- October 3 is known as "Mean Girls" day, after a memorable line in the film.
- But the date is also crucial in the manga and anime series "Fullmetal Alchemist."
For decades, October 3 has been "Mean Girls" day, based solely on a single, throwaway line from the 2004 comedy in which Lindsay Lohan's character Cady Heron responds to her crush Aaron Samuels asking her for that day's date. Somehow, the date has stuck around for years in the pop culture consciousness — this October 3, it hit number one on Google's realtime search trends, and received a spate of articles and media coverage reminding folks of the honorary holiday.
As the kind of conniving blogger who will take any excuse to write about their favorite shows, I want to challenge you with a different October 3 association — Hiromu Arakawa's seminal manga series "Fullmetal Alchemist," which was adapted into two separate anime series in the 2000s.
"Fullmetal Alchemist," in all of its iterations, follows brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, extraordinarily gifted alchemists on a quest to reclaim their bodies after an accident. "Accident" is a bit of a misnomer, though: The Elric brothers, at a young age, committed an alchemical taboo when they attempted to bring their dead mother back to life. In turn, they paid a physical price: Edward lost his arm and leg, and Alphonse lost his entire human body, leaving his soul bound to a suit of armor.
The October 3 of it all comes from the date of that event, which Edward memorializes in a caption on his pocket watch: "Don't forget 3.Oct.11." It's the singular event that kicks off the Elrics' story, and Edward's engraving is a reminder both of the brothers' failings, and their future.
'Fullmetal Alchemist' is a classic — and one you need to make time for
"Fullmetal Alchemist" began as a manga series written by Hiromu Arakawa, which was serialized over the course of the 2000s. It was first adapted into an anime series by the studio Bones. That first series, which fittingly premiered on October 3, 2003, diverged from Arakawa's original storyline by virtue of the fact that the manga simply wasn't done yet. The second anime adaptation, also from Bones, premiered in 2009 under the title "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood," and more closely follows the manga, which ended in 2010.
In all of its iterations, "Fullmetal Alchemist" is a story about family, grief, and mortality. It's also about fascism, state violence, and the implications of a military state contracting alchemists who can serve as human weapons. So, maybe slightly different from "Mean Girls."
"Fullmetal Alchemist" isn't all doom and gloom, though — the series is still plenty silly, with extended gags like Edward's obsession with his short height, or his mentor Colonel Roy Mustang's womanizing tendencies that are actually a front for his more subtle military machinations. Its wild, kinetic action sequences aren't to be missed, either.
But amid the broader machinations of "FMA's" plot, it's a painstakingly human story. Through the lens of its teenage protagonists — and plenty of precocious young adults, and even a few immortals to boot — the series is about moving on after loss, making sacrifices for the sake of others, and consolidating (or relinquishing) power to protect the people you love.
Newcomers can rest assured that there isn't really a bad place to start with the series, whether they prefer to read Arakawa's manga series or jump in with one of the anime series. While "Brotherhood" (currently available on Hulu and Crunchyroll) is generally considered to be the superior adaptation in popular discourse, the 2003 series isn't without its merits either (though it's much harder to stream).
October 3 will never not be "Mean Girls" day — and ultimately, it's a great excuse to add this classic anime series to your watch list.