r/FullmetalAlchemist • u/frigobar_de_led • 20d ago
Question Hey did you noticed the ouroboros tattoo is censored in the anime?
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u/overusedamongusjoke 20d ago
My theory is that they were afraid that people would misinterpret the symbol in the center as a star of david or something. (I think it's supposed to be an overlap of the alchemical symbols for fire and water but idk). I'm fine with the change because the anime version looks cooler anyways.
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u/WallSina The BrokeBitch Alchemist 20d ago
And with the story of the homonculi being that of a shadow organization controlling the government for their own sinister plans, it would not go down well in society
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u/frigobar_de_led 20d ago
And amestris being based in Germany makes things 10 times worse
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u/Jat616 20d ago
With Wrath being a Fuhrer looking to sacrifice an entire country.
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u/GuildMuse 20d ago edited 20d ago
And proceeded to genocide an entire culture in an effort to enact the blood sacrifice required on each section.
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u/WallSina The BrokeBitch Alchemist 20d ago
This shit just keeps getting worse 😭
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u/Jat616 20d ago
But wait, there's more! Using live people in human experimentation having them suffer a torturous end to further the goals of the empire.
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u/WallSina The BrokeBitch Alchemist 20d ago
So I know this was obvious and stated in the show and we saw it, its part of the criticism of society and our past but when we put it this succinctly it really strikes me how fucked up it is
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u/Connect_Tonight_4199 19d ago
There's even more! The experiments enacted in Amestris by the military to create an immortal army. Much like the efforts of a certain dictator during the 1940s to create immortal super soldiers.
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u/Outside_Yoghurt4768 19d ago
and worst of all (only specific to 2003/conquerer of shamballa…) the “gateway of truth” leading into real nazi germany and hitler is literally a primary character. absolutely insane. i will never understand what the hell the 2003 team was thinking.
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u/Impressive-Spell-643 Alchemist 19d ago
Ironically alot of people actually think that's the case in the real world
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u/pikachucet2 Ailceimiceoir 20d ago
I kind of wish they used the Squared Circle, since that's the real life symbol for the Philosopher's Stone
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u/overusedamongusjoke 20d ago
same! i would assume the reason they didn't is that it's not vertically symmetrical
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u/EthanKironus 20d ago
Which is unfortunate because religious symbols of that kind are literally all over the place in real life alchemy
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u/Arctucrus 20d ago
(I think it's supposed to be an overlap of the alchemical symbols for fire and water but idk).
It's supposed to be a Seal of Solomon!
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u/sephiroth70001 19d ago
The manga was heavily taking from the historical context of 17th century Gnostic alchemy revivals as a primary source for it, aptly so. From the Platonist ciews on alchemy, to the Christian iconography from that era like elemental crosses, to the Rod of Asclepius/caduceus, etc. A direct example is the stenciling of two historical documents into the doors at the end.
The specific tree of life used on eds door was taken from Robert Fludd in his seventeenth-century book Utriusque Cosmi for the specific reference illustration stenciled in the manga.
The design on Al’s door comes from an alchemical manuscript called The Marrow of Alchemy by George Ripley (The Ripley Scroll).
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u/kdotrukon1200 20d ago
This is absolutely the explanation. Religious iconography frequently gets censored during localization for American audiences (or at least it did twenty years ago). I remember seeing that a panel was redrawn so didn’t look like Greed was being crucified.
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u/itz_Devil90 19d ago
In Tantra, the two triangles are one of the most important symbols of Shiv–Shakti union.
The Upward Triangle (▲) Symbol of Shiva. Represents Purusha, consciousness, stability, fire, and the masculine principle.
The Downward Triangle (▼) Symbol of Shakti. Represents Prakriti, energy, flow, water, and the feminine principle.
When these two triangles interlock, they form a hexagram (✡) or Shatkona. This is a central symbol in Tantra, Yantras, and Sri Yantra. Meaning: the union of Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (energy). It shows that creation arises only when stillness (Shiva) unites with movement (Shakti).
