Plot Summary

Edward and Alphonse Elric are two protégé alchemists—inheriting their skills from their father who left them when they were little. Their mother died when they were young, and they decided to use the forbidden science of human transmutation to bring their mother back from beyond the gate. In doing so, Al lost his entire body and Edward lost his leg. However, instead of their mother, they created a monster. In an attempt to save Al, Edward bonded Al’s spirit to an empty suit of armor and in doing so, lost his arm in the equivalent exchange.

Ed had Winry replace his missing arm and leg with auto mail parts (metal limbs) so that he could still perform alchemy. Ed and Al have determined after this disaster to never again attempt to bring back their mother. Their sole goal is to regain their former bodies, and for this, they need the power of the Philosopher’s Stone.

Ed ends up becoming the youngest State Alchemist in history. Though it means that he is a dog of the military, being a State Alchemist aids him and Al in their search for the Philosopher’s Stone. Full Metal Alchemist follows the two brothers in their quest, and the many dangers that come before them. It soon becomes apparent that they are not the only ones after the Philosopher’s Stone. Others seek its power, willing to stop at nothing to obtain their ends.

Key Terms

The Philosopher's Stone:

The Philosopher's Stone, also refered to as the red stones and the fifth element, is a powerful stone that allows an alchemist to bypass the law of equivalent exchange. However, in truth, there is still equivalent exchange, the price has merely been paid when the stone was first formed. To form a Philosopher's Stone, there is great sacrifice because it requires hundreds of human lives as the main ingredient. Because of the pricelessness of human life, to have so many lives trapped within the stone gives the weilder of such a stone nearly infinite power with no cost to his own person. Countless alchemists have spent their entire lives searching for one or trying to make one, and few have been successful.

The Gate:

The gate is a set of immense, carved double doors floating in an expanse of white. Beyond the doors is a swirrling mass of eyes and shadowy bodies that are the children of the gate. All alchemists who attempt human transmutation are brought before the gate. At the gate they are imparted with knowledge in exchange for some part of themselves which the gate children pull back into the gate. In the case of Edward he lost his arm and leg to gain the little piece of knowledge that allowed him to perform the human transmutation on his mother and his brother's souls. Every alchemist who encounters the gate and lives is able to perform alchemy without a circle. The true nature of the gate is never fully known. Edward believes the gate contains all knowledge; it is were he learned how to perform alchemy without the cirlce. Izumi however believed that Hell was beyond the gate. Later in the series, Edward actually passes through the gate from the world of alchemy into the real world in the middle of World War I. Through his experience we learn that the two worlds are separated by the gate and that whenever people die in the real world the energy from their life is sent through the gate and used in transmutations in the alchemist world. Also, because alchemy doesn't exist in the real world, it is impossible to return to the alchemy world because one must use alchemy to access the gate.

Chimera:

Chimeras are the fusion of two or more species into one being. It is the most deplorable use of alchemy because the creature created in constant emotional and physical pain as the different matterials of his body war against each other. The character of Tucker was paid by the government to create perfect chimeras that would ultimately be used as weapons for the government. His own wife and daughter were used in his experiments to create a talking chimera. There are nonhuman chimeras that are simply a fusion of different animals. Edward encountered such chimeras in Lab 5. However, there are also humanoid chimeras like Marta and the other human chimera who join Greed at the end of the series. They are the most developed form of chimera. They look just like humans but have animal abilities and characteristics grafted into their DNA.

Episode Index

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