I've always read it as at least a little bit a comment on the Iraq war, but what's it's deal? It's the only anime I can think of that climaxes with a military coup, and its cool that mustang wants to put people on trial for war crimes, but then he gets in power and doesn't do it.

It's also just got a whole plotline about racism, but it feels slightly off? Like minorities are okay if they save your life.

  • Theblarglereflargle [any]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Isn’t the govenrment literally fantasy nazis or something?

    Please don’t well actually me I don’t know anime the only one I’ve seen is funky jazz spaceship show

      • GreenTeaRedFlag [any]
        ·
        3 years ago

        The people of Xerxes were known for blonde hair and golden eyes, Amistrians had blonde hair and blue eyes, although most of them have black hair.

    • effervescent [they/them]
      ·
      3 years ago

      The government is indeed pretty fascist. It’s a state military dictatorship headed by Führer Bradley. It appears to be a meritocracy based in individual prowess at alchemy, which fits in nicely with the power fantasy of fascist societies. I think there could have been a very pointed critique here given that the brothers are furiously opposed to the state despite participating in it. But the political intrigue angle on the corruption and the kind of hard magic stuff muddled that

        • effervescent [they/them]
          ·
          3 years ago

          I did not understand that distinction. Most of the high level positions are taken up by high ranking state alchemists correct?

            • TraschcanOfIdeology [they/them, comrade/them]
              ·
              3 years ago

              Exactly, and State Alchemists are not even that well regarded by the regular troops either. The overall perception seems to be that it's an easy way to get an early leg up in the military career. I don't remember who said it, but someone said wrt to Ed "this snot-faced child has the rank of a Major?" Other named majors in the series include Hughes and Miles (ishvalan guy), who have had several years of experience and are shown to be pretty competent at their jobs. So, the thought that a nobody who didn't even go through bootcamp can skip to an officer's rank by being good at drawing circles must not be great for morale.

              Wrt to Armstrong, he got court martialed because he deserted during the Ishvalan genocide, so it's very likely he got demoted to captain or something, and had to re-climb the ranks to Major.

    • FidelCashflow [he/him]
      ·
      3 years ago

      About that connection

      spoiler

      They go through a portal and end up in the natzi thule society for an adventure. The alchemy power is using the souls of holocaust victims from our world as a fuel source

          • Alex_Jones [he/him]
            ·
            3 years ago

            The first anime finished before the manga did and so the showrunners tried to wrap it up and went with the FMA setting having the real world as a parallel Earth.

            Then the movie conclusion takes place a few years later in the lead up to world war 2. Ed gets stuck in real world Germany and befriends the parallel universe version of his brother.

            There are references to the ishval people being Romani on earth, with lust's human version showing up somewhere. The last bits are hazy, but Ed runs afoul of the Thule Society and prevents the nazis from winning world war 2 with alchemy.

            After they took the reins from the author, it just felt like they were trying to be edgy. They subject a character to sexual violence for example.

      • Theblarglereflargle [any]
        ·
        3 years ago

        WTF…and this is considered one of the more grounded anime’s right?

        Jesus I will never be able to get into them.