Did Roy Mustang Really Say “It’s a Terrible Day for Rain”?

Unverified as the exact wording of a named official English track. Wikiquote's Brotherhood transcription records Mustang saying “it's a terrible day for rain.” under episode 10, “Separate Destinations.” The same entry gives Hawkeye a puzzled response about the weather, then describes a tear spilling from Mustang's eye. The scene attribution is specific; the source translation is not.

What the exchange actually claims

In the transcription, this exchange follows the burial of Maes Hughes. Before Hawkeye asks after him, Mustang admits that part of him is considering human transmutation and says he understands why the Elric boys tried to bring back their mother. The rain remark therefore sits beside a much more direct admission of grief.

These details establish what the accessible transcription says. They do not establish which English recording it follows, and there is no script citation attached to the exchange. This page consequently keeps its verdict narrower than the familiar attribution. It does not assign the sentence to an English dub or to the licensed manga.

Hawkeye's answer changes the exchange

One reading of the recorded dialogue is that Mustang is trying to preserve dignity. Weather gives him a public explanation for what his face reveals. Hawkeye initially treats his remark as a statement about the sky; once she sees the tear, her agreement allows the metaphor to stand. On that reading, care consists of knowing when factual correction has stopped being helpful.

There is a serious objection to calling this simply emotional repression. The source also records Mustang naming the temptation to attempt human transmutation immediately beforehand. He has already told Hawkeye something difficult. The rain metaphor may therefore manage the visible expression of grief without concealing grief itself. Confession and evasion can occur in the same conversation.

The short quotation removes that complication. As a caption it becomes a code for sadness; with the preceding admission, it becomes a way of controlling how much more must be said. The difference is about permission. Hawkeye's response can be read as permitting Mustang to stop explaining himself, rather than helping him maintain a complete deception.

Which words are verified?

The words above are verified as text on Wikiquote, with Mustang named as the speaker and episode 10 supplied as the locator. The official English wording remains unresolved because no dub, subtitle script or licensed manga passage was compared directly. An episode heading narrows the search; it does not identify the release.

Unverified does not mean that Mustang never says the familiar sentence. Nor does it mean that the scene was invented. It marks the limit of this check. A source that reproduces an unattributed transcription can help discuss the exchange, but cannot settle which performance or printed edition contains it.

Readers comparing releases should keep the short weather phrase separate from the complete exchange, and record both the version and its scene locator before presenting dialogue as verbatim. The Fullmetal Alchemist English-version guide provides the wider comparison; the fact-check index explains the verdict labels.