Red Alert, Commander: Alchemists aren't born with an elemental affinity. Roy Mustang's flame alchemy isn't even his own technique or invention; Riza's father created it. What an alchemist can do is dependant entirely upon their training, discoveries, and a certain degree of innate willpower. Anyone can theoretically learn any alchemy technique, it's just that they're so intricate you can't figure one out to use just by studying your opponent or having an epiphany in the middle of battle.
You aren't born with a type of alchemy, you have to develop and research to creat new types , the majority we have in the show were taught by the generations
Correct. Alchemy is just rearranging atoms and molecules basically. You have to know exactly what elements you are changing into what other element and how that works, and that is incredibly complicated, which is why each alchemist typically specializes in onr or two types because becoming an alchemist is basically a magical chemistry masters degree.
@@EskChan19Exactly! I love the power system it’s why everyone in the verse dosen’t do alchemy. It’s incredibly difficult & even though state alchemist are to stay in shape > All state alchemist would be considered “nerdy” due to them actually needing to know the ins and outs of their alchemy
I feel like it's worth noting that the Philosopher's Stone doesn't violate equivalent exchange. It appears to because there's matter appearing from seemingly nowhere but the stone is actually a huge wellspring of energy. Energy is converted to Matter and that's how you get something that looks like it violates the law. But in the end the laws cannot be violated.
I always thought that it used souls (life) as energy. It's well established that the value of a human life is immeasurable. So I thought that since human life is the ultimate sacrifice, it allows you to do nearly anything (except bring back the dead). You are giving back much more than what you're transmuting. I could very well be wrong so do tell me how it actually works
@@lyger8742 yes, you are right. The "wellspring of energy" is the human lives you've put into it. You converting their lives into the fuel source of your alchemy. It doesn't violate conservation of mass because you are using human lives to make up the difference.
As I've understood it, the Philosopher's Stone runs a little fast and loose with the "equivalent" portion of the exchange. As was said, the value of a human soul is immeasurable in terms of alchemy, but because Truth considers sentimental and metaphorical "value" in addition to material worth, what that really means is that the value of a human soul in a transmutation equation is whatever the WORLD thinks it's worth. That's why Human Transmutation is impossible even with a Philosopher's Stone; the fact you'd go to such lengths to bring back a life intrinsically makes that life worth MORE than whatever you'd trade for it. So even an Amestris-sized Philosopher Stone wouldn't be an equivalent exchange for the one life someone would willingly trade it for. But that works in the other direction, too. Most people would say a human soul is worth more than any mundane material, and since a soul cannot be divided, that would create an unbalanced equation in your favor. So rather than creating a Rebound towards Truth, you simply get whatever you asked for without actually trading the soul, meaning your Alchemy "costs" nothing. Which doesn't VIOLATE the law of Equivalent Exchange; it just loopholes past it by using Truth's own bias for human souls against it. But that's why Philosopher Stones are so dangerous; even the smallest stone contains more than 1 human soul, and therefore any Alchemy done with them is beyond the realm of human limitation. And so long as you don't try to perform transmutation at a greater level than the number of souls in your stone, your stone will never disappear or lose alchemical potency.
One think I'll add: It's easy to overlook/forget that your alchemic circle limits your alchemy. It's not that Roy 'forgot' he can do other alchemy, it's that his alchemic circle is formulated for his flame alchemy. Circle Less alchemy just lets you do whatever you want whenever since your body and your thoughts/knowledge directly form your circle and formula. Other alchemists have their specific predesigned circles that define the formulas of their styles. It's implied the more specific your formula, the less energy and effort it takes, and of course the more complex your transmutation.
For those who don't know, Van Hohenheim was named as he is to reference Paracelsus van Hohenheim, the real-life "alchemist" who wrote The Five Elements.
@@ZenithintheMaking Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Aether. Aether was, like, spiritual energy, I think? Like, God was composed of Aether, and souls, and stuff. I think. It's been a while, so don't take my word for it.
Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim is the full name of Parcelsus. You might remember that as the original name the Dwarf in the Flask wanted to give Hohenheim before the later claimed that was too much.
I think another impressive feat Ed pulled off was when he transmuted himself to get rid of an iron bar that got stuck in his body. No other alchemist achieved such a feat.
It is, the creator just has limited knowledge when it comes to anime outside of Naruto/Boruto. He often gets this half or completely wrong when it comes to talking about anything not Naruto/Boruto. He's done this with a lot of his new videos regarding Bleach TYBW arc as well
It is even a mayor Plotpoint and very well explained in the Series. If you know how, you make a Circle and that Circle does pretty much whatever you want. If Mustang switches to other Gloves whit different Markings, he could easily use Metal, Earth, Wather, or Medicine. And someone who saw the Truth is obviously able to perform every Alchemy from scratch if they undersrand the Formular.
I’d like to see the honorable mentions. Issac McDougal with his water alchemy was pretty busted. Also, you’re not born with a elemental type, you learn them. Mustang still did a bunch of different alchemy before he learned flame alchemy, like turning the water into hydrogen gas in round 1 vs Lust. They just specialize in what they’re comfortable with.
I feel like isaac mcdougall aka the freezing alchemist should have gotten last place or at least an honorable mention. He cought on to everything that was going on long before anyone eles. Hes not only smart but his alchemical control over water was so advanced that he could even use his blood as a last ditch effort.
@@flashvash7543 I agree! He had so much potential. Sadly he was only filler. A lot of cool things could have been done with him! The first episode sets up his character really well.
Best part about Mustang's alchemy is that the fire alchemy transmutation circle he uses on his gloves are basically super streamlined edited versions of the actual original equation that was discovered by his mentor bertold hawkeye aka Riza's father. All the shit he is doing is basically through an edited version of the transmutation array for flame alchemy berthold tatooed onto his daughter's back, that she eventually showed Mustang in exchange for him to burn the info off and relieve her of being the only written record of it, as no other records were kept (Berthold also didnt want to give it to the at-the-time young and brash Mustang in fear it could be misused). And the original version was considered both the most powerful and efficient version of Flame Alchemy by its creator. Just imagine what Mustang could do with the full thing instead of the streamlined, edited version? I mean he already has the Gate of Truth Powerup with it taking his eyes, but still.
