What Makes a Human?

Analyzing Fullmetal Alchemist’s Conclusion Through the Lens of Frankenstein

Spoiler warning for major plot points.

Edward “Ed” Elric with some of the multitude of friends that would help him overcome his challenges

“Water: 35 liters. Carbon: 20 kilograms. Ammonia: 4 liters. Lime: 1.5 kg. Phosphorus: 800 grams. Salt: 250g. Saltpeter: 100g. Sulfur: 80g. Fluorine: 7.5g. Iron: 5g. Silicon 3g, and 15 other elements in small quantities… That’s the total chemical makeup of the average human body.” Edward “Ed” Elric, the protagonist of the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist, rattles off those ingredients from a tattered notebook. But is that all it takes to create a human being?

This question occupies one of the central themes of Fullmetal Alchemist, as embodied by the rule of “equivalent exchange.” This concept is a core tenet of alchemy in this manga’s universe. Equivalent exchange states that transmutation can only occur as long as the final product is equal to the original. For example, a pebble cannot become two pebbles of the same size and weight as the original. One cannot make too much with too little. Otherwise, the alchemical reaction would snatch anything within reach to balance the equation.

The consequences of an unbalanced equivalent exchange: Al losing his body to the void

Ed knows this firsthand. When he tried to recreate his late mother by transmuting the chemical makeup of a human body, the reaction seized his arm and his leg. His little brother Alphonse “Al” fared even worse; he lost his entire body. Ed had to bind Al’s soul to a suit of armor to save him. Something was missing in this exchange.

This tragedy sets the stage for a masterpiece of a manga series. Ed and Al embarked on a quest to restore their bodies, but ended up thwarting a nationwide conspiracy. Its memorable characters, haunting plot twists, and philosophical themes entranced audiences worldwide. But when the story resolved its final challenge with the shounen trope of “I don’t need power, because I have my friends,” it’s understandable to feel disappointed due to seemingly cliché ending. However, I argue that if we analyze the manga through the lens of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, we realize that this shounen ending neatly answers a core question of the series: that of what it means to be human. My analysis will illustrate how Frankenstein enriches Fullmetal Alchemist’s “power of friendship” conclusion by reinforcing the central theme that humanity is built on social connections, and that a human body is simply the conduit to experience those connections.

The roots of tragedy: Dr. Frankenstein and the creation of his monster

Fans of Fullmetal Alchemist would quickly notice the story’s parallels with Frankenstein. Both feature geniuses who venture past the limits of scientific morals to create life, but end up creating monsters. While both stories explore themes of what it means to be human, the story of Frankenstein focuses on whether a grotesque frame and birth is indicative of an equally grotesque soul.

The creation of the monster was a gruesome process. From scavenging bones from morgues to raiding dissection rooms and slaughterhouses, the monster’s creator - Dr. Frankenstein - knew he had violated the natural order to construct his monster, just as Ed did when he attempted human transmutation. When his monster finally rattled to life, Dr. Frankenstein fled in horror. He judged that his creation would only ever be a monster, considering its hideous appearance and method of birth. 

Yet the monster’s own experiences suggest that possessing a humanoid frame is not a prerequisite to becoming “human.” The monster recounts that it stumbled upon the De Lacey family, made up of a blind old man and his two adult children Felix and Agatha. Classics nerds will appreciate that the names of the brother and sister literally translate as “good” in Latin and Greek, respectively.

The De Lacey family as the paragon of virtue, with the monster desperately trying to emulate their example

This family represented the paragon of generosity and humility. Their interactions inspired the monster to yearn for their acceptance. It would chop their wood and do other household chores, but always in secret. The monster was their “good spirit,” as Felix called him. The monster even learned the human language and versed himself in human history just to feel closer to the De Lacey’s. The monster may have come to life thanks to Dr. Frankenstein, but only began developing its own “humanity” through observing and imitating the positive social interactions of this virtuous family.

However, the monster’s newfound “humanity” could not overcome the curse of his appearance. When the monster finally revealed its presence, the De Lacey’s lashed out in horror. The monster could not change its grotesque nature, and neither would the world change to accept it. This same logic pushed Dr. Frankenstein to destroy the female companion that the monster requested. Whereas the monster insisted that a companion would help it live a virtuous life, Dr. Frankenstein only saw the potential for twice the malice they could create. This was Dr. Frankenstein’s greatest failure. His refusal to acknowledge his monster’s virtues and its desire for social connection pushed both onto the path of losing their “humanity,” and their lives. Thus, the moral of Frankenstein emerges: the creation of a monster is complete not when one takes on a monster’s appearance, but when one acts and is treated as such.

The confrontation between man and monster, but which one is which?

