History FullMetalAlchemist / TropesAToF

** Alex Armstrong to Scar (whilst [[{{Stripperific}} stripping,]] of course): "Destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin! You must destroy to create! That is the law of the universe! Non-alchemists may fail to see the inherent truth of that statement. But we understand, don't we, Scar?"

** '''[[CatchPhrase THE ART OF BADASS BOASTING HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS!]]'''

** Major Armstrong! '''[[RunningGag His boisterousness and musculature]] [[CatchPhrase have been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!]]'''

* {{Catchphrase}}:
** "This [object/ability] has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations." It's not even exclusive to the Major -- Olivier also uses it, after Sloth kills the officer she'd been keeping hostage:
---> '''Olivier:''' Hmpf... I suppose I should be grateful to you, homunculus. You spared me from having to stain, with the blood of that coward, this cherished blade that has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!
** Also, whenever Ed is insulted (or when he thinks he is being insulted): Who are you calling a ___ smaller than a ___!
** Izumi's "Just a housewife" replies could count.
** Gluttony's perpetual question [[ExtremeOmnivore "Can I eat him?"]]
** Sloth's: "What a bother..."/"Such a pain..." in ''Brotherhood.''
** Al's "Nii-san!/Brother!". Just count how many times he says it per episode.
* CasualDangerDialogue: Happens on occasion.
** One especially entertaining example occurs between Ling and Greed, during the battle with Gluttony in the woods.
---> '''Greed''': HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! Oh, ''man!'' You're really kicking ass! And where did you get that girl? You been hiding her all this time?
---> '''Ling''': Oh, you know me. I'm full of surprises. *slams Gluttony into the ground*

** "THIS [[LargeHam HAMMYNESS]] HAS BEEN [[CatchPhrase PASSED DOWN THE ARMSTRONG LINE FOR GENERATIONS]]!!

** The first time we see Ed use alchemy on his automail arm he turns it into a huge, ornate blade. Thereafter he only ever turns one of the armored plates into a small, katar-like blade and it's established that not only is the arm far too complex for him to alter more than that without needing Winry and Pinako's specialized knowledge to put back together, he cant even use his powers without both hands.

* EldritchLocation: The location where the GateOfTruth resides. A featureless white expanse where the only features are the Gate and its guardian, ready to take its due from you. But even more eldritch is the false Gate location, i.e. the inside of Gluttony's stomach. Envy calls it a place 'between reality and Truth', and once you're in there, there's no natural way to escape. The only known way to escape is to perform human transmutation to reach the real Truth, and get out from there instead.

* EmptyShell: [[spoiler:The 'spare' Führer candidates revealed near the end. They were given first-class education, training, and care, but when one of them succeeded in becoming the president, the rest were discarded. The have a longing, empty look in their faces as if something died in them, and would not hesitate to die to protect their 'father'. On the other hand, they've spent their lives doing nothing but train and train in combat, and they are ''[[EliteMook terrifyingly]]'' effective in combat.]]

** {{Ouroboros}}: All the homunculi have Ouroboros tattoos. We haven't seen where Pride's is, though.

** Many characters react with horror to Pride's cruelty and callousness toward his allies [[spoiler:particularly when he ate Gluttony. In Chapter 106, this leads Kimblee, also devoured by Pride, to rebel against Pride's hypocrisy and creates a distraction long enough for Ed to destroy him]]

* EveryonesInTheLoop: The heroes make every attempt to inform each other despite being spread out. There is only one aversion, when the death of Hughes is kept from the Elrics.

** Used by Armstrong to pass along information to Roy. He tells Roy that the murderers of Maes Hughes are being tracked, but refuses to say more even when Roy orders him. He then mentions the Elric brothers were in town but had no luck finding the legendary artifact they seek. Roy correctly deduces that means Hughes was killed by some sort of group, that the brass are involved and ordering silence, and that it has something to do with the Philosopher's Stone.
** When a slum dweller taking care of him comments on Scar's right arm and its tattoo, Scar says he got it from his family. [[spoiler: Meaning, he got the arm itself from his brother, who transplanted it onto him in life-saving surgery.]]

* ExpressiveMask: Played with a bit. Al's face doesn't move, of course (outside of humorous moments), but things like rain, light and shadow are often used to give emotion to his face. Also, when drawn in [[SuperDeformed "chibi"]] style, his face can be more flexible. Barry the Chopper is similarly expressive

** Chapter 104 presents us with [[spoiler:Pride having his right eye removed...]]
** The process of [[spoiler:Bradley becoming a homunculus]] causes his eye to ''melt''.

