Gate of Alchemy

The Gate of Alchemy is a fictional metaphysical construct integral to the plot of the anime/manga series Fullmetal Alchemist, referred to as the Doors of Truth in the manga or simply The Gate in the anime. The Gate/Doors is the source of all alchemic energy, often exemplified by the light of an alchemic transmutation. The Gate/Doors of Alchemy/Truth is depicted differently in anime and manga versions of Fullmetal Alchemist. In the anime, it is depicted as a large, black, two-doored gate that is variable in height and typically suspended in a white void. In the manga, it is shown as being a huge clay tablet depicting the Sephirot. The gate bears a resemblance to Auguste Rodin's sculpture, Gates of Hell.

Nature of the Gate/Doors

In the anime

The Gate seems to not be any particular location but rather a dimensional rift to be entered; Dante stated during her confrontation with Hohenheim of Light that an entrance to the Gate exists in every human soul since birth. As people age, the Gate's presence within them is weakened. However, there are certain uses of alchemy that bring a person directly to the "Gate of Alchemy". Those who call upon the Gate, or are sacrificed to reach it, usually lose a portion of their body that is drawn within it by the creatures who inhabit the Gate. These small, purple-eyed, black creatures of unknown origin serve to regulate passage through the Gate, and they can reach outside of it by extending their string-like arms. In the movie, these "Gate Children" as they are referred to in concept art, are shown to attack anything attempting to cross between Amestris and Earth.

The Gate also contains what is referred to as the "Truth," i.e., an inconceivable amount of knowledge about alchemy and even the nature of life itself. It is bestowed upon all those who manage to access the Gate. Not all of this knowledge is always immediately retrievable from memory afterwards, but the knowledge gained includes the methods for binding a soul to an object through a Blood Seal, as well as being able to transmute without the use of physical transmutation circles. (The alchemist can actually create a circle within themselves by envisioning it in their minds and then activating it with the touching of their limbs; the most common example is a clap of their hands). The "Truth" even seems to be transferable to Homunculi, as the Homunculus Wrath was able to perform alchemy without "circles." Most likely due to his experience within the Gate, by using the arm of Edward Elric (that the creatures of the Gate took from him during his attempt at bonding his brother's soul to the armor) along with Edward's leg (which was taken when he attempted to resurrect his dead mother Trisha) and Wrath's unique nature in being a Homunculus that was created with a human body as material.

The Gate of Alchemy can serve as a one-way spiritual or physical door to at least one parallel world (Earth shown as we know it), which has a history almost identical to the world of Amestris up to the point where true alchemy was developed. Interestingly, when a being travels through the gate and appear on earth, they seem to gain knowledge of events that have happened there, it also appears that they gain knowledge of future events. This is shown when Hohenheim of Light explains to Ed how the parallel world (Earth) differs from theirs as a world torn by war, and that worst is yet to come. He then asks Ed if he saw what he was talking about when he came through the gate, and a scene of a mushroom cloud from an Atomic bomb is shown. When Ed travels through the gate, Hohenheim explains that in order to perform alchemy, one needs more than just a circle, they need energy. When the people in our world die, they become the energy used in transmutations. It is also explained that because of the way alchemy flows, equivalent exchange is needed to perform an alchemical feat.

In the manga

(In the manga, they are referred to as "The Doors of Truth") Like in the anime, the "Truth" exists at the Doors, but rather than being a part of the Doors themselves, it originates from an entity residing there (some call it "God" or "the World"). It is only shown as a short, childlike outline, implying that it possesses a physical figure, though none is ever visible, save for a frightening grin, meets alchemists who have attempted human transmutation in front of the Doors. His right arm and left leg (at least to Ed), are his arm and leg specifically. An interesting incongruency is that Ed passed through the doors on his way out of Gluttony by performing human transmutation on himself; he saw the doors, encountered Truth (who asked him if he had come for his limbs) and was not maimed in any way, due to his using the souls that reside inside Envy's Philosopher's Stone as passage fee. For the "toll" of a body part, the entity reveals to the alchemist a portion of the "Truth"; the more that is sacrificed, the more that is revealed, while the Truth looks on in the greatest amusement. After the transaction, the being keeps the body part(s) that are taken, and is usually seen grinning as the alchemist is flung back into the real world.

