Sapphir wrote:Dude I just watched Full Metal Alchemist for my first time, it so sugoi!!!!! So far I've seen two episodes.....except I really don't understand the alchemist thing yet...........can someone kinda help me understand it? Ed is a sugoi character.....I think......man I wanna see the next episode!!
Okay, first, I'd like to know what the heck Sugoi is.
Secondly, about what got me into the show: The basic principles of FMA, and their correlations with real Alchemy.
Philosopher's Stone: Not just a search for the Elric brothers, but in the real world, the goal for all Philosopher's. While in the Anime, it has the ability to enhance one's powers, in real alchemy it is believed to create perfect transmutation - turning one thing into another, namely lead to gold - and allowing for extended or eternal life.
Homunculi: If I'm not mistaken, the term "homunculus" means "Little Man." In FMA, they are artificially created beings. In Alchemy, they're... well, the same. However, unlike the Golem, which was a large and hulking creature, the homunculus was believed to be smaller, almost doll-sized. Also, after a period of time they began to gain a sort of self-awareness and begin to rebel against their creator. Or something to that effect. They're also thought to be what's inside sperm. Dirtyyy.
Ouroboros: So far, it has only taken a role in FMA as being the tattoo on each homunculus (along with the Seal of Solomon, or Star of David, within it). In real Alchemy, it is a very powerful symbol of the Universe, duality, and life from death.
And lastly... Transmutation. Already covered with the Philosopher's Stone talk, it is the process of transforming one thing into something else. For instance, in the first episode, Alphonse Elric shows this in fixing a radio. As he explains, because of Equivalent Exchange (also seen in energy through Newton's First Law), he cannot create new matter, therefore he can't make it bigger, better, or fancier than the pieces he was given. It is, essentially, same radio as it was before he accidentally broke it.
I'm still uncertain as to how the last one works in the real world, but I'm sure it takes the same means. I'd explain human transmutation, though I don't know of anybody trying it (though the Philosopher's Stone would have been used for it). In FMA, it is used by altering the exact chemical components found in the human body, in an organization to create a human being. The only thing missing, of course, is... well, obvious. This is a scientific creation of a human. What is necessary to truly make it a HUMAN (and not a homunculus) is a soul.
)