* FaithInTheFoe: Ed, Ling, and Envy are trapped within Gluttony's stomach with no way out. Ed theorizes he could get everyone out by opening the Portal of Truth to bring them back to reality, but makes it clear that it's highly risky and there's no way to know if it will work. Nonetheless, Envy has enough confidence in Ed's skill as an alchemist to willingly allow him to use their Philosopher's Stone to pay the toll to open the portal. However, they go back to [[UngratefulBastard fighting right after they're free]]]].

* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: In the ''Brotherhood'' anime, after having his throat ripped out by chimera Heinkel, [[spoiler:Kimblee's]] dying gasps for breath is a horrifying mix of oxygen-deprivation and drowning in his own blood. The sound is presented with ''disturbing'' realism by by their voice actor Creator/HiroyukiYoshino.

** Ed, Ling and Armstrong's constant [[ShirtlessScene shirtlessness]].
** Several gratuitous bath/shower scenes, for Riza, Winry and Ed.

** In the scene at the end of Episode 46 of ''Brotherhood'', we're treated to a good three to four seconds of observing Riza put on a holster and jacket. Except the view goes from just below her nose into some very impressive cleavage, considering that she's fully covered wearing what seems to be a fairly thick-fabric turtleneck (and there is still plenty of *ahem* ''movement'' on display).

** The Japanese-exclusive Mangaverse/Brotherhood games suggest that Aerugo is FMA's version of Italy.

** The people of Xerxes who [[spoiler:became disembodied, dehumanised souls]] that power Father and his seven Homunculi. [[spoiler:Envy constantly broadcasts this by allowing the agonized souls of his Philosopher's stone to ripple across his true form]].

* FieryStoic: Roy Mustang is a usually calm and collected GuileHero (except when his BerserkButton is pressed), whose alchemy involves [[FingerSnapLighter flame production]]. A villainous character in the series Zolf Kimblee is a MadBomber with explosive powers, who is [[FauxAffablyEvil always calm and polite]]. ''Brotherhood'' has a CanonForeigner character who has [[AnIcePerson ice powers]] and behaves like the typical fire/MadBomber type.

** When Prides attempts to takeover [[spoiler: Ed's body, Kimblee, who had been previously absorbed, resurfaces]] and rails against Pride's hypocrisy.

* {{Flanderization}}: Invoked by [[ManipulativeBastard Roy]] and [[LadyOfWar Olivier]] to subtly destroy evidence of communication.

** During the second opening of ''Brotherhood'', Lin, Fu and Lan Fan are shown fighting Führer Bradley [[spoiler:a.k.a. Wrath]]; Fu is the only one of the three to score a hit on Bradley. [[spoiler:Flash-forward to the siege on Central. Whose HeroicSacrifice is the first hit landed on Wrath, and ultimately allows Scar to finish him off? Old Man Fu's.]]

** "…HohenHEIIIIIIIIIIIM!"

* TheDarkArts: Human transmutation is forbidden because it violates [[RuleNumberOne Rule #1]] of Alchemy, EquivalentExchange. "For what can equal a human soul?". Because of this practioners always lose body parts and resurrections always ComeBackWrong.
* DarkIsEvil: Most of the homunculi, being {{eerie pale skinned brunette}}s who dress in all black, but especially [[spoiler:Father, Envy and Pride's horrifying true forms]].

** Greed post-HeelFaceTurn (and "Greeling"). His Ultimate Shield might be all dark and he likes dressing in black, he's an AntiHero.

* DeathbedPromotion: Maes Hughes is promoted two ranks after his death at Envy's hands, becoming a Brigadier General posthumously.

** When the Elric brothers visit their mentor Izumi, it's shown that she sometimes fixes broken toys for the neighborhood kids. Later, a little girl asks Izumi to "fix" her dead kitten, but Izumi explains as gently as possible that she can't because death is irreversible. This is especially poignant since Izumi actually ''has'' tried to bring the dead back to life through alchemy (since her baby had died), and she knows full well that there are major consequences for doing so.

* DefeatMeansMenialLabor: One of the more corrupt military officials, Yorki, goes from a governor of a mine town he was overtaxing [[spoiler:to working as a commoner after Ed's defeats him. Though his fate depends on which version your watching.]]
*** In ''Anime/FullMetalAlchemist2003'', he ends up homeless and taken in by Isvahlins until he sees Scar and reports him in the hope he'll regain his position [[spoiler: and [[DeathByAdaptation shot dead]] by the Homunculos to spark discord for the BigBad's plans]].

** In '03 anime, this also extend to the anime-only character Lyra, who acts as Yorki's enforcer. After Ed defeats her, she's seen again working as a maid under Dante, though legitimately turned over a new leaf. [[spoiler: Unfortunately Dante manipulates and steals her body later on.]]
* DeityOfMortalCreation: Father, who is introduced as a powerful god-like alchemist [[spoiler:is revealed to be created from the blood of Hohenheim, a once mortal human from Xerxes]].

