Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Avert your eyes if you have not yet finished the series Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood! Or maybe you live on the edge and don’t mind some spoilers... in which case, read on you little daredevil.
15. Baby Ed and Al Training (Episode 12)
Ed and Al fight to survive on an island alone.
Ed and Al’s teacher, Izumi Curtis, leaves them on an island to learn about the roots of alchemy. Their main objective is to learn the meaning of the quote “all is one, one is all”.
What makes this scene awesome:
- First things first, BABY ED AND AL ARE SO STINKIN’ CUTE. Pre-armor Al always gets me in the feels. Plus, their tiny capes and laurels are adorable.
- We get to see Ed’s big brain in action, even as a kiddo. He manages to explain the circle of life to Al without getting dark, patronizing him, or dumbing it down.
- Ed and Al never once turn on each other, which I think is a testament to their bond. Being left alone on an island for a month with only one knife and your sibling would be so hard emotionally, physically, and psychologically, and they survive it without giving up on each other.
14. Ed Passes the State Alchemists Exam (Episode 2)
Ed heads into his State Alchemy Exam.
Preteen Ed heads into his State Alchemy Exam and impresses everyone with his skills.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Ed uses the exam as a way to show off his transmutation-circle-free alchemy…
- And as a beautiful opportunity to reprimand (read: shame) Fuhrer Bradley about his security measures. No wonder Fuhrer Bradley has it out for Ed, huh?
- Plus, I think this is the first time we really get to see a dark side of Fuhrer Bradley since episode one. When Ed’s spear is sliced apart, we get thatshiver of suspicion again… How did Bradley move so fast? When did he manage to get that sword unsheathed? Why is he so calm when Ed just threatened him?
13. Envy’s True Form (Episode 25)
Envy's true form is revealed.
In this scene, we not only get to see Envy’s true form, but we also find out that Envy was the cause of the entire Ishvalan war, which had a negative ripple effect into the life of every main character in the series.
What makes this scene awesome:
- We see Ling being more observant than Ed for once, which is a shock considering how intelligent Ed is… but we’ll give Ed a pass because he was busy fighting Gluttony while Ling apparently had time to pay attention.
- The red lighting and eerie mood of this entire scene is just disgusting, and I love it. They’re having a whole boss battle inside of Gluttony’s cavernous stomach, and the animators pulled it off flawlessly.
- Envy has accepted their fate as Gluttony food and is actually doing a Bad Guy Monologue! He is spilling his deep, dark secrets to Ed and Ling because he actually believes they’re about to die! Quality writing, right there.
12. Ed and Winry’s Fight Before The Promised Day (Episode 46)
What is even happening here? What a mess.
While a teensy bit inappropriate, this scene shows Winry arriving back home in Resembool just before The Promised Day. Little does she (or any of her escorts) know, Ed is also there with a gang of friends, and that Ed is hiding in Winry’s room to eat his sandwich in peace.
What makes this scene awesome:
- This is really one of the last moments of lighthearted, silly weirdness before everything gets intense and bloody. (Plus, just after this clip we get to see Ed taller than Winry!)
- Winry literally tells her Briggs friends not a minute earlier not to touch her automail projects, and it cuts away to them TOUCHING THE STUFF before they come upstairs. I facepalm every single time. (How did they get into the military if they can’t listen?)
- 90% of the hilarity of this scene is just the fact that there are like 8 people crammed into Winry’s tiny bedroom, and no one has any idea what’s going on. The confusion only gets funnier as more and more people come up and recognize each other.
11. Hawkeye and Mustang’s History (Episode 30)
I love Roy and Riza so much. Look at them. So in love.
This clip only scratches the surface of Hawkeye and Mustang’s history. In this, we see the day that Mustang (very thoughtfully) asks Hawkeye to be his assistant, which we know only further strengthens their bond.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Mustang doesn’t choose the position of his assistant lightly. He didn’t ask his best friend, Hughes, to be his assistant; No, he chose unwavering, loyal, fierce Riza Hawkeye.
- Hawkeye relates the war to equivalent exchange, which I think seals the deal for Mustang - the war created more chaos, fostered more evil, killed so many innocent Ishvalans, and now they both have the same goal of making the world a better place.
- And, personally, I love how Mustang describes the position of “assistant” as his equal. This person is going to watch his back, ensure that he focuses on his goals, and destroy him if he goes rogue. ...Sounds kind of romantic, huh?
