If you're not exactly sure of what I mean, then that's fine, as this will be explored later, because this idea will serve as the focal point to the conclusion of Ed's character arc. To many this simply comes off as drilling that law of alchemy into the viewer's head, but there is so much more here, especially in the context of how the show ends:įirstly, simply obtaining SOMETHING without first sacrificing is a critically different idea than obtaining something EQUAL compared to that which was sacrificed. At the time, we believed that to be the true way of the world.” That is alchemy’s Law of Equivalent Exchange. In order to obtain anything, something of equal value is required.
“Man cannot obtain anything without first sacrificing something.
With all of that out of the way, we begin this analysis with how most episodes do, which is with Alphonse explaining Equivalent Exchange to the viewer: The parallel world is admittedly mildly immersion breaking, some of the direction is questionable, and Terminarcher is well past the verge of the comically absurd. As such, it's undeniable that there is quite a bit thrown at the viewer more rapidly than is usual, and that the timeskip at the end can be rather sudden to come off as having the potential to bring the narrative to a satisfactory close.
Fullmetal alchemist dog series#
Secondly, accusations that the series finale is rushed have their merit, as the studio was blind-sighted by the urgency to wrap up production while retooling the ending to suit all three potential paths forward: a mini-series continuation, a motion-picture sequel, and a conclusion that stands on its own all at the same time. This is by no means to imply that his screentime is unearning of recognition, however. But first of all, let’s just deal with a few issues right out of the gate (pun intended): Firstly, this analysis is long enough as it is, so to keep it focused on the more main of the two plotlines, I've opted to omit going over much of Mustang's part in these events. That all said, if you have a good chunk of time to spare, I invite you to indulge in this analysis.
While I certainly cannot insist that you feel a certain way about anything, I will do my best to illuminate some often unrecognized information with the goal of providing for a more critically sound analysis of the controversial climax of this story. However, the greatest complaint by far levied against the show can be summarized as "the ending is unsatisfying." If you happen to be among those sharing this sentiment, then please know that I was once among this group myself. This is because in spite of its shounen-action demographic, FMA boasts strong characterization, noteworthy visual and musical direction, and a story wherein these all unfold as part of the show's varied yet comprehensible plot, and one that is not afraid to dip its toe into the seinen-esque to say the least. Nonetheless, many still hail it as a classic meriting at least equal attention to that of its younger brother. The original Fullmetal Alchemist currently sits in the shadow of its far more manga-faithful counterpart when it comes to present day popularity. The “FMA for nerds” sections can be skipped, as they are just tangents featuring either rebuttals to comments I anticipated or diatribes I just wanted to write about. As such, this is probably best for either big fans of the original FMA, or those very interested in a detailed analysis of most of the meat of its conclusion. Hello there! I initially intended to create a video of a (mostly) thorough analysis of the ending of FMA, but was ultimately unsatisfied with the quality of all but the content of the analysis itself, so I’ve scrapped the video and opted to post the script below instead.
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