You already know what this is. [deep breath] ROYAI ROYAI ROYAI I LOVE THEM I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I NEED MORE OF THEM PLEASE GIVE ME ANYTHING YOU HAVE ON ROYAI I NEEEEED MOOOOOOOORE [flails and sobs simultaneously] [clears throat] I mean, uh...I really enjoyed the relationship between Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye when I was watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. It's such a mature, subtle, well-developed relationship. I'd love to hear (see?) your thoughts on it.
Few fictional romances appeal to me in media. And then there’s Royai. I cannot get enough of it. This is a powerfully distinctive and well-written story of love andloyalty of which you never see the like in fiction.
Royai is writtenuniquely, in many ways contrary to a typical contemporary love arc. There’s noslow boil awkward stage growth over time or sudden passionate sexual intimacyafter a few days knowing each other. Neveronce do they say “I love you” or kiss. Theyaren’t an end game romantic pair and in fact they never even enter an official romanticstage! And yet they are far, far, far more real and tangible a pairthan almost anything you EVER see in fiction.
It’s incredible.
This is on accounts of several things. To pick out just a few, we have:
Unspoken understanding. We understand Royai notthrough blatant passionate actions or confessions, but through what is unspoken. There is a lot implied. However, that’s the very point why they’re powerful together. Roy and Riza understand each other so deeply that they don’tneed to speak up; they coordinate so well mentally that they alreadyknow.
Though much is unspoken, it doesn’t mean it’sunwritten. Rather, we viewers can see this coordination of loyalty and mutualunderstanding. It’s everywhere, in every gesture, every action, every reaction.Why does Riza lose the will to live and launch into an usually uncharacteristic explosionof emotion when Lust says she killed Roy? Because it’s what Roy means to Riza.Why does Mustang panic and rush to the scene to save Hawkeye when Gluttonyattacks? Because it’s what Riza means to Roy. Over and over and over again, wesee constant affirmation that these two understand and care for one another andwill always stick around – be it in simple daily interactions wherethey understand each other’s facial expressions… or in the most dramatic momentswhen their emotions cave in and their hearts get worn on their sleeves.
They are written as a fully equal pair. Theybalance one another through the highs and lows of their experiences. There’s no damsel in distress, love triangle, or unrequited loveangst. Instead, Royai is powerful because they are an equal – utterly equal –duo.
I’ve seen many amazing analyses discussing the firsttwo points, and indeed I could write my own theses about what’s so great aboutRoyai here. But I want to talk about the third point because I never see it analyzed. But it’s undeniable. Arakawa wrote Royai as a very intentionallyequal pair. Not only are they meant to match each other in capabilities, buteven structurally the story revolves around Royai being presentedas equals.
That’s what I want to talk about here. This analysis is less about the ticks of how the relationship works, and more about how Arakawauses one specific writing device to make Royai shine. The reason Royai is sowell-written is in part because of an amazing scaffolding devicethat hits all of Royai’s key moments.
Here’s how it works:
For everything major Mustang undergoes, Hawkeyeundergoes later. Everything major Hawkeye undergoes, Mustang experiences anequivalent. Whatever circumstance happens between Roy and Riza, their roleswill be reversed shortly later – in fact usually in back-to-back sequences. Key Royaimoments are not single instances… they are written in reciprocal pairs. Royai is written through a constant process of structural reciprocation!
These situation reversals give us an incredible result. It’s not just that it gives us more amazing Royai moments to experience. But this also means Royai is written as fully equal partners whose point of views are equally expanded upon, explored, and understood. This means that we audiences see actions of dedication from Riza and actions of dedication from Roy both. This means that we understand both their emotional vulnerabilities when the other is in danger. This means that we understand how both work to help the other in times of weakness. This means that we see how both act through their strength to provide for the other. And on and on and on. And by doing these in back-to-back reciprocating instances, it builds even better that sense of reciprocal love. It’s the perfect way to manifest their powerful relationship. You can’t make it more tangible than this.
Admittedly my analysis tackles more about the amazing structure behind how Royai is written rather than how Royai is amazing. Still, I hope you can see that, by understanding structure, we can also understand how Royai is just so damn beautifully written into glorious, effective romance.
So let’s take a look at key scenes.
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