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Ed elric/FMA literary analysis

It's funny when I call these literary analysis' bc it's mostly me frothing at the mouth. However! My friend bought me FMA manga vol 4 as a grad present so I'm here to let it consume me! (Stuff is copy and pasted from my texts) it's also a stream of consciousness. So. Dont expect essay level fluidity.

ok brainrot time but eds fatal flaw being his arrogance,,, is so good like. His emotional maturity thru the story is so well done and clear. When he first meets Truth it immediately calls him an "arrogant fool" and not just as like ... "oh haha just saying that" bc truth is. Yknow the Truth. And eds arrogance is literally his biggest detriment

After seeing the truth he immediately feels entitled to more and says "I just need a little more time!" Because he still doesn't understand,,, he still thinks that human transmutation is something he can actually do successfully ... and so the toll that Truth takes that he knows will shake up Ed on both an emotional and physical level is his leg. Because his greatest pride is being to stand for himself and his family

Also the switch in his arrogance being signified by him finding out the truth ab transmutation and realizing it can never be done. And then furthering to him being the one to defeat the homunculus Pride in a battle. (And also reducing Pride to screaming and begging for his life... he deconstructed literal pride and his own pride)

Eds arrogance comes from his prodigious skill in alchemy. He was always praised by his mom and his town because he is a prodigy but he conflates his skill in alchemy with being above those who can't. And you see this during the Nina situation, when Roy and riza go to investigate and Ed yells "were humans. We can't even save one little girl. We're just pathetic human beings...!" This is the first time he's faced with the fact that he is just as human as everyone else and he can't save and fix everything because he's not a god. He still thinks he's above humans tho because he conflates "doing nothing/being pathetic" with "having no alchemy" and the fact that he couldn't fix something with alchemy means he's "just a human"

And his emotional maturity at the end of the show when he faces Truth again and Truth says "so you'd do that? You'd lower yourself to just a human?" And Ed responds with "lower myself? Ive always been a human. Yeah... just a human... who couldnt save one little girl" is just. The pinnacle of his development as a character. The fucking highlight. And the culmination of all of FMAs themes of humanity and morality. Good lord

Also I feel like ive 100% said this before but I feel like a lot of ppl in fma fandom dont understand the truth toll,,,, like there's so many jokes ab how Al lost his whole body while Ed just lost a leg like ... yes that's the point... they lost the most important things to themselves. Al lost his body because he wanted to hug and feel his mom again because he literally doesn't remember her.... Ed prides himself in caring for himself and his brother without accepting help so he lost the leg he could stand upon (and then the arm when he went back because of how he compares his worth based on his alchemical skill and without two hands he can't do alchemy). Izumi wanted a family and lost her uterus so she couldn't make one herself anymore ... Roy lost his sight because he cared the most about seeing his country better than it was ...

Also all of them ending up gaining these things (mentally) back (before they get it physically back). Alphonse is cared by almost everyone around him that he meets because he's such a sweet boy & learns that he doesn't actually need a body to be loved and cared for and to live like everyone else (even though he still wants one anyway), Ed learns to lean on others for help & his own worth without alchemy, Izumi finds family in the elric brothers and treats them like her children & also the town kids look up to her, Roy humbled himself in the tunnels and realizes that revenge and hate are a cycle he needs to break, which helps him realize that he wouldn't need his eyes to help Ishval even if he does end up getting them back

Ugh Arakawa I'm gonna kiss u on the MOUTH ur writing is so FUCKING GOOD. THE THEMES. THE PRALLELS. IMMACULATEEEEE

Ok I'm done for now but once I get up to the royai part in this it's over for you hoes!