History YMMV / FullMetalAlchemist

* CantUnHearIt: For many fans, it's impossible to forget the voices of the English Dub, chief among them being Creator/VicMignogna as Edward Elric, Creator/TravisWillingham as Roy Mustang, and Creator/LauraBailey as Lust.

** Father is rather divisive as the [[BigBad main villain]]. He is praised by some for being a genuinely threatening villain who [[spoiler:[[NearVillainVictory nearly succeeds]] in his goal to [[AGodAmI become the new God of the world]]]] and poses a serious threat to the protagonists, as well as for his [[HiddenDepths extensive and rich backstory]] with Hohenheim. However, he is criticized by others for a [[FlatCharacter perceived lack of personality]], arguably coming across as more of a GenericDoomsdayVillain than a fully realized character. Although it can be argued that this was [[IntendedAudienceReaction intentional]]--the other Homunculi are separated embodiments of Father's original personality in an attempt to "cleanse" himself of impurities, his original personality as the "Dwarf in the Flask" is [[NotSoStoic much more emotional]], and his Gate of Truth is completely blank when he's judged by Truth, meaning he learned nothing in all his years of existence--there's still debate over whether or not it actually mattered.

* IncestYayShipping: Elricest (Alphonse and Edward) is a fairly popular ship among the fandom, though much moreso with 2003 fans than in the manga-verse due to the former series focusing on their relationship a lot more. The ending to the series, [[spoiler: with them being on the other side of the Gate away from their friends and in turn from love interests,]] only helped.

** J. Michael Tatum took over Scar's voice for the ''Brotherhood'' dub. He and Winry's actress Caitlin Glass had already played a romantic couple in ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}''.

** Father is rather divisive as the [[BigBad main villain]]. He is praised by some for being a genuinely threatening villain who [[spoiler:[[NearVillainVictory nearly succeeds]] in his goal to [[AGodAmI become the new God of the world]]]] and poses a serious threat to the protagonists, as well as for his [[HiddenDepths extensive and rich backstory]] with Hohenheim. However, he is criticized by others for a [[FlatCharacter perceived lack of personality]], arguably coming across as more of a GenericDoomsdayVillain than a fully realized character. Although it can be argued that this was [[IntendedAudienceReaction intentional]]--the other Homunculi are separated embodiments of Father's original personality in an attempt to "cleanse" himself of impurities, his original personality as the "Dwarf in the Flask" is [[NotSoStoic much more emotional]], and his Gate of Truth is completely blank when he's judged by Truth, meaning he learned nothing all this time--there's still debate over whether or not it actually mattered.

** Being an EnsembleDarkhorse has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!! Both Major Armstrongs are definite favorites of the fandom, Alex for his LargeHam tendencies and being a BoisterousBruiser, Olivia for her AuthorityEqualsAsskicking personality and being a LadyOfWar.

* FairForItsDay: Edward being short and having people not take him very seriously because of it is something a ''lot'' of short men can relate to, as heightism towards men is very, ''very'' real. However, [[spoiler: the manga and ''Brotherhood'' ending with Ed having a growth spurt in the three year TimeSkip]] can come across as a bit insensitive, giving the idea that short men will become taller eventually.

* FairForItsDay: Edward being short and having people not take him very seriously for it is something a ''lot'' of short men can relate to, as heightism towards men is very, ''very'' real. However, [[spoiler: the manga and ''Brotherhood'' ending with Ed having a growth spurt in the three year TimeSkip]] can come across as a bit insensitive nowadays, giving the idea that short men will become taller eventually, even though people tend to stop growing between the ages of 18-20.

* ValuesResonance: Edward being short and having people either not take him seriously for it or write him off is somethin a ''lot'' of short men can relate to - as heightism towards men is very ''very'' real. This caused a bit of a divide when [[spoiler: the manga and ''Brotherhood'' ended with Ed having a growth spurt in the three year TimeSkip, giving the idea that people will grow eventually even when people tend to stop between the ages of 18-20]]

*** Case in point: [[https://danbooru.donmai.us/posts/6179036 This fanart made shortly after the announcement of (item-)fusing mechanics]] in ''VideoGame/TearsOfTheKingdom''.

** ''Shou Tucker''. He's an [[CompleteMonster absolutely horrible, vile, atrocious excuse]] for a human being, but the sheer universal hatred for him has arguably resulted in him becoming one of the most memorable characters in the entire series.

** After everything he's done, [[spoiler: including wiping out the population of Xerxes, kickstarting the mass genocide of the Ishvalans, and attempting to collect all the souls of Amestris,]] seeing Edward Elric give Father a well-deserved NoHoldsBarredBeatdown is ''beyond'' satisfying. Seeing the normally [[TheStoic calm and sophisticated]] homunculus having a major VillainousBreakdown only adds to the catharsis.

