Minor characters of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga
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The following characters all play minor supporting roles in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series. For the most part, these characters only make one or two appearances in the manga. Due to irregularities in translations some names might have multiple spellings. For anime-only minor characters, please see Minor characters of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime; for minor characters common to both the anime and manga, please see Minor characters of Fullmetal Alchemist.
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[edit] Mei Chan
Mei Chan (May Chang in one volume of the English manga) is a wandering alchemist from the far-Eastern country of Xing. Accompanied by a tiny panda named Xiao Mei, she is searching for the secret of immortality so that her clan in Xing, the lowest caste, will not die out. Mei had a crush on Edward, whom she pictures as a tall, handsome man. When she does meet him, she does not recognize him and calls him "grain of rice man", in which Ed replies, "WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE GRAIN OF RICE GIRL!?".
Mei appears to be no older than 10, (although it is entirely possible that she is small for her age) but she is already an accomplished alchemist. Her special form of alchemy involves using throwing knives to form two alchemy circles (called "purification circles" in Xing); one is created near herself and the other near the intended target. Then, Mei performs alchemy on the circle nearest to her, and the result appears within the second circle.
Mei is first spotted in Youswell, saving the miners there after a mine collapse. It is there that the people tell her about Edward Elric, and she decides to set off to Central to see him. Lieutenant Yoki then finds her collapsed on the streets of Central; he claims that Scar is his servant (though the reverse is true). This leads to Mei Chan being unafraid of Scar, and they seem to be slowly forming a bond; Mei saves Scar from the Elrics when Hawkeye shoots him in the leg. The plight of the Chan clan in Xing seems to remind Scar of the similar plight of the Ishvalans and he permits her to accompany him. She proves to be a valuable fighter when Scar, the Elrics, and Ling Yao are trapped in the Homunculi's lair as her alchemy is able to function while the Elrics' alchemy fails them.
After the encounter, Alphonse takes her to Dr. Knox. Mei Chan recovers, but then attacks Lan Fan, also recovering at Dr. Knox's house, on sight, and it is revealed that Mei is the 17th princess of Xing, making her Lin Yao's younger half-sister. After a brief staredown where they both seem to be ready to fight for their respective clans, Knox forcibly "calms" them down - by slamming bowls onto their heads. Mei hears the story of the Ishvalan Rebellion from Knox and decides to leave his care. Before she leaves, she has a brief conversation with Alphonse. After he describes his real appearance, Mei develops a crush on him, and wishes for him to find his body soon. She rejoins Scar and Yoki.
After she disappears, Edward and Alphonse go to look for her in order to ask why her alchemy worked in Father's lair and decide to head north to Briggs Fortress. In chapter 63, she bumps into General Grumman, who is disguised as an old lady, just before boarding the train to the North. In the following chapter, she and Dr. Marcoh arrive near the Drachma border at the Briggs Mountain range, while Scar and Yoki have diverted the attention of the military police, and recover the notes of Scar's older brother, which contain the secret to combining Amestrian alchemy and Xingian Rentanjutsu.
Thanks to the Elric brothers, Mei Chan is under surveillance of Briggs' mountain guards. After knocking out several guards, Scar informs Mei Chan and Marcoh that their hideout is no longer safe, and that they needed to find another place. In chapter 71, Ed's party (Edward, Alphonse, Winry) meet her again by chance, after escaping from Kimbley's and Briggs' manhunt party.
In chapter 79, she assists Dr. Marcoh in taking out Envy, and is sent back to Xing by Scar, seeing as she has the captured Envy and thus a clue towards immortality, her original goal. Despite her reluctance to leave, Scar convinces her, and she tearfully runs up to Alphonse, hugging him and saying "Alphonse-sama, I lo-" before he accidentally cuts her off. In chapter 80, she gets as far as the train station before deciding that she can't go back to Xing and abandon her friends, and thus rejoins the group.
An interesting bit of trivia is that Mei in Chinese means plum, and Xiao in this instance likely means small or little. This means that Xiao Mei is actually "Little Mei". She is pictured on the side of Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 12. Xiao Mei makes a cameo appearance (along with Yoki) on a poster in the FMA Chibi Party after the movie.
[edit] Lan Fan
Lan Fan (or Ran Fan) is one of two bodyguards of Ling Yao. She can sense the presence of a soul (referred to as chi); thus she can quickly identify Homunculi like Envy that have more than one soul in their Philosopher's Stones (meaning she can easily see through Envy's disguises, but cannot recognize that Fuhrer King Bradley/Wrath, because he has only one soul like a human). Although her age was never revealed, Ling constantly refers to her as a "girl" making it likely that Lan Fan is younger than Ling. Ling also refers to Lan Fan and Fu as if they are from the same family, and it is later revealed that Fu is her grandfather. She is a very skilled fighter, as seen in her many fights with Envy, and by the fact that she was able to cut through Bradley’s sword to avoid his finishing blow, despite the severe injury to her left arm. She is very quiet and cares deeply for Ling, even to the point of self-sacrifice. She is constantly thinking of his safety and often forgets her own.
In chapter 47, she cuts off her left arm after it is rendered useless in an effort to divert Wrath's attention away from Ling and herself while they escape into the sewer. To further mislead Wrath, she attaches her severed arm to a dog, apparently having been inspired by a trap Ed used to catch her in one of their earliest encounters. She eventually winds up in the care of Dr. Knox and lives at his house, where she is later joined by Alphonse and Mei Chang.
