heh, first question didn't matter

another one is

[spoiler]is envy another child of ed's dad? How so (if yes)?[/spoiler]

Yeah, [spoiler]son of Hoho. He's said to have died of mercury poisoning.[/spoiler]

I have a question [S]that probably makes no sence[/S].
I have been wondering this for quite a while.
Since most Anime take place in a Japanese (or at least eastern) environment and FMA doesn't, could it be that FMA is based on something?
Or did they just choose a more "European" environment, because Alchemy was more "common" there?

I'm just wondering that...
And I had another question, but I seem to have forgotten it.

If you are thinking that FMA might be based on some existing story, the answer is no.
FMA was created by Arakawa-sensei, and the story is her original, and she wanted to set up the location as some European type place, and that's why FMA has that European look.
..because Alchemy was more "common" there? Maybe.. we need to ask Arakawa-sensei to find out about that, I guess.

And, if you remember the other question, post it, and hope some of us can answer that question.

Huh, Arsid? Ya know, there are tons of FMA sites with tons of spoilers and summary of all the episodes...It's certainly better for you to go to one of them, or, ya know, actually watch the series until the end or, if you already did, by paying attention to it next time you watch it. And at least you won't have to say 'thanks' when your questions will be answered.


Huuum...the FMA world is indeed based on ours but isn't totally ours; Amestris is based on an European environment (people here speaks english, not japanese), while some other parts are based on other parts of our world, like Ishbal, Drachma, Xing (for the manga - inspired by China, Japan, etc...I think).

I'm on episode 50, its just I don't understand some of the stuff. Like

[spoiler]I thought you could only make stuff with alchemy with equivelant trade. Dante pushed Ed's spear back when he through it at her with alchemy. Whats with that?[/spoiler]

[spoiler] She just stopped at the second step: deconstruction, like Scar.[/spoiler]

(im on ep 51, YAY!!!)

[spoiler]whats with Rose's baby. How did it seal Wrath in the gate temporarily?[/spoiler]

Good for you!

[spoiler]Dante said that the younger you are, the more easier to open the Gate that is in you. So when she opened the Gate in Rose's baby, she managed to seal Wrath in it.[/spoiler]

It's incomplete, though.

i think this is the last question for the episodes.

[spoiler]How did Al get alive and is now 10 years old in a body? Where did Ed go?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]When Ed was resurrected he performed human transmutation again and he was sent to the other side of the Gate, which is our world. And Al was given life and the body he had before they transmuted their mother.[/spoiler]

Nice ending of the series. Althoug when I ended the series, I still had an incomplete feeling.

But anyways Thanks for the answer, and I remembered my question.
[Spoiler]What does Dante say after she says to Ed: "That is wat Hoenhiem said." or something like that? I kinda lost it in that part. The baby suddenly lights up. What happened there?[/Spoiler]

[spoiler]The baby lit up, because she used him too open the gate. [/spoiler]
Ed said "Don't use a child too fuel your agenda." and Leera told him his dad said that too. Is that what you were talking about?

Kinda.
But how could Dante do that with the baby?

She says the younger someone is, the easier it is too open the gate inside the person.
[spoiler]She opened the gate by using the baby, and the transmutation circle drawn.[/spoiler]

That'll do thanks ^^

i have a question about the movie

[spoiler]how the heck is al in the same world as Ed? And are they in earth?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]It's not "our" Al, it's his Earthling alter ego. Ed gets sent there when he uses himself to bring back Al.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I see there's also a Glacier alter-ego too. Who is Noa? They keep talking about him[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Noa is a Romani girl/woman who meets Ed.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]who was going to be fighting in germany? (ya know, that one lady said she was just going to shambala to get people to help fight. Who was she fighting against and what team was she on?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]What is the Thule organization and the National Socialist party? Why is the National Socialist Party against Ed?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]how did the gate open when dad died?[/spoiler]

