So I’ve been watching the series titled Full Metal
Alchemist: Brotherhood, and just finished my 2nd watch of the
series, my first being about half a year ago, though I first encountered it
much earlier in manga form. Regardless, I noticed a few things about this
series upon this rewatch, and grew to like some characters much more than I did
the first time. So now that I’ve watched the series while more calm, and able
to pick up on many little things, I thought I’d talk about characters whom
surprised me and I grew to really love on this rewatch, and what I noticed
about them that drew me so much to them.
Let’s start with Scar, a big character for the entire
series, who undergoes many changes throughout his development. One thing I
noticed about Scar’s character after rewatching the series that I loved so much
about him, was that his character was always
changing and developing, throughout the entire series.
At the start of the series Scar is dead set on revenge and
killing all state alchemists for the destruction of his people. He appears calm
and sure of himself, but we quickly learn that inside him there is much
stirring and anger.
The change in his character begins when he runs into
Ishvalins, and learns he’s not alone. There the Ishvalins tell him revenge is
not the way, but he persists and leaves to continue. While it might seem like
Scar hasn’t changed here, he has. It’s subtle, but noticeable. While Scar still
continues to kill state alchemsits, he no longer thinks what he’s doing is
right, nor does he say he’s doing the work of god. He tells others he’s going
down the wrong path, he knows it, but still does it.
I really like this aspect of his character, because it’s
something you don’t see too much. In stories when characters deal with revenge,
often they learn of their wrong ways, and then vow to change and do so. But not
Scar, scar shows how truly hard it can be to forgive and let go. He accepts
revenge is wrong, but continues because he just isn’t strong enough to go to
another path, and he can’t let his feelings go.
And I also like this because it’s something you don’t see
with villains. Often villains think what they’re doing is right, or see no
point in doing wrong. Scar knows what he’s doing is wrong, and knows that the
other Ishvalins are better than him, he just cannot stop doing wrong because
it’s too hard, and he’s been hurt far too much. I greatly appreciated this for
the uniqueness of it, and it just shows how much Scar has been….well…..scarred.
The next part of Scar’s change comes from his 2nd
battle with the elric brothers. I like this bit a lot too, as this is where
Scar truly sees the horrors of revenge, and why it cannot be done. Once he
realizes he is acting just like the ones who destroyed his people, and sees
with his own eyes the hatred that is sown by his revenge, he begins to truly
see how right the other Ishvalins are, and how he must change.
I like this again because it feels very real. When people
give us advice that is best for us, often we don’t follow it or find it too
hard to follow, and don’t truly see how right it is until we experience it
firsthand, and that is exactly what happens with Scar here. After seeing how
much he has truly fallen and how wrong it is to well…..do wrong, he finally
sees that he must change if he wants to stop the hatred.
This theme continues when he faces off with Father and the
homunculi, learning how truly terrible alchemy can be if used wrongly, and
seeing the ones who caused his clan so much anguish. This again continues when
he meets Dr. Marco and learns more about the Ishvalin War.
At this point I wonder what drove Scar to go grab his
brother’s research in the hopes of finding a solution. I believe that after
learning so much about the world and alchemy, Scar wanted to learn more, and
wanted to see if his brother’s research might have a solution. I think Scar
became lost after learning all of this information about alchemy, which is
partly what drove him to run away and head north, in the hopes his brother’s
notes might have something, as it was all he had. Marco probably wanted to see
them too, as he must have been desperate to find anything that could help them
to save the country.
The next part of Scar’s change comes when he once again
encounters our heroes. After being lost on his journey, in poetic fashion, he
finds his answer, in the form of Major Miles. Miles as we see is trying to
change the way Ishvalins are viewed, but not by force like Scar, but from the
inside by simply sticking to his ideals and not being vocal about them. There
is a point too where Miles tells Edward that he likes that he doesn’t pity him
like everyone seems to, that people don’t treat him differently, and he doesn’t
let his past or race effect him, in contrast to scar, who takes great pride in
being an ishvalin and wishes to be treated like someone special. Miles just
wants to be like everyone else, and let go of the past, letting go, what Scar
has so much trouble doing.
