I have been watching this anime series from the past 4 months now ... and let me tell u its one of the best anime i have seen .... rit now i am at the 33rd episode and there are in all 52 episodes .... The storyline is absolutely brilliant .... its seems very complex but yet its very simple if u keep a track of whats happening ..... the animation is god awesome .... next to perfect (2-d animation) ... everything in the world seems normal unlike in other anime's where u get to see people having 4 fingers and stuff .... the characters that are developed as the story goes on are mindblowing ... though the episode i have reached rit now ,there are many of them yet each have their own characteristic and personality traits .... the story is actually about two brothers named Edward Elric and Alphonso Elric (yeah i know ... but not the mango)who commit a sin of performing Human Transmutation which is an act using alchemy where u can bring back a person from death .... but maintaing a law called the law of equivalence .... during the process Edward loses his brother's body to get back his mother's deformed body and then loses his limbs to get back his brother's soul ..... this soul he bounds it to a metal armour using alchemy again and tries to make his brother come alive again .... later both the brothers go in pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone (not Harry Potter's Sorcerer's stone) using which they can perform alchemy without binding the law of equivalent exchange in the process of which they get into all sorts of trouble and make all sorts of friends and foes who are also pursuing the stones for their own personal reasons .... i know everything might sound crazy rit now reading this ... but as u watch the anime ull know how exciting it gets .... last i heard it was being aired on Animax weekdays at 8:30pm ... i dunno about it now ... yet if u get a chance to see it ... dont miss and yeah ... their official website Full Metal Alchemist and yeah ... one of the characters named winry is very very cute .... i just love her.... here is a fan made video ..
and also a gif image (its 5mb in size so will take sometime to load)
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Plot
Fullmetal Alchemist is a fantasy manga set in the early 20th century in a country called Amestris in an alternate-historical Earth with technology dating from early 20th century Europe. In this alternate world, the exaggerated science of alchemy is heavily used in conjunction with acretian soul wanderers, but takes on a further fantastic element not seen in real-life alchemy. Real-world alchemists attempted to transmute gold and diamonds from lesser metals. In the fictional world of the series, alchemy becomes the science of transmuting matter into different matter (following the rule of equivalent exchange) through the use of transmutation circles—based on real-world science, yet also magical, with seemingly infinite uses. Talented alchemists may apply to take a State Alchemist test to join the Amestris military's State Alchemists.
Edward and Alphonse Elric were children living in the rural village of Resembool in the country of Amestris. Their father Hohenheim (Hohenheim of Light in the anime and Van Hohenheim in the manga), a talented alchemist, had left home when Edward was very young and Alphonse was still an infant. Years later, their mother, Trisha Elric, died of a terminal illness. After their mother's death, they lived with Winry and her grandmother until finding a teacher to teach them alchemy. After completing training, they came home with the intent of reviving their mother with the transmutation circle they found in their father's notes and made the attempt soon after acquiring the circle. However, this attempt failed, resulting in a twisted mass of flesh and bone at the cost of Edward's left leg and Alphonse's entire body. In a desperate effort to save his brother, Edward sacrificed his right arm to affix his brother's soul to a suit of armor. After that, Edward's left leg and right arm are fitted with two sets of Automail, a type of advanced prosthetic limb. In the original Japanese, the term "Fullmetal" is used to describe a person who is stubborn. In the series it is often attributed by minor characters to Ed's automail arm and leg, or Al's armor body. In the sixth manga volume, as well as episode 8 of the anime, it is revealed that when an alchemist becomes a State Alchemist, he or she is given a special title. Edward's title was Fullmetal, making him Fullmetal Alchemist.
A State Alchemist by the name of Roy Mustang arrives during the failed human transmutation. After seeing their skill at alchemy, Mustang suggested that the way for the two boys to achieve their goals would be to become State Alchemists and work for him. Spurred on by the man's proposal, Edward set out to become a State Alchemist, enabling him to use the resources available to State Alchemists to discover a way to restore what he and Alphonse had lost. The brothers eventually learn of the Philosopher's Stone and set off in search of it as a means to restore their bodies. Along the way they discover secrets about the Philosopher's Stone they never wanted to know, and find others who seek it as well, doing almost whatever they can to get their hands on it.