I’m pretty sure Hoehnheim was researching human transmutation which is why ed and al thought they could do it. Most of his research was still there. This would also explain why the suit of armor was there.
I don’t know if it’s different in the manga, but in the show Kimbley isn’t jailed for killing civilians, they’d want that during ishval since it would make for a better crest of blood, what he was jailed for in the show was killing his commanding officers when they demanded he return the Philosophers stone
No it's the same in both versions, this video is incorrect. He's also incorrect on Izumi's powers, she doesn't manipulate ions. All she did was make Greed's armor brittle like Ed and then kick him
I think Roy might be the current strongest. He's been through the portal , had his alchemy buff with Van Hoenheim's revers transmutation circle and is the only person to have been shown to use fire alchemy. One could argue Al and Izumi could too but there's no proof they can.
Maybe it's just me, but every time he said "Alex Armstrong" instead of the full "Alex Louis Armstrong, the StrongArmed Alchemist" my brain itches painfully...
The thing is that this ranked alchemists. And while King Bradley is insanely powerful, I don't think we ever see him use alchemy, he's a fighter and a king, not an alchemist.
It was noted in the show that Alfonse couldn't really transmute himself as Ed was the one who transmuted his body and he had to be conscious of the transmutation circle in order to protect from breaking it when repairing him. Could be wrong, but that was kind of a big deal as to why they went back to Winry after Scar attacked them the first time.
I think it's important to remember that the Elric brothers were willingly holding themselves back. Like it's an important part of their characterization; they're pacifists who refuse to kill. They'd probably be even deadlier if they were, ya know, willing to be deadly.
They absolutely were willing to kill. Idk what you're talking about. They didn't WANT to. But they were willing to. And tried several times. Like they absolutely 1000 percent tried and were willing to kill skar
This feels strange because unlike other anime everyone one these alchemy styles is basically an applied science. Everyone is a human who studied a type of alchemy and weaponize it.
Man i watched most of your videos and normally you're always spot on, but fmab seems to be your weakspot mate. The videos on fmab are either theories mixed with content from fma, or full of misunderstandings of its lore and power system. They are anyways counted in a bunch of comments down here, so im not gonna repeat. You should maybe freshen up again on fmab. Kudos to your other videos though, really enjoy your content.
1 you aren't born with an alchemy type, you study and learn it. Anyone can do it, if they know how and use the correct circles. 2 the philosopher's stone doesn't violate equivalent exchange, the souls are turned to pure energy which is used to make matter. It still obeys equivalent exchange.
You arent born with a specific alchemy, its more the personal takents, skills, training, and preferences of the user. They cal all do various basics like changing shapes and matter, but like roy soecializes in flame alchemy bc he wants to, scars signature is deconstruction alchemy, the elrics have very practical and flexible alchemy, armstrong uses his immense stregnth to superchsrge the power and speed of his alchemy
It's Amestris, not Amestria. The people of Amestris are called Amestrians. Sorry but that bugged me throughout this video. Edit: Glad you caught it eventually, that was driving me nuts! lol
It’s been awhile myself since I’ve watched FMAB, but wasn’t the Dwarf in the Flask made from Hohenheim’s own blood? I could be mistaken, but I could’ve sworn that he said that he was made from his blood. And that’s why Hohenheim had that bandage around his forearm because he was cut to use his blood for the experiment. And that’s also why father had the same body as Hohenheim because he was made from his blood.
I've never seen the show, but if Mustang's ability is control of oxygen density, and said control is "next level", then I'd suspect he shouldn't need a lighter/dry gloves whatever to produce a spark. He should simply be able to make the oxygen dense enough to auto-ignite.
i would have agree with Ed being number 3, if the list was about the best alchemist, but it's about the strongest, so mustang have to be 3, maybe even 2, hoenheim is kinda weak in battle relativelly to his alchemy level.
Mei Chang is better than at least the bottom 3 including Alphonse, she literally had to tutor him in the purification arts which technically is the true form of alchemy, and she was able to deflect attacks from Father at full power while injured
@@jbwon2775 I'm assuming that Scar made the list because 'technically' he does use full-on Alchemy in his fight with Wrath... though I'd hesitate to say that actually makes him an Alchemist. I find it funny that he doesn't necessarily include Father and Hoenheim as Alcehmists just because they aren't human (despite both of them openly being Alchemists) yet includes Scar with no problem.
@@lo4tr Again no he doesn't, his alchemy is based off of his brother's research on purification arts (Stated in Volume 15) when he discovered that Amestris alchemy didn't draw power from the earth but from the massive philophers stone (aka father) underneath Amestris. Hence why Father was able to seal everyone's alchemy except Scar and Mei because they use the true form of alchemy that generates power from the earth (purification arts) So no Scar does not perform the "alchemy" you think of, he's still using purification arts easily identifiable through the tattoos on his arms.
As several others have said here, saying that alchemist have elemental affinities is wildly inaccurate. Alchemist from this series are essentially science wizards. They get stronger by studying, not training, and can choose to specialize in a field of alchemy just the same as a wizard which chooses to specialize in a school of magic. The reason alchemists choose to specialize in the first place is the alchemical symbol is very specific to the alchemy they're trying to perform. This is what makes Ed so dangerous. Not only is he a natural talent, he can throw any kind of alchemy at you at a moment's notice. Pretty much every other alchemist can only do one kind of alchemy at a time so they have to find creative ways to use that one kind.
