This is really starting to bother me alot...It seems like alot F.M.A. fans(especially girls) cares only about the romance. When I go on forums for Fullmetal Alchemist the first thing I see is "Who's the best couple!!!" or "Royai fans welcome!"(i have nothing against that couple btw) it seems like people don't see it as an action anime anymore! It's like a soap opera to them. Arakawa puts a little romance in it and now girls obsess over the couples more than the show itself. I hardly ever see anything like "the best battle in FMA"

But that's not the main thing that annoys me. What annoys me is that people fight over whos the best couple or whos most likely to start a relationship. Arakawa is a genius who was able to beautifully mix romance in this show and still let it be action-filled. Who should care if anyone hooks up at all?It's still shounen. I must admit I am a girl and I do it sometimes too(I do squee when I see an EdxWinry moment and I do obsess over RoyxEd a little...) but that's not all I talk about. I just get tired of girls always talking about the romance and not much else. (Im not trying to offend anyone just ranting)

So do you guys agree? Disagree? What's your opinion?

But see, that's the beauty of FMA - there's something in it for everyone to appreciate. There's action, adventure, comedy, thrill, suspense, drama, romance, morals, deep messages...honestly, who cares about the "shonen" label? To me, FMA is too epic and too amazing to stay inside that category. It's a story that has touched countless lives and inspired people across the world, and in the end, that's what makes it great. Not the action, not the romance...but the heart.

Having said all that, I know all too well the frustration you're feeling. I've definitely been there.



Yeah, well...welcome to the fandom. xD This is an issue that every fandom has, I think. There will always be teeny-boppers and fangirls who will squeal over a "moment" of their favorite pairing, and then go "oh, such-and-such a character's been mortally wounded? That's nice..." (Unless the character who happened to be mortally wounded is in their OTP, of course.) That's just something you'll have to accept. I'm not thrilled about it either, and I feel somewhat sorry for the people who are like that because they're missing out on so much...but if that's how they want to be, that's how they're gonna be.



Yeah, but it's not Bleach. There's shonen and then there's shonen. I've already said my two cents about it though, so I won't repeat myself.

I agree; Arakawa is a masterful storyteller and I deeply admire her for putting the best of both worlds in FMA, and for how well she's developed her characters and the relationships they have. It saddens me when people obsess over match-making and ignore everything else. Seriously, there's more to life than shipping wars and "who's the cutest couple". It's so shallow and stupid.

However...I've said this before, and I'll say it again: I think one of the reasons why so many people obsess over the romance and pairings in FMA is because they're so...un-typical. They're "unromantic romances", you might say. They don't consist of mere crushes or cute little blushes or starry gazes; they're about commitment, trust and selflessness and going through the same pain together. At the core of every lasting love is a solid, close friendship, and Arakawa shines the spotlight on that. That's what makes these pairings so beautiful and refreshing and, well...worthy of obsessing over. xD

As for me, I don't really think of myself as a fangirl (okay, I might be an EdWin fangirl, but I'm NOT a ditzy one )...but I do care a lot about who will end up together. And it's not because of "chemistry" or who looks cuter with who. The simple fact is, I care very deeply about these characters. I've connected with them, I've laughed and cried with them...they've become real to me. In a way, they're my friends. And because of that, I want what's best for them.

I want Ed and Al to get their bodies back because I want them to find redemption; to get free of their burdens while holding on to what they've learned, and be happy again. And in the same way, I want Ed and Winry to be together because I think they'd do a world of good for each other. Ed cares deeply for Winry; he wants to protect her, make her happy, make her proud of him. And I want him to learn to forgive himself, to be healed, to have someone help chase his inner demons away. So I think what he needs most is Winry. Likewise, Winry loves Ed. She's been there for him since the very beginning and she cares so much for him. She wants to be with him and support him in any way she can...and I want her to have that. I want them to uplift each other for always. Same goes for Roy and Riza.

So that's why I personally care so much about the "pairings". No, romance isn't the only thing I adore about FMA, but it's still a big part of it. I don't know about all the other shippers, but this is my stance on it all.

