Fullmetal Alchemist Might Not Have a Happy Ending
Edward Elric’s obsessive search for the Philosopher’s Stone to restore his brother, Alphonse Elric may ultimately be his downfall. Hiromi Arakawa, creator of the Fullmetal Alchemist series, has stated in an interview at DragonCon when asked about a happy ending responded with, “Edward can’t have his cake and eat it too.”
It’s been hinted since the beginning. The core principal of alchemy is equivalent exchange. You can’t gain anything without giving something up in return. It was the tragedy that began their story and it will also end it.
It’s been hinted since the beginning. The core principal of alchemy is equivalent exchange. You can’t gain anything without giving something up in return. It was the tragedy that began their story and it will also end it.
(SPOILER WARNING)
But it’s not just in their story that happy endings are seldom, but even the characters they’ve met along the way tell that tale. Majhal lost his lover, Karin and went down a dark path in order to utilize the same forbidden alchemy the boys once used. His obsession with bringing Karin back cost him his morals, thus kidnapping and murdering women to use their souls to animate his Karin mannequins.
The exchange was the lives of those women as a means to get as close to experiencing once more the beauty that is Karin. But equivalent exchange goes beyond the materials involved, especially in this case.
But it’s not just in their story that happy endings are seldom, but even the characters they’ve met along the way tell that tale. Majhal lost his lover, Karin and went down a dark path in order to utilize the same forbidden alchemy the boys once used. His obsession with bringing Karin back cost him his morals, thus kidnapping and murdering women to use their souls to animate his Karin mannequins.
The exchange was the lives of those women as a means to get as close to experiencing once more the beauty that is Karin. But equivalent exchange goes beyond the materials involved, especially in this case.