10. Sig and Armstrong’s Instant Bromance (Episode 55)
The ultimate match-up: Sig Curtis and Alex Louis Armstrong.
What started out as a scene with Olivier and Alex Armstrong fighting Sloth turns into a brawl with Sig and Izumi Curtis lending a hand in Sloth’s eventual demise. One of the best matchups in the show happens in this clip: Major Armstrong and Sig Curtis.
What makes this scene awesome:
- The muscles. The sparkles. The flexing. All of it is weird and I love it.
- Sig and Armstrong have an instant bromance and they fight Sloth together without any exchange of words or a plan in place. Maybe there’s some kind of muscle-man-telepathy at play here? Their synchronized movements are too beautiful for there not to be.
- Also I love how Sig and Izumi fight together, like it’s as easy for them as breathing, making dinner together, or playful banter. Their marriage gives me all the feels.
9. Ling’s Intro Scene (Episode 15)
We meet Ling, Lan Fan, and Fu.
Ah, the early episodes... when life was easy and the characters were still cinnamon rolls. Ling Yao starts making trouble immediately. Lan Fan and Fu fight Ed and Al, bust up Rush Valley, and promptly run away with their master.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Ling is impressed with Ed and Al’s abilities and tries to recruit them after they fight his bodyguards, under the guise that Ling will for sure be the next emperor of Xing. How confident of him!
- Paninya gets roped into helping Alphonse and grabs the spotlight for a moment with her sweet automail leg. Maybe firing off a cannon in the middle of town wasn’t a great idea though, you two?
- Probably the best part is Ling pretending he can’t speak the language and yeeting himself out of the battlefield to avoid paying the bills for the destruction of Rush Valley… that part never fails to make me laugh.
8. Scar vs. Wrath (Episode 61)
Bet you didn't think you'd root for Scar when you started this series, huh?
Revenge scenes are my favorite. In this scene, Scar fights Wrath (AKA Fuhrer Bradley) for killing his people, which is the whole reason Scar was killing state alchemists in the first place.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Scar reveals that he finally accepted his brother’s research and completed the tattoo on his other arm, allowing him to both create and destroy. Cue the chills.
- Besides his amazing fighting abilities (I mean, he catches a blade out of the air WITH HIS TEETH), we get to see Wrath’s depth of character in this scene when he asks for Scar’s real name (respectful), when he says that he has nothing left to say to his wife (caring), and when he dies with a smile on his face (peaceful).
- The symmetry between the two characters is highlighted in this scene: both men without names, both chosen by extraordinary circumstances to help their people, both fighting for a force that watches over them, for reasons they don’t always understand. Straight up art, right here.
7. Mustang vs. Lust (Episode 19)
Lust messed with the wrong State Alchemist.
Mustang tried to destroy Lust just a bit before this clip and almost died doing it. Here we see Lust bragging that she’s taken out Mustang and Havoc, which we find out later is untrue on both counts. Al protects Hawkeye until Mustang shows up with a vengeance.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Alphonse selflessly protects Hawkeye, even though he breaks his armor doing so, because she is grieving and lost in her emotions over Mustang’s alleged death.
- Mustang not only seals his wound shut with his alchemy, but also carves a new transmutation circle into his hand to continue being able to use it. #badass
- This is one of the first scenes we really get to see how close Mustang and Hawkeye are, and I am here for it. When they get married, I hope I’m invited.
6. Mustang vs. Envy (Episode 53)
Envy also messed with the wrong State Alchemist.
Easily one of the best fight scenes in the anime, Mustang finally gets revenge for Envy killing Hughes.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Mustang lets his alchemy do the talking for him, which we rarely get to see any other time in the anime. He shows off a fair bit, performing precise attacks (only Envy’s tongue, for example), as well as huge blasts (like when he fills the tunnel with flames).
- Psychologically, this scene is sound; Mustang seizes the opportunity to finally get revenge for his best friend and risks losing his humanity while doing so. The only reason he doesn’t topple over the edge is because Scar and Riza talk him back.
- Part of the fun of this scene is that Roy is so overpowered. If Mustang hadn’t been trying to dismantle the military from the inside throughout the show, then maybe things could have been resolved and a few homunculi could have been destroyed earlier.
5. Finding Out that Ross Isn’t Dead (Episode 18)
Armstrong is best boy.