I think the result of encountering Miles, and being shown
kindness by Winry, brought upon change in Scar, and he slowly but surely came to
control his anger and hatred, and learn to let go and treat others equally. He
even learns more about alchemy from his brother’s research, learning that
perhaps alchemy is not so bad, and is the only way to save the world.
This was one thing that caught my eye or ear a lot in Scar’s
final battle with Wrath. Wrath remarks how Scar uses the alchemy which he once
hated so much and deemed a terrible thing that only causes destruction. It was
great for Scar to accept alchemy and his brother’s research as a way of
returning the world to how it should be by putting tattoos on his other arm for
reconstruction, symbolizing his change in character to no longer be a killer
and destroyer, but one who will begin reconstructing the world, and his people,
who’s learned to put the destruction of his past behind, and move towards reconstructing
the future.
While talking about the battle too, I noticed something
about Scar throughout the whole final arc, and especially in his final battle
with Wrath, and that was just how calm and cool Scar was the entire time. Even
though he was facing the leader of the country that destroyed his people, he
kept his cool, and remained to his plan of saving the country with the
transmutation circle his brother found. This is in stark contrast to his battle
against the homunculi and Father back at the halfway point of the series, and I
thought really showed how far he’s come in keeping his anger in control, so
that it does not control him. In many ways it makes his battle with Wrath a
great way to end his development, and show how far he’s come since he’s able to
stay in control despite who he may be battling.
The other great show of this is Envy’s final taunt. Let me
also talk about Ed here too. The final talk with Envy is quite symbolic, in
that we see that Ed is called a pipsqueak, and Scar is reminded of the evils
Mustang did, yet neither act on them, and are unaffected by them, again in
contrast to the 2 characters throughout the show, it shows how far the 2 have
come, and how much they’ve grown.
And to quickly go off on another tangent, I noticed a change
in Scar’s character too as he developed, which was the amount of people he was
with, which also happened to correlate with the other character who deals with
revenge, Mustang. For when Scar starts off lost, getting constant revenge thinking
he’s doing good, he’s alone. But as he learns more and grows, and begins to
change, he slowly gains allies, to the very end when he allies with Ed and
Mustang. And this is also true of Mustang. When he attacks Envy relentlessly
for revenge, he does it alone, with Hawkeye not watching with pride, but
watching with horror. What brings
Mustang back to himself is those very friends of his. When both fall, they are
alone, but when they see their errors and grow from them, they gain friends and
more, and are only able to see their errors and wrongs from their friends,
something I found quite cool.
And as one final note, Scar smiles in the final episode, in
a simple happy way, and I don’t think we see that for the entire series, so it
was quite nice to see him come to terms with things and able to move on with a
smile finally. But this is what I really liked about Scar, his character was
changing throughout the entire series, never just for a part of it. He reminds
me of Zuko for that reason and others, a character who goes through much change
throughout the series, one who starts out as the sort of main villain to our
heroes, and who they encounter frequently throughout their adventure and
eventually ally with. Certainly one who’s adventure I enjoyed tracking and
watching over, and one of the better characters for sure.
And speaking of wrath who I touched on a bit above, let’s go
into his character, and why he became my favorite of the homunculi. Wrath is
much different from Scar in that, his character never really changes, he is a
constant throughout the entire series, with the progression not bringing change
in his character, but bringing more to learn about him, and new ways to see
him in.
