The "Fullmetal Alchemist" Manga and 2009 Anime are Sexist
Hello, everyone, this is NaokoElric2250 and this is my first ever discussion. I am looking forward to this.
Female manga authors who write Shonen really need to get their act together. They need to treat their own gender with respect.
It is disgusting just how much they will discriminate against their own gender. In some cases, their level of sexism against woman is on par with that of the male authors (I am looking at you, Masashi Kishimoto, and others like you).
Their manga are often devoid of a good, smart, knowledgeable (as in knowing what is going in the story, such as what the main characters know) female presence whom dress sensibly. Instead, they have a very small female cast in comparison with the massive male cast, and this female cast are usually are very sexist, stereotypical characters: They will just wait at home for their male love interest/friend/friends, instead of going out and doing something useful and non-sexist.
These female characters are almost always ditzy, feminine, air-headed cry-babies who dress in very feminine or far too revealing clothing. They contribute nothing to plot except to saved and protected by male characters; act ditzy and stupid; to show how oblivious they are to what is occurring; to serve the male characters; or are just there to be comforted by male characters as they cry.
This sexist portrayal is made even worse when compared to what is usually the main cast: badass, muscular manly man and boys, and only one or two female characters, or perhaps none at all.
There are little to no important all female scenes or 'Female vs. Male' or 'Female vs. Female' fight scenes in which the female beats the male character in a serious manner, if that is whom she is fighting. However, they are plenty of 'all male' or 'mostly male and one female' scenes, and 'Male vs. Male' scenes. Finally, none of the female characters are ever as fully developed as the males.
This, however, as one can see from the title, will mainly focus on "Fullmetal Alchemist". It will concern why I feel this series is sexist and the aspects that should have been different for it not to be so. A few other related topics will also be included.
Now, before the flamers and I start, let me say one thing: I like "Fullmetal Alchemist". It is just under my list of favourite manga/anime. These are the manga versions of "Card Captor Sakura", "Elfen Lied", "Sailor Moon" and the manga and anime versions of "Black Lagoon".
However, just because I like something, does not mean I cannot do a rant on it.
The big issue I have with "Fullmetal Alchemist" is not entirely about the series itself, but also the author. Do not judge me wrongly, as I like Arakawa-sensei's other works (e.g. "Souten no Koumori" and "Stray Dog") as well as "Fullmetal Alchemist". Though I do wish "Souten no Koumori" was an actual series and not just a one-shot as I feel it is the only manga she has written that did not contain sexism.
However, I feel that the author was being sexist toward herself and did not portray women in a good light as she should, being one after all. Instead, she just made yet another typical Shonen manga with a tough male main protagonist whom fights most of the time, to add to the annoyingly endless list of female mangaka who just do not know how to treat his own gender in a non-sexist manner. It was yet another with the "Male-Male-Female" group where the most attention is paid to the two males, while the female is thrown to the side.
Some examples are "Korushitsuji" (look at Elizabeth Middleford. I do not care if it is the Victorian times, she is another example of a sexist character, and like many females that are close to main character, she knows nothing of Ciel's history and situation and is portrayed in a overly-feminine, ditzy, stupid, airhead, cry-baby manner) and "Katekyō Hitman Reborn".
Shonen series' can have tough a tough, capable, female main protagonist/two female main protagonists. Look at "Soul Eater", "Zettai Karen Children" and "Cutey Honey" (the very first Shonen mange to feature a female main protagonist), all created by men. For a non-manga/anime example, there is the "His Dark Materials" book series by Philip Pullman, which features a great female protagonist Lyra (and her Demon), who, in the first book, is trying to find and save her male friend. In addiction, the next two books have a good male protagonist, Will Parry, who does not outshine the main female character.
An example that works the other way would be the "Harry Potter" book series, which, despite being written by a woman, and having a male as the main protagonist, is very fair on gender. For example, the girl (Hermione) is the most smart and assist her male friends all the time. Were it not for her they would be clueless most of the time and enter into much more trouble.