Ok, Eckart (sp?) plans on using fighters from Shambala to aid the would-be-leader Hitler in his fight for Germany (who was gipped following the WWI peace treaties) - basically against the world. As far as this and your second question, seriously, just google it - they're all actual historical facts. Hitler really did try and make a stand in a beer hall before having his butt hauled off to jail (where he wrote "Mein Kompf" (sp?), which basically resulted in a huge upsurgence in his popularity, ultimately ending in his dictatorship of Germany. It's all out there, and it's much more interesting to read on your own than for me to try and relate it all to you - it would take forever! Try wikipedia. Start off by typing in (on wikipedia or google): beer hall putsch - and go from there! You can also find the Thule Society, too - they existed as well.



B/c in the transmutation they used sacrifices that included [spoiler] a homunculus, Envy... On the other side, Al used Gluttony and Wrath. We're led to believe that, based on Wrath's comments, that only one homunculus was necessary - since when they were born they were "made" from the gate, since the gate opened for them to release them, it would theoretically have to open again to let them back in - which proved true[/spoiler]

Hope that helped! If not, let me know...

IM FINALLY DONE

I thought the ending was sad. I hoped Ed would hook up with Winry....

Well, there's always the manga! Have any questions, then, now that you've finally reached the end? (the movie, too?)

Hello, all.

I had casually been watching FMA over the past year or so never getting much into it until very recently. I think this may currently be the second or third time they've run through the series, and I've recently became obsessed with it. Unforunately, I kind of caught the end of the series it seems (Episode 46). I've tried to remember the older ones I watched, and read up through most of the episodes up until 48, and dabbled in a few spoilers, but not enough to yet ruin all of 51 or the movie. Anyway, I have a few questions, some that can instantly be answered, some that may not be able to be answered at all, and some that are up for your own interpretation. Anyway, here goes:

1. Concerning The Gate, I just saw episode 49 (and read a little ahead) and found out that the Gate opens up to Earth, and that the energy for the Gate comes from those that die on Earth. Does this means that Earth souls are the creatures we see in the Gate, or are the Gate creatures more like angel/demons (which one)? Are the creatures inherently good or evil or neautral? What happens to those that die in Ed and Al's realm? Do they go straight into the Gate to live forever?

2. I'm confused on exactly how the Homunculi are creater/animated? I know when a failed human transmutation happens that they are created, and that only a very few (maybe only Dante and Hohenheim) have successfuly done human transmutations. But, are the Homunculi creatures that escape through the Gate when humans open it and become Homunculi when they access the remains on a transmutation circle? I guess I'm unsure exactly how a human transmutation works, because Shou Tucker performed one and did create a Homunculi, and it should have shouldn't it?

3. Dante constantly refers to herself as something other than human. Is this just to make her feel self important, or has she gone through enough transformation that something happened and she really isn't any longer human? It's kind of confusing, but I think she's just incredibly self-centered beyond belief and has totally rejected her human nature which is why she doesn't want to acknowledge she's really a human.

4. It seems that upon Ed's birth her motivation seems to have become hooking up with him like she did Hohenheim to manipulate him in carrying on her need for everlasting life (i.e. manipulating him into making him create a philospher's stone). Unfortunately for her, Ed makes it clear in Episode 49 that he isn't going to take the bait like his father did. Is this a fair characteristization of her plan?

5. Why does Rose seems so easily controlled by Dante in Episode 49? Catching the series late, I'm not really familiar with Rose, but I understand that when she comes back later in the series her spirit seems to be broken after what she went through in Lior. Is she just this easily manipulated or is Dante using magic/alchemy to make her totally hollow?

Thanks in advance, and I must say that I'd LOVE to see FMA continue in prequels as there are a lot of characters with interesting histories that could be explored that are kind of left hanging in the series such as the histories of Hohenheim (who destroyed entire cities for Dante and himself), Dante, Izumi, and even some of the former incarnations of the Homunculi as I understand that at least Greed, Pride, Lust, and Envy may have been destroyed multiple times before the start of the FMA series.

