I remember it was a reaction to the "uncomplete Philosopher Stone" that red water is (Ed being an alchemist...). It's like the reaction Ed has with Al when he's the Philosopher's Stone (they can't touch each other).

Anyway, for me it's just an excuse for the mommy-like reaction of Ross x3

And about Fletcher an Russell... I think they DID appear on the manga (or else I was having Tringhamcest dreams again?)

Tringhamcest dreams are good. I would love to see Russell and Fletcher in the manga, but I'm not very hopeful.

Ling in the anime would have been awesome, but sadly, no Ling.

I wish Ling were in the anime...that would make me happy... Mei-chan and the panda, too <333333

because it was really kool-aid and he stepped in it and got a HUGE alchemical sugar RUSH!!! XDDD

~it does get explained later, as its important to understand the nature of the stone in order to understand the even MORE complicated episodes that revolve around it later on.. XDD its the raw material for making the stone. and it is filled with ALOT of compacted alchemical energy, ..like a liquid battery? -all it needs is an alchemist to use it.. and when edo stepped in it, without meaning to, he flipped out quite terribly. ^__^;

If you remember the episode particularly well, Ed DOES clap his hands and begin a transmutation, but fails to activate it because he can't bring himself to transmute the prisoners into the stone. Thus, he has a built-up reaction that he did NOTHING with. Given Ed's strength as an alchemist, when he touched the stone, that incomplete transmutation he started reacted with the red water to start an out of control reaction with no direction.

And Russell and Fletcher are only from the first novel. "Land of Sand" will be released in English here in the U.S. in October, so you can check out Russell and Fletcher there!

AUGH, and from lack of being able to edit comments, Arakawa did not write the novel with Russell and Fletcher in it herself, but she did provide the illustrations for it. Arakawa penned a few of the other novels herself though.

*when he touched the WATER, I mean. Not stone *headdesk* I really wish you could edit comments.

You're right... I hadn't realized the connection between that "uncomplete" transmutation and the water... o___O

And I guess I WAS having Tringhamcest dreams after all...

Not sure if memory serves me right, but Hadn't Ed clapped his hands together just before? (Like he was about to activate the big fat transmutation circle, then everything went spoldy and the tanks of incomplete philosopher's stone red water stuff burst and leaked all over, but then Ed got up, and stepped in the water... and went all glowy and crap?)

Because, this is my thought: If he had clapped his hands to start an alchemic reaction, anywhere on his body would serve to start the reaction... though I surmise he usually concentrates the start of the reaction with his hands... But perhaps the water was reactive enough to trigger the alchemic reaction with Edward.

Also, I expect that focus is required for a successful transmutation, so when he got up and accidentally touched the red water, he wasn't specifically focusing. So that's why he went haywire and his automail transmutated into a spear. He might've been intent on injuring Lust, so that might explain why the spear shot outta his automail.

Here's my analogy. When Edward claps his hands, he's like a wire that connects to a battery/energy source. When he touches his hands to something to alchemize, (or feet I guess XD), it's like the livewire touching to another wire end/conductive material.


However, I've wondered, during the times he was disabled from automail arm-removal, one might wonder if clapping his remaining hand with one of his feet, then touching his hand and foot onto an object to alchemize might work... Unless his power only works with hands... ;)

I guess it's because he touched the Red Water, which is the incomplete Philosopher's Stone, and he being an alchemist an all.
I think the concept Arakawa-sensei did was for the novel, she never planned something like that until Inoue Makato came along and authored that novel about Russell and Fletcher. And because Arakawa-sensei has to draw illustrations for that novel, she'll have to draw a concept first, and that's why they're there in the first place. After that, the novel "Land of Sand" that Inoue-sensei authored somehow became popular and made it into the anime AND the drama CDs. I wonder why.
I don't know if I'm annoying you, but I get frustrated easily when people tell me that Arakawa-sensei authored the novels. A mangaka is a mangaka. She can barely catch up with the deadline, so she can't do anything else besides drawing her manga. All the novels(except Game Novel 2) were authored by Inoue Makato.