Allow me to explain. When I first starting reading the series in question, I was sure a man had written it, because the main cast consisted entirely of male characters, and the portrayal of the female cast.
I was surprised when I learnt that the author was in fact female. If a male author had written "Fullmetal Alchemist", I would not have the following issues, as I would expect as much from a male author, from what I have seen from the books and manga I have read. However, that does mean there are not good male authors, as I know a few good woman-friendly that have really interesting stories).
Arakawa is quite sexist in general. Her opinion on how men/boys and woman/girls should look clearly indicate this. She believes that men should be muscular and tall (Edward Elric grows, so he still counts) and woman should be 'Curvy and Bosomy'. These are huge stereotypes. She is basically saying all men should be fit and strong and all women should have large breasts and the body equivalent to that of a model. General Armstrong is particular proof of this, and almost every male character in this series qualifies.
That is insulting to both genders! Not all men have to have a six-pack and not all women have to look like prostitutes/glamour models (who, in my opinion are a form of prostitute who does not have sex for money, but instead gets naked for photos for money, which is pornography and nothing to have pride in).
Before I start the individual point I wish to make, I will give one final general point:
Excluding Olivier Armstrong and Izumi Curtis (both of whom I think are so great), they were always 'second' and in the shadow of males: Winry serves as Edward's mechanic, Riza is the subordinate of Roy, Ran Fan is the Bodyguard/Servant of Ling, and Mei Chan is in the weakest clan of Xing. Riza and Ran Fan also had the stupid "Bodyguard Crush" trope as part of their character.
Purely the men in their lives defined the girls and woman! If the men did not exist, there would be no need of these girls and woman!
Now that I have that out of the way, it is on to the actual story. I first thing I just cannot understand about Arakawa-sensei is, being a woman, why did she make the main protagonists (Edward and Alphonse Elric) male and the main supporting character (Winry Rockbell) female. Due to this, we had the typical: "Male(s) go/goes on adventures to reach a goal, while the female best friend/love interest, oblivious as to what is happening, waits at home" trope! I know Winry travelled with the Elrics every now and then and learned some things, but it is still just annoying that Arakawa-sensei used such an over-used plot device!
She should have made the made the main protagonists a pair of sisters and Winry a boy and have the rarely seen story where: "Female(s) go(es) on adventures to reach a goal, while the male best friend/love interest, oblivious as to what is happening, waits at home."
How many series have a pair of sisters as the main protagonists, rather than a pair of brothers? Fem!Edward (Edwina) would have been a short, tomboy with a flat-chest, whom was also loving towards her younger sister. Fem!Alphonse (Alphonsa/Alice), your sweet, cute, feminine girl, with a rarely seen tough, badass side (which would make her femininity acceptable).
This brings me neatly on the next point of my rant: Winry Rockbell herself. I am not a Winry-hater. I just have some issues. In case you are wondering Alphonse is my favourite character, and Mei Chan and Ran Fan tied at second, but I digress.
The author was being just down right sexist towards herself because of the way she made Winry Rockbell.
The main thing I found annoying (but not really sexist) is that despite the fact that she the closest to the main characters, she is the furthest away, as she is hardly involved in the main plot, and even when she is, Arakawa found some excuse to throw her to the side. Some examples are 'Staying in Rush Valley to be apprentice', 'returning and staying in Rizenbul', and others.
Winry could have been a good character, but instead she was made a ditzy cry-baby, who 'cries for those who will not cry for themselves, such as Edward and Alphonse', which is just pathetic. She cries far too much. Nearly every scene she is in she is crying for some stupid, senseless reason! Arakawa even made her cry at the Elrics burning down their home, which had no reason to be done. Meanwhile, the Elrics themselves do not even look sad. Another example is when she hit Alphonse with her spanner after he thought he was not a real person. There was no need for that you sexist cow (no pun intended)!
