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Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi in the original Japanese) is a 51-episode anime TV series which ran in Japan from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004. The TV series is based on the manga created by Hiromu Arakawa, which is currently serialized by Square Enix in the magazine Shonen Gangan.
A Fullmetal Alchemist movie is slated for a theatrical release the second half of Summer 2005. There also are video games for the PlayStation 2 console and for the Game Boy Advance. The anime series is licensed in North America by FUNimation and began broadcasting on Cartoon Network on November 6, 2004 as part of their "Adult Swim" anime lineup. The manga has been licensed by Viz Communications and is scheduled for a June 2005 release.
The story (called "Hagaren" or "FMA" for short by fans) concerns two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who have a talent for alchemy.
Story
People cannot gain anything without sacrificing something. You must present something of equal value to gain something. That is the principle of equivalent exchange in alchemy. We believed that was the truth of the world when we were young.
- Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist intro.
While still young boys, Alphonse and Edward Elric suddenly find themselves alone when their mother falls ill and dies. As the two brothers stand at their mother's grave, Ed resolves to use their talent for alchemy to find a way to revive her. However, the use of alchemy for human transmutation is forbidden, and Ed and Al pay a heavy price when they try and fail to resurrect their mother: Ed loses a leg in the process, and Al's entire body is consumed. Only by also giving up an arm is Ed able to save Al's soul, sealing it into a nearby suit of armour.
Now even more determined to find the secrets of human transmutation (this time to regain Ed's lost limbs and Al's lost body), Ed and Al set out to become State Alchemists, alchemists in service to the military, in order to gain access to the military's many resources. Reaching their ultimate goal of returning their bodies to normal seems to require that they find the Philosopher's Stone, a mysterious gem that is said to be able to circumvent the standard rules of alchemy and its principle of equivalent trade. They soon learn, however, that there are many others who seek the Philosopher's Stone, and the brothers quickly find themselves caught up in a dark conspiracy.
Characters
Edward Elric - The Fullmetal Alchemist, a name due to his "Auto-mail", the artificial arm and leg that replaced the limbs Ed lost when he attempted to revive his mother (his leg) and transfer Al's soul into a suit of armor (his arm). Ed is the older brother, but is short for his age (and is very sensitive about that). He is a very powerful alchemist, even more so than he understands. His special ability is that he can transmute objects without the use of a transmutation circle. The last name is most likely an allusion to Elric of Melniboné.
Alphonse Elric - Al is the younger brother, but is often confused for the older brother by virtue of being trapped in a suit of armor that's twice as large as Ed. It was the result of when he and Ed tried to revive their mother, Al's body was taken to the other side and Ed had to save him by giving up his arm. Because his soul is trapped in a suit of armor, he is mostly unable to express himself or feel what he touches anymore. He's an alchemist as well, but not anywhere near as powerful as his brother. Al's personality often acts as a foil for Ed.
Winry Rockbell - Ed and Al's childhood friend. She's a self-professed "gearhead" who helped her grandmother build Ed's "auto-mail", his artificial right arm and left leg. She occasionally travels with the Elric Brothers to maintain Ed's artifical limbs. Her parents were doctors who were killed during the Ishbal War.
Colonel Roy Mustang - The Flame Alchemist. Ed's superior officer in the military, and an acquaintance of his father. Often playfully mysterious, Mustang seems to have his own goals and intentions in mind as a member of the military. A powerful alchemist in his own right, Mustang wears gloves that contain elements that spark when he snaps his fingers, allowing him to create fire at will. The transmutation circles on the gloves then allow him to manipulate the flames as he desires.
Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes - Member of the Investigations division who is good friends with Colonel Mustang and the Elric brothers. He is a doting father and husband, much to the annoyance of his fellow soldiers, but is extremely good at his job.