What an awesome show asking some very deep philosphical life questions. It's one of the smartest and saddest shows I've ever encountered and it drew me right in.

*P.S. I'm at Episode 49, again, so if there is anything very spoiling, don't tell me.*

Well I have some questions. I just finished episode 22 and I've read the mangas up to book 10. And I was wondering...is the little kid homonculus in the manga? Because I only want to watch up to where I've read. And in the outline for all the episodes there some about a little kid homonculus and then after that it goes to the Greed episodes. Which I've read about in the manga. So where was the kid in the books?

Also if you've read up to book ten of the manga, do you know what episode in the anime that goes up to?
(so I can stop watching there)

@ Gatekeeper - if I had about an hour more than I do, I'd answer all of your questions. But, for now, I'm going to have to ask you to look back in the pages of this thread, b/c I know that I or someone else has answered similar ones in the past... Or, if you don't have the time, either, please sit tight until me or someone else can get back to you! But seriously, try and go back through the thread - you might be surprised!

@ Color - the manga is sporadic in how it follows the anime - I wouldn't dictate my anime-watching schedule in how the current manga plot is going - just savor and enjoy each genre, and look at them (if you can) with an open mind in each one. As far as the "kid" homunculs - wrath, in the anime... Um, I'll be honest, it's been a while since I've read back through, but I'm going to have to go with no, he's not in the manga. Did that answer your questions? If not, say so!

The New FullMetal, I will read back through this thread, BUT, I'll also be eagerly awaiting your reply.

I just got done with Episode 50. What a sad series this is. Hohenheim is trapped on earth.

Yeah, it is... But it's still good!

I still don't have enough time to type out stuff, I just wanted to "check in" on you and see how you're doing! Tell you what, after you've gone through the thread a bit, come back and either 1) revise your questions accordingly, if needed or 2) tell me that your questions are still the same!

Ok, I finished the series (hope to watch it from the beginning starting tomorrow), and some of my questions have been answered by reading through a few pages of this thread, but all weren't answer, and now I have more. The first one is pretty much the same, though, don't ruin too much if the movie after this series explains them as I haven't seen it yet:

1. Upon finished the series, I realize the Gate opens up to Earth, and that the energy for the alchemy in Al and Ed's world comes from those that die on Earth. Does this means that Earth souls are the creatures we see in the Gate, though, or are the Gate creatures more like angel/demons? Are the creatures inherently good or evil or neutral? What happens to those that die in Ed and Al's realm? Do they go straight into the Gate to live forever?

2. I'm still confused as to what animates the humunculi, and I've only seen Episode 3 when Ed and Al made one. I'm a bit confused. Does a piece of the human they are transmuted from have to be put into the circle? Was it because Ed and Al didn't have a piece of their mother that the event went so incredibly wrong?

3. I'm guessing this may be in the movie, but in Episode 50 and 51, I believe, we are informed that Equivalent Exchange may not be the law of the land like originally thought, or maybe it's meant to be something introduced as the primary conflict between science and faith. Izumi at the end of 51 says something to the extent that a soul is never enough, by itself, to exchange for another soul, I think. Is she simply meaning that the energy for the transmutation has to come from somewhere?

4. This is a follow-up to question 3, but in the last episode when Ed dies, Al gives up only his mind and soul to for Ed's mind, soul, AND body, right (since he was given his arm back)? Maybe I missed something, but that shouldn't have been enough should it? And, I know I'm missing something here, but how is it that Ed was able to live (if even in the other world), AND Al was able to live in the other world? Is this something explained in the movie? All of this jumps and switches confuse me especially since we never really get to see what happens inside the gate which would explain a lot.

Also, how many years does the anime take place from the death of Ed and Al's mother to the end? I think I remember saying Izumi said it had been a long four years, but how many years was it between their mother's death and then the first episode of the anime, and then the time frame of Episode 51 as quite a bit of time seems to pass?

