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Something we worked on a while back. Enjoy people...

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The entire premise of FMA itself has mutiple levels of philosophy and ideas that we struggle with today. Life and Death, Science and Religion, Equivalent exchange...it is those things that make me like it so much.

First of all, I just wanted to talk about the Homunculi.

Their existance could very well be paralelled to that of our criminal society. We don't want to accept that the people who perform heinous acts and do horrible things like murder and rape are our people, but in reality that were created by us. By society and an unstable upbringing. I know that sometimes there are exceptions, but most of the time the most heinous criminals have had a terrible childhood and background in social life.
We would like to think that they are just bad people in their own right, and that we can't be blamed for their evil acts, however one gains an idea of how to act in society by its environment, which then leads to the whole nature vs nurture idea.

The fact that the homunculi were born from our mistakes added another interesting level to it as well, and how Ed is unwilling to accept it at first when Izumi tells him how they are made. This is our reaction when we realize that the murderer who killed 3 people was tossed from juvenile prison to juvenile prison where he was abused and became more and more unstable. He was then let out and killed 3 people because one of them looked like a prison guard that constantly raped him in his first juvenile prison (example, not a real story).

Besides the homunculi, the principles of life and death are played out early on and the message continues throughout the series. It begins with the death of Ed and Al's mother. At her tombstone, Al mentions that he's cold and hungry, and how he can't comprehend how they'll live on without her. Those of us who have lost someone close to us can understand their feelings. Some even offer suicide as a solution (however, that's NOT going to help but I'm not going to get sidetracked by that debate) but in the show Ed decided to spit in God (or Whoever's) face by attempting to undo what was already done. Using the power of his newfound science...Alchemy.

When one looks up Alchemy in the dictionary, this is what they'll find:

a medieval chemical science and speculative philosophy aiming to achieve the transmutation of the base metals into gold, the discovery of a universal cure for disease, and the discovery of a means of indefinitely prolonging life (Webster Dictionary)

So, in the show, bringing people to life was the ultimate goal of alchemy, however, in the medieval days they wanted to live forever.

Either way, Ed decided to attempt to bring his mother back from the Abyss with Alchemy.

As everyone who's seen the series knows, Izumi trains them in the ways of Alchemy and they head back home and prepare to transmute their mother back to life.

What really tears me up about this part is that I believe that Ed knows deep in his heart that it won't work. It's like when a young child's pet dies, and they think it's sleeping. They try to wake it up, and they keep trying and they convince themselves that perhaps it's only sleeping. However, as they say that it's sleeping, they're weeping. Why? Because they know the truth.

But, he tries anyways, and in turn produces Sloth. His own mistake becomes a scourge for others and ultimately comes back to haunt him and Alphonse.

Episode 1 and 2 begin the idea of science vs religion from the get-go. I love these first two episodes because it has a lot of great quotes.

We have Rose (also known later as the Holy Mother), a devout member of Cornello's church. She believes that she can work her way into the Sun God Vito's favor, and by doing so her boyfriend will come back to life.

It is funny how Ed criticizes her so much for her belief in that, because his belief that he could bring back his mom was just as ridiculous, only it was backed by 'Science'.

Earlier in that episode, Alphonse says one of my favorite lines in the series

In the english dubbed version he says: Well maybe he can. What if Cornello really is a holy man? Those scriptures...maybe there is something else out there... something we can't explain.

Followed by Ed scoffing and saying: Don't count on it.

In the Subtitled version it goes something like this:

Ed says: It's not like the dead will come back to life...

Al: I heard that they would come back to life. Those who live are granted an indestructable soul, those who die are granted resurrection. Proof is shown through God's miracles.

Ed: It sounds so fake.

I prefer the dub for the sake of this argument, because Al and Ed could be seen as the structure of science itself as compared to a religion.


Al is representative of the faction of scientists that have become religious, or are both. They see the world of science and have witnessed its marvels, but cannot explain all of the intricate details...the pattern and craftsmanship of creation. It cannot be left to Chaos alone, it is far too universal. So they acknowledge that there may indeed be a power out there in the universe beyond scientific explanation.