** The bank which Darius withdraws money from Ed's research funds in Episode 44 is named "Banks Bank".

** Scar experiences this after [[spoiler:Kimblee destroys his village, slaughtering everyone he knows. His brother sacrifices himself by grafting his right arm onto Scar's body, which freaks him the hell out when he later wakes up in a field hospital, causing him to go temporarily insane and murder the Rockbells. When he makes his way to a hill overlooking the ruins of his village, he drops to his knees and lets out a howl of incomprehensible pain.]]

* DetectEvil: All the Xingnese cast members can do this by sensing the earth's chi, negative chi included. It's used to track homunculi on several different occasions and [[spoiler: how they noticed something was ''very'' off with Amestris.]]

** Lan Fan, who [[spoiler:cuts off her own injured arm to throw an in-pursuit Bradley off her and Ling's trail, and later manages to recover and rehabilitate from the grueling automail surgery in 6 months, outdoing Ed's already miraculous one-year recovery.]] It's actually even better than that. [[spoiler:She wasn't totally recovered from her surgery. She still ''kept fighting''.]]

* DramaticIrony: The ''very next scene'' after [[spoiler:Hughes]] dies is a lighthearted scene with Ed, Al, and Winry, talking about what they're going to talk about the next time they meet him and his family. [[spoiler:[[TearJerker Cue]] ''Requiem of the Brigadier General'' and his MeaningfulFuneral]].

** Moments after the above, [[spoiler:Envy]] ends [[spoiler:his own life by destroying his own Philosopher's Stone]] to avoid what he perceives as the ultimate humiliation: [[spoiler:being beaten and actually ''pitied'' by lowly humans.]]

* DyingCurse: [[spoiler:Lust]] gets a good one off at Roy. [[spoiler:Envy's]], meanwhile, probably sounded hollow even to themselves, considering the remainder of the scene.

** Van Hohenheim [[spoiler:unknowingly helped kill off the population of an entire country]].
** Izumi Curtis' own child was stillborn and her alchemical attempts to bring it back robbed her of her organs to where she could never give birth again.

** Ed and Al's teacher Izumi [[BloodFromTheMouth coughing up blood]] is played for fear for her condition. It turns out the reason is because she's missing some of her organs after an attempted human transmutation.

** And the side story where Ed and Mustang have a fight.

** Riza's in there somewhere too, if you take the time to think about her BackStory.

** [[spoiler:Ling. Excluding that [[NobleDemon Greed]] is now gone from Ling's mind and so now he lacks his powers.]]

** The first chapter ends with Ed unsheathing his automail and challenging Cornello with a BadassBoast: "Face me you third-rate fraud! I'll show you there's no comparison between us!" The penultimate chapter ends with Ed repeating these words during his battle with [[BigBad Father.]]

* CameBackWrong: Regarding Ed and Al's mother, Trisha, and Izumi's child. All three alchemists invoked the human transmutation ritual to discover they had paid a "toll" from their bodies and that there was a grotesque mass of flesh, bones and organs left in the circle. All three were burdened with extreme guilt at the feeling that they somehow got ritual wrong and caused their loved one to suffer and die twice. [[spoiler: As the story progresses this trope is subverted as they learn it's not possible to resurrect the dead because the soul is beyond equivalent exchange, the hideous form left in the circle was a mockery transmutation of the raw ingredients used for the ritual and that their loved ones were spared the trauma of a failed transmutation.]]

* CampfireCharacterExploration: "Interlude Party" is a subversion. The episode is a RecapEpisode from Hohenheim's point of view, and the viewers get insights into his past and his philosophy on humanity. He's not actually sitting around a campfire with Pinako, though. It's AllJustADream.

** Sloth's: "What a bother..."

---> '''Greed''': HAHAHAHAHAHAHAA! Oh, ''man''! You're really kicking ass! And where did you get that girl? You been hiding her all this time?

** Armstrong is able to take hits from Sloth, a homunculus who is strong enough to lift tanks and can charge in straight lines faster than the eye can follow. In another instance, a human/bull hybrid scrapes him along a wall for twenty feet with enough force to crack stone, but only manages to give him a minor cut above his eye. There also seems to be no limit to the weight he can lift. It's worth noting that his whole family is like this to a greater or lesser extent, which may make this an example of extremely good genetics. Puts a whole new spin on the whole "This method of ______ has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" thing...]]

