Goodbye Ed and Al. I will miss you.

I admit I feel a bit sad that Fullmetal Alchemist finally ended. I started following the story about 2004 and religiously followed the anime and manga until its end this June. Though I feel sad that the story finally ended, I am happy to have experienced it in full glory. And what an apt ending! This is truly one of the best written anime... heck, on of the best stories created.

There are so many things to love about the series. On the surface, the story, the characters, and the action can easily appeal with the young audience. But what I love about it is the depth of the characters - something that a lot of animes lack. The roots of the story also revolves around alchemy and its philosophies. The foremost is alchemy's law of equivalent exchange, which states that "humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost."

But what I adore about the story is the relationship between the main character Edward and his brother Alphonse. The unconditional brotherly love is just inspiring. As kids, they were solely raised by their mum when their father abandoned them. When their mum died, the kids were forced to use human alchemy that promises to bring their mum back to life. Sadly, the law of equivalent exchange requires an offering of the same value. Thus, the gate of alchemy took Alphonse as a sacrifice. Edward tried to save his brother and the gate severed his right hand and left foot in the process. As the gate waned, the boys failed to revive their mother and created an abomination. Fearing that he'll lose Alphonse, Edward bound his brother's soul to a medieval armor. To replace the lost limbs, Edward's childhood sweetheart equipped him with a metal arm and a metal leg. In the aftermath, Edward vowed to train their alchemy and bring their bodies back.

As the story progressed, their brotherly love was tested but they kept their faith. I don't want to go into details because too much stuff happened in the course of the story.

But I do want to say that they are very well-written foil characters. Edward is talented but arrogant, brash, and ill-mannered. As the older brother, he feels responsible for their misfortune and strives to achieve his goals. However, his meager short frame makes him seem like the younger brother. Meanwhile, armor-bound Alphonse is towering when standing next to his brother. He is mild-mannered, soft-spoken, and wiser than Edward. People often mistake him as the older one.

Fullmetal Alchemist had a lot more action packed, exciting, and thought provoking characters and storylines. But I personally believe that the brothers shine above the rest.


Chismis: Since I am talking about endings, I wanna share something. I've been interacting with someone for a little more than 8 weeks now. Today was the first 24 hours since that eight weeks that we didn't interact in any way. I'm not really sad or happy about it. And it's not really an ending. The daily talk just ended today. I'm just saying. Well, carry on. =) And yes, I purposely wrote this in fine print. Haha.