Arakawa also had Winry wear far too revealing clothes (tube tops/midriff-bearing tops and mini skirts) as well. It was purely for fan-service and no sensible female mechanic I have seen in real life would wear a boob tube her under her jumpsuit. If she did, she would most likely be instructed to change. If males wear tank tops or t-shirts, then so should females! We know Winry owns one!
Winry was also reduced to a hostage to keep Edward doing as the military says. I know she came up that plan to get herself out of that hostage situation, but does little to counteract what a sexist character she is.
She also gets her soul stolen due to the activation of the National Transmutation Circle and had to be saved. I know she was not the only one, but still Winry had to a part of that did she not? She had be one of those who needed saving, even all the other important characters did not? She had be one of those who required saving, even all the other important characters did not?
Winry also does very feminine, stereotypical things such as the laundry and baking. Her job of mechanic does not contradict this. She is serving her male friend. I mean in chapter 84, Edward tells her to bake him as apple pie and keep it warm for him and she agrees! In reality, Edward was saying, as my deviantart friend AveriaAlexandros puts it, "Get back in the kitchen and make an apple pie for me" and Winry was responding, "Of course, I'll do something stereotypical for a girl as you're my man and I must obey you as I'm a weak, stereotypical woman". Again, anyone whom believes this is not sexist is very unintelligent indeed.
She is also the only 'important' character who does not directly witness Edward returning Alphonse from the gate, his body restored, in chapter 108 while every other important character does (Mustang, Hawkeye, Ling, Ran Fan and Mei) and some unimportant characters (the Chimeras). That just is not fair, considering the fact that she is their childhood friend!
Let us not forget about that scene where Winry first met Scar, learning he killed her parents. I will admit, despite my first annoyances, I thought FMA was a little progressive…until I saw this scene. Instead of being strong and confronting him in a brave manner, she started crying, sunk to her knees, looking pathetic and weak, despite the fact that she picked up a gun and contemplated shooting him! In addition, she does this in front of complete strangers as well as the Elrics. If one wants to be a weak, stereotypical insult to the female gender, than one should do that in the privacy of ones bedroom!
To make this even worse, the boy (Edward) had to jump in front of the girl (Winry) to protect her. The boy had to get the girl to put the gun down. The boy whom had to comfort the girl while she cried her little heart out (and wails like a toddler taking a tantrum)! The girl had to be left in the protection of the Military, as if she could not protect herself!
How could Arakawa-sensei have wrote and drawn this? How could she have made her own still-discriminated gender be so pathetic? I hate, hate, hate (I am beginning to sound like Kefka) this type of scene in fiction! They are so sexist it is almost unbelievable! The female character would be crying and sobbing, usually falling feebly to her knees or into her friend/lover's arms, crying into his chest and being weak and submissive! Meanwhile, the male character is being not even shedding a tear (even if he does look sad, like Edward) is being strong and dominating, hugging his frail friend/lover! The only way I can accept scene like this if the male and female roles were reversed, it was two females, or two males.
As if things could not get bad enough, after this, does Winry try to regain the large amount of dignity she just lost? Does Arakawa have her stand up and bravely inform Edward that she was going with him, to help Alphonse perhaps? No, she has her just sit there, crying and being weak! What is wrong with you, Arakawa Hiromu?
For this to be not sexist, Winry should not have been crying (therefore not showing weakness before her enemy, which is about the best thing you do) not fall feebly to her knees, but hold her head high (further showing strength) but deciding on her own whether to shoot or not and not having a boy jump in front of her to protect her! Finally, since I believe she still would not have shot or went with Edward, she should have told him something good, instead of sitting there crying and wailing.
At least in the 2003 Anime, the 'Winry meets her parent's killer' scene played out much better. Instead of breaking down in tears, Winry was strong and refused to cry, as she did not want to be a burden. That is very non-sexist. In the words of Fergie, "Big girls don't cry".