* ChekhovsBoomerang: Kimblee's Philosopher's Stone. He gets it during Ishval, uses it as a bribe for Edward to attack Briggs (he refuses), and loses it while fighting Ed. Heinkel picks it up after the fight and, about 15 chapters and a few in-story months later, gives it to Alphonse to help him fight Kimblee and Pride Toward the end of that fight, Al gives the Stone to Dr. Marcoh, who heals the wounded Heinkel, who proceeds to [[spoiler:finish Kimblee.]] It seems like a well used ChekhovsGun, but the stone has a return in the final chapter: [[spoiler:being used by Dr. Marcoh to get Mustang's sight back and fix Havoc's paralysis.]]

** Al's ''transmutation circle blood seal''? [[spoiler: Yeah, guess where that comes in handy…]]

** At the ruins of Xerxes, Ed recounts the "folk tale" about the SoleSurvivor of Xerxes traveling to the recently-established Amestris to teach their citizens the art of alchemy, and Fu responds that, in Xing, they have a similar legend about this man as a sage from the west who taught them the alchemy that evolved into modern-day alkahestry. Later, we find out that said man is [[spoiler:Hohenheim]].
** An unnamed alchemist with a gold tooth [[spoiler:is the one who oversaw the creation of King Bradley, and in fact was the very person injecting the Philosopher's Stone into the young man, back in Chapter 53]]. Later, [[spoiler:due to being skilled at using Philosopher's Stones to heal, he's employed by Central to patch up Kimblee]] halfway through the story. Then he's found [[spoiler:sitting right at the centre of the labyrinth at HQ, about to "get this show on the road" in Chapter 98,]] roughly two real-life ''years'' later.

** In another of the final chapters [[spoiler:Solf Kimblee is revealed to still be alive. What's more, he manages to return and make an unexpected HeelFaceTurn of sorts and help Edward finally defeat Pride.]]

** In Episode 41 Ed gets [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice stabbed with a girder]]? However, instead of dying, he learns that he can [[CastFromLifespan use his soul as a Philosopher's Stone to heal himself.]] [[spoiler:During the final battle, uses the technique again to invade Pride's soul and tear him apart.]]

** "…hohenHEIIIIIIIIIIIM!"

* ClipShow: Episode 27 of ''Brotherhood' reuses clips from previous episodes, but it doesn't skimp on the new animation featuring Hohenheim.

* CodeName: Every State Alchemist gets one. It's where the series gets its title -- Fullmetal is Ed's code name.

** Long after he dies, [[spoiler:the remains of Barry The Chopper are still there under research lab #3 when the coup d'état and the attack on Father begin. Darius even fights with his trademark cleaver.]]

** Basque Grande and Giolio Comanche can be spotted in a brief shot of the State Alchemists during the Ishval Civil War during the third opening of ''Brotherhood'', even though they are relatively minor and irrelevant characters, simply because they were, indeed, present and active during the War.

* ConvenientPhotograph: Colonel Mustang's mother Madame Christmas manages dig up a picture of 8 year old Selim Bradley attending a rather important government event... that took place some hundred years previous. This serves as proof that the Führer's beloved son is in fact a homunculus, specifically the evil Pride.

* CrossdressingVoices: Played straight with Ed and Al in the original Japanese. Averted with Ed in the English version, but unlike the first anime, Al plays it straight in ''Brotherhood'''s dub.

** Armstrong is an overemotional goofball with a tendency to rip off his shirt, but when he puts on his game face, he can go toe to toe with SLOTH in a BOXING FIGHT.

* CruelToBeKind: Hohenheim raises the possiblity that Ed and Al didn't actually transmute Trisha, but rather some''thing'' else entirely. Confirming this proves rather painful for Ed and when he tells Izumi about this in relation to her attempt to transmute her child he makes it clear he understands if she gets angry with him over it. Having to face their trauma like this is difficult, but the revelation that they ''didn't'' kill their loved ones again eases a huge amount of guilt they were feeling.

** An interesting example from a pivot shot from outside of a window in Episode 40 that is halfway towards averting the trope - the shot has the window and wall in front of the rest of the scene as a 3D model, but it's not only textured like any other piece of background art and done well enough to blend it almost perfectly in stills (it's very visually consistent in style with the 2D art), but it also rotates too smoothly during the pivot, and inconsistently with the other elements in the shot, which don't have any rotation frames.

* AdaptationalSympathy: Father's final fate is [[AlasPoorVillain more tragic]] in ''Brotherhood'' than it is in the manga.[[spoiler:In ''Brotherhood'', as Ed and co. watch him be absorbed by the Truth from within, he futilely declares he was only seeking freedom and knowledge. Then, before he's sealed away, he begs the Truth to tell him what he did wrong, still unable to see or in denial of his mistakes. In the manga, he simply screams at these moments. ''Brotherhood'' also includes a reaction shot of Hohenheim looking at his defeated former friend in pity as the Truth claims him.]]

