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Characters / Fullmetal Alchemist: Xing

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Fullmetal Alchemist Main Character Index
Elric Brothers | Team Mustang | Main Supporting Cast | Military | Homunculi (Father, Envy, Affiliates) | Xing | Others | 2003 Anime (Main Characters) (Homunculi)

This is a short summary page for characters from the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series and its anime adaptation Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Note: For the page about the characters from the 2003 anime, see here.

This page deals with the characters from the country of Xing in the series.

Warning: Spoilers are below.

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    Ling Yao 

Ling Yao

Voiced by: Mamoru Miyano (JP), Todd Haberkorn (EN)Other Languages

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ling_yao_2.png
Affiliation: Kingdom of Xing/Yao Clan
Rank: 12th Prince of Xing
Speciality: Swordsmanship/Martial-Arts

Ling Yao is a member of the Xing Royal Family and is well-trained in martial arts and swordsmanship as a result. He comes to Amestris seeking the Philosopher's Stone so his clan can triumph over the country's Succession Crisis.

His appearance marks the start of the large differences between the 2003 anime and the manga/Brotherhood.

  • Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Ling largely downplays his status as a prince from Xing, and pretty much admits he's willing to grovel if that's what it will take to get what he wants.
  • All Chinese People Know Kung-Fu: Well, Xingese anyway, and he and the other Xingese characters all fit this trope's stereotype of Chinese people as martial arts masters. It's justified in the fact that every Xingese character by that point had been either a noble or a noble's bodyguard, and thus would have been trained in martial arts from a young age. Further justified because Ling has stated that there have been many attempts on his life, so he'd have to have some idea of how to defend himself in order to live as long as he has.
  • Anti-Hero: Extremely greedy and selfish in his motivations — which of course made him the perfect candidate to host the 2nd Greed. While it's true his ultimate goals are positive and he's very loyal to people he's made connections with, he doesn't have qualms with getting food and information by means of extortion.
  • Asian Speekee Engrish: Invoked for laughs. He's perfectly fluent in the language of Amestris, but comically fakes a language barrier with an exaggerated accent to get out of taking responsibility for the destruction of a town.
  • Badass Normal: Does not know alchemy or alkahestry at all, yet manages to be on the same league as Edward or Roy in combat.
  • Bash Brothers: With Lan Fan, who he works perfectly alongside with in a fight even though she's supposed to be his bodyguard. With Ed starting when they fight Envy and Gluttony together. It eventually carries over to Greed... as much as they possibly can while sharing a body anyway.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: He comes to Amestris seeking the secret of immortality, and eventually zeroes in on learning the secrets of the Homunculi and their regenerative abilities. He does so... when Father uses his body as the new host for Greed.
  • Benevolent Boss: Ling might run off on them a lot, but he really does care a great deal about his bodyguards and is very protective over them. See also A Father to His Men and Reasonable Authority Figure.
  • Berserk Button: He doesn't explode in the manner of, say, Ed, but just try to convince Ling that subjects to authority are expendable (including yourself!) and it will ensure that he will have a serious bone to pick with you.
  • Berserker Tears: In a terrifying manner when Wrath/King Bradley kills Fu.
  • Beware the Silly Ones: He's first found by Alphonse collapsed in a heap on the street, travelled to Amestris without an immigration document, and usually acts like an eccentric goofball. He also has a sharp mind, is deeply devoted to Xing, and is fast and strong enough in combat to fight Wrath to a stalemate. With one hand (he was carrying Lan Fan with the other).
  • Big Brother Instinct: Despite being raised to be in rivalry with all of his siblings, Ling seems to take to this role quickly in the aftermath of the final battle. He makes a peace offering to his younger half-sister May, and then carries her because she was injured.
  • Big Eater: In fact, he's been known to collapse if he doesn't get enough to eat, which could be Obfuscating Stupidity except that his bodyguards seemed legitimately worried about the possibility when they couldn't find him. If it's for real, it might make him a Handicapped Badass. Unsurprisingly, though, it's not a problem for Greed.
  • Broken Tears: Ling is absolutely devastated when comes to the realization that while he obtained an immortal body for himself, he can't save Fu.
  • Brought Down to Normal: Though, it seems it was Greed's decision to do so.
  • Character Catchphrase: Ling has two phrases that he says some variation of several times in the series: 'A King is no King without his people. Without his people, there is no King' and 'People of Xing always keep their word'.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Ling is a gifted martial artist who is able to hold his own when fighting against Homunculi, despite having no superpowers. Notable accomplishments: fending off Wrath one-handed while carrying a wounded Lan Fan with his other arm, and being able to lift up Gluttony, one of the heavier Homunculi.
  • A Child Shall Lead Them: Ling is easily mistaken for a fully grown adult, but he is at most only 17 years old when he's coronated as Emperor of Xing, which is the largest country on the map of the FMA world. In the epilogue it's shown that he's been negotiating international relations with Roy, who is a man about twice Ling's age.
  • The Clan: It's stated how his clan is only one of the 43 branches in the royal family.
  • Combat Pragmatist: He's definitely not afraid to fight dirty, and it helps him stay alive in a world full of dangerous alchemists and Homunculi. An early example is constantly running into King Bradley's apparent "blind spot" caused by his eyepatch. He even keeps some powder in his sword scabbard so that when he whips his blade out, it'll get in his opponent's eyes. Justified by his background and how he learned after surviving several assassination attempts.
  • The Conscience: Despite Ling's shadier characteristics, he has a strong sense of morality and ends up serving this role to Greed, after they end up sharing a body. While it is partly to gain an advantage over him, Ling comments on his actions, chews him out when it's warranted, and eventually coaxes him into recognizing what he really wanted in life.
  • Continuity Cameo: He made one in Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) as a State Alchemist. Interestingly, he's wearing sunglasses that suspiciously resemble Greed's.
  • Cool Sword: He wields an especially broad Dao sword that serves as a great foil to Wrath's western cavalry sabers.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Starting in the fight with Gluttony and Wrath. Ling goes from "Hi! How's it going? That's a pretty unique body you've got there!" to stonewalling Wrath in a swordfight with one hand after they make the mistake of wounding one of his subjects.
  • Curtains Match the Window: Like other Xingese, he is born with black eyes and hair. Until he gets possessed by Greed, after which they become the characteristic purple-red of most of the other Homunculi.
  • Deal with the Devil: Or in this case, deal with Father, who is practically the devil. Ling agrees to let Greed possess him, effectively making him into a homunculus, if it means he'll be that much closer to obtaining a Philosopher's Stone and thus the secret to immortality.
  • Detect Evil: All the Xingese characters are trained to sense "the flow of chi"... which comes in pretty useful when dealing with homunculi.