The brother's motivations, especially having to do with their use of alchemy, change throughout the anime. This indicates, among other things, the two brothers' maturing attitudes and outlooks on life. In the prologue scenes when Ed and Al's mother is alive, their primary goal for the use of alchemy is to make their mom and friends proud and happy. After their mom dies, they delve into more complicated alchemy to bring her back to life. After this fails horribly, they strive to regain their bodies by way of the alchemical Philosopher's Stone. Later in the series, their primary focus begins to shift subtly from regaining their normal bodies to remaining together as brothers. The latter reason is particularly prominent in the movie adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist, The Conqueror of Shamballa.
One unique characteristic of Fullmetal Alchemist is that the stories of the manga and anime separate soon after the encounter with Greed, and weave vastly different tales. The most prominent of the differences is the primary antagonist. In the anime, this is a woman known as Dante. A previous lover of Hohenheim, Dante and he were masterful alchemists and perfected methods for making the Philosopher's Stone and a form of immortality in which their souls jump to a new host body every time their current vessel began to age. However, Hohenheim soon fell in love with another and left Dante, taking with him the perfected Philosopher's Stone formula. Although Dante is still able to jump from body to body to preserve her youth, she is able to spend less and less time in each body as it decays faster with each jump, so she seeks the stone's formula to sustain her power when the small amount she had when Hohenheim left begins to run out. Dante is the leader of the homunculi, and though she did not create all of them, she sustains them by feeding them imperfect shards of the Philosopher's Stone. She uses them to spur Edward and Alphonse into finding the complete Philosopher's Stone formula for her.
The main antagonist of the manga series is a man known simply as "Father". Evidence suggests that he, like Dante and Hohenheim in the anime, has perfected an immortality formula, and is possibly a citizen from the ancient desert civilization of Xerxes. Found in the manga series as ruins, this civilization is believed to have had great alchemical and technological prowess, but suspiciously, all of its inhabitants disappeared in one night. Unlike Dante, Father is the creator of all the homunculi in the manga series, and commands them from behind the curtains of the High Command of the country Amestris, which, King Bradley (the homunculus Wrath in the manga) later reveals to Roy Mustang, was created by Father. It is suspected that Father plans to use Amestris as a gigantic transmutation circle to create a Philosopher's Stone, but the homunculus Envy hints that, although close, it is not the whole truth. Regardless, Edward and Alphonse become mixed up in Father's plans, and end up becoming prime "human sacrifices" for whatever Father has in store.
Major characters
* Edward Elric: The main protagonist, Edward ("Ed") Elric is the famous Fullmetal Alchemist, though Al is occasionally mistaken for him because of his armored body. He has a prosthetic automail right arm and left leg, is of short stature, and typically reacts in an exaggerated manner to any remarks about his height. He is known for being the youngest State Alchemist, gaining this title at the age of 12.
* Alphonse Elric: Alphonse, often nicknamed "Al," is Fullmetal Alchemist's secondary protagonist; he is Edward's younger brother and the narrator of the series. For most of the series his soul is trapped in a large suit of armor, causing other characters throughout the series to confuse Al with the "Fullmetal" Alchemist. Alphonse is the calmer of the two, and can be seen as a foil to Edward's character.
* Colonel Roy Mustang: Roy Mustang is known as the Flame Alchemist. His gloves are made of a special material called "ignition cloth," which allows him to create a spark by snapping his fingers. He then uses alchemy to change the oxygen density in the air with the help of transmutation circles on his gloves, causing a controlled explosion. He is Edward's direct superior officer in the military, but has his own goal, mainly to become the Führer, leader of the military.
* Winry Rockbell: Winry is a mechanical expert who is a childhood friend of the Elrics. She, along with her grandmother Pinako, built Edward's automail, and she also helps maintain the automail when it gets broken. Her parents were called into service as doctors for the Ishbalan Civil War and were killed.
* Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye: A hard-working member of the state military, and a loyal, capable aide to her superior officer, Roy Mustang. She is especially proficient in the use of firearms and a good marksman. While she may be level-headed, she sometimes uses her shooting skills in situations where they may not be entirely necessary.
* Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes: A member of the Investigations Division and a good friend of Colonel Mustang and the Elric brothers. He wishes to push Mustang up to the position of Führer by working closely under him. Hughes loves his wife, Gracia, and is overly enthusiastic regarding his love for his daughter Elysia, and talks about her to everyone he meets.