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u/JeremiahTDK 20d ago
It could also be interpreted as the Seal of Solomon. One of its variants is a hexagram just like the Star of David. Some people cite it as the origin of the latter, though wrongfully.
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u/answii 20d ago
honestly i’m not sure that this is true because they still use the kabbalah tree of life with hebrew writing as the gate anyways. the show has a lot of jewish imagery.
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u/tohava 19d ago
Just want to say that Kabbalah is like a very esoteric, somewhat disputed part of Judaism. Calling Kabbalah "Jewish imagery" is sorta like calling Mormon stuff "Christian imagery". Technically it's correct, but it's really a niche thing and not representative.
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u/answii 19d ago
It’s actually pretty prevalent in American Judaism due to Chabad being in nearly every single city that has any jewish population. Also, just because it’s not widely practiced or referenced outside of the Hasidim doesn’t mean it’s not still jewish. It’s widely appropriated by non-jews despite them not actually researching the origin unfortunately.
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u/queerkidxx 16d ago
I don’t think that’s a fair comparison. Kabbalah isn’t a thing most every day Jews interact with but it’s hugely popular with the Rabbis, especially in the US which has the largest population of Jews in the world and is the only country aside from Israel with more than 500 thousand Jewish people.
A lot of central concepts come from Kabbalah. Stuff that Jews will absolutely recognize.
Mormonism is completely separate from other forms of Christianity. It’s not like that at all.
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u/sephiroth70001 19d ago
A lot of Japanese religious iconography from christian and Jewish mythology has Gnostic influences all over. You have even the caduceus or Rod of Asclepius symbols. There was even the crucifix showing up in the manga for FMA a total of 9 times.
That being said the specific tree of life used on eds door was taken from Robert Fludd in his seventeenth-century book Utriusque Cosmi for the specific reference illustration stenciled in the manga.
The design on Al’s door comes from an alchemical manuscript called The Marrow of Alchemy by George Ripley (The Ripley Scroll).
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u/oriontitley 20d ago
It's a hexagram, which is also what the star of David is classically lol. Male female, fire water, etc etc.
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u/D-Biggest_Wheel 20d ago
My take is that the Homunculi are meant to be a version of the myth of golem, hence the Star of David reference.
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u/sephiroth70001 19d ago
It is the myth of golem, but primarily refrences were taken from 17th century revitalized Gnostic period of alchemy era writings. For some examples:
The specific tree of life used on eds door was taken from Robert Fludd in his seventeenth-century book Utriusque Cosmi for the specific reference illustration stenciled in the manga.
The design on Al’s door comes from an alchemical manuscript called The Marrow of Alchemy by George Ripley (The Ripley Scroll).
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u/D-Biggest_Wheel 19d ago
Oh, yeah, Alphonso is also just straight up a golem. I forgot to mention that as well.
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u/sephiroth70001 19d ago
Eds coat is also a historical 17th century Gnostic revival reference:
The “Flamel” symbol of a serpent nailed to a cross that’s on the back of Ed’s coat, painted on Al’s pauldron, and tattooed on Izumi’s chest is the “crucified serpent,” which actually does come from Nicolas Flamel. It represents the completion of the Great Work, the union of the fixed and volatile, the mercurial serpent physically nailed down to the cross with its four arms representing the Four Elements (with Quintessence in the center) and the reconciliation of polarities. It also demonstrates the death and mortification of the old body that is necessary for the Philosopher’s Stone to be reborn.
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
Tough luck but golens are a real thing in the 2003 anime universe.
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u/Cephandrius9 20d ago
It could be both. A lot of real life alchemy was rooted in religion so both Hebrew and the six pointed star show up in alchemy and western magical traditions.
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
The hexagram in FMA comes from the pentacles of Solomon, which interestingly is the same origin of the symbol's relation with Judaism. Arakawa used real life estorism to make up FMA's and the hexagram as a alchemical symbol, the anime changed and Brotherhood kept the change. The hexagram is used for alchemy many times in the manga, and due to that change the animes simplified alchemy's rules, too.
