Fullmetal Alchemist Creator's New Fantasy Anime Is A Must-watch — And Its Stars Know Why [exclusive]

Static Media/Bones

Spoilers for "Daemons of the Shadow Realm" follow.

Hiromu Arakawa's manga "Fullmetal Alchemist" is going to be the cornerstone of her legacy; it's widely recognized as one of the best serialized stories in manga and anime. But Arakawa has kept drawing since "Fullmetal" wrapped in 2010. 

Her latest serialization, "Daemons of the Shadow Realm" ("Yomi no Tsugai" in Japanese) has now made it into animation courtesy of Studio Bones, which made both "Fullmetal Alchemist" anime. Seeing Arakawa's distinctive art style rendered with the same animation approach as "Fullmetal Alchemist" makes "Daemons of the Shadow Realm" look and feel more classical compared to other modern shonen anime.

"Daemons of the Shadow Realm" centers on Japanese twins Yuru and Asa, who have been separated since childhood. The twins are prophesied to wield great power, and their violent reunion is brought about by a war over two factions apparently seeking to control it. Yuru, raised in a provincial village, is introduced to both the modern world and the underworld. 

At Crunchyroll's Spring 2026 junket, I spoke with voice actors Ben Stegmair (Yuru, as well as an assistant director on the English dub) and Molly Zhang (Asa). I was impressed by their shared passion for the series — Stegmair is a fan of the original manga, but Zhang is experiencing the surprises alongside new viewers. I asked both actors what, in a crowded anime season, makes "Daemons of the Shadow Realm" stand out.

"I'm always a sucker for a family dynamic, especially family reuniting or bonding together again, getting to know each other again," said Zhang. "But besides the family aspect of it, I really like the Daemons. I think they're all so crazy, wacky, all over the place. Every episode, whenever a new pair gets introduced, I'm always wondering what power they're going to have."

Bones

During our conversation, Ben Stegmair said that "Daemons of the Shadow Realm" is "one of the best stories that [he's] ever been able to be a part of" and called working on it "the highest honor of [his] career." What about this anime speaks to him so deeply?

"You could talk about how ['Daemons of the Shadow Realm'] takes old style anime and new style anime and brings it together to create this wonderful story. You could talk about how every character has their own dreams, goals, desires. They're characters. True, full-on characters. Every character, every daemon, they all are. And no matter what faction, group, clan they're a part of, they all have their own reasons for being in the story. And it's so, so wonderful."

Stegmair also reiterated Molly Zhang's comments on the story's themes of family: "It's about understanding who cares for you and understanding who has ulterior motives." Like "Fullmetal Alchemist," which was about brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, "Daemons of the Shadow Realm" centers on a sibling relationship. But while the Elrics shared an impossible-to-break bond, Asa and Yuru are just beginning to know each other again, and they're on opposite sides of the conflict. 

The series is told more from Yuru's perspective; he's the one who's in the dark, while Asa has grown up in the real world. Even the setting in "Daemons of the Shadow Realm" is a rugpull. You're meant to assume this story is set in ancient Japan, but then helicopters attack Higashi Village in Episode 1, "Asa and Yuru." It's a massacre, but later episodes will have you questioning if the attackers were villains and the villagers victims like you first assumed.

Bones

A popular anime genre is "isekai," wherein a character from the modern world is sucked into a fantasy realm. "Daemons of the Shadow Realm" flips that; Yuru has to adapt to our world.

Asa and Yuru are not the only twins in the story, because the Daemons also come in pairs. Yuru's guardians, "Left and Right," which stood as statues outside his home village, could almost pass as human if not for small horns on their heads. Most other Daemons are way more monstrous, like a giant anglerfish or two black-and-white Daemons resembling a living yin and yang.

"Fullmetal Alchemist" fans who remember Hiromu Arakawa's talent for cartooning creepy, toothy chimera and homunculi should find a lot to love in the daemons native to this shadow realm. But her talent for character design doesn't end there. Take how Yuru and Asa's looks complement each other; Yuru's blond, Asa's brunette. Yuru dresses like someone out of history and fights with a bow-and-arrow. Asa, colored all black-and-white besides her one red-pupiled eye, is just as instantly memorable but strikes a whole different chord of badass.

Asa's best friend Gabby resembles a feminine Edward Elric, with the same braided blonde hair and red duster. When Gabby debuts, she's using her partner Daemon Gabriel — a gaseous toothy maw — to gobble up Higashi villagers and savoring every ounce of sadistic fun. I was reminded of the "Fullmetal Alchemist" villain Envy, a childish but vicious embodiment of the eponymous sin, but little did I know Gabby was really more like Ed. In this anime, never trust your first impression.

"Daemons of the Shadow Realm" is streaming on Crunchyroll; new episodes release on Saturdays.