When it came to these new ways of seeing things, you would
always think about his character after learning more. This made him a character
I was constantly thinking about, how he was a leader, how he was Wrath, what
his past was like, and how he lives and what he feels. The ending of his
character though was one bit that made me think a lot. Wrath does everything he
can to survive and fight, even saying to scar that he feels most content and
alive when he’s fighting to live, and then dies, but….dies with a smile, and
seems happy even, why would King Bradley do that after what he just said…
There’s great significance in Bradley’s words, when he says
that he always fights to survive, that only the strong do. When I heard these,
I thought of his change into Wrath. When he became the very first human
homunculus hybrid, Bradley fought to survive. He fought against the philosopher
stone as hard as he could, and was able to do what none of the other test
subjects before him could, and he survived.
That is really his entire life, Bradley’s whole life was
about survival. I found it interesting how there are parts in the series where
we see how sad Selim’s life is, before we know his true identity. We see he is
a poor innocent boy who is going to be raised by a terrible father that will
end up corrupting him. But ironically enough, this analogy works much better
for Wrath.
The theme of being stuck in a flask is used with Father, but
is also very apparent in Wrath. Wrath was trapped his entire life, forced to
train every day and learn to be a leader, forced to become stronger and smarter
every day, and forced to take on the philosophers stone and become Wrath. He
was just an innocent child, completely corrupted by those that raised him. I
can’t help but feel that the reason Wrath looks so down on humans and those
below him, is because that’s what Father and those that raised him did too,
for example when he accidentally kills another test subject with a sword, a
scientist tells him it was only a stepping stone for his growth. The result of
all the ones he grew up with dying or being used as leftovers inevitably led
him to see everyone as a stepping stone, and led him to believe in the strong
surviving, and above all, that the key to life is survival.
But then, how does one enjoy life, when all they care about
is surviving, and when they are forced to follow orders of others for their
entire life? Sure being the Furher was nice I’m sure and had its perks, but
having to do everything Father told him too, having to pretend Selim is his son,
I imagine taking orders from everyone got stressful and difficult, so how did
Bradley do it?
He found little things. What did he say? He never feels more
alive and contempt with his life then when he’s fighting to survive? He found a
way to enjoy his life of survival, and to enjoy life for what it is. Let’s talk
about 2 scenes in past episodes with Wrath speaking with one character, both
scenes that made me say how he lives.
There’s a scene where Hawkeye is serving Bradley tea, and
asks how he’s able to live knowing he’s lying to everyone, and how he’s able to
still smile and do what he does knowing they’ll all be dead one day from
Father. He responds by saying that while he had to follow many orders, he was
given a few options, like getting to choose his wife. In that small freedom he
was given, he got to do what he wanted and enjoy and take pride in it.
And before getting to the other scene, let me talk about his wife quickly. We are told very little about her, but there are some small hints that have me wonder about her. We know for example that Selim has been their child for so so long but never aged. The government has covered it up, but wouldn't she notice his change of age? And another thing, when Bradley is on his deathbed and asked if he would have something to say to his wife, he says he has none, and that she knows what to do if he should die, and that that's what it means to be his wife. While it might not be true, I wonder.....if Bradley confided in her, and that she knew of Selim all along, and that he simply wanted her to help him to enjoy life with a partner, and that he would help her too. Though she does come off as innocent and not knowing anything about them in the finale, but still, I wonder....
Anyways, the other scene is the first scene in which Pride appears,
in which we don’t see him, but we hear him speaking with Wrath. Pride speaks of
how Wrath is failing with the humans and that he needs to improve. Wrath
responds by saying that while he is having trouble, he does have some ground in
the situation, and also that even if it’s troublesome, it’s kind of fun. Even
though things aren’t going as they planned, he enjoys the change of pace, he
finds ways to enjoy things.
This is what I think is a key part to Wrath’s entire
character, he’s trapped in a flask and forced to lived a certain way his entire
life, without getting any say, but despite that, he finds ways to enjoy it in
all the little things. Unlike the homunculi, he has a bit of human to him, and
as a result, he works more at enjoying things, finding ways to enjoy the simple
things, and live as a happy human. Here are his final words, which I think sum
him up well:
“I lived my life by forever following the path that had been
set for me, thanks to the idiosyncrasies of humanity, it was, at least, a life
worth living for, and maybe even a life worth dying for.”