Wow...beautifully written. I guess I was angry because I've had alot of bad experience with couple battles plus I could hardly find any other threads besides romance threads. Your point is very good. I guess that really answered my question I really need to avoid those fangirls though...

I dare you to find a fandom that doesn't have fangirls squealing over pairings. xD Like Dearheart has stated, one of the things that makes FMA so great is that it has a little bit of everything.

And if you can't find any non-romance threads that are to your satisfaction, then by all means make one!

Of course it's not all about romance, and personally I'm very thankful for it. I've never been a fan of fluffy, in-your-face romances which is why I avoid shojos. Dearheart put it better than I could, but you can't really say "OMG it's a shonen so of course there's going to be no romance!". One of the things that makes FMA so awesome is that it has a bit of everything, yes even romance

It's the subtle, natural feeling relationships (not just the romantic ones) between all the various characters that I love so much. Besides, there's so little romantic stuff in FMA anyway, that if that was the only reason I was reading it, I would have given up on it long ago.

Hate to say it, but you're just going to have to accept pairing discussions dominating forums. It happens in every fandom, I'm afraid. Just be thankful that FMA hasn't been hijacked by vicious ship-wars like many other fandoms have.

FMA is shounen, right ??
so it's clearly not about pairing and romance ...
it's about action ...
It's just that 'no man is an island' ...

FMA is shounen, right ??
so it's clearly not about pairing and romance ...
it's about action ...
It's just that 'no man is an island' ...

FMA is shounen, right ??
so it's clearly not about pairing and romance ...
it's about action ...
It's just that 'no man is an island' ...

Is Fma All About "romance" & "pairing Of Characters"?

Definitely no.
Don't worry about the fangirls: they'll be everywhere. And believe me: in FMA, is not even THAT strong. There're animes where it's a LOT worse. XD

In my opinion one of the main themes in FMA is humanity. Ed and Al have questioned their humanity, and the homunculi look down at humans as insects scurrying beneath them. It is about humans experiencing tragedy and having to find the means to rise above it.

But since FMA deals with what makes the character so real, then romance will be an aspect of it. In real life people fall in love all the time. If we didn't, then humanity wouldn't have existed for so long. But Arakawa writes romance in a real way. She has let the reader know that these characters just didn't look at each other have sparkles appear in their eyes, and a chorus start singing love songs. Roy and Riza and Edward and Winry's relationships grew and matured with time. Just like actual relationships do.

Since FMA deals with humanity, then it is to be expected that it will have romance in it. But FMA also has a little bit of everything too. It is like a good stew with all the ingredients combined to make something delicious

I think you're right that FMA deals with humanity. It deals with the characters first and foremost, and everything comes out as a result of that. Even the fight scenes all come from this, because it's all about what motivates the character to fight. Mustang's fight with Envy, for instance, would be meaningless without his friendship with Hughes to fuel his rage. And again, it's everyone else's appeal to Mustang's humanity that stops him from crossing the line and giving in to his rage completely.

The romance in FMA stems from how well written and developed the characters are. They're all about trust, having faith in others, and the myriad of other ways that people connect with each other. These things come about through time and shared experience, not "love sparkles".

I wouldn't say it's about romance or pairing characters, it's more about character relationships in general. Romantic relationships are part of that certainly, but they're not the only relationships. If the series was all about romance, you would see plot development stem only/primarily from romance instead of the current situation where a few plot points are potentially romance related (cutting hawkeyes neck to try and get Roy to perform human transmutation for example) but for the most part it's other character relationships which lead to development (Alex refusing to run from Sloth for example).

haha maybe I'm missing something, but while I was watching the first remake of FMA, I was like there's not enough romance here. Even in Brotherhood, the romances are kept limited. I think the main reason why there are more threads about the pairings is because of fans' tugging hearts. How can we let Royai and Edwin pass by without putting in our own speculations/predictions of them?

I like how the relationships are developing so far, reserved and implied, instead of hearts in the eyes and blushes on the cheeks kinda thing.

And I can definitely say that romance isn't the only factor that viewers are paying attention to. It's the awesome storyline and characters that keep me intrigued every week.