The tragedy of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster offers a comparative story arc to better appreciate why Fullmetal Alchemist concludes with “the power of friendship.” In parallel with Dr. Frankenstein, Ed also sought to create a human by animating the organic components using forbidden techniques. The transmutation ends up producing a mangled husk of a human, even after taking Ed’s limbs and his brother’s body. The equivalent exchange could not balance.

By the end of the manga, we learn why. As with Dr. Frankenstein, Ed overlooked the importance of connections in making a human. Equivalent exchange mandates alchemists to fully understand how everything connects to another, including how one connects with the world. A true master alchemist would realize that simply assembling a body’s organic components could never equate to the incredible and infinite connections that make someone who they are, that make someone human.

Frankenstein’s monster illustrated this point. The monster was not born with “humanity,” but developed it over the course of his interactions with others. But just as Dr. Frankenstein failed to acknowledge his monster’s capacity to develop those connections, Ed failed to recognize how these connections were what differentiated a body’s chemical ingredients from a human. Both failures demonstrate the hubris of brilliant minds unable to see beyond their limited understanding of the world.

Ed further demonstrated this hubris during the infamous “Chimera” incident early in the story. When confronted with a twisted alchemist who spliced together his own daughter and dog for “science,” Ed lamented that he didn’t have the power to save even one little girl. He was “just a pathetic human being.”

The infamous chimera and its pleas “Ed…. ward?”

At that moment, Ed was at his lowest, and yet most hubristic. Although Ed’s heart was in the right place, he became fixated on using alchemy’s power for his own ends rather than using it to connect to others. His lament suggests that Ed misperceived “humanity” as simply the human frame, which faced limits on its power. This episode further parallels how Ed and Dr. Frankenstein were following the same tragic path, as both associated a human frame as the sole criteria for one to be considered “human.”

But at the very end of the series, Ed’s understanding of humanity diverges from that of Dr. Frankenstein. Although Ed repeats his lament that he’s just a hopeless human, but does so with a smile. Throughout Ed and Al’s journey, they were only able to succeed at every critical moment not due to alchemy, but instead thanks to the connections – the friends – that they made. The more Ed accumulated these connections, the further he developed as a human by expanding his perspectives and deepening his virtues.

The fundamental principle of alchemy: from the smallest ant to heavens: all is connected

As pointed out earlier, alchemy also rests on understanding how the world and its people connect to everything else, including oneself. By this logic, alchemy and a human body should be interchangeable. Both are simply conduits to experience the vastness that is “humanity.” Ed proved this principle when he sacrificed his power to perform alchemy in order to restore his brother’s human body. He finally balanced the equivalent exchange. His sacrifice illustrates how Ed learned the lesson that escaped Dr. Frankenstein – social connections define what it means to be “human” far more than flesh and bone.

Dr. Frankenstein and Ed began their stories with similar inciting incidents, but ended up with very different fates. Both sought to build a human, but both neglected to integrate the meaningful social connections that define humanity. They were blinded by the power of their science or alchemy.

Unfortunately for Dr. Frankenstein, he could not recognize his monster’s demonstrated humanity and the social connections that the monster desired. He represents an alternate path that Ed could have taken. As the monster’s wrath destroyed its creator’s social connections one by one, Dr. Frankenstein spent his final days as a shell of a human, possessing the same amount of “humanity” that his monster did at birth. His human body meant nothing without the connections with friends and family.

With this alternate path in mind, we can gain a better appreciation for the “power of friendship” ending of Fullmetal Alchemist. Had Ed also continued down a path of seeing alchemy as a tool to accumulate more power instead of to connect with others, perhaps he would have never learned to rely on his friends nor learn how to restore his brother’s body. Ed’s friends were what saved him from becoming an empty human body bereft of humanity, as what happened to Dr. Frankenstein. More importantly, Ed’s friends demonstrated time and again that working together could achieve far more than what alchemy could do alone, which inspired Ed’s solution for restoring Al’s body. Thus, the “power of friendship” was not used as a plot armor power up, but as a way to represent the culmination of Ed and Al’s journey, especially how they understood how “humanity” could transcend the human body.

The culmination of everything that Ed has learned and the connections he’s encountered on his journey

Ultimately, what does it mean to be human? Both Frankenstein and Fullmetal Alchemist convey that humanity depends not on one’s organic body, but on the sum of one’s social connections and experiences. In contrast to how Dr. Frankenstein ended up losing his own humanity and  because he could not see the desire for connections under the monster’s hideous appearance, Ed realizes that the human body serves the same purpose as alchemy – that of a tool to experience “humanity.” As a result, he comes to terms with being human because the “power of friendship” can perform just as many, if not more, miracles as alchemy. While the story of Frankenstein answers what it takes to create a monster, its story shows us how Fullmetal Alchemist’s shounen ending transcends the cliché, because the “power of friendship” answers what it takes to create a human.