Edward Elric (Japanese: エドワード・エルリック, Hepburn: Edowādo Erurikku) is a fictional character and the titular protagonist of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa.

His Japanese and English voice actors, Romi Park and Vic Mignogna, have both been praised for their performances as Edward and have won several awards for their work.

[3] When describing the character's personality, Arakawa comments that after his father's departure from home and his mother's death, Edward tried to replace the role of the man for the Elric family.

[12][13] As the manga continued serialization, Arakawa found that she drew Edward half naked several times even more than Alex Louis Armstrong who tends to show his torso.

[17] Edward was born in a small town named Resembool in the nation of Amestris, living with his younger brother Alphonse and their parents Trisha Elric and Van Hohenheim.

After Hohenheim left the family on a journey early in their lives, Edward developed a loathing for their father as he and Alphonse learned to use alchemy before Trisha died of an illness years later.

[18] When they make the attempt to revive their mother, it failed and the brothers paid a bigger price via the Law of Equivalent Exchange: which states that every outcome requires an equal payment.

[21] Later meeting Colonel Roy Mustang while being outfitted prosthetic "automail" limbs by the grandmother of his childhood friend, Winry Rockbell, he became motivated to restore Alphonse,[22] Edward joins the State Military.

This led to the Elrics making a brief return to Resembool with Winry becoming Edward's automail mechanic, the brothers encountering a former State Alchemist named Tim Marcoh who gives them the method of creating a Philosopher's Stone.

The brothers, deciding to find another means upon learning human souls are required to create a Philosopher's Stone, get later revelations in the form of immortal beings known as the homunculi.

[28] Forced to comply, the Elrics travel to the northern area of the country in order where they eventually reveal what they know to General Olivier Mira Armstrong while dealing with the homunculus Sloth.

[31] Upon their success, joined by Lin after he willingly became a host for Greed, Edward learns the Father's full plan of making a massive human transmutation circle out of the country of Amestris to create a Philosopher's Stone.

[33] But Honenheim and Scar act out their backup plans to return the recently stolen souls to their bodies and enable every alchemist to fighting the severely weakened Father.

Two years later, Edward decides to head westward for their research with Winry accompanying him as they progressively developed a romantic relationship over the course of their adventure and eventually confessed their feelings to each other.

[39] In the feature film, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, set two years after the end of the anime, Edward has been living in Germany and looks for a way to return to his world.

The three games for the PlayStation 2 – Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel, Curse of the Crimson Elixir and Kami o Tsugu Shōjo – feature exclusive stories in which the Elrics keep searching for the Philosopher's Stone.

[57] He was also seventh in IGN's 2009 Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time with writer Chris Mackenzie saying, "[Edward] and his kid brother Al make one of the best action-comedy teams in recent memory".

"[65] Additionally, Melissa Harper from Anime News Network praises Edward's facial expressions as some of the most humorous highlights of the series, including also the moments in which he reacts quite violently to comments about his small stature.

[67] Similarly, Mania Entertainment's Jarred Pine liked the dynamic between the Elrics brothers as while Edward is often faced with following "dark paths" in the same way as villains with the series, he is always supported by Alphonse who makes sure he is okay.

[69] Lydia Hojnacki listed Edward as one of the reasons she likes Fullmetal Alchemist, noting the progression of the character's personality throughout the series, from simple maturity to a deeper sensitivity.

[70] The character was noted to go through a notable development in the manga after meeting his father by Holly Ellingwood from Active Anime as it made him decide to see the investigate from the human he and Alphonse created as children which led him to find a clue about how to recover his brother's body.

[71] On the other hand, Maria Lin from Animefringe criticized Edward's development in the first animated adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist, as in the series' finale he once again attempted to resurrect a human.

[72] When reviewing the video game Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel, RPGFan's Neal Chandran enjoyed the dynamic between the main characters both in fights as well as dialogues.

[73] In (Fullmetal) alchemy: the monstrosity of reading words and pictures in shonen manga, Lesley-Anne Gallacher addressed how the backstory of Edward and Alphonse's failed attempt to revive their mother relate to Shou Tucker's plan to combine his daughter Nina and dog into a monster named chimera.

Sadlier further commented on Edward's past, comparing it with Ishvalian's civil war who also suffered a tragic loss, most notably the antagonistic Scar who also lost his arm.

Other foils noticed by the writer are Lan Fan who amputated herself to aid Ling Yao while noting that through his automail, Arakawa managed to link Edward with Alphonse and Winry.