A less conventional shounen protagonist
Full Metal Alchemist is a series that knows very well how to provoke emotion in the viewer so it is understandable that its main character would also feel relatable to the audience. Edward Elric is not a very typical shounen character and I would say that some of the characteristics he has due to that make him much more human.
Unlike protagonists from Dragon Ball, Naruto or even One Piece, Edward and his brother are very intelligent, talked about as alchemist prodigies from the start of the series. Meanwhile, other main characters are usually dull witted for the sake of comedy. This lack of intelligence and eating enormous amounts of food go hand in hand in most occasions but this is another trait that the Elric brothers lack.
Goku is a character whose purpose seems to be an endless thirst for fighting and every villain that appears is just another obstacle in the way that when defeated serve the purpose of showing him as the strongest being in the universe. A similar thing happens with Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail but Edward Elric is more of a strategist, he prefers not to start conflict without reason and is defeated many times. He is not the most powerful alchemist in the series and does not end up as such and furthermore he has a clear fear of death that he has manifested in some of the episodes. A villain, Scar, defeats him, leaving him gravely injured and during the rest of the series he has not been able to fight him back without the help of others.
Another aspect in which Edward stands out from others is his goal. While there are goals that seem bigger than life like becoming the pirate king or the most powerful being in the universe, relative to those goals, Edward's seems quite small. He wants to bring his mother back from the dead with alchemy and even that is later dropped with him being content in regaining his and his brother's body back.
Overall, these qualities help Edward seem like a more grounded and interesting character and bring a well awaited breath of fresh air into the shounen anime community.
Unlike protagonists from Dragon Ball, Naruto or even One Piece, Edward and his brother are very intelligent, talked about as alchemist prodigies from the start of the series. Meanwhile, other main characters are usually dull witted for the sake of comedy. This lack of intelligence and eating enormous amounts of food go hand in hand in most occasions but this is another trait that the Elric brothers lack.
Goku is a character whose purpose seems to be an endless thirst for fighting and every villain that appears is just another obstacle in the way that when defeated serve the purpose of showing him as the strongest being in the universe. A similar thing happens with Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail but Edward Elric is more of a strategist, he prefers not to start conflict without reason and is defeated many times. He is not the most powerful alchemist in the series and does not end up as such and furthermore he has a clear fear of death that he has manifested in some of the episodes. A villain, Scar, defeats him, leaving him gravely injured and during the rest of the series he has not been able to fight him back without the help of others.
Another aspect in which Edward stands out from others is his goal. While there are goals that seem bigger than life like becoming the pirate king or the most powerful being in the universe, relative to those goals, Edward's seems quite small. He wants to bring his mother back from the dead with alchemy and even that is later dropped with him being content in regaining his and his brother's body back.
Overall, these qualities help Edward seem like a more grounded and interesting character and bring a well awaited breath of fresh air into the shounen anime community.
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