  • Determinator: Willing to do ANYTHING to a) get the Philosopher's Stone and b) save the lives of his friends and retainers if he can help it. He shows off both in the course of the series.
  • Didn't Think This Through: Ling decided to journey to Amestris — a highly militarised nation — without any travel documents allowing him to enter the country. He gets away with it in Rush Valley as it's on the border of the country and the military's presence is little to none, but by the time he and his party get to Central City he's quickly arrested and carted off to prison for being an illegal immigrant.
  • Disappeared Dad: While Ling's main motivation is to succeed his father's place on the Xingese throne, Ling also flatly states in the manga that he has actually never had a single conversation with his father in his life.
  • The Emperor: The Yao clan succeeds the throne after Ling finally gets ahold of a Philosopher's Stone.
  • Empowered Badass Normal: After accepting Greed. Remember how the first Greed couldn't hope to take on Wrath in a one on one fight? The second Greed can nearly hold his own against him, combining Greed's ultra-durability with Ling's martial prowess.
  • Enemy Within: Greed... sort of. Averted after the time skip, they become genuine friends and swap control to one another as needed.
  • Eyes Always Shut: He does this deliberately because he's aware his eyes are "shifty".
  • Face of a Thug: Ties in with Good Eyes, Evil Eyes and his aforementioned Eyes Always Shut habit.
  • Fainting: Has a habit of doing this. Mostly it's from genuine hunger and exhaustion, but on other occasions, it seems to be part of his Obfuscating Stupidity.
  • A Father to His Men: Strongly believes "a King is no King without his people" and will do anything to save his comrades, even if it means risking his life. His bodyguards, Fu and Lan Fan, certainly hold him in extremely high regard in part because of this.
  • Fatal Flaw: His Undying Loyalty to his friends and those under his care is as much of a weakness as it is a strength. Yes, he's a Father to His Men who strongly believes "a King is no King without his people", which certainly are good traits for an aspiring leader to have, but in his case it means he will do anything to save his comrades, even if it means risking his life. His unwillingness to allow his allies to die, even when it's in their job description to put their lives on the line for him and rationally it can't always be avoided, makes him unable to emotionally handle any personal losses, and puts him in danger of a breakdown if an opponent manages to seriously endanger or kill one of his friends. His bodyguards Lan Fan and Fu have to resort to trickery to get Ling to back off so they can make a sacrifice for his benefit, and later the death of the latter puts him into a Heroic BSoD.
  • Fire-Forged Friends:
    • With the Elric brothers, Ed in particular. Their relationship starts off antagonistic, but they eventually begin to work together. By the time Ling, Ed, and Envy end up trapped in Gluttony's stomach, they've become friends for real.
    • With Greed as well. Even if it did give him what he wanted (a Philosopher's Stone), Ling was still basically forced to accept Greed into his body, and initially the two fought each other for control of Ling's body. However, eventually (especially after the time skip), the two have learned to work together and willingly trade who's in control depending on whose skills are needed more at the time. Despite frequently snarking back and forth, it's clear that they've gained a great deal of respect for each other, and eventually, Greed pulls a Heroic Sacrifice to save Ling (who would otherwise have been killed trying to save him).
  • Foil: Ling is a contrasting character to both Ed and Greed, who incidentally also parallel each other in a few ways. Unlike either of them, Ling is fairly transparent about his feelings, lacks their egotism, and doesn't share their overt Oedipus Complex despite having sufficient reasons to despise his father (instead he appears indifferent).
  • Foreshadowing: It's done subtly, but Ling's introduction to the Elric brothers is very similar to Greed's. They both ask the brothers if they know the secret to immortality, and find special interest in Alphonse's soul being bonded to a suit of armor. They both also have loyal followers who they order to attack the brothers at some point. This makes it all the more fitting that later on Greed is reborn through Ling.
  • Funny Foreigner: Faked when Edward first needs his help.
    Ling: So Sori! I no understand much language of this countwi!
  • Good Counterpart: To King Bradley. Their philosophies on what it means to be a leader are the complete reverse of each other. Also interesting to note is Bradley's former status as 12th Führer candidate and Ling being the 12th son of the Emperor.
  • Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: Played With. He's fundamentally a good person, though aware of how his "shifty" eyes make him look evil so he goes with Eyes Always Shut to disguise it. He drops the act when he means business. It is also a great indicator on who is in control as Greed usually keeps his eyes open.
  • Greed:
    • He's a pretty greedy fellow, given that he a seeks immortality and the power to rule over his country. It perhaps makes a bit too much sense that he becomes the second Greed. To his credit though the reason he even wants those things is so that he may provide for his people in return.
    • Ling actually manages to embody the positive parts of greed, namely that desire and ambition are not always evil when pursuing a worthwhile goal. Perhaps most importantly, greed means treasuring what you have and being unwilling to just throw it away — and the very thought of throwing aside his people or his True Companions is a pointed Berserk Button for him.
  • Heel–Face Revolving Door: Kinda.... given his tendency of latching onto anyone he thinks might be able to help him achieve his goals, he winds up allied with a plethora of different people at different points of the story whether it's intentional or not. He's definitely at heart a "good guy", however.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Attempted. When Father tried to swallow Greed in the climax, Ling held onto him to keep him from getting devoured. Greed shouted at him that Ling would get killed as well, but Ling refused to let go. He said that they would see the Promised Day through to the end. Greed had to sucker-punch him to save Ling.
  • Heroic Willpower: Cunningly inverted; he willingly gives up his body to Greed without a fight (which incidentally helps in the long run, as his lack of struggle prevented the philosopher's stone he received from burning out most of its power), but he has enough willpower to maintain his consciousness. From there on Ling uses a combination of patience and willpower to occasionally wrestle back control of his body from Greed, at least until they start acting more in tandem.
  • Hero of Another Story: Ling's background as a prince from a country undergoing a Succession Crisis with the goal of becoming its emperor and eventually succeeding would be a compelling story in its own right. However, the series covers only a fraction of his tale.
  • Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Whenever being extra elusive and mischievous, his prominent bangs will obscure one of his eyes.
  • Idiot Ball: A tiny one, but for some reason neither he nor his bodyguards apparently thought it was necessary to bring travel papers with them despite their trip to Amestris being a deliberate planned decision.
  • Idiot Hero: Subverted. He often behaves like one, to the point Ed calls him an 'idiot prince', but Ling has a cunning mind up his sleeve.
  • If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Ling struggles with a variation of this through his entire character arc. Because of Ling's conviction that leaders should live to serve their people, people like King Bradley who view their nation as Cannon Fodder absolutely disgust him. Ling vehemently resists and takes personal offense at even entertaining the notion of leaving someone to die, even if his life is in jeopardy, believing that if he allows it to happen he'll be just like Bradley. This isn't helped by the fact Ling becomes a human-based Homunculus like Bradley which only furthers this complex he develops. When Ling's comrades make sacrifices for his sake anyway and he can't do anything about it, Ling takes it very badly.
