The Gate in Full Metal Alchemist and the Veil in Harry Potter
Avada Kedabra
Where Voldemort's body went
(Something extra: Which Gates opened and the Voldemort-Harry connection)
Homunculus
End of Goblet of Fire
Wormtail, Lucius?
What if Tom Riddle is really, erm, Tom Riddle?
Dumbledore the Alchemist
The creation of the Philosopher's Stone
If Nicholas Flammel has lived so long...
Conspiracies
About
What is Full Metal Alchemist about?
Full Metal Alchemist (also called Fullmetal Alchemist) is the story of two brothers, Edward and Alfonse Elric. Their mother dies when they are children, so they study alchemy and attempt to revive her. Human transmutation is forbidden, and they are punished: Alfonse loses his body and Edward loses an arm and a leg. In a last ditch effort to save his brother, Edward ties Alfonse's soul to an empty suit of armor. (I swear these are not spoilers!)
They recognize that they cannot offer anything as valuable as their mother's life (alchemy works on the principle of equivalent exchange), so they give up trying to revive the dead. What they seek then is to regain their original bodies. For that, they need the Philosopher's Stone.
The anime is about their quest for the Philosopher's Stone. At the end of everything, it makes sense that something so rare and powerful should have such a dark and twisted history.
It makes one wonder about the Philosopher's Stone in Harry Potter.
And Voldemort. And Dumbledore, for that matter.
Where can I find out more about Full Metal Alchemist?
Full Metal Alchemist used to be a free fansub (with original Japanese audio and English subtitles) that people could download online. It is not available online anymore, however, because it was licensed in America. FMA was recently released on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim. You can find it there.
The official website has more information: Fullmetal-Alchemist.com There, you can find episode summaries, pictures, character bios, and other things.
The manga is free at www.readmanga.com, but know that the anime and manga veer off in different directions. I watched the fansubbed anime, so that is what I base my analysis on.
What are the differences between alchemy in FMA and transfigurations in HP?
Alchemy is very similar to tranfiguration, but it has more restrictions. Normal alchemy only rearranges materials into something new, a detail which is not necessary with magic. In alchemy, one cannot create or destroy material. That rule does not hold for Harry's world.
Alchemy has more restrictions on biological transmutations. Human transmutations (e.g. reviving the dead, creating a human body, etc.) are forbidden in alchemy. JK Rowling has said that magic cannot bring back the dead, but nonetheless she allows more biological manipulations. With magic, Harry can turn inanimate objects into animals and vice-versa. Alchemy cannot do that.
A note on comparing the two series
JK Rowling could not have known about Full Metal Alchemist when she was writing Harry Potter. She did not "take ideas" from this anime. I know that, so please don't e-mail me wondering if I am making this argument.
No, the reason I am comparing HP and FMA is because they have such intriguing similarities that the makers of Full Metal Alchemist and the author of Harry Potter most likely gathered information from the same sources. FMA speaks openly about alchemy; HP only briefly. Many of the events in HP which JK Rowling obscured (such as the Potter murders and Voldemort's survival) can be dragged into the light with information from FMA. This is fascinating. This is what these comparisons are about.
Yes. I have tried to rely less on the specific Full Metal Alchemist plot and more on the ideas in it that relate to Harry Potter. It contains spoilers, but it is writen so that anyone can understand it. See the spoilers warning below, though, if you are familiar with FMA.
Last notes - Spoilers Warning
In this page is all I can really tell you about Full Metal Alchemist without throwing out spoilers. Be warned, however, that the rest of the discussions contain spoilers for Harry Potter books 1-5 and season two of Full Metal Alchemist (episodes 26-51). If you plan to watch the series and have not yet finished, then perhaps you should come back later. If you have never watched and never plan to watch FMA, then go ahead. I will explain the concepts so that readers who don't know anything about Full Metal Alchemist can follow the speculations.
Still! If you don't want spoilers, don't read further! You have been warned.
This portion of The Hogwarts Tower of Time was created March 2005. It was last updated July 2005. Thanks for visiting!
Full Metal Alchemist (also called Fullmetal Alchemist) is the story of two brothers, Edward and Alfonse Elric. Their mother dies when they are children, so they study alchemy and attempt to revive her. Human transmutation is forbidden, and they are punished: Alfonse loses his body and Edward loses an arm and a leg. In a last ditch effort to save his brother, Edward ties Alfonse's soul to an empty suit of armor. (I swear these are not spoilers!)
