An Actual Alchemist Analyzes Fullmetal Alchemist - What Truth REALLY Is

There is a better name than Paracelsus' real name, and that name, is Joey Jojo Junior Shabadoo.

Hiromu Arakawa sure did her research for FMA. Not only on alchemy, but if I remember correctly she also interviewed war veterans for inspiration on the military characters of the manga.

You can't learn the history of chemistry without alchemy. Before science, there was natural philosophy.

So, this all means that when alchemists in FMA used a Philosoper's Stone, they were quite literally borrowing the powers of God by sending the souls that made up the stones to see Truth instead of going themselves, therefore becoming able to perform otherwise impossible feats through the exchange of human souls for God's powers.

I love Ed's cloak being ANOTHER direct reference to the stone, as well You have the crux serpens - the fixing of the volatile, often referencing elixir of mercury It's given wings, symbolizing the connection of the material to the divine and the earthly to the spiritual and topped with a crown, signifying a perfect and complete reaction And it's in black on red, suggesting a progression from Nigredo to Rubedo Absolute chef's kiss, Arakawa. Brilliant

the thing about FMA is that no matter how great you think it is, there’s always another angle you haven’t considered that makes it even better

As an interesting point, the idea of turning lesser metals (namely bismuth) into gold is actually entirely possible, but it is also incredibly inefficient, as we discovered when we did it. Though the methods we used when it happened were unknowable to the ancients, it is nonetheless amazing that they wound up technically being right about the possibility, even if wrong about the methods. Now, our civilization has achieved exactly one of the main reasons people dismiss the alchemists of old as pseudoscience (chrysopoeia) has not only been proven entirely within the realm of possibility, but we now do fairly similar acts almost regularly, such as within a nuclear reactor, turning uranium into things like xenon.

Super interesting video! Just to let you know, the photo you show at 9:40 is actually of Romi Park, the Japanese voice actress for Edward. It's really difficult to find an actual photo of Arakawa since she stays out of the public eye, and so many of the photos that people claim to be of her are actually of Park, or of one of her editors, or of an announcer at a manga awards show... Fact of the matter is, she doesn't really want her face out there, so it's best to just use her cow avatar.

Im starting to realize that FMA is more so a show that is based on a reality where alchemy is an accepted law of nature rather than a show that simply incorporates alchemic concepts. But i had my suspicions about that, about 3/4 of the way through brotherhood. The ending was mind blowing

Full metal alchemist (brotherhood) has to be one of the best magic systems in fiction. Also I love the alchemy seals as they are based on actual occultism and how everything isn't just "science".

I am BEYOND pleased that Youtube recommended this video and by extension, your channel. I've only ever come at FMA: B from a storytelling/film-making perspective which has given me tonnes to think about on that aspect alone (it's a masterclass in that regard). I've certainly appreciated how cohesive the use of it's version of alchemy is and how much it enhances the story but I had no idea (not knowing much about alchemy) just how brilliantly the concepts of alchemy are and how smartly they're being used and represented in Fullmetal Alchemist. I am greatly anticipating further videos on it. Now I'm off to binge your entire backlog of content, starting with that Evangelion video you referenced.

As a student of philosophy with an interest in alchemic history, that loved the FMA:B anime... This was an amazing video... Well done!

"yes, Truth is basically God...but he's so much more than that" That got a giggle out of me

Wow, honestly did not expect such specific and believable alchemy refrences in FMA. I have not watched Brotherhood yet, only the first season back in my mid-school days. As always, you make me wanna put on my nerd glasses on and study the entire show from its beginning to the end

As someone writing fanfic set in the FMA universe, who's also a fan of learning more about historical perspectives and philosophies, videos like this are just packed with useful and interesting information. And it always brings me back to thinking about the moral argument of FMA, the messages and questions it's trying to hand the viewer. And the ways I and my own characters clash with those philosophies and viewpoints. You're giving me a lot to chew on here.

Honestly FMA and FMA: Brotherhood are both SO good at everything they do. The characters staying true to their age, and who they are as a whole the entire series is so refreshing. And the scientific realism, mixed with fantasy is so great.

"The treasures of Hermes are not laid open in one book: perhaps one writer may render clear to you what another fails to explain." ~ Norton, Thomas. The Chemical Treatise, Or, The Ordinal of Alchemy. 1477 AD. Alchemical Tract More power to your channel. Looking forward for more videos like this.

Finally another fresh interpretation of FMA Brotherhood. Just when I thought the references to alchemy in the series were only skin deep you come in and give me yet another reason to love my favorite series of all time. I can't wait to watch the rest of your youtube series as it unfolds.

3:29 Fun Fact: The first name the dwarf in the flask proposed to Hohenheim was "Theophrastus Bombastus" Also fun fact: Paracelsus' name here was, to my knowledge, never actually confirmed as one full name but rather is a combination of all the names he was confirmed to use at one point or another. Edit: I knew I should've kept watching before commenting, you mentioned the first part of course.

This is so cool! I'm glad your video came up on my home page. You do an amazing job trying to explain everything. Thank you for the content!