I feel like you should have given at least an honorable mention to Mei Chang because, although she is technically an alkahestrist and not an alchemist, alkahestry is very, very similar to alchemy and is technically what Scar is using as well since his right arm tattoo was actually developed by his brother, who was trying to unite alchemy and alkahestry, meaning that when Father decided to just turn off alchemy, Scar was still able to transmute. Mei's alkahestry is at the very least at the level of Al's alchemy, if not Ed's alchemy, and on top of that, she's a highly skilled martial artist, able to humiliate Envy since she was too fast for Envy to land a hit on. Since she's an alkahestrist, she can throw kunai to a particular location in a circular shape, speed draw a circle on the ground faster than we see anyone else draw any sort of transmutation circle in the show, throw kunai at the circle, and then use the circle to affect whatever is at the location she threw the other circle of kunai to. She is able to pull off all of these complicated maneuvers basically in the blink of an eye, making her nearly as fast as someone who has passed through the Gate of Truth. Also, since alkahestry is first and foremost a medical art, she is the best healer in the show short of Dr. Marcoh with a Philosopher Stone, able to heal deep cuts and gunshot wounds instantly, and even restore Dr. Marcoh's entire face after Scar destroys it, albiet heavily scarred. She even assists Hohenheim in his fight against Father by blocking nukes for him, although Mei was buffing herself by utilizing Father's own energy against him and using it for herself. As far as martial arts goes, Mei is shown fighting toe to toe with other warriors from Xing without her alkahestry, and these same people would prove to be nearly as skilled in martial arts as Wrath himself, and all of them routinely make jokes out of Homunculi and alchemists alike. Like the other Xingese warriors, Mei has the ability to sense Chi, allowing her to fight in total darkness or track people down by sensing their presence, and since she also has extensive knowledge of alkahestry and the human body, she can strike a person's chakra points essentially Gentle Fist style to disable people, and she can also of course throw kunai with very high accuracy, and while she normally uses this for her alkahestry, she is of course able to just headshot you with a knife to the forehead if she wants to. And let me remind you, she's able to do all of this at 11 years old! Ed got his state certification at 12! She is even more naturally talented than Ed and Al are. I could buy her being able to solo Pride himself after the timeskip.
Take away izumis medical problems and she stomps everyone in the verse other then father and hohenheim. There's a reason she's the only person the elric brothers feared. Even after fighting semi immortal monsters and ninjas
@@jatinx2x marcoh offers to use the stone to restore Roy's vision the condition that has to undo the current ishvalan policy. It's towards the end of volume 18 in the Manga
@@PatrickTillman7 roy decided to use it for good of people instead of curing his eye I know what you're tryna say He did try to use it for havoc tho, but not for himself
What about Doctor Marco? He took down Envy in one shot by himself because of his proficiency in alchemy. His knowledge isn't traditional strength but alchemy doesn't work in the most traditional sense anyway?
My thought was that Dr. Marco was able to take down Envy because he had worked in the department of the military that was in charge of creating philosopher stones and was able to figure out how to uncreate them as well.
My thought was that Dr. Marco was able to take down Envy because he had worked in the department of the military that was in charge of creating philosopher stones and was able to figure out how to uncreate them as well.
For Al, I don't know for sure but I think that suit of armor he is bounded into is a suit of armor from Hohenheim's collection. So we actually do know why the Elrics have a suit of armor around.
I know the video isn’t about this, but am I alone in wishing brotherhood had a few episodes added at the beginning to flesh out characters? As things stand I feel like the anime assumes you already saw the earlier adaptation, so I find it harder to recommend to a new viewer bc I feel like I have to include the caveat that you’ll love it either way, but the best experience comes from crawling through the first half or so of the earlier adaptation then switching to brotherhood, and that’s a hard sell
if you want an argument about father and hoeinheim being alchemist, let'S start about the fact that those 2 people are the one that have the most knowledge in alchemy Father orchestred the xerces sacrifice, and perform the amestris one(literally with an alchemy circle). For hoenheim, i don't remember any hard proof like that, but we know he have study alchemy his whole life and is the one who brough alchemy into xing.
Kimblee is way too high here. He was crafty but he never won his straight up fights against Scar, Ed, or Al. I would put him below Al on this list. I would honestly put Mustang above Ed. He could toy with homunculi that Ed struggled to fight at all. I'm not sure why Father wouldn't be considered an alchemist. All that word means is they use alchemy, and he did.
Go back, Scar definitely uses a transmutation circle, and Armstrong has a transmutation on either first. I think you need to re-familiarize yourself with transmutation circles.
When I hear a full metal alchemist blunder in the first two minutes of a video (alchemist aren’t born with their alchemy) I’m skeptical of your list. So like yeah have fun with that
Wait Hoenhiem himself says that Edward is a stronger fighter and a better alchemist then he is even despite the fact that Hoenhiem is a human philosophers stone also Edward beats Father after he absorbs all the souls of everyone in Amestris also Hoenhiem says he is not strong enough too fight pride and that fighting pride would be dumb of him yet Edward beats pride in a one on one battle and that is right before he gets a significant boost too his alchemy by the reverse transmutation circle of Amestris.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Contin creator, get flamed, nearly as much as he has in his last recent videos for giving such complete inaccurate description of the things he talks about. At this point it feels like a lot of his scripts are just straight up AI generated by the way he talks
@@AlooParantha_311ehhhh I disagree on that. Ed is far far far more versatile than mustang and we never really see Roy have to fight hand to hand. Ed should hypothetically dominate up close. And eds arguably smarter on his feet too. Roy fucks himself order with rain and water several times lol.
The thing I like about the power system here is that match-ups are important. Take the #10 guy (already forgot his name). He most likely would have been able to output a ton of damage against a homunculus. Honestly, the reasons he probably lost so handily against Scar was a mix of anime logic (seriously, the explosions from the projectile impacts should have knocked Scar over at the very least), that he didn't know about Scar's ability, and that he's clearly more fit to mid-long range engagements. I can see how he feasibly lost and, if the story required otherwise, how he could have also won or had a more prominent role based solely on his fighting capabilities.
Also I’m more confident in the theory that Roy’s gloves actually manipulate “fire” not oxygen. For a spark is stil a “fire” just smaller which in turn he can manipulate. But I’m open to the “oxygen” theory.
Oxigen is not flammable. Oxigen accelerates fire it does not burn by itself. That is a very important distinction. however high oxigen atmospheres can potentially bring combustible materials to an explosion if there is enough of that. But again it does not burn by itself.
Interesting concept. I wouldn't say I had an innate metaphysical affinity to be an Analytical Chemist though, especially in undergrad. That said, there was a drive to study chemistry (it wasnt easy) that many others avoided.
