Talk:Edward Elric/Archive 1

flawed reasoning

"This could also be seen as a playful knock on the boy, seeing as his brother is the one that is truly 'Fullmetal', and would thus cause many cases mistaken identity."

the japanese literally translates to "Alchemist of Steel" so although people do make the mistake of thinking that Al is the state alchemist, the "full" in "fullmetal" has nothing to do with it. Ziiv 21:42, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

Actually, there's at least one scene (in the English dub, at least) where someone mistakes Al for being the "Fullmetal Alchemist" only to have Ed correct them. His reaction seems to imply this happens a lot. 72.72.195.17 06:34, 8 November 2006 (UTC)

In the main FMA page, it says "In the original Japanese, the term "Fullmetal" is used to describe a person who is stubborn" Does this have anything to do with Ed's title?

Sargent Denny Block, when introduced to the Elric brothers during episode 18 english dubbed, responds to Alphonse Elric, "Wow, you surely live up to your name sir. When they say Full Metal, they really arn't kidding." The joke behind Al's brother being truly 'Fullmetal' is hinted in the show, may it be the original name's intention or not.

"It may also be that State Alchemists are not named for what they are, but for their outstanding achievements in Alchemy. In this case, Edward's title of Fullmetal would have been presented to him for his successful binding of his brother"

The title of "FULLMETAL was given to Edward by King Bradley but it was prior to him finding out about Al's soul being bound to the armour; at the time the only millitary personel who knew about Al would have been Roy Mustang; and possibly Riza Hawkeye; so its highly unlikely the title Fullmetal references Al's predicament

Yes, but bear in mind that King Bradley was a homonculus and they seem to have ways of knowing these things.

Ed's Age in conqueror of Shamballa

How can Ed be 18 in Conqueror of Shamballa when it takes place in 1923 and he was born in 1899, so shoudn't he be 24 can someone explain it to me.

Our world's year count is not the same as Amestris' year count. That's all. Base his age on how much time has passed and how old he is according to Amestris' calendar, not ours. --TLG 06:22, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

Ed is not 165 cm. Here is the real height chart .[1]

The omake has him saying he is 165 cm when he was really much shorter http://absoluteanime.com/image.html?src=http%3A%2F%2Fabsoluteanime.com%2Ffullmetal_alchemist%2Fed-height.jpg&w=673&h=999&title=Ed%27s%20Height

The article was right before I dont know what happened.

Last words (first death)

If his death is not permanent and he speaks again, then those are not really last words. removed. 199.126.137.209 13:19, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

Ed's Age For The Interested

The Reason that Ed is not 24 is because, when he went through to the other side of the gate ("our world"), He retained his age of 15 (Or 16 was it?), but was switched to a different callendar structure. Ed was born in 1899, according to the callendar used by Amestris. 15 years later, in the year 1914 Amestris (Or 1915 Amestris, his age at that time escapes me), he was put into the alternate of Amestris, in "Our Time" 1920 (Or 1921). So, in 1923, he would've biologically aged 3 (or 2) years, leaving him at 18. It's confusing, I know. The only thing that you really need to remember is that there are two distinct callendars between the two worlds.

Ed is 16 at the end of the anime and 18 in the movie

That must be right and not just because of Ed's age problems. In the anime, when Izumi told Ed about the underground city, she showed him an old letter of Dante's that was dated according to the birth of Christ. Ed has no idea what that means and Izumi has to explain it to him, saying that it is a dead religion. (I could be wrong about a detail or two, but that I certain of that scene and its proof that Amestris does not measure years in the way that we do. Yet it seems that Amestris years are only a few years different from our years, making it easy to confuse our dates with their dates.

Does anyone know anything more about the Amestris calendar? It might say something more in the manga than it does in the anime and surely we should mention somewhere in the article that when we are talking about dates in Amestris we are using an nonstandard calendar, at least to prevent confusions about Ed's age.