In this clip from the scene, we see Armstrong and Edward realizing that Lieutenant Maria Ross isn’t dead. Earlier on, Mustang helped fake her death because she was being framed for Hughes’s murder, then smuggled her out of the city to hide her in the ruined city of Xerxes.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Let’s be honest for a minute here: we all hated Mustang when we thought that he killed Maria Ross. But when we find out that he DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO IT?! The relief that flowed through my body at that point in the show… oh boy. So many feels.
- We get to see Armstrong expressing himself, which is always a highlight of the show. The roses. The bear hugs. The grand gestures of affection. *chef’s kiss*
- This is one of the first scenes in the show that reminds the viewer that we are under complete control of the narrative - while we want to believe that Mustang isn’t that heartless, that Ross is alive, that Hughes is maybe still out there somewhere (please?)... there’s always that voice in the back of your head saying, “Are you sure? In this series?”
4. When Ed and Al Expose Father Cornello (Episode 3)
The people of Liore get a wake-up call, courtesy of the Elrics.
This scene sets the tone for how Ed and Al handle bad guys - with alchemy, jokes, and their wits - for the rest of the series. Father Cornello is a false prophet armed with a Philosopher’s Stone, claiming to be able to perform miracles, and Ed and Al won’t stand for his lies.
What makes this scene awesome:
- This scene is great in both the original anime and in Brotherhood - either way, the boys expose Father Cornello by broadcasting his lies over the radio to the entire city of Liore, thus destroying the peoples’ faith in Cornello and Cornello’s facade of peace and love.
- We get to see Ed and Al kick Cornello’s butt and show off their skill sets for the first time unhindered by the military or bystanders.
- It’s the first time Ed (and the viewer) gets to see a Philosopher’s Stone up close, only to have it disintegrate! It’s the cinematic definition of a wild goose chase.
3. Ed Obliterating Father (Episode 63)
Kick his ass, Ed!
Just before this, Alphonse sacrifices himself with alchemy so that Ed can have his human arm back (as Father had just destroyed his automail one). With Al potentially gone, Ed unleashes his fury upon Father.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Ed has let himself loose upon Father for indirectly taking Alphonse away; the raw emotion in the voice acting and in the animation are moving and so well-executed.
- The line, “Get up you novice - I’m about to show you how outclassed you really are” has got to be one of the best power plays in all of FMA: Brotherhood, if not all of the anime I’ve ever seen. Ed says this to a being that is part God. Talk about confidence.
- The support pouring forth from the crowd as Ed pummels Father had me in tears the first time I saw this scene, particularly Riza’s “Kick his ass, Ed!” Their faith in Edward is so moving that I knew this scene belonged in my top three.
2. Al vs. Pride and Kimblee (Episode 52)
Look at my baby, all grown up and fighting homunculi!
In one of my favorite scenes from the series, we get to see Alphonse kick some serious homunculus butt. He doesn’t hold back against Pride or Kimblee, and utilizes a Philosopher’s Stone to turn the tide of the battle.
What makes this scene awesome:
- We get to see Al’s growth and maturity in this scene - he holds his own against the oldest of the homunculi and against an ex-state-alchemist (read: murderer) much older and more experienced than him.
- The animation is straight up gorgeous and the fighting itself is beautifully rendered. I’ve watched it a million times for this reason alone.
- Probably the best part of this scene is the decoys that both parties use throughout the battle to trick the viewer; For example, we think the odds are favoring Pride and Kimblee when Al pulls out his decoy flash grenade and changes the whole flow of the battle.
1. Ed “Beats” the Truth (Episode 63)
The finale.
In this scene toward the very end of the series, we just missed Ed performing human transmutation on himself in order to bring Alphonse back from the doors of Truth. Ed gives up his ability to do alchemy in order to save Al - with his real body - and the Truth admits that Ed has found the right answer.
What makes this scene awesome:
- Ed uses his prodigious genius to find a solution to opening the door of Truth without using a Philosopher’s Stone, just like he promised Al he would.
- Plus, the Truth applauds Ed for figuring out how to save Al and for finding the right answer; The Truth admits that Edward bested him.
- Edward admits that he doesn’t need alchemy when he has great friends. (Who is cutting onions in here?)
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- [Top 15] Fullmetal Alchemist Best Moments Worth Watching Again
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- [Top 10] Fullmetal Alchemist Best Episodes
- [Top 15] Fullmetal Alchemist Best Fights Worth Watching Again
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