The sound comes from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the 2009 anime adaptation of Hiromu Arakawa's manga, where Edward Elric and other alchemists transmute matter by understanding, deconstructing and reconstructing it. Its distinctive crackle became closely tied to Edward's clap alchemy and circulated widely through anime clips, AMVs and soundboards, where fans reused it to signal a dramatic change. It remains popular because it instantly reads as anime alchemy, even without any dialogue or visuals, making it a shorthand for transformation in edits and memes.