Shou Tucker - The Life Binding Alchemist. A man made famous two years ago by his experiment that produced a chimera that could speak just as a human could, though the creature starved itself to death after it was shown. He played host for the Elric brothers while they studied for the State Alchemist exams until Ed found out Shou used his wife to create that chimera. To keep his position as a State Alchemist, he transmuated his own daughter Nina with their dog Alexander to create a new talking chimera, at the cost of the man's sanity. When the Elric brothers arrived too late to stop him, Shou only explained to an enraged Ed that he would had lost Nina either way and have no one to comfort him. He was seemingly sentenced to death by Basque, to cover up the truth of Shou's talking chimeras and the general's involvement. But in reality, Shou was secretly revived by Basque but ironically as a human/beast chimera himself to bend the "Alchemist reviving dead humans" taboo and thus Tucker suffered the fate he gave his own wife & daughter. From that point, a more insane 'Tucker-Chimera' was bent on resurrecting his daughter, only to end up with a 'lifeless doll'. Shou is now also after the Philsopher's Stone he has been researching on before the series started to finish reviving "Nina" by giving her life and a soul.
Brigadier General Basque Gran - The Iron Blooded Alchemist, able to transmute with his right hand & his entire body becomes an assortment of guns & other weapons, firing at all angles. The leading proponent of using the Philosopher's Stone for military applications, he took over research into the Stone after Doctor Tim Marcoh disappeared & responible for the
creation of the flawed Philosophers Stone that was used in the Ishbal Resistance. He was also the man who forced Shou Tucker to use his daughter in his chimera project, intending to use Shou's experiment & findings on the real Philospher's Stone for his own ends. Basque was killed by Scar.
First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye - A hard-working member of the state military. She is excellent with guns, and usually carries two with her wherever she goes.
Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc - One of the lieutenants in the military. He likes to smoke, and often goes through several packs per day.
Doctor Tim Marco - The Crystal Alchemist. The leading researcher into the creation of the Philosopher's Stone. After his research was used in the Isbal War, he fled from his position as a State Alchemist and took his research with him to prevent it from being used for further destruction.
Major Alex Armstrong - The Strong Arm Alchemist. The major in the military who always takes the opportunity to show off his muscles. A very intimidating man who is jokingly known as "Colonel Clean" for obvious reasons-- the resemblance to the cleaning product mascot is uncanny, including the pink sparkles.
Barry the Chopper - A serial killer introduced near the beginning of the series. He earned the title, for killing his wife and chopping her into bits. Then, posing as a food-delivery lady, abducted various women, killed them, and ditched them in alleys. He is caught by Ed in the boy's first offical task as State Alchemist. But secertly, instead of receiving the death penalty, Barrey's soul was sealed into a suit of armor & he became one of the guardians of the 5th laboratory. He later causes an explosion which releases the Homunculus Greed from the seal which bound him.
Scar - One of the surviving Ishbalis, a people who reject alchemy as an offense to the natural gifts their god gave them. He was on a "crusade" to assassinate all of the State Alchemists and destroy all creations of alchemy. But the fact he killed Nina to end her 'pain' as a chimera made him Ed's mortal enemy (Though it would be a while before Ed finally learns this). His right arm is tatooed with a strange transmutation circle that allows him to destroy objects at will, by performing only the first two acts of a transmutation (Understanding and Disassembling). He received it from his older brother who tried to create the Philosopher's stone in order to resurrect his girlfriend. His arm is actually a proto-Philosopher's stone itself, and Scar later uses it in a transmutation in order to make a complete stone.
Zolf J. Kimbley - The Crimson Alchemist. He uses the chemicals in the human body to create explosives, turning living people into bombs. During the Ishbal War he killed numerous civilians, women, children, and even one of his superior officers in this way. Because of this, he was imprisoned and sentenced to death. He was one of the prisoners the Homunculus tried to trick Edward Elric into transmuting into the Philosopher's Stone, but he blew up another prisoner to escape. He joined Greed temporarily, only to betray him in order to be re-enlisted in the military.
Izumi Curtis - She is a powerful alchemist who took the Elric brothers on as students after their mother died. She, like Edward, is able to perform alchemy without a transmutation circle. She hates the idea of the State Alchemists however, so Edward has done his best to keep his status a secret from her. She was the one who created the Homunculus Wrath.
Dante - She is the one who originally instructed Izumi Curtis in the ways of alchemy. Dante in turn was a student of Hohenheim. She can perform alchemy without a transmutation circle and is the one who created the Homunculi Greed, Pride, and Gluttony. It is often commented that this character references to the real life Dante.