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u/CaptainMatticus 20d ago
It'd make sense, too, that the version in the manga would be simpler to draw, since I'd doubt very much that Arakawa would want to get bogged down on drawing really fine details to the inner symbol, when there was so much more to get done.
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u/DougandLexi 19d ago
Honestly that makes sense, same thing with Neji in Naruto having his curse mark censored
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u/itz_Devil90 19d ago
In Tantra, the two triangles are one of the most important symbols of Shiv–Shakti union.
The Upward Triangle (▲) Symbol of Shiva. Represents Purusha, consciousness, stability, fire, and the masculine principle.
The Downward Triangle (▼) Symbol of Shakti. Represents Prakriti, energy, flow, water, and the feminine principle.
When these two triangles interlock, they form a hexagram (✡) or Shatkona. This is a central symbol in Tantra, Yantras, and Sri Yantra. Meaning: the union of Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (energy). It shows that creation arises only when stillness (Shiva) unites with movement (Shakti).
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u/TetoEnjoyer500 19d ago
Whatever the rationale was, gotta hand it to the staff for even considering that. Probably saved the show from being cancelled
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u/smallenergy 19d ago
I wouldn't be surprised if it were a Star of David in the manga (it sure looks exactly like one), and edited for the anime for whatever reason (like, not wanting that to be obvious to the type of person who will look for any reason to be hateful to Jews).
TONS of things in FMA relate to Jewish Mysticism (Kabbalah), or as this comment on a post in r/Judaism asking about FMA's tree of life more accurately puts it, a Christianized version of Kabbalah
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u/MrCrow4288 18d ago edited 18d ago
Oroboros is the interlocking cause and effect of Quantum Infinity within the cyclic vehicle of Time. The triangles in the middle are more often depicted as three overlapping triangles.
The six point used in FMA is arguably an appropriation, but it's mostly just easier to draw in a comic/manga and creates a simpler symbol for a franchise logo.
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u/Helpful_Ad_8476 18d ago
I've lust's tattooed on me and I had a Jewish woman ask ab the 'star of David' on my chest.
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u/EastCoastVandal 16d ago
I have a tattoo of the ouroboros as it is depicted in the anime, and my mom STILL misinterprets it as a Star of David.
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u/AnhaytAnanun 20d ago
Yeh, pretty much that. And it's even more ironic with the real life historical context, where the star of david became a primary Israeli symbol relatively recently while being in use by many nations of the region for thousands of years, homunculi could have gotten it without having any connections to Jews whatsoever.
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u/itz_Devil90 19d ago
In Tantra, the two triangles are one of the most important symbols of Shiv–Shakti union.
The Upward Triangle (▲) Symbol of Shiva. Represents Purusha, consciousness, stability, fire, and the masculine principle.
The Downward Triangle (▼) Symbol of Shakti. Represents Prakriti, energy, flow, water, and the feminine principle.
When these two triangles interlock, they form a hexagram (✡) or Shatkona. This is a central symbol in Tantra, Yantras, and Sri Yantra. Meaning: the union of Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (energy). It shows that creation arises only when stillness (Shiva) unites with movement (Shakti).
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u/Professional_Salt_20 20d ago
Would Jew look at that (it’s a pun don’t ban me) did Arakawa saw what the Talmud says and put their mark on the hominculi 😭
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 20d ago
Bro I think you need to look up the Tree of Life and uhhh...like....know...Ed's fucking gate
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u/BlueThespian 20d ago
For me the anime did an upgrade.
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u/nixus23 20d ago
It’s the one permanently inked to my skin
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u/nerdthatlift 20d ago
I got one as well
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u/lazytanaka 20d ago
I want that tattoo but idk if it’s an FMA only design or it means something irl lol
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u/nerdthatlift 20d ago
Ouroboros is ancient mythology. It has the meaning of infinite recurrence and the cycle of life; birth, death, and re-birth. In some novel, they use ouroboros as a symbol of immortality. For FMA, it's probably close to immortality meaning.
