#im love fma's magic system

[liesmyth]

FMA TLT XOVER....IM LISTENING. (i need edward "punched god in the face" elric to interact with jod so bad)

Ok listen. LISTEN. I just think... the vibes are there. Heavily militarized society! Magical system with scientific principles and a tendency towards body horror! Fascist propaganda with hot military uniforms! Golden eyes! Insane codependent devotion! (Ok that's just Royai) teenage soldiers, genocide, violation of bodily autonomy, but also fun, mouthy teenagers! There is Something here and tbh I love unhinged crossover ideas that somehow work.

Maybe someone from TLT gets isekai'd to Amestris or the other way around, but you're so right, Ed should get to punch John in the face. As a treat <3

#Anonymous #ask #fma x tlt

[liquidstar]

i completely missed this but apparently the second season of to your eternity is airing rn, and i dont know if ill watch it because ive actually read the manga passed the point of where the season will probably end off, but it reminds me that i have some thoughts about the series...

first of all i wanna say that i dont think its a BAD show, in fact i liked a lot of it. the premise of an orb that can shapeshift being sent down to earth by god to learn how to be human is already so intriguing. and the first episode is amazing and also a huge emotional gutpunch. it was its most down to earth episode too.

and to some degree i feel like its more fantastical elements (aside from fushi themself) detracted a bit from the story’s message. its supposed to be about what it means to be human, but the way this theme is handled in tandem with the shounen fantasy tropes feels a bit sloppy and makes the series come out somewhat hollow for it, and the more that are introduced the more its quality dwindles.

i DO think this can be done well, of course! im not saying fantastical tropes are bad at conveying the human experience, in fact i believe that they can be used to highlight it brilliantly. mp100 is a great example of a story using psychic powers to convey emotions and connections, fma is a great example of a series using its magic system in tandem with its philosophical themes and commentary, assassination classroom has a frankly batshit premise that actually makes some poignant commentary about the school system...

i dont think things have to be realistic to be human or relatable at all- they still hold value, not in spite of, but BECAUSE of the way the fantasy of their narratives reflect our human experiences. theyre metaphors! theyre fantasy! the whole point is that these fictional stories highlight the realities of our world.

but.... while i feel like to your eternity certainly tries to do this, i feel like a lot of the fantasy shounen elements are... less so thrown in there to highlight the stories message, and more so just added in to spice up the story. and i think thats fine, but after a certain point it feels like these added spices have sort of taken away the flavor that made it appealing to begin with. that and some frankly very weird choices that are trying to be deep but are mostly just kind of strange.

personally i think its a series with a premise that would benefit more from being down to earth. that doesnt mean it cant be a fantasy at all (its premise makes it one by default, technically) but i feel like it doesnt have to do stuff like add monsters and tournament arcs and aliens assimilating with humans and fushi getting knocked up as a turtle to be interesting. also the lolicon step brother shit what the fuck was up with that. i feel like the more elements like this get introduced the less interesting the story became because it was just... literally losing the plot.

and this last thing here really is personal preference but when i first heard what the series was about... i would have loved if it was just. historical fiction? you know, like, a forest-gump style thing but instead of the latter half of the 20th century its just a big chunk of human history. i think i would have loved seeing an orb learn to be human just by watching them go through different eras of humanity, all around the world, just being a small part of history and maybe even sometimes playing a bigger role (for better or worse).

but regardless of that, i just think sometimes... less is more. seeing fushi interact with humans to “become” human is the point, no need to add a grander narrative about copying the entire earth and beating evil monsters- there are plenty of real life historical events to place them in to give stakes! or even fantasy versions of those events! you can tell that thats what they were going for in a lot of arcs but tbh the march and gugu arcs were the only ones that really nailed it. everything would get progressively more and more unhinged from there.

to just see a character that was once an object become moss, become a wolf, become a nameless boy, become a little girl, become their own brother, and learn what all that means... that was already enough. but the story just kind of stopped being about that after that whole prison island arc (which i do think still had interesting commentary about the violent side of humanity too but wasnt really all too elaborated on for fushi’s development). the best episode since that was just the one where they watched their grandma figure die of old age and dementia- that felt genuine again.

the theme of “what it means to be human” was just sort of lost, like, its still there but you have to move aside a lot of contrived nonsense to really still see it, in my opinion. and it doesnt work as well as i would have loved it too. i really really really wish it did! thats why i read like 200 chapters of the manga! but... it didnt refind its footing in my eyes, sadly. i dont think its bad if you like it but i do think it leaves a bit to be desired, for me.

but hidden within there is still an amazing premise. and it doesnt need to be Epic. i think it would have been enough to just watch fushi go through different eras, meet different people, carry them with themself, and move on to the next “lesson in humanity.” it wouldnt have to be part of some grand plan by an alien to copy earth, but just a way for god to learn from his creations (i dont even think god needs to be shown).

and i think the story would have been more impactful too, if it went with a more “nihilistic optimism” route, when asked why humanity matters. whats the point of all this? everyone dies all the time, theres so much pain and suffering, and people struggle for all of history... but people also come together for all of history, make families, friends, art, music, and reasons of their own to keep living. and even though its a blip in the face of eternity its also... something. it also mattered. that the nameless boy, who died without any family alive to remember him, long long in the past, still mattered. not because of something grandiose, but because he just was. and now hes not. but he was. that mattered. i think thats enough.

