Sorry, but I have to get back to Pride again. I just keep wondering what it means to be considered “the strongest” homunculus, and whether he can really be measured as such, especially considering the other homunculus. Does he have the biggest amount of strength of the homunculi? I doubt that actually, considering Sloth and Envy. The biggest defense? Nah, Sloth and Greed are also incredibly sturdy. Meanwhile, I believe that his speed is about equal to that of Lust and Wrath. I think that what sets him apart is more his combination between strength and range of weapons that can hit from multiple directions.
So while he might be considered the “strongest” homunculus, I doubt that he’s been the most useful one. He might have the upper hand in battle, but he never uses that. Ed in this episode could be excused, but what about the others? He could have easily killed all of them, and yet only the lion got a few wounds that don’t seem too serious. Compare that to Wrath’s battle against Greed, in which Wrath just kept pushing his attacks on Greed, leaving as little opportunity as possible for Greed to recover. That’s something I consider stronger than some kid who holds a lot of power but doesn’t use it, and I believe that Wrath would actually be able to make minced meat out of Pride if they ever were put up against each other. And even Ed: why didn’t Pride just grab him in the way that he took control of Al?
In any case, that didn’t mean that I didn’t like this episode. It was another excellent build-up to the inevitable promised day, and how different parties are coming together again. I liked how the four chimeras finally saw each other again (not knowing that they’ve decided to betray Kimblee). And despite my gripes about Pride’s fighting ability, the part about his relationship with his ‘mother’ was definitely interesting.
As for Roy’s plans, I’m also curious about those ones: what was the point in kidnapping Bradley’s wife: the end of this episode showed that the military clearly doesn’t intend to consider her safety; especially with Bradley gone now. Next episode should again start with an intense action scene in which we can finally see Roy in action again.
Rating: ** (Excellent)
On a side-note: I finally changed the banner for this site, after having the previous one for more than three years by now. The image comes courtesy of Rel, an amazing artist. I’ve made a few other potential banners in the process. Do you suppose that these might look more appropriate?
After this I’m planning to overhaul the side-bar. My plans are to:
– Move the most recent post upwards for easier browsing.
– Sort the series entries on recommendation-worthy.
I’ve also been toying with the idea to include a small section containing a link to my favourite episode each week, or something similar. How does that sound?
Yeah, Pride was toying with his opponents for a bit, and he was slightly weary of Hohenheim as well. Wrath is all business and never toys with opponents, that’s why he is the most bad-ass one out of them all.
Nice banners btw.
Kidnapping Bradley’s wife is actually a very smart and important move. You were right in that the military doesn’t care about her safety one bit. I’m not going to spoil anything, but considering it’s them vs. the military, if the masses are able to SEE how their government treats people, maybe they will be able to change a few minds.
On another note, I’ve also always wondered why Pride is called the strongest. I never thought he was. Creepiest? Yes. Holds the most seniority? Yes.
I think it’s more that he is the 1st homonculus, and thus can boss around all of the other homonculi. If I had to say who’s the strongest, I’d probably go with Wrath, because he’s a goddamn BEAST.
I actually think Pride playing with his victims to prove his superiority fits him quite well. Don’t forget he’s PRIDE, he must feel the need to prove others how superior he is to them.
I also don’t think Pride is the strongest one. He was the first, and thus holds more authority than the others. But yeah, it’s quite hard to tell who’s actually the STRONGEST. It might be Wrath… he IS a beast. OR Sloth, but we’ll get to that, I guess. Envy is just… big and kind of funny when he gets kicked around. Greedlin is just awesome.
I like all the Homunculi-characters, though. They aren’t alike each other, each have their own way of acting and handling a situation, and they’re easy to tell apart. Arakawa thought about it quite nicely, I think. 🙂
Lovely Banners, I must say, though I think this one (http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/5267/banner3nc.png) is the best one. That being said, the text is really…out of place, like it’s just been stuck on with MSPaint. I think you should get some better text there.
As for your ideas for updates – they sound good. I’m glad you did change your banner, either way.
Actually, scratch that – don’t just use one, have them scroll so there’s a different banner each time you refresh the page.
Yeah, I figured that it was kindof noticeable. Unfortunately, I’m very bad with The Gimp or Photoshop, so this is about the best I could have done.