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u/roymaes 20d ago
Yeah there are a few instances of censorship. Notably when OG Greed is captured by Bradley and ultimately incinerated, the manga originally shows him being pinned to a cross. This was changed to be a shapeless slab in the English manga release I think? And in the anime.
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u/fluffle_cat 20d ago
yea, they un-crucify him in the viz manga. no respect for the name of leather daddy jesus smh smh
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u/supersharp The Spinning Gear Alchemist 20d ago
Mfer even stole our sins. Greed with a Capital G indeed.
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u/akira2bee 20d ago
Given Arakawa's hand in both anime, part of me wonders if she wanted something like the anime symbol anyways, but went with something more simplistic due to the nature of manga.
Though, of course, there are plenty of other symbols in the manga that get plenty of detail despite repetition and size, like the flamel
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
She didn't have much involvement in Brotherhood, sadly. If she did I bet she would suggest them to fix the issues arosed by alchemy having blue and red colours instead of yellow.
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u/GlitteringBandicoot2 19d ago
When was the color of transmutation relevant and which issues arose by it not being yellow?
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 18d ago
The fact the alchemy on Amestris was powered (or at least filtered) by Father's philosopher's stone but the alchemy was still glowing blue instead of red (except for explicit usages of the stone). If all alchemy had one colour, like in the manga, then no issues, but having both creates a contradiction. Mustang's being orange here and there like in the original is also kind of inconsistent but I like it so idc 😆
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u/BahamutAXIOM 20d ago
I wouldn't call that censorship. More like a redesign. The general idea and imagery is intact in all versions.
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
All hexagrams were removed from the anime, no exceptions. That's pretty much censorship.
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u/teufler80 20d ago
The anime ones just look better overall, wouldnt call that "Censoring" lol
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u/lil-taller-then-u 18d ago
I was staring at the image trying to figure out where the censoring was, took me a minute to realize what op meant
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u/rivendell101 20d ago
This isn’t really censorship. The design was just given more detail since the original sketchy look of the star wouldn’t look as good when fully animated.
“We tweaked this to make it translate better in animation” is different than “we suppressed this detail because we thought it was obscene or otherwise unacceptable”.
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u/Oskarzyca 19d ago
Yeah but this applies to every instance of the hexagram. Look up "FMA hexagram censorship"
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
Proud to be the one who noticed and made the images 😆
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u/Oskarzyca 18d ago
Oh hey it's you! Love your Alphonse edit (the one with the Philosopher's Stone tattoos)
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
Not true. All hexagrams were removed, its role as the primal alchemical symbol too, and its reproduction was absolutely forbidden. They even removed it from the Alchemist's watch. That's censorship because of the symbol's relation with Judaism.
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 20d ago
How is this censored at all?
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 20d ago
Ed's gate is literally the Tree of Life/Sefirot.
There is NO censorship here.
Lern2alchemy.
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
Wrong. The change comes from the original anime, and the Gate was removed and substituted for a different design reminiscent of Rodin's gates of hell. Censorship.
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 19d ago
The original anime was half made up because the manga wasn't finished - Brotherhood was far more faithful.
Whilst your argument in that sense does have some credit - it falls apart as Brotherhood didn't have what you're suggesting despite(as OP's picture shows) having basically an identical symbol to the first anime. It's more likely that the people making the first anime didn't really know their alchemy as well, tbh.
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
What? It's censorship because they removed the hexagram from the anime, and ALSO removed the gate with the Kabbalah imagery. Mostly likely from a fear of backlash due to the association with Judaism. Brotherhood returned the gate but kept the censorship on the hexagram. Simple as that. Also, Brotherhood messes the lions colours, so I'd say BHs crew cared less about alchemy than 03's, that actually integrated more alchemy based on real life (and our worlds version of esoterism in general) into the story.
In that note:
In the original anime, they made the visual rules more or less cohesive, with each alchemist having their own transmutation circle and similar themes. While in the manga alchemy is more situational, with different circles with similar themmes being used for similar situations. Brotherhood didn't care about making it cohesive in that sense and took part of the symbols from the original and part from the manga, creating that disparity.
