Father is " All is Me, and Mine alone to manipulate" . A realization of Dark Enlightenment. If all in me, then if hurt you, I hurt me, but that is my decision . So therefore, hurting you is justified.
One small correction: Homunculi are made from breaking off a piece of Fathers stone, but only Wrath, and Greed-Ling are made by inserting into a living person. The others are their own entities with no connection to humans. Another great video overall; really glad I subbed after the first one.
@@mikeblaze7424 yes but i think he means that Wrath and Greed-Ling became Homunculi by inserting a stone into thier person, while the other Homunculi were purely created.
@@dragon3010lol the original greed was crated like Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy and Pride. Wrath was the first experiment inserting a philosopher's stone into a human. Then Greed-Ling was made after Greed was caught and re-absorbed.
Alchemy is a great source of inspiration. With all those symbols, diagrams, hermetism, esoteric knowledge, and actual scientifically explained phenomena combined, it becomes a solid way to work on world building.
Most alchemy breaks things down into three constituents: Mercury, Sulfur, and Salt. These three are different from the typical elements we think of when we consider the Periodic Table of Elements. Mercury was typically considered “spirit” and sulfur was the “soul” while salt was the body. The “salt” was what was left behind after the first stage of dilution, which involved taking a “spirit” and pouring it over the “body” of a plant or mineral. Say for example if you took the plant balsam fir and wanted to extract the “soul” from it (sulfur), you would pour the “spirit” over it in order to purify the plant “body” and then heat it over a furnace or fire source (fire being the most important primal element of alchemists and why Colonel Mustang was as powerful as he was and symbolically the leader of the group). The “spirit” that was poured over was burned off, leaving behind the salt “body” and the turpentine oil or “essence”/soul of the balsam fir would be collected in a drip flask. Alchemists would typically use red wine as the spirit (hence why alcohol is referred to as “spirits”) and that’s why it was believed the philosopher’s stone was red. There were three stages to the process of dilution, calcination, fermentation, etc. that were able to be observed if the results of the transmutation were successful. The first stage, and most immature, was a black materia where the substance would look burned (why “father” appears black but has a pale body). The white powder left behind (body) would have to be reintroduced back to purify it further with additional spirit.When that was done properly, the essence materia would turn white (“truth” is white). The next step would be to reintroduce the soul (sulfur) so that all aspects of the plant or material were purified separately and then placed back together (mind, body, soul). The end result was a red color materia (Edward’s coat, who is also uncoincidentally the son of Hoeinheim/Paracelsus). Real alchemy isn’t about the products in the glass. It’s about transmutating yourself into gold. It is the western take on Zazen essentially. That’s why Edward claps his hands like he’s praying. It’s also why “father” is so envious. He can never be human, therefore he can never create gold. And in the end, Hoeiheim realizes that in his search for gold, he had already made it by having children.
alcohol is referred to as spirit because when you consume it you open the gateway to spirits entering your body and potentially controlling you (ex. seeing red, easily enraged, talkative, lusty, etc.) also, the process of creating alcohol involves sealing away substances, excommunicating them from the natural cycle of the world, leaving behind a "Spirit"....honestly mang....the world is a complicated place lol.
Beautiful analysis. I love this idea that Father, the dwarf in the flask, is incapable of achieving his goal because of the very nature of existing as one. He wished to understand, to be god, to be better than god, and that very desire is derived from his physical personification. As such, to want it is to already fail, and yet in being destroyed, he achieved his wish because he returns to his original form: All. He was corrupted by being brought into existence, and it was this corruption that drove him back to balance. He couldn't understand what it was he wanted, he only understood he wanted, and thus walked the path he openly spurned without the capacity to understand the contradiction. And with each piece of himself he split off, he both was driven further from his ability to understand, and closer to his objective, but he would never be given the confirmation or satisfaction of being able to know why that was. By simply being, he was in a state of imbalance, and only by being destroyed did he achieve everything he worked for, but he would never get the satisfaction of knowing that because at that point, it wouldn't matter anymore. The crazy thing about this show is that nobody actually wins or loses, even though the author convinces the viewer that there's a separation of sides, opposing forces at work. Everything simply returns to the status quo, and even more so than the idea of love, I believe the biggest theme of this story is that of balance. Everything will work itself out in the end, and love is simply the capacity to appreciate your understanding of this knowledge.
@@_inSight__ You said "Everything will work itself out in the end, and love is simply the capacity to appreciate your understanding of this knowledge." would you say this is also where forgiving people comes in play too? To let things go?
@@10RexTheWolf01 I mean, in a way, yes, but that understanding is a form of enlightenment. Understanding fundamentally your privilege to exist, as well as the value assigned to your sense of self compared to everything else, means that enlightenment will grant you the ability to not having to forgive. You will never be in a position where you feel you have been wronged or shorted, and the flip side is dependent on whether it’s positive or negative enlightenment. You won’t feel like you need to forgive anything, but whether you deserve forgiveness or not depends on if you think of yourself as part of everything or if you think you are outside of everything having gained enlightenment. Positive enlightenment means you see yourself as part of everything, which lends itself into empathy for all and a peaceful existence, whereas negative enlightenment means you understand the empathy you feel for everything, and in turn that gives you the right to act as you wish. Whether or not you deserve forgiveness will always be subjective based on your actions, but enlightenment means you don’t feel the need to forgive others because they exist as everything exists. I hope that makes sense. I didn’t learn this stuff by studying philosophy, I studied philosophy after I learned all this from observing the world and being as objective as possible with my observations.
I think you missed the importance of the blood used in Father's creation. Hoenhiem says at the end of the series that Father was him, made from his blood. What from what I postulate, Father wasn't Mercurius but merely a piece of him. Father was Prima Materia bonded with Hoenhiem's soul. This is why Father could be "evil". If Father was a Prima Materia, this would also explain why he didn't want to go back at the end, to lose his oneness to become part of all once again. It makes sense that Father is just Prima Materia because Mercurius is the blackness behind the Door. It is the void which exists between all things holding everything together. Which is why when represented in physically in the series, it dark hands that tear apart and construct reality. If I understand what you mean by your description of Mercurius I really do love this exporation you're doing. I had little understanding of actual Alchemy but your analysis is helping me to understand some of the themes in FMA that confused me.
Evil is the lack of God. If God is all, and Evil is not it, then evil is the One. You create homunkulus by limiting the Truth in the person of Hohenheim, this is why he needed his blood, to set boundary, to make One emerge.
@@Proletarius87 Ah, but all is one and one is all, thus if God is all, then God must be one, implying there cannot be a lack of God. Qabbalic theology, which I am more familiar with, would say the only way to create evil would be the refusal of God, and the only beings in FMA that is capable of that are humans. Father and the Homunculi weren't evil, they were just being human.
I was thinking a similar thing when he was comparing Father and the Truth as a Yin-Yang situation. They are in no way equal to each other. A more accurate understanding may be that the Truth, represented as a hollow/white reflection of the individual with no eyes is the equal and opposite to the being behind the door, an infinite darkness with one piercing all knowing eye (Mercurius). Both of these entities are referred to as the Truth and are therefore the same despite being opposites. Father on the other hand is less. An attempt to recreate Truth made from a piece of Mercurius (hence his form) and the blood of man, giving birth to a unique individual.
I actually love your notifications you give to “heighten your attention here if you’ve been listening passively.” I often have RUclips videos like yours running in the background while gaming, so it’s honestly great to have you making sure I actually shift my attention more to listening during those parts.
I see people saying pictures of Hiromu Arakawa are actually Romi Park all over the place, but most of the time their source of that information is a single Tumblr post that has no sources. The Tumblr post could very well be the truth, but it would be nice to get a more official source of this information.
you know that picture is literally of hiromu arakawa actively drawing the manga, right? her and romi park happen to just look kinda similar, you fell for an old racist tumblr post.