For example, the Christian calendar tends to say things like "In the year of our lord, 1920," or "One Million Years B.C." Is there something similar that we could use for Amestris dates to subtly but importantly resolve this confustion? -- Lilwik 09:32, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

Newbie asks for help

OK.. I just wanted to add a Footnote to the sentence why they've misspelled metal with 2 Ls.
This is the first edit I ever wanted to do on this site, and it was harder than I expected.
Could someone please guide me how to do so that I do not do anything stupid.

Thanks on beforehand
KeckMeifter
03:52 12/5 2006 —The preceding unsigned comment was added by KeckMeifter (talk • contribs) 02:54, 5 December 2006 (UTC).

Edward Elric's Birthday

Like I've asked before, I'd like to see a source cited on this as I've searched high and low for his birthdate. 24.57.128.241 03:21, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

-Arakawa has actually stated in an interview or in one of the Perfect Guides that Ed does not have a specific birthday. The February, 3, date seems to be attributed to the Official FMA Fansite 198.151.180.84 00:24, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Edward's Views

I know for a fact that in the anime, Edward is agnostic and the same goes for the manga. He even says that he is. I don't think he's an atheist becuase there is a big difference! Did he ever say he hated God? The Quidam 19:22, 21 February 2007 (UTC)

Per se, no; however, in the anime episode where he and Al were uncoding Dr. Marcoh's research notes, he did note that God must really hate people who go against him, and comments that just when he gets his hand around the prize he seeks God goes and kicks him in the mouth. Based on that you could say that he has no great love for God. TomStar81 (Talk) 05:54, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

According to the article on atheism, to be an atheist he would have to believe that God does not exist, which is quite different from hating God. If he did say that he hated God, then I would take that as evidence that he is not an atheist. We do know for certain that he is not a Christian, at least. -- Lilwik 07:49, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

I have a much clearer head now. I've never heard Ed say anything about being an atheist. The whole hating God thing proveds more evindence for theistism. He also has to think that there is life after death because he tries to bring his mom and Al back (at least in the anime). Ed is no Chistrain beacuse that reilgon is no longer on that planent but he is not an atheist ether. Anime series never talk about the main chacter's religon because it is hard for some people to care about him if you are differnet. Full Metal is no exption. I'll edit this in a few days unless something is posted here (MJW).

After a long think Edward is a agnostic (he states this somewhere) in the manga; but I think it is heavily hinted that he is theist in the anime. He's comment about hating God in the anime and his statmeant "I'll show you the real wrath of God!" to Father C. are good examples. I think the agnostic statment should be moved into the Manga section. One could argue that after the second season that manga ed and anime ed are different characters. We might add an explanation of all this somewhere in the article. Bones changed the messege and other details so much that it is its own universe. One idea would be to add "Edward is an agnostic in the manga but his views are left unstated in the anime." MJW April 5 2007

Hello? Is anyone here? I would dislike to edit something without anyone talking back to me. I'll do it soon. Please do not rant at me. MJW April 9 2007

I don't think hes agnostic or atheistic. Being agnostic means that he would think that whether go exists or not is an unknowable thing. I think that he believes god exists, but he also believes that god would not have enabled people to do alchemy if he didn't want it. Also, I think hes angry that people pray to god for changes which alchemy can change and god seemingly can not.

Ed and Al

the Profile says that Ed is two years older then Al, but i'm pretty sure he's only one year —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 24.186.66.167 (talk) 22:40, 8 March 2007 (UTC).

I've just watched the first episode again and I see that you are right! Could this be a difference between the anime and the manga, or is the article just wrong? -- Lilwik 00:15, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

One brother might just be one and a half years older or so (MJW).

A little thing....

Next time, side note goes to Trivia. And Selim's revelaion isn't connected with Ed (yet). ^_^ 222.124.243.227 07:25, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

He is one year older in the manga. Before Roy Mustang arrives at their home(after their first human transmutation), a soldier mentions the Elric Brothers' age.