** In Amestris, you can find people with usual English-sounding names like Edward, Roy, or Alex, more ''exotic'' ones like Izumi (Japanese), Olivier (French), Selim (Arabic), Winry(Welsh), Maes (Dutch), and Paninya (probably based on the Hebrew Pnina), and fantasy ones like Solf. Then there's plain wacky stuff, like Bido. Amestris is shown to have a number of different ethnicities living within its borders, and many of the 'stranger' names are at least German-esque. And you also have Führer King Bradley; "Führer" is his title, "King" is his first name (not a title) and "Bradley" is his last name (not first name).

** The author herself says that for most of the characters, she simply picked up a big book on names, opens it up, and selects a random name.

* AllDeathsFinal: Verified by Edward extrapolating from an offhand remark Hohenheim makes. Bringing back the dead via alchemy isn't just taboo, it's [[spoiler:completely and utterly impossible]], and any attempt to do so will result in [[spoiler:a completely unrelated soul in a completely unrelated body. Things that Truth takes don't qualify as "dead," however, which is how Ed can successfully get Alphonse's body back at the end.]]

* AllThereInTheManual: The omake comics have revealed a few things, such as how flame alchemy really works -- by changing oxygen concentration in the air so the spark from the finger-snap explodes exactly where it's needed. Of course, the technique's MundaneUtility is also revealed -- making women swoon due to oxygen poisoning so Mustang can [[FallingIntoHisArms catch them]] and easily woo them.

** Some of the fashions are decidedly ''un'' -early-20th-century-esque, such as hoodies on various background characters, the prevalence of t-shirts as casual wear, and Winry's sneakers, crop/tube tops, and ''extremely'' short skirts.

** The fate of [[spoiler:the human souls used to make the Philosopher's Stone. Using the Stone up and consuming the energy of individual souls]] is very heavily implied throughout to be MercyKill. [[spoiler: Winry describes it as, "being in a swirling mass of pain."]]

* AnimatedArmor: Al, of course. Also, Barry The Chopper and the Slicer Brothers from the Fifth Laboratory.

** Practically any action sequence similarly has a higher frame rate and budget -- ''especially'' when Wrath is involved.

** Played with. [[spoiler: While the benefit of hindsight on a story/anime that ended many years ago reveals that most of the good guys make it alive to the series finale]], the death of Maes Hughes and Nina Tucker set an expectation to the audience at the time the story was ongoing that there were no guarantees on anyone's survival and even an innocent child can die.

* ArchnemesisDad: Played with thematically -- the BigBad is called 'Father' (and looks exactly like Ed's father), Ed has a very prickly relationship with his actual father, and the first villain in the story is [[SinisterMinister Father Cornello]], plus [[spoiler:Greed ends up on the side of the humans against Father, who is essentially his father.]]

** From the manga, people started calling [[spoiler:the second Greed "Greeling"]] to tell him apart from [[spoiler:the original Greed in conversation, and because the human used to create him was called Ling]]. When Ed meets him again, he decides he's going to call him this.

* BackFromTheDead: Repeatedly [[DefiedTrope defied]]. It's made very clear that resurrecting a person is impossible -- even physically reconstructing a body won't work, because [[spoiler: that's not what human transmutation does. All you'll get is a totally separate entity that in no way resembles the dead loved one. You're creating a new life, not resurrecting an old one.]] The only case shown of this actually working was when [[spoiler: Hohenheim does this to ''the entirety of Amestris'' by out-gambitting Father's countrywide transmutation circle]], and even then it only works because his plan essentially [[spoiler:reverses the transmutation circle and returns the original soul back to its original body.]]

** May Chang. Long range alkahestry is awesome! See also her miniature dwarf panda, Xiaomei. She mimics May's kung fu moves rather well, and she can swallow your fist whole in the blink of an eye.

** Hughes, Olivier, Riza, Havoc, Fu, Ling [[spoiler:before he becomes possessed by Greed]].
** Also, Lan Fan [[spoiler:used to be one, but now she has an automail arm so she can't really count as "normal" anymore]].

* BeautifulTears: Roy lampshades the trope, telling Riza he'd like to see her cry again, as she had such 'pure tears'. This is kind of funny, considering she was pretty much a [[UnstoppableRage total]] [[BerserkerTears wreck]] at the time.

** By her own admission, Olivier may be one. When Mustang offered to take her to dinner, she replied "Please. I'd eat you out of house and home."

