The Fullmetal Fan Club!

FMA essay I wrote for a college application (DO NOT STEAL)

One of the prompts was to write about how a particular text has impacted you.
———————
     As a huge fan of a slightly concerning number of works of fiction, one that has left a profound impact on me is Hiromu Arakawa's classic manga and anime Fullmetal Alchemist. With its moving story, meticulous worldbuilding, stunning artwork and endearing characters, FMA not only inspired my interest in anime in general, but it has inspired me both as an artist and as a person more than just about any other series I have seen.

     Fullmetal Alchemist has taught me so much about the very essence of what it means to be human. This series isn't afraid to show humanity at its absolute lowest: the horrors of war, the depths of grief, atrocities committed in the name of science, and more are all portrayed in a very believable way. But over the course of the story, we also learn what makes humanity special: our potential for change through the relationships we have with others. FMA has taught me that one of the greatest virtues is to be vulnerable, that perfection can never be as beautiful or as real as seeing myself and others in totality, flaws and all. The series' non-biased portrayal of so many different intellectual and moral points of view has helped me learn to respect the opinions and backgrounds of everyone, even ones that are very different from mine. The characters in this series all hold such passionate ideals, which they fight for even in the face of tremendous pain and their own inevitable shortcomings. And as with any story I love, I like to think I take a bit of each of them with me: Edward's brilliance, Alphonse's gentleness, Roy's determination, Riza's integrity and Winry's empathy are all qualities I strive to emulate every day.

     In addition to helping me become a better person, FMA has also given me a wealth of creative inspiration. I adore drawing the characters, making memes and funny scenarios based on their quirks, and playing pieces from the score on the piano. I even developed one of my favorite hobbies thanks to this series: making AMVs (animated music videos), where I edit scenes from a show to a song with a fitting tone or lyrics. Music and storytelling are my two greatest loves, and it brings me indescribable joy to get to know a character even better through a song I associate with them. I built my Youtube channel making these types of videos with FMA, and it has become an outlet for many more wonderful projects. Many of these videos were centered around my two favorite characters from the series, Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye, whose tragic, subtly developed love story has fascinated me more than any other fictional relationship. They resonated with me so strongly that I spent a month creating an extensive video essay on what makes their story so beautifully written. Best of all, Roy and Riza helped to reignite my passion for songwriting with "Even Into Hell", a haunting, bittersweet ballad written as a duet between the two characters. Writing this song helped me overcome my belief that I wasn't talented enough to be a songwriter, and gave me the confidence to pursue perhaps my greatest project yet.

     With the help of an online friend and fellow FMA enthusiast I met through my YouTube channel, I am now taking on the glorious task of adapting my favorite anime into a stage musical. It's an extremely ambitious endeavor, but one I have come to believe in greatly. Musical theatre songs are best when sung by passionate, driven characters, which FMA is basically built on, and its timeless, profoundly emotional story is exactly the kind I love to see onstage. Bringing the motives and parallels between characters to life through recurring leitmotifs is such an exciting challenge and so perfect for this story. It's been a slow process to start, but what we've accomplished so far has been incredibly rewarding, and I can't wait to see the soul of this series revealed in a whole new way.

     It seems strange that I've only been a fan of FMA for a little over two years, because I can't imagine where I'd be now without it. The past two years have been easily the greatest creative period of my life, and I have this series to thank. It has had the best impact on me that a piece of art can possibly have on a person, and I only hope I can create something half as wonderful in the future.