My co-worker (who is reading one volume behind me as I chew through them) and I spent a while feverishly trying to figure out which was the One True Anime, and by the sounds of it, you're right, and people prefer Brotherhood. In the later volumes, it's even advertised in the back as "Full Metal Alchemist! The manga you should be watching right now! Yay!" etc, and then volumes later when the next one hits "You've seen the first one, now watch as the creator intended!" which, if that is Hiromu Arakawa, I'm all over that :D I'm loving the manga, but I also have access to all 27 volumes for free and very easy access. I might not have committed so solidly had I not had that. ymmv :D