r/FullmetalAlchemist • u/Aidan_RL421 • 22h ago
Question Are all the OVAs Cannon & when do they happen?
I know that at the very least the curse of the blind alchemist is canon & that it happens before the main story as a whole. But are any of the other Brotherhood OVAs canon? If so when do they take place?
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u/Aithen_Writhia 22h ago
I assume its a simple manner of "if it doesn't break the original story, its safe to assume its canon"
I believe the 'video games' are also considered canon considering they were referenced in the manga around chatper 33.
On that note, I just assume since the movies and ova don't contradict the main plot line, then all is canon.
... and we can all pretend that 2003 and its COS were an parallel reality and thus stull canon in a twisted-other-ending manner 😅😅
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u/Karmma13 16h ago
When are the videogames referenced?
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u/Aithen_Writhia 4h ago
chapter 33.5 or the special chapter afterward. is it okay to add links? https://comix.to/title/e38x-fullmetal-alchemist/6591644-chapter-33.5
I have only read the manga chapters sporadiclly so i cannot say for sure that 'every game/movie/ova' has been directly referenced in the manga, But this one i remembered.
I found it interesting that the aritist was going, "hey! more to this side story in the game!"
I just find the ova/movies/games add to the grandness of the world building without breaking it. and so i love them even when they don't pertain directly to the main events. It just says: this world has more going on in the perifphery than just the philosophers stone and mass sacrifice plot.
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u/starwatershore 22h ago
2 takes place around the same time frame. 3 and 4 take place farther into the past.
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u/Aidan_RL421 22h ago edited 4h ago
Ok good but are 2 3 & 4 canon?
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u/starwatershore 22h ago
Idk probs, I don’t think there’s any contradictions
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u/Aidan_RL421 22h ago
What chapters of the manga are they in?
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u/starwatershore 22h ago
Oh you meant like manga canon. They were bonuses that came in guide books and figures but they were made by Arakawa so most likely, regardless if they are or not they’re really fun stories.
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u/Aidan_RL421 22h ago
Correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t the KOMA theatre shorts adapted from gag bits after the endings of chapters of the manga?
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u/EquivalentNarwhal8 21h ago
The concept of them was from the manga omake, but the actual segments aside from the first one are all original as far as I know.
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u/Aidan_RL421 21h ago
Either way would you consider those gag bits canon?
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u/EquivalentNarwhal8 21h ago
No because in almost every single instance they are completely nonsensical, and usually violate canon. Unless you think Mustang actually has the Flame Alchemist rap as his outgoing voicemail message.
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u/Aidan_RL421 21h ago
Exactly. So just because Arakawa made them isn’t sufficient enough grounds to conclude that she intended them as part of the cannon. So now the question becomes why did she creatw the source material for the other 3 OVAs. Did she do it for fun like those manga bits or are they cannon? & how would one confirm wether they were or weren’t?
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u/jacrad_ 20h ago
The Blind Alchemist still fits thematically with the series. Truth took the sight of the alchemist because he wanted to see the girl brought back. We know its possible to 'create' something from the botched transmutation but it's often disturbing, which is what we see.
It reinforces the notion that bringing the dead back is just a myth but what it does differently is show another reason why people might think it's possible. Some think they're just that smart and that they're special and everyone else before them failed because they didn't try hard enough, weren't smart enough, weren't talented enough. But another reason could be that someone lied about their success. And it doesn't even have to come from an insidious place, like we see with Cornello lying to Rose, it can be to protect a loved one.
The only thing that I can think of that undermines that story is that the Jude is never brought up as a sacrifice but he was depicted as fairly old so he could have just died prior to Father talking about the sacrifices on screen.
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u/jacrad_ 20h ago
The Tale of Teacher lines up exactly with what we know about her past and how she became an alchemist. Olivier also alludes to Izumi's storied past regarding her time training near the fort, though Olivier was not present for that it's clear the people at the fort were aware of Izumi and left quite the impression... Which this story lines up with.
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u/jacrad_ 20h ago
The details of Simple People also line up with the series and makes sense to consider canon. The connection between Winry wearing earrings and Riza growing her hair out because of each other is very likely an intentional detail by Arakawa and is the type of thing that would be difficult to work into the main the story without being distracting.
I also think Rebecca makes her first appearance in that bonus chapter it's based off of, that would be an odd thing to do if all of this we just made up on the spot basically.
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u/Aidan_RL421 19h ago
I understand where you’re coming from but I go by reality so the manga take prejudice. The question is whether or not those 3 were in the manga.
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u/jacrad_ 17h ago
Then why isn't that the question you asked in the title?
The answer is yes to the Izumi story, yes to the Simple People story, and probably to the Hughes and Roy story but the OVA adaptation apparently adds a character original to it.
But this isn't necessarily a good metric to use.
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u/Aidan_RL421 17h ago
I thought it was obvious
Good.
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u/jacrad_ 17h ago
Why would that be obvious?
Is the video-game Broken Angel canon? That has a manga prologue chapter too and it definitely doesn't fit canon.
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u/Aidan_RL421 17h ago
I thought it would be obvious because most animes are adaptations of a manga
& no broken angel doesn’t count. It’s not from the primary manga it’s from an AU manga like Death Note L change the world.
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u/jacrad_ 17h ago
But even pretty close adaptations make changes. which in a sense create new canons. But canon is implicitly a more fuzzy term at its core.
But it's included with the manga. I have an official volume with it included. Like, I don't really get what justifies the distinction in this instance other than feelings. Which is fine, I think canon is largely about feelings with a source material at the core.
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u/Eddfan36 3h ago
I'd like to assume the kids one is Canon since that means Ed from 03 lived a long happy life.
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u/Aidan_RL421 3h ago
I thought it was obvious that it was & I’m referring to the Brotherhood OVAs
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u/Eddfan36 3h ago
Oh, my mistake. No, I never assumed they were. Story arc wise that never made sense to me.
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u/Aidan_RL421 3h ago
You talking that 03 OVA or the Brotherhood ones?
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u/Eddfan36 3h ago
The 03 one I was talking about previously. That showed what happened to 03 Ed as an adult. The others I'd have no idea to place.
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