Of all the many wonderful, complex characters in Fullmetal Alchemist, I find that Izumi Curtis is one of the most nuanced and original, both within the series and in the shounen manga field. In a genre full of dead mothers and overbearing harpies, Izumi stands apart as a physically and magically talented fighter who is also an “ordinary housewife”; she has, most unusually for a shounen manga female character, survived not only childbirth but also an horrific, failed attempt to resurrect her dead baby.
She is chastened but not broken by the experience. Izumi is the only female alchemist within the series to have seen “the Truth.” Her payment is highly gendered – I take “my organs” (or “some of my insides,” as another scanslation group renders it) to mean her womb and ovaries. And she is the only character whose payment is neither returned nor compensated for with automail or a surrogate body*.
I think it is so gutsy (no pun intended) of Arakawa to have Izumi remain in this state. It feels so radical to see a woman whose worth extends far beyond her ability to give birth. Who lost a child but still finds meaning in her family, work, and community. Who has a fulfilling life but still mourns for and thinks about her lost baby, even after her guilt is assuaged. In another author’s hands, Izumi would be long dead, a woman with no value beyond her womb, existing only to provide fodder for another character’s development. Or she would be a villain, a broken woman madly hungering for what she cannot have. Or she would have her organs restored, and be shown pregnant or holding a newborn at the series end. Instead, Arakawa gives us a female character who is both happy and wanting, powerful and poignant, and presents those dualities as valid, inseparable aspects of a whole.
*Within the context of the FMA universe, adoption is shown as an option, but one which the Curtises appear not to have pursued. Surrogate pregnancy, I believe, is not discussed within the series.
Short strip based in the end of this drabble by @capthawkeye. The fic was a gift for @theysangastheyslew and I’m sorry if I got carried away but I couldn’t erase the images I got when I first read the fic.
There’s a lot of sketches I’d like to share with you guys but with the end of the semester coming I’m sure I won’t draw that much after it so I gotta save material for the end of the year lol
but stay stunned!
And hope you like the comic too! Still a lot to learn because even when I’m majoring in architecture, I still don’t know how to place the architecture in the backgrounds of the drawings haha. A looot to learn!
“What? Like, a disabled protagonist? How would that even work? How could someone with a disability be the hero in an action show?” local anime trash boy wonders while sitting next to his box sets of Full Metal Alchemist, showing no hint of irony or self awareness.
but is Ed really disabled? sure I get he lost his arm and leg
but he’s still able to move and do things perfectly
He has prosthetics. Having prosthetic limbs (that more than once break amd need repair) doesnt make him not disabled
It should also be noted that Ed:
-had to undergo very painful and lengthy surgery to get automail
-had to relearn how to write because of his prosthesis (there’s a post going around showing he had to switch hands etc) and his handwriting is likely a lot worse due to that. This means automail isn’t super good for delicate work, unsurprising, considering what it’s made of.
-experiences phantom limb pain and therefore other associated stuff (this was only really shown in the manga)
-cannot go anywhere too cold without changing his automail or he’ll get really bad frost bite and it will stop working
-cannot go anywhere too hot, period, because the metal attached and under his skin will overheat and he will be badly burned
-Reattachment is painful, but needs to be done frequently if he breaks or outgrows his automail
– it’s HEAVY so much so that the strain has the potential to cause stress on his body, enough that it’s even theorized as possibly stunting his growth.
-it requires really frequent maintenance or it will break down, as shown by how when he first moved out he forgot to do that and it…broke down.
-when it does need to be repaired, it takes time to do that, during which Ed uses regular prosthetics (that usually don’t quite fit him).
-costs a lot of money (not a problem for Ed due to high state alchemist salary/having mechanics as surrogate family, but explicitly noted to being the reason why most people in the fmaverse stick to regular prosthetics along with the painful surgery)
So Ed can’t actually do everything perfectly and experiences a lot of extra hassle, problems and pain people without automail don’t have to deal with! And any advantages he does have are more suited to fighting than day to day life (being able to incorporate weapons/fake out people who want to blow up his arm).
Arakawa did her research and thought it through. Automail is by no means a magic cure that solves all problems associated with losing a limb.
What I mean: In Fullmetal Alchemist, Roy Mustang says “It’s raining” or “It’s a terrible day for rain” at his best friend Maes Hughes’ funeral, held on a day with clear skies. It seems like he says this because he begins to cry after he says it. But when you think about it, Mustang is “useless” when it rains/when he gets wet because he can’t use his flame alchemy. He equates rain to uselessness. So when he says it’s raining at Hughes’ funeral, he means that he feels useless/helpless now that his best friend is dead. The writing in this show has the ability to rip out your heart and stomp on it when you’re least expecting it, then kick you while you’re down. I am NOT okay.
Also, he says this specifically to Riza, who is usually the one protecting him when he can’t use his alchemy in the rain. Roy himself sometimes forgets that rain ruins his alchemy, but Riza remembers and is always prepared for such a situation. Roy, by saying “it’s raining,” specifically to Riza, is conveying that he feels helpless, accepts this, and is asking to be supported. FUCK.
You fucking made it worse. I don’t know how, but you mADE IT WORSE.
Roy’s really good at acting. Roy’s also decided that the general mask he wants to put on around people is “cool, stoic, composed, selfish leader” so they don’t go assuming too many things about his real ideations. Since he’s a good actor, he’s real good at putting on this front.
Off to incinerate Maria Ross? Cooler than ice. Facing confrontation about his role in her murder? Ruthlessly chill. Associating with (well anyone really) when other military personnel might be watching? Thermometer’s reading absolute zero.
But of course the keyword to all this is acting. He’s really talented at acting cool, not to be confused with “He is actually cool”.Because whenever he’s not putting on a performance for someone, his whole personality is pretty well summed up as “high-pitched indignant yelling”
In summation: He’s a loser
Further examples:
He sleeps with his mouth open
He does these kinds of things when with people he trusts
He accidentally orders a literal mountain of flowers and doesn’t know what to do with them so he just stands there. Staring.
Argues with a literal child on a frequent basis
And giggles like a little kid when pranking the military for an actual serious thing
He looks to a dog for camaraderie
And grows this travesty against mankind
And we, of curse, cannot forget the perfect example of ho much of a loser Roy is, his best friend, the king of all dorks
In FMA world someone should destroy the blood seal to destroy Alphonse. In Soul Eater world though, his soul could just be grabbed and eaten by a hungry weapon. And that’s how I say “I freakin’ love this crossover”
SourFlame 