I feel like even in his final moments, Wrath tried to find a
way to enjoy his death, to be able to say he had a good life and that he’ll
have a good death, even though he died as he may have been planned to, on the
path he was forced to follow, he did what he could to enjoy it, that is the
character of Furher King Bradley, and one that I found incredibly fascinating
as a character, and very unique again as a villain. He was forced to follow his
superior, but instead of trying to fight back, or find a way out of it, he just
followed along, and did what he could to enjoy it, heh, sounds like what I would
do…
And last, comes the character who I had the most fun
thinking about, Hohenheim, Father of Edward and Alphonse Elric, and wife of
Trisha Elric.
I really really love the final scenes with Hohenheim in the
second to last episode. They provide the internal conflict that has troubled
him for most for his entire life, something we all deal with so much, and then
give his solution, and that wonderful final talk with Trisha, and montage in
the credits of his life. I’m going to take a look at every single one of those
and say all I want on them here, but first, let's get to his character and internal conflict.
Hohenheim is a character we don’t see much of for a while.
We’re never really introduced to his big conflict until Episode 27, which is
even a recap episode that wasn’t even in the manga. Regardless, the many little
hints littered across the series give show to his main dilemma, that being, if
he can use his powers and life for good and meaning, and not feel his life was
useless and one that only led to the inevitable destruction of things.
You really cannot appreciate the beauty of the recap episode
until you have fully learned about Hohenheim’s character and understood what
he’s been through. When you know that your life led to the creation of a being
that wiped out all of your people, and that now you have a monstrous immortal
body of other souls, it’s not hard to imagine Hohenheim would feel extremely
sad and blame himself for what happened, nor be sure at all of what to do, and
feel that he’s failed, and there’s no going back, and nothing to do.
Hohenheim’s whole dilemma is whether it’s worth it. If it’s
worth it to try and save this world from Father, worth it to keep living with
this monstrous body, ironically, the most powerful character in the show aside from Father,
deals with the feeling of hopelessness the most, and that nothing he does will
make a difference important enough to be worth it.
Episode 27 is in many ways an analogy for Hohenheim’s entire
life. He is with people, by a fire, and they are happy and things seem well.
But then the people leave, they disappear, and he is alone. Alone, with his
only company being Father, the flask that ruined everything, that will ruin
everything, and that he cannot possibly stop. Sounds familiar?
But then what happens? What happens after that is, Hohenheim
finds hope. He finds a drive, motivation to continue, hope that, he can make a
difference, and that there are beautiful things out there worth living for and
worth fighting for, that hope in both the episode and his life, is Trisha.
I always wished that we got to explore more of Trisha and
Hohenheim’s relationship, as I always loved how it was her that was his main
source of hope. Her sentiments that he is not a monster that that picture
carries, that picture that he takes with him as he travels, is her way of
continuing to give him hope, and drive that he can make a difference.
Hohenheim’s answer is his friends and family, other people, they give him hope,
and they give him the drive to make the world a better place. And I love that because
it’s so true of us and our lives, and how others can drive us so much.
But let’s return now to that 2nd to last episode,
to see Hohenheim’s big final moments. With Trisha gone, it becomes hard to
continue, and a time comes when Hohenehim begins to have doubts again. The same
doubts that cloud all our minds as we live and that seem to never fully leave,
return again. Ironically, this happens right after Father is defeated, which
would never have been possible without the help of Hohenheim’s giant
transmutation circle.
Upon realizing that the Dwarf in the Flask was in many ways
still like him, and that both just wanted to be free from the troubles of life,
Hohenheim begins to lose hope again, feel that even though he stopped Father,
he’ll still be cursed in this body and world forever as a monster. But then
Armstrong comes to him, and tells him of the many great deeds done that saved
the world, the deeds done by…Edward and Al, his sons.
