Something I noticed about FMA

O

Opposing

New member
This has probably been pointed out.

Anyway, I'm teaching myself Japanese and recently discovered that the word for 'to exist' is 'aru', which is, of course, Al's Japanese name. Given the fact that he doesn't know if he really existed or not.....

Does anyone know if this was intentional?
 
If it is, it's a bigger stretch than usual. Aru (or arimasu) is used to refer to the existence of an inanimate object. Talking about the existence of a living thing (like Alphonse), you'd use imasu instead.
 
From ANN:

"The name of Alphonse Elric in Japanese is a play of language regarding the nature of the character. In Japanese, his nickname is adapted into the katakana "Aru" to mimic the pronunciation of "Al," but the hiragana "aru" (pronounced exactly the same) is a verb meaning "to exist." The Japanese, however, have two verbs for "to exist;" one for animate objects (iru) and one for inanimate objects (aru). Since a major theme of the anime is whether or not Alphonse still exists as a person with his soul affixed to the normally-inanimate suit of armor, the choice of naming him takes on a deeper meaning with this background. This wordplay could in fact be only a coincidence and not an intentional decision, but it serves as an interesting look into the nature of the language nonetheless given the theme of Al's struggle to define what he has become."
 
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