Arakawa-sensei was also hypocritical, as she made Winry previously say something along the lines of "I don't want to wait anymore" in Briggs, I think. However, she contradicted that statement when Winry returns to Rizenbul and decides to remain there. Thus, we are back to the "A male/a group of males go on adventures to reach a goal, while the female friend/love interest, oblivious as to what is happening, waits at home" situation, and I hate that!
Once again, the 2003 anime is superior in non-sexist portrayal. Winry actually does things other than repairing or building automail, waiting and crying. She interacts with more people (e.g. Roy and Sciezka) and does a lot more on her own. For example, she tapped Julia Douglas/Sloth's phone lines and she and Sciezka did some (not so good) investigating by themselves. She even had her own little story apart from the Elric Brothers.
I would have liked Winry more if the above things were different, I think Winry should have been male, yet still have been in the same situation, and go though same things in the manga I had issues with, as, with Winry being male, it would no longer be sexist to us women. Male!Winry (Winter) would have been your typical manly mechanic, who has a soft, emotional side to him.
It would have the rarely seen situation of "Female-Female-Male Group where most of the attention was given to the females".
Now I will talk about the next two characters: Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye.
Firstly, why did Arakawa-sensei make the woman the subordinate, and the man the powerful State Alchemist (well expect that he is useless in the rain) and Superior Officer/Boss?
In addition, why did she make the woman, instead of thinking for herself, and how she could improve the country on her own, instead think a man could do a better job than she could?
Furthermore, even though she is a tough gunslinger, Riza was turned into a bit of a Damsel in Distress as The Führer made her, like Winry to Edward, a hostage to keep Roy in check. She was also twice made into a complete Damsel in Distress when she was attacked by Gluttony, and later, when her throat was slit. Despite her skills, she had to be saved on both occasions, the first time (the Gluttony one) by men!
Then there is the scene is Riza crying when she thought Roy was dead. I mean do we ever get a scene where the man is crying and screaming because he thinks the woman he loves is dead? Even if there is a scene like that, the man does not cry most of the tine. This is yet another example of Arakawa's self-sexism.
Roy should have being female and Riza male. It is as simple as that.
Fem!Roy (Roya) would be an attractive, large-breasted man-eater, who wants to be the first female Further, whose flame alchemist suits her 'hot' appearance. Male!Riza (Rizo, code name 'Richard') would be a chivalrous, protective sharpshooter, who hates to hurt his superior, but know that sometimes he would have no choice (the Scar batter in Chapter 7).
This brings me onto Ling Yao and Ran Fan. As I said earlier, Ran Fan is mere servant (still cool though, I love her as much as Izumi, Olivier, Hughes and Alex) and not the royalty figure, which Ling is. I know a man (Fu) was a servant too, but that makes no difference.
Ran Fan (a ninja) was turned into a true Damsel in Distress when she was attacked by Wrath (taken out with just ONE STRIKE!) and had to be rescued and protected by Ling, a boy, and the person she was supposed to be protecting! It really displeased me.
There is even a picture of Ran Fan appearing weak and helpless, while Ling has one arm wrapped around her and the other clutching his sword in front of her. The roles should have been reversed as this is implying that a female guard cannot defend her charge!
Why would a female author allow this?
In addition, because she received this injury and had to cut off her arm, she was out of the majority of the story while Ling got all the adventure and attention!
Ling should have been female and Ran Fan male, or Ran Fan should have been with Ling the whole time, then I would not feel Arakawa-sensei was being sexist towards her own gender. Fem!Ling (same name, as it is unisex) would a ambitious princess who needs a bodyguard, implying she could not defend herself, but would reveal her protective, side when she needed to. Ran Fan (same name again) would be pretty much the same with little differences, due to being male. This would also be good, as Fem!Ling could have been the first Empress of Xing.
Now, on to Mei Chan. Even though I do adore her, as she is a "Little Miss Badass" and can use Rentanjutsu, she was still made to cry many times. For example, when she lost Xiao Mei (though I guess that is understandable, as she knew her for so long and they were good friends), when Alphonse gave himself over to the gate to restore Edward's arm in Manga Chapter 107 and when she thought Alphonse was gone.
