âWhat? Like, a disabled protagonist? How would that even work? How could someone with a disability be the hero in an action show?â local anime trash boy wonders while sitting next to his box sets of Full Metal Alchemist, showing no hint of irony or self awareness.Â
but is Ed really disabled? sure I get he lost his arm and leg
but heâs still able to move and do things perfectly
He has prosthetics. Having prosthetic limbs (that more than once break amd need repair) doesnt make him not disabled
It should also be noted that Ed:
-had to undergo very painful surgery to get automail
-had to relearn how to write because of his prosthesis (thereâs a post going around showing he had to switch hands etc) and his handwriting is likely a lot worse due to that. This means automail isnât super good for delicate work, unsurprising, considering what itâs made of.Â
-experiences phantom limb pain and therefore other associated stuff (this was only really shown in the manga)
-cannot go anywhere too cold without changing his automail or heâll get really bad frost bite and it will stop working
-cannot go anywhere too hot, period, because the metal attached and under his skin will overheat and he will be badly burned
-Reattachment is painful, but needs to be done frequently if he breaks or outgrows his automail
- itâs HEAVY so much so that the strain has the potential to cause stress on his body, enough that itâs even theorized as possibly stunting his growth.
-it requires regular maintenance or it will break down, as shown when he forgets to do that and itâŠbreaks down
-when it does need to be repaired, it takes time to do that, during which Ed uses regular prosthetics (that usually donât quite fit him).
-costs a lot of money (not a problem for Ed due to high state alchemist salary/having mechanics as surrogate family, but explicitly noted to being the reason why most people in the fmaverse stick to regular prosthetics along with the painful surgery)
So Ed canât actually do everything perfectly and experiences a lot of extra hassle, problems and pain people without automail donât have to deal with! And any advantages he does have are more suited to fighting than day to day life (being able to incorporate weapons/fake out people who want to blow up his arm).Â
Arakawa did her research and thought it through. Automail is by no means a magic cure that solves all problems associated with losing a limb.
Iâm kinda sad these two might not count.
Why wouldnât they? Hiccup is missing a leg
But he doesnât struggle.
Disability isnât defined byâ struggleâ or suffering. Having a useful prosthetic doesnât make them not disabled. Get the fuck out of here with that.Â
