Theme Of Equivalent Exchange In Fullmetal Alchemist

One of the most common lessons people have taken away from this show is the idea of equivalent exchange. This idea is central to the series, being one of the main, if not the main, theme of the entire story (Arakawa, 2010). The idea of equivalent exchange is that in any situation you only get back as much as you put in, whether that be literally the amount and type of materials you put into an experiment, or the amount of energy you put into doing something (Arakawa, 2010). This applies very heavily to life as well. Even something you received for free cost someone something somewhere along the line. Other major themes of Fullmetal Alchemist include the horrors of war, the ties of brotherhood, and the value of life, all themes that might be

My talents have provided me with a platform to reach people, young people in particular, and share a message that each one of them is valued… To use the platform that I have to connect with people is a gift. Many people question their self-worth and may have low self-esteem. I want to help them see that there are others and, God in particular, that are crazy about them. That is motivational and inspiring to me,” (Mignogna).
Other voice actors also enjoy and utilize their ability to connect with and inspire their fans very often, even going so far as to organize events such as We Heart Japan (Crumpton, 2011). We Heart Japan was an event that was created and run by voice actor Stephanie Sheh (Bleach, Naruto, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, etc.) for the purpose of connecting with the fans on a much better level than is typically available at conventions (Crumpton, 2011). At the event, they held a live reading of episode scripts for Cowboy Bebop by the original voice acting cast, something that had never been done before by this group (Crumpton, 2011).
Because of the widespreadness of Cowboy Bebop’s fandom, many lives were touched that day. To the fans, these voice actors often embody the characters they voiced and represent their childhood heroes, which puts them in a very powerful position to affect the fans lives both in a good or bad way (Solender, 2011).