"Truth" has an enormous crazed grin similar to Gluttony's -- an interesting similarity, as the two are also alike in that Truth resides in the Doors of Truth and Gluttony holds a false Door at the core of his body. It is noticed in the manga that Gluttony's false Door is modeled after the real one; his creator had obviously seen the doors multiple times, or at least enough to know what the other side of it was like. Because he has taken Ed's limbs as his own, he could be compared to Wrath from the anime.

The grin could also, more likely, be compared to the ones that appears in Prides shadows.

The Homunculus Gluttony was designed by Father as an attempt to access the Doors, but instead he is merely an imitation; a "fake" version of the Doors. When Gluttony gets incredibly angry, he will transform into his true form, which consists of his chest opening up into a large, dark void that bears a similar single eye to the one that the true Doors contain. It is this void where everything he consumes remains; the only way to escape it is through the true Doors.

Functions of the Gate/Doors

In the anime

The Gate is the basis for alchemy in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist. The energy of alchemy (required to at least decompose and rebuild matter) in the world of Amestris is generated by the souls of deceased humans traveling through the Gate from Earth. If accessed properly, the Gate can also be used for the living to travel from one world to the other. Furthermore, the Gate serves to bestow the "Truth" to those who open it.

In the manga

The functions of the Doors of Truth in the manga are similar to that of the anime, but there is no mention of an alternate world existing beyond the Doors that allows for the existence of the souls necessary for the energy of alchemy in the country of Amestris.

ummoning the Gate/Doors

In the anime

Alchemists can directly summon the Gate by at least three methods: attempting human transmutation; activating the appropriate transmutation circle on an infant (whose bond between mind, body, and soul is still weak), and sacrificing all or part of a human or Homunculus on the proper transmutation circle.

Once a human attempts to revive another person, he or she literally creates them, "giving birth" as a mother does with her child. That an infant -with a weak bond between body, mind, and soul- is closer to the gate than an adult may suggest that human lives originate from the Gate. This tractability of the mind, body, and soul is what eventually causes alchemists to witness the gate.

In the manga

The only known way for an alchemist to access the Doors of Truth in the manga is by means of attempted human transmutation.

Victims of the Gate/Doors

Alchemists who perform human transmutation must pay a toll- a part of their body- for doing so.
*Edward Elric- Lost left leg initially, voluntarily sacrificed right arm to save his brother, Alphonse
*Alphonse Elric- Lost "entire body"; (but soul was subsequently sealed in a suit of armor)
*Izumi Curtis- Lost womb and unspecified surrounding tissues. This has resulted in an irreversible condition that causes her to violently cough up blood when stressed, and eventually kills her in the period between the end of the anime series and "". However, in recent manga chapters, Hohenheim seems to have more or less healed this condition, saying that, while she still is missing her organs, he helped the circulation of blood. As of far, Izumi has reappeared in chapter 83, and appears to be perfectly fine.
*Scar's Brother- Lost reproductive organs (anime only)
*Jude (Profile Book 1 Bonus Manga)- Lost both eyes (but his result, though gruesome, survived)
*Majhal- Majahal mentions attempting human transmutation to bring back Karin, the woman he loved. However, unbeknownst to Majahal, Karin was still alive, so this may have cancelled out Majhal's payment, or if he did make payment, what he lost is never specified. Majahal died later that episode, and is an anime-only character, so we may never know.
*Van Hohenheim- While technically not victim of human transmutation, in the manga Hohenheim was the first to ever open the doors, so he qualifies here. Being the first to do so, he was given much greater power, able to bypass equivalent exchange due to being a philosopher's stone in human form.

*Huskissen ()- Lost all his body and soul when he attempted human transmutation on his dead uranium miners.