How transmutation circles work in Fullmetal Alchemist!

The transmutation circles in Fullmetal Alchemist are essential to the story's plot, but what are they and how do they work?

Author Hiromu Arakawa's best-selling shonen anime series, Fullmetal Alchemist , inspired a 2009 anime of the same name, both telling the same incredible story of redemption, hope and the power of the human spirit. The story of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood also features a memorable combat system based on alchemy, but not the "turning lead into gold" type found in actual historical tradition. In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood , alchemy is the art of understanding, deconstructing and reshaping matter, using tools such as transmutation circles.

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The story of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is full of symbology of all kinds, including transmutation circles and their significant arcane runes. These circles aren't just an obligatory visual touch for a shonen action anime; they say something about the alchemy being used and the alchemy performing the deed, and some characters have even found ways to bypass transmutation circles altogether and achieve even better results. Other characters have created transmutation circles in creative ways, taking everyone by surprise.

How transmutation circles are conceived and used in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

The alchemy-based combat system in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood , like many other supernatural combat systems in other shonen anime, requires a method of defining and redirecting energy to produce the desired result. In-universe, this explains how a flexible, open-ended system like alchemy can produce such precise results, and meta-wise, anime fans generally expect incantations or runes of some kind to make the "magic" work. It's similar to the hand signals used for ninjutsu in the Naruto anime or the vocal incantations for kido spells in Bleach , except that the transmutation circles in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are more complex in design than any hand signal or kido name.

Transmutations are always circles, because a circle is a shape representing the elegance of infinity. Such shapes have no particular points or lines that stand out; everything is equal in a circle, nor do they have a clearly defined beginning or end. This reflects how the reshaping of matter and the transfer of energy is an eternal cycle with no clearly defined beginning or end. It could even be compared to the cycle of life or the cycle of water, or to a "chicken and egg" situation, an eternal loop. But while all transmutation requires a circle, other shapes or words can vary considerably depending on the transmutation circle's intended role. Some circles may seem fairly generic, while others have unique shapes for novel purposes. This also means that transmutation circles are linked to FMAB's equivalent law of exchange, where energy and matter can flow in various forms, but they cannot be created out of nothing or entirely removed from existence. Conventional alchemy performed with transmutation circles can reshape existing matter at the molecular level, no more and no less.

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Transmutation circles can include squares, additional circles, triangles or even specific symbols such as a salamander, flame, crescent moon, sun and more. Such symbols serve as literary references to real-world alchemical traditions. Others are simpler, like the salamander on Colonel Roy Mustang's transmutation circle, because salamanders symbolize fire. As for where transmutation circles can be marked or drawn, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood suggests that they can be used wherever the marks of a circle can be clearly defined and retain their shape. Characters like Roy Mustang, Alex Louis Armstrong and Solf J. Kimblee keep their circles on their hands, while alchemists can also use chalk to draw a transmutation circle, or even create one with a stick in the ground. If the patterns of a transmutation circle are disturbed, such as a broken line or stained symbol, the circle will immediately cease to function.

Generally, the effects of a transmutation circle will occur within that circle, which means that alchemy at a distance is not usually possible. This is why Alphonse Elric was so surprised when May Chang used a related but distinct style called alkaestry to modify materials at close range, which also took the monk Ishvalan Scar by surprise. Conventional transmutation circles allow the user to reshape matter within their boundaries, with a basic example being a young Edward Elric forming a model bird within a generic transmutation circle. If alchemists use their transmutation circles to cast objects or perform ranged attacks, the effect of their technique begins with the circle and can then be cast anywhere. Armstrong can reshape matter to form sharp arrows that fly at the enemy, for example, but he must form them close to his hands, where his transmutation circles are located.

Comment Fullmetal Alchemist : Brotherhood characters can bypass or disrupt transmutation circles?

Many characters in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood use conventional transmutation circles in conventional ways, such as the silver alchemist Giolio Comanche using the intricate transmutation circles on his palms to transform metal into silver-colored weapons, hence his nickname State Alchemist. When ordinary people in Amestris think of alchemists, they imagine someone reshaping materials in circles, but there are a few notable cases where alchemy can either be used without the circles, or a character can deny someone else the use of their own circles. This proves that while transmutation circles are very effective for trained alchemists, they do have weaknesses that many people know how to exploit.