Proof of Age

Okay, I said before I could prove that Edward does not age past 15 in the series and here it is.

1. As we all know, Ed is 15 when the series begins.

2. In the final episode, Al is given back his body, but is still 10 years old.

3. The very beginning of Conqueror of Shamballa Al is introduced with a subtitle that reads "Younger Brother Age 13." In order for this to work, approx. 3 years must have passed since the end of the series.

4. Later in that movie, Ed claims that he is now 18-years-old. This means there is now a 5-year age difference in the boys, starting with when Al retained his body.

5. Hence, Ed is 15 throughtout the series so that three years later he is 18.

I don't know much about the calenders and birthdates and all so if I am mistaken please correct me.

—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Sherick (talk • contribs) 03:41, 1 May 2007 (UTC).

That is untrue. Edward is in fact sixteen at the end of the series. In Fullmetal Heart, Edward turns sixteen, and Mrs. Hughes bakes him a cake as a present. It was actually a mistake that Alphonse was thirteen in the movie, as it is shown in Dante of the Deep Forest; (After Edward turns sixteen.) a bandit asks Alphonse how old he is, Alphonse tells him “Fourteen” proving that Edward is more then a year older then Alphonse, which means that Al should be twelve in the movie, as edward is Eighteen. –Lynntei, 2:26, June 6, 2007

All right, thank you for clearing that up. I had forgotten about that episode. -Sherick, 4:28, June 11, 2007.

"Archer"

"(In one episode, Archer even reaches for his sidearm as Ed yells about one such insult.)"

This is quite unclear to me, as I have watched all the episodes of the anime, and I don't recall a character named 'Archer'. It seems like this was supposed to refer to 'an archer'. E8792m 21:13, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

If you have seen all the episodes, you should quite clearly recall a Colonel Frank Archer. Sherick 18:53, 4 May 2007

Beh, I guess I shouldn't pick at things before googling... Hard to remember all the names. >.< E8792m 20:32, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Edward's very possible feelings for Winry Rockbell (Manga)

I'd like to see it noted somewhere in the article that Edward could like Winry... Including the fact that his denial for having attractions for Winry is somewhat simular to his denial of being short (Just without overestimation of insults and overpersonalizing the word 'short'). E8792m 21:17, 4 May 2007 (UTC)

In the manga, it is very clear that he likes Winry. Read before the Ishbal genocide and the chimera attacks in later chapters. MollyHirosuki92 17:53, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Actually, in the anime it isn't clear that he likes Winry, but they do mention it at some points. Winry never actually mentions it out loud but it is mentioned several times in the anime. Edward being short is sort of added to the fact that him and Winry have feelings toward each other because she often mentions his height. In one episode (I can't recall which one) she is trying to get him to drink milk (And he hates milk) and she states that the reason he is so short is because he never drinks milk. MollyHirosuki92 17:53, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

Wrong on both counts. In the manga Edward does not have a crush or possible romantic feelings towards Winry (so far, the sediment seems to be that he does not have feelings that way and is rattled by idea as he has reacted negatively towards it), it is Winry that has an actual canon-supported crush on Edward. In the anime canon, it was clear from start to finish that Edward never had any romantic feelings for Winry, (it is actually supported in canon that he did not like her romatically). There is no more (via the projection of fans) basis for Ed/Winry in the anime than there is for other pairings such as Ed/Roy, Ed/Anyone or Al/Anyone. Dwindle (talk) 05:43, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

What in the world? There is NOTHING within the anime or manga that affirms or concludes the notion that he does not have romantic feelings for Winry. So saying that "it's clear from the start to finish that Edward never had romantic feelings for her" is actually your own subjective opinion because it's subtly hinted at in the anime and movie, and much more prominently in manga.

