ughhh..another cuddly picture >< so, I decided to finally read Fullmetal alchemist (because I only watched the anime long time ago but never read the manga) and it was totally amazing D: and the end was so nice..I had to draw this :3
In a world where everything is subjective and polarizing opinions are the norm, where anti-fans and trolls take ‘love to hate’ a little too far, and where any story popular enough to become a pop-culture phenomenon is almost guaranteed to have a small-but-vocal minority that can’t see what all the fuss is about, I have never once seen, read, or heard of anyone say that Fullmetal Alchemist is a bad story.
None.
I’m sure they exist, but during the course of its run Fullmetal Alchemist reached the rarefied air of being almost universally beloved within the manga/anime community and being critically acclaimed as a damn good story. This success is wholly deserved. Arakawa was able to do something that a lot of shonen mangaka can’t, and as a result Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the best plotted, tightly written manga I have ever read.
Others have and will write about the philosophy Arakawa presents, point out the incredible amount of research she was able to cram into her series, extrapolate on the world building better than I could, but today I want to talk about something I’ve not seen anyone else touch on, and that’s how she integrates her themes into her characterization in order to really drive the point she’s trying to make home.
So what’s the main theme of Fullmetal Alchemist? Luckily Arakawa tells us directly on the next to last page of the series.
Roy Mustang snaps his fingers accidentally (while wearing his gloves)
What people think will happen: fire, death, destruction
What will actually happen: a small spark
Why people are wrong: they think Roy’s Flame Alchemy actually creates flame, whereas what he’s alchemizing is the oxygen concentration of the air. Alchemy takes concentration and intelligence so he can’t accidentally move air particles around to make the air so oxygenated as to be flammable. The finger-snap just ignites the oxygen. If the air is normal, it’s not going to ignite.
Extra fun fact: you can probably tell if Roy Mustang is about to set you on fire. The air will feel intoxicatingly easy to breathe because it’s pure oxygen. During the war, Ishvalans probably learned to GTFO if they felt heady and energized.
Extra extra fun fact: Roy Mustang doesn’t need to set you on fire to kill you. He can probably just remove all the oxygen from the air around you, and you’ll suffocate.
The point of this post: flame alchemy is both really cool and really simple.
The kicker: to use flame alchemy effectively, you probably have to visualize the shape of the oxygen cloud that’s going to form. This probably requires a lot of focus.
[2] The blood is pretty deluded now, because Father was doing something to keep them out. But now he is gone, and the courts are very interested in what happened in their absence. And maybe part of the reason the boys were so strong is because their blood was fresher? I don’t know. But an idea still
You understand me on a fundamental level.
Every part of the world has its mythologies. Dragons, gods…Amestris, or what would be Amestris one day, has the Fey. What is known of the Fey? Very little. Some say that they were the first in this land, and they will be hte last. Others that they are more likely completely Other, from another realm of existence entirely. Natural, though, or at least acclimated to it: every story agrees that they can divert a river, sent fire and lightning crackling through the air, hollow out hills with a wave of their hands to make grand halls for dancing. They do not play by human rules, for certain, though they may take human form, and leave behind human(ish) children.
If you are clever, if you know the right words and rites and and above all a Name, you may summon a fey. You may trick them, trap them, before they can take a form so charming that the thought of doing any such thing completely flies your mind. Many things have been used as a holding container for a Fey spirit – a ring, a ruby, a mighty staff of power. A simple flask.
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