Ed is representative of the scientific community that believes all questions have a solid and scientific answer. For each argument for Creation, they provide two for evolution and science. He is firm standing (at least in the beginning) for his belief in Equivalent Exchange and the wonders of Alchemy. He even is so smug as to list the ingredients to the human body (Episode 1) to Rose as she cleans the Altars.

As the series progresses, the idea of equivalent exchange is skewed....and things become harder and harder to paint as black and white.

Anyways, I have much more I'd like to discuss, but for now I'll end it here. I will be back here and I trust that perhaps the people who have participated will join the soon to be formed Intelligent Anime Discussion guild. ^_^


Now I will move on to the form of Military and the idea of War in Fullmetal Alchemist.

In FMA, the Military is the authority over all of the country's decisions, and all of the country looks up to the Fuhrer, or King Bradley (Spoiler: Who happens to be Pride, one of the Homunculi
They have been in wars for years and years, one military 'conflict' after another. Now, it is funny that none of them are really called wars. In fact they are called something strikingly similiar to America's "Military Actions".

These 'military actions' however, have caused the destruction of both Ishbal and Lior, causing thousands of deaths and leaving a swath of destruction in their wake, through the use of the Alchemists.

Why does the general public allow it? Because the opposition was starting a 'rebellion'. Even though the special ops started the situation in Ishbal.

As a threat to the 'security' of the nation, two relatively helpless cities who only wanted to live their own lives were destroyed.

Profiling also plays a role as with the Ishbalites, how they're easily recognizable from the rest of society due to their darker skin and red eyes. Within the ishbalites is the 'cursed one' who tells scar about his brother and the ancient magic they used to study in Ishbal.

He is hated and feared for his differences and people shun him. People believe that the Ishbalites are evil because their city 'disappeared' overnight when the alchemists attacked.

What next what next...so much! Hmmm, how about a breakdown of the 'Sins'...that'll be fun.

Ok, let's start with the first two, Lust and Gluttony.

Now first let me talk about their introductions. As soon as I heard their names I had a feeling they were playing off of the 7 deadly sins thing, and it's interesting that Lust and Gluttony are introduced first. Perhaps they are what people fall for the easiest?

No...that can't be it...they are all so easy to succumb to (hence why they are deadly sins) Then why? Why would lust and gluttony be introduced first?

Perhaps there is no real reason, my initial thought was indeed that Lust and Gluttony were the easiest sins to succumb to. Overindulgence and lusting towards someone or something you can't have is something we catch ourselves doing every day.

Now then, to a breakdown:

Lust:
Created By: Scar's Brother
Power: Razor sharp talons that extend and can cut through anything.
Profile: Lust is the first sin introduced in FMA. (Episode 1, about 10 minutes in) Immediately you can determine her character design as something unique from the other characters that you've met. She is dark (long black hair, purple eyes) and her voice (in the english dub) carries a bit of a thick layer of maturity and wisdom as far as the ways of the world. She's known love and loss and is determined to become human by helping Dante to get the philosopher's stone .

Lust represents her Sin best by her desperation for humanity itself. In one of the episodes she is surprised when Sloth is still willing to help Dante even though they're not sure if she will turn them into Humans afterwards or not. She lost her humanity after Scar's brother attempted to revive her and thus became a Homunculus.

Or did she? What makes a human being? Is she human because she looks human? If you were to run into Lust in the street, you would say she's human, would you not? However, they do not classify her as such and she is not satisfied with their definition of her. She wishes to become completely human. She does not believe she is human because she knows what she really is. She knows she eats the Red Stone, she knows that she feeds off of the souls of other humans to survive.

Aha, but then (those of you have seen the end) are all alchemists inhuman as well? Because if you have seen the end you know that SPOILER:
The energy used to power alchemy are the souls of those lives lost on the other side of the gate in 'our' world. True, the alchemists don't need that energy to survive, but they use it nonetheless...
does that make them inhuman?

I'm getting off track for now...continuing on with Lust...

What makes her inhuman? What keeps her from being a true human being? Is it what is lacking on the inside? Her soul? Is that something that she can alter without a new body?
The series suggests it. She does volunteer to help Ed out. She, for the greater good of acquiring a soul, is willing to do what it takes to make sure that Ed is successful so that she can once again have a soul.

I wonder if she does not notice that by helping she is projecting the true traits of a thoughtful human being by doing so. In fact, she is more considerate than many humans portrayed in FMA.