In terms of overall strength, not just alchemical knowledge: 1. Father 2. Hohenheim 3. Mustang 4. Alphonse (w/ Philosopher's Stone) 5. Izumi 6. Scar 7. Edward 8. Kimblee (w/ Stone) 9. Armstrong 10. May 11. Giolio Comanche (Alphonse without Stone) 12. Basque Grand 13. Isaac McDougal (Kimblee without Stone) 14. Dr. Marcoh 15. Gold-toothed Doctor 16. Shou Tucker
You know, I bet a human could get theoretically strong enough to throw another person through a building, I sorta doubt we could with current genetics the way they are, but with science/medicine (genetic alterations and cybernetics) id say somewhere down the road we could. HOWEVER, I think the limit would be the person we throw, I think if we could generate that much force, we'd disintegrate the person we throw either in the process of throwing or when they hit the building, but maybe if we start making buildings out of softer materials... 🤔
As pissed as I am that Alphanse was 9th, as the amount of knowledge one gets from entering the gate of Truth,is equal to the amount of ones body that is sacrificed and alchemy proficiency is linked directly with their understanding of the world is;he only started remembering bits of it near the end of the series and though he should have gotten it all when ed got his body back, but don't know how much he knows(it could be more than father or less than double Ed's) Oh also I am okay with calling father and alchemist as he had his gate of Truth
i think father counts as an alchemist because he literally created amestrian alchemy, and all of it was bound through him. the term 'alchemy' originates from him, as xingese alkahestry originates from hohenheim.
my Nr. 1 would be whoever managed to put that dwarf into the flask, the fact that this person knew they needed a flask implys that this wasn't pulled of on a first try.
I think that Al should be right behind Ed. We know he's definitely the better hand-to-hand fighter, even before he was armour. Ed says so himself (which you mentioned). I think that Ed is a more "out of the box" thinker, so to speak, with his alchemy, but in terms of knowledge and talent they're near equal. In fact, there's a quick gag when Al realizes that he can transmute by clapping and in his head Ed bumps alchemy off of the short list of advantages he has over his brother (or maybe he added it to the list of advantages Al has over him. I can't recall). Basically, he admits that the only thing that made him a better alchemist at the time was not needing to draw circles, and once Al gains the same ability, they're on par. There's also another point in Al's favour that you don't mention: It's speculated (though not confirmed) that the amount of alchemic knowledge that a person gains when passing through the Gate is proportionate to the amount of their body that they pay for it, and having lost his entire body, Al is believed to have gained more knowledge than any other person who's seen the Truth. It's just that he can't remember it at first.
Red Alert, Commander: Alchemists aren't born with an elemental affinity. Roy Mustang's flame alchemy isn't even his own technique or invention; Riza's father created it. What an alchemist can do is dependant entirely upon their training, discoveries, and a certain degree of innate willpower. Anyone can theoretically learn any alchemy technique, it's just that they're so intricate you can't figure one out to use just by studying your opponent or having an epiphany in the middle of battle.
Isn’t the instructions to learn flame alchemy the Tattoo that is on Riza’s back?
@@sonnydelight33 yes. Which her father put there.
how tf did he get it wrong like 2mins into the video, it has to be on purpose for ppl to comment
@@uuh4yj43he hasn't seen the series in awhile so that's probably why
@@uuh4yj43 I’m assuming he’s used ChatGPT and just never bothers checking the script or learning to see if it was wrong or right
You aren't born with a type of alchemy, you have to develop and research to creat new types , the majority we have in the show were taught by the generations
Such as the Anderson's alchemy being passed down through the generations (strikes a double double 💪 pose)!
Correct. Alchemy is just rearranging atoms and molecules basically. You have to know exactly what elements you are changing into what other element and how that works, and that is incredibly complicated, which is why each alchemist typically specializes in onr or two types because becoming an alchemist is basically a magical chemistry masters degree.
@@EskChan19Exactly! I love the power system it’s why everyone in the verse dosen’t do alchemy. It’s incredibly difficult & even though state alchemist are to stay in shape > All state alchemist would be considered “nerdy” due to them actually needing to know the ins and outs of their alchemy
You don't born to speak English...you have to learn
Example: instead of don't you should've said "aren't"
Lesson complete. You're welcome 😊
@gaiatrix839 you could tell me that without being this passive aggressive, English is my third language
I feel like it's worth noting that the Philosopher's Stone doesn't violate equivalent exchange. It appears to because there's matter appearing from seemingly nowhere but the stone is actually a huge wellspring of energy. Energy is converted to Matter and that's how you get something that looks like it violates the law. But in the end the laws cannot be violated.
I always thought that it used souls (life) as energy. It's well established that the value of a human life is immeasurable. So I thought that since human life is the ultimate sacrifice, it allows you to do nearly anything (except bring back the dead). You are giving back much more than what you're transmuting.
I could very well be wrong so do tell me how it actually works
@@lyger8742 yes, you are right. The "wellspring of energy" is the human lives you've put into it. You converting their lives into the fuel source of your alchemy. It doesn't violate conservation of mass because you are using human lives to make up the difference.
As I've understood it, the Philosopher's Stone runs a little fast and loose with the "equivalent" portion of the exchange. As was said, the value of a human soul is immeasurable in terms of alchemy, but because Truth considers sentimental and metaphorical "value" in addition to material worth, what that really means is that the value of a human soul in a transmutation equation is whatever the WORLD thinks it's worth. That's why Human Transmutation is impossible even with a Philosopher's Stone; the fact you'd go to such lengths to bring back a life intrinsically makes that life worth MORE than whatever you'd trade for it. So even an Amestris-sized Philosopher Stone wouldn't be an equivalent exchange for the one life someone would willingly trade it for.
But that works in the other direction, too. Most people would say a human soul is worth more than any mundane material, and since a soul cannot be divided, that would create an unbalanced equation in your favor. So rather than creating a Rebound towards Truth, you simply get whatever you asked for without actually trading the soul, meaning your Alchemy "costs" nothing. Which doesn't VIOLATE the law of Equivalent Exchange; it just loopholes past it by using Truth's own bias for human souls against it.
But that's why Philosopher Stones are so dangerous; even the smallest stone contains more than 1 human soul, and therefore any Alchemy done with them is beyond the realm of human limitation. And so long as you don't try to perform transmutation at a greater level than the number of souls in your stone, your stone will never disappear or lose alchemical potency.