  • I Gave My Word: Ling strongly holds by the phrase 'People of Xing always keep their word', and will do his best to fulfill his promises.
  • The Illegal: He's an illegal immigrant from the country of Xing. He's sent to jail but breaks out later. Since he's a prince, he could probably be considered a diplomat or such, but he didn't have his papers (and they wouldn't believe he was only 15) when he was arrested.
  • Immortality Seeker: Ling's reason for coming to Amestris is to find the secret to eternal life (or at least, seems like it, so that his clan can win the Emperor's favor before he dies). He gets his wish, but it comes with a price...
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Not as much of an outright "jerk" as most other examples, but he does come off as being smug and callous at times, especially when dealing with his personal desires. Nonetheless, he genuinely cares about his country and the people close to him.
  • Keet: He's pretty damn energetic and happy-go-lucky when he's not keeling over from starvation. Or dealing with sharing his body with an egotistical homunculus.
  • King Incognito: Only a few people know he's actually a foreign prince.
  • Made of Iron: While fighting Envy after they go One-Winged Angel, he breaks at least two ribs and gets hit so hard that he coughs up blood, but keeps going.
  • Massive Numbered Siblings: Easily due to having 43 of them.
  • Master Swordsman: Can hold his own when dueling against Wrath!
  • Meaningful Name: The words "Ling" and "Lin" have various different meanings in Chinese in addition to being names, depending on the hanzi used: "ling" can mean, among other things, "nimble", and is one of the hanzi used to spell the word "spirit" (appropriately enough, considering his fighting style and the fact that his spirit is apparently strong enough not to get lost among all the other ones swirling around Greed's Philosopher's Stone), while "lin" can mean "carry" (which he does to Lan Fan while they're escaping from Bradley). His surname Yao, on the other hand, could be a play on the fact that "yao" can also mean "want". And then, in languages other than Chinese...
  • Modest Royalty: So much so that everyone doubled over from laughing in disbelief when he revealed that he's a prince. Ling himself expresses the belief that the Emperor has so many children (43 at the time of the series) that his status as one of them doesn't really mean that much.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Handsome? Check. Goes almost shirtless for much of the first part of the series? Check. Badass? Check.
  • No Shirt, Long Jacket: Has a tendency of leaving his shirts always open...
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Extremely convincing when pretending to be a complete moron — even while displaying window-crossing stealth bordering on Offscreen Teleportation.
  • Over-the-Shoulder Carry: Carries Lan Fan this way while fending off and fleeing from Bradley when her arm is heavily injured during their confrontation.
  • Powerful and Helpless: Having gotten his hands on a Philosopher's Stone to secure his Clan's future in Xing; he realizes that the immortality offered by the Stone doesn't grant him the ability to transfer that power to others or to save them from fatal injuries as he's left crying after the death of Fu by Wrath followed by Ling getting shot in the head, only for Lings' wound to immediately heal.
  • Rank Scales with Asskicking: Make no mistake about this prince, he's no slouch in combat. He fought off Wrath while he's carrying an injured ally and the latter is wielding his favored weapon, and he's about the only one in the series who faced Wrath and escaped relatively unscathed.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Wants to be one. His belief that a King exists to serve his people certainly reflects this, and he already does take into account the feelings and suggestions of his bodyguards. It's noted that he promises to watch out for May Chang's family after she helps in the final battle.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: This prince is working with his bodyguards on the mission, taking risks with them and joining battle with them (even when they wish he wouldn't and keep himself safer). He also believes that "doing something" is the point of being a royal in the first place.
  • Say My Name:
    • LAN FAAAAAAAN!!!
    • GREEEEEEEEEEED!!!
  • Shadow Archetype: His character parallels Greed in a number of ways. And then he becomes Greed.
  • Ship Tease: With Lan Fan. More subtle than most of the other Ship Tease's in the series but it's definitely there. Ling doesn't deny that he has feelings for her when Greed brings up the possibility.
    Greed: You're quite the stud! How long have you been keeping such a fine young lady from me?
    Ling: Well, what can I say...I'm full of surprises...
  • Spell My Name With An S: Ling/Lin/Rin, and some offbeat examples like Lynn. Ling seems to be the correct spelling, as his name tag bracelet when he gets put in jail has it written this way.note 
  • Stealth Hi/Bye: Pretty good at pulling these off but it's more on the 'hi' side than the 'bye' side.
  • Stealth Pun: Maybe not deliberate, but in English — "PrinceLing".
  • Succession Crisis: The Emperor's twelfth son, but he could inherit the throne if he successfully wins his favor. Which he apparently does.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: Acquires Greed as his more powerful, more amoral alter ego.
  • Symbiotic Possession: Despite being basically forced to receive Greed into himself, they eventually become friends. Greed even pulls a Heroic Sacrifice for him, and Ling appears to grieve his loss.
  • There Was a Door: He seems to enter buildings through windows more often than he does doors.
  • Undying Loyalty: To his Clan, and especially the people close to him. He's willing to risk his own life for them, to the point he once has to be reminded that as much as a King is nothing without his people, the people too would be lost without their King.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: First with Ed, and later with Greed.
  • Walking Spoiler: The fact that he becomes a homunculus by becoming the second Greed.
  • Warrior Prince: As he put it, he had to be able to defend himself when his family is a Decadent Court about to go into a Succession Crisis. And he's no slouch either — he fought off Wrath while carrying an injured ally, and escaped relatively unscathed.
  • Weak, but Skilled: Ling does not possess Alchemy or Alkahestry and yet he holds his own in a fight thanks to his sword skills, his martial-art skills, and his willingness to fight dirty to survive. When he gets into a brief fight with Wrath, he's notably the first character in the series to actually hold his own against him, all while being effectively handicaped due to carrying Lan Fan.
  • What Were You Thinking?: Gets this reaction after his Deal with the Devil, of course.
  • Wise Beyond His Years: In that while he wants to become an emperor, he also understands the responsibilities that come with it, namely a sense of duty towards his people.
  • World's Best Warrior: The best swordfighter among the heroes, but can't do a damn thing when it comes to alchemy. After he spends some time sharing a body with Greed, he picks up better hand-to-hand skills.
  • Younger Than He Looks:
    • Is apparently 15 years old when introduced to the story (a bit younger than Ed), and thus technically a Kid Hero, although he looks like a fully grown adult and is mature beyond his age. Lampshaded when he gets arrested for being an illegal immigrant. The guard questions Ling's age and subsequently refuses to believe he's actually a minor.
    • Winry and Ed are also surprised when they find out he's about their age, having assumed he's an adult. (Naturally, Ed proceeds to get jealous over Ling's height — which probably helps contribute to him seeming older.)