** ''Shou Tucker''. He's an [[CompleteMonster absolutely horrible, vile, atrocious excuse]] for a human being, but the sheer universal hatred for him has arguably resulted in him becoming one of the most memorable characters in the entire series, due to how [[TheSociopath inhumane and twisted he really is.]]
** Solf J. Kimblee may be a [[{{Sadist}} sadistic]] [[TheSociopath sociopath]] with a [[BlueAndOrangeMorality very twisted and warped sense of morality]], but since he's such a [[EvilIsCool sharply-dressed badass]], it's hard to truly hate him for it.

** Although they only appeared in one episode, Nina and Shou Tucker are some of the most popular characters in the entire series. Nina is popular for being an [[{{Moe}} utterly adorable little girl]], her heartwarming friendship with the Elric brothers, and her ''extremely'' [[AndIMustScream tragic fate]]. Shou is "popular" for much different reasons, for being an utterly ''horrific'' example of an AbusiveParent and HateSink, so much so that it loops back around into making him popular in a LoveToHate way.

** Solf J. Kimblee, who's basically MadBomber meets BreakingSpeech meets ThePhilosopher, all wrapped up in the height of [[BadassInANiceSuit 1920s fashion]]. That's without mentioning his appearance, distinct fedora, general badassery, and [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome epic sendoff]].

** SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Fascist/authoritarian regimes are built on bloodshed, reduce human lives to a commodity, and the only way to stop the suffering they cause is to resist them.

* SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped: Fascist/authoritarian regimes are built on bloodshed, reduce human lives to a commodity, and the only way to stop the suffering they cause is to overthrow them.

** Was Shou Tucker always a genuinely evil sociopath who never gave a damn about his family, or was he once a caring father who let his fear of poverty and failure lead him down a horrific path?

** For many, the scenes where Lust and Envy are [[spoiler: [[CruelAndUnusualDeath burned to death]] (or near death in Envy’s case) by Roy’s flame alchemy]] are extremely satisfying, due to them being noticeably more sadistic than their siblings, as well as their roles in [[spoiler: [[EnsembleDarkHorse Maes Hughes']] death.]]

*** Furthermore, [[spoiler: Father being depowered back into Homunculus and [[VillainsWantMercy begging for his life]] as he's [[FateWorseThanDeath sentenced to the Gate forever]] by Truth, [[IronicEcho who manages to throw his own words right back at him]], is even more satisfying.]]

* CrazyIsCool: Barry the Chopper may be an utterly [[AxCrazy unhinged and insane]] SerialKiller, but his [[LargeHam over-the-top attitude]], [[LaughablyEvil goofy antics]], and oddly [[AffablyEvil affable personality]] push him squarely into this.

* ObviousJudas: It's not difficult to figure out that something is wrong with Shou Tucker before he [[spoiler: fuses his daughter and dog into a chimera and it's revealed that he did the same thing to his wife two years prior.]] Mustang sombrely recounts that the first talking chimera he transmuted was in pain and suicidal, he wears ScaryShinyGlasses, and has an asocial personality, [[ParentalNeglect neglecting his daughter in favor of his research]] and leaving her feeling lonely. That said, this is somewhat lessened as he still manages to be genuinely horrifying when [[TheUnfettered the sheer lengths of what he would go to]] to [[EvilIsPetty keep his State Alchemist certification]] come to light.

* ObviousJudas: It's not difficult to figure out that something is wrong with Shou Tucker before he fuses his daughter and dog into a chimera and it's revealed that he did the same thing to his wife two years prior. Mustang sombrely recounts that the first talking chimera he transmuted was in pain and suicidal, he wears ScaryShinyGlasses, and has an asocial personality, [[ParentalNeglect neglecting his daughter in favor of his research]] and leaving her feeling lonely. He still manages to be genuinely horrifying when [[TheUnfettered the sheer lengths of what he would go to]] to [[EvilIsPetty keep his State Alchemist certification]] come to light.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: In an instance somewhere between this and CommonKnowledge, fans often say that ''Brotherhood'' rushes through the early chapters of the manga previously covered by the 2003 anime because the creators assumed viewers were familiar with that part of the story. In reality, ''Brotherhood'' [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2017-11-30/interview-yasuhiro-irie/.124659 director Yasuhiro Irie has confirmed]] they were not influenced by the 2003 anime and used only the manga as a "Bible." The faster pacing in ''Brotherhood'' is because the 2003 anime was much ''slower'' paced than the manga was, and ''Brotherhood'''s goal was to be TruerToTheText. See the Nina story in particular; some fans argue ''Brotherhood'' doing it in one episode versus two like the 2003 anime dilutes its impact, but the story took up only one chapter of the manga, a chapter that ''Brotherhood'' adapts almost word-for-word in "An Alchemist's Anguish." [[note]] it's likely one reason this became "Common Knowledge" is that ''Brotherhood'' ''does'' skip Chapters 3 and 4 of the manga, which the 2003 anime faithfully adapted [[/note]].

** Barry the Chopper has quite a fan following despite being a minor character who [[spoiler: dies less than halfway through the series]], mainly due to his AxCrazy and CrazyIsCool characteristics.