Fullmetal Alchemist Day Has Arrived on October 3rd

Today is an important day for the anime franchise that is Fullmetal Alchemist. The story which follows Edward and Alphonse Elric as they attempt to journey through a world of alchemy in order to regain Alphonse’s body, as well as potentially resurrect their mother, has managed to find its way into becoming one of the most popular anime franchises to date. Blending some heartfelt and crushing emotional moments along with a ton of amazing action scenes, October 3rd is an exceptionally important date to the mythos of the series overall. What is the significance of this date to the brothers Elric?

Twitter User ToonamiNews shared the detail that today in Fullmetal Alchemist history, both Edward and Alphonse made a promise to themselves to leave their pasts behind and move forward into an unclear future, transcribing the date into their pocket watch as an important reminder:

Being mired in tragedy isn’t exactly a unique trait for several anime protagonists, but man oh man, did the Elric brothers get the short end of the stick. Fullmetal Alchemist places a spotlight onto these two brothers who attempt to resurrect their mother, only to discover that sometimes, alchemy isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. With Edward losing some limbs and Alphonse losing his entire body, forced now to reside inside a giant suit of armor, it’s certainly understandable that the pair were looking to put their horrifying past behind them.

With the burning of their home and moving into positions with the state government, the brothers moved across the country, encountering deadly threats and revealing hidden mysteries in their quest to become “normal” once again.

How do you feel about the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise? What other important anime dates should fans keep in the back of their minds? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and/or how sick that fight between Mustang and !

Fullmetal Alchemist was originally created by Hiromu Arakawa for Square Enix’s Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine in 2001. The story follows two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who learn alchemy in order to bring back their deceased mother. After a terrible miscalculation, however, the two brothers pay a terrible price with Alphonse even losing his body and linking his soul to a suit of armor. As the two boys search for an alchemy that will restore their bodies to their original forms, they join the military and deal with a whole host of new political, ethical, and moral issues.

Bones’ first attempt at adapting the series into an anime successfully ran for 51 episodes in 2003, but was marred by fans for its pacing issues and deviations from the original source. Bones later produced a more faithful adaptation in 2009 with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and the series was much better received than its predecessor.