A story can only manage to be as strong as the characters that drive the narrative forward, and thankfully for Fullmetal Alchemist, its characters are some of the strongest and most colorful in the entire genre. Naturally, characters that fans spend the entire series following such as Edward and Winry are wonderfully developed and realized, but what's truly refreshing is that this is a liberty that extends out into even the side cast.
One such character is Mei Chang, a young girl from Xing who's just as adorable as she is important and powerful. Not only does she add her own unique combat style and enjoyable personality to the series, but she also cracks one of the most important codes in the entire series that the heroes were completely stumped on.
10 Despite Being Burdened At Such A Young Age, She's Still A Dreamer
Mei may look like an innocent child, but she's actually been tasked with an incredibly important duty to the people of her homeland. Her sole job is to find a way to raise her poor Clan out of poverty, and her search for the secret of immortality puts her on the path of the Elric brothers.
Even though she's burdened with so much, she still manages to retain the typical idealistic, rose-tinted vision of a child. After hearing rumors about the Fullmetal Alchemist, she pictures him as a strong and beautiful prince and even daydreams about how handsome Alphonse might be without his armor.
9 She Is The Only Character In The Series Shown Using Alkahestry
Although Alkahestry isn't the ultimate form of salvation that Ed and Al were hoping for when they first heard about it, its medicinal uses are nothing to laugh at. Alkahestry has more medicinal roots than that of traditional alchemy, making it better for healing.
Mei is actually the only character in the entire series who is ever shown using Alkahestry, making her truly one of a kind. She does try to inform Al of some of its workings, such as the Dragon's Pulse, but it all seemed to go over his head.
8 She & Alphonse Did Get Together After The Series Ended
Although they aren't given as explicit of a confession scene as the likes of Ed and Winry, the pairing of Al and Mei is an incredibly sweet one that also turned out to be canon in the end. As Ed and Al finally walk home together after the final battle, with their bodies restored, Ed notes that Al had become just as fond of Mei as she'd been of him all this time.
Two years following this, Al decides to go to Xing to learn Alkahestry from Mei so he can be better-versed in the healing arts. It's implied the two make their relationship official during this time, as afterward, the two of them return to Amestris together.
7 She Can Sense The Difference In Presence Between Humans & Homunculi
She's only seen using it a small number of times, but Mei possesses an incredible ability to sense the presence of powerful non-human entities, such as Father and the homunculi. Whenever she and Scar first descend to Father's lair, she remarks that she can feel an unnatural evil that was crushing her.
It's possible that the reason why she's able to sense such things is because of the nature of Alkahestry itself. Since it uses the flow of life from within the Earth itself and they're very closely connected to the physical world, it makes sense that she'd feel creeped out by beings who weren't naturally from the Earth- such as ones created by a Philosopher's Stone.
6 Her Imagination Functions As Both A Blessing & A Curse
It's not surprising that Mei's imagination is still incredibly hyperactive, as she is still a child despite all of the responsibilities on her shoulders. On one hand, her imagination can help her think of strategies that most others wouldn't be able to come up with, making her a valuable asset in battle.
However, this trait of hers isn't a simple net positive. She can daydream during bad times and lose focus in important moments, and she can even ignore the truth in order to instead believe her own delusions, such as when she believed that both Elrics were in love with her and that's why they came looking for her.
5 She's A Scarily Precise Knife Thrower, Though She Doesn't Use This Offensively
Mei is shown to be able to throw knives with a scary amount of precision, though she typically only makes use of this in order to create Alkahestry circles from a further distance.
There's no doubt that if she ever needed to, this would be an invaluable and deadly skill that she could pull out in combat. Of course, it's always good that such a younger character didn't have to get so violent, but it's interesting to think that her sniping skills could rival even Riza.
4 Her Intelligence Is On The Same Level As Edward & Alphonse
It can be easy to forget that Mei is actually just as intelligent as the likes of the Elric brothers. Despite how young she is, she has complete mastery over Alkahestry and can use it accurately in even high-stress situations.
Not only does she understand alkahestry, but she also has a complex understanding of the human body medically and is able to use her power to heal most types of injuries. She was also the only one able to decode Scar's brother's notes, and one of the people with her at the time was Marcoh, a certified genius.
3 She's The First Person Shown To Not Be Afraid Of Scar
It makes sense that the first person who wouldn't be shown to be horrified of Scar would be someone young enough to still retain their childlike sense of innocence. She stumbles across Scar while traveling through Amestris and seems to take an instant liking to him despite his gruff exterior.
She also recognizes certain markings on his arm, given the fact that the markings Scar's brother developed were a mix of both alchemy and Alkahestry. She never seems worried that he might hurt her, and even uses her powers to protect him from being apprehended despite not knowing him for long.
2 Her English Voice Actress Played Another Role In The Original 2003 Anime
It's no secret that Mei's English voice actress, Monica Rial, is incredibly talented. She's been in the industry since 1999 and voiced hundreds of roles, so it's not surprising that her vocal range is impressive and she can pull off a wide variety of characters.
Not only did she voice Mei in the 2009 anime, but she was also the voice of Lyra in the 2003 series. It's interesting to see given just how drastically different the two characters are, and she pulls both roles off fantastically.
1 The Meaning Behind Her Name
It's incredibly uncommon for characters within fiction to be given a name without any meaning whatsoever, and Mei is no different. She actually has a few different meanings attached to her name depending on which part one looks at.
Mei means "beautiful" in Chinese, which is a given as she's a princess, but Chang doesn't have much meaning beyond being a typical Chinese surname. Finally, Mei Mei means "little sister", which could be a reference to the fact that she's related to Ling.
0 Comments