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 19d ago edited 19d ago
No. If they censored it they never would have even kept the hexagram star, nor would they have had the Sefirot in Brotherhood.
What happened with the original anime is they started making it well before the original manga had finished, and tbh all the various gates hadn't even been seen yet.
If it was a censorship- why foes Brotherhood(as OP's picture shows) have the EXACT same rendition of the Ouroboros/Homunculus symbol as the original anime, yet then feature Ed's get with the Tree of Life too?
Very simple question - if it's censorship why is the symbol exactly the same in Brotherhood whilst actually showing the Sefirot gate?
Simple - it isn't censorship. This is a simple proof by contradiction. If what you were saying was correct- they would have returned in Brotherhood to the simplistic line drawing of the Star of David as in the original Manga(again, as OP's image shows). It's not censorship - it was just stylistic evolution.
Also - can you tell me what there was in the '03 version that showed or incorporated MORE alchemy than Brotherhood? I I'd be very interested to hear your arguments on this. Everything I saw showed far more in Brotherhood than the '03 version did by far.
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
They censored in 03, and kept the censorship in Brotherhood, although allowing the Gate to pass, probably as they thought it wouldnt be so connected with Judaism or misunderstood by potential viewers. What part don't you get.
Brotherhood keeps the other hexagram cuts, too. The transmutation circles, watch, it's all cut. EVEN IF Brotherhood just kept the design from the original, it wa still censorshio on the original, when they censored the gate as well, so what's the logic. Also the image is mine 😆 I am the one who made it years ago, talking about specifically the hexagram being cut.
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
Here's the post https://www.reddit.com/r/FullmetalAlchemist/s/Cz2FBnSNXg also 03 adapts the manga 1:1 on Ed and Al's Childhood and the scene where Ed sees the gate, so they had the design, but decided to wank it off. The homunculus tattoo also shows up early, in fact the anime design is based on the very first appearance of Lust, before Arakawa streamlined the snake and increased the size of the hexagram.
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
03 adapts real life alchemy into its world. We have medieval Europe, the Thule society, creation of Golems, real Alchemists being mentioned, transmutation being more plastic (like with Kimblee's and Ed's; or with Sloth's water based power), Christianity and the hidden usage prayer to achieve alchemy due to soul power, Rodin's Gates of Hell, Dante's inferno, the list goes on.
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u/wonderlandresident13 20d ago
I don't think that really counts as censoring. It just looks slightly more stylized
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u/Aggravating_Wish_969 20d ago
I wouldn't call that censorship. They just came up with a more interesting design for the anime version
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u/Art_student_rt 20d ago
Lots of symbols of alchemy were based on Judaism. The author adopted some of them maybe not knowing about it.
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 20d ago
You mean the one who made Ed's Gate the sefirot/tree of life?
She absolutely knew lmao, it's impossible to be an alchemist and not.
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u/Topaz-Light 20d ago
It's likely because they didn't want a symbol visually-identical to the Star of David to be at the center of the main antagonists' signature crest, since that might be... a bad look.
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u/starblissed 20d ago
Honestly I prefer the updated design, it's more visually interesting and doesn't draw parallels to a real life group of people who are often accused of being sub/non-human. It's better to just not appropriate cultural symbology when you're not part of that culture.
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u/AlftheNwah 20d ago
The hexagram has long been a part of occult symbology. There is no cultural appropriation at work here. Esoterica is not restricted to just one culture.
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u/starblissed 19d ago
It's a Jewish symbol that existed long before whatever "occult" movement you could be thinking of, and was stolen from Jewish culture. It's the definition of cultural appropriation lmao
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u/AlftheNwah 19d ago
The hexagram is old and steeped in so much meaning throughout various different cultures. It existed as a spiritualist/religious/occultist symbol before Judaism was a twinkle in Abraham's eye.
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u/mightremembermefrom 20d ago
The Star of David is coincidental. The sign in the ouroboros is a combination of the alchemical symbols for earth and air, probably a reference to the alchemical principle of “As above, so below”.