** In Amestris, you can find people with usual English-sounding names like Edward, Roy, or Alex, more ''exotic'' ones like Izumi (Japanese), Olivier (French), Selim (Arabic), Winry(Welsh), Maes (Dutch), and Paninya (probably based on the Hebrew Pnina), and fantasy ones like Solf. Then there's plain wacky stuff, like Bido. Amestris is shown to have a number of different ethnicities living within its borders, and many of the 'stranger' names are at least German-esque. And you also have Fuhrer King Bradley; Fuhrer is his title, King is his first name (not a title) and Bradley is his last name (not first name).

** Also the final fate of [[spoiler:the dwarf in the flask]] after The Truth gives him his own special brand of punishment: despair for the conceited.

* ArmchairMilitary: The few Generals that manage to receive a promotion that are sent to Central Command that are a part of Fuhrer King Bradleys' cabinet. [[spoiler:Many of which are a part of Fathers' Inner Circle as part of his plan to help him orchestrate future conflicts to complete the Nationwide Transmutation Circle by sending Central Forces to the locations in order to cause great bloodshed. With Father telling them that he'll grant these Generals with Immortality should they succeed in completing the Circle; [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness fully intending on disposing of them on "The Promised Day".]]]]

* TheBlank: [[spoiler:The Truth/The World/God (what Ed meets behind The Doors)]] is pretty literally a blank. [[spoiler:Except that creepy [[CheshireCatGrin Gluttony-esque grin,]] and occasionally some stolen limbs.]] If you look closely, you realize that it [[spoiler:takes on the shape (outline) of whoever it's talking to. This is spelled out when it finally confronts Father's original form.]]

** It's pretty commonplace whenever Fuhrer Bradley fights for him to PaintTheTownRed, as well. People are clearly terrified of him when he does.

* ConvenientPhotograph: Colonel Mustang's mother Madame Christmas manages dig up a picture of 8 year old Selim Bradley attending a rather important government event... that took place some hundred years previous. This serves as proof that the Fuhrer's beloved son is in fact a homunculus, specifically the evil Pride.

** Fuhrer President King Bradley is a peerless warrior who won't let any amount of opposition prevent him from advancing. [[spoiler:In his final fight against Scar, even after Scar has alchemically [[ThatsGottaHurt torn off his arms at the elbows]], as Bradley falls, he catches his falling sword [[CutlassBetweenTheTeeth in his teeth]] and slashes Scar one last time.]]

* EliteMook: [[spoiler:The spare Fuhrer candidates combine this with EmptyShell]]. They're much better fighters than [[spoiler:the zombie-like artificial humans mass-produced by the military]].

* EmptyShell: [[spoiler:The 'spare' Fuhrer candidates revealed near the end. They were given first-class education, training, and care, but when one of them succeeded in becoming the president, the rest were discarded. The have a longing, empty look in their faces as if something died in them, and would not hesitate to die to protect their 'father'. On the other hand, they've spent their lives doing nothing but train and train in combat, and they are ''[[EliteMook terrifyingly]]'' effective in combat.]]

** Although no one besides Father (and maybe Hohenheim) seemed to think of The Truth as God [[spoiler:until Father's plan to absorb Him was revealed]].

** During the second opening of ''Brotherhood'', Lin, Fu and Lan Fan are shown fighting Fuhrer Bradley [[spoiler:a.k.a. Wrath]]; Fu is the only one of the three to score a hit on Bradley. [[spoiler:Flash-forward to the siege on Central. Whose HeroicSacrifice is the first hit landed on Wrath, and ultimately allows Scar to finish him off? Old Man Fu's.]]

** Selim, when we first see him, says that when he grows up, he wants to do everything he can to help father. At the time, everyone thinks he's talking about Fuhrer King Bradley, but...

* BicepPolishingGesture: Armstrong, constantly. Sig Curtis joins in occasionally. In fact, that's how the two of them [[RatedMForManly forged their friendship]].

* CycleOfVirtue: Roy Mustang is trying to build this trope as a form of protection by becoming Fuhrer of Amestris. After losing so many soldiers under his command and committing so much death in the Ishval War of Extermination, Roy hits the Despair Event Horizon over how many people died and how many Ishavalans he killed that he can no longer remember. The soldiers who survived thanked him for his service and remarked all his sacrifices ensured they lived. With that, Roy resolves to do as he can as a single person to protect the entire country by saving as many as he can and those who he has protected will continue to protect others ad infinitum. Hughes, being a more cynical realist, compares it to an idealistic pyramid scheme, but applauds Roy's dream and swears to help him achieve it at all costs by helping him become the leader of Amestris to fulfill his dream.
** Scar himself attempts to indulge in this trope by following Miles' example and atone for his wrongdoing by protecting others instead of bringing punishment.