She cares SO much about getting that soul to make it 'official'...but really....can you live without a soul? One could argue that Lust did indeed have a soul. Al had a soul in his armor, but many humans would not consider him human. They would consider lust more human than Al, and Al is the one with the soul.

What a confusing situation. It boils down to what purpose does the soul have? And can you ever truly be lacking a soul? Even a merciless killer may have a soul...it is a dark, distorted soul that feeds off of the pain and death of others, but it is a soul, is it not?

Moving on (Oh, by the way of course all of these are up for opinion/debate...expanding on the actual intelligent conversation)

Gluttony:
Created By: Dante
Power: Able to eat anything and through anything.
Profile: Gluttony is the most mindless of the seven sins. He has no real goals or ambitions besides eating. That's all his mind is focused on. And near the end he is transformed into a hunger crazed maniac to the point that he doesn't even realize his own master and in fact SPOILER kills her? It is uncertain

When you are REALLY hungry...I mean you haven't eaten ALL DAY and it's like, 6 PM...is there anything else you can really think about?

No...not really. I mean, at least I can't. Gluttony is a sin in that it derails your mind form all of the other important things, such as your obligations and other things like that. Overindulgence is the main point of Gluttony. No matter how much he eats, he always wants more. We are never satisfied with material objects. We say how much we want something more and more and we never get it...or if we do we instantly go looking for more.

...I'll have to come back to gluttony, I need some more material. ^_^

Next? Hrmmm...how about Greed?

Greed:
Created by: Dante
Power: 'The Ultimate Shield" Can cover his body with an impenetrable shield.
Profile: Greed pretty much sums up his own sin right off the bat. He is hungry for power and wealth and will do anything to get it. He even picks a fight with Envy at first (which I would have liked to see play out.)

Greed is an interesting character in that he has a loyal band of followers with the hybrid special ops members. He is very much the leader of the group, and it's not hard to see it. Not because he holds them in fear with his strength, but because he's earned the respect. It is said that Authority is Given, but Respect is Earned. This couldn't be more true in Greed and co.'s case.

Greed is also Ed's first real look at Murder. The fight scene was very interesting after Ed figured out his weakness. After exploiting his weakness and driving his auto-mail arm through his chest, Ed was surprised when that's all it took.

(You're not supposed to die that easy!)

Taking a life face to face like that shook Ed up big time. Once again returning to the Episode 51 bombshell...(refer to SPOILER above pertaining to inhuman alchemists) it's interesting how much more powerful the impact is.

For example, on a day to day basis when we put on our jeans, we don't think about the fact that they might have been made in a sweatshop, and perhaps while making that pair of jeans a young girl who was earning a nickel a day finally died of exhaustion and heat in the middle of making the clothes.

Death is intwined in everything we do, but we don't really realize it until it hits us in the face do we?

This is a good example of that, the paralell between the source of Ed's alchemy power and when he kills Greed himself.

(I will probably expand on all of the sins later on...for now I'm just putting out the basic stuff)

Let's see let's see.... how about Envy next...oh he's fun.

Envy:
Created By: Hoenheim
Power: Inhuman strength, shape-shifting.
Profile: Easily...EASILY the best incarnation of his sin. Envy is extremely envious and jealous of the Elric brothers. SPOILER Or, his Half Brothers, however you want to look at it. ^_^
His shape shifting ability is an interesting part of his sin as well. When you're envious of someone, you may want to be like them to have the things they have, like the rich kid at school who gets all the stuff you want the day it comes out and by the time you get around to it, it's old school.

He despises Edward and Alphonse for existing. He despises them because their Father was the one who brought him into the world AGAIN as a Homunculus. And for that, Envy is willing to search the dimensions on either side of the gate to find Hoenheim and exact revenge.

Perhaps he's envious of the dead as well? Anyone who has ever contemplated suicide may understand this concept....what do the dead have to worry about? Nothing. Envy could very well be with the Dead...but instead Hoenheim had to bring him back. Bitterness and Anger drive him now...and he'll exact his revenge on Hoenheim no matter what.

Wrath, Pride and Sloth are left right?

Hmmm...

Come back and edit it later. Enjoy and munch on the intellectual snacks for now.