This might be a stretch, however, the nothing/void being represented by the oroboros, a state of creation and destruction, mirrors what happens in the void of space, the "bubbleing" of matter, the spontaneous creation of particles and anti particles that nullify each other in a vacuum.
Ya, kinda interesting how science comes around to confirming things they "disproved" eh? You can make lead into gold. Not only can there be something from nothing, it happens CONSTANTLY. etc.
It's not a stretch. Imagination and reality are two sides of the same coin, and the human capacity to imagine is derived from their innate ability to exist. What we perceive and what we believe are internally linked, regardless of our understanding of it or acceptance.
On Father's symbolism: I believe that Father, along side Imu from One Piece, represents in some ways the symbols of the Dark Sun. Now the Dark Sun represents a lot of things depending on who you ask but in this case I'll focus on the following three: One) In some cases the Dark sun represents a bastardizing or dark reflection of the qualities of the Sun. To put it simply the sun represents life, natural order or in other words Moral Order, people living and letting others live. This in a way is represented in the golden (sun) eyed and golden haired Elric Brothers, two people who respect the rigths and lives of others, including those who used to be enemies and as alchemists study( shine ligth into...) the truth and reality of their world. The Dark Sun, Father, represents a twisted artificial version of order and a bastardization of life. Instead of an order maintain by morality/people living in harmony by choice he creates an order maintained by authoritarianism and violence, in other words a false artificial/man made "order" design and envisioned by him mainly for he's benefit. Second) the Dark Sun represents what one would call the hidden hand or the power behind the throne that actually controls all from the shadows. While the archetypal good king (that wears a crown representing the sun and it's rays) leads his people in the open, maintains peace and harmony and is the embodiment of Morality a dark/hidden ruler, like Father or Imu from One Piece, keeps himself in the shadows controling everything behind the scenes since he would know that in order to effectively control a population the last thing you would want is for everyone to know your face and thus the type of person you are in case they don't want to be ruled by you any longer. Better to have a front man or a bunch of somewhat benevolent kings/politicians that are easy to manipulate or take out and have the people focus on them. If they f'ck up, like Raven, all you have to do is replace them with someone more likeable and the people will be content and non the wiser. And third) in a way it represents the attempt of becoming some type of artificial/substitute god figure that replaces the idea of a universal life giving unseen god due to seeing themselves as a god, as a superior being or in other words, having a huge god complex. Both Father and Imu keep themselves hidden from the world. This gives themselves a sense of separation from the rest of humanity and increases their sense of superiority/godhood and since they are unseen when controling the rest of the nation/world it makes them feel like the unseen but ever present god that controls everything. The quote that extenuates all this factors is the one Father says when he's about to absor "God": "I will no longer be bound to you and your consequences" This means that he doesn't want to be bound and limited to the Natural/Universal/Moral Laws of life, of the universe. He sees himself as superior to all life and thus belives that he should be the one to decide the laws everyone obeys, the laws that control life, the laws theat decide what is Moral and immoral. He wants to be god and thus desires to eliminate the real God/the Truth/Morality, or in he's case absorbe Him, and become/substitute Him as a new false god.
One mistake you made, homunculus aren't made of humans, only wrath, and the second greed were made that way, we don't actually know how he created the others.
Gluttony was remade and was palm-able or around that size towards the end of an episode with Father on his throne. I think Gluttony was crawling out of the robes.
Strange you used the name Woden even thou Odin is way more known. However it makes perfect sense for the Romans to synchronize Odin with Hermes since Hermes was synchronised with Thot. All 3 Gods are described as Gods of Magic, Travel, Knowlege and Wisdom
To my understanding Odin is a Scandinavian deity while Woden was a Germanic one. They are similar but not identical like how Jupiter and Zeus are similar but distinct deities. Odin became more popular later on because large portions of his mythos were recorded in the Eddas.
I always connected Father with the gnostic concept of Yaldabaoth, or at least in some gnostic traditions. A being conected to ONE that believes they are supreme to a delusional extent. Like I'm a writer at heart and the way I see Father is if you took Lucifer, Yaldabaoth, and (as I've just learned) Mercious and put them in a blender with some anime creepy eyeballs you'll get a tall glass of Father. Or as Ed would call this concoction I bet, "an ass smoothie!"
Full metal alchemist is what started me on my spiritual journey in life. So good job on pulling in people like me through them and other mainstream stuff
Lead(II) iodide synthesis may be related to the story of turning lead into gold... I once was taking a lab class where we were task to do this synthesis. In the end, the way in which the product was deposited at the bottom of the flask seemed to be gold powder. I remember telling the professor about the story of lead and gold in alchemy, to my (not) surprise of him not knowing about it.... Point is: although he could not confirm, it really looked like with made gold out of lead, as if we were some kind of alchemic tricksters
Man it's been years since I watched FMA and I didn't even finish Brotherhood but this is just making me feel like I'm becoming an elevated being watching this. Like, how they got a bunch of things wrong but were sort of "scratching" at some kind of eternal truth - Theosophy also comes to mind here - it really fits with what you said in the first video, like especially with the Ouroboros and it's description reminds me a lot of the early universe and how the weak and electric forces were for a brief millionth of a second one and the same. A lot of the time religion and philosophy touched on things we'd discover to be true in more complicated or unexpected ways, despite us not possessing the means to truly analyse the universe back then. But because of the "As above, so below" effect, we still saw a lot of patterns and poked at inherent logical ideas that formed the "correct" part of this understanding. Wild that this happened alongside "Yeah whack off in some horseshit and you'll make a little dude".
I always appreciate your analytical breakdowns of the things people often ignore in media. It's impressive the amount of research you do for these videos. For FMA specifically, have you considered a video going over the various symbols and designs used in transmutation circles throughout the series?
I have very entry level knowledge on alchemy, and you my good sir, have blown my mind yet again with your extensive knowledge. Looking forward to seeing more from you
This is definitely a great contribution to the YT alchemy catalogue Most of them, (if they're not about the anime exclusively) are very boring to listen to, or actually believe in it like a religion. So thanks for this more grounded look at the subject, its very interesting and unexplored on the site.
Great video. Really interesting and I like that you call attention to especially dense or important parts. Not enough content creators do that and it helps direct attention and really frame the topic.
I wonder how well known it is that our elemental physicists are trying to reach some hypothesized 'island of stability' on the Periodic Table element 184. A super heavy, super stable element that could produce nigh limitless power. They have to figure out the correct 'recipe' of isotopes to 'target' and 'fire' into. Wouldn't it be weird if the recipe for the philosopher's stone had something to do with that?
If you will pardon the color theory of a highly tired rando, from an old anime con there was a book lecturing on the alchemical and symbolic relevance of Edward Elric, and this blew my mind. It is a HUGE SPOILER so you've been warned. Ed's colors. They are black, yellow, red, and white. That sounds like the the great work, the magnum opus. The TRUE philosopher's stone is actually Ed and from an alchemical and literary symbolism design standpoint. His ability to give more than is taken, I mean, he turned himself into a stone at one point to fight pride and used his life force to save his own life with the rebar but for Father it would be how he wants to get more than he gives. Perhaps it is that concept of giving which is the true alchemist stone.
Watched the first video and saw this one is out after I checked ur channel and subbed. You make some really awesome stuff, can’t wait for the next part!
Dude, I love how you explain stuff, and how you stop right before an important information to remind us to pay attention. I’d love to know more about old alchemist, hope I found the channel for it!
