Fullmetal Alchemist was an awesome manga that ran from 2001-2010. This manga, which was written by Hiromu Arakawa, was so popular that it has received two anime series, multiple video games, some card games, action figures, light novels, and a Netflix adaptation – not bad at all. But what is Fullmetal Alchemist about?
In a world where alchemy is a viable and complex science, two young brothers, Ed and Al, lose their mother to illness. They attempt alchemy’s ultimate taboo and try to bring her back at the cost of one brother’s entire body and another’s arm (Ed also loses his leg bringing Al’s soul back). The manga follows their journey searching for the Philosopher’s Stone, an alchemical compound that is so powerful that it can bypass the normal laws of alchemy and get their bodies back༺.
The lore and histor♈y of Amestris, their home country, is expansive and detailed and there is a large cast of deep and complex characters there to support the boys on their quest. If you are a fan of well-thought-out fantasy stories that tackle complex issues such as living with a disability, war, corruption, and how harsh living with your mistak﷽es can be, this one is for you.
As mentioned earlier, Fullmetal Alchemist was popular enough to garner two different animated adaptations. There is a lot of debate among fans regarding whether the first or second adaptation is better as there are major differences between the two. This article is going to focus on the first anime, Fullmetal Alchemist, which ran from 2003 to 2004. Spoilers ahead!
23 🐻The Entireꦿ Ending
When the Fullmetal Alchemist anime was airing, the manga was still in the middle of being written and released every month. This made for some issues since the weekly anime caught up real fast. The writers and producers sat with Hiromu Arakawa and asked her to supervise the first part and then let them do their own thing once the catch up occurred, which Arakawa agreed to. This meant that the Fullmetal Alchemist anime made its own non-canon plot and original ending; even Hiromu Arakawa h🉐ad no idea wher🐼e things were headed.
22 💦Homunculi Backstory
The Homunculi are named after the seven deadly sins and, along with being antagonists of the series, have different origins based on which source you read. In the manga, the Homunculi are the ‘human’ parts of the main antagonist Father given form and Philosopher’s Stones. In the anime, however, Homunculi are the result of faiܫled human transmutations. This means that each Homunculus was once a deceased body that someone tried to bring back to life with alchemy. Talk about a traumatic meeting.
21 🅰 Who Is🐷 The Main Antagonist?
As I mentioned above, Father is the main antagonist of the manga. Father is a centuriesꦑ old being who took the form of Van Hohenheim and wants to surpass God. Instead, the main antagonist of the anime is Dante, Izumi Curtis’ teacher and Van Hohenheim’s ex-lover. Dante and Hohenheim met over 400 years before the anime starts and made the first philosopher’s stone. Using the Stone, they transferred their souls to different younger bodies to stay alive. Is this true immortality? The jury is out on this one.
20 ꧅ Who Met Dad First? ꦦ
Hohenheim is a mysterious and deceptively ancient being in ev😼ery iteration. He is a 400-year-old alchemist who uses alchemy to survive but eventually falls in love with Trisha Elric. When Ed and Al are young, Hohenheim leaves to research something, only returning a dec🔴ade later. In the manga, Ed goes back to Risembool to pay his respects to his mother and meets Hohenheim at her grave. In the anime, Winry sees him first and Hohenheim mistakes her for her mother. An odd change, indeed.
19 The Only 👍Place In The 🐼World
Fullmetal Alchemist’s manga has an expansive world that extends beyond the borders of Amestris. There, Amestris is a landlocked nation surrounded by other countries, and sometimes border skirmishes occur. In the manga, we meet characters from these other nations, hear about the politics between nations and their histories. In the anime, we only briefly hear about Drachma, the snowy nation to the north of Amestris. Dante gets Pride to start a war with them to cover their tracks, but it would have 𒐪been nice to hear more.
18 The Manga Has A Lighter Tone ⛄
While Fullmetal Alchemist does deal with some heavy subjects, but there is a shift in tone to inject some humour and relief between serious moments. The manga’s art style naturally lends itself to a lighter tone, but Arakawa masterfully works this in her favour to make the dark things stand out more. The Fullmetal Alchemist 🍸anime has a much more consistent dark tone throughout the story that, while there are humorous moments, leans into the darkness.
17 Who Is Sloth? ꦕ
The Homunculi are all named after the seven deadly siꦇns of man; Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, Greed, Envy, and Sloth. In the manga, Sloth is a hulking giant of a man who possesses immense strength but has zero motivation to use it. In the anime, Sloth takes the likeness of Trisha Elric and is a result of the Elric’s failed humanಌ transmutation. It is an interesting narrative change to make the brothers deal with their mistake this way; talk about an imposing consequence.
16 What It Means To Be Human ꧟
The Homunculi have some weird opinions regarding humans. In the manga, Homunculi consider themselves to be below humans in some ways. To them, humans are superior, and they want to become human somehow. This inferiority complex leads to some interesting discussions about what it means to be human. However, t♑he anime Homunculi who were once human now view themselves as superior perfect beings, capable of more than humans ever possibly could be. There are some seriously mixed feelings going on here.
15 Rose’s Bac🐷kstory ൲
Rose is a character that we meet very early on in each series. She is a follower of the fraudulent Father Cornello and wis🀅hes he would bring her boyfriend back from the dead. In the manga, Rose is not really discussed beyond the first volume, but she does reunite briefly with Al. In the anime, Rose has a much larger role to play. She becomes the Holy Mother of Risembool, is captureꦓd by the Amestrian Military and was chosen to become Dante’s next host.
14 ♓ Who Is Wrath?
Wrath is a significant adversary to the brothers’ progress and survival in most iterations of Fullmetal Alchemist. In the manga, he is Fuhrer Bradley, the leader of Amestris and Ed’s highest boss. 𝄹Wrath constantly put obstacles in the brothers’ and friends’ way to stop them from figuring out Father’s plans. In the anime, Wrath is the Curtis’ child who can do alchemy after eating red stones ꦬand taking Ed’s limbs. Wrath in the anime wants maternal love but rejects Izumi in favor of Sloth until ultimately siding with Ed and Izumi.