Watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for the first time (such a slowpoke, I know). Besides the “what the actual fuck” that every episode brings, my main takeaway is this:
No anime has summed up the experience of grad school like FMA:B.
Hear me out: the Elric’s spend a lot of time researching. Multiple scenes show them surrounded by books. They obviously put in hours of actual research.
I mean what grad student hasn’t fallen asleep over a pile books before.
However, their field research is thwarted by administrative bullshit including corrupt doctors who want the Elrics to do their research for them and put it to terrible use, others who are only in it for the profit or their own gain, and some people are just assholes who want to make everyone they deem underneath them miserable. The goalposts for success change constantly. Every new revelation makes you wonder if you’re studying the right thing or if you’d be better changing your focus.
There’s a good chance your direct superior is a best a eugenist and at worst a Nazi. All the other old men in positions of power love him.
Your friends all also tired and stressed out. You constantly have to wonder if success is worth it. Are you in danger of becoming what you hate? At point in success are you sacrificing who you are? And how are you ever going to pay off what you owe (you aren’t, might as well keep throwing yourself further in)?
Just saying. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an accurate representation of graduate school.
