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Fullmetal AlchemistFullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi in the original Japanese) is a manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa in 2001 and currently serialized by Square Enix in the magazine Shonen Gangan. The animation studio BONES adapted the manga into a 51-episode anime television series which ran in Japan from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004. A movie, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala 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 an May 2005 release. Odex released the anime in Singapore. The anime series began broadcasting on February 26, 2005, on TVB in Hong Kong. The story (called "Hagaren" or "FMA" for short by fans) concerns two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who have a talent for alchemy. Story Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only, truth.
- Alphonse Elric, Fullmetal Alchemist intro. While still young boys, Alphonse and Edward Elric found themselves suddenly alone when their mother died of an illness. As the two brothers stood at their mother's grave, Ed resolved to use their talent for alchemy to revive her. However, the use of alchemy for human transmutation is forbidden, and the brothers paid a heavy price when they tried and failed to resurrect their mother: Ed lost his left leg in the process, while Al's entire body was consumed. Only by giving up his right arm was Ed able to save Al's soul, binding it to a nearby suit of armor. Now determined to find the secrets of human transmutation to restore himself and his brother, Ed becomes a State Alchemist in service to the military, in order to gain access to the military's many resources. With Al by his side, they travel across Amestris to find clues that will lead them to the fabled Philosopher's Stone, a mysterious gem that is said to be able to circumvent the standard rules of alchemy and its principle of equivalent exchange. They soon learn, however, that there are many others who seek the Philosopher's Stone for sinister reasons, and the brothers quickly find themselves caught up in many horrible events that are linked to a dark and disturbing conspiracy. - Note: All characters are mostly listed by their debut in the storyline (Anime, manga, video games).
- This guide covers basic information for the Main Characters, State Military, and Homunculus. The Character Guide Link as seen above links directly to a more in-depth character guide (that has more spoilers) and information on other characters as well.
Main Edward Elric - The Fullmetal Alchemist. A name due to his "automail", 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 it, as he is often made fun of for it. He is a very powerful alchemist, even more so than he understands. He can use alchemy without the use of a transmutation circle, unlike most alchemists, by clapping his hands together. Alphonse Elric - Al is the younger brother, but is often confused to be older than Ed because he is trapped in a suit of armor twice as large as he is. When Ed and Al 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 and binding his soul to a nearby suit of armor. Because of this, Al is unable to feel, smell, or taste anything anymore (he actually doesn't even eat), but he can apparently see and hear. He's an alchemist as well, but not nearly as powerful as his brother is. Al's personality 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 "automail". She occasionally travels with the Elric Brothers to maintain Ed's artificial limbs. Also sometimes translated as "Winly". Rose Thomas - Rose is from the city of Lior in a remote region of the East. She was one of devout followers of Cornello's teachings because she felt that he would use his powers to bring her boyfriend, Kain, back to life. However, she was forced to start over and persevere through hard times when the military invaded Lior. Scar - One of the surviving Ishbalites, a people who reject alchemy as an offense to the natural gifts their god gave them. His real name is unknown, so he's called Scar due to the X-Shaped scar on his forehead. He is on a crusade to assassinate all of the State Alchemists for the cruelty against his people. Hohenheim of Light - The father of Edward and Alphonse. He can perform alchemy without a transmutation circle and was a legend of his time, but Ed has a grudge against him for leaving his mother. He was named after Paracelsus, a famous historical alchemist. The State Military In the country of Amestris, the Fuhrer (governing leader--sometimes translated as President) has command of the military. All alchemists that work in the military are referred to as "State Alchemists", obtaining titles based on their alchemic talents and abilities. Like any army, there are rankings. From lowest to highest: Security Personnel, Private, Sergeant, Sergeant Major, Warrant Officer, Second Lieutenant, First Lieutenant, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier General, Lieutenant General, Major General, and General. (All State Alchemists are given the ranking of Major upon their entrance into the military, and have the potential to be promoted from there.) Fuhrer King Bradley - The aloof leader of the entire Amestris military. Captain Juliet Douglas - The secretary of the Fuhrer, who bares a resemblace to Trisha' Elric, the late mother of the Elric Brothers. Colonel Roy Mustang - The Flame Alchemist. Ed's superior officer in the military, and an acquaintance of Hohenheim. He was involved in the Ishbal War, though he could never forget the horror and the lives he took. Often playfully mysterious, Mustang sometimes annoys Edward to no end. In truth, he has his own goals and intentions in mind as a member of the military. He wishes to become Fuhrer to try to make the world a better place, with one of his policies to be that all female members must wear miniskirts. A powerful alchemist in his own right, Mustang wears gloves with transmutation circles on them that are made of a material that sparks when he snaps his fingers, allowing him to create flames anywhere in the surrounding area at will and manipulate them as he desires. Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes - Member of the Investigations division who is good friends with Colonel Mustang and the Elric brothers. Hughes loves his wife, Gracia, and is absolutely obsessed with his little daughter Elicia and will commonly shove pictures of her into other peoples' faces to cheer them up, but the fervor of his obsession simply freaks out or annoys most members of the military. He is also very supportive of Mustang's plan to become Fuhrer, doing whatever he can to, as he puts it, "help him from the bottom to the top." First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye - A hard-working member of the state military and most trusted in Mustang's circle of friends. She is excellent with guns, and usually carries two with her wherever she goes. She has feelings for Mustang, though she draws the line with his 'miniskirt' policy. She also has a soft spot for the Elrics. In some translations and the English dub, Riza's name is translated as Liza. Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc - One of the lieutenants in the military. He likes to smoke, and often goes through several packs per day. He's one of Roy Mustang's most loyal followers, partly due to the man's 'miniskirt' policy. Havoc's also always searching for a girlfriend and, tragically, never gets one; it seems Mustang is constantly stealing any potential dates away from him. Lieutenant Heymans Breda - He is good at chess and is one of Mustang's subordinates. He occasionally plays pranks on the other members of Mustang's group. He also has a talent for strategy games, including chess, go, and shogi. Sergeant Major Kain Fuery - A kind man who cares for animals and everyone else. He was the one who brought Black Hayate into the eastern headquarters, though he freaked out about Riza's methods of training. He is part of Roy Mustang's group and is the youngest member. A common unofficial translation has his name as Caine Fury. Major Alex Louis Armstrong - The Strong Arm Alchemist. He was born into a family of alchemists and has mastered his family's skill of using his arm strength in his alchemy. He often takes off his uniform to show off his muscles for no other reason than showing off his 'beautiful body'. A very intimidating man at first sight, but is actually more of a softie, as sentimentalism prevents him from being promoted. Armstrong was part of the Ishbal War and has a sense of loyalty towards Roy Mustang. He was jokingly known as "Colonel Clean" for obvious reasons-- the resemblance to the cleaning product mascot is uncanny, including the pink sparkles. General Haruko - He is one of the top-ranking officers in the military. Near the beginning of the series, he is held hostage on a train by Bald when he is returning home from vacation. He also proctored Edward's first Alchemist Exam, as his way of repaying the boy. He was later seen leading the military at Lior. Warrant Officer Vato Falman - He escorted General Haruko back from his vacation and he works in the investigation department under Lieutenant Hughes. Brigadier General Basque Grand - The Iron Blooded Alchemist. He is able to transmute the iron in his blood to an assortment of guns and other weapons. A common unofficial translation has his family name as Gran. Lieutenant Yoki - He is in charge of the mines at Youswell and was a very corrupt man who only rose to the position he has through massive bribes. He was eventually exposed as a con artist by Edward in his first mission as State Alchemist. Lust - She is the first of the Homunculi encountered in the series, sultry and cool-headed. Her fingers are razor sharp and she can extend them to stab people. She tends to be more involved with the intrigue side of various conspiracies. Gluttony - Having the mentality of a child and lacking a will of his own, he is always eager to eat anything, or anyone, living or dead. Most of his muscles are in his jaws and his saliva is acidic, even dissolving the toughest metals to feed his ravenous appetite. He emotionally latches onto Lust like a young child to its mother. Envy- A effeminate figure with dry wit, he has the ability to change his shape to look like other people. Little is known about him, as he is usually out doing something or other for Lust in another shape. Also, he seems to no longer remember his original form, so he takes on a rebellious teenager-like appearance. He's the only one of his group who wants to see Edward dead, though why is unknown. Terms Equivalent Exchange - The rule that is the foundation of Alchemy law: To discard something to gain something of equal value. It could be interpreted as Conservation of mass in modern day chemistry, of more precisely, by special relativity by Albert Einstein, conservation of mass-energy (E=mc). (As it is, "Equivalent Exchange" is sometimes directly translated as as "Conservation of Mass".) Gate of Alchemy - The source for all alchemic power. All people have the gate inside of them, though only their souls can reach it. When someone performs a human transmutation, they reach the Gate of Alchemy and gain the ability to perform alchemy without a Transmutation Circle. It has many other names, like "Gate of Truth" and "Hell's Gate", but it forms a link between the world the series takes place in and the Other World (our world, in 1921 at the series finale). When Ed sees the Gate after performing human transmutation, he sees "all that is alchemy" and for a brief moment gains knowledge of perfect human transmutation. For Izumi, she saw "hell" when she looked through it. Philosopher's Stone - The item hunted down by every Alchemist, as it amplifies its wielder's alchemic power infinitely. It also can bypass the laws of equivalent trade. When the Elric Brothers were at the 5th Laboratory, they learn that the Philosopher's Stone is a byproduct of transmuting a certain number of human souls into a single stone. The legend of it bypassing equivalent trade was false as each time a human transmutation is done with it, a certain number of souls are taken away, eroding the stone. It also can transfer souls between bodies, though the soul also erodes. Hohenheim of Light created Philosopher's Stone when his body began to degenerate and he used it to transfer his soul to another person. He gave a piece to Dante who used it for the next 400 years until she ran out and had to set up the event that would create a new Philosopher's Stone. Red Water - A liquid with the potential for alchemical amplification. It can be refined into an incomplete Philosopher's Stone either by a long and labor-intensive process, or by using the body of a pregnant woman as a living refinery. This substance is toxic to humans, but can be absorbed by plants. The question of whether the Red Water is composed of human souls like the complete Philosopher's Stone is not answered in the series. Incomplete Philosopher's Stone - It is incomplete and not as powerful as the real Philosopher's Stone, sometimes refered as the Blood Stone. However, it is still quite powerful, as many characters who possess this stone demonstrate, even though it sometimes has undesirable side effects. The Military first learn of its existence when such a stone was created and engineered by Tim Marcoh, though he regreted this achievement when his project was used in the Ishbal War. Philosopher's Catalyst- A material with powers much like the Philosopher's Stone. It was a project by Wilhelm Eiselstein, but was taken advantage by Camilla for reasons unknown. The Philosopher's Catalyst later turned out to be Armony's wings. Automail - A kind of prosthetics, made from metal and linked directly to the nerves of the body. Well-made automail allows a range of movement and strength as good as the original limb it replaces; in Edward's case, it functions well enough to allow him to engage in martial arts practice, acrobatics, and fighting. In extreme cases, automail can be built to replace large sections of the body lost to injury. It is not known how automail is powered. 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)
- "READY STEADY GO" will be the only opening theme aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. The DVD release from FUNimation will include all openings in their original places.
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)
Related topics External links
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