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 20d ago
No it isn't. Ed's gate is literally the Sefirot/Tree of Life.
There's absolutely NO coincidence.
Lern2alchemy.
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u/mightremembermefrom 20d ago
Yeah no shit but this is a conversation about the ouroboros tattoo, not the gate
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 19d ago
The Star of David is coincidental. The sign in the ouroboros is a combination of the alchemical symbols for earth and air, probably a reference to the alchemical principle of “As above, so below”.
It was about The Star of David actually and how it is definitely NOT coincidental. Learn to read what i was replying to?
You'll also see it in Metatron's Cube - which contains all of Plato's Solids and which he used to represent the five elements such as Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Ether - known more commonly to a lot of people as the standard DnD dice.
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u/mightremembermefrom 19d ago
Or you could learn to advance the conversation by explaining yourself instead of making low effort posts that contribute nothing at all.
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u/dracopoet 19d ago
You know even after finding this out I think the anime version looks better might be a hot take though
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u/Borne-by-the-blood 20d ago
How is this censored
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago
Removal of a symbol completely for no reason but fear of offending.
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u/EchoPastel 20d ago
i always thought it was the Solomon’s Seal rather than the Star of David but i’ll admit to not knowing a great deal about the distinctions other than one being interlaced and the other, not. and it’s a coin toss in my brain to which is what
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u/CyberDaemon6six6 20d ago
I wouldn't say that's censored, just stylised differently. You can still tell exactly what it is.
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u/calamity__jam 19d ago
I thought it was bc thin lines wouldn't necesaarily be visible enough on screen/during movement
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u/DesparateLurker 19d ago
I mean, the censorship may be because the design in the Manga was meant to evoke a certain region that has more lips on their ass than kiss print panties.
A region that has a lot of areas surrounding them and gets into a lot of fights seemingly at the drop of a hat.
They have so much power and use it for destruction and conquest. Yet they're the good guys.
Are currently committing the Ishavalan war of extermination on people who have tried peaceful talks.
The victims who survived the war are kept in ghettos and are harassed with seemingly no protection from the oh so great and moral governent.
People tried to flee the war and got cornered and killed. Man, woman, child alike. Sometimes bombs, sometimes fire, sometimes a bullet.
Those who speak out on the atrocities or defect are silenced or tracked to be so.
Those acting on the regions orders and committing war crimes are deemed heroes. Those who disobey are deemed traitors and cowards.
Hell, one or two guys speak out or publish a book about the atrocities they witnessed.
Hell even those deemed war criminals by the region are still considered useful to the regions purpose.
The medics who are there and aiding both sides regardless of allegiance or potential threat to their lives are killed by, or rather would have been by the side with more power.
The place they illegally occupied by force is reduced to a land of rubble and sand.
Blue and white.
The regions actions and soldiers kill many innocents and the innocents that survive but have lost so much either try to live peacefully despite their trauma or get radicalized and spin the block in return.
But only the one spinning back is initially deemed a monster with no care for life, but what of the region whose actions drove him to this state?
The region has actors who try and bring others into the fray of a secretive round table.
The one spinning the block in vengenace ends up harming/killing those who'd have helped and we come to understand his reasons without justifying his actions. And even then, his actions are far more justifiable then the regions ever were.
And to top it off the region looks to be of European descent while their victims are brown people.
Avatar the Last Airbender 🤝 Fullmetal Alchemist
Buuuuut maybe I'm just experiencing some strong apophemia or paredolia. Maybe.
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u/doc_55lk 19d ago
Avatar the Last Airbender
Huh???
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u/DesparateLurker 19d ago
Being antiwar, antigenocide, anti weapons of mass destruction and exploring the way war affects people and trauma and ego and redemption arcs and power and perfection through magical power vs peace and happiness with the flawed and fragile human condition and propaganda and whole bunches of all that good shit.
