It has a dusty frontier setting, a hero defined by prosthetics, and above all a protagonist, Vash the Stampede, bound by an absolute moral code: he refuses to take a human life no matter how brutal his enemy. That vow maps directly onto Edward Elric's own refusal to kill his foes or to use a Philosopher's Stone made from human souls. The found-family-on-a-journey structure and the swing from slapstick to real tragedy are deeply FMA too. There is no alchemy and the setting is a space-western, which keeps it mid-list, but the no-kill-vow-and-prosthetics core is a sharp match.

6. Dororo

Similarity Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Prime Video

Synopsis: In war-torn feudal Japan, a samurai lord strikes a bargain with demons for power, trading away the body parts of his newborn son. Abandoned and left for dead, the boy survives, fitted with prosthetics and hidden blades, and grows into the wandering swordsman Hyakkimaru. Each demon he slays restores a piece of his stolen body. Alongside a young thief named Dororo, he carves a bloody path toward becoming whole. It is a dark, beautiful tragedy.

Dororo captures the Elrics' physical tragedy more literally than anything else here. Hyakkimaru was dismantled at birth because of a dark, forbidden deal struck by his own father, and he has to hunt down demonic entities to slowly regrow his lost eyes, limbs, and skin, all while wrestling with whether reclaiming his body is worth the cost and whether it even brings him peace. That is Edward's automail, Alphonse's lost body, and the whole price-of-a-forbidden-bargain tragedy rendered in feudal Japan. It has no alchemy or wider conspiracy, which keeps it mid-list, but the stolen-body-and-the-quest-to-restore-it heart is pure FMA.

7. Soul Eater

Similarity Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: At a school for weapon-wielding meisters and the human weapons they partner with, teams of students hunt evil souls to turn their blades into legendary death-scythes. Maka and her scythe partner Soul, along with a cast of oddballs, face witches, madness, and monsters. The series pairs stylish, gothic-cartoon visuals with fast, funny action. It is weird, bold, and endlessly energetic.

Soul Eater is produced by Studio Bones, the same studio behind both Fullmetal Alchemist anime, and it carries that same kinetic visual pedigree, the stylish action and dark-whimsy design FMA fans know. It blends alchemy, witch covens, and transformed human weapons under a single centralized academy, and it spends the whole series exploring the thin line between order, human sanity, and a creeping Madness that threatens to unmake civilization, a close cousin to FMA's own hidden, world-level threat. It is more episodic and academy-bound than FMA's road-trip epic, but the studio DNA and the tonal balance make it a strong fit.

8. Code Geass

Similarity Rating: 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: Exiled prince Lelouch gains a mysterious power called Geass, the ability to command absolute obedience, and uses it to launch a rebellion against the empire that destroyed his life, all behind the mask of the revolutionary Zero. Driving him is a promise to his blind, disabled sister Nunnally. The series is a dense web of strategy, politics, and operatic tragedy. It builds to one of anime's most discussed endings.

Code Geass matches FMA's taste for high-level military chess and state-level rebellion. Lelouch leans on mechs and royal intrigue rather than chemistry, but the series is driven by the same kind of shadowy, immortal cult pulling strings behind the world's superpowers, with its Geass Directorate echoing FMA's Homunculi and their hidden grip on a nation. The themes of sacrifice, the price of power, and whether the ends justify the means are exactly FMA's moral territory, and a sibling bond anchors the whole tragedy. There is no shared magic system, which lands it lower, but the conspiracy-and-rebellion build fits. Our anime like Code Geass list has more tactical picks.

9. Dr. Stone

Similarity Rating: 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: After a mysterious flash turns all of humanity to stone, genius teenager Senku awakens thousands of years later into a wild, reset world. Armed with nothing but science, he sets out to rebuild civilization from scratch, one invention at a time, against those who would rather rule the new world by force. The series makes chemistry and engineering genuinely thrilling. It is bright, clever, and surprisingly moving.

Dr. Stone is the comedic, hyper-scientific parallel to alchemy. Senku uses real-world chemistry, metallurgy, and a working knowledge of the periodic table to rebuild civilization from the Stone Age up, which echoes Edward Elric's foundational belief that the universe runs entirely on understandable, physical, scientific principles. Watching a brilliant mind build power step by logical step, cause to effect, scratches the exact itch alchemy does. It pairs that with a clear-goal adventure, a warm found-family, and a balance of comedy and wonder. There is no military tragedy or dark war, which keeps it lower, but the science-as-alchemy build is a genuinely fresh match.

10. Silver Spoon

Similarity Rating: 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll, Bilibili

Synopsis: Burned out from brutal academic pressure, city kid Yuugo Hachiken enrolls at an agricultural boarding school in rural Hokkaido, assuming it will be an easy escape. Instead he is thrown into the relentless, humbling reality of farm life, raising livestock he knows will be slaughtered, and surrounded by classmates with a clear sense of purpose he lacks. Slowly, the work changes him. It is a warm, funny, quietly profound coming-of-age story.