#i said i was tired but then i had to many thoughts abt this i powered through just to type this #im so sorry to my ocs whose asks got snubbed so i can talk abt an anime/manga i watched 5ever ago

[ladyryukyo]

for the ask game maybe top 5 animes?

ohh interesting. couldnt really decide again so there are a lot of honorary mentions GDHSGDFG

1. fullmetal alchemist brotherhood

i dont even know how many times ive rewatched this anime, the characters, the pacing, the world building, i love everything about fma. ed and al are the best fictional siblings, show me a more iconic pair of siblings, you cant. also i love love the magic system, alchemy is made so interesting and science-y i eat that shit up

2. soul eater

soul eater convinced me to ship a straight ship which is really a feat in and of itself, but apart from that, again the characters are amazing, the friendships are so personal and fun and real and i just love the weapon-meister thing. been wanting to make a soul eater AU one of these days, sooo badly.

3. detective conan

i know the episode count is intimidating but imo so so worth it just bc of how intricate the story is and how cleverly everything connects together. shinichi is maybe my favorite fictional character ever, i love how much he struggles (lol) and always manages to outsmart his opponents in the end

4. promare

if youve never seen promare, watch it right now, its a movie, its kind of gay, lio fotia is the light of my life, galo is the lovable himbo youve been searching for, and together they are so badass and cool and also just the animation?? is absolutely beautiful, never seen anything like it, before or after watching it

5. hyouka

the others are very action filled and that is usually my shtick but hyouka is so cute, i fell in love with it the first time i watched it and im falling in love all over again with every rewatch. really cute highschool mystery friendship/romance but what really sells it are how much personality the characters have

honorary mentions: my hero academia, banana fish, that time i got reincarnated as a slime, balance unlimited, attack on titan, dr stone, bungou stray dogs

#as you can see from this list im a shounen/op protagonist type of person usually #if you have any recs for me based on this list please please send them in #if you want more specific recs from me ill gladly help you out #evil monologue followed by evil laughter

[marinsawakening]

hey can I rant for a second about how good FMA’s magic worldbuilding is? because it’s really really good.

In general, I prefer soft magic systems, because I like my magic with a large dose of whimsy, but FMA has probably the hardest magic system I’ve ever seen and does it brilliantly. FMA needed a hard magic system because a large part of the plot relies on subverting alchemy’s predictability. If alchemy was normally unpredictable, than a variety of plot points would completely fall apart.

A good example of this is Father’s control of Amestris’s alchemy and the scene in the climax where the Ishvalans help to form a counter transmutation circle against it. If we didn’t know exactly how alchemy worked, what its source was, and what its limits are, then we wouldn’t be able to understand the importance of that scene, and it would fall flat on its face. 

But we also see this way earlier on in the story; in fact, with the very premise and how it ties into the first arc, the Cornello Arc. Alchemy, in-universe, is a science, and therefore follows strict rules, the most important of which is the law of equivalent exchange. This is how we’re already clued into the idea that resurrecting the dead, which Father Cornello claimes to be capable of, is probably bullshit; we, the audience, know that anything that’s ‘equivalent’ to a human soul is probably immoral to attain at best, and impossible to attain at worst. This is confirmed later in the arc, when Father Cornello turns out to be a fraud, and then re-affirmed in the Elrics’ backstory, showing that even alchemical geniuses like them must bend to the rules of the universe. 

But in this same arc, we are also introduced to the concept of a ‘get out of jail free card’ in the form of the Philosopher’s Stone, which the Elrics want to use to defy God one last time and regain their bodies. We see that even a fake/depowered Philosopher’s Stone like Father Cornello’s is capable of giving you incredible power. So then, later, when we are introduced to the concept of a true Philosopher’s Stone, we know to be afraid, not just because of this, but because we’ve spent a series seeing brutal fights between fair-and-square alchemy; someone gaming the system is already a terrifying idea, when we haven’t even properly seen what it can do.

