Fullmetal Alchemist Quotes

"You're not a good-for-nothing person. I think that being able to try your hardest to be something is a talent by itself."

— Alphonse Elric · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Greed may not be good, but it’s not so bad either. You humans think greed is just for money or power, but everyone wants something they can’t have."

— Greed · Fullmetal Alchemist

"War does not determine who is right - only who is left."

— Riza Hawkeye · Fullmetal Alchemist

"A king is no king without his people. But people without a king are lost as well!"

— Lan Fan · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Maybe life has no equal trade, maybe you can give up all you got, and get nothing back. Even if I can't prove it's true, I have to try, for your sake, Al."

— Edward Elric · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Water, 35 litres. Carbon, 20 kg. Ammonia, 4 litres. Lime, 1.5 kg. Phosphorus, 800 g. Salt, 250 g. Niter, 100 g. Sulphur, 80 g. Fluoride, 7.5 g. Iron, 5 g. Silicon, 3g. And fifteen other elements. Those are the elements to make an average adult human body. You can buy these elemental ingredients at the market with the pocket money of a child. Humans are made so cheaply."

— Edward Elric · Fullmetal Alchemist

"People can say there is a balance, a logic that everything happens for a reason... But the truth is far less designed. No matter how hard you work, when you die, you die. Some spend their entire life trying to scratch their way to the top, and still die in poverty. While others are born into wealth without ever working at all. It's a cruel and random world. And yet the chaos is all so beautiful."

— Dante (Fullmetal Alchemist) · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Men are not men on the battlefield. We turn into some other creature. You can do the cruelest things... It doesn't even matter if it's an order or not. To protect yourself, your mind shuts out any emotions you have. It's like a steel door. But once the war is over, you can't keep it closed forever."

— Fullmetal Alchemist · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Dedication is a talent all on its own."

— Alphonse Elric · Fullmetal Alchemist

"I can't tell you that… You have to figure it out. Stand up and walk. Keep moving forward. You've got two good legs. So get up and use them. You're strong enough to make your own path."

— Edward Elric · Fullmetal Alchemist

"I lost my pawns, my knight, my rook, my bishop, and even my queen. But, it's not checkmate, just yet."

— Roy Mustang · Fullmetal Alchemist

"When you live, your life will end sooner or later. The body will return to the earth. Grass and flowers will grow on top of it. The soul will nourish the hearts... and it will live on in the hearts of other people. Everything in this world flows around and circulates. That goes for human lives too."

— Izumi Curtis · Fullmetal Alchemist

"There are some things in life that will only be understood through words."

— Winry Rockbell · Fullmetal Alchemist

""I long to see someone who died", "I want to be rich", "I want women", "I want to protect the world"... They're all desires. In other words, wishes. If you ask me, there's neither "right" or "wrong" when it comes to greed. You humans go around ranking certain types of greed in order from good to bad, which makes you so hard to understand."

— Greed · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Life that has been lost cannot be brought back again. That very truth is what shows us the meaning and value of living."

— Roy Mustang · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Any man who has the brains to think and the nerve to act for the benefit of the people of the country, is considered a radical, by those who are content with stagnation and willing to endure disaster."

— Roy Mustang · Fullmetal Alchemist

"There are some things that can only be conveyed through words."

— Winry Rockbell · Fullmetal Alchemist

"If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

— Olivier Mira Armstrong · Fullmetal Alchemist

"We're all lost... That's why we're sad."

— Van Hohenheim · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Hughes, just a bit of advice. The soldiers who never shut up about their girls back home... They don't make it."

— Roy Mustang · Fullmetal Alchemist

"Everything we see, everyone we meet, is caught up in a great unseen flow. But it's bigger than that. It's the entire world, the entire universe even. And compared to something as big as that, Al, you and I are tiny, not even the size of ants. Only one small part within a much greater flow. Nothing more than a fraction of the whole. But by putting all those "ones" together, you get one great "All", just like Teacher said. The flow of this universe follows laws of such magnitude that you and I can't even imagine them."

— Edward Elric · Fullmetal Alchemist

"I've been thinking about this for a long time. We put all our trust in alchemy but in the end... what is it? "Alchemy is the science of understanding the flow of matter and its laws. The process of comprehension, deconstruction, and reconstruction. The world flows too. It must also follow laws. Everything circulates. Even death is a part of that circulation. You must accept the flow." Hmm, Teacher sure drummed that into our heads, didn't she? I thought I understood it. But I don't understand anything... Mom proves that. Now here I am again, trying desperately to figure out a way to do the impossible. I'm such a hopeless idiot. All this time and I haven't grown up one bit. I thought maybe the rain would wash away some of this gloom that's been following me... but right now, every drop that hits my face is even more depressing."

— Edward Elric · Fullmetal Alchemist

"[To Lan Fan] Brat, quit blabbering on about trifling topics such as love and sadness. Don't underestimate us. She's the woman I chose. A will is unnecessary between us. That's usually how it is between a King and his companion."

— King Bradley · Fullmetal Alchemist

"[To Father] You've certainly mellowed out... you used to be fun, full of life and emotion. Lust, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Wrath, and Pride. Of course, excessive want will destroy anyone, but those same desires are necessary to understand what it means to be human. Why did you rid yourself of them?"

— Van Hohenheim · Fullmetal Alchemist