Silver Spoon comes from Hiromu Arakawa, the creator of Fullmetal Alchemist, and though it is an agricultural slice-of-life rather than an action fantasy, it may be the purest thematic companion to FMA's law of equivalent exchange. It is a story about understanding where raw materials actually come from, the hard labor required to build anything lasting, and the ethical weight of taking life to sustain life, which is equivalent exchange lived out on a farm rather than drawn in a transmutation circle. There is no action, magic, or conspiracy, so it sits low on the build, but no show better understands the philosophy at FMA's heart. One note: Silver Spoon's streaming availability is unsettled right now, so check your region.

11. Yomi no Tsugai (Daemons of the Shadow Realm)

Similarity Rating: 3/5 ⭐⭐⭐

Anime Overall Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Watch on: Crunchyroll

Synopsis: Yuru is a cheerful boy raised in a remote, isolated village, forbidden from ever crossing to the outside world. When intruders arrive, he discovers he can command Tsugai, paired spirit-beasts tied to his bloodline, and that he has a twin sister he never knew existed. Thrust into a hidden conflict far larger than his village, he sets out to find her. It is a sweeping supernatural fantasy from a very familiar mind.

Yomi no Tsugai is Arakawa's current supernatural mystery, and like Silver Spoon above it, it earns its place through sheer creator DNA. Twin siblings separated by an ancient duty slowly uncover a massive ancestral conspiracy involving dual-paired spirits called Tsugai, a set of hard, clearly-defined magical rules, and the buried secrets of a rural village. Arakawa's signature wit and her taste for sharp moral dilemmas are all over it. It sits at the bottom because it is still early and far smaller in scope than FMA so far, but it is the newest, most direct glimpse of the mind that made the Elrics.

A few that get recommended but watch differently

Search around for anime similar to Fullmetal Alchemist and a couple of big names come up that share a piece of the appeal but not the whole build. They are worth your time. We just want the match to feel honest.

Demon Slayer puts two siblings at its heart, with Tanjiro fighting to restore his sister Nezuko, which echoes the Elrics directly, but it is a more straightforward monster-hunting shonen without FMA's political conspiracy or its science-magic system. Fairy Tail nails the magic-guild adventure, the found family, and the fun, yet it stays light and rarely reaches for FMA's darkness, moral weight, or tight plotting. Both are excellent in their lane. Just go in knowing they capture the sibling heart or the fun, not FMA's specific blend of adventure, brains, and heartbreak. Our anime like Demon Slayer list has more if that is your angle.

Your next equivalent exchange

Fullmetal Alchemist is complete, both the 2003 series and Brotherhood, and it remains one of the most beloved anime ever made, so there is no new season on the way. The great news is that FMA's creator has two shows on this very list, the farm-life companion Silver Spoon and her current fantasy Yomi no Tsugai, and every pick here captures a different piece of what made the Elrics' journey unforgettable. Start at the top with D.Gray-man for the closest gothic sibling, dive into Hunter x Hunter for the purest rule-based power system, or sink into the grand political tragedy of Magi. The whole point of a good list of anime like Fullmetal Alchemist is to keep that mix of adventure, brains, and heart alive.

While you line it all up, come hang out with us at Kaminari, where our weekly newsletter rounds up the shows worth your time, the news that actually matters, and takes written for people who love this stuff as much as you do. We will keep flagging the best adventure-fantasy anime as they land, so you never miss the next obsession.

FAQs

Is there an anime exactly like Fullmetal Alchemist?

Not a perfect twin, but two come very close. D.Gray-man is the gothic sibling, with a military-style order of cursed exorcists, immortal sin-themed villains, and a tragedy rooted in resurrecting the dead, while Hunter x Hunter matches FMA's strict, rule-based power system and its swing from joyful adventure to real darkness. Each nails a core piece of what makes FMA special.

What anime like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood has a strong magic system?

If the strict, rule-based alchemy of anime like Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is the draw, the best picks are Hunter x Hunter, with its precise Nen contracts and vows, Magi, with its magoi and djinn, and Soul Eater, with its own blend of alchemy and soul wavelengths. Each rewards the same love of logical, cost-attached power.

Are there shows like Fullmetal Alchemist from the same creator?

Yes. Two shows on this list come from Hiromu Arakawa herself: Silver Spoon, a farm-life coming-of-age that quietly lives out the philosophy of equivalent exchange, and Yomi no Tsugai, her current supernatural mystery. Both carry her signature wit, warmth, and sharp moral sense.

What anime like Fullmetal Alchemist has a hero who loses his body?

The most direct is Dororo, where Hyakkimaru is dismantled at birth by his father's dark bargain and must slay demons to regrow his stolen limbs and senses, echoing Edward's automail and Alphonse's lost body almost exactly.

Where can you watch anime like FMA?

Most of these stream on Crunchyroll, including both Fullmetal Alchemist series, while Dororo sits on Prime Video. Silver Spoon's availability is unsettled right now, so check your region. Rights shift over time, so double-check what is available where you are before you settle in.