Alchemist Names in Fullmetal Alchemist: English vs. Japanese
In the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, all the State Alchemists have titles bestowed on them. Here's a comparison of some of the names along with their Japanese translations.
The word for alchemist in Japanese is 錬金術師 (renkinjutsushi).
錬 (ren) - tempering, refine, polish
術 (jutsu) - art, technique, skill
師 (shi) - expert, teacher, master
Sidenote: You might already know the word 先生(sensei) for "teacher", but 師 kind of goes a step above that. 先生 is more for your schoolteacher, professor, or someone older than you, but 師匠(shishou) is a master that trains apprentices/disciples in a skill. Roy always addresses Berthold Hawkeye as 師匠.
The Strong Arm Alchemist (豪腕の錬金術師)
Armstrong's title, 豪腕の錬金術師(gouwan no renkinjutsushi) is a pun that doesn't really carry over into English. 豪腕(gouwan) literally means "powerful arms", but it's also a term for a capable person, or someone with the ability to carry out a difficult job. So his name means both the "Strong Arm Alchemist" and the "Super OP Alchemist" at the same time.
The Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師)
鋼 is the word for steel, so Edward's title, 鋼の錬金術師(hagane no renkinjutsushi) translates to "Alchemist of Steel". The change from "Steel" to "Fullmetal" is probably a reference to Stanley Kubrick's film Full Metal Jacket, which itself refers to full-metal jacketed bullets, sometimes called steel-jacketed bullets due to the steel-alloy exterior that encases them.
鋼の人(hagane no jin) can also refer to a determined or strong-minded person.
The Flame Alchemist (炎の錬金術師)
This one confused me at first because I thought it'd be 火の錬金術師(hi no renkinjutsushi), which simply means "flame alchemist". Nope, it's 炎(honoo). One fire kanji wasn't enough for this dude, he had to go and stack two of them on top of each other.
炎 takes the fire a step further and can mean "flames" or "blaze", but can also refer to metaphorical flames (of intense emotion, e.g. love, jealousy, anger). Foreshadowing much?
The Crimson Alchemist (紅蓮の錬金術師)
Kimblee's name, 紅蓮の錬金術師(guren no renkinjutsushi) doesn't just mean "crimson", it literally translates as "crimson lotus". While 紅蓮(guren) does refer to the red lotus, it's not really used outside of artistic connotations in Japanese literature. It's usually a metaphor for the color of flames, or to refer to a burning fire.
So why would Kimblee get the Burning Fire name, and not, you know...the guy that actually shoots fire?
I'm not sure if it's official, but the popular interpretation is that 紅蓮 is short for 紅蓮地獄(gurenjigoku), or "Crimson Lotus Hell", which is the seventh of the Buddhist Eight Cold Hells. It is said that this hell is so cold that a person's skin breaks open, making their body look like the petals of a crimson lotus. Kimblee's alchemy explodes people in a similar fashion, which is probably why he was given that name.
It might also be that they just tested him first, and then had to scramble for a cover story.
"Congratulations, you've passed the exam! We'll call you the Crimson Lotus Alchemist because the explosion looks like the color of a burning flame. You're dismissed. Send in the next candidate!"
"Look, I made some fire!"
Thank you for reading, and please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or corrections!
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