Pinako Rockbell
Pinako Rockbell is a supporting character in Fullmetal Alchemist. Residing in the rural eastern town of Resembool, she works as a highly skilled surgeon and automail engineer. She is the paternal grandmother of Winry Rockbell, as well as a primary mentor who imparted the fundamental principles of automail craft to her. Beyond her biological family, she acts as a devoted surrogate grandmother to Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric. Respected and affectionately referred to as Granny, she serves as an essential pillar of support for the young protagonists throughout their lives.
Overview
Pinako Rockbell is a supporting character in Fullmetal Alchemist. Residing in the rural eastern town of Resembool, she works as a highly skilled surgeon and automail engineer. She is the paternal grandmother of Winry Rockbell, as well as a primary mentor who imparted the fundamental principles of automail craft to her. Beyond her biological family, she acts as a devoted surrogate grandmother to Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric. Respected and affectionately referred to as Granny, she serves as an essential pillar of support for the young protagonists throughout their lives.
Appearance
Pinako Rockbell is a woman of extremely short stature. Her most distinct physical feature is her hair, which is bound straight upward in a style resembling a straw-wrapped bundle of natto. She wears round eyeglasses and is frequently seen with a traditional kiseru pipe held in her mouth. In her youth, she possessed a tall, attractive appearance that strongly resembled her granddaughter, Winry Rockbell.
Personality
Pinako Rockbell possesses a remarkably tough, courageous, and unflappable personality, remaining completely unbothered by high-stress situations. She has a blunt, straightforward demeanor with a strong protective instinct, drawing from a rowdy past. Though she displays a stern exterior, she harbors deep tenderness for her loved ones, treating Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric with the same unconditional love as her biological family. Her firm composure and unshakable presence make her a reliable emotional anchor.
Abilities
Pinako Rockbell is an exceptionally skilled medical surgeon and top-tier automail engineer. She performed the emergency lifesaving surgery on Edward Elric after he lost his limbs in a failed human transmutation, subsequently designing, crafting, and adjusting his custom automail prosthetics. In addition to serving as Edward's primary doctor and mechanic, she trained Winry Rockbell, providing her with the fundamental technical foundation needed to become a professional automail mechanic.
Background
Pinako Rockbell spent her early career in the automail hub of Rush Valley, where her bold and tempestuous behavior earned her the moniker Leopardess of Resembool. During this era, she became a long-time drinking companion of Van Hohenheim and played a pivotal role in introducing him to Trisha Elric. Following the deaths of her son Yuri Rockbell and daughter-in-law Sarah Rockbell, she took on the responsibility of raising her granddaughter Winry Rockbell while simultaneously looking after the orphaned Elric brothers.
Relationships
Pinako Rockbell is the grandmother and mechanical instructor of Winry Rockbell. She views Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric as her own grandchildren, managing Edward's medical care and automail upkeep. She shares a long-standing friendship and drinking partnership with Van Hohenheim, having originally introduced him to his late wife, Trisha Elric. In the past, she inflicted a chin scar on fellow automail maker Dominic LeCoulte, leaving him permanently intimidated by her. Her deceased family members include her son Yuri Rockbell and daughter-in-law Sarah Rockbell.
Trivia
Pinako Rockbell's unique upright hairstyle was specifically created by the manga author to execute a comedic joke in the volume bonus four-panel strips involving brewing natto inside her hair. Furthermore, across various bonus materials and extra gag strips, she holds the humorous distinction of appearing in a swimsuit more than twice as often as the story's main heroine, Winry Rockbell.