<p>"Steel Alchemist" is in fact the literal translation of Edward Elric's title. The term "Fullmetal" is most likely a reference to Stanley Kubrick classic war-is-hell film <em>Full Metal Jacket</em>.</p>

<p>The "jacket" of a full metal jacketed bullet is usually made of steel. Sometimes you hear these bullets called <em>steel jacketed</em> in English, and in many other languages, a translation of this second name is much more common. In many countries outside the US, FMJ was retitled to reflect the most common local name for the bullets, in order to preserve that reference. I don't know if Japan did this: IMDB doesn't list the Japanese title for some reason.</p>

<p>But if Japan did retitle the movie, then the title "Steel Alchemist" may have been intended all along to reflect the title of the "Steel Jacketed" movie. Many translations of FMA actually do use a title that reflects the way FMJ was titled in the translation's own language, and so it's possible that "Fullmetal Alchemist" is just another application of that practice.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-16T02:43:20.467Z
A quick Wikipedia check shows that Japan didn't retitle the movie (and that even when referencing actual bullets, "full metal jacket" is loan word/phrase).
Mark S.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-11-15T19:01:58.653Z
2013-11-15T19:01:58.653Z
The Spooniest
<p>The title is obviously the State Alchemist name of Edward Elric, but what does the word "Fullmetal" mean? I watched both series with dub in my mother language, and in that, Ed was referred as "Steel Alchemist". (translated to English)</p>

<fullmetal-alchemist-series>
What does "Fullmetal" mean?
# What does "Fullmetal" mean?
Posted by: username_0 on 2013-11-15
The title is obviously the State Alchemist name of Edward Elric, but what does the word "Fullmetal" mean? I watched both series with dub in my mother language, and in that, Ed was referred as "Steel Alchemist". (translated to English)
**Tags:** fullmetal-alchemist-series
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## 1 answers
### Answer by username_1 on 2013-11-15. Score: 6
"Steel Alchemist" is in fact the literal translation of Edward Elric's title. The term "Fullmetal" is most likely a reference to Stanley Kubrick classic war-is-hell film *Full Metal Jacket*.

The "jacket" of a full metal jacketed bullet is usually made of steel. Sometimes you hear these bullets called *steel jacketed* in English, and in many other languages, a translation of this second name is much more common. In many countries outside the US, FMJ was retitled to reflect the most common local name for the bullets, in order to preserve that reference. I don't know if Japan did this: IMDB doesn't list the Japanese title for some reason.

But if Japan did retitle the movie, then the title "Steel Alchemist" may have been intended all along to reflect the title of the "Steel Jacketed" movie. Many translations of FMA actually do use a title that reflects the way FMJ was titled in the translation's own language, and so it's possible that "Fullmetal Alchemist" is just another application of that practice.
> **Comments:**
> **username_2** (2013-11-16): A quick Wikipedia check shows that Japan didn't retitle the movie (and that even when referencing actual bullets, "full metal jacket" is loan word/phrase).  
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