Start discussion...debate! lol

To the fangirls: I have no problem with Hughes, I think he's an awesome character and I will go into detail about all of Roy's posse later. In fact, Hughes' death scene and funeral Is probably the best done like that in all of anime. No joke.

Anyways, let me finish up with the sins for now.

Wrath:
Created By: Izumi
Powers: Having Ed's arm and leg, he is the only homunculus able to use Alchemy. Besides the typical really hard to kill power, that's all he has.
Profile: Wrath best suits his sin in that his emotional state is so unstable. Anger and wrath come upon us on a moment's notice.

One moment, Wrath is an innocent little child who's confused about his powers and roaming around the Forest of Trials. Next, he is fed the Red Stone by Envy and is hell-bent on killing Izumi and Edward for the rest of his body.

This same pattern continues throughout the show. Somewhat mellow, extremely violent, somewhat mellow, extremely violent.

I think the most interesting part about Wrath stems from his dependence and love of Sloth. Sloth is the only one who can really tame Wrath, her and Izumi. Wrath literally refers to Sloth as his 'mom'.

It's interesting, when Ed kills Sloth, Wrath responds more emotionally than Ed does, and it bothers him afterwards.

"It's as if...he was crying in my stead."

Wrath is blindly directed...in the beginning Wrath wants Ed's body, and wants to kill Izumi for doing what she did.

Later on, he wants to kill Ed because he killed Sloth...and just like Wrath, his thoughtless actions result in Dante taking his arm and leg away through the Gate.

Last little bit I want to tack on to Wrath's profile. It's interesting how he's a child isn't it? He's not exactly the most brutal or vicious, but nonetheless he is a child. He depends on sloth, he depends on other inanimate objects even, as the source of his powers.

His dependency on others really exaggerates his childhood and immaturity.

Pride
Created By: Dante
Profile: Pride is probably one of the most active (off screen) sins. He has been busy running Central and has been orchestrating wars and military actions with Dante for years and years. He ages like a regular human does that helps him to honestly keep up his image as Fuhrer. He even has a family.

Pride's best demonstration of his sin is his complete confidence in his control over the Government. Both he and sloth infiltrated Central and have worked their way up, and now Pride is sitting at the top of the chain and Sloth is helping him.

His power is his 'Eye of Truth', he can see things that many regular humans can't see, such as air patterns and other things like that. I believe that his super speed is also a skill of his.

The only thing that I can really bring up for Pride is the fact that he has an actual family. Does that make him more human then the others, who were pretty much loners?

As for myself I found Pride to be the most Human of them all. He had ambitions, a family and ran a country with the same politics one might expect from a regular human being, perhaps even better.

Roy himself admitted that he didn't care that a Homunculus was running the government, the thing that bugged him was that they were trying to make a philosopher's stone by manipulating people.

Sloth
Created by: Edward Elric
Profile: Sloth is the calm, semmingly leader-like member of the Sins, at least the ones that are generally out and about (Greed, Envy, Lust, Gluttony, Wrath) and serves as a special role to Wrath, his 'Mom'.

Created after Edward attempted to revive his mother, Dante took Sloth in and helped her to become a homunculus by feeding her the red stone.

Sloth is probably the only one whose sin is not laid right out there. Sloth usually is applied to laziness. "Idle hands do the devil's work" type of thing.

However, Sloth is not the lazy type. She is instead constantly aiding the Fuhrer in his plans and trying to get all of the Sins together for Dante to continue the quest for creating a philosopher's stone. Perhaps the only 'sloth' like quality is her reserved demeanor and real lack of enthusiasm for anything.

That's about it for now. I'll put up a detailed breakdown of the Elric Brothers next time, followed by Roy and his posse.

Shoot, I'll just start on it now, why not?

Well, first off we'll deal with The Fullmetal Alchemist himself...Mr. Edward Elric.

Ed plays so many roles in FMA it's hard to focus it down to one or two. He displays the power of military authority (being so young and yet commanding so much respect and attention) the logical thinking of the scientific community (The Principle of Equivalent Exchange is the main rule of his life from the beginning to the end, even though it gets a bit skewed at parts.) The confusion and vulnerability of a child (Still paining from the guilt of his mother's loss as well as Al's current condition) The responsibility of the older sibling (Constantly sticking up for Al and taking things upon himself, also making mistakes when things become too much)

I'm getting a bit too scrambled, let's focus...