This was a great video, you explain the concepts wonderfully and even with my ADHD I could follow along easily, your voice also helps greatly. Also as I was listening to you talk about the prima material and the void, my mind started going into overdrive as in my own personal fantasy world that is currently trapped within my mind, I had basically ended up at the same idea you were describing in that moment while using a completely different set of logic and reasoning uninfluenced by any deeper understanding of Alchemy, and that alone just amazed me in a way that I rarely experienced. This video as well as your previous one on FMA's Truth has convinced me to subscribe now just to hear you explain more about alchemy and see if I had unknowingly paralleled any other Alchemical Concepts, and perhaps be able to use my newfound understanding to help me put my fantasy world to paper someday.
Going with father's christian/devil themes: instead of the snake tempting eve with the fruit of knowledge which lead to man's fall into sin, father teaching xerxes the way of the philosopher's stone Also another christian legend is how lucifer and the fallen Angel's taught man war, sorcerers, divination, and yes alchemy
This is such a great series, I loved full metal alchemist and always wanted to learn about historical alchemy but didn't know where to start. I really liked your explanation of alchemy in the first video and found it really made me look at the show in a different way. Thanks for all your interesting content, the internet would be a worse place without you.
I always find alchemy to be the most interesting subject. It represents both science and supernatural combine with its symbols and religion dealing against the elements of the world itself,and FMA is one of those things that brings the lore in alchemy.
Wow, Max! You are very well learned in matters of the Grand Mystery. It's cool to see these ideas presented so clearly as they're connected other works of art based on these concepts.
Father: Spirit in a basic shape Bill Cipher: Spirit in a basic shape Father: Secretly wants to escape his prison by rewarding Hohenheim with infinite knowledge Bill Cipher: Secretly wants to escape his prison by granting Ford Pines with infinite knowledge
As a character, I always appreciated his mindset. The Dwarf's entire mortal life was spent trying to escape from some kind of flask, be that an actual small glass bulb, the limitations of his stone and blood sourced body, or the confines and ignorance of the earth/universe/rotundum, an impossible task because of the whole one is all/all is one notion. He was basically philosophically claustrophobic as I see it.
Love the video just a point that I notice, my first reaction was, "Oh max must have reupload the video, by the title", it took me a second on the thumb nail, I love the ideas but maybe change the order of the tittle?
This was a phenomenal watch Max, thanks for putting this together. For any fellow inquirers out there, do you know of any good, brief resources that detail common alchemical figures like Mercurius? I'd love to learn more about this.
As he said in the first video, there treally isn't anything 'brief' when you wanna delve into primary and secondary sources on alchemy. it's a very dense philosophical and spiritual belief system constructed on top of an already existing hella complicated spiritual system and both have to tip toe and pander to the catholic church for hundreds of years to not be completely burned out as heresy. _And_ then you get the typical ideological fracturing and forming of cliques and streams you always do on top of that. Also, not a whole lot of people have done good, comprehensive tertiary work on it either. TL;DR it's all a bit of a mess really.
Wow. Alchemy’s is filled with paradoxes. The prima materia is a void that holds everything together, but at the same time, it exists as a form of duality with ying and yang.
Can't help but notice a commonality in numerology between the seven deadly sins that form the basis of the classification of the homonculi and the 7 stage alchemical process of refinement o.o
I'm loving this series that you made on FMAB, thank you so much for making it! You know, I actually believe that Father, rather than being the whole of Mercury, is just a piece of them, a tiny piece taken from the whole of the Prima Materia, hence why his flawed understanding of how what he was trying to accomplish could never be, like Truth tells him in the end. I would think the actual Mercury would understand that from the beginning. Father was probably trying to attain the form of the true Mercury (?)
I kind of figured that the Dwarf in a Flask was connected to The Truth before you said they were like Yin and Yang. My theory was that one came from the other, which was why he had no body in the beginning because he was an element; he was the first material. His other half was so disappointed in him because instead of reaching from within for enlightenment because he was fundamentally enlightenment itself, he did it by taking from others.
Are you playing xenogears music in the background? All this alchemy and magic may have been real at one time probably around the time before the fall of the tower of Babylon and the original language of the world was erased where the knowledge of the true words was forever lost.
I like to imagine Arakawa watching these videos and just being like "Holy shit, I didn't know any of this, I'm a genius!" I don't believe that for a second btw, she definitely did her research, I just think it'd be funny
@@renren47618 I don't even where to start. The contrivances, the large scale setting that is under utilized, and most of the villians are immortal jobbers.
"For all that have been listening passively, you'd want to pay attention to THIS part of the video". You know what I do and I thank you for helping me understand what is happening even though my mind is wandering and focusing on other things at the same time.
That’s really funny you talk about particle acceleration and alchemy I always said that too, the philosophers stone would simply hack the proton to proton cycle
Love these videos, I've never really researched alchemy before, but all this is fascinating. Btw could you list the background music you use? They feel familiar, but I can't quite remember where from, morrowind ost perhaps?
If the creation of the dwarf was the first step in a seven step process to create the stone, then the carving of the five crests of blood and the final transmutation that creates the stone make up the other six steps. I like how well that fits together
Another great video. Outside of Fullmetal Alchemist, I'd love to see a video talking about Carl Jung and alchemy. There seems to be a lot of connections there and Jung seems to have studied the ancient alchemists, but from what I know of Jung's work I can't exactly figure out why... He was mostly a psychologist after all.
I dont see what you're so confused about, back then people weren't as rigidly locked into pigeon holes as today. They were genuinely curious and explored as many avenues as they could. Alchemy is about the soul after all.
The best I can give you with my flawed understanding of Jung is that, he lived in a period of time where Psychology had no real scientific backing atleast comparing it to other sciences at the the time and the philosophy of science with the rise of empiricism, it had no backbone so to speak. So he went out in the world to try and find something which could confirm his findings, apart from his own circle and influence. He then found Alchemy, which upon closer inspection linked up a lot of what he thought with an outside source and thus found a kind of historical proof for his concepts, which to him acted like a kind of empirical evidence. My sources for this awnser are his biography; Memories, reflections, dreams and, History of Modern Psychology: Lectures Delivered at ETH Zurich, Volume 1. Though I can't tell you where in these books because I'm too lazy to look it up for a yt comment :P
I wonder what your opinions on how this relates to Marika / Radagon in Elden Ring, their similarities to Father, and the similarities of the demigods to the 7 homunculi. (Each representing one of the seven sins). As well as Marika's connection to a group that creates artificial organisms in an attempt to steal the power of God. It's striking similar.
Holy shit. I had no idea Carl Jung was an alchemist. I've been into psychology for a while but it all makes sense now, like how he came up with the whole "shadow self" concept. I'm blown away.
Very, very intriguing and insightful as always. So much to learn from these old animes. Wish more would be produced with that 'hidden message' of the past etc.
Man with your insight into alchemy and its history there's actually quite a bit of interesting stuff behind the scenes of alchemy inspired content, makes me wonder how well you would go with the stuff in Noita with all the mysteries the community hasn't solved.
this anime was what introduced me to mental alchemy. the concept of “equivalent change” had me curious and seeing as energy can only change form or be transferred, i always wondered it’s application in our current nature of reality
This is awesome! I just started researching alchemy and almost immediately hit a wall. Now here i am: taking notes and realizing its 3am and oh shite not again-
I don't know if the anime mentions it, but in the manga they mention that they would smash father's flask if he keeps being rude to the king, but he tells them that the alchemist that created him did it by acident.
7:55 there is so much more ancient knowledge in this video, sunday and moonday most people will know, but Tyr’s-day Wodin’s-day Thor’s-day and Frigg’s-day.. I had no idea the current names are bastardisations of that!
they need to make a spinoff story for hoenheim. about his backstory and what the world was before. they should end the series with how dwarf in the flask was created
Particle acceleration transforms iron to gold, IE reaching a "higher vibration" But furthermore, most of the time when transfiguration and transmutation are referenced, it is a metaphor relating to the conversion of our own consciousness and energy into greater forms; converting our base natures into something of a higher value. Iron and gold stand as symbols to represent the esoteric knowledge of self illumination and improvement.