@@m.mulder8864 your part of the boros legion? Golgari till death, and sometimes longer
@@m.mulder8864not to mention even they run out at some point which is why humunculi can die eventually
One think I'll add: It's easy to overlook/forget that your alchemic circle limits your alchemy. It's not that Roy 'forgot' he can do other alchemy, it's that his alchemic circle is formulated for his flame alchemy. Circle Less alchemy just lets you do whatever you want whenever since your body and your thoughts/knowledge directly form your circle and formula. Other alchemists have their specific predesigned circles that define the formulas of their styles. It's implied the more specific your formula, the less energy and effort it takes, and of course the more complex your transmutation.
For those who don't know, Van Hohenheim was named as he is to reference Paracelsus van Hohenheim, the real-life "alchemist" who wrote The Five Elements.
It was water earth wood fire and metal right?
@@ZenithintheMaking Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Aether. Aether was, like, spiritual energy, I think? Like, God was composed of Aether, and souls, and stuff. I think. It's been a while, so don't take my word for it.
@@danieljohnson9917 ty for the info🤟
Phillipus Bombastus Theophrastus Von Hohenheim.
Paracelsus was more like a nickname or author name.
Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim is the full name of Parcelsus. You might remember that as the original name the Dwarf in the Flask wanted to give Hohenheim before the later claimed that was too much.
Fullmetal alchemist videos add an extra day to my life
Hilarious. Gonna start using that “adds a day to my life” bit, thank you very much xd
Ya but I took 3735.972
That doesn't follow the law of Equivalent Exchange.
@@notconnorslays1 yoh don’t follow the laws of equal exchange
Indeed
I think another impressive feat Ed pulled off was when he transmuted himself to get rid of an iron bar that got stuck in his body. No other alchemist achieved such a feat.
I always thought it was less of an affinity and more a field of study. Like getting a masters degree.
And Ed is just the genius with 12 degrees.
It is, the creator just has limited knowledge when it comes to anime outside of Naruto/Boruto. He often gets this half or completely wrong when it comes to talking about anything not Naruto/Boruto. He's done this with a lot of his new videos regarding Bleach TYBW arc as well
It is even a mayor Plotpoint and very well explained in the Series. If you know how, you make a Circle and that Circle does pretty much whatever you want. If Mustang switches to other Gloves whit different Markings, he could easily use Metal, Earth, Wather, or Medicine.
And someone who saw the Truth is obviously able to perform every Alchemy from scratch if they undersrand the Formular.
@@352DTHyeah and also with death not he said that light used the shinigami eyes to kill L 💀
I’d like to see the honorable mentions. Issac McDougal with his water alchemy was pretty busted. Also, you’re not born with a elemental type, you learn them. Mustang still did a bunch of different alchemy before he learned flame alchemy, like turning the water into hydrogen gas in round 1 vs Lust. They just specialize in what they’re comfortable with.
"The 'shortest' mega shonen..."
I see what you did there 😆
Ironically it should’ve been almost as long as Attack on Titan.
He is only 5'5, pretty puny for a dude :D.
Bro I'm 5'4 @@ionfalcom1
I feel like isaac mcdougall aka the freezing alchemist should have gotten last place or at least an honorable mention. He cought on to everything that was going on long before anyone eles. Hes not only smart but his alchemical control over water was so advanced that he could even use his blood as a last ditch effort.
I agree with this! His options feel almost infinite. Begin able to use blood. Also being really intelligent he would probably beat bas gran.
@@JoelK615 i LOVED him. When i first watched it i thought he was gonna get locked up and come back later like so many ppl in other animes but nope 😒
Hes a filler character, the first episode of the anime is filler
This dude doesnt even watch fmab. He just read a random article in internet and make a content with it.
@@flashvash7543 I agree! He had so much potential. Sadly he was only filler. A lot of cool things could have been done with him! The first episode sets up his character really well.
Best part about Mustang's alchemy is that the fire alchemy transmutation circle he uses on his gloves are basically super streamlined edited versions of the actual original equation that was discovered by his mentor bertold hawkeye aka Riza's father. All the shit he is doing is basically through an edited version of the transmutation array for flame alchemy berthold tatooed onto his daughter's back, that she eventually showed Mustang in exchange for him to burn the info off and relieve her of being the only written record of it, as no other records were kept (Berthold also didnt want to give it to the at-the-time young and brash Mustang in fear it could be misused).
And the original version was considered both the most powerful and efficient version of Flame Alchemy by its creator.
Just imagine what Mustang could do with the full thing instead of the streamlined, edited version? I mean he already has the Gate of Truth Powerup with it taking his eyes, but still.
I’m pretty sure Hoehnheim was researching human transmutation which is why ed and al thought they could do it. Most of his research was still there. This would also explain why the suit of armor was there.
Fun fact: Oxygen is not flammable, no matter what state it's in.
It is a really good oxidizer, which makes it great for assisting a fire.
"its a terrible day for rain" still hits hard to this day. god i love FMAB roy mustang is the best charecter in the anime and the hottest.
Haha I see what you did there
@@sad_platypus pun almost intended
Yes he is the best character in the anime by far. But I think lust and envy would have to disagree about him being the hottest.
I don’t know if it’s different in the manga, but in the show Kimbley isn’t jailed for killing civilians, they’d want that during ishval since it would make for a better crest of blood, what he was jailed for in the show was killing his commanding officers when they demanded he return the Philosophers stone
No it's the same in both versions, this video is incorrect. He's also incorrect on Izumi's powers, she doesn't manipulate ions. All she did was make Greed's armor brittle like Ed and then kick him
@@megabladechronicles962 a lot in this video is incorrect, i don't think I've ever seen a video about fma with so much misinformation
Mustang could just use his ogyxen control to suffocate someone or intoxicate them by the concetration but i guess is more effective to blow shit up
Gave it a like just bc I don’t usually see FMA discussion or ranking videos✊🏽🔥
I think Roy might be the current strongest. He's been through the portal , had his alchemy buff with Van Hoenheim's revers transmutation circle and is the only person to have been shown to use fire alchemy. One could argue Al and Izumi could too but there's no proof they can.
Kimblee didn't "combust civilians", it was him killing military personnel (and stealing the philosophers stone) that got him put in jail
Maybe it's just me, but every time he said "Alex Armstrong" instead of the full "Alex Louis Armstrong, the StrongArmed Alchemist" my brain itches painfully...
