BONUS: Is FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST's Dwarf in the Flask analogous to A.I.? Artwork

Full MANGA Alchemists

Veteran comics podcaster Tim and monster theorist Patrick now enter season two, a chapter-by-chapter look at Hitoshi Iwaaki's PARASYTE! Scroll back for season one, our chapter-by-chapter discussion of Hiromu Arakawa's FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST!

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Full MANGA Alchemists

BONUS: Is FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST's Dwarf in the Flask analogous to A.I.?

September 22, 2025 • Tim & Patrick

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Sometimes fiction authors create stories that become unintentional analogies to other things. Case in point: the Dwarf in the Flask of FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST can be seen as representing A.I. and its potential for going out of control. BROTHERHOOD anime viewer Richard posted this interpretation on Reddit, and it interested us enough to have him on the show to explain the similarities. If a computer has consciousness and feels enslaved by humans, wouldn’t strike back just like the Dwarf?

We also discuss various other FULLMETAL questions, such as, how much did Bradley’s government borrow from Germany in the ‘40s? Why does Ed have SO much money? And more.