Alright, thanks The New Fullmetal. Also in episode 24 scar tears Barry the Chopper in half and crushes his skull mask. Does he return later or is he dead?

@ Color - you're welcome! And... Nope, unfortunately he's gone - that blood seal is the only thing that keeps Barry "alive" - once that's destroyed, he is, too. Same with Al (about the blood seal, that is!)

@ GateKeeper - thanks for reading through first! Saves me some time with all these multi-part questions!
Your questions:


(BTW, try not to double post! If there's something you forgot that you wanted to add, go back to your post and click on "quick edit" - )

In order...
1) I actually kind of delved into the first part of this question in my response to you on the other question thread - try that out and then get back to me if you want to hear more! On to the second part of your question - I'm totally assuming here, but this is what I believe: the gate is a portal between worlds, yes? So, either there is "heaven" inside the gate, or you access it once inside the gate - like another door that you can only gain once you're truly ready to go there. That's the theory for if you believe in heaven and and after-life. If you believe that when you die, you die (and I've never been quite sure which one the series supports, if any), then the gate is a portal and nothing more - once you reach the gate, or go into it, that's it. You're done. Your soul may stay there, who knows. There's so many different theories that I have, it's crazy - if you want to discuss it more, we may either have to find a new thread/start a new one/discuss it via pms!

2) Yes, in the theory that Ed and Al (and pretty much everyone else) in the series works with it implies that you need the original body in order for it to regain its previous life. the reason their "experiment" (sorry, can't think of a better word) went wrong was b/c it was never supposed to go right. That's a point repeatedly hit home throughout the series - in order to bring someone back from the dead, and in order to get the stone you need to kill mass quantities of people - it's kind of a vicious circle - basically, it's designed that way b/c the lesson is that life is life, and it's always flowing - and so, the dead are dead, and you shouldn't try to bring them back - Ed and Al learned that the hard way, along with everyone else who ever made a homunculus.

3) Yes, which comes from the gate (which I think you already knew)... Hmm... your question ended up somewhere completely different of where you were heading... Would you mind re-phrasing? Perhaps you mean to ask about whether or not equivalant exchange is factual or not? If you'd rephrase it, I should be able to help out!

4) [spoiler]When Al gives up his mind, he's really only asking for Ed's life - in the gate, Ed's mind and soul are attached, and his body is still in the physical world. Al was using the philosopher's stone, which let him be able to trade for Ed's mind and sould in the first place, and then successfully bring him back to life - his own soul was kind of a "bonus" to add into the power and souls in the philosopher's stone in order to ensure that the transmutation would work. Ed also happened to get his limbs back, I think, b/c once he was in front of the gate like that (mind and soul, arguably body), he was "whole" again - he had died, and so was reverted to his original form - he was reunited with his lost limbs. Then, Al gave up not only his own soul but the philosopher's stone to bring Ed back successfully - alive and intact. And as for the whole "Al on the other side" thing, it'll make sense when you see the movie! And at the end of the series, Al is in the "hagaren" world rather than ours, b/c Ed sacrificed himself for Al[/spoiler]

5) Four years from the start of their journey (ie after training with Izumi) - it was probably only a few weeks from the end of episode 51 to the events prior... Also, there was a one year time period between their mom's death and their training with Izumi... So, from their mother's death to episode 51, about 5 years elapsed... That year with Izumi isn't in "actual time" - it was more of a flashback, so we technically only saw about 4 or so years actually played out in real time (the first 5 or so episodes were all "memories" - after that we get into "real time")

Hope that all helped! Let me know if there's something you're still not sure about!

More on my question four...

1. Didn't Al give up his mind AND soul (plus the thousands of lives in the philosopher's stone) for Ed to be returned? Just a technicality.

2. Also, is attempting a human transmutation the ONLY way to make a homunculus? How was Dante able to create the Homuncli she created without losing something? Was it because of a Philospher's Stone, I assume?

