Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood – 40



I really want to thank all of the manga readers who drop by here to leave a comment for staying away from the spoilers. Even though I don’t reply often, I do read all of the comments that get posted, and they’re often insightful, yet don’t give away what’s going to happen next. That’s something I realized especially after this episode, where we suddenly get treated to Hohenheim and Father’s backstory!

This was an awesome episode, that filled in a lot of the blanks in the back-story. As it turns out, everything started with a king, tempted with the prospects of eternal life. It all started with one successful attempt to create a homunculus, if I understood correctly. In order to create it, the blood of a slave was used, who would later become Hohenheim. The problem was that that was a really weak homunculus, who could only exist within a glass flask. That homunculus tricked the king of the country (who was really gullible, apparently), to create a huge transmutation circle, which sacrificed the entire population of the country to create two philosopher’s stones: Hohenheim and Father.

Now we also know why it was so easy for Father to take control of an entire country: everyone was killed off in the first place so he could very easily take control. Now, one thing that this episode seemed to hint at was that there are philosophers’ stones of different levels, depending on how much people are sacrificed. In fact, note that huge picture that we also saw earlier on the ruins? This episode only showed the inner points in that picture to be lit. currently, father is trying to lay out a transmutation circle that covers the outer reaches of the circle.

Also, what about the door? This episode also showed that “the truth” was already there before father arrived: it was probably this truth that showed our little homunculus how he should create such a philosopher’s stone. My guess is that for Homunculi, it somehow is very easy to get to this door. So here’s my guess as to Father’s plans: the philosopher’s stones that he’s made of is very powerful, but not exactly the “perfect” thing, the thing that will give him true freedom. My guess is that he has to make use of people who have seen “the truth”, and create an even bigger transmutation circle to achieve full immortality. This episode established him again as a patient person who’s willing to go through great lengths in order to accomplish his goals. It’s perhaps a bit cliched for a villain, but at this point I really think that he’s trying to become superior to whatever is on the opposite side of that door, “the truth” that showed him about alchemy, and who keeps taking away body parts from people who attempt human transmutation.

There are still a lot of questions lingering, though. What kind of homunculus was Father before this transmutation? Was he an early form of Pride, or were there actually more homunculi? I also now see that homunculi need a philosopher’s stone to function properly. And only one stone per homunculus seems to be the limit, otherwise he’d just keep feeding them these stones in order to make them more powerful and efficient.

Also, what has Hohenheim been doing for the past centuries, really? It took him something like five centuries to figure out something that Ed and Al figured out in a couple of years. A lot of his life is still a puzzle at this point.
Rating: *** (Awesome)

27 thoughts on “Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood – 40

  1. I am glad you enjoyed Hohenheim’s back story it’s one of my favorite parts of the manga (but then again pretty much everything is my favorite part).

    A lot of the questions you asked have not been answered even for us manga readers. Although I am sure they will be answered before the end.

  2. Father was the first Homunculus i think his plan is to use the super stone he will get as a tribute to the gate. Truth will give a lot of info for a leg so Father i bet plans on giving the souls of everybody in the country in order to get all info in the gate but i don’t know what the 5 sacrifices are 4 if his plan was this simple he would not need 5 people that opened the gate so this is my best guess

  3. Hoenhiem was not in Amestris for all these years. If you remember an earlier episode, the “Sage of the East” was mentioned. This sage of the east was no one but Hoenhiem himself – he is the inventor of Xingese alchemy. 😉

    As for the remaining questions, like who was the original Homunculus before this, how did it know about the gate and the philosopher’s stone (and all that) is never revealed in the manga. I don’t think it will be revealed either.

  4. I think a lot of people are missing the bigger picture of what “the truth” is. The entire series has been jamming into our heads this “One is all, and all is one” thing. And the truth even says that he is the universe and he is the people too.

    I believe that the truth is where everyone is connected. It’s the exact center of the universe in which every living thing originates. Souls and alchemy are all utilizing the power that comes from life itself. Seeing the truth is like seeing origin of life itself.