Solf J. Kimblee is a case in point, having to join his hands to combine the marks on his palms to form a single, complete transmutation circle. However, after being captured following Ishval's genocidal civil war, Kimblee was imprisoned and restrained with special wooden handcuffs. Normal handcuffs would be useless, since Kimblee could still join his hands and fight via alchemy, so Kimblee's wrists were restrained with large wooden handcuffs that were really just a plank with two holes. Kimblee's hands were always spread wide, so her alchemy was impossible to perform. Later, when Edward Elric fought Kimblee in a mining town, Ed cut off one of Kimblee's palms, ruining Kimblee's circle. Similarly, the evil homunculus Lust tore Roy Mustang's special glove, destroying his circle and stealing his flame alchemy. In desperation, when given the opportunity, Roy engraved an identical transmutation circle on the back of his own hand.

Alchemists can also perform alchemy without using transmutation circles, but only if they have opened the Gate of Truth, an act that few characters in Fullmetal Alchemist: the world of Brotherhood have ever done. Having seen the truth of the world for a price, a character will have enough knowledge implanted in their mind to no longer need transmutation circles to reshape the world around them, which tends to surprise others. The prime example is Edward Elric himself, who saw the Truth after his and Alphonse's failed attempt at human transmutation. Since then, Ed has used alchemy with his bare hands, freeing him from one of alchemy's few weaknesses. For identical reasons, Ed's mentor Izumi Curtis can perform alchemy with his hands alone, and after being forced to open the Gate of Truth on Promised Day, Roy Mustang was able to do the same.

Remarkable transmutation circles, what they did and who used them

A few transmutation circles stand out in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood due to their design, use or even rarity, making them excellent examples of the diversity of this combat system. Solf J. Kimblee, for example, is the only character known to keep his circle incomplete on purpose, only bringing its two halves together when he intends to practice alchemy. Kimblee's transmutation circle, once completed, can trigger powerful explosions, making him a key player in Ishval's deadly civil war. He could level entire buildings with his alchemy, but as fans saw when Kimblee was released from prison, he could also use conventional alchemy.

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Protagonist Edward Elric used a remarkable transmutation alongside his brother Alphonse in a dramatic flashback at the start of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood . Both immersed themselves in forbidden research into human transmutation, using what they learned to draw a large, intricate transmutation circle in the basement of their home. There, the brothers attempted to revive their deceased mother Trisha, only for the transmutation circle to perform a rebound and open the Gate of Truth. This was the only time a transmutation circle intended for human transmutation was shown in intricate detail, unless fans count the brief flashback of Izumi Curtis attempting something similar to revive her baby.

Colonel Roy Mustang is the only known user of Flame Alchemy, a unique fighting style invented by Riza Hawkeye's father, Berthold. Berthold Hawkeye marked the formula for flame alchemy on his daughter's back, and after this information was used to form Roy's transmutation circle, Riza purposely had the notes on her back burned so that no one else would ever use this style of alchemy. This means that Roy Mustang's transmutation circle is as unique as the alchemy it creates. With this circle, Roy can use flame alchemy in two ways: brute-force attacks with his right hand and smaller, more precise strikes with his left.

An exclusive character from the 2009 anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Isaac McDougal, showed off his own unique transmutation circles in episode 1. He is the only known alchemist who remodels ice and water with his alchemy, with a distinctive transmutation circle to match. He was seen placing these circles all over Central, the capital of Amestris, to create large quantities of ice to attack the government. Isaac knew of his father's and the army's nefarious plans, so Isaac tried in vain to destroy them. However, Isaac was thwarted and killed.

The supervillain father created two of the largest and most consequential transmutation circles in all of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. The first was dug all around the city-state of Xerxes, under the pretext of being an irrigation system, then the alchemical ritual transformed everyone in Xerxes into a philosopher's stone. This granted the "dwarf in the bottle" a humanoid body modeled on Van Hohenheim's, the first major phase of the homunculus plan. After assuming the identity of Father, the character had a second, even larger transmutation circle, which the homunculus Sloth dug under the circular nation Amestris .

This circle also served as a container for Pride, whose dark body could only exist there and in the body of "Selim Bradley". On Promised Day, this enormous transmutation circle was activated, but fortunately Van Hohenheim had countermeasures in place to limit its effects. Edward Elric also discovered this circle-tunnel at Fort Briggs, where he reconstructed the existence and shape of Father's giant transmutation circle based on the bloody events of Amestris history.

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Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood puts a lot of effort into its imaginative power system. With enough knowledge and creativity, countless types of alchemy and transmutation circles could be implemented.

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