** In Amestris, you can find people with usual English-sounding names like Edward, Roy, or Alex, more ''exotic'' ones like Izumi (Japanese), Olivier (French), Selim (Arabic), Winry and Maes (Welsh), and Paninya (probably based on the Hebrew Pnina), and fantasy ones like Solf. Then there's plain wacky stuff, like Bido. Amestris is shown to have a number of different ethnicities living within its borders, and many of the 'stranger' names are at least German-esque. And you also have Fuhrer King Bradley; Fuhrer is his title, King is his first name (not a title) and Bradley is his last name (not first name).

** In Amestris, you can find people with usual English-sounding names like Edward, Roy, or Alex, more ''exotic'' ones like Izumi, Olivier, and Selim, and fantasy ones like Winry, Solf, and Maes. Then there's plain wacky stuff, like Bido and Paninya. Amestris is shown to have a number of different ethnicities living within its borders, and many of the 'stranger' names are at least German-esque. And you also have Fuhrer King Bradley; Fuhrer is his title, King is his first name (not a title) and Bradley is his last name (not first name).
** There's also Hohenheim's birthplace Xerxes, which seems to be an Ancient Greek FantasyCounterpartCulture (which is inexplicably named after/has a king who shares a name with a Persian monarch). Hohenheim knew a guy there named Collins; he also knew a guy named [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} Zuul]]. Though these people were slaves, and thus it's plausible they, or their parents, originated from a different nation and were captured and enslaved by the Xerxians(?).

* DefeatEqualsExplosion: When Ed punches [[spoiler:Father]] through the chest, he explodes and [[spoiler:releases all the souls he had absorbed]].

* FantasyCounterpartReligion: The Ishvalan religion seems to resemble Crystal Dragon Islam. The Ishvalans have a vaguely Middle Eastern feel, and they are monotheists who worship a deity called Ishvalah.

** The Elric brother were [[ParentalAbandonment abandoned by their father]], and sparked the plot by trying to use forbidden alchemy to resurrect their dead mother.
** Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Alex Louis Armstrong, Tim Marcoh and Doctor Knox participated in the Ishvalan genocide and feel extremely guilty about it.

** Scar lost his family and the most of his people to a brutal genocide. He also happens to be [[spoiler:the aforementioned Ishvalan warrior-priest who accidentally murdered Winry's parents even though they saved his life, and he regrets that when he finds out]].

** Most Western fans have little to no clue of who the Ainu people are, or their relation to Ishvalans. Ironically, though, they notice a strong (but likely accidental) resemblance to the Jewish people (monotheistic, desert-originating, very traditional yet culturally advanced, and at least three millennia of being the scapegoats of other peoples); most notably in 19th and 20th century central and eastern Europe, they were often subject to the mass-rape-and-massacres known as pogroms, and not in frequently with the full permission of the governments involved (the best example being Tsar Nicholas II, who actively ''encouraged'' them to distract his citizenry from the poor state of Russia at the time). Given that Amestris [[ANaziByAnyOtherName seems pretty well based on a certain European power]] and the time period of the show [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI (self-proclaimed to be in the 19-teens)]], it's very easy to see why anyone west of the Ganges would come to that conclusion. Meanwhile the less historically knowledgable often find another group ultimately from the Middle East to be the reference, namely Muslims (also monotheistic, but primarily desert-dwelling, and having a very strong belief to not mess with "God's creations"), despite their not having been a ''major'' target of European discrimination during the early 20th century. This may have been acknowledged by the ''Brotherhood'' team, as track #20 of the second ''Brotherhood'' OST, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-nCtkY-43E Land of Ishvala]]'', has a decidedly Middle-Eastern tone.

** Most Western fans have little to no clue of who the Ainu people are, or their relation to Ishvalans. Ironically, though, they notice a strong (but likely accidental) resemblance to the Jewish people (monotheistic, desert-originiating, very traditional yet culturally advanced, and at least three millennia of being the scapegoats of other peoples); most notably in 19th and 20th century central and eastern Europe, they were often subject to the mass-rape-and-massacres known as pogroms, and not in frequently with the full support of the governments involved (the best example being Tsar Nicholas II, who actively ''encouraged'' them to distract from the poor state of Russia at the time). Given that Amestris [[ANaziByAnyOtherName seems pretty well based on a certain European power]] and the time period of the show [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI (self-proclaimed to be in the 19-teens)]], it's very easy to see why everyone west of the Ganges would come to that conclusion. While the less historically knowledgable find another group ultimately from the Middle East to be the reference, namely Muslims (also monotheistic, but primarily desert-dwelling, and a very strong belief to not mess with "God's creations"). This may have been acknowledged by the ''Brotherhood'' team, as track #20 of the second ''Brotherhood'' OST, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-nCtkY-43E Land of Ishvala]]'', has a decidedly Oriental/Arabic tone.