I felt the same way 💀
What is king Bradley’s powers? Is he basically just their version of a super soldier from what I can tell like an evil captain America 😂
he has a bootleg sharingan a mustache and swords for days
Hes actually probably closer to taskmaster, expert at all weapons but excels with swords, and like said above almost has a bootleg sharingan
@@ihlm3339greatest explanation ever😂
@@ihlm3339💀I about to explain but this is much better than my explanation
The thing is that this ranked alchemists. And while King Bradley is insanely powerful, I don't think we ever see him use alchemy, he's a fighter and a king, not an alchemist.
It was noted in the show that Alfonse couldn't really transmute himself as Ed was the one who transmuted his body and he had to be conscious of the transmutation circle in order to protect from breaking it when repairing him. Could be wrong, but that was kind of a big deal as to why they went back to Winry after Scar attacked them the first time.
This made my day☝🏿
Absolutely agree in every single way. Great vid Nick
Every day nick posts is a great day
Damn today was a good day didn’t have to use my Ak
Loving the varied content keep it up
I didn't even know I needed this !!!!! 🔥🔥🔥
I think it's important to remember that the Elric brothers were willingly holding themselves back. Like it's an important part of their characterization; they're pacifists who refuse to kill. They'd probably be even deadlier if they were, ya know, willing to be deadly.
They absolutely were willing to kill. Idk what you're talking about. They didn't WANT to. But they were willing to. And tried several times.
Like they absolutely 1000 percent tried and were willing to kill skar
@@ImTheMan0fSteel I don't recall them being willing to kill anyone, including Scar.
You made this just as I was rewatching FMA:B . Bravo
This feels strange because unlike other anime everyone one these alchemy styles is basically an applied science. Everyone is a human who studied a type of alchemy and weaponize it.
So Glad Nick Made this channel love Naruto but other Anime are great aswell
FMA is in the TOP 10 anime’s ever made the characters the story the power system the mystery/intrigue I can’t give this anime enough praise honestly
Honestly top 5 possibly top 3
Was going to argue the point on Basque, but looked back first and found out that the stone I remembered him using for the building was anime only
“You know what baffled his mother ? Surviving.”
Me: *spits cereal* AYO WTF ?!
Keep up the awesome work and videos Nick
Omg I would LOVE more FMAB videos!!!!!
Man i watched most of your videos and normally you're always spot on, but fmab seems to be your weakspot mate.
The videos on fmab are either theories mixed with content from fma, or full of misunderstandings of its lore and power system. They are anyways counted in a bunch of comments down here, so im not gonna repeat.
You should maybe freshen up again on fmab. Kudos to your other videos though, really enjoy your content.
NCHammer spot on? bruh 💀💀💀
1 you aren't born with an alchemy type, you study and learn it. Anyone can do it, if they know how and use the correct circles.
2 the philosopher's stone doesn't violate equivalent exchange, the souls are turned to pure energy which is used to make matter. It still obeys equivalent exchange.
yeah but it still boosts your alchemy to an insane degree it makes it to where you can summon almost anything without the drawbacks
You know what? You've earned this
*hits sub*
You arent born with a specific alchemy, its more the personal takents, skills, training, and preferences of the user. They cal all do various basics like changing shapes and matter, but like roy soecializes in flame alchemy bc he wants to, scars signature is deconstruction alchemy, the elrics have very practical and flexible alchemy, armstrong uses his immense stregnth to superchsrge the power and speed of his alchemy
It's Amestris, not Amestria. The people of Amestris are called Amestrians. Sorry but that bugged me throughout this video.
Edit: Glad you caught it eventually, that was driving me nuts! lol
I’m deff gonna say “undergoing difficult tasks is kinda what I do best” tomorrow
al > ed
This one finna be a banger
Day 36 of asking nick to finish jojo
As soon as you hinted i kinda figured 1-3. It's hard not to cause like.......... yeah.
Ok, I see you discovered a feature no one is talking about and can make the subscribe button glow pretty much on command. Neat
Side point about Roy Mustang, Oxygen is actually not flammable. It increases the flammability of other things, but it itself does not burn.
I can't take him not saying "Alex Louis Armstrong"
It’s been awhile myself since I’ve watched FMAB, but wasn’t the Dwarf in the Flask made from Hohenheim’s own blood? I could be mistaken, but I could’ve sworn that he said that he was made from his blood. And that’s why Hohenheim had that bandage around his forearm because he was cut to use his blood for the experiment. And that’s also why father had the same body as Hohenheim because he was made from his blood.
I've never seen the show, but if Mustang's ability is control of oxygen density, and said control is "next level", then I'd suspect he shouldn't need a lighter/dry gloves whatever to produce a spark. He should simply be able to make the oxygen dense enough to auto-ignite.
i would have agree with Ed being number 3, if the list was about the best alchemist, but it's about the strongest, so mustang have to be 3, maybe even 2, hoenheim is kinda weak in battle relativelly to his alchemy level.
I love how people praise FMAB because it’s short, when it should be 10 episodes longer.
Mei Chang is better than at least the bottom 3 including Alphonse, she literally had to tutor him in the purification arts which technically is the true form of alchemy, and she was able to deflect attacks from Father at full power while injured
She's also not an Alchemist as she doesn't use Alchemy...
@@lo4tr By your logic neither is Scar and he's on this list
@@jbwon2775 I'm assuming that Scar made the list because 'technically' he does use full-on Alchemy in his fight with Wrath... though I'd hesitate to say that actually makes him an Alchemist.
I find it funny that he doesn't necessarily include Father and Hoenheim as Alcehmists just because they aren't human (despite both of them openly being Alchemists) yet includes Scar with no problem.
@@lo4tr Again no he doesn't, his alchemy is based off of his brother's research on purification arts (Stated in Volume 15) when he discovered that Amestris alchemy didn't draw power from the earth but from the massive philophers stone (aka father) underneath Amestris. Hence why Father was able to seal everyone's alchemy except Scar and Mei because they use the true form of alchemy that generates power from the earth (purification arts) So no Scar does not perform the "alchemy" you think of, he's still using purification arts easily identifiable through the tattoos on his arms.