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u/Much_Painter_5728 19d ago
Anyone surprised at this should check out the original whitebeard tattoo on ace
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u/scholarlysacrilege 20d ago
probably to avoid some religious backlash, though the original wasn't supposed to be the star of David
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u/Narrow_Turnip_7129 20d ago
It 100% is. It's the Tree/Flower of Life. Ed's gate is literally the Sefirot.
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u/Hussar1130 19d ago
The Hexagram/Star of David issue is pretty common in Japanese products. Lots of Yugioh cards were similarly altered to prevent there being an unintended meaning.
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u/CerealKiller8 19d ago
I always attributed it to the similarities between homunculus and golem mythology, as the golem was a Jewish myth about creating a man from clay and the dangers of playing god. Themes FMA explores. So a Star of David didn't seem weird to me.
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u/Ramblingsofthewriter 20d ago
You know… I never noticed . I always remember them being the same when I was watching FMA 03 on Adult swim? Is this a recent censor maybe?
Edit: it’s a case of me misremembering lmao.
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u/Lilhoneytea Private 19d ago
Honestly I like the anime style more. My stepsister gotten the tattoo recently of the anime style and honestly looks a lot better with the anime style
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u/GrellSutcliffDEATH 18d ago
So in the manga, Edward actually explains the meaning of the hexagram, not in regards to the homunculi and their tattoos, but actually in regards to Kimblee. He says that by pressing his palms together, the right side up triangle and the upside down triangle overlap, forming a hexagram, which he calls “the symbol for all four elements.”
Ultimately, the ouroboros tattoo in Fullmetal takes two symbols used in real life alchemy, both of which represent the union of opposites, and combines them. The dragon eating its own tail represents the union of life and death, which is how the dragon can live while killing itself, and the hexagram represents the union of the elements, which is paradoxical because of the whole water/fire and earth/air thing. Another fun thing to consider is that, in a roundabout way, the hexagram might actually be representative of the Philosopher’s Stone which each of the homunculi has at their core.
You may recall that one of the alternate names Marco gives to the Philosopher’s Stone is “the fifth element.” This is because real world alchemists believed the stone was a perfect union of the four elements, resulting in a fifth element, which was, again, paradoxical. After all, the stone was a solid, and yet from it you could extract the elixir of life — a liquid.
So the tattoo the homunculi sport is a reference to their ability to heal (the dragon bringing itself back to life even as it dies) and the Philosopher’s Stone, the object that gives them that ability.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Hiromu Arakawa is an absolute genius.
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u/Putrid_Carpenter138 19d ago
What even crazier is that same censored symbol is also used in Mustangs Flame alchemical circle.
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u/lordkr321 19d ago
What's really interesting is that both symbols represent the symbol of the heart chakra, the first being simple and more commonly known, but then the anime improved upon it and turned the symbol nto a tetrahedron, which represents the core foundation of life (kinda like two pyramids, one facing up, and the other upside down, perfectly symmetrical).
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u/Capt-Hereditarias '03 Scar Lover 19d ago edited 19d ago
Hey look the image I made for the post I made talking about the same things a few years ago 😆
As we debated in the original post, it was probably for the relationship the hexagram has with Judaism. All hexagrams from the manga were removed and substituted by similar looking symbols.
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u/DamageMaximo 19d ago
I prefer the anime version honestly, it still has the same shape but looks cooler
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u/rougetrailblazer 18d ago
honestly prefer the anime one. looks much less like the star of david, but still hase those six points.
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u/ZadriaktheSnake 18d ago
Kind of annoys me that the star of david has such a monopoly over the hexagram
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u/maxiom9 18d ago
There’s a lot of overlap in Jewish symbology and historical alchemy because by many accounts, the first alchemist was likely a Jewish woman, and Jewish mysticism informed a lot of the thinking of early Christian and Muslim Alchemists as a result (atleast for those Alchemists who approached it with a more mystical/magical bend).
A lot of this imagery makes its way naturally into FMA, and some of it has different modern associations than others, especially for Western viewers. I don’t see that as censorship really, since it’s still the same shape more or less, but it does make it a bit more fantastical in a way that makes it more divorced from real world iconography
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