In the manga, he's comically shown to be in complete denial of his feelings indicated by the fact that he gets embarrassed, blushes and reacts nervously everytime he's confronted with the question of whether or not he loves her, and either feebly contradicts the claim or dodges the question. He even recited the periodic table in order to take his mind off the conversation he had with Riza while Winry was examining his automail, making his attraction towards her even more evident. This is because it is a known fact that has been demonstrated throughout the series that Edward isn't adept with dealing with his emotions, especially his more intimate ones. And in the anime canon, the OVA actually hinted that he may have returned to Amestris and had a family with her or he wedded her lookalike, since the children resemble him and Winry. Not to mention the director, before the release of Conqueror of Shamballa, said they would add some elements of Ed/Win and Roy/Riza into the movie for the fans.

So yes, he does like Winry romantically(more ambiguously in the anime than the manga) but won't admit it to himself. So comparing it to baseless fancruft like the aforementioned pairings you listed is utterly ridiculous since there is an esablished, consistent basis of evidence blatantly presented within the canon material that he has more than platonic feelings for in the series. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.242.86.82 (talk) 02:26, 4 January 2008 (UTC)

I really wish people would stop trying to force their imaginary ship into the mix. You speak of subjective opinions and then give one that is completely outrageous. This show was about Ed and Al, and if you missed that continuously rammed-into-canon factiod, then you missed the whole point of the show.

The series actually WAS clear that Ed did not like Winry, that was indeed a canon fact. I can list a million canon facts but will point to one of the most obvious for now.. Ed and Al never intended, and openly expressed this fact, to return home or to Winry. Many times. Saying "there is no proof either way" isn't proof of your ship, it is proof that some fans can and will see what they want to see and read into things and project so that they can pretend something exists which does not. How can you even conceive the idea that Edward could possibly be in love with someone he never even spent time with or around the vast majority of the time, anyway? There is NO canon support for Edward liking Winry, therefore it is NOT canon. Hints are not canon, unless you want to accept the hints other people who love other ships (like Ed/Roy) pick up on. So this subject can be properly dumped and ignored. Wiki is NOT the place to insert non-canon, else we get other people insisting their ships are canon as well because of "hints" and it turns into a silly ship war. The OVA you are referring to was stated as NON canon (and impossible) a long time ago by the people that made it. The director was speaking of Ed and Winry friendship, and canonly what the movie provided us were hints of Ed/Noah and Ed/Alfons (edit: the director also wrote that Ed's feelings towards Alfons were very "complicated"), so WTF? So no, Ed did not have romantic feelings for Winry, and I for one would appreciate the very sillness of the idea (and all other "obvious" projected pairings: Ed/Roy, Ed/Noah, wtfe) never touching this article. Leave it for fan fiction, where it belongs. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.216.134.119 (talk) 23:22, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

"This show was about Ed and Al, and if you missed that continuously rammed-into-canon factiod, then you missed the whole point of the show."

Wow, I must have missed the entire theme of the series. Thank you for pointing that out. So, what does that have to do with the topic precisely?

"Ed and Al never intended, and openly expressed this fact, to return home or to Winry."

Now, isn't that because the point of their journey is to recover their bodies? Did they ever express the intent (vocally or otherwise) that they would never return? In fact, Edward in anime (before they met with Izumi again) said they couldn't return home until they were whole again. So it's implied that they do plan to come back to Risembool after their journey. Objectively, the reasons are irrevelent. What they DID make clear, however, is that they wouldn't return to the house that they lived (which they expressed with vehement resolve by burning it to the ground). Again, no proof in your statement.

"How can you even conceive the idea that Edward could possibly be in love with someone he never even spent time with or around the vast majority of the time, anyway."

See? Now you're projecting your own opinion into the relationship when it contradicts what's already been established in canon. One: in the manga, he actually does spend more time with her between missions, as her role has been expanded. Two:It was stated before that both Edward and Alphonse used to fight over who would marry Winry. There's also a flaw in your reasoning since the logic you're using should be applicable to Winry as well since she spends little time with Edward. Yet, she confesses to herself that she's in love with him.

