"You can't gain something without sacrificing something else of the equal value. This is the principle of the equivalent trade."

The story takes place in an alternate world from ours in the early 1900's. Two young brothers, older Edward Elric and younger Alphonse Elric, live with their mother Trisha in the small village of Resembool. Their father left home when they were still very young, but Ed and Al inherited his passion for alchemy.

1909. On a fine day, Trisha dies of an unknown illness, leaving her two sons orphans. Ed blames his father for Trisha's death and wants to find a way to bring her back to life. At this time, Ed was 10, Al 9. When Edward finds out about flesh forging in an alchemy book that belonged to his father, he engages in an intense training with Al in order to be able to perform a human transmutation.

On February 1910, the Elric brothers cross the forbidden line trying to resurrect their mom. The attempt ends in a complete failure. In the process, Ed loses his left leg and Al his whole body. In a last try full of despair, Ed uses alchemy to restore his brother's spirit putting it in a suit of mail, at the further cost of his right arm. When Al wakes up in the armour, he suddenly realizes what happened and takes his unconscious injured brother to the neighbours, the Rockbells.

After that day, the two decide to embark on a journey to find the legendary Philosopher's Stone, rumoured to create anything from nothing, in hopes of getting back their original bodies.

Overall, Fullmetal Alchemist had a steady pace but did happen to drag along at time-piling the suspense. Near the end, it did seem to be rushed quite a bit but it could also be that the producers planned it that way. They wanted it to be so much at one time to increase the drama and intensity.
What made Fullmetal Alchemist such a prized anime, was that it had just a bit of everything-not to much or not to little. Filled with lots of humor, intense action and even the horrors of reality.
Fullmetal Alchemist is overall not the average predictable anime that you'd expect. For one, not everything turns out perfectly.