First of all, Let's look at the relationship between Edward and Alphonse.

Their relationship is a very dynamic and interesting one. They don't have anyone else to live for but each other, and they display that with each of their actions of selflessness and sacrifice for each other. Although they joke, these brothers are constantly looking out for one another.

Edward, in this situation is the one that takes the most risks and is more willing to throw away his life in dangerous situations (such as his fight with Scar), which only pisses Al off.

Edward's issue of height seems to have a lot more behind it than it originally seems as well. It's interesting how it seems that the younger brother is put into a position of more power while Edward is merely enhanced with auto-mail. One could see it as equaling them out, another could see it as Edward's punishment to constantly view his brother in that seemingly inhuman form.

However you wish to look at it the transformation changes their relationship for certain. It begins to bring up doubts for Alphonse later in the series when he doubts whether he really is who Ed says he is, or simply had memories 'implanted'...much like the skin-jobs from Bladerunner.

They are constantly encouraging one another, and Ed always tells Al how he'll get to use the Philosopher's stone to change himself back first. Once again, acts of selflessness abound. Al does the same thing for Ed later on and the cycle of promises continues for nearly the whole series from one bad situation to the next.

Ed wants to be the 'protector'. He wants to be Al's armor and shield from the dangers of the world around him, but what he doesn't want to accept is Al doesn't need it.

It can very well be paralelled to a mother/child situation.

You love this child, you love it with all of your heart and you're willing to give your life for it. And you want to protect it...protect it as only you can.

So, you do. When they're young you keep them away from the streets and electrical sockets, as they grow older you help them with more complicated things.

Finally...one day they're 14 years old and they walk out the front door to go visit a friend.

You're terrified...you can't see your baby (14 year old) taking care of herself out in the dark. So, you follow her, and to your dismay and horror, it turns out that she is ok and that she can indeed take care of herself. Same thing goes for Ed with Al. Al is younger and more senesitive, so Ed is prone to worrying about him and wanting him to be safe. However, turns out that Alphonse can take care of himself, and Ed doesn't like that.

More later...so tired.

Alright, more Edward Elric analysis...

So, we know that he's protective of Alphonse and afraid of not being needed by him anymore, because what else does he live for but helping Alphonse return to his normal self?

His relationship with Roy is an interesting one. At first, Roy and Ed are simply using each other to get what they want. Roy uses Edward to gain some renown in the military and get transferred to Central, Ed uses Roy to get into the State Alchemists and their vast library of information to help get information together to fix his brother.

As the story progresses however, (More so near the end of the series) Roy and Edward realize that they are the only real sane people in their world of corruption and betrayal (I'm not saying Armstrong and the others are no good, simply that Ed and Roy see eye to eye with recognizing the corruption at the very top of the chain)

To take the place of a fatherly figure, Hughes steps in, quite possibly one of the most brilliantly constructed and executed characters in all of Anime history. (No joke)

The reason why Hughes' character is so intriguing and lovable is because we know him. Or at least, we wish we knew him. Not in the same way we wish we knew Roy because he's cute, or Armstrong because he's so wacky...we want Hughes to be our next door neighbor. We want him to invite us over to his house and sit down over tea and just spill our guts to him over how our day went or his advice on a certain topic.

What is Hughes? Reason, Logic, Humor, Sensibility. Hughes is the embodiment of right minded human being who strives to succeed, but looks out for others and his family. He is, if I may say so, the perfect example of what a Human Being should be like. Religion and other stuff aside, he's loyal, smart, firm and humorous. At one moment he can be joking with you and another giving you some heartfelt advice to protect you from being hurt.

I'm slipping off topic, let's center it back. Why is he involved with Edward? Because he needs that voice of reason. He needs that support to help him through the tough jobs that the Military has him doing.

Hughes is exactly the moral support Ed needs to get through this tough time...he's with Alphonse, trying to get info together and constantly running into dead ends. With no mother or father, Hughes' remembers his birthday, takes care of him and Alphonse and also lets him in as an intimate part of his family.

There's so much to Edward...hard to get it all done in one sitting. Sorry everyone, gotta jet for now. Stay tuned for more, almost done with Ed for now.

