Who's your favorite character in each of your favorite anime series? Your favorite might be the most heroic and fearless character, or maybe the kindest and most compassionate person of all. Or maybe you like the funniest and quirkiest member of the cast. In Fullmetal Alchemist, there's plenty to choose from!
Among fans, an anime will probably have a Best Boy and a Best Girl. When it comes to Best Girl, the debate can get wild, since everyone loves a wholesome girl next door or fearless badass queen. When it comes to Fullmetal Alchemist, it probably comes down to Winry Rockbell or Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye. Who's going to be Best Girl?
10 Winry: a pure heart
Sometimes, you love a girl because she's the wholesome girl next door, and she can't help but be your best friend. Edward and Alphonse lived way out in the countryside in Resembool, but they have the Rockbells for neighbors, and those brothers were very fortunate.
Winry was their childhood best friend, and they were inseparable. Years later, in their teens, their friendship is as strong as ever.
9 Hawkeye: a great marksman
Hawkeye isn't an alchemist, but she doesn't need to be one, either. The Amestris military still needs good soldiers, and Lieutenant Hawkeye is among some of the best. Years later, after the brutal Ishval Civil War, Hawkeye started using her incredible aim for good rather than genocide, and she can even keep homunculi at bay or drive off numerically superior enemy soldiers.
But she can also aim to disable or scare off a foe, not needing lethal force in most cases. A hawk's eye, indeed.
8 Winry: overcame revenge
Much like the Shonen series Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist deals with the difficult topic of cyclical hatred and revenge. Until there is forgiveness and compassion, the bloodletting and hate will never end. Even when Scar accidentally killed Winry's doctor parents in Ishval, Winry couldn't bring herself to shoot him dead in retaliation.
Not that she learned to like Scar, but she let go of the hate (Ed greatly admired that), and she even treated his wounds at some point. As Ed correctly said, Winry's hands are meant for healing, not for killing.
7 Hawkeye: Roy's better half
When you witness genocide and bloody conspiracy and betrayal in the Amestris military, it can be tough to keep yourself together. Fortunately, Colonel Roy Mustang has the perfect friend in Riza Hawkeye. She's not only his loyal Lieutenant, but his guiding light, and a shoulder he can cry on (so to speak).
She was also the one who snapped Roy out of his hateful desire to slaughter a helpless Envy. Without Riza's good heart and level head, Roy almost definitely would have fallen into a very dark place!
6 Winry: automail skills
Automail is pretty advanced in Amestris, and many amputees can walk or work again thanks to highly durable and articulate metal arms. Ed got a new arm and leg thanks to Winry's expertise, and he can always count on her to fix him up. When Lan Fan needed a new arm of her own, Ed referred her to Winry at once, and for good reason.
She's a smart girl, and she learned some new tricks upon seeing the light alloys used in northern-style automail arms. Ed really appreciated that.
5 Hawkeye: a good friend
Not only is Hawkeye Roy's best friend, but she's a wonderful person to meet anywhere. She's great friends with Rebecca, and both women have lovely chats at outside diners during their precious and rare days off. Hawkeye isn't above some gentle teasing, and it's nice to see this side of her.
Hawkeye was also charming and warm when she met the Bradley family, getting along great with Mrs. Bradley... until she realized Selim's true nature.
4 Winry: improv doctor
While Winry isn't a proper doctor like her parents were, she knows a thing or two about first aid, and it's really come in handy. When she and the Elric brothers visited Rush Valley, they met a remote household where a woman was expecting to go into labor any day now. During a heavy thunderstorm, labor started, and getting to a hospital was not an option.
So, Winry got over her initial shock and took charge. With her medical skills and leadership, she helped deliver a healthy baby, right then and there!
3 Hawkeye: dives right into the action
Riza Hawkeye is a Lieutenant in the Amestris military, so of course she's had the fear drilled out of her in training. But that's not the half of it. No soldier expected to go up against terrifying homunculi and shadowy plots, but even in the face of this, Hawkeye doesn't dare back down.
Pride tried to threaten and intimidate her, but that didn't keep her out of action for long. And when Roy chased Envy indoors to keep fighting, Hawkeye rushed right in to help, regardless of Roy's orders or the danger. And even face-to-face with Gluttony, her reaction is not to stare in horror, but start shooting. What a fighter!
2 Winry: Moral compass
Winry is not only Ed and Al's childhood friend and mechanic, but she reminds them of why they fight and keeps them grounded. At some point, Al was half-convinced that he was a false soul with implanted memories, and Winry wouldn't have it.
As she tearfully pointed out, Ed was still consumed with guilt over Al's current state, and Al managed to completely miss that. But not when Winry gave him a proper talk!
1 Hawkeye: clever and tricky
Riza Hawkeye is a crafty one, and that shouldn't be surprising, given how Roy deeply trusts and respects her as his Lieutenant. Even with Pride watching her from the shadows, Hawkeye used a code to deliver Roy a vital message: "SELIM BRADLEY IS HOMUNCULUS." Roy understood at once.
And when Envy assumed Roy's form, Hawkeye held him at gunpoint, then smoked him out by saying how Roy calls her "Riza" rather than "Lieutenant" when they're alone. That claim wasn't actually true, but Hawkeye only needed Envy to believe it, which he did. Cover blown!