But still, even this method of gaming the system still fits within its established magic system and isn’t just a mcguffin to raise the stakes; Philosopher’s Stones utilize the souls of people who were sacrificed to make them to create alchemical reactions that seemingly defy the law of equivalent exchange. In reality, they are never defying this; they are simply using a different energy source that works by different rules. This is the first time we are introduced to this concept. 

And this is later expanded on when we meet Mei for the first time, and Alkahestry is introduced. Alkahestry is basically just Xingese alchemy, but bears the important distinction of using a different source than alchemy, namely the life force of the planet itself (the so-called ‘Dragon’s Pulse’). While the things that Alkahestry can do (heal wounds, use long-distance transmutation circles) are foreign to Amestrian alchemy, this makes sense considering the fact that they have different energy sources and were developed with different goals in mind (and by different people, as we learn later). It’s a natural evolution in-universe, which helps with the believably of the wordlbuilding, and the introduction of Alkahestry cements the concept of ‘life force’ as a viable energy source that you can use to do transmutations with.

So when we see living Philospher’s Stones like Hohenheim and Father completely ignore the rule of Equivalent Exchange on a scale that even regular Philospher Stones can’t afford, we accept that immediately because we’ve already been shown, multiple times over (also with the Homunculi, although I didn’t touch on that), that this is a valid possibility within the rules of the universe; they are still adhering to the rule of Equivalent Exchange, but they simply have a lot more energy to form things with than regular people, so they can do seemingly impossible things. 

This is also why the scene where Ed gets impaled in Baschool works: we have been shown, multiple times over, that life force is a genuine energy source that you can use to create things with and - more prominently - affect living things with. So when Ed comes up with the idea to use his own life force to seal his wound, it’s surprising, sure, but it’s also completely plausible within the universe that Arakawa’s built up. Ed isn’t inventing a new type of alchemy on the fly or stretching the rules of the universe paper thing; he’s using what he’s learnt about alkahestry and Philosopher’s Stones on his journey to get out of a serious problem with an unconventional but completely plausible idea. In any other work, this would’ve been a mcguffin activated by the protagonist’s plot armor; in this one, this is a plausible if unexpected move that’s been built up throughout the entire work.

And so too is the ending. Ed giving up his Gate and therefore his alchemy in order to bring Alphonse back, body and soul and all, comitting the closet thing to human transmutation that’s possible. This is breaking the rules. It is. But not in a universe-breaking, deus ex machina kind of way.

We’ve known throughout the series that being without a Gate exist; those are the Homunculi. We also know that proper human transmutation, with people who have died and passed through to the afterlife, is impossible. But Al hasn’t passed on to the afterlife; his soul has returned to his body, which we’ve seen it’s been wanting to do for a long time and would’ve done eventually, and he’s now waiting in front of the Gate. Ed doesn’t need to pull off a true human transmutation; just something very close to it. And we already know it’s possible to pass through someone else’s Gate back to the normal world; we’ve established this earlier, when Ed, Ling, and Envy escaped Gluttony’s stomach.

So Ed giving up his Gate (and with it, his alchemy) to bring Al back to the normal world and passing through Al’s Gate to do so is, like Baschool, an unexpected and daring solution, but one that’s completely substantiated by everything that we know about alchemy. The rules of the universe, itself, aren’t broken.

But thematically, they are. Ed gets Alphonse back, he has gained more friends and family than he’s ever had before, and he can now live a happy life. And what did he really give in return? His alchemy. But, as he points out, losing this doesn’t really change him all that much in the end; he is still the same ordinary person as he was with alchemy. 

As many people have pointed out, FMA’s message is that Equivalent Exchange is bullshit. But the actual magic mechanic of Equivalent Exchange is never broken; rather, the theme of ‘Equivalent Exchange’ being a good way to live your life by is deconstructed and ultimately proven to be false. Because at the end, you can give more than you get, and you can get more than you give, and that is fine. That is good. 

Fullmetal Alchemist’s magic system isn’t just amazing because of its high level of internal consistency, but because of how it contrasts with the ultimate theme of the show, which is why Ed losing his alchemy is the best thematically ending this series could’ve gotten. 