Alright...time to wrap up the Edward analysis.

So...what is Edward? Edward is our stubborn side...logical and skilled. Sticking to his beliefs without doubt or hinerance from anyone outside,

Edward likes things Black and White, Equivalent Exchange. Boom. That's it. There are no exceptions to the rule...and you abide by it or you're doing something sneaky. The government is diryty and the Alchemists are Dogs, but he doesn't mind becoming a dog to get what he needs to get done.

He is also hesitant to accept when things aren't quite that simple. For example, in episode 36 when the 'Exile' of the Ishbal relocation camp talks about the Great Art and Alphonse suggests that it sounds like Alchemy, Edward doesn't want to hear it and it's funny because he sees their version of making the philosopher's stone so much more grotesque even though his hypothesis was about the same.

He then makes a breakthrough, however. He states near the end of the episode that even one's emotions can be wrong.

"Just because your parents tell you its wrong doesn't even necessarily mean it's bad."

Discovering the truth within ourselves. A remarkable insight.

Edward is also powerful. His power and control attests to the power of not only ourselves...but our soul. Overcoming trials, fighting when there's no more energy left and when the odds are next to none.

In short?

Edward is the embodiment of determination, strength, firm belief, struggle and the will to keep moving.

Now then, before I move on to Alphonse let me explain what I'm getting to.

The Elrics are the embodiment of the Human Spirit. Both Edward and Alphonse attribute to this, Edward is the more aggressive, and has many more of the assertive qualities, as well as the more stubborn qualities as well.

Alphonse is the embodiment of our compassion, understanding, open mindedness ( by not simply taking equivalent exchange at face value), the innocence, the anxiousness about the future as well as being uncertain about our own existence, much like the rest of us do at least once in our lives. (Am I a real living human being? Or am I just going through the motions based on some other worldly plan?)

I'll expand more on Alphonse next time.

Now then, more good news, a friend of mine will be helping with my analysis and adding his own ideas to the discussion. After I'm done with the Elrics, Roy's Troupe and Hoenheim and Dante I will be going back over the analysis and going even deeper, so put on your thinking caps.

Also, read Oedipus and you'll appreciate a lot more of what I'll be saying the second time around. ^_^

Alphonse is the anti-homonculus, as he is a soul with no body. As an anti-homonculus, or Anti-Sin, he could then be seen as the embodiment of the Seven Virtues themselves, the antidote and answer to the seven deadly sins.

The Seven Virtues are as follows:

Faith- Belief in the right things (including the virtues!).

Hope- Taking a positive future view, that good will prevail.

Charity- Concern for, and active helping of, others.

Fortitude- Never giving up.

Justice- Being fair and equitable with others.

Prudence- Care of and moderation with money.

Temperance- Moderation of needed things and abstinence from things which are not needed.

Alphonse himself is the embodiment of all of these things, and as such a more worthy adversary to the sins themselves than his brother, Edward. How does he represent these things?

Faith- Referring back to Episode 1, Alphonse does reveal a bit of an open-mindedness to religion as well as his understanding of the scientific world. Now which one of these is 'right'? That in itself is a topic we could debate over...however, for the sake of this argument what is 'right' is what Alphonse believes is good and right in his own heart. He is not strictly scientific and leaves some things to a power that he cannot see, at the same time he uses logic and science to overcome many problems as well so he's got one foot on both sides of the line as far as that goes, and he believes that life itself is sacred. (Unless of course, his brother's life is on the line)

Hope- Alphonse is optimistic in the beginning that they will find the information they need to get what they want. As things get darker, Alphonse still believes that good can come out of it and that they will go back to the way things were. Winry (Representing Hope as well...but not in the Virtue aspect) helps Alphonse and Edward to see that there is still someone who recognizes the humans in them, especially in Alphonse's case. Even SPOILER after Edward and Alphonse get separated into different worlds Alphonse has hope that he will meet up with his brother again.

Charity- Edward and Alphonse both fulfill this, both separately and together as brothers. From Lior to Xenotime, the brothers help out those in need and Alphonse is there to translate his brothers harsh words of advice into gems of wisdom that people can actually remember and take with them.