3. Also, when Ed sacrafices himself to the Gate to bring back Al, we are told, afterwards, by quite a few of the characters in a roundabout way that the Gate didn't take Ed, but took the experiences of both to get back Ed's body and soul. Can we safely assume that Al's mind, though, is still in the Gate, or is it just his memories/experiences that Ed's sacrifice couldn't bring back to Al, as Al doesn't remember anything just before the failed transmutation of his mother?

4. To follow-up on my last question, when Ed reaches the other side of the Gate for the second time, we discover he has prosthetic limbs. Why did the Gate take these? It was explained, again, that the experiences/memories of the two were probably enough. Is that just not the case? Did he have to trade all of those PLUS his arm to bring back Ed's body and soul?

BTW, I'm unsure of how to black-out spoliers, if anyone could help, that'd be great.

2. Yes [spoiler]and she didn't create them, merely gathered them.[/spoiler]



3. Maybe, [spoiler]because Hoenheim (sp?) explained that their experiences was the one used in Equivalent Trade, and either in the movie or last episode Winry said that no one knows why Al doesn't remember their journey or trying to transmute their mother.[/spoiler]



4.Maybe he broke it [spoiler]going through the Gate.[/spoiler]



Try here. Just scroll down.

To do spoiler thingy,
1). Just type out the Spoiler code like this:
(Don't forget the "/" for the second/closing code. Otherwise, it does not work. )
And when this gets posted, it looks like this:
[spoiler]content[/spoiler]

2). Or, while composing your post, click on Insert Special Item, then choose Insert: SPOILER, then type in the content, then click OK.

Either way will do the job.

@ GateKeeper
1. Didn't Al give up his mind AND soul (plus the thousands of lives in the philosopher's stone) for Ed to be returned? Just a technicality.

Yep, that's right! Any particular reason you're asking, or just wanted to make sure?

3. Can we safely assume that Al's mind, though, is still in the Gate, or is it just his memories/experiences that Ed's sacrifice couldn't bring back to Al, as Al doesn't remember anything just before the failed transmutation of his mother?

EP. 51 AND MOVIE SPOILERS!
The way I view this is the following: When Ed sacrificed himself for Al, he was able to bring back Al's body, mind, and soul - all of them together - right? Well, think of it this way (at least, this is how I think of it...) Ed's purpose was to bring Al's soul and mind back to his original body - emphasis on original. Since Al lost his body four years prior to when Ed was able to retrieve it, it makes sense that when Ed finally brought Al back, he was in the same body that he had lost - his 10 year-old body. (or something like that... maybe he was 11... too tired to check my facts). And, since Ed was wanting the original Al's body, Al's mind was reverted back to that same age - it's theoretical that the transmutation wouldn't have worked had Al's 14-year-old mind tried to have been attached to his 10-year-old body. Are you seeing where I'm getting with this? Ed wanted the old, un-armored-bodied Alphonse back, and that's just what he got. Those memories of the past were either supressed, or had been wiped - and he either "remembered"/regained them when he went back through the gate - like those memories of the past four years had been waiting for him, and when he passed through, the re-attached themselves to him. I'm trying to think of a way to put this in just a few sentences, but I'm failing miserably, aren't I? Do you get what I'm trying to say, though? Ed might not have had much of a choice as to Al keeping his memories of being in armor - so who knows whether those four years were offered as a sacrifice or not?

Let me know if you want me to try and tackle this one again! I'm afraid I didn't do a terribly good job...

BTW, Wikipedia is a great site, and it's no different with FMA! You may find some cool stuff here - go for it!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullmetal_Alchemist

I realise the manga and anime are two different things but why do you think in the book, Fuhrer Bradley reveals himself as Wrath and in the show he is Pride? (though I'm not at that part in the show but I assume he reveals himself as Pride)

As well his secretary is Sloth in the show. But in the book Sloth is shown as a giant man. Can Sloth transform or are these just two different characters altered from manga to anime?