#hi everyone thanks for coming to my ted talk on part one of why i love fma's worldbuilding #as always: if i missed things or misconstrued stuff feel free to correct me my memory is always shit and i'm absolutely capable of #messing up #im love fma's magic system #my posts #fma #also sorry this is super rambly and not at all structured #this post is literally just me writing down whatever comes to mind

[bipirate]

What are your favorite things/issues of FMA?

sorry it's taken so long for me to answer this! im guessing you want to know what i love about fma, but also what i think could be better?

what i love:

the characters! fma has such a diverse and wonderful cast of characters that you get really attached to

specifically the theme of brotherhood between ed and al.... siblings in media just destroy me

arakawa's worldbuilding is just so fucking good, there's such depth and detail in literally every part of the story, and the level of research she's done for the series is incredible. the plot is tightly written and perfectly set up

i think alchemy is just a really cool and well written magic system

the manga art style is delicious (not a fan of the fmab art style unfortunately, the animation for 03 was much better but i vastly prefer fmab for almost everything else)

bobby from briggs

what i dont love:

the ishval civil war was not always handled well imo... scar is a great character generally but the whole narrative where this victim of genocide was treated as a straight up villain in the first half of the story doesn't feel great to me. there's loads of poc who've talked about this so i won't speak over them but yeah definitely worth looking into

i also think the war criminals got treated too lightly. i know hawkeye says mustang intends to have all war criminals tried for... war crimes.... when he's president but it's never mentioned again and the general treatment of them is as protagonists and heroes

fucking.... roy using the philosopher's stone to get his sight back in the end. it fucking sucks and he shouldve stayed blind

im sure there's more but i cant think of anything else atm

#ask #anon

[ariapmdeol]

tag game? :0

Rules: once you’ve answered everything, tag 10 bloggers you want to learn more about!   

tagged by @truedespair​!!

Name/Alias: my online name is Aria! any variation of my username is fine, so ari, aria, etc are all fine with me!

Hair color: its medium brown!

Zodiac sign: Scorpio!!

Height: approx 5′3!

Hobbies: art, of course! painting, drawing, etc! im starting to get into cosplay though so thats fun! im not very good at sewing yet though...

Favorite colors: Pink!! all shades of pink, especially the warmer/more salmon tones~~

Favorite books: everything by brandon sanderson, i cant choooose!! mistborn? 10/10! skyward? 10/10! theyre all so great and have such good magic systems aaaa

Last song I have heard: this one! 

Last movie I watched: to completion? the conjuring (but i kept looking away). last movie i saw? Nightmare before Christmas, while in line for a halloween roller skating thing

Things I love: each and every person reading this! fma/fmab, bsd, the cosmere, my family, all my friends back home and in college, my boyfriend <3, soft art, soft things in general tbh? and tea!

Meaning behind my URL: when i was in 8th grade, i made a pokemon mystery dungeon fancomic! it was my first real passion project, and aa i just loved working on it! the main character’s name was Aria, and at the time i went by Drizzt123. when I went to make my deviantart account, Drizzt123 was taken so i had to come up with a new username ^^; i was planning on working on the comic so i just took the abbreviation of the comic title and the main character’s name and stuck them together! I stopped working on the comic years ago, and the main character just ended up becoming my persona!

Tagging:

@no-mere-mortals , @biahkase , @automail-freak-and-alchemy-freak , @theartsyskeleton , and anyone else who wants to do this!!

#tagged #aria rambles #tag game #not art

[nenastrology]

fma is great to reread because im too stupid to remember all the important plot details and big reveals and i love actually putting the stuff together like god arakawas mind having the way amestrians use alchemy to literally be like a bit of a lie and built specifically on the transmutation circle and philosophers stone powering the whole world you know so that like after the homunculi are defeated and change needs to occur like the source and some of the ways its used will literally change that like even the most basic magic system isnt something that should go unscrutinized and like how deeply the corruption and evil of the state is baked into every single aspect of amestrian life and what is considered normal

[beyond-far-horizons]

@fireeaglespirit replied to your post: Full Metal Alchemist:Brotherhood The Greed guy looks awesome (I mean, the claws?) gonna check this stuff later.. for what I know he’s like a mix of two guys or something like that? Anyway I watched only the beginning of this show more than a decade ago and never went back to it for some reason… looks cool.

Greed is frickin’ awesome! I won’t spoil anything but I just love his whole deal and Im def inspired to take the ‘flavour’ of this character and create something of my own. His conflict is really interesting, he has many facets and you know I just love that Madara quality of being sassy and really enjoying the fight. The thing with Greed is, because of his nature he desires all the finer things so he’s really flirty as well and I just love that opposing quality compared to the good guys stoicism. 

I think overall FMA is more balanced and mature as a Shonen than the Big Three, although I do prefer the combat of the Big Three esp Naruto and Bleach , their ‘Magic Systems’ are better explained and utilised in battle which is a shame as Alchemy has amazing potential in this respect. The discussion on suffering, war and relationships as well as the symbolism and mythology def remind me of Naruto though.

I think more than anything I would love to get my book turned into an anime series! I’d love to create those amazing title and end credits hinting at things and having people desperately trying to analyse all the symbolism and foreshadowing Ive laced in it! Watching FMA reminded me of how much I love that.

#fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fireeaglespirit #personal