Hohenheim of Light - The father of Edward and Alphonse, also known as Hohenheim Elric. He can perform alchemy without a transmutation circle and is a legend of his time, though Ed has a grudge against him. He was named after Paracelsus, a famous historical Alchemist.
Homunculus
Homunuculi are humans which are created artificially by alchemy. They are much like natural humans with the exception of a soul. They are actually created as a by-product of failed attempts to use alchemy to resurrect the dead. Though not inherently immortal, by consuming proto-Philosopher's Stones they no longer age & can regenerate from any injury, or even death. They do however have one weakness: they become vulnerable if they get too close to any remaining body part of the person the alchemist tried to resurrect. They are also incapable of using alchemy, although each one of them has a supernatural ability to make up for it. Their goal is to see a true Philosopher's Stone created, as it will apparently give them souls so they can be fully human. They are each named after one of the seven deadly sins & an ouroboros tatooed somewhere on their bodies.
Lust - She is the first of the Homunculi that is encountered in the series. Her fingers are razor sharp and she can extend them to use like a spear or sword in combat. She was created by Scar's brother when he attempted to use alchemy to bring his lover back from the dead. It has been speculated that during the transmutation, Scar's brother lost part or all of his male reproductive organs as part of the equivalent trade. She is not the first Homunculus to bear the name of Lust, and is one of the younger Homunculi.
Gluttony - He is one of the older Homunculi, despite not being very bright. True to his name, he is always eager to eat anything, or anyone. His mouth is capable of eating anything, even dissolving the toughest metals to feed his ravanous appitite. He emotionally latches onto Lust like a young child to its mother. Little is known of his past expect he was created by Dante.
Envy - Envy has the power to assume the form of any person and copy their voice. He is the oldest of the Homunculi, and is so old in that he usually takes on the form of a young boy because he forgot what his original form looked like. He was the one who imprisoned Greed in the 5th Laboratory. He was originally created by Hohenheim, and holds a great hatred for the man for abandoning him, taking it out on Ed and Al.
Sloth - The second youngest of the Homunculi, Sloth has become somewhat a leader of the group. She has assumed the identity of Captain Juliet Douglas, a soldier who sparked the Ishbal War, and who currently is the secretary to the Fuhrer. Her power is that her body is entirely water. She was created by the Elric brothers when they tried to resurrect their mother, and for this reason she looks exactly like her.
Greed - He is the Homunculus known as the Ultimate Shield, as he is able to make himself impervious to harm by rearranging the bonds between the carbon atoms in his body. He spent the last century imprisoned within the 5th Laboratory after disobeying the Alchemist who led the Homunculi. The seal that imprisoned him was broken by an explosion triggered by Barry the Chopper. Greed took the opportunity to liberate a number of chimera who had been imprisoned in the lab by the military. Greed was another of the three Homunculi created by Dante.
Wrath - The most recent Homunculus created, he is unique in that he possesses the ability to perform alchemy. He can do this because he has a human arm and a human leg, Edward Elric's arm and leg to be precise. He was created when Izumi Curtis attempted to bring her baby son back to life with alchemy. Unlike the other Homunculi, Wrath was transmutated with the original body of the baby, so there are no remains that can be used against him. He was the only surviving Homoculus at the end of the series, though his wherabouts are unknown.
Pride - To the public, he is King Bradley, the Fuhrer, the acting leader of the military and de facto leader of the country of Amestris (where the story primarily takes place). He has the "ultimate eye" ability, which allows him to dodge any attack. He is also the only Homunculus who can age like a normal human.
Openings and Endings
Openings:
- "Melissa" by Porno Graffiti (Episodes 2-13, also used as ending for episode 1)
- "READY STEADY GO" by L'Arc~en~Ciel (Episodes 14-25)
- "UNDO" by Cool Joke (Episodes 26-41)
- 「リライト」/"Rewrite" by Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Episodes 42-51)
Endings:
- 「消せない罪」/"Kesenai Tsumi" ("The Unerasable Sin") by Nana Kitade (Episodes 2-13)
- 「扉の向こうへ」/"Tobira no Mukou e" ("To the Other Side of the Door") by Yellow Generation (Episodes 14-24)
- "Motherland" by Crystal Kay (Episodes 26-41)
- "I Will" by Sowelu (Episodes 42-50)
External links
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