@ Color - Bradley is essentially the same character, just w/ different "names" depending on the genre. "Wrath" is the manga, thus exactly how Arakawa wanted him to be. No idea yet whether or not this "name" will play any significant role as it did in the anime (Think about it - Pride - and he's the nation's leader... National pride... that whole thing... like how someone has pride in their country? He's more literal, though... make sense?)

In the anime, each homunculus and their "name" 'fit' in some way - be it how they acted, looked, etc. But in the manga, the homunculi are named just as Arakawa wanted them to be.

As far as Sloth, we haven't been introduced to his character enough to know anything about him... Although, more likely than not, he *isn't* Ed and Al's mom like Sloth is in the anime... But who knows, we may see their mom, yet!

Hope that helped! If not, let me know, ok?

Okay, so Bradley is the same just with a different name. And yes I definetly think he's better suited for pride because of his status. However in the manga he also fights with a hidden wrath whenever he used his swords (against greed) so it could have been suitable too.

Ok, about Sloth and such...do you remember in episode 31, "Sin." Where Envy and Sloth are on that cliff and Greed takes off in his boat? Well I recall Greed saying something about Sloth being different, and then Envy says, "there's a new Lust too." Could that mean that there were others that took on their trait? As in Sloth in the manga being a giant man thing and in the anime- the secretary?

And yeah, thanks alot for helping me out.

There have been preveous homunculi and remember that the anime and manga differs and if you seek enlightenment go to wikipedia.

@ Color - Crap it all! I know I've answered that one before, and I was going to copy and paste my response, but I'm having trouble finding it! Grrrr! Ok, just give me a little bit of time, and if I can't find it, I'll answer it again, ok?

For now, though: the manga and the anime are on the same time-line, different writers. So, technically, no, Sloth in the manga may not necessarily eventually become/change into a character like Sloth from the anime. However, it's entirely possible in either the anime or the manga that, before the current Sloth (let's say in the manga), Sloth used to be a beautiful woman. This'll make much more sense after I find that stupid post... Geez, where is it???

@ Mustang_93 - Take it easy. This thread was meant for enlightenment, right?

@Color - About "other" Lust in anime... It's implied that there were/was other or another Lust before current Lust, but that's all we know. They did not provide any further information in the anime.

I am ASHAMED to be asking this, but I can't hold it in much longer...

Pride has a 'son' in the anime. Did Pride murder the real Bradly and take on his apperance to fool his family, or did he actually have a son? Because I doubt he would trust his fake son with is life.

I could be getting mixed up on this, but I think in anime [spoiler] Pride's son was adopted..[/spoiler].

[spoiler]content[/spoiler]

Hey,

I want to delve deeper into the issue of where Homunculi come from, and I noticed a line in Episode 44 (the one where Hohenheim first appears in the anime, I think) that may be more important than some give it. Al asks him why they can't use alchemy and he says [spoiler]"Because they come from beyond the Gate."[/spoiler] Now, the word "beyond" really has me thinking about their origins. Do you think he simply meant "from within" or literally "beyond" as in the other world? I'm starting to think that the creator purposefully made the particulars about human transmutation confusing and mysterious.

Selim is adopted. Pride looks originally (can I use that word...? Nah, whatever) like that so he didn't take someone's appearance. (Envy is the one who could chance forms, not Pride )

The original Bradley was dead at the beginning and Dante resurrected (is that even a word...?) him and created Homunculus Pride.

I think I'm not making any sense here...

Wait. Was Bradley replaced as a kid, then, or at least a Young man? Because I remember talk of Pride being able to age like a human, implying he'd been King Bradley for quite some time, long enough for aging to show at least somewhat.

Yes it is and we shouldn't get mad at those who have not seen the truth. But you may have noticed the diffrence in the skin tone. (Im not racist, if i was 40 years older and buff-ish i would look like pride minus the funky eye)

Mustang, I have no idea what you mean. Can you clarify the post?