

The title is obviously the State Alchemist name of Edward Elric, but what does
the word "Fullmetal" mean? I watched both series with dub in my mother
language, and in that, Ed was referred as "Steel Alchemist". (translated to
English)


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2013-11-15T17:48:07.440
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2013-11-15T19:01:58.653
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fullmetal-alchemist-series
What does "Fullmetal" mean?


"Steel Alchemist" is in fact the literal translation of Edward Elric's title.
The term "Fullmetal" is most likely a reference to Stanley Kubrick classic
war-is-hell film _Full Metal Jacket_.

The "jacket" of a full metal jacketed bullet is usually made of steel.
Sometimes you hear these bullets called _steel jacketed_ in English, and in
many other languages, a translation of this second name is much more common.
In many countries outside the US, FMJ was retitled to reflect the most common
local name for the bullets, in order to preserve that reference. I don't know
if Japan did this: IMDB doesn't list the Japanese title for some reason.

But if Japan did retitle the movie, then the title "Steel Alchemist" may have
been intended all along to reflect the title of the "Steel Jacketed" movie.
Many translations of FMA actually do use a title that reflects the way FMJ was
titled in the translation's own language, and so it's possible that "Fullmetal
Alchemist" is just another application of that practice.


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2013-11-15T19:01:58.653
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2013-11-15T19:01:58.653
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