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Overview - Important Characters and Topics

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Alphonse Elric (back) and Edward Elric (front) Hiromu Arakawa   Fullmetal Alchemist - Hiromu Arakawa      The manga Fullmetal Alchemist was written by Hiromu Arakawa between July 2001 and June 2010, and it follows the journey of two brothers who use the magical transmutation power of "alchemy", inspired by the pre-chemistry pseudoscience of alchemy. The brothers as children lost their mother and tried to resurrect her, which is the greatest taboo of alchemy in-universe. Because of this, the alchemy spell backfired, causing one brother, Alphonse, to lose his body and the other brother, Edward, to lose his leg. In order to bind his brother's soul to an empty suit of armor, Ed sacrifices one of his arms. The story follows these brothers as the main characters, who join the military as state alchemists to gain access to research materials and resources to find how to gain back their original bodies. They attempt to learn the secret of the philosopher's stone, a material ...
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Post-War Responsibility (3)

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    In this page of the manga, Colonel Mustang is reflecting on his duties as Major in the war, and as his role as the "Hero of Ishval". Immediately in the war, he sees his responsibility to protect his fellow troops and countrymen, even feeling guilty about those he could not save.      Mustang reflects on this once more when talking with his close friend and fellow soldier, Maes Hughes. Mustang expresses his ideals of ending senseless bloodshed and protecting those weaker than himself, ironically after ending the lives of so many Ishvalans weaker than the companies of state alchemists. This sparks a plan in his head to become the next leader of Amestris, taking the place of Fuhrer Bradley. The title "Fuhrer" here also is a clear representation of the oppressive authority the king of the nation has over its people and those it wages war against, being the same title as that of Hitler.     Mustang sees a clear duty to better his nation and their milita...
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Genocide and Survivor's Guilt (2)

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      In the climax of the action in the fight with the main villain, it is revealed that Father, the creature running the government of Amestris from the shadows, has activated the nationwide transmutation circle. The purpose of this is to gather the energy of every one of their souls to turn Father into, essentially, a god. While Arakawa does not show her characters' existential thoughts on the matter, one can only imagine how lost those who knew the government's plot would feel. The entire nation of Amestris was founded solely for the purpose of this nationwide transmutation circle, raised like cattle for the benefit of one creature.     However, this was not the first nationwide transmutation circle seen. Father, formerly known as Homunculus when he was created by ancient alchemists in the country of Xerxes, told the king of the nation he knew how the king could attain immortality. To this aim, the king ordered men to dig a complex "irrigation ditch" ar...
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Child Soldiering (1)

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      Colonel Roy Mustang, veteran of the Ishvalan War of Extermination, hears of two young gifted alchemists in the village of Resembool. Upon investigation, he finds that not only are the brothers children, but they have already committed the greatest taboo in alchemy--human transmutation. Mustang's immediate reaction is to violently interrogate the boys, likely a gut reaction from his time in the war. Mustang and every other state alchemist in Ishval committed grave acts, and no doubt interrogated Ishvalan soldiers that were the same age as the Elric brothers. Even as Edward is armless, legless, and wheelchair-bound from the cost of the human transmutation, Mustang still berates the traumatized child.     Seen here on pages 106 and 107, Mustang lets down his guard as Alphonse, body lost and soul bound to a suit of armor, begs him to forgive their crime. While the brothers knew how taboo the transmutation was, they were orphaned and desperate for their mother ...
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