* Scar: One of the few surviving Ishbalans (Ishvarlans in the manga). His real name is never revealed, but he is referred to as "Scar" because of the X-shaped scar on his face. Scar's right arm, which is tattooed with a rare transmutation circle, was given to him by his brother shortly before he died. Scar believes himself to be an instrument of God, and kills State Alchemists using his alchemical skills, despite the fact that he believes alchemy is an abomination against the natural world.
* King Bradley: Known as the Führer, he is the military dictator of Amestris, holding the official political title of president (King is his first name). Although he seems to be quite easy-going and perhaps a little eccentric, he has a mind like a steel trap, and maintaining Amestris is his chief priority at all times. He hungers for war and is constantly sending troops to locations all over Amestris, "purifying the land." He is also renowned as an exceptional swordsman and is referred to as the "Ultimate Eye".
* Hohenheim: Ed and Al's mysterious father, who disappears a few years after they are born.
* Lust: Sultry and cool-hearted, she is the first of the Homunculi encountered in the series. She has the power to extend her fingers into a spear to use as a weapon, and is thus known in some translations as the "Ultimate Spear" or "Ultimate Lance".
* Gluttony: A large figure who eats anything he can get his hands on, including humans and inanimate objects. He latches on to Lust like a child to a parent.
* Envy: Sarcastic, sadistic, and cold-hearted, Envy has the ability to change appearance. He hates mankind, viewing them as pitiful and weak. Envy is a male, but his appearance is androgynous.
Terminology
* Alchemy: Alchemy within the Fullmetal Alchemist anime, put simply, refers to a three-step process. The steps are analysis (to understand the structure and properties of the substance that is about to be transmuted), destruction/decomposition (to break the substance down to its rudimentary properties), and reconstruction/recomposition (to rebuild the substance into another form or with different properties). In the manga, the source of alchemical power is believed by most alchemists to be the movement of tectonic plates-however, Mei Chan, an alchemist from the neighboring country of Xing has her doubts as to this; to her, the power behind Amestrian alchemy seems to involve the souls of the dead (while the Xing alchemy involves using the Earth's lifestream). However, in the anime, the energy for alchemical reactions comes from the other side of the Gate, supposedly from the deaths that occur in the world on the other side of the Gate. In both versions, rather than being a method of manipulating forms via their accidents (the basis of historical alchemy, derived from Greek philosophy), it is essentially modern chemistry without a reaction medium.
* Automail: A kind of prosthetics, made from metal and linked directly to the nerves of the body. Well-made automail can allow a range of movement and strength as good as or better than the original limb it replaces. Some forms of automail include ballistic devices or other enhancements. It appears to be a type of cybernetic technology, well ahead of real world cybernetics research. Edward typically has been seen altering his automail arm with Alchemy, refashioning it into a bladed weapon in the manga and anime. Since it is linked directly to the nerves of the body, attaching automail can be excruciatingly painful.
* Equivalent Exchange: The rule that alchemists in the series consider to be the foundation of Alchemy, or even the fundamental law of the world: to obtain, something of equal or greater value must be lost. One of the themes of the series is examining the implications of Equivalent Exchange as a philosophy. It also investigates into whether Equivalent Exchange is a natural law, or rather, a false ideology. As an example, the two brothers frequently quote the chemicals present in the human body, in thinking that this simple chemical exchange would be all that was needed to bring back someone from the dead.
* One is All, All is One: A cryptic way of explaining the essence of alchemy, this phrase is used by Izumi Curtis to test whether the Elric brothers are worth teaching alchemy to. According to this, if a person were to die, as such there would be no material effect on the world. Since a human body is made up of certain basic elements, when a person dies, his or her body is decomposed and these elements are returned back to nature. These elements, in turn, provide nutrients to plants which, in their turn, become food for herbivores, which are then food to carnivores. This is the cycle of life, and the death of one person is insignificant while considering the whole cycle. However, without these individual deaths, the cycle cannot be maintained and hence the individuals as a whole are significant to the continuation of the cycle. Thus, the cycle of life can never be reversed. Understanding this and working with the cycle of life in order to create new things is what alchemy is about. In other words, as the Elrics put it, "the world is the all, and I am the one."
