The world of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is undoubtedly engaging. The world building elements are undeniably memorable and fantastic.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an anime that has fascinated viewers for years. Probably its biggest advantage in this regard is its elaborate world. The world building really helped this anime feel like it could exist in its own universe. This is all the more apparent when considering its actual geographical world, realistically flawed characters, and its brilliantly crafted system of hard magic.
The Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood world map shows a fully developed geographic area spanning several countries. The land in which the story takes place, Amestris, is divided into five regions based on cardinal directions and a centralized region. In these different areas, there are different cities with different ethnic groups and cultures, which lends this world a realism element that is very evident in ours as well. There is also a centralized US government that took full military control of the entire country, leading to the infamous takeover of Ishval in the eastern region.
Outside of Amestris, there are many other countries with their own culture and understanding of what alchemy is and how it works. Chief among these foreign countries are Drachma and Xing. These countries are both larger than Amestris and represent different worldviews and, in Drachma’s case, the threat of an invading force. The viewer feels that while the story takes place in Amestris, there is a whole world full of other alchemists and potential threats looming in the background.
Once we get past the physical world itself, there are many characters worth exploring to get a taste of the ruthless world of Fullmetal Alchemist. The three characters in particular really give the show a real world feel. First the protagonist Edward Elric. The events of the story were set in motion after he botched an attempt to resurrect his mother, severely maiming himself while erasing his own brother’s body.
In this world, even children can suffer intense consequences for their actions, lending a ruthless realism to the world. Then there’s Colonel Mustang. He is one of the characters that the viewer is meant to root for throughout the anime, but when shown what he has done in the past, he comes across as significantly less heroic. This reflects the real world’s tendency to have its “heroes” not so perfectly black or white, but rather a suitable gray area. Imperfect heroes have always existed throughout history.
Scar is the last character worth analyzing. It shows what can happen when military tensions cross borders and almost completely destroy a culture. Ishval has been almost completely destroyed, along with its people, and Scar is understandably driven for revenge to overthrow the American government. While Scar takes his ideology too far in the events of the anime, his point of view is portrayed as one that is understandable, if not fully morally justifiable. The layers given to his motivations and actions is something that shows how brutally good and immersive the world building is.
Of course, the last major element of this anime’s masterful world-building is its renowned hard magic system. Hard-magical systems are magical systems that have clear and specific rules that cannot be broken in order for the magic to work. It leaves little, if anything, up to interpretation. In the magical system of alchemy chosen by Fullmetal Alchemist, the rules are simple: in order to create something, something of equal value must be given. This is the concept of equivalent exchange. It’s incredibly easy to understand, and the tension comes not from whether the characters will bend the rules, but rather from whether they succeed within the rules. It resembles real-world scientific processes such as energy transfer, states of matter, etc. The fact that the equivalent exchange is never interrupted in the anime makes the world feel concrete and understandable.
Entire textbooks could be written about the world of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, but suffice it to say that this anime is nothing short of a masterful execution of world building. From its layered geography, complex characters, easy-to-understand magic system, and a whole host of other features, it’s no wonder that anime has attracted interest for years.