In addition, just like Riza and Ran Fan, she had to be rescued! This happens every time she attacked Father. In both incidents, like Ran Fan before here, it takes ONE BLOODY STRIKE to defeat her and needing rescue and protection by a boy (Alphonse)!
However, the male characters seem to be quite well for a while, despite the fact two of them (the Elrics Brothers) cannot use Alchemy.
Why, Arakawa-sensei, did you write and draw this, even though it is clearly implying woman/girls are more easily defeated and weaker than man/boys are, when we are not?
Male!Mei (Meo) would be a ambitious, tough little prince with a bit of a vivid imagination, questing after a certain girl, until he meets her of course, and is stunned, as she 'broke the heart of a handsome young prince'. Then, after being saved by Alphonsa, falls in love with her instead.
Even Olivier (the great and powerful General) had to get help from her brother to defeat Sloth the second time around, because Arakawa could not have her defeat him on her own, oh no (I know Izumi and Sig help too).
Moreover, there was have next to no scenes featuring female characters rescuing/saving the lives of male characters. Mei saving Halling does not count, as Halling was a minor character. Neither does Riza saving Roy from Scar in chapter 7, as he was not in mortal danger, unlike Riza later on (throat cut). However, there were plenty of scenes featuring male characters rescuing/saving the lives of female characters (as I have mentioned above).
AveriaAlexandros, also pointed out another sexist point is this: none of the females in FMA were fully developed. Winry's was only she had something to cry about, Riza is…plot? As for the pasts of Ran Fan and Mei Chan, we know visually nothing! Furthermore, what little development we have of Izumi is placed in a side-story!
Now, I want to highlight that it is not only woman Arakawa-sensei was being sexist to. Again, this is came to my knowledge though AveriaAlexandros.
Look at Edward. Apart from the initial height problem, he seems to be your typical, muscular 'manly man' Shonen hero who regularly beats the daylights out of people. I understand that he, along with Roy, Armstrong and Hohenheim did express grief. There was Roy at Hughes's grave (that was a sad scene I will admit) Hohenheim after learning Trisha's last words, Edward when Hohenheim offered himself in exchange for Alphonse, and Armstrong….at random times.
However, the 2003 anime, Edward shows his emotions much more. For example, he cried over Nina more in the 2003 amine than the manga and he cried at almost being killed by Barry the Chopper, when he kills Greed when he is in the Gate after Envy kills him. He does not "refuse to cry" as much. He actually expresses emotion.
One final point is in an Omake, where Hohenheim give him a pornography magazine and Edward's hate turned to complete respect because of it. I understand it was a joke, but it is still sexist that she would make a boy like pornography and like someone whom they hate because of such.
This is not really related, but here is another thing. Lust was the only female Homunculus in the manga and she was the first be killed and Pride, the most powerful Homunculus, and the only one to survive in the end, just has to male, did it not? Because the immortal looks like a child, and has lived for hundreds of years had to be male did it not? (Anther example is Czeslaw Meyer from "Baccano!" though I do like that series. Ennis is my favourite character). Additionally, the only child of the ruler (even if it is false) has to be male as well, correct? That is so annoying!
Finally - Why were there no female State Alchemists? Was Arakawa-sensei trying to say that women were not strong enough to be State Alchemists? Alternatively, is it that women did not try to take the test? It is quite a big implication to me.
In conclusion, I simply cannot understand how a woman to write such a story so sexist toward her own gender. If the author were a man, I would expect as much, from what I have seen from most Shonen series (apart from the ones I mentioned).
Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Roy Mustang, Ling Yao and Slim Bradley/Pride should have been female in canon and Riza Hawkeye, Ran Fan and Mei should have been male. If the above were the canon genders, yet still have the same things happen to them in the manga (which a few necessary changes) that I did not like, with these genders the events would not be sexist. It would be more interesting, too. It would also have made "Fullmetal Alchemist" a more unique series, and I would have liked it so much more.