If your looking for ideas I think it would be super cool to look at the historical traditions differences and how that's used in the show. Main characters are based on western, May is based on Daoist, Scar is... Arabian? Indian? It becomes a plot point towards the end. Love the part at the end when May and Alphonse are comparing their traditions.
could the idea of androgyny have anything to do with the fact that at the end of the series, after father has achieved his final form, he looks a bit more androgynous himself? more of a bishounen than anything, but compared to how he looked before it certainly does seem like more femininity was added into the mix. even ed and al were talking about the moon and the sun being female and male respectively, forming a perfect being. so i would assume that father had become fully androgynous himself through the process
@@dasuero7489 because its a portmanteau of the japanese words for beautiful and boy iirc. it has nothing to do with the term "bi" meaning bisexual incase you were wondering that lol
@@e.9874 Oh lmao. Yeah I was just confused but I never thought it mean bi in the sexual sense, I saw it as meaning two or double. But you cleared that up which I needed so thanks lol.
11:35 remember collecting the medallions and spiritual stones in Zelda Ocarina of Time? And Calamity Ganon makes Homuculus himself, his malice, his life force, brings Bokoblins back from the dead.
Certainly an interesting way to look at the character, especially when many tend to write Father off as just a generic "I want power" villain. Whether he really is Mercurius, or simply a deviation of the force found within the gates, Father was enjoyable because he was at once not human, but probably one of the most human characters within the series. He had a near limitless knowledge of alchemy and the world, thanks in part to his connections to the Truth/God found within the gate, but because he was only a mere portion of that, he was incomplete, as seen with his initial body as the Homunculus, and later his "human" body when he copycats Hohenheim's appearance. As a "human", he displayed immense arrogance and disdain for his limitations, as seen with his attempted dismissal of his emotions by spawning his homunculi children, but also his desire to be better than all humans, or rather to become God himself. It's also what makes kind of tragic and almost sad. Had had not been so quick to trick the people of Xerxes and evolve himself, he might have been able to elevated himself. The Truth/God seems to imply as much, with its comments on how he didn't learn anything during his initial days as the dwarf in the flask. Kind of makes you wonder just what kind of life Father might have been able to live had he not being a lying little scuzzball that always took shortcuts to level up.
Oroboros is a great analogy for building a particle accelerator to make gold… maybe eventually? It just has to be cheaper at this point to build sustainable rockets?… just look in to not just the cost of building one, but the power required, and unless there has been a serious shift in intent they are more interested in the frontiers of physics, and adding a little prize door where the gold bar drops out just cheapens the entire ascetic… Interesting videos. I think going into the other, and maybe even primary reason for the story Arakawa told, and how she interviewed as many veterans of the Second World War, and the implications of peace won through fighting could help explain some of the “inconsistencies” with the alchemy history lessons? I haven’t interacted with this manga in maybe ten years(?), and don’t remember all the details. But, it why she tells the story through flashbacks and whatnot. Alchemy isn’t the main theme of the story it’s the vehicle you ride on to get there… if I’m remembering that right? And, that just may have been “my interpretation”.. it’s art not science, or math. There’s not a wrong answer really, and that even includes disregarding the author, painters, musicians or whatnots intent. If you’ve taken art appreciation classes that will make sense. (Basically, the creators intent becomes “irrelevant” once they release the only reason I’m taxing scare quote is authors, especially with text with pictures, have a lot to influence you, but even a simple folk tale may have an obvious and simple theme.. however maybe you’d say “yolo, lemme get that candy house and I’ll definitely be able to put roll the old broad”…or whatnot). (Oh, and remember kids it’s not science.. some of those comments remind me of how woefully ignorant of the basic scientific method the last two generations have been aside from the few who pursue science in any capacity.. I’m also referring to myself in those generations btw and can speak to my home state removing all standardized tests remotely connected to understanding science).
Hey, first time viewer, ive been studying alchemy for some years altho im still somewhat new to it. Currently working on getting a tattoo sleeve themed after the ripley scroll. So would Father, aka Mercurious, also be a representation of the Serpent of Araby? And if so would that make Truth a representation of the Bird of Hermes? I may be wrong, as I said im still a novice, but it had seemed to me that the serpent was an embodiment of chaos and the bird one of order.
Why did truth reject Father? My theory is that father rejected his own darkness and his own primordial man aspect and therefor rejected the union of opposites. Also: do a video on Alkahestry and Alchemy. They reflect the union of opposites by being All and One respectively. And this too is connected to Paracelsus.
"If you've been listening passively..."
Don't call me out like that.
Him saying that is what convinced me to subscribe, he understands how I watch youtube and accommodates it lol
Father is " All is Me, and Mine alone to manipulate" . A realization of Dark Enlightenment. If all in me, then if hurt you, I hurt me, but that is my decision . So therefore, hurting you is justified.
It is straight up evil satanic behavior to absorb the souls of everyone in your city without their consent for your own aims
One small correction: Homunculi are made from breaking off a piece of Fathers stone, but only Wrath, and Greed-Ling are made by inserting into a living person. The others are their own entities with no connection to humans. Another great video overall; really glad I subbed after the first one.
They all had their own stones.
@@mikeblaze7424 yes but i think he means that Wrath and Greed-Ling became Homunculi by inserting a stone into thier person, while the other Homunculi were purely created.
@@myrkrormr oh I got you
@@myrkrormr Is there any information on original greed or how he was created?
@@dragon3010lol the original greed was crated like Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy and Pride. Wrath was the first experiment inserting a philosopher's stone into a human. Then Greed-Ling was made after Greed was caught and re-absorbed.
Alchemy is a great source of inspiration. With all those symbols, diagrams, hermetism, esoteric knowledge, and actual scientifically explained phenomena combined, it becomes a solid way to work on world building.
Praise the elden ring!
Yo.
It's popular for creative uses in Japan for some reason
Otherwise its a bunch of made up shit that sounds deep
It leads you to gold. That's the alchemical process!
I literally re watched the WHOLE show after your first video. Super pumped for this!
Time to rewatch it again before the next video comes out!
🙄
I am thinking about rewatching FMA:B as well and this time, I'll try to pay more attention to the actual "magic".
I know it's called alchemy, dah. ;)
Brotherhood? Cause that one better and it’s such a good show
HOLY SMOKES! :O
Most alchemy breaks things down into three constituents: Mercury, Sulfur, and Salt. These three are different from the typical elements we think of when we consider the Periodic Table of Elements. Mercury was typically considered “spirit” and sulfur was the “soul” while salt was the body. The “salt” was what was left behind after the first stage of dilution, which involved taking a “spirit” and pouring it over the “body” of a plant or mineral. Say for example if you took the plant balsam fir and wanted to extract the “soul” from it (sulfur), you would pour the “spirit” over it in order to purify the plant “body” and then heat it over a furnace or fire source (fire being the most important primal element of alchemists and why Colonel Mustang was as powerful as he was and symbolically the leader of the group). The “spirit” that was poured over was burned off, leaving behind the salt “body” and the turpentine oil or “essence”/soul of the balsam fir would be collected in a drip flask. Alchemists would typically use red wine as the spirit (hence why alcohol is referred to as “spirits”) and that’s why it was believed the philosopher’s stone was red.
There were three stages to the process of dilution, calcination, fermentation, etc. that were able to be observed if the results of the transmutation were successful. The first stage, and most immature, was a black materia where the substance would look burned (why “father” appears black but has a pale body). The white powder left behind (body) would have to be reintroduced back to purify it further with additional spirit.When that was done properly, the essence materia would turn white (“truth” is white). The next step would be to reintroduce the soul (sulfur) so that all aspects of the plant or material were purified separately and then placed back together (mind, body, soul). The end result was a red color materia (Edward’s coat, who is also uncoincidentally the son of Hoeinheim/Paracelsus).