@@lo4tr Maybe do some more research before you go around trying to discredit someone else's knowledge kid.
As several others have said here, saying that alchemist have elemental affinities is wildly inaccurate. Alchemist from this series are essentially science wizards. They get stronger by studying, not training, and can choose to specialize in a field of alchemy just the same as a wizard which chooses to specialize in a school of magic. The reason alchemists choose to specialize in the first place is the alchemical symbol is very specific to the alchemy they're trying to perform.
This is what makes Ed so dangerous. Not only is he a natural talent, he can throw any kind of alchemy at you at a moment's notice. Pretty much every other alchemist can only do one kind of alchemy at a time so they have to find creative ways to use that one kind.
I feel like you should have given at least an honorable mention to Mei Chang because, although she is technically an alkahestrist and not an alchemist, alkahestry is very, very similar to alchemy and is technically what Scar is using as well since his right arm tattoo was actually developed by his brother, who was trying to unite alchemy and alkahestry, meaning that when Father decided to just turn off alchemy, Scar was still able to transmute.
Mei's alkahestry is at the very least at the level of Al's alchemy, if not Ed's alchemy, and on top of that, she's a highly skilled martial artist, able to humiliate Envy since she was too fast for Envy to land a hit on. Since she's an alkahestrist, she can throw kunai to a particular location in a circular shape, speed draw a circle on the ground faster than we see anyone else draw any sort of transmutation circle in the show, throw kunai at the circle, and then use the circle to affect whatever is at the location she threw the other circle of kunai to. She is able to pull off all of these complicated maneuvers basically in the blink of an eye, making her nearly as fast as someone who has passed through the Gate of Truth. Also, since alkahestry is first and foremost a medical art, she is the best healer in the show short of Dr. Marcoh with a Philosopher Stone, able to heal deep cuts and gunshot wounds instantly, and even restore Dr. Marcoh's entire face after Scar destroys it, albiet heavily scarred. She even assists Hohenheim in his fight against Father by blocking nukes for him, although Mei was buffing herself by utilizing Father's own energy against him and using it for herself.
As far as martial arts goes, Mei is shown fighting toe to toe with other warriors from Xing without her alkahestry, and these same people would prove to be nearly as skilled in martial arts as Wrath himself, and all of them routinely make jokes out of Homunculi and alchemists alike. Like the other Xingese warriors, Mei has the ability to sense Chi, allowing her to fight in total darkness or track people down by sensing their presence, and since she also has extensive knowledge of alkahestry and the human body, she can strike a person's chakra points essentially Gentle Fist style to disable people, and she can also of course throw kunai with very high accuracy, and while she normally uses this for her alkahestry, she is of course able to just headshot you with a knife to the forehead if she wants to.
And let me remind you, she's able to do all of this at 11 years old! Ed got his state certification at 12! She is even more naturally talented than Ed and Al are. I could buy her being able to solo Pride himself after the timeskip.
Take away izumis medical problems and she stomps everyone in the verse other then father and hohenheim. There's a reason she's the only person the elric brothers feared. Even after fighting semi immortal monsters and ninjas
You can’t take it away (without a philosopher stone) that’s how she got her chalk free abilities
@@orichard99 in theory she could get them back the same way roy gets his vision back
@@PatrickTillman7roy never got his vision back wtf
@@jatinx2x marcoh offers to use the stone to restore Roy's vision the condition that has to undo the current ishvalan policy. It's towards the end of volume 18 in the Manga
@@PatrickTillman7 roy decided to use it for good of people instead of curing his eye
I know what you're tryna say
He did try to use it for havoc tho, but not for himself
Awesome content as usual
Thanks for explaining Roy Mustang alchemy. I was a bit confused
What about Doctor Marco?
He took down Envy in one shot by himself because of his proficiency in alchemy. His knowledge isn't traditional strength but alchemy doesn't work in the most traditional sense anyway?
My thought was that Dr. Marco was able to take down Envy because he had worked in the department of the military that was in charge of creating philosopher stones and was able to figure out how to uncreate them as well.
My thought was that Dr. Marco was able to take down Envy because he had worked in the department of the military that was in charge of creating philosopher stones and was able to figure out how to uncreate them as well.
For Al, I don't know for sure but I think that suit of armor he is bounded into is a suit of armor from Hohenheim's collection. So we actually do know why the Elrics have a suit of armor around.
So you ignored the fact that Kimbly uses a philosopher stone THE ENTIRE SERIES?!?!
I know the video isn’t about this, but am I alone in wishing brotherhood had a few episodes added at the beginning to flesh out characters? As things stand I feel like the anime assumes you already saw the earlier adaptation, so I find it harder to recommend to a new viewer bc I feel like I have to include the caveat that you’ll love it either way, but the best experience comes from crawling through the first half or so of the earlier adaptation then switching to brotherhood, and that’s a hard sell
Scar at 8 is mad disrespectful
if you want an argument about father and hoeinheim being alchemist, let'S start about the fact that those 2 people are the one that have the most knowledge in alchemy
Father orchestred the xerces sacrifice, and perform the amestris one(literally with an alchemy circle).
For hoenheim, i don't remember any hard proof like that, but we know he have study alchemy his whole life and is the one who brough alchemy into xing.
Kimblee is way too high here. He was crafty but he never won his straight up fights against Scar, Ed, or Al. I would put him below Al on this list.
I would honestly put Mustang above Ed. He could toy with homunculi that Ed struggled to fight at all.
I'm not sure why Father wouldn't be considered an alchemist. All that word means is they use alchemy, and he did.
Go back, Scar definitely uses a transmutation circle, and Armstrong has a transmutation on either first. I think you need to re-familiarize yourself with transmutation circles.
When I hear a full metal alchemist blunder in the first two minutes of a video (alchemist aren’t born with their alchemy) I’m skeptical of your list. So like yeah have fun with that
Scar's arm (later arms) is (are) tattooed with one big transmutation array the circle is the ring in the tattoo that wraps around his arm
Wait Hoenhiem himself says that Edward is a stronger fighter and a better alchemist then he is even despite the fact that Hoenhiem is a human philosophers stone also Edward beats Father after he absorbs all the souls of everyone in Amestris also Hoenhiem says he is not strong enough too fight pride and that fighting pride would be dumb of him yet Edward beats pride in a one on one battle and that is right before he gets a significant boost too his alchemy by the reverse transmutation circle of Amestris.
i think you should do a video on the strongest forms of alchemy(like fire alchemy or ice) instead of strongest alchemists.
