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Animax Asia to Run 2009 Fullmetal Alchemist in Same Week as Japan (Update 2)

The Animax Asia television channel has announced that it will simulcast this year's Fullmetal Alchemist and Tears to Tiara anime series on television across Asia starting this April. The 2009 anime adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist dark fantasy manga will premiere in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and South Asia on Friday, April 10 at 8:30 p.m., or six days after its Japanese premiere. Tears to Tiara will premiere in Southeast Asia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on Monday, April 6 at 12:35 a.m. — effectively the exact same time that series will premiere in the Tokyo and Chiba areas. Animax Asia's press release also confirmed the English name for the second Fullmetal Alchemist television series: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

Tears to Tiara will have subtitles in the local language of each market, while Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood will have English and Chinese subtitles. Animax Asia will repeat the episodes in both series in primetime and in a weekend marathon every month.

Image © Hiromu Arakawa/FA Projects, MBS

Update: Masahiko Minami, the president of the Bones studio that is animating the new Fullmetal Alchemist anime, discusses the roots of the project and its story's length in the Aniplex video of ANN's Tokyo Anime Fair 2009 Blowout feature.

Update 2: Animax Asia has updated the above image.