Real alchemy isn’t about the products in the glass. It’s about transmutating yourself into gold. It is the western take on Zazen essentially. That’s why Edward claps his hands like he’s praying. It’s also why “father” is so envious. He can never be human, therefore he can never create gold. And in the end, Hoeiheim realizes that in his search for gold, he had already made it by having children.
alcohol is referred to as spirit because when you consume it you open the gateway to spirits entering your body and potentially controlling you (ex. seeing red, easily enraged, talkative, lusty, etc.) also, the process of creating alcohol involves sealing away substances, excommunicating them from the natural cycle of the world, leaving behind a "Spirit"....honestly mang....the world is a complicated place lol.
Woah.
Absolutely fascinating, thank you for taking the time to type that out
uh oh big disagree I think you're over reading it
That first section was explained in the last video
Beautiful analysis. I love this idea that Father, the dwarf in the flask, is incapable of achieving his goal because of the very nature of existing as one. He wished to understand, to be god, to be better than god, and that very desire is derived from his physical personification. As such, to want it is to already fail, and yet in being destroyed, he achieved his wish because he returns to his original form: All. He was corrupted by being brought into existence, and it was this corruption that drove him back to balance. He couldn't understand what it was he wanted, he only understood he wanted, and thus walked the path he openly spurned without the capacity to understand the contradiction. And with each piece of himself he split off, he both was driven further from his ability to understand, and closer to his objective, but he would never be given the confirmation or satisfaction of being able to know why that was. By simply being, he was in a state of imbalance, and only by being destroyed did he achieve everything he worked for, but he would never get the satisfaction of knowing that because at that point, it wouldn't matter anymore. The crazy thing about this show is that nobody actually wins or loses, even though the author convinces the viewer that there's a separation of sides, opposing forces at work. Everything simply returns to the status quo, and even more so than the idea of love, I believe the biggest theme of this story is that of balance. Everything will work itself out in the end, and love is simply the capacity to appreciate your understanding of this knowledge.
Is it the same for forgiveness too?
Also I feel like this can also apply to the hero's in MHA.
@@10RexTheWolf01 I don't understand what part of my post your comments pertain to.
@@_inSight__ You said "Everything will work itself out in the end, and love is simply the capacity to appreciate your understanding of this knowledge." would you say this is also where forgiving people comes in play too? To let things go?
@@10RexTheWolf01 I mean, in a way, yes, but that understanding is a form of enlightenment. Understanding fundamentally your privilege to exist, as well as the value assigned to your sense of self compared to everything else, means that enlightenment will grant you the ability to not having to forgive. You will never be in a position where you feel you have been wronged or shorted, and the flip side is dependent on whether it’s positive or negative enlightenment. You won’t feel like you need to forgive anything, but whether you deserve forgiveness or not depends on if you think of yourself as part of everything or if you think you are outside of everything having gained enlightenment. Positive enlightenment means you see yourself as part of everything, which lends itself into empathy for all and a peaceful existence, whereas negative enlightenment means you understand the empathy you feel for everything, and in turn that gives you the right to act as you wish. Whether or not you deserve forgiveness will always be subjective based on your actions, but enlightenment means you don’t feel the need to forgive others because they exist as everything exists. I hope that makes sense. I didn’t learn this stuff by studying philosophy, I studied philosophy after I learned all this from observing the world and being as objective as possible with my observations.
I think you missed the importance of the blood used in Father's creation. Hoenhiem says at the end of the series that Father was him, made from his blood. What from what I postulate, Father wasn't Mercurius but merely a piece of him. Father was Prima Materia bonded with Hoenhiem's soul. This is why Father could be "evil". If Father was a Prima Materia, this would also explain why he didn't want to go back at the end, to lose his oneness to become part of all once again.
It makes sense that Father is just Prima Materia because Mercurius is the blackness behind the Door. It is the void which exists between all things holding everything together. Which is why when represented in physically in the series, it dark hands that tear apart and construct reality. If I understand what you mean by your description of Mercurius
I really do love this exporation you're doing. I had little understanding of actual Alchemy but your analysis is helping me to understand some of the themes in FMA that confused me.
Evil is the lack of God. If God is all, and Evil is not it, then evil is the One. You create homunkulus by limiting the Truth in the person of Hohenheim, this is why he needed his blood, to set boundary, to make One emerge.
@@Proletarius87 Ah, but all is one and one is all, thus if God is all, then God must be one, implying there cannot be a lack of God.
Qabbalic theology, which I am more familiar with, would say the only way to create evil would be the refusal of God, and the only beings in FMA that is capable of that are humans. Father and the Homunculi weren't evil, they were just being human.
@@ericcooke2661 Yes and it is refusal of God which cut off One from All. It isn't being better or worse, it is being with or without.
@@ericcooke2661 Still Prima Materia is Consiousness itself, God is Uberconciousness and One is Ego
I was thinking a similar thing when he was comparing Father and the Truth as a Yin-Yang situation. They are in no way equal to each other. A more accurate understanding may be that the Truth, represented as a hollow/white reflection of the individual with no eyes is the equal and opposite to the being behind the door, an infinite darkness with one piercing all knowing eye (Mercurius). Both of these entities are referred to as the Truth and are therefore the same despite being opposites.
Father on the other hand is less. An attempt to recreate Truth made from a piece of Mercurius (hence his form) and the blood of man, giving birth to a unique individual.
I actually love your notifications you give to “heighten your attention here if you’ve been listening passively.” I often have RUclips videos like yours running in the background while gaming, so it’s honestly great to have you making sure I actually shift my attention more to listening during those parts.
Literally same. Word for word
Literally same. Word for word
Literally same. Word for word
12:39 That's actually not Hiromu Arakawa. That is actually Romi Park, the Japanese voice actor for Edward Elric, the main character of the seires
I see people saying pictures of Hiromu Arakawa are actually Romi Park all over the place, but most of the time their source of that information is a single Tumblr post that has no sources. The Tumblr post could very well be the truth, but it would be nice to get a more official source of this information.
Factually incorrect, all it takes is two google searches to see that
you know that picture is literally of hiromu arakawa actively drawing the manga, right? her and romi park happen to just look kinda similar, you fell for an old racist tumblr post.
This might be a stretch, however, the nothing/void being represented by the oroboros, a state of creation and destruction, mirrors what happens in the void of space, the "bubbleing" of matter, the spontaneous creation of particles and anti particles that nullify each other in a vacuum.
Ya, kinda interesting how science comes around to confirming things they "disproved" eh?
You can make lead into gold.
Not only can there be something from nothing, it happens CONSTANTLY.
etc.
@@Nevir202 well, you’re making matter from immense amounts of energy
@@gavinbrown216 While you can do that, I'm talking stuff like vacuum virtual particles.
Spontaneous something from nothing.
A Vacuum isn't nothing. It's not even a complete void but indicative of the existence of energy and multiple dimensions.
It's not a stretch. Imagination and reality are two sides of the same coin, and the human capacity to imagine is derived from their innate ability to exist. What we perceive and what we believe are internally linked, regardless of our understanding of it or acceptance.
On Father's symbolism:
I believe that Father, along side Imu from One Piece, represents in some ways the symbols of the Dark Sun. Now the Dark Sun represents a lot of things depending on who you ask but in this case I'll focus on the following three:
One) In some cases the Dark sun represents a bastardizing or dark reflection of the qualities of the Sun. To put it simply the sun represents life, natural order or in other words Moral Order, people living and letting others live. This in a way is represented in the golden (sun) eyed and golden haired Elric Brothers, two people who respect the rigths and lives of others, including those who used to be enemies and as alchemists study( shine ligth into...) the truth and reality of their world. The Dark Sun, Father, represents a twisted artificial version of order and a bastardization of life. Instead of an order maintain by morality/people living in harmony by choice he creates an order maintained by authoritarianism and violence, in other words a false artificial/man made "order" design and envisioned by him mainly for he's benefit.