** Most Western fans have little to no clue of who the Ainu people are, or their relation to Ishvalans. Ironically, though, they notice a strong (but likely accidental) resemblance to the Islamic peoples of the Middle East (single god, desert-dwelling, very traditional yet advanced culture and a reverence for not messing with "God's creations"), and given that Amestris [[ANaziByAnyOtherName seems pretty well based on a certain European power]] and the time period of the show [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI (self-proclaimed to be in the 19-teens)]], it's very easy to see why everyone west of the Ganges would come to that conclusion. This may have been acknowledged by the ''Brotherhood'' team, as track #20 of the second ''Brotherhood'' OST, ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-nCtkY-43E Land of Ishvala]]'', has a decidedly Oriental/Arabic tone.

** Something of a minor one, but in Episode 33 Scar stabs Kimblee in the stomach with a pole. Kimblee gives an inspiring rant about how being close to death is exhilarating for killers. Less than a dozen episodes later, [[spoiler: Kimblee blows up the building he and Ed are fighting, and Ed winds up getting stabbed in the same place with a girder. He uses his soul as a Philosophers' Stone to heal it, saying that if he's going to show mercy he'd better get used to paying the price.]]
** It’s small, really small, but in the final chapter of the manga, [[spoiler: before tackling the Elric brothers to the ground, Winry retorts that she keeps asking them to call before heading over,]] a comment she yells at Ed when we first see him go get repairs.

* AdaptedOut: ''Brotherhood'' removes a couple scenes from the epilogue, such as [[spoiler: Hohenheim meeting Trisha in the afterlife or Al choosing to have his old armored body melted down into new automail parts.]]

* BareYourMidriff: Envy when in usual androgynous form. Winry's work clothes.

** When Ed and Al fight Scar for the first time, [[spoiler:Al's armor and Ed's arm are broken. The same thing happens in their final fight against Father. They end up in a similar situation as well: Al is unable to move and is screaming to his brother, who is helpless.]] Bonus points for having this show how much Ed's developed. [[spoiler:The first time, he gave up in an attempt to save his brother's life. The second time [[IncrediblyLamePun he just keeps kicking.]] ]]

* CycleOfVVirtue: Roy Mustang is trying to build this trope as a form of protection by becoming Fuhrer of Amestris. After losing so many soldiers under his command and committing so much death in the Ishval War of Extermination, Roy hits the Despair Event Horizon over how many people died and how many Ishavalans he killed that he can no longer remember. The soldiers who survived thanked him for his service and remarked all his sacrifices ensured they lived. With that, Roy resolves to do as he can as a single person to protect the entire country by saving as many as he can and those who he has protected will continue to protect others ad infinitum. Hughes, being a more cynical realist, compares it to an idealistic pyramid scheme, but applauds Roy's dream and swears to help him achieve it at all costs by helping him become the leader of Amestris to fulfill his dream.

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Due to the fact the anime was more concise, a number of scenes from the manga were left out which led to certain sides of several characters being completely omitted.

* AdaptationalSympathy: Father's final fate is [[AlasPoorVillain more tragic]] in ''Brotherhood'' than it is in the manga.[[spoiler: In ''Brotherhood'', as Ed and co. watch him be absorbed by the Truth from within, he futilely declares he was only seeking freedom and knowledge. Then, before he's sealed away, he begs the Truth to tell him what he did wrong, still unable to see or in denial of his mistakes. In the manga, he simply screams at these moments. ''Brotherhood'' also includes a reaction shot of Hohenheim looking at his defeated former friend in pity as the Truth claims him.]]

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Defied by Kimblee, who remembers everyone he kills. It's actually a matter of both pride and principle with him, and is probably his only redeeming character trait. He feels that if he is going to do terrible things to people, he has the responsibility of taking his opponents/victims seriously and showing them respect by never averting his eyes or forgetting what he does to them, so as not to devalue their existences. A perfect example of this is when he instantly recognized Scar, where he saw him last, and recounted specific details of their encounter and Scar's accompanying family members, all this despite only taking, at most, 10 seconds to target them all and perform the necessary transmutation to blow them all to hell.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Sloth, [[spoiler:while digging a circle around the entire country]], accidentally burrows into the lowest level of the Briggs fortress, right when Ed and Al have just arrived at Briggs and are being given a tour of its lowest level.

** As part of his fake bribery deal with Corki, Ed says he'll be sure to mention Corki to his superiors. After his trickery is revealed, he clarifies he'll be telling them about Corki's incompetence.