Lan Fan later demands that Al take her to get an automail arm as soon as possible. Alphonse initially tries to dissuade her, given her health is currently weak, but Lan Fan swears that she will heal and get an automail arm in six months, half the time that Edward took in recuperating and getting automail (an amazing feat as it was). After seeing how similar her disposition was to Ed's when he wanted automail and noting she would probably get along with Winry and Pinako, he reluctantly agrees to introduce her to a mechanic.
Since Ling’s body is being used by Greed, her future is very unclear. It has been revealed that Ling and Greed are still struggling over the same body. Ling/Greed gives Ed a rag to deliver to Lan Fan, which Al takes to her at Dr. Knox's place. On the rag was written "I have obtained the Philosopher's Stone" in the Xing script. Lan Fan is initially overjoyed that they've finally found the stone, but she soon realizes that Ling not being able to deliver the note himself means something is wrong.
Before the group splits up again, she speaks to Al about getting automail. Al initially offers Winry and then Pinako, but Fu refuses both offers, saying that continuing to have personal connections with the Elric brothers and their friends would put them all in even more danger. In chapter 63, she and her grandfather Fu decide to return to Xing, but not without vowing to return in the future to save Ling. Since Ling appeared in the most recent chapter, 81, it is probable that she and Fu will be returning to the story relatively soon. In addition, the author has mentioned that the story will be 100 chapters long.
[edit] Fu
Fu is one of the two bodyguards of Ling Yao, and he is Lan Fan's grandfather. He separates from Ling and Lan Fan to help smuggle Maria Ross into Xing and then returns after Ling Yao disappears. Fu is initially angry that Lan Fan failed to protect Ling Yao (who has become the new Greed), but he quickly realizes with help from Dr. Knox and the Elric brothers that Lan Fan did the best she could and was badly hurt in the process, which included sacrificing her entire left arm.
While Edward offers the services of first Winry and then Pinako Rockbell as a source for an automail arm for Lan Fan, Fu refuses; while they are touched by Ed's kindness and have no doubts about the abilities of Winry or Pinako, getting automail from them would only put both parties at risk. The Fuhrer is aware that Winry is a friend of Edward's, but also knows Lan Fan by face; by bringing the two together, it would only put Elrics and Winry in unnecessary danger since King Bradley would realize that the two groups were associated. Furthermore, both Fu and Lan Fan feel that they can not become indebted to the Elrics. Though saddened by the injuries sustained by his granddaughter and the disappearance of Ling Yao, he and Lan Fan decide to return to Xing while resolving to return some day and bring Ling Yao home.
[edit] Han
He is a Xingian man who seems to know a great deal about smuggling people into and out of the country. In Vol. 10, Han meets Major Armstrong, 2nd lieutenant Breda and Ed in Resembool, Breda introduces Han as the "departure coordinator." Han seems to know Foo quite well when he remarks that Foo told him all about Ed. From there he leads them to the East to the Cselcsess Ruins to meet the supposedly "dead" Maria Ross. he jokingly tells Maria before they depart that she won't be taking any shower, or going to the bathroom to conserve water. much to her chargin
[edit] Dr. Knox
A military doctor who does autopsies now, Knox knew Roy Mustang from the Ishval rebellion. Like Mustang, his experiences there have left him mentally scarred. Mustang calls on Knox to first help him falsely identify a burnt body as Maria Ross, then asks Knox to treat Lan Fan when she was bleeding to death after losing her arm. Reluctant to go along with Mustang at first, Knox realizes he has already lost everything he held dear and so has nothing left to lose, so it seems he has joined Mustang's gang of Military men. He is currently taking care of Lan Fan and Mei Chan.
In chapter 57 of the manga, Knox reveals to Al that his experience in Ishval led him to have night terrors that eventually led to his divorce and separation from his wife and son. In chapter 59, it is revealed that Knox met Tim Marcoh right after Marcoh had handed over the incomplete stones to the military. They discussed the Rockbells, who were still out in the field treating the wounded, when Knox told Marcoh that he was conducting human experiments on Ishvalans in the hospital. He then questioned Marcoh on why a doctor like himself who was suppose to be helping people was being ordered to murder people instead.
In chapter 63, to his great surprise, his wife and son unexpectedly show up at his front door. His son explains that they "had some business nearby", so they'd thought they would stop by for a visit. After some small talk, his son reveals that he intends to become a doctor just like him. Initially he is violently opposed, due to the awful things he did in Ishval under the title of a doctor. His son then replies that past sins are no reason to run, and that even though Knox can never been forgiven for the things he did, he should still uphold his duty and continue to save lives. When Knox asks why he's trying so hard, his son replies "because we're family". As he cries, Knox wonders if there's such thing as God, and if there is, asks to be forgiven, at least for a moment, so that someone 'like him' can enjoy something as simple as enjoying coffee with his family.
[edit] Garfiel
Garfiel is an automail mechanic. Winry becomes his apprentice after she realizes she wants to stay in Rush Valley instead of going back to Resembool. Due to his effiminate appearance, mannerisms, and choice of clothing, it is often assumed (or rather outright exclaimed) that he is gay.
[edit] The "Men in White Robes"
This enigmatic group was responsible for the cultivation and experimentation of various "Führer Candidates," who were raised from infancy to adulthood, and then injected with Philosopher's Stones. Out of the twelve individuals tested for compatibility, eleven died in horrifying ways, but the last one survived and became the manga's Wrath, King Bradley. "Father" also has a cameo mentioning to Bradley which candidate he is. Their first appearance and mention is in Chapter 53.
The individual identities of those affiliated with this group are completely unknown, although one man with a golden tooth appears to be in charge of the rest. This gold-toothed individual makes another appearance in chapter 67; General Raven brings him to Briggs to heal Kimbley's injuries almost instantly with the aid of the stones which are currently in Kimbley's possession.
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