Second) the Dark Sun represents what one would call the hidden hand or the power behind the throne that actually controls all from the shadows. While the archetypal good king (that wears a crown representing the sun and it's rays) leads his people in the open, maintains peace and harmony and is the embodiment of Morality a dark/hidden ruler, like Father or Imu from One Piece, keeps himself in the shadows controling everything behind the scenes since he would know that in order to effectively control a population the last thing you would want is for everyone to know your face and thus the type of person you are in case they don't want to be ruled by you any longer. Better to have a front man or a bunch of somewhat benevolent kings/politicians that are easy to manipulate or take out and have the people focus on them. If they f'ck up, like Raven, all you have to do is replace them with someone more likeable and the people will be content and non the wiser.
And third) in a way it represents the attempt of becoming some type of artificial/substitute god figure that replaces the idea of a universal life giving unseen god due to seeing themselves as a god, as a superior being or in other words, having a huge god complex. Both Father and Imu keep themselves hidden from the world. This gives themselves a sense of separation from the rest of humanity and increases their sense of superiority/godhood and since they are unseen when controling the rest of the nation/world it makes them feel like the unseen but ever present god that controls everything.
The quote that extenuates all this factors is the one Father says when he's about to absor "God":
"I will no longer be bound to you and your consequences"
This means that he doesn't want to be bound and limited to the Natural/Universal/Moral Laws of life, of the universe. He sees himself as superior to all life and thus belives that he should be the one to decide the laws everyone obeys, the laws that control life, the laws theat decide what is Moral and immoral. He wants to be god and thus desires to eliminate the real God/the Truth/Morality, or in he's case absorbe Him, and become/substitute Him as a new false god.
One mistake you made, homunculus aren't made of humans, only wrath, and the second greed were made that way, we don't actually know how he created the others.
Gluttony was remade and was palm-able or around that size towards the end of an episode with Father on his throne. I think Gluttony was crawling out of the robes.
If you watch both series you will see that a homunculus is created when someone fails a human transmutation.
@@ambercouch3406 thats only in the 2003 series
Strange you used the name Woden even thou Odin is way more known. However it makes perfect sense for the Romans to synchronize Odin with Hermes since Hermes was synchronised with Thot. All 3 Gods are described as Gods of Magic, Travel, Knowlege and Wisdom
thoth bro, not thot
That's because Woden himself was influencing his speech. Woden at times prefers this name be used.
I think Woten is the proto-germanic name
To my understanding Odin is a Scandinavian deity while Woden was a Germanic one. They are similar but not identical like how Jupiter and Zeus are similar but distinct deities. Odin became more popular later on because large portions of his mythos were recorded in the Eddas.
@@milessumida6770 There is less difference between them than there is began Zeus and Jupiter.
I always connected Father with the gnostic concept of Yaldabaoth, or at least in some gnostic traditions. A being conected to ONE that believes they are supreme to a delusional extent.
Like I'm a writer at heart and the way I see Father is if you took Lucifer, Yaldabaoth, and (as I've just learned) Mercious and put them in a blender with some anime creepy eyeballs you'll get a tall glass of Father. Or as Ed would call this concoction I bet, "an ass smoothie!"
Love hearing that Xenogears score in the background... Inspiration to go replay Xenogears: ACHIEVED!
Full metal alchemist is what started me on my spiritual journey in life. So good job on pulling in people like me through them and other mainstream stuff
well count me as getting my mind blown. now I could appreciate Arakawa's hidden genius even more. Her story is always worth reading.
Lead(II) iodide synthesis may be related to the story of turning lead into gold... I once was taking a lab class where we were task to do this synthesis. In the end, the way in which the product was deposited at the bottom of the flask seemed to be gold powder. I remember telling the professor about the story of lead and gold in alchemy, to my (not) surprise of him not knowing about it.... Point is: although he could not confirm, it really looked like with made gold out of lead, as if we were some kind of alchemic tricksters
All the while, "Bonds of Sea and Fire", fades out after the first couple of minutes. Interestingly nice touch. Great content, thanks for the info!
Man it's been years since I watched FMA and I didn't even finish Brotherhood but this is just making me feel like I'm becoming an elevated being watching this. Like, how they got a bunch of things wrong but were sort of "scratching" at some kind of eternal truth - Theosophy also comes to mind here - it really fits with what you said in the first video, like especially with the Ouroboros and it's description reminds me a lot of the early universe and how the weak and electric forces were for a brief millionth of a second one and the same. A lot of the time religion and philosophy touched on things we'd discover to be true in more complicated or unexpected ways, despite us not possessing the means to truly analyse the universe back then. But because of the "As above, so below" effect, we still saw a lot of patterns and poked at inherent logical ideas that formed the "correct" part of this understanding. Wild that this happened alongside "Yeah whack off in some horseshit and you'll make a little dude".
I always appreciate your analytical breakdowns of the things people often ignore in media. It's impressive the amount of research you do for these videos. For FMA specifically, have you considered a video going over the various symbols and designs used in transmutation circles throughout the series?
I have very entry level knowledge on alchemy, and you my good sir, have blown my mind yet again with your extensive knowledge. Looking forward to seeing more from you
This is definitely a great contribution to the YT alchemy catalogue
Most of them, (if they're not about the anime exclusively) are very boring to listen to, or actually believe in it like a religion.
So thanks for this more grounded look at the subject, its very interesting and unexplored on the site.
Great video. Really interesting and I like that you call attention to especially dense or important parts. Not enough content creators do that and it helps direct attention and really frame the topic.
I wonder how well known it is that our elemental physicists are trying to reach some hypothesized 'island of stability' on the Periodic Table element 184. A super heavy, super stable element that could produce nigh limitless power.
They have to figure out the correct 'recipe' of isotopes to 'target' and 'fire' into. Wouldn't it be weird if the recipe for the philosopher's stone had something to do with that?
If you will pardon the color theory of a highly tired rando, from an old anime con there was a book lecturing on the alchemical and symbolic relevance of Edward Elric, and this blew my mind.
It is a HUGE SPOILER so you've been warned. Ed's colors. They are black, yellow, red, and white. That sounds like the the great work, the magnum opus. The TRUE philosopher's stone is actually Ed and from an alchemical and literary symbolism design standpoint. His ability to give more than is taken, I mean, he turned himself into a stone at one point to fight pride and used his life force to save his own life with the rebar but for Father it would be how he wants to get more than he gives. Perhaps it is that concept of giving which is the true alchemist stone.
Watched the first video and saw this one is out after I checked ur channel and subbed. You make some really awesome stuff, can’t wait for the next part!
Dude, I love how you explain stuff, and how you stop right before an important information to remind us to pay attention. I’d love to know more about old alchemist, hope I found the channel for it!
This was a great video, you explain the concepts wonderfully and even with my ADHD I could follow along easily, your voice also helps greatly. Also as I was listening to you talk about the prima material and the void, my mind started going into overdrive as in my own personal fantasy world that is currently trapped within my mind, I had basically ended up at the same idea you were describing in that moment while using a completely different set of logic and reasoning uninfluenced by any deeper understanding of Alchemy, and that alone just amazed me in a way that I rarely experienced. This video as well as your previous one on FMA's Truth has convinced me to subscribe now just to hear you explain more about alchemy and see if I had unknowingly paralleled any other Alchemical Concepts, and perhaps be able to use my newfound understanding to help me put my fantasy world to paper someday.