Fortitude- Through everything Alphonse continues to push forward, helping Edward along with his optimism (Except during his 'Am I really who Ed says I am' phase) Fighting Barry and during any of his spars with the Sins, Alphonse never gives up, not even when Dante has him in the transmutation circle and is about to use him to switch bodies.

Justice- Alphonse has a strong sense of justice throughout FMA. There are things he knows are wrong, and he fights to keep those things sacred. He and Edward both acknowledge the fact that trying to revive their mother was a mistake and sees what they're going through as punishment for that. "For stepping on Holy Ground, where humans are forbidden" (Episode 1) Besides that, his sense of justice also contributes to his firm belief in their journey and how he doesn't want it to be for nothing. (Part of the reason why he almost tears the arm and leg right off of Wrath's body)

Prudence- Alphonse doesn't deal with money all that much during the series, but his caution with time and their plans in general brings one to believe he is very cautious, he hasn't journeyed all this time with his brother for them not to achieve their goal.

Temperance- Not only needed things or things that are not needed in a material way, but also emotionally. For example, holding grudges and harboring hatred are emotions that you don't need. Alphonse does not do this. However, things such as happiness and optimism are important, but not in large doses as it may cause him to be delusional and unrealistic. He displays a good balance of his emotions, for a kid that is.

So, we've gone over Homonculus, religion and science...the brothers dynamic relationship and other things. What else what else...

Hoenheim and Dante. There we go...

~~~

It's still a WIP...but you can munch on that stuff for now, reply to it or whatever.

I'm not an expert in any sense, I just found those things interesting. 3nodding

crying I applaud you great job on analyzing. Looking forward to your second part. crying

Alright, I guess I'll continue with the Hoenheim and Dante idea. I'll add to the Roy and crew analysis later. It must be buried deep in Gaia where I posted it first. >_<

In any case, Hoenheim and Dante (and Good and Evil in a world of moral grey)

Firstly, I can't go on without first noticing the significance of her name. Based on Dante Aligheri's work "The Divine Comedy" (Of which, 'Inferno' is the most widely read and studied) Dante is the protagonist who makes an epic spiritual journey through the depths of Hell, up the mountain of Purgatory and onward to Heaven, where he meets his fictitious muse, Beatrice.

That's the background, and there may be some connections between Dante's character in 'The Inferno' and the Dante we see her Fullmetal Alchemist (such as her hatred of 'sin' as embodied in the 7 deadly sins. She's not proud of those creations in any sense and in fact looks down on them with a remarkable amount of disgust). But for the most part I just wanted to flesh out the background of the name.

Dante and Hoenheim are an interesting pair for a number of reasons. Many may wish to label the 'good' and 'evil' to Hoenheim and Dante respectively, however, it is important to remember that Hoenheim is far from blameless and in fact produced quite possible the most violent and unstable of the sins, Envy.

Hoenheim was a man desperate to save his fellow man from their sufferings, yet while doing so lost himself in the vast sea of power that the Philosopher's Stone granted. As the Creator of the Elric line, it can be argued that the traits of the Sons are all due to the nature of their Father. Of course, the maternal influence is powerful and is something that I will comment on further at a later time. The focal point for this section will be the Father's contributions to the Sons (Including Envy).

Hoenheim can be seen as a combination of all of the Elrics we've seen so far. He's got the power and stubborn attitude instilled in Edward, the compassion and tender side seen in Alphonse as well as the powerful desire to attain great power (previously) and be acknowledged not necessarily for his works, but simply because he exists (much like Envy). When we see these different elements divided among the Elric brothers it is easier to identify and say "This is a good trait, this is a bad trait." and by doing so label the 'good' characters from the 'bad' characters. (Which, I would argue, isn't necessarily possible in this world...that is another topic I'll get to later) However, when these traits are all in one person how is Judgment passed?

Can we say that Hoenheim is a bad person because his actions created Envy, not to mention centuries of turmoil and pain over the Philosopher's Stone? Did he know that his actions would have such serious reprocussions? The judgment doesn't simply fall on one side or the other.

The same could be argued for Dante. Here's someone whose love for Hoenheim has sustained her for centuries. She's experienced pain and suffering beyond what many of us can handle in a single lifetime. Her child reborn as a soul-less monster, an immortal beast who now is driven solely by his hatred of his Father.

Well, gotta run, but i'll continue this more later.