Ed, Al, and Col. Mustang.
Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkinjitsushi), also rendered FullMetal Alchemist or Full Metal Alchemist and abbreviated to FMA or HagaRen, is a manga series by Hiromu Arakawa. It is also a very popular anime directed by Seiji Mizushima and a second, also-popular anime directed by Yasuhiro Irie.
For more information than we can cover here, see the FMA Wiki.
World[]
FMA is set in an Earth-like world at a technology level similar to that of the Industrial Revolution. The most obvious machines are automobiles, trains, and automail, the last being highly functional, mechanical prostheses. The story is set in the country of Amestris, which is governed by a Führer from the capitol of Central City. The Führer is also the head of the State Military, the primary offensive and defensive force of Amestris. Much of Amestris seems to have a Germanic flavor to it, although Arakawa disavows any direct allegory between the nations of FMA and any real-world nations.
Alchemy[]
The most striking difference between the world of FMA and our own is the existence of alchemy. In the canon, alchemy is a very advanced science, the use of which allows alchemists to transmute matter from one state to another. Alchemy obeys the law of Equivalent Exchange, which states that you can't create something without destroying something of equivalent mass and composition. Furthermore, there is a strict law against human transfiguration which seems to extend to all living, non-plant things.
Most, though by no means all practitioners of alchemy in Amestris are State Alchemists. They have to sit a difficult exam with two parts, theoretical and practical, in order to earn the title. The reward for doing so is access to resources that laypeople can only dream of as well as a silver watch and a nickname, as in the Fullmetal Alchemist or the Flame Alchemist. The downside is that State Alchemists are technically part of the military and must do as they're told. Researchers also come up for review every year and must show results or lose their privileges.
Story[]
Edward and Alphonse Elric are the sons of an alchemist, who is missing and presumed dead. They live with their mother in the village of Resembool and grow up performing minor alchemical feats. When their mother dies, however, they break every rule in the book in an attempt to bring her back. The attempt fails horribly, at the expense of Ed's left leg and Al's entire body. In a desperate bid to save his little brother, Ed trades his right arm for Al's soul and fixes it to a suit of armor.
A few days later, the boys are contacted by Roy Mustang, a colonel and alchemist in the State Military. He offers Edward the opportunity to become a State Alchemist. Ed is determined to find a way to restore his brother's body, and so he sits the exam and becomes the youngest State Alchemist in history.
In their search for answers, the Elric brothers learn of the Philosopher's Stone, an artifact that is said to have the power to perform human transfiguration. However, they aren't the only people looking for the Stone. They gradually become embroiled in a series of events that started years ago and goes deep into the military, all the while being pursued by homunculi, humanoid creatures with bizarre powers, who hope the Elrics will lead them to the Stone. For what purpose, nobody knows.
Note: The story of the first anime diverges from that of the manga about midway through, because the manga wasn't finished yet. This was a deliberate choice on the part of the creator, so each version may be considered its own separate canon. The second anime, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, follows the manga more closely.
OFU[]
This continuum's OFU is the Alchemists' Fanfiction Academy (AFA). FMA minis are chimerae, beasts created by alchemy from two or more animals.
- "The Alchemists' Fanfiction Academy" - Unfinished, alas. Partially beta-read by Neshomeh.
Missions in this Continuum[]
All reports are listed alphabetically by agent name, in the case of agents with multiple missions, or by mission name.
Agents Specialized in this Continuum[]
Agents are considered specialized in a continuum when they have handled at least three missions in the canon. Most of these agents are also active/specialized in other continua. It is often not the agents who decide where their specialty lies, but the Flowers that keep assigning missions to them.
- Agents Singsong Jacobs and Joyce Odelia Reesin (DF)
Agents Not Yet Specialized in this Continuum[]
Agents with fewer than three missions in this continuum are not specialized, yet. They probably soon will be.
- Agents Ilraen and Supernumerary (DIC)
- "The Dark Side" (crossover with World of Warcraft), with Agents Brightbeard and Barid (APD)
- "Full Metal and the Hogwarts Mishap" (crossover with Harry Potter)
- "An Alchemist's mission," Agents Tanya Davies and Salix (DMS-FMA)
- "The Dying Flame," Agents Lasa and Montbretia (DOA)
- "Vic and Envy…And A Self-Insert" (MST), Agents Miriam Jones and Rael (DF)