I know this is obvious but it bares mentioning: Father's flask looks like it has devil horns.
Going with father's christian/devil themes: instead of the snake tempting eve with the fruit of knowledge which lead to man's fall into sin, father teaching xerxes the way of the philosopher's stone
Also another christian legend is how lucifer and the fallen Angel's taught man war, sorcerers, divination, and yes alchemy
This is an analysis long over due. Thank you.
I liked this video more than your first one in the matter, glad you take more in depth analyze and explanation.
"What is Father?" Is the single most unanswerable question about fma brotherhood. No one can give a straight answer.
This is such a great series, I loved full metal alchemist and always wanted to learn about historical alchemy but didn't know where to start. I really liked your explanation of alchemy in the first video and found it really made me look at the show in a different way. Thanks for all your interesting content, the internet would be a worse place without you.
That was awesome. Learned a lot about alchemy and some history in a fun and intuitive way. Definitely gained a new subscriber.
I always find alchemy to be the most interesting subject. It represents both science and supernatural combine with its symbols and religion dealing against the elements of the world itself,and FMA is one of those things that brings the lore in alchemy.
Wow, Max! You are very well learned in matters of the Grand Mystery. It's cool to see these ideas presented so clearly as they're connected other works of art based on these concepts.
Father: Spirit in a basic shape
Bill Cipher: Spirit in a basic shape
Father: Secretly wants to escape his prison by rewarding Hohenheim with infinite knowledge
Bill Cipher: Secretly wants to escape his prison by granting Ford Pines with infinite knowledge
Except Cipher is a good villain.
As a character, I always appreciated his mindset. The Dwarf's entire mortal life was spent trying to escape from some kind of flask, be that an actual small glass bulb, the limitations of his stone and blood sourced body, or the confines and ignorance of the earth/universe/rotundum, an impossible task because of the whole one is all/all is one notion. He was basically philosophically claustrophobic as I see it.
Very good video again about FMA. I love your video series about the show. Keep going!
Love the video just a point that I notice, my first reaction was, "Oh max must have reupload the video, by the title", it took me a second on the thumb nail, I love the ideas but maybe change the order of the tittle?
This was a phenomenal watch Max, thanks for putting this together. For any fellow inquirers out there, do you know of any good, brief resources that detail common alchemical figures like Mercurius? I'd love to learn more about this.
As he said in the first video, there treally isn't anything 'brief' when you wanna delve into primary and secondary sources on alchemy. it's a very dense philosophical and spiritual belief system constructed on top of an already existing hella complicated spiritual system and both have to tip toe and pander to the catholic church for hundreds of years to not be completely burned out as heresy. _And_ then you get the typical ideological fracturing and forming of cliques and streams you always do on top of that.
Also, not a whole lot of people have done good, comprehensive tertiary work on it either.
TL;DR it's all a bit of a mess really.
Don't think I didn't notice that Morrowind song in the background :P
Haha great video Max
Wow. Alchemy’s is filled with paradoxes. The prima materia is a void that holds everything together, but at the same time, it exists as a form of duality with ying and yang.
Can't help but notice a commonality in numerology between the seven deadly sins that form the basis of the classification of the homonculi and the 7 stage alchemical process of refinement o.o
This video was amazing thank you so much seriously this is extremely meaningful work
This channel deserves way more views. Keep up the great videos.🙏
As if I didn’t think Arakawa was a genius before 🤣
You should go over the formula for creating a homunculus in the 2003 anime, as it’s quite a bit different.
Though I would argue equally interesting.
I'm loving this series that you made on FMAB, thank you so much for making it! You know, I actually believe that Father, rather than being the whole of Mercury, is just a piece of them, a tiny piece taken from the whole of the Prima Materia, hence why his flawed understanding of how what he was trying to accomplish could never be, like Truth tells him in the end. I would think the actual Mercury would understand that from the beginning. Father was probably trying to attain the form of the true Mercury (?)
Perhaps it was also the folly of the court of Xerxes to bring down a sliver of prima materia to gain immortality,
I think father is more like truth’s shadow as in how your shadow is connected to you the same way he is part of truth
I kind of figured that the Dwarf in a Flask was connected to The Truth before you said they were like Yin and Yang. My theory was that one came from the other, which was why he had no body in the beginning because he was an element; he was the first material. His other half was so disappointed in him because instead of reaching from within for enlightenment because he was fundamentally enlightenment itself, he did it by taking from others.
Are you playing xenogears music in the background?
All this alchemy and magic may have been real at one time probably around the time before the fall of the tower of Babylon and the original language of the world was erased where the knowledge of the true words was forever lost.
I like to imagine Arakawa watching these videos and just being like "Holy shit, I didn't know any of this, I'm a genius!"
I don't believe that for a second btw, she definitely did her research, I just think it'd be funny
Me as an author, honestly. I definitely would feel more confident if someone like Arakawa felt the same way ngl lmfao
@@laynegrey2003 be hard pressed to find professional authors that don't put effort into their art.
Too bad Arakawa was never very good at writing a convicing plot.
@@civilwarfare101 wdym
@@renren47618
I don't even where to start. The contrivances, the large scale setting that is under utilized, and most of the villians are immortal jobbers.
"For all that have been listening passively, you'd want to pay attention to THIS part of the video".
You know what I do and I thank you for helping me understand what is happening even though my mind is wandering and focusing on other things at the same time.
Your videos are so good, im glad i found your channel.
That’s really funny you talk about particle acceleration and alchemy I always said that too, the philosophers stone would simply hack the proton to proton cycle
Been reading jungs psychology pieces for ages but I had no idea he also wrote about alchemy as well
Father wasn’t a villain. He is and does what he is and does
Love these videos, I've never really researched alchemy before, but all this is fascinating. Btw could you list the background music you use? They feel familiar, but I can't quite remember where from, morrowind ost perhaps?
If the creation of the dwarf was the first step in a seven step process to create the stone, then the carving of the five crests of blood and the final transmutation that creates the stone make up the other six steps. I like how well that fits together
Another great video. Outside of Fullmetal Alchemist, I'd love to see a video talking about Carl Jung and alchemy. There seems to be a lot of connections there and Jung seems to have studied the ancient alchemists, but from what I know of Jung's work I can't exactly figure out why... He was mostly a psychologist after all.
I dont see what you're so confused about, back then people weren't as rigidly locked into pigeon holes as today. They were genuinely curious and explored as many avenues as they could. Alchemy is about the soul after all.
The best I can give you with my flawed understanding of Jung is that, he lived in a period of time where Psychology had no real scientific backing atleast comparing it to other sciences at the the time and the philosophy of science with the rise of empiricism, it had no backbone so to speak. So he went out in the world to try and find something which could confirm his findings, apart from his own circle and influence. He then found Alchemy, which upon closer inspection linked up a lot of what he thought with an outside source and thus found a kind of historical proof for his concepts, which to him acted like a kind of empirical evidence.
My sources for this awnser are his biography; Memories, reflections, dreams and, History of Modern Psychology: Lectures Delivered at ETH Zurich, Volume 1. Though I can't tell you where in these books because I'm too lazy to look it up for a yt comment :P
I really hope you'll do a video about Hawkeye's tattoo and Mustang's fire alchemy, I really enjoyed your videos so far!
Brilliant, I’ve been patiently waiting. Thank u
Do more, I love how you tie this into the anime because I never understood some of the connections
Just thinking about it a particle accelerator is in the form of a circle 🤔 it's missing all the inner design bits, but still a circle
I suspect Alchemists nowadays will have adapted their theories according to modern scientific discoveries.