In the same way he received hope and drive and happiness
from his wife, Hohenheim is reminded of why his life was worth it and why he
has done good on the world, through his own 2 sons. Hohenheim finds meaning and
happiness in his life from his family and those close to him, and is finally
able to die a peaceful happy death, knowing that he’s done good, and that his
loved ones have made his life one worth living. So poetic, and so true of us
and our lives, and so beautiful, and pardon my obvious bias, but gah I loved that
so much, hohenheim, I will learn from you! <3
It is also summed up perfectly in some of his last words at
Trisha’s grave:
“Living through all of these endless years, I always felt
like I had been struck with a curse. But then I found you, and we had our sons,
and I suddenly felt blessed, grateful for the life I had.”
And after that death, we get the credits with the Hohenheim
montage. Let me actually talk about that, because I really loved that. Go watch
it if you haven’t (http://www.animestatic.com/fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood/fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood-episode-63-english-dubbed/).
It shows many of the scenes of Hohenheim’s life, starting with his life in
Xerses, going throughout his life to the finale with Ed and Al. What I love
about this is how it in a way, not just shows Hohenheim’s life, but shows the
entire story. We see the destruction of Xerses which leads to the creation of
Father and his plot of Amestres. We see Hohenheim leave the family, which leads
to Trisha’s death, which leads to Ed and Al performing human transmutation,
which leads to the house being burned down. The 2 main center plots of the whole series,
Ed and Al getting their bodies back, and stopping the nationwide transmutation
circle from Father, were both connected
from one key character; Hohenheim.
We see here how, despite not being the main character,
Hohenheim is the one who connected everything together. He was the one who had
significance in both Ed and Al’s journey to get their bodies back, and stopping
Father. He was the one who had a part in every major piece of the story, and
was the one to connect it all together, as a puzzle piece, Hohenheim is the
most important piece to the entire story. The story begins in Xerses with
Hohenheim and Father, and in a way ends with their deaths.
The montage doesn’t stop there though, it connects the
series in more than one way. The montage features scenes from the first
opening, as well as scenes from the 2nd ending, in a sense showing
how Hohenheim was there the whole time, and how the entire story linked and
connected to this final moment. I thought that was quite cool how they
referenced not just past scenes but past openings and endings too, to show how
it all comes together. And my favorite part, is the way it ends with that shot
of Trisha walking up with light shining behind her, something we’ve constantly
seen in the 5th opening to refer to Ed dreaming about his mother he
misses, only now it’s used for Hohenheim, to show that he missed and loved her
just as much as Ed and Al did.
One last thing. There’s a really cool bit in the montage
where you see 4 quick pictures flash through. You see Trisha in one, Ed and Al
in another, the citizens of Xerses in another, and the Dwarf in the Flask in
the final. Note that only Hohenhemin knew Father as a flask, and also the shot
of Ed and Al is the last time Hohenheim sees them before leaving the family.
After these pictures is a shot of Hohenheim starring in front of him on his
lonely journey. I can’t help but feel like those shots were a look into his
life, on that journey, when Hohenheim traveled the world, those were the 4
things that crossed his minds the most, the 4 things most important to him,
that affected him the most in his life; Father, his city’s people, his wife,
and his sons.
But enough of that, to conclude, I just loved that ending to
his character, and thought it was done perfectly. We see Hohenheim overcome his
conflict through his sons, see him able to talk to Trisha about his life and
reflect, die with a smile, and then get a wonderful montage that shows how
wonderful and special his whole character was, and who he really is, it was
exceptionally well done and made me look back on his character with the biggest
smile.
I hope you enjoyed these ramblings of mine, as looking at the paths and dilemmas of characters is always something I love to do. You'd be surprised how much you can learn not just from characters, but people as well, everyone has a beautiful story to tell after all, a tale to learn from....
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