I am writing fanfiction with the above gender benders, with the personalities I described, as I think this is how they would be as the opposite gender.
So that was my first ever rant, so thank you for reading.
P.S (INPORTANT): I am not the only person who believes "Fullmetal Alchemist" is sexist. The following quotes were out before I created this rant I found this on LiveJournal as part of a meme called "Feminism Meme":
"FMA is one of my favorite series, and I (as well as many other fans) regard it to be quite progressive in regards to gender issues. But I still see a lot of female characters attached to male characters, or in the shadow of male characters. Riza exists to push Roy to the top; Winry supports Ed in his quest to regain his body; and Ran Fan serves Ling. In fact, without these male characters, many of the female characters would not exist, because they exist as a subset of their male counterparts. (The only exceptions to this seem to be Olivier and then of course Izumi and Sig: Sig exists as part of Izumi's story, not the other way around.) Also, Winry-supporters sometimes argue that Winry in particular is a progressive character merely for the fact that she does not fit a "healer" archetype unlike many of her fellow shonen heroines from other popular series (such as, say, Sakura or Orihime from "Naruto" and "Bleach", respectively). I disagree with this venomously. Winry's up there with the rest of them - it's just that, for this particular canon, automail takes the place of flesh and thus healing automail is equivalent to healing flesh. Some people see her mechanical skills and say, wow, that deconstructs gender somehow! - and it would, if Winry lived in the modern-day era on our side of the gate where she'd have to fix cars and machinery for a living. However, that's not the case, and in her universe, her skills exist to serve her male counterpart. Also, Riza can "kick donkey" with a gun, but the ideals she's protecting with that gun are not her own. They're Roy's. So sometimes when I hear people say the female characters in FMA are progressive, I wonder if they're mistakenly looking at skills (gun skills, technical skills) and not looking at what those skills are doing for this particular narrative and for whom.
There 's also the fail of the only female homunculus in the manga being Lust - the one sin stereotypically pinned on women. She's the first homunculus to die, so she's never fully developed, but her comfort with her own sexuality is the source of her "evil". (This is one place where the anime wins, btw - Lust is more than just a character associated with sexuality and is quite philosophical and intelligent. She's also not the only female villain.)There's other fail, too, like the fact that Rose in the anime has no agency outside of Ed, for instance. I actually find her situation interesting because she has no agency, but it's still problematic."
See? This person made some good points too, and has similar issues to me, even pointed out some things I did notice. I do not care much for Rose as she is but a minor character.
Some other people who support my opinions on Winry (again, these were out before I wrote this):
"…Furthermore, the manga makes Winry and Ed act like an old married couple with *extremely* subtle "stay in the kitchen" mentality. There's a part where Ed and Al are talking about the Philosopher's stone, Winry asks what they're talking about, and Ed snaps "Men's talk!" Hitting him with the wrench for that would've been excusable and hilarious, but she sighs and does nothing! In chapter 84 when Ed leaves to go save the country, he tells her to have a pie ready for him when he gets back. Tell me how that is not sexist. As for her being a mechanic, she doesn't read like his mechanic. She reads like his nurse." - ElmeraMidas
"I really think that Winry contributes nothing to the storyline except as a love interest for Ed. She spends all her time crying (or telling everyone she's not going to cry in which case she might as well now) and saying she's sick of not being helpful and that she's going to help them now. But she never does. Every other main character in the anime serves some sort of purpose to the story line but if Winry weren't there what would change? Pinako would fix Ed's automail. As for the comment about her being to violent, personally I don't mind that. It's about the only interesting thing she ever does." - wolf-in-a-dress
So, again, before you flame me, think and read carefully. Thank you.
Finally I shall dicuss this in a proper forum!
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Originally Posted by NaokoElric2250
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