

However, they do not take into account what could possibly equal the value of a human soul, as a soul is not a tangible object that someone can create in a laboratory.

They even mix some of their blood in since they believe their DNA will be the final touch that specifically brings back their mother. Ed and Al gather all the different elements and proportions that make up an average adult woman, such as carbon, phosphorus, and zinc. In an attempt to bring their mother back after she died from an illness, they followed what seemed to be a recipe for crafting a human being. However, Ed feels enormous guilt and anger about the what he and Al had to give up for him to gain his ability and prestige.Įd and Al’s sacrifice involves one of the largest taboos in alchemy: human transmutation. Ed’s reputation as a State Alchemist is founded upon his ability to conduct alchemy without a transmutation circle. However, they each had to sacrifice something in order to gain the knowledge that allows them to conduct alchemy without a transmutation circle. Whether or not their sacrifices were worth the suffering that each had to endure to gain this ability is seen through their emotional and mental turmoil. Ed, Al, and their teacher Izumi Curtis do not have to use a transmutation circle since they have all seen Truth, the omnipotent power that oversees all of alchemy. At the beginning of the series, Ed and Al are searching for a Philosopher’s Stone as they believe it will be able to return their bodies back to normal.Īlchemy also requires the use of a transmutation circle, which one can draw in chalk, tattoo on themselves, or have embroidered or carved into armor and clothing. However, if an alchemist wishes to bypass the Law of Equivalent Exchange, they need the power of a Philosopher’s Stone. It keeps alchemy from being used for complete destruction and from any one person from having too much power. The concept of Equivalent Exchange is discussed by the characters numerous times throughout the series.

i The Unknown Price Of Equivalent Exchange

That is Alchemy’s First Law of Equivalent Exchange. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. This ideology is also one of the main reasons the anime is so captivating.
#EDWARD ELRIC FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST TRANSMUTATION CIRCLE DRIVER#
One driver for the characters’ actions throughout Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the ideology of having to sacrifice first in order to experience the change and benefits of your actions. To gain something in alchemy, one must first give up something of equal value. Sacrifice, whether physically or metaphorically, is seen consistently throughout almost every character’s experiences and is also at the heart of the main tenet of alchemy. However, in the process, they discover dangerous political and military conspiracies. The anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, focuses on brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric as they attempt to get their bodies back. How far are you willing to go to achieve your goals and desires? That is a fundamental question present throughout all of the 2009 anime adaption of Hiromu Arakawa’s beloved manga Fullmetal Alchemist.