    This isn’t spoilers, considering none of this has been stated within the series at any point. It’s all pure speculation. But here’s what I think Father’s plan is.

    My theory is that Father is planning to “overthrow” the Truth and become this universal center. He wishes to break all of his worldly bonds, so if you think of it, being everything at once is the most freedom you could possibly have.

    So yeah, I think Father is trying to become the new “Truth”

  5. The manga just now is getting to the point of explaining Father’s connection to the truth and such.

    Also, rather than saying Father was some kind of humunculus similar to Pride, I’d say Pride is just a physical copy of that form of Father. I don’t think that one stone per humunculus is the limit, but that one stone is the core of the humunculus and to change it too much would be to drastically change the humunculus.

  6. After this episode I think the anime has caught up to the point the manga was at when I last read it (half a year or so ago). Oddly, I was sure the explanation of Hohenheim’s past should have taken place several episodes back…

  7. I truly wonder what Father’s definition of happiness is. That scene with Hohenheim in which they discussed that really caught my attention.

  8. i have to hand it to Bones, they covered a LOT of stuff in this episode and managed to do it pretty well.

    wasn’t “Father” created as some kind of information source? when he meets hoenheim for the first time he’s spouting out definitions like some kinda dictionary or something. hoenheim’a master must have known enough to somehow “tap” into Truth (through Father) without fully understanding the “how” of it all (that’s my theory at least). i agree with egress63 that how Father knew about making that original circle/Philosopher Stone with Xerxes will probably never be explained, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, since it leaves something to the imagination for the fans.

    this part of the manga is where things REALLY start to pick up so i’m pretty excited. i already know how next week is gonna end based on the previews (LOL). how nice would it be to be a FMA fan who HASN’T read the manga and is just getting into the show through Brotherhood without knowing what’s coming?

  9. Hey Bobby, I happen to be one of those fans.

    And I am loving every single moment of it. This seriously is entertainment of the highest caliber. I almost feel like the genre Shonen is doing this show a disservice because while no doubt I’d be very entertained as a 14 year old, my 24 year old self has seen and read many more pieces of entertainment and I still consider this some of the best I’ve ever experienced.

    Long live Arakawa.

  10. Just finished the episode now. They left some bits out (e.g. the conversation between Riza and Mustang went on for 7-8 pages of the manga, Hohenhiem asks Izumi to continue refusing the offer for a state alchemist etc.) Not very important stuff but it would have made the story more nuanced.

    Anyways, nice episode. Next episode will see the introduction of two more characters.

  11. I think Keith has hit on some of the major points, like Father wanting to cast off his worldly desires. After all, didn’t he cast the 7 sins out of him and turned them into Homunculus?

    Also, the reason why it took Hoenhiem so long to figure out the plan is not only because he was gone for a long but because all of the bloody events, that will become the major “points” of the Alchemy circle, took place slowly over the decades.
    It’s easier for Ed to figure it out cos practically all of the major events/points, except at Briggs, had already happened whereas a few of the major events HAVEN’T happened yet when Hoenhiem figured out the plan. Case in point: Lior. It didn’t erupt into civil war til a few months, story-wise, ago.

  12. There’s a problem with what you posted. You wrote “The king was going to make two stones, Hohenheim and Father”

    Not exactly. The King wanted immortality and asked Homunculus how to achieve it. Homunculus of course lied to him, for his own selfish goals, and told the king how to create a massive stone instead.

    When it was finally finished, he told the king to stand in the middle of the array and he would be immortal. Double cross. Both Homunculus and Hohenheim were really in the center and Homunculus got what he wanted.