    May Chang 

May Chang

Voiced by: Mai Goto (JP), Monica Rial (EN, Funimation), Lily Truncale (EN, Animax)Other Languages
Shao May is voiced by: Rie Kugimiya (JP), Tia Ballard (EN)Other Languages

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may_chang.png
Affiliation: Kingdom of Xing/Chang Clan
Rank: 17th Princess of Xing
Speciality: Medical Alkahestry/Martial Arts

A Xingese princess from a very minor clan, her goals are similar to her half-brother Ling's. She's always accompanied by her tiny panda, Shao May.

  • Action Girl: She's a skilled martial artist and practitioner of alkahestry able to put up a good fight.
  • All Chinese People Know Kung-Fu: May is a fantasy-counterpart Asian princess, and she can really kick ass in a fight. Justified, in that learning self-defense tactics is a necessity for someone who is a potential target of assassination attempts.
  • Animals Not to Scale: Her pet panda Shao May is much smaller than a panda should be, being small enough to ride around on her shoulder. Justified since Shao May had a disease that stunted her growth as a cub, leading the other pandas to abandon her before May found her.
  • Anime Chinese Girl: Xing is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture to China, and she is a Xing princess. She fits this trope more than the sensible ninja Lan Fan, being a perky martial artist/princess, having odango hair, and being dressed in feminine East Asian clothing.
  • Badass Adorable: Despite being around twelve years old she's quite the martial artist, and she's undoubtedly cute.
  • Badass and Child Duo: With Scar.
  • Bottomless Magazines: You may be wondering where she gets all those throwing knives. Justified — while she's never shown doing it, she likely has the ability to transmute more from available material.
  • Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Scar is an angry Byronic Hero who develops an Intergenerational Friendship with May Chang, a perky, kind-hearted young princess.
  • Cheerful Child: A very perky young girl.
  • Child Prodigy: Expert at alkahestry and martial arts, and she is still not a teenager yet.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome:
    • A somewhat milder case, although in the end, instead of returning to her country with Envy, she decides to stay in Amestris to help everyone. Ling notes that she lost her chance to make her clan win by involving herself in another country's business.
    • Exemplified again in the fight against the gold-toothed doctor and his mooks. May could make a grab for the Philosopher's Stone he dropped, or stop the dying Riza's bleeding. Unsurprisingly, she chooses the latter.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Has quite the overactive imagination.
  • Combat Medic: A great martial artist and practitioner of alkahestry. She knows enough about alkahestry's medical applications to be a competent first aid provider.
  • Curtains Match the Window: Like most other people of Xing.
  • Detect Evil: She can sense homunculi and the subterranean Philosopher's Stone.
  • Empathy Pet: One of the more literal examples. Her panda not only shares her feelings, but also mimics most of her movements.
  • Fighting Panda: Her Head Pet, runt panda Xiao May, seems to know quite a bit in imitation of her martial arts skills, although Shao May mostly runs on Rule of Cute and has no direct impact on the plot.
  • Flechette Storm: A variant in that she doesn't use it to attack people directly, but she does tend to throw them very close to people's heads when performing remote transmutations.
  • The Glomp: Her standard greeting towards Alphonse.
  • Gratuitous Princess: Downplayed — her status as a princess of Xing does have an effect on the plot, but only insofar as it spurs her quest for the Philosopher's Stone. Otherwise, it's rarely brought up. Admittedly, she's not a princess in very high standing.
  • Hair-Contrast Duo: Inverted. Scar is an angry Byronic Hero with white hair. May is a perky, kind-hearted young princess with black hair.
  • Head Pet: Shao May, who's small enough to perch on her head at times.
  • Horrible Judge of Character: May thinks Scar and Yoki are great guys before either has really reformed, and she initially distrusts Ed and Al. And - while she certainly doesn't trust him - her reluctance to abandon people in need means she allows herself to get manipulated by Envy into returning to Central rather than continuing on to Xing.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: She's quite enamored with Al. Also a platonic example with Scar, who's probably two feet taller than she is.
  • Hypocritical Humor: She loses interest in Ed because of his height, even though she's even shorter than he is.
    May: How dare you toy with the feelings of a maiden you human microbe!!
    Ed: WHAT'D YOU CALL ME, MICRO-GIRL??!!
  • I Got Bigger: In the epilogue, she appears to have grown at least two feet taller. Justified by the fact that it seems to be at least several years later, so May could've hit a growth spurt or two during that time.
  • Immortality Seeker: She's searching for the secret to raise her clan's standing in court.
  • Implied Love Interest: For Alphonse. While she clearly has a Precocious Crush on him, he's affectionate towards her, and she appears in the family photo at the end, we don't know for sure if they get together.
  • Impoverished Patrician: May is a princess from Xing, but despite her official class status, she has lived most of her life in impoverished conditions because she's from a clan with very little power.
  • Improbable Aiming Skills: She can effortlessly throw five knives at once to land in a circle.
  • The Ingenue: Sweet, naive, and well-intentioned.
  • Karmic Jackpot: Like Ling, she was going to take a Philosopher's Stone home to save her clan. After her experiences in Amestris, her new priority becomes to save everyone. When Ling becomes Emperor, he promises her that he will watch over her clan and keep them safe, along with all 49 of the other clans.
  • Kung-Fu Kid: Enters the story by kicking Al in the head.
  • Kung-Fu Wizard: Adept at both martial arts and alkahestry.
  • Little Miss Badass: This cute little girl and her panda are a formidable force.
  • Love Before First Sight: Develops a crush on Ed after misinterpreting a description of the Fullmetal Alchemist and his legendary exploits, coming to believe he's a Knight in Shining Armor. Then she finds out what Ed's really like, and she drops him for Al for similar, but less exaggerated reasons.