Like I said, purely subjective, baseless and contradictive.

"There is NO canon support for Edward liking Winry, therefore it is NOT canon."

You offer nothing to fortify that statement other than your personal opinions, which rather is hypocritical itself. While we have seen, get this, ACTUAL and unambiguous examples in the canon manga that expresses the opposite. So it deserves mention at least.

As for the Edward's feelings about Alfons, You got it backwards. In the official booklet of the Conqueror of Shamballa, it stated and I quote "Alfons' limited life ends with him having complicated feelings towards Edward". This is referencing their conflict of interest regarding Alfons' involvement in the project to invade Edward's world and how it affected their friendship, so way to take it out of context. And the "Ed/Noah" hints were entirely one-sided. There were more "hints" of Alfons/Noah if you want to be fanatic about it.

As for the Ed/Winry scenes, again it was specifically mentioned in the guide books that those scenes were made to demonstrate their mutual interest in one another.

The OVA canonicity is dubious, while events portrayed in it definitely contradict what happened in the anime,the scene with Edward as an older man with grandchildren is never explicitly addressed as to whether or not it takes place in the OVA timeline or the original anime series.

I am clearly aware that Wikipedia is NOT a place for fan speculation or fancruft, but of fact and verifiability. However, the romantic interaction between Edward and Winry is not a product of either as I've already said. it is made explicitly (and unbearably) noticable and is even pointed out by the characters themselves(to the point of almost being a running gag). I'm not even an actual fan of this coupling and it's apparent to me what is intended. Now, unless you can offer me another of those "millions of canon facts" within the series refute it(or a comment by the author), I'll concede. Otherwise, you're the only one who is "projecting" as your entire argument lacks any actual basis and relies mainly on disjointed reasoning and distortion. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.242.86.82 (talk) 01:38, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Voice Actors section

As far as I know, the Latin American dub of Fullmetal Alchemist is done in Venezuela, not in Mexico. I'm correcting that.--Shadowy Crafter 02:47, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

The "In The Manga" Section Get Erased

Anyone can fix it? 222.124.224.184 06:30, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

Hometown? I'm reading the manga and it says Liesenburgh, but in the anime it says Risembool, right? --71.224.18.28 21:29, 27 October 2007 (UTC)

Engrish. Rau's Speak Page 01:39, 2 April 2008 (UTC)

I'm expanding the section (Sakura22222 (talk) 21:47, 2 August 2008 (UTC))

Please see the note. You are adding a lot of excessive details and not adding any sources. -- AnmaFinotera (talk · contribs) 21:51, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

I put in sources now, I was trying to before but you deleted it too quickly. (Sakura22222 (talk) 22:33, 2 August 2008 (UTC))

Because most of what you put isn't necessary. As the note says, this should be an overview, not a blow by blow of every event in the series. Look at some our GA character articles for a better idea of how this kind of section should be written. -- AnmaFinotera (talk · contribs) 22:42, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Spelling error

Changed "sowing" to "sewing" life alchemist. (Not a big deal, doesn't have much to do with Edward anyway, it just bothered me.) 75.2.41.30 (talk) 20:59, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

"Despite"?

I would like to question the sentence "Despite these negative traits, he has positive ones as well.", that appear in the last paragaph of the "character description" section of the article. In the context, it makes it sound like a "negative trait" to be an agnostic, which I'm pretty sure goes against at least one of WP's rules. Even if it's not the intention to make it sound that way, I must still argue that the sentence be edited, removed, replaced or reverbalized. 81.228.148.16 (talk) 22:11, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the above. That sentence sounds insulting to nonbelievers and should be changed. 84.119.72.107 (talk) 21:27, 1 February 2008 (UTC)

