A recent Twitter exchange between two prominent figures in the anime industry has sparked debate over the production of the original. Fullmetal Alchemist anime.

Manpuku Jinja, known for his work in Touhou anime series and FMA Screenwriter Sho Aikawa exchanged a series of tweets, sparking controversy over the treatment of original manga author Hiromu Arakawa during the anime's production.

It all started when Manpuku Jinja shared a post on X, claiming that script meetings for the anime adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist supposedly included the original author, and during one of these meetings, a screenwriter reportedly told the author that amateurs should keep quiet.

“I heard that for the anime adaptation of 'Fullmetal Alchemist' (the original version), the script meetings included the original author. However, during one of these meetings, a scriptwriter reportedly told the author, 'Amateurs should keep quiet.' That's appalling. At the time, it was common for anime adaptations to change the original story, and the quality of the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' anime was very good (although a later adaptation was made that stayed faithful to the original manga).“

Responding to Jinja, Sho Aikawa denied the alleged incident. He stated that he met with Arakawa for pre-production discussions, but does not believe the author participated in the script meetings.

Aikawa further challenged Manpuku Jinja to provide details about the alleged incident, suggesting that the claim could be defamatory.

“While I've had previous discussions with the original author, I don't believe they ever participated in a script meeting. However, considering that those involved in scriptwriting and production include this information in their profiles, I can't imagine they would broadcast such unreliable statements that could amount to defamation to the entire world. So please let me know when exactly this happened.“

Manpuku Jinja responded that they heard this story from someone involved in the production. However, they agreed to delete the tweet, as Aikawa denied the allegations.

After the tweet was deleted, Sho Aikawa speculated that it might have been an apology from Manpuku Jinja. Aikawa expressed a willingness to ignore future comments made in hidden spaces, but indicated a possible investigation into individuals who spread false information.

Source: X