Winry Rockbell

Winry Rockbell (ウィンリィ・ロックベル, Winrī Rokkuberu?) is one of the main characters in the Fullmetal Alchemist series by Hiromu Arakawa and arguably Edward's love interest. A childhood friend of the central characters, Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric, she is often seen in their company throughout the series. Specializing in mechanical repair, specifically with automail, Winry services Edward's arm and leg whenever it is in need of repair or replacement. Her character plays a more prominent role in the manga as opposed to the anime. She is voiced by Megumi Toyoguchi in Japanese, and Caitlin Glass in the English dub.

Profile
Kind, optimistic, and sincere, Winry acts like a concerned family member to the Elric brothers whenever in their company. Having known Edward and Alphonse since childhood, she maintains a close friendship with the two. Orphaned at a young age because her parents were doctors who were killed during the war against Ishbal, she has lived with her grandmother in the town of Reisembol since. In the manga, her parents are murdered by Scar, whereas in the anime her parents are murdered at the hands of Colonel Mustang. Known as an "Automail Otaku", she is fascinated by any and all types of machines, excelling in building and repairing automail. She takes pride in her work as a mechanic. Along with her grandmother, Pinako, who is a famous automail engineer, the two run a small automail shop out of their own home. They are also the ones responsible for Edward's automail arm and leg, having been asked to make and install the limbs by Edward after he lost them in the failed human transmutation of his mother. Winry takes it upon herself to make sure that his automail is in top form and will go out of her way to travel for servicing when it's needed.

Manga
In the manga Winry becomes an apprentice to Garfiel, an automail engineer in Rush Valley. Her parents, both doctors, were killed by Scar during the Ishval Civil War when she was very young (after the Elric brothers' father left but before their mother died). Winry plays a bigger role in the manga than in the the anime where she is a supporting character. She frequently travels with the Elrics and later realizes that she has been in love with Ed for a long time.

Due to her importance in the lives of the Elric brothers, Winry is used as a hostage by the military to gain Edward's obedience. In order to escape from the military's possession, she decided to travel with Scar and the others. It was revealed in chapter 72 that it was her plan for Scar to use her as a hostage in order to escape although she has not forgiven him for killing her parents. In chapters 80 and 81, she is seen worrying over Ed. In chapter 84 Winry is taken on a military train back to Resembool in a water tank. When she comes into her house she is shocked to find Ed in her room while she is undressing. The two scream (obviously shocked by one another) which causes everyone to believe Ed and Winry are in danger and she soon kicks everyone out of her room. Shortly after she fills Ed in on where Al is and what's been happening in Lior, she finds out Ling has become Greed, and why they were hiding out in her house. Ed tells her to leave the country, but she refuses, wanting to help Ed in anyway she can. Ed soon departs and Winry stays in Resembool for the time being.

Anime
Winry pays a lot of attention to Ed's automail because of her deep care for him[5], and feels accomplished when she thinks that Ed wins in an automail arm wrestling contest. Winry accepts the Elric brothers as a part of her family and tries to play the role as their sister, though she may not truly see herself as one. Throughout the series, she tends to most express her feelings during moments of weakness, showing genuine concern and romantic interest towards Edward.

When they were younger, Ed and Al would argue over who would be the one to marry Winry when they grew up.

After Ed disappears at the end of the anime, Winry takes care of Al while waiting for Edward to return. When he finally does, she embraces Ed in tears of joy, making him blush. Winry reveals that she has prepared new automail for Edward, and upon his return, attaches them to him. After Edward's departure, Winry continues working on automail with her grandmother.

In 2007, three OVA's were created. In one of them, Winry's affections to Edward are made apparent. In the OVA, the "cast" of the movie attended an after-party. During which, a drunken Winry confronts Edward about pictures of him and Noah that appeared in a magazine featuring shots and tidbits of the movie. During Ed's explanations, Winry becomes infuriated with jealousy and beats him with wrenches and screwdrivers.

According to the booklet in Special Edition of the movie, it is stated that she has become an authority on Automail during the two years.