  • Loving a Shadow: She goes through a combination of this trope and Love Before First Sight, as she gets a huge crush on Ed based on a few bits of information about him. She's devastated when she finally meets him and realizes he's nothing like what she imagined him to be. She later moves on to have a crush on Al instead, but this time she actually gets to know him over a period of time and may or may not be a couple with him by the end of the story.
  • Maybe Ever After: While it's not explicitly confirmed, her presence in the Elric family photo heavily implies she marries, or at least gets together with, Alphonse. While it is a bit ambiguous in Brotherhood due to the presence of family friends, the original manga has her alongside Al with the married Ed and Winry.
  • The Medic: Knows some healing alchemy. Oddly enough, she fills this role for her group more than her teammate Marcoh, who is an actual doctor.
  • Morality Pet: For Scar; his treatment of her is one of his first kindnesses in the series.
  • Mouthy Kid: Although she can border on Bratty Half-Pint whenever Ed's around.
  • Naïve Everygirl: She's well-intentioned, but she's not a very good judge of character.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Envy tricks her into restoring them to their full strength on the Promised Day.
  • Ocular Gushers: Enough to put out a fire.
  • Odd Friendship: May and Scar develop an Intergenerational Friendship. She's a cute little princess with an adorable pet panda and he's a Serial Killer out on a Roaring Rampage of Revenge.
  • Perky Female Minion: While she is rather cheerful, the character she follows is very much The Stoic. Granted, Scar is well on his way to being an Anti-Hero by the time she meets him.
  • Pet Baby Wild Animal: She found Shao May after she had been abandoned by the other pandas due to her stunted growth and has taken care of her ever since.
  • Plucky Girl: Crosses a Sahara Desert expy and into an unfriendly militaristic nation alone (something that her older half-brother Ling was unwilling to do), picks a fight while still recovering from a concussion, and attacks the Big Bad even while knowing that she is totally outclassed by him. Even after being badly wounded, she continues to help out in the final battle. May Chang does not give up.
  • Pretty Princess Powerhouse: While a polite and well-mannered princess who is devoted to her clan, she's also an accomplished martial artist and alkahestrist. Justified in that she grew up in a Decadent Court where assassination attempts are the norm, and downplayed in that she can't be more than twelve, so she still acts like a child in some respects.
  • Princesses Prefer Pink: She's a Xingese princess whose outfits are usually varying shades of pink and red.
  • Ridiculously Cute Critter: Shao May is so cute even Scar finds her adorable.
  • Royals Who Actually Do Something: Justified. She has to do something (in this case, search for the secret to immortality) if she wants her clan to survive.
  • Settle for Sibling: Downplayed — her crush on Ed only lasts a hot minute after she realizes that he isn't what she expected, and she falls for his brother Al, who is what she expected Ed to be.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Develops a crush on Ed after misinterpreting a description of the Fullmetal Alchemist and his legendary exploits, coming to believe he's a Knight in Shining Armor. After meeting him in person, she quickly drops her infatuation. Instead, she falls for his brother, Al, who fits the "knight in shining armor" description better.
  • The Smurfette Principle: She is the only female member of Scar's gang.
  • Spanner in the Works: To call May's presence a disruption of Father's plans would be an understatement;
    • First, her friendship with Scar sets off a chain of events where Scar discovers the Homunculi's role in the Ishval War, meeting Dr. Marcoh, setting of his Character Development and Heel–Face Turn.
    • That her alkahestry still works when Father shuts off all alchemy gives the Elrics a reason to seek her out, leading to them joining forces with not just Scar's group, but the Briggs soldiers and Kimblee's chimeras.
    • On the Promised Day, she saves Hawkeye's life, requiring Pride to throw Mustang through the portal to Truth and become weak enough for Ed to defeat.
    • And finally, she helps Al do his Heroic Sacrifice to give Ed his arm back at the cost of his soul, helping Ed defeat Father once and for all.
  • Spell My Name With An S: Where to begin? May Chan, May Chen, Meichan, May Chang, Mei Chang, Xiao May, Xiao Mei... it just never ends.
  • Succession Crisis: She's seeking to inherit the throne to save her lesser clan.
  • Tagalong Kid: Kind of; she ends up joining Scar's group, and while she is the youngest member of the team, she's far from useless or a burden.
  • Tareme Eyes: She has drooping eyes to indicate her innocence and kindness.
  • Teacher/Student Romance: She teaches Al about alkahestry and she very much likes him. Her presence in the Elric family photo in both the manga and Brotherhood implies that Al returned those feelings. Downplayed in that she is too used to "feeling the Dragon's Pulse" to teach Al how to do it, which means he doesn't learn alkahestry in time for the final battle.
  • Thinks Like a Romance Novel: She has indulgent romantic fantasies towards both Elrics.
  • Token Good Teammate: None of Scar's group are evil, but May (along with Xiao-Mei) is the only one who isn't guilty of some terrible crime in the past.(Scar being an alchemist-killer, Marcoh creating the abominable Philosopher's Stone, and Yoki being a former military baron who extorted and abused a mining town)
  • Too Dumb to Live: Attacking Father head on despite being warned by both Elric brothers that it's a horrible idea and he's really powerful. She gets a massive Curb-Stomp Battle for her poor decision making, but she doesn't die. So this is a downplayed trope.
  • Tsundere: In general, May's personality frequently switches between being attitudinal and being sweet, mostly depending on her relationship with a person. For example, she's extremely aggressive to her fellow Xingese brethren (who are her rivals in obtaining the throne) and rude to Ed, but is kind towards Scar and becomes absolutely smitten with Al. She also displays a classic tsundere response to her half-brother Ling when he tells her he'll protect her clan when they return to Xing, simultaneously insulting him for the offer and sobbing out of being touched by it.
    Lan Fan 

