Alphonse Elric

**Alphonse Elric**, also known as **Al** and the **Armored Alchemist**, is one of the main characters from the *Fullmetal Alchemist* series.

## **Charactah Account**

Alphonse is the younger brother of the Edward Elric. Al is also a victim of the failed Human Transmutation experiment in which Ed lost his right arm and left leg. Having had his entire physical being taken away from him in the aftermath of the tragedy, Alphonse exists solely as a soul alchemically bound to a large suit of steel armor. Now, Al travels with his brother in search of a legendary Philosopher's Stone, an item with the power to restore their bodies to normal.

In many ways, Alphonse's calm and passive disposition exists as a foil to his older brother's more abrasive personality. Al is kindhearted, notably compassionate and patient almost to a fault, acting often out of protective selflessness for his loved ones, new friends and sometimes even toward his enemies (Scar is a particular example). Having had his psychological growth stunted at the age of ten due to loss of his physical body, Alphonse retains a childlike purity in the face of all his encountered horrors; however, despite his age, he has always displayed a significantly higher level of maturity than Edward. Though Al is as passionate as his brother, he has remarked that his anger takes longer to spark and jokes that he is always beaten to the punch by Edward's outbursts.

On the other hand, Al's heart does contain some darkness born from the tragedies of his life. Plagued with insecurities about his own uncertain existence inside a suit of armor, Al craves the human warmth of his former life in desperate silence, fears that he will never again know closeness, and is sometimes overwhelmed by the suspicion that he himself is not human. It is also revealed that Alphonse carries the added burden of blaming himself for the failure of his mother's resurrection and the subsequent loss of his brother's limbs.

## **Appearance**

### **Anime**

* Fullmetal Alchemist
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Specials
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - 4-Koma Theater
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Reflections
* Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos
* Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos Specials
* Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa

### **Manga**

* Fullmetal Alchemist
* Full Metal Alchemist: Prototype

### **Video Games**

* Flameout
* Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
* Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir
* Fullmetal Alchemist 3: The Girl Who Succeeds God
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Daughter of the Dusk
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Quest For The Philosopher's Stone
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Sonata of Memories
* Fullmetal Alchemist: State Alchemy Exam
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo
* Fullmetal Alchemist: To the Promised Day
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game
* Iron and Flame
* State Alchemy Exam

## **Trivia**

* The character of Al bears some resemblance to Agilulf, the protagonist of Italo Calvino's *The Nonexistent Knight*. Like Al, Agilulf is nothing but a living suit of armor, a formidable fighter, and holds a sense of good manners.
* In an app called "Alchemy", there is an element called "Metal Golem". The Metal Golem looks a lot like Alphonse.
* Originally, Arakawa did not draw Alphonse's armor face as displaying emotions of any kind, regardless of circumstance or emotional climate. It wasn't until Chapter 4: Battle on the Train that he began "making faces" during comedic scenes. (However, both animes employed this gag as early as their first episodes.)
* It is assumed that Al's human height at the end of the series to be 5'10 (177.8cm) and his brother Ed to be of 5'9 (175.26cm)
* In the manga and 2009 anime, Alphonse, as a direct descendant of Van Hohenheim, is close blood kin to Father and all the seven Homunculi (although King Bradley can be a slight exception, as he is a human based Homunculus, but nevertheless still shares the close blood kin to Al like the others). Additionally, Arakawa has jokingly confirmed that, in the manga, Al (along with Ed) is technically uncle to the seven Homunculi, as he relates to them by blood.
* Al is one of two people in the series to know that Winry and Ed have romantic feelings for each other, the other being Riza Hawkeye.

## **External Links**

* Alphonse Elric at Fullmetal Alchemist Wiki