* State Alchemist: An alchemist serving in a special branch of the state military under the direct command of the Führer. State Alchemists are selected by a series of examinations, and are regarded as some of the most powerful and talented alchemists. The position of State Alchemist also holds considerable authority and influence, automatically being promoted to the rank of Major. However, State Alchemists are despised by the general public, often called 'dogs of the military' - meaning that the person sold their soul to the military in exchange for special entitlements.
* Taboo: A forbidden act in alchemy, for example, human transmutation, which usually comes with a punishment. Edward and Alphonse attempt to return their mother back to life, and are punished by losing Al's body and Ed's leg.
* Transmutation Circle: Transmutation circles act as catalysts in alchemic reactions, and are needed for any transmutation; however, some alchemists, like Edward Elric, can transmute without one. The circle represents the constant flow of energy, the patterns decide what effects the transmutation has. A circle may be drawn on the spot, embroidered into an article of clothing, or even tattooed onto the alchemist itself. Transmutation circles can be drawn with any substance that leaves behind a trail, ranging from chalk to blood (see Blood Seal below).
* Philosopher's Stone: A legendary stone said to allow the holder to completely bypass the law of Equivalent Exchange. As with all things, however, to create a Philosopher's Stone requires the expenditure of raw materials: in this case, human lives.
* Blood Seal: A special type of transmutation circle that acts as a seal to bind a person's soul to an object, such as a suit of armor. It must, as the name suggests, be written in blood; the soul is tied to the blood and an element in the blood must be bound with the object itself. This typically only works on armor as the iron in the blood binds with the armor. Thus the blood acts as an intermediary between the soul and the object. If a blood seal is destroyed, the soul will no longer be tied to the object, and the person will enter the Gate. Some translations refer to it as a "Blood Array."
* Chimera: A chimera is the fusion of two or more different species into a single being created using alchemy. These creatures are seen as monsters by the general community, because the alchemist has taken two creatures and fused them to create one. There are also cases where the alchemist has used a human in the creation of a chimera, such cases are: Shou Tucker where he created two chimeras using firstly his wife and then his daughter. These Chimeras died shortly after they where created. However other cases such as the events of that at Lab 5, were done using more experienced alchemists, and the aid of mass amounts of Red Stones. These chimeras were created using humans, however a major difference is that these chimeras took the form of humans and then gained abilities depending on the animal they were fused with.
* Gate of Alchemy (also known as the "Gate of Truth" or just "Gate"): The Gate is said to be the source for all alchemical power. In the manga, an alchemist who sees into the Gate can then perform alchemy without the use of a written or tattooed circle because of the knowledge gained during the experience. In the anime it is said that the Gate swings forward each time the energy for alchemy is summoned, that there is a Gate inside everyone, and that all that is necessary to access the Gate is knowledge of how to do so. It is also said that a weak link between the body, mind, and spirit is what called the Gate - in other words, death. A baby, the anime posits, has a weak link between the body, mind, and spirit, and thus it is easy to summon the Gate using a baby. In the anime the Gate resembles Rodin's sculpture "The Gates of Hell", but in the manga it is more akin to an obelisk, featuring the Kabbalahistic Tree of Life.
* Truth : The ultimate goal of every alchemist. In the anime, it was just Ed's point of view to describe what he found in the Gate. In the manga, though, it was displayed as an omnipotent god-like being that exists in the Gate, enforcing the law of Equivalent Exchange.
* Rentan Jutsu (manga only): A type of Alchemy that is used in the eastern country Xing. Its roots actually lie in medicine and transmutation circles are referred to as "purification circles" by the people of Xing. While similar to Amestris alchemy (called "Renkin Jutsu" by people from Xing), the source of energy is different. Rentan Jutsu uses the power called "Lungmei" which exists everywhere on the earth. The type of alchemy that the character Mei Chan uses is Rentan Jutsu. Scar's tattoo is a mix of Renkin Jutsu and Rentan Jutsu.
* Human Sacrifice: In the manga, it is a term that the Homunculi use to refer to alchemists who have opened the Gate and seen the Truth. Human Sacrifices are a crucial part of the Homunculi and "Father's" plan, but to what end is still unknown.
* Human Transmutation: A forbidden art in which one attempts to create a human who had died. It takes something from the person who performs it (for example, an arm, leg or organ) but, instead of creating a human, it takes the alchemist to the Gate, where he or she gains knowledge proportional to what was given up in the transmutation. In the anime, the end product of a human transmutation attempt is a Homunculus.
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