Lan Fan

Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (JP), Trina Nishimura (EN, Funimation), Lily Truncale (EN, Animax)Other Languages

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lan_fan.png
Affiliation: Kingdom of Xing/Yao Clan
Rank: Bodyguard
Speciality: Martial-Arts/Weapons Expert/Stealth

Ling's female bodyguard, who is extremely loyal to him.

  • Action Girl: She's a skilled bodyguard and having a missing arm doesn't make her any less badass.
  • All Chinese People Know Kung-Fu: Lan Fan is fantasy-counterpart East Asian, and an incredibly skilled martial artist. Justified; she's a noble's bodyguard so being trained in combat comes with the territory.
  • An Arm and a Leg: Lan Fan astoundingly recovers from Automail rehabilitation in six months when on average it takes 2-3 years, however, since her Automail is designed to be used for combat, overuse causes her newly recovered arm to act up and jitter, and too much strain could rip it out of its socket, as shown by trying to hold up Greedling.
  • Anime Chinese Girl: Xing is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture to China, so yeah.
  • Artificial Limbs: She gets an automail arm after she amputates her wounded one.
  • Badass Adorable: Without her mask, she's rather cute.
  • Badass Boast: Lan Fan manages to outwit Wrath, and while the boast is done in private, she is appropriately smug about it.
  • Badass Normal: Apart from her chi sense, she doesn't have any kind of superpowers, but is a supreme martial artist who can deal serious damage even to Homunculi, something even alchemists have trouble with. In fact, while Ed and Al state that her and Fu are skilled martial artists, neither are as good as Izumi, however, before Ed abuses her Berserk Button, he was completely outmatched against Lan Fan.
  • Bait-and-Switch: After Lan Fan fails to convince Ling to leave her behind because she has been badly injured, she draws and aims a weapon in such a way that it heavily implies that she will kill herself so that Ling will be forced to leave her anyway. A few scenes later reveal that she actually cuts off her arm so it may be used as a decoy.
  • Berserk Button: She doesn't take kindly to any form of disrespect or insults towards Ling at all. Her volatility can lead to her becoming reckless in a fight, which Ed mischievously takes advantage of during his fight against her.
  • Big Eater: A quirk she shares with Ling. The two of them together give Ed a mighty long room service bill. She even has more than one official illustration showing her eating and surrounded by comically large piles of dishes.
  • Big Damn Heroes: During the second fight with Gluttony.
  • Blade Below the Shoulder: Has a blade on her automail.
  • Bodyguard Crush: On Ling, her charge. Ed appears to ship them. Greed and Hohenheim do too, in fact.
  • Bodyguarding a Badass: She's Ling's bodyguard, but Ling is just as well trained as her in martial arts, so he's fully capable of protecting himself if need be. That said, they certainly become a deadly combo when fighting side by side.
  • The Bus Came Back: After she and her grandfather Fu set off to find an automail mechanic for her lost arm, they aren't seen again until they both make a grand re-entrance near the end where she goes Cuisinart with her new automail on a surprised Gluttony, complete with music fanfare.
  • Devious Daggers: Kunai are her weapons. Before getting automail, anyway. Even then, she elected to have a concealed blade grafted onto it.
  • Character Development: Lan Fan starts out an emotionally volatile bodyguard who is basically ready to slit someone's throat at the slightest inkling of any disrespect or threat to Ling, even his younger sister May who is technically one of his rivals to the Xingese throne. By the end, she's reeled back a lot of her temper, and most profoundly, directly asks Ling to end the 50-clan rivalry in Xing when he becomes Emperor.
  • Charles Atlas Superpower: Lan Fan is an ordinary human apart from her chi sensing abilities. She nonetheless is able to effortlessly lift the portly Gluttony and toss him over her head.
  • Curb-Stomp Battle:
    • In the manga, Lan Fan completely outclasses Envy in a fight, to the point Envy spends basically the entire duration running away from her while still taking damage because Lan Fan just won't let up.
    • During the second fight with Gluttony, she subdues him and nearly kills him all by herself, with only a little assistance from Ling; she would've been able to kill him herself if her automail didn't act up. And since later on Pride has to absorb Gluttony because he can't see in the dark, they would have killed him too.
  • Curtains Match the Window: Black hair, black eyes.
  • Detect Evil: She can sense homunculi and the Philosopher's Stone under Amestris.
  • Determinator: She cut off her own arm just so Wrath would lose track of her and Ling, and then later recovered sufficiently from the painful and grueling automail surgery and rehabilitation that normally takes 2-3 years to recover from in 6 months. Then she was back on the battlefield. Technically she didn't actually fully recover from it in that time period but it didn't stop her at all from showing up and kicking ass in the end!
  • Establishing Character Moment: In her introductory scene, she fights Ed to a standstill until he figures out her Berserk Button.
  • Foil:
    • To Riza Hawkeye. Both of them are devoted bodyguards to someone looking to be the ruler of their respective nations who are implied to have more than platonic feelings for them, but unlike the cool and collected Hawkeye, Lan Fan has trouble keeping her emotions and feelings in check.
    • Also to Ed. Both of them are petite yet powerful with tempers and have tendencies to be brash when angered and have very few people they genuinely care for — Al and Winry for Ed and Ling and Fu for Lan Fan. However, their determination is their strongest trait; displayed with Ed recovering from the 2-3 year Automail rehabilitation in one year and Lan Fan doing it in 6 months. By the end of the series, their tempers have mellowed and have grown to care for others. They additionally have differing feelings towards their automail, Ed covers his with his clothing as he finds humility in the loss of his limbs due to performing Human Transmutation for much of the series, while Lan Fan has her arm exposed for practicality due to it being combative, but also finds pride in it as she sacrificed her arm to ensure her prince's goal and their safety.
  • Good is Not Nice: Lan Fan usually comes off very aloof and even antagonistic towards the Elrics, even threatening them should they insult Ling. That said, she can also be quite courteous and kind as well.
  • Handicapped Badass: Even after losing her left arm, she is still capable of fighting. And she becomes downright deadly with her automail.
  • Heroic BSoD: Becomes completely depressed and angst-ridden during her healing and treatment with living without an arm, but eventually adjusts to it before her automail is finally installed.
