How come Alphonse can do alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood?

Question

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, how come Alphonse can sometimes perform alchemy, and at other times it seems he can't? Also, early on the show, wasn't it said that he lost his ability when he lost his body? And if he can do alchemy, why isn't he a state alchemist too?

When can't he perform alchemy? Can you give some examples? – Cattua May 05 '13 at 22:43 — Cattua, May 05 '13 at 22:43

score 21 · Answer 1 · answered May 05 '13 at 23:18

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Alphonse can always do alchemy, throughout the whole show. The only times he cannot perform alchemy are the same times that Edward cannot;

When Homunculus uses his ability to seal off alchemy temporarily.

Now, in the beginning of the show, he does not perform alchemy often because he needs to draw transmutation circles to be able to. Drawing transmutation circles takes time, and is not often practical in fights or other scenarios that need quickness, especially if he does not know the proper circle (they can perform more basic transmutation simply, and both Al and Ed are geniuses, but they are still shown studying often). He is however, shown transmuting items throughout the show, both before and after

gaining the ability to transmute without a circle, like Ed does.

In fact, Alphonse has a particular ability (at least in the Anime) that no other alchemist is shown to have. He can transmute without physically touching the transmutation circle.

Transmutation without touching the circle

answered May 05 '13 at 23:18

LoveAndCoding

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Isn't it because Alphonse forgot the time that he was dragged into the door, so he wasn't able to use alchemy without transmutation circle? – nhahtdh May 06 '13 at 18:37
Yes, he wasn't able to use transmutation without creating a circle because he didn't remember seeing Truth. When blood is spilled onto his seal, it allows him to remember truth, and from that point on, he can transmute without drawing a circle. – LoveAndCoding May 07 '13 at 22:44
@Ktash, I know your comment more than a year ago, but can I draw your attention to my question, regarding the blood on Al's seal? http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/11524/how-did-alphonse-recover-his-pre-gate-memories?noredirect=1#comment14241_11524 – Eric Wu Jul 03 '14 at 03:53

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered May 06 '13 at 00:04

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The first part of the question has been answered so I will concentrate on the State Alchemist portion. Alphonse wanted to be a State Alchemist along with his brother but Ed talked him out of it. The main reason was that being a State Alchemist is equivalent to joining the army. It means you have a commanding officer, you follow orders, and you go fight when and where you are told. As Ed told Al, "only one of us has to carry that burden".

Plus there is the issue of a health screening, and seeing as how Al is just a hollow suit of armor, their secret would be immediately blown.

answered May 06 '13 at 00:04

schwert

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These events are from the first anime, and do not actually occur in the manga, nor the second series. The reason Alphonse didn't become a State Alchemist is never revealed. Colonel Mustang comes to convince Ed to join up, and then Ed goes and does it. Al isn't ever mentioned in relation to becoming a State Alchemist. So, this is probably non-canon. – LoveAndCoding May 07 '13 at 22:47
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I just looked back in the manga. In the third chapter when they are at the Youswell coal mine, Al asks Ed if he should become a state alchemist, and Ed gives the reply that I mentioned above. So the events do in fact occur in the manga. – schwert May 09 '13 at 02:20
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Interesting. I stand corrected then :) – LoveAndCoding May 09 '13 at 02:23

score 4 · Answer 3 · edited May 05 '13 at 22:53

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For Alphonse who is not a State Alchemist, since he did not actually apply to be an State Alchemist. It's a kind of job where you have to get certified, by apply and pass some tests.

edited May 05 '13 at 22:53

кяαzєя

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answered May 05 '13 at 22:51

Smar

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score -1 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 10 '18 at 18:00

I have two theories

He either is a state alchemist and it is never spelled out or
He didn't want to follow orders and become a "dog", and since Ed joined he really didn't have to so he just didn't. I have not seen the entire series yet, so please tell me if there are problems with my ideas.

score -2 · Answer 5 · answered Nov 24 '19 at 12:27

I do believe that Alphonses special transmutation(which only happens the once in Liore) has to do with him seeing the Truth jist not knowing about it, it also more likely that the creator had not finalized the transmutation process before she started the series and quickly quickly fixes it.

How come Alphonse can do alchemy in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood?

5 Answers5