  13. like a few people have mentioned, certain elements such as homunculus’s origins and its exact relationship the truth and the gate are unknown will probably remain that way. there are a few things in your article that should be pointed out though.

    for a start, although its been a while since i read the manga i interpreted the creation of homunculus to be the result of a personal experiment by hohenheims’ master. it was only later that the king heard about the wise creature in the flask and summoned it to help with immortality, instead of homunculus being created/brought into the world to serve this purpose all long. someone correct me if im wrong here.

    also father didn’t take over an empty country. the country that was xerxes was further east than modern day amestris (and west of xing) in a deserty/savanna populated by people with gold hair and eyes. i think father just moved next door so to speak and brought civilisation to the people. its quite interesting to hohenheim, ed and al as being the last genetic remnants of xerxes.

    finally i think pride is deliberately made to look like father. afterall representing his pride it would make sense for father to create him in his image, i.e. a shadowy creature contained within a human vessel

  14. Oh, and I don’t know if you remember, psgels, but in an earlier episode they explained how one “sage” delivered Alchemy to the west, and another “sage” taught Xing Eastern Alchemy.

    I think it’s safe to say that Father created Western Alchemy. Actually, I’m fairly sure that Father is the SOURCE of western alchemy, considering he was able to shut it off (also explains why he has aged, if people are using his energy).

    And so this means that Hohenheim brought Eastern Alchemy to Xing, which would be one of the things he’s done over the past few centuries.

  15. Keith’s pretty much got it. Don’t worry, the whole Eastern Sage and what not will be given far more detail later on, so you don’t have to overanalyze it so much now. It (like everything else) is explained in due time. He’s got it though.

  16. Guts: I don’t think the manga has given much more detail than that, actually. Unless I missed something, in which case could you point out what chapter this is in?

  17. At the moment I am not interested in any theories. Since this series can give us “perfect” episodes like this, I just want to sit back and enjoy. This episode was the best of Brotherhood for me.

  18. I can’t wait till the next episode. Knowing how it “should” end based off the manga, it might be an absolutely amazing episode if Bones does it right.

  19. Not until Hohenheim and Father’s final battle. He flashes back on what happens after the events of the Xerxes transmutation and we see how he becomes known as the Sage of the East.

  20. I don’t understand why so many of you (all of you in fact) think that Father’s relationship to the Gate will remain unknown. I think a lot of the story hinges on that reveal and it will be a massive revelation coming up soon in the story. That mystery is the meat of this whole story right now, as far as I can tell. If it’s not explained I’ll be completely dumbfounded, because everything so far has been pointing towards that being a huge plot point.

  21. I think homunculous is lying when he says he doesn’t know how he came to be or where he came from. He’s hasn’t proven to be a very trustful guy so how can we believe that as well?

  22. Um its never been confirmed if indeed Hohenheim did bring alchemy to the east, though one could extrapolate given that it is almost likely that Father brought alchemy to Amestris given that it was one of the corner stones to making the country so powerful. As for Hohenheim its a mystery as to what he did after that incident, it would be odd to say that Hohenheim brought alchemy to the east given that he learned his alchemy from Father (when he was still in the flask, and did indeed help spread its teachings around which is a small scene cutt off here). It would be odd as alchemy of the east has a different base from what father teaches, with that its not entirely believable that Hohen would be able to teach Xing alchemy given its difference in power source. Though that isn’t so say it can be discounted since from Xerxes the fact that Hohen was able to use alchemy, and Father hadn’t achieved power yet, one has to wonder where the power source of the alchemy did belong (though that would pop up the question as to why Father would be surprised of Xingese alchemy when it would seem that there could be other sources for alchemy before he became what he is). These questions are pretty much unanswered, hopefully will be in the future.

  23. Machi, read chapters 98-101

    It’s right after there. It’s not a long flashback after what happens, but it’s there.

  24. My own theory was that Father wants to die (The same thing Hohenheim has researched) but the theories here seem much more plausible. I’ve read the manga two and am hoping it’ll be explained soon, as the eclipse has already come there.
    Ah, Why is Izumi only a ‘possibility’? I didn’t get that…
    This was one of my favourite episodes (in both manga and anime). I just love homunculus’ personality^^ Too bad he gave it up.

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