  • Heroic RRoD: Comes dangerously close to this several times since she hasn't properly recuperated from the installation of her automail arm.
  • Hyper-Competent Sidekick: Lan Fan would never claim to be anything but Ling's bodyguard. However, Lan Fan saves both her and Ling's lives by sacrificing her arm to throw their enemy off their trail, and later, she is technically the one who puts Ling on the throne, as she managed to procure a philosopher's stone to make up for Ling losing his.
  • Ironic Echo: Ling's catchphrase is 'a King is no King without his people'. To help Ling remember to have a sense of self-preservation, Lan Fan's response to this is 'But people without a King would be lost as well'.
    • Also to herself, in her introductory episode, she questions why/how Ed would remove his own arm, just for a trap, about ten episodes later, Lan Fan herself removes her own arm and ties it to a stray dog to throw off Wrath, who is chasing her and Ling, and also to ensure both of their survival.
  • It's All My Fault: Blames herself after Ling becomes the second Greed.
  • I Will Only Slow You Down: Tries to pull this when injured and slung over Ling's shoulder while actively being pursued by Wrath. When she fails to convince Ling that she is not worth saving if it means the loss of his life, she cuts her arm off instead to throw Wrath off their trail.
  • Legacy of Service: Her (and Fu's) family have served Ling's for generations.
  • Letting Her Hair Down: While recovering from the loss of her arm and when leaving to get automail, Lan Fan's hair is out of its usual bun.
  • Life-or-Limb Decision: She severs off her own injured left arm in order to distract Wrath, so that she and Ling could escape.
  • Mask Power: And she actually feels kinda insecure when she loses it.
  • Maybe Ever After: Despite her fairly obvious feelings for Ling (and the fact that Ling doesn't deny reciprocating when Greed seems to ship them), it's never definitively stated where they stand by the end of the series.
  • Meaningful Name: Probably not the canon spelling, but: in Chinese, the word "ranfang" means "to let off [explosives]". Fitting, considering her other go-to weapons besides kunai are grenades.
  • Mirror Character: Lan Fan develops an early grudge against Ed because of his frequent insults to Ling, but Al notes that Lan Fan's stubbornness and determination is exactly like Ed's. And it shows when she, just like Ed, declares and fulfills her promise to recover from automail surgery in an absurdly short amount of time.
  • Ninja: She comes from Xing, a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Asia, wears all black, and is very stealthy.
  • Not-So-Badass Longcoat: She wears a long coat after losing her arm.
  • Perpetual Frowner: While Lan Fan does show a variety of emotional states, the number of times she's seen legitimately smiling over the course of the series can be counted on one hand.
  • Praetorian Guard: To Ling after he becomes Emperor. At the ending montage she can be seen standing guard partially hidden behind his throne.
  • Prim and Proper Bun: Sensible hairstyle for a ninja bodyguard.
  • Put on a Bus: Leaves the story to recuperate after her arm amputation and automail surgery.
  • Samus Is a Girl: Is introduced hooded and masked, and is completely silent throughout her first fight with Ed, until he shatters the mask revealing her face and consequently, gender.
  • Ship Tease: With Ling.
  • Shrinking Violet: Without her mask, she's rather insecure. This is another thing she seems to outgrow by the end of the series, when she deliberately removes her mask to confront Wrath in his dying moments.
  • Spell My Name With An S:
    • Another rampant case. Ranfan/Ran Fan, Lanfan/Lan Fan, Lang Fan, Lan fun, Ranfun, Ran Fen...
    • The official sketch book names her "Ranfun", but shouldn't be considered the definitive spelling, since this same volume lists Al's last name as "Elrick".
    • The eyecatches of Brotherhood say it's Lan Fan.
  • Stealth Hi/Bye: Like Ling, she has the ability to pop up unannounced without a single warning and in some of the most unlikely ways.
  • Taught by Experience: Just like her Foil Ed, she isn't averse to incorporating others' strategies into her repertoire. Case in point: she's in utter disbelief when Ed sacrifices his automail arm to lure her into a trap, but not too much later in the series, she sacrifices her real arm to distract Wrath and send him on a wild-goose chase.
  • Take a Third Option: Lan Fan gets injured and begs to be left behind. Ling absolutely refuses to do so even though the enemy is hot on their trail because of all the blood she's dripping. So what does she do? she cuts off her arm and ties it to a stray dog to use as a diversion.
  • Take My Hand!: Refuses to let go of Greed/Ling's hand when he and Wrath were dangling over the side of a bridge, despite his warning that her automail couldn't take the strain. It actually started to tear away from her shoulder but she still wouldn't let go.
  • Throw Down the Bomblet: She uses explosives as a distraction or when her usual hand-to-hand and knifework isn't enough, and is seen using flashbangs and smoke bombs alongside regular grenades.
  • Trick Bomb: Seems to prefer the regular Xing grenade and the occasional flashbang.
  • Tsundere: Ling is the recipient of her dere; those who dare so much as look at him the wrong way suffer her tsun, thus making her Type A. However, this trait becomes downplayed to nonexistence by the end of her Character Development.
  • The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter: A downplayed example, as Fu isn't particularly odd-looking, but her grandfather is a short, heavily wrinkled, elderly man while Lan Fan is a beautiful young woman.
  • Undying Loyalty: To Ling. Her loyalty literally reaches life-or-limb levels.
  • Unstoppable Rage: Inverted, as getting into a rage over protecting Ling actually makes her fighting form sloppy and prone to mistakes. Ed takes advantage of this and insults Ling during their first fight to make her easier to fight. By the end of the story she seems to have worked on ridding this weakness of hers.
  • Vague Age: Lan Fan's age is never stated, however, it can be assumed she's the same age as Ling and Ed.
  • Violently Protective Girlfriend: She would do anything to save Ling. Justified in that protecting him is her job.
  • Wild Goose Chase: Invoked. Lan Fan cuts off her own injured arm and ties it to a stray dog so that the Führer, who is following the blood trail, is thrown off.
  • Worst Aid: Instead of finding a place to hide after cutting off her arm, Lan Fan takes a detour through the sewers so that the wastewater can wash away her blood trail. Great for throwing Wrath off of your trail, but as Dr. Knox points out while triaging her, it's also a great way to overexert yourself and get sepsis.
  • Would Hurt a Child: Justified. She has no problem with fighting May Chang (a 10/11-year-old) because the latter is also a skilled fighter who could easily kill Lan Fan (and is also a threat to her lord getting the throne).