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a Contin creator, get flamed, nearly as much as he has in his last recent videos for giving such complete inaccurate description of the things he talks about. At this point it feels like a lot of his scripts are just straight up AI generated by the way he talks
The ice dude was anime filler but he was badass
Alphonse at 9 is way too low, he can create without a circle and his hand2hand combat is great
Also Mustang should be above Ed. This guy really needs to watch the show again
@@AlooParantha_311ehhhh I disagree on that. Ed is far far far more versatile than mustang and we never really see Roy have to fight hand to hand.
Ed should hypothetically dominate up close. And eds arguably smarter on his feet too. Roy fucks himself order with rain and water several times lol.
@@ImTheMan0fSteel if Mustang goes all out, he beats Ed, high difficulty
@@AlooParantha_311 mid way through the series I'd agree with you. But Ed only gets better as the series progresses.
@@AlooParantha_311nope end series ed would kill mustang period
The thing I like about the power system here is that match-ups are important. Take the #10 guy (already forgot his name). He most likely would have been able to output a ton of damage against a homunculus.
Honestly, the reasons he probably lost so handily against Scar was a mix of anime logic (seriously, the explosions from the projectile impacts should have knocked Scar over at the very least), that he didn't know about Scar's ability, and that he's clearly more fit to mid-long range engagements.
I can see how he feasibly lost and, if the story required otherwise, how he could have also won or had a more prominent role based solely on his fighting capabilities.
I actually just started fmab this week and other than that one episode it’s a really great show
Also I’m more confident in the theory that Roy’s gloves actually manipulate “fire” not oxygen. For a spark is stil a “fire” just smaller which in turn he can manipulate. But I’m open to the “oxygen” theory.
Oxigen is not flammable. Oxigen accelerates fire it does not burn by itself. That is a very important distinction. however high oxigen atmospheres can potentially bring combustible materials to an explosion if there is enough of that. But again it does not burn by itself.
Interesting concept. I wouldn't say I had an innate metaphysical affinity to be an Analytical Chemist though, especially in undergrad. That said, there was a drive to study chemistry (it wasnt easy) that many others avoided.
In terms of overall strength, not just alchemical knowledge:
1. Father
2. Hohenheim
3. Mustang
4. Alphonse (w/ Philosopher's Stone)
5. Izumi
6. Scar
7. Edward
8. Kimblee (w/ Stone)
9. Armstrong
10. May
11. Giolio Comanche
(Alphonse without Stone)
12. Basque Grand
13. Isaac McDougal
(Kimblee without Stone)
14. Dr. Marcoh
15. Gold-toothed Doctor
16. Shou Tucker
Kimbly’s feats are hard to determine bc literally all of them are with a stone
Watching this while playing ff7 remake for the first time while smoking some moon rocks 🤙🏾
You know, I bet a human could get theoretically strong enough to throw another person through a building, I sorta doubt we could with current genetics the way they are, but with science/medicine (genetic alterations and cybernetics) id say somewhere down the road we could. HOWEVER, I think the limit would be the person we throw, I think if we could generate that much force, we'd disintegrate the person we throw either in the process of throwing or when they hit the building, but maybe if we start making buildings out of softer materials... 🤔
OMG OMG OMG YES, MOAR FMA!!!!!!!!!!
As pissed as I am that Alphanse was 9th, as the amount of knowledge one gets from entering the gate of Truth,is equal to the amount of ones body that is sacrificed and alchemy proficiency is linked directly with their understanding of the world is;he only started remembering bits of it near the end of the series and though he should have gotten it all when ed got his body back, but don't know how much he knows(it could be more than father or less than double Ed's)
Oh also I am okay with calling father and alchemist as he had his gate of Truth
Also, he's a better fighter than Ed even before he became a suit of armor and passed the entrance exam the same time as his brother.
i think father counts as an alchemist because he literally created amestrian alchemy, and all of it was bound through him. the term 'alchemy' originates from him, as xingese alkahestry originates from hohenheim.
I feel like maybe… you don’t know FMA well enough. Only saw the first bit but there’s some mistakes
Nick giving Armstrong a run for his money when it comes to his lash game.
more FMA vids 🤞👀👀 lezz goo hope we get more vids
the cloth on the suit of armor is actually a cloth of masonry cuz his father was a member of the secret society
Well, if we don't count numbers 1 and 2 on this list, what are your 11 and 12 so we have a complete list of 10?
22:50 But Nick, Oxygen isn't actually flammable. Though it is vital to combustion. (of course i did it in the hater voice)
I think Alphonse could have ranked higher if he would fight to kill rather than to subdue. He was most gentle character in the series.
my Nr. 1 would be whoever managed to put that dwarf into the flask, the fact that this person knew they needed a flask implys that this wasn't pulled of on a first try.
technically if we're counting father as an alchemist than TRUTH would be number one
They can bring the anime back with them all grown up
Kimbly was not jailed for civilian murder but for the killing of some officers .The extermination of ishvales was the hole poin
I think that Al should be right behind Ed. We know he's definitely the better hand-to-hand fighter, even before he was armour. Ed says so himself (which you mentioned). I think that Ed is a more "out of the box" thinker, so to speak, with his alchemy, but in terms of knowledge and talent they're near equal. In fact, there's a quick gag when Al realizes that he can transmute by clapping and in his head Ed bumps alchemy off of the short list of advantages he has over his brother (or maybe he added it to the list of advantages Al has over him. I can't recall). Basically, he admits that the only thing that made him a better alchemist at the time was not needing to draw circles, and once Al gains the same ability, they're on par.
There's also another point in Al's favour that you don't mention: It's speculated (though not confirmed) that the amount of alchemic knowledge that a person gains when passing through the Gate is proportionate to the amount of their body that they pay for it, and having lost his entire body, Al is believed to have gained more knowledge than any other person who's seen the Truth. It's just that he can't remember it at first.
I know it's plot convenience. But I always thought they could just use alchemy to cover Al's seal. Like welding something to cup it.