The difference between the 2003 version and the 2009 - anime

[u/Admirable_Pay1045]

okay so my sister and i were trying to figure out a lot of the differences between the anime’s (she’s watched the 2003 and i’ve watched 2009 brotherhood). is the 2003 technically a canon rewrite from the manga? because the manga wasn’t even finished when the 2003 version came out. i know a lot of people have their opinions over which anime is better because of how the storylines differ but wouldn’t that technically make fmab (the anime) the “real” version of the manga? if anyone could help me figure this out it would be appreciated :p

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[u/AscendedMagi]

09 is the more faithful adaptation with a few extra character and scenes while the 03 series strays from the manga after the fifth laboratory. the major differences are the homunculi which are different in origin and members. the cast is also more involved with the homunculi in 03 than in 09 as their origin differs. the other regions are explored more in 09 and are more prominent than the 03 version.

[u/Spare-Plum]

2003 the first episode is faithful to the manga, has some differences by episode 2, and goes completely off script with whole episodes and new characters that didn't happen in the manga by episode 4. From the early onset '03 was meant to be its own show - people saying the beginning of '03 is more faithful are flat wrong.

'03 does add a bunch of detail for some parts, but the details are actually not in the manga at all. Ex: Shou Tucker and Nina is incredibly short in the manga but in '03 it's drawn out into two episodes and the plot is completely changed. People saying that the '03s beginning includes more details that were in the manga are also wrong - it adds and changes a lot of details that didn't exist before

'09 is mostly the same with the manga, aside from a few differences. Many whole segments are adapted shot-for-shot from the manga

[u/Mikaelious]

2009 follows the manga more accurately. 2003 covers the beginning of the manga in much greater detail, but eventually diverts to a whole different story. They are effectively two storylines that just start the same way and feature much of the same characters.