This is FANTASTIC work! Would love a video dedicated to homunculi
Mmm that backing track from Morrowind underneath discourse on one of my favorite anime 👌🏻
I wonder what your opinions on how this relates to Marika / Radagon in Elden Ring, their similarities to Father, and the similarities of the demigods to the 7 homunculi. (Each representing one of the seven sins). As well as Marika's connection to a group that creates artificial organisms in an attempt to steal the power of God. It's striking similar.
I never meet an alchemist that shares their knowledge
I don't believe he is an actual "Alchemist". Just well read in alchemical texts.
All this talk about Mercury reminds me about the alchemical sentence from hellsing "The bird of Hermes is my name eating my wings to make me tame"
Holy shit. I had no idea Carl Jung was an alchemist. I've been into psychology for a while but it all makes sense now, like how he came up with the whole "shadow self" concept. I'm blown away.
Very, very intriguing and insightful as always. So much to learn from these old animes. Wish more would be produced with that 'hidden message' of the past etc.
Man with your insight into alchemy and its history there's actually quite a bit of interesting stuff behind the scenes of alchemy inspired content, makes me wonder how well you would go with the stuff in Noita with all the mysteries the community hasn't solved.
this anime was what introduced me to mental alchemy. the concept of “equivalent change” had me curious and seeing as energy can only change form or be transferred, i always wondered it’s application in our current nature of reality
we already are what father wants to be. "living truth"
This is awesome! I just started researching alchemy and almost immediately hit a wall. Now here i am: taking notes and realizing its 3am and oh shite not again-
Can't wait for another video on the subject!
Less gooo,
Keep them comming king
I don't know if the anime mentions it, but in the manga they mention that they would smash father's flask if he keeps being rude to the king, but he tells them that the alchemist that created him did it by acident.
I feel warm and like home when the Soul Reaver 2 soundtrack "Pillars" is played.
7:55 there is so much more ancient knowledge in this video, sunday and moonday most people will know, but Tyr’s-day Wodin’s-day Thor’s-day and Frigg’s-day.. I had no idea the current names are bastardisations of that!
they need to make a spinoff story for hoenheim. about his backstory and what the world was before. they should end the series with how dwarf in the flask was created
That reminds me: I gotta binge through FMA after I'm done with attack on titan and demon slayer.
Sub or dubs, max? Which do you recommend for FMA?
Sub, sometings are to weird to translate
I always go for sub but thats personal preferance
I'm more of a subs guy but FMAB is probably one of the times you wanna go for dub
still depends on the person though
@@elvinereve663 yeah I don't know why but hearing them speak English or German feels really weird to me
Why not both
Speaking of alchemy, have you ever watched the movie “9”? There are many references of alchemy, and we get to see a version of the homunculi
Particle acceleration transforms iron to gold, IE reaching a "higher vibration"
But furthermore, most of the time when transfiguration and transmutation are referenced, it is a metaphor relating to the conversion of our own consciousness and energy into greater forms; converting our base natures into something of a higher value. Iron and gold stand as symbols to represent the esoteric knowledge of self illumination and improvement.
The legacy of main background music. I hope you go over the alchemical influences in that series.
If your looking for ideas I think it would be super cool to look at the historical traditions differences and how that's used in the show.
Main characters are based on western, May is based on Daoist, Scar is... Arabian? Indian? It becomes a plot point towards the end. Love the part at the end when May and Alphonse are comparing their traditions.
could the idea of androgyny have anything to do with the fact that at the end of the series, after father has achieved his final form, he looks a bit more androgynous himself? more of a bishounen than anything, but compared to how he looked before it certainly does seem like more femininity was added into the mix. even ed and al were talking about the moon and the sun being female and male respectively, forming a perfect being. so i would assume that father had become fully androgynous himself through the process
I forgot what's a bishounen again. Help please.
@@dasuero7489 it means "prettyboy"!
@@e.9874 Really, huh? Makes sense I guess somehow.
@@dasuero7489 because its a portmanteau of the japanese words for beautiful and boy iirc. it has nothing to do with the term "bi" meaning bisexual incase you were wondering that lol
@@e.9874 Oh lmao. Yeah I was just confused but I never thought it mean bi in the sexual sense, I saw it as meaning two or double. But you cleared that up which I needed so thanks lol.
11:35 remember collecting the medallions and spiritual stones in Zelda Ocarina of Time? And Calamity Ganon makes Homuculus himself, his malice, his life force, brings Bokoblins back from the dead.
Certainly an interesting way to look at the character, especially when many tend to write Father off as just a generic "I want power" villain. Whether he really is Mercurius, or simply a deviation of the force found within the gates, Father was enjoyable because he was at once not human, but probably one of the most human characters within the series. He had a near limitless knowledge of alchemy and the world, thanks in part to his connections to the Truth/God found within the gate, but because he was only a mere portion of that, he was incomplete, as seen with his initial body as the Homunculus, and later his "human" body when he copycats Hohenheim's appearance. As a "human", he displayed immense arrogance and disdain for his limitations, as seen with his attempted dismissal of his emotions by spawning his homunculi children, but also his desire to be better than all humans, or rather to become God himself.
It's also what makes kind of tragic and almost sad. Had had not been so quick to trick the people of Xerxes and evolve himself, he might have been able to elevated himself. The Truth/God seems to imply as much, with its comments on how he didn't learn anything during his initial days as the dwarf in the flask. Kind of makes you wonder just what kind of life Father might have been able to live had he not being a lying little scuzzball that always took shortcuts to level up.
Oroboros is a great analogy for building a particle accelerator to make gold… maybe eventually? It just has to be cheaper at this point to build sustainable rockets?… just look in to not just the cost of building one, but the power required, and unless there has been a serious shift in intent they are more interested in the frontiers of physics, and adding a little prize door where the gold bar drops out just cheapens the entire ascetic…
Interesting videos. I think going into the other, and maybe even primary reason for the story Arakawa told, and how she interviewed as many veterans of the Second World War, and the implications of peace won through fighting could help explain some of the “inconsistencies” with the alchemy history lessons? I haven’t interacted with this manga in maybe ten years(?), and don’t remember all the details. But, it why she tells the story through flashbacks and whatnot. Alchemy isn’t the main theme of the story it’s the vehicle you ride on to get there… if I’m remembering that right? And, that just may have been “my interpretation”.. it’s art not science, or math. There’s not a wrong answer really, and that even includes disregarding the author, painters, musicians or whatnots intent. If you’ve taken art appreciation classes that will make sense. (Basically, the creators intent becomes “irrelevant” once they release the only reason I’m taxing scare quote is authors, especially with text with pictures, have a lot to influence you, but even a simple folk tale may have an obvious and simple theme.. however maybe you’d say “yolo, lemme get that candy house and I’ll definitely be able to put roll the old broad”…or whatnot).
(Oh, and remember kids it’s not science.. some of those comments remind me of how woefully ignorant of the basic scientific method the last two generations have been aside from the few who pursue science in any capacity.. I’m also referring to myself in those generations btw and can speak to my home state removing all standardized tests remotely connected to understanding science).
Hey, first time viewer, ive been studying alchemy for some years altho im still somewhat new to it.
Currently working on getting a tattoo sleeve themed after the ripley scroll.
So would Father, aka Mercurious, also be a representation of the Serpent of Araby?
And if so would that make Truth a representation of the Bird of Hermes?
I may be wrong, as I said im still a novice, but it had seemed to me that the serpent was an embodiment of chaos and the bird one of order.
Keep this stuff up. I'm learning so much
Damn, Max really called me out at 5:37.
Why did truth reject Father? My theory is that father rejected his own darkness and his own primordial man aspect and therefor rejected the union of opposites.
Also: do a video on Alkahestry and Alchemy. They reflect the union of opposites by being All and One respectively. And this too is connected to Paracelsus.
F.M.A is still the goat of anime and manga. I love your in depth analysis of F.M.A more power to you sir Derrat