Edward

ādo Erurikku

Numerous publications in various media have been written on the subject of Edward's character. Reviewers praised Edward to be the balance between the typical clever kid and the stubborn kid persona. Additionally, his comedic moments have been celebrated as the best moments in the series. Both of his voice actors, Romi Park and Vic Mignogna, have been praised for their acting as Edward Elric and have won several awards for it. Numerous pieces of merchandise have been released bearing Edward's likeness, including key chains and action figures.

Edward Elric is the youngest State Alchemist to be selected by the State Military of the country, having achieved the rank of Major at age twelve, receiving the title of the Fullmetal Alchemist shortly after from military head, Fuhrer Bradley. His father's early disappearance, the death of his mother, and a failed human transmutation play pivotal roles in his story. Edward's motivation stems from a love for his brother Alphonse, whom he is desperately seeking to restore to a human form after their alchemy accident. Owing to this, he is also generally perceived to be very independent; he feels that he's the only one who can solve a problem. Often, he feels a heavy guilt that the problem is his fault to begin with and thus is his responsibility to solve. This gives him a selfless inclination.[6]

His automail limbs are made by his childhood friend and neighbor Winry Rockbell. Edward often fights by transmuting his forearm of his automail into a blade.[7] Winry is occasionally kept busy repairing Edward's automail, as Edward regularly breaks them during fights. She is constantly looking for new ways to improve them, whether it is an attempt at extending their durability, lightening the weight, or making them stronger. In both the anime and manga, Winry is an extremely important person to Edward. In the anime series, romantic feelings are hinted at but never explicitly stated. In the manga, Winry is in love with him, and Edward exhibits similar feelings though he constantly denies it.[8]

Edward is extremely short for his age and is very sensitive about his height; he tends to humorously overreact to any comment about it (and often misinterprets the words) in a fit of rage. In the manga, he declares that he is 165 cm (5'5") tall overall, including the height of his hair antenna and platform shoes.[9] Despite all of the obstacles that Edward tackles in the story, he still displays a childish personality when it comes to things he despises, such as needles and milk.[10] He is extremely idealistic and strongly believes in the concept of Equivalent Exchange, that every outcome requires an equal payment, using it as his personal philosophy. Despite his occasional bouts of immaturity, he is a selfless, strong, independent and a mature young adult that gains a reputation as a "hero of the people".[11]

Unlike regular alchemists that normally use transmutation circles, Edward has the special ability to create alchemical currents in his body simply by connecting his hands. The arms and body themselves form the circle, and the power that circulates through the body when this is done is used for the transmutation. This is a direct result of seeing the Gate of Truth, the source of all alchemical knowledge, while attempting to resurrect his mother in the failed human transmutation.[12] He is adept at changing substances from one thing to another quickly, such as changing water into ethanol, and can transmute the elements of an enemy's body to injure him or her in battle.[13] In the manga, this knowledge is great enough to save his own life, as he heals a would-be fatal wound.[14] In addition to his alchemical ability, Edward is a formidable fighter as result of his training with Izumi Curtis, who had extensively trained both brothers in martial arts when they were young, after their mother died.[15]

Edward is born in a small town named Resembool, where he lives with his younger brother, Alphonse, and both of his parents, Trisha Elric and Hohenheim. When Hohenheim embarks on a journey and Trisha dies of an illness several years later, the two young boys are left as orphans. Their neighbor, Pinako Rockbell, then begins looking after them. During that time, the brothers concentrate on studying alchemy in hopes of bringing their mother back to life and are able to train with a skilled alchemist named Izumi Curtis.[16] When they return home from their training, they proceed to try the taboo art of Human transmutation but fail, costing Edward his left leg and Alphonse his entire body. Edward then performs a second transmutation, sacrificing his own right arm to bind Alphonse's soul to a nearby suit of armor.[15] Edward becomes a State Alchemist in order to find a way to recover their bodies through use of the legendary Philosopher's Stone. Winry Rockbell, his childhood friend, also outfits him with prosthetic automail limbs to replace those that he lost. It is because of these metal parts that Edward is given the title "Fullmetal Alchemist". During their search they become the target of an Ishbalan called Scar and of the homunculi.[17]

When Edward and Alphonse discover that the homunculi and the Philosopher's Stone are related, they work together with Lin Yao and Roy Mustang in order to find them.[18] However, after the Elric brothers meet the first homunculus "Father", they are forced to keep working with the military by the higher ups secretly using their friends from Resembool as hostages.[19] Being unable to protect them, Ed and Al go to the north of the country to request help from Olivier Mira Armstrong.[20] Shortly after arriving there, the State Alchemist Solf J. Kimblee takes Winry to the north along with him to keep forcing him to work.[21] When they are ordered to capture the Scar, they decide to ask him to help them to move Winry to a safe place.[22] Once they succeed, Ed starts working with the rebelled homunculus Greed, who is in the body of Lin Yao, and finds out that "Father" plans to make a human transmutation out of the entire country. Ed, Al, and all of their allies thus unite in an effort to bring down Father.[23] They make their way into the underground complex where Ed is planned to be used as a sacrifice for Father's transmutation.