Fandom

Why is it necessary? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.0.91.63 (talk) 04:54, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Edward Elric/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Xtzou (Talk) 19:03, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

Hi, I am reviewing this article. I think it is very well done and have only a few questions:

• "Edward behaves in a childish manner about his short height; he tends to humorously overreact to any comment about it (and often misinterprets the words) in a fit of rage" - he is "humorous" and "in a fit of rage" at the same time? Or how does that work?
  • Removed humorous. It works like a comic relief in the series.Tintor2 (talk) 19:14, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
• "Despite his occasional bouts of immaturity, he is a selfless, strong, independent and mature young adult that gains a reputation as a "hero of the people"." - How can he be immature and mature at the same time? I assume that he shifts between seeming immature and mature.
  • Fixed.Tintor2 (talk) 19:14, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
• "Edward's childhood friend, Winry Rockbell, designed Edward's automail limbs alongside her grandmother Pinako." What does "alongside her grandmother" mean?
  • Fixed.Tintor2 (talk) 19:14, 6 May 2010 (UTC)
• "allows Edward to float between the comical moments and the underlying drama without seeming false." - This is word for word from the source. The wording should be changed, or it should be put in quotes.
  • Fixed.Tintor2 (talk) 19:14, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

I will put the article on hold while you address these issues. Thanks, Xtzou (Talk) 19:03, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

GA review – see WP:WIAGA for criteria

1. Is it reasonably well written?

   A. Prose quality: Well written

   B. MoS compliance: Complies with the basic MoS

2. Is it factually accurate and verifiable?

   A. References to sources: Sources are reliable

   B. Citation of reliable sources where necessary: Well referenced

   C. No original research:

3. Is it broad in its coverage?

   A. Major aspects: Sets the context

   B. Focused: Remains focused on topic

4. Is it neutral?

   Fair representation without bias:

5. Is it stable?

   No edit wars, etc:

6. Does it contain images to illustrate the topic?

   A. Images are copyright tagged, and non-free images have fair use rationales:

   B. Images are provided where possible and appropriate, with suitable captions:

7. Overall:

   Pass or Fail: Pass!

• Nice job! Xtzou (Talk) 19:43, 6 May 2010 (UTC)

Manga Impact

Manga Impact: The World of Japanese Animation, 6 December 2010, ISBN 978-0714857411; pg 53:

Born in the parallel, magically influenced world of Amestris, Edward Elric is touchy about his stature, hot tempered and fiercely protective of his brother Alphonse. He is also the youngest State Alchemist in the history of his homeland's military, a child prodigy whose incredible achievements hide a series of tragedies and a deep sense of personal guilt. Apparently deserted by their father, and bereaved at the loss of their mother, the two Elric boys began experimenting with alchemy at an early age. This intense focus gave Ed his great abilities, but also literally cost him an arm and a leg - he uses prosthetics made of 'automail'. Worst of all, amid the ongoing experiments to bring his mother back from the grave, an alchemical incident caused Alphonse to lose his entire body. At the beginning of the boys' anime adventures, Ed is tailed by what first appears to be a talking suit of armour - Alphonse's soul possesses the suit, and is patiently waiting for his brother to rescue his physical form.
Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) was a surprise success in both Japan and abroad, drawing fans in with an initially shallow premise that soon spirals into more meaningful meditations on duty and responsibility. Ed acts like a spoilt brat, but has been left that way by a deprived and traumatic childhood - in fact, every single act he performs is a facet of true loyalty, filial piety and the desire to do right, even if the consequences are disastrous. Perhaps because of these feet of clay, he became one of the most popular anime figures of the turn of the century, voted Best Character in the 2003 Animage readers' poll.
J.Cl. Jonathan Clements

--Gwern (contribs) 19:50 23 December 2011 (GMT)

Thanks for the information.Tintor2 (talk) 22:07, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

The question, as always, remains will anyone use it. --Gwern (contribs) 16:21 24 December 2011 (GMT)