    Fu 

Fu

Voiced by: Katsunosuke Hori (JP), Kenny Green (EN)Other Languages

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fu_8.png
Affiliation: Kingdom of Xing/Yao Clan
Rank: Bodyguard
Speciality: Martial-Arts/Weapons Expert/Stealth

Ling's other bodyguard and grandfather to Lan Fan.

    The Emperor of Xing 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_emperor_of_xing.jpg
Affiliation: Xing
Rank: Emperor
Specialty: Unknown

The emperor of Xing, and father to Ling, May, and about forty other heirs.

  • Disappeared Dad: Not because he's missing, but because of his lofty position and circumstances as an emperor with multiple handfuls' worth of heirs, wives, and presumably concubines, Ling says he has never even spoken to the man.
  • The Ghost: He never appears on-screen nor has any dialogue throughout the entire series, and everything we know about him is from second-hand sources such as Ling.
  • Immortality Seeker: He has promised the throne to whichever prince or princess can offer him the secret to eternal life. Both Ling and May wind up in Amestris seeking the Philosopher's Stone.
  • King on His Deathbed: Implied by the rumors claiming him to be ailing and how he has promised to give the throne to the clan that offers him immortality. In the epilogue a few years later, Ling is Emperor, implying he has already died or retired.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He is an Immortality Seeker mentioned to be keeping Xing's fifty provinces in line, which alludes to Qin Shi Huang, the first Qin Emperor who united China following the Warring States period and was obsessed with finding the elixir of life.
  • Royal Harem: He takes wives from each province in Xing, resulting in his multiple heirs having to compete for the throne.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: He never appears in the story and his face is only seen briefly, but spurring his children's quest for immortality indirectly has huge impacts on the plot, given how important Ling and May are to the overarching story and final battle.

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