Pride comes before the fall 😛
I tend to think while Pride may be considered the strongest, his name and actions alone prove the above. The first thing “Father” abandoned was his Pride, according to the story thus far. It’s only a mild stretch to think that he did so simply because he knows the risks it poses.
Pride (the Homonuculus) was shown to be exactly that, and it was a contributing factor to his loss.
Pride is probably a compilation of all their abilities….sort of. His shadows can cut/pierce almost anything like lust, he can devour/consume almost anythings like gluttony, he can shapeshift and even possess bodies similar to envy, he has great strength over the physical and can parry almost any attack like sloth + greed, and he can see things far beyond the range of his human host like pride.
I think the new banner and the “other” one are better. And for sidebar, keep the current alphabetical list. It is easier to search for finished series. You can create another list of recommendation, or write an entry to list out your favourites. Otherwise the sidebar will be very long. A link to video will be great too!
I like the one in ‘potential’. Just saying. Weird way to vote for a banner. lol
Looking at Pride’s abilities, I would think that he’s the strongest homonculus if he decides to actually go full power in battle with the intent to kill.
As for the changes to your blog, the new banner looks great and those ideas sound awesome.
@B
That was very nicely explained, and I agree.
Pride is a dangerous thing in battle.
Pride’s banging on als helmet is he trying to get someones attention. I hope they leave someone to guard that.
this was a great episode. this anime is EPIC. I’m torn to say it, but it might be gunning for RuroKen as my all-time favorite anime, esp. since it absolutely will not fall off like that anime did due to unfinished manga/filler issues….
i have to disagree, pride is BY FAR the strongest homunculus, even considering a badass like Wrath (a strong 2nd). he’s just a victim of the rules of anime/comics which state that even though a character is established as being virtually invincible/unbeatable (*cough*, Superman, *cough*) on a fairly regularly basis he/she MUST lose to a greatly inferior opponent he/she should ABSOLUTELY wipe the floor with EVERY TIME (*cough*, Batman, *cough*) LOL
yeah bobby, ita. (: it’s just like priscilla and clare in claymore. pride would be the strongest if you were judging my abilities alone, and like someone above said, if he entered a game with the intent to kill. sadly he had to fall victim to trope. 🙁
Pride is pride incarnate. Pride causes people to use and underestimate people and make bad decisions.
Pride was beating on Al’s helmet in a vain way to get revenge.
I get the feeling Pride isn’t beating on the helmet for revenge, but to give someone a signal to get him out.
I get a feeling he’s beating on the helmet just because he likes it. I know I would.
I would maybe just chalk the ordering of sins up to the author’s outlook rather than something demonstrated by its abilities. It’s sort of how I view Greed’s depiction as a ‘good badboy’ and an assortment of other decisions she has made.
I like the new banner. The contrast on the text in the alternative images seems too low to me, but otherwise they’re fine images. I’m especially fond of banner10q.
Excellent episode, and one hell of a cliff hanger at the end, i think it will really be a roller coaster from her to the final episode … non-stop Epic-ness (i suppose they will leave at least one or two episodes for the aftermath of the promised day), by the way .. for manga readers .. did the manga end or not (sry if the questioned has been already answered, i do have quite the short attention span XD)
As for Pride, i say his personal traits play a factor in how he fights, if measured by power alone he might not be the best overall (eventhough he has almost insane attack range and is untouchable in the right conditions -the underground incident) … more importantly let’s not forget that Wraith is called Wraith for a reason … he goes all out when he fights because of his personality … so IMO judging characters fighting potential based on raw power only might not be really accurate .. the characters are the sum of all their parts (personal traits, raw combat potential, past experience, … etc etc) … same goes for Hoinhiem how being the ultimate alchemist he is rarely used his powers in the series.
One more thing, what role does the Tattoo -the one on lieutenant hawk’s back- serve … we get treated by it every ED sequence and yet there isn’t even the slightest hint of what it represents … i hope it doesn’t get used as a ‘deus ex machina’ that comes out of no where to solve a complex situation considering it can be anything at this point in the series (a little foreshadowing on it’s purpose could help us here).
One last thing, i might be going aganist the flow but i will miss the old banner a lot, it will be tied forever in my head with the Star Crossed Blog name … not saying the new ones are bad .. i just won’t be able to like them .. that’s just me being my nostalgic self XD
And psgels, graet to hear you are doing some upgrades to the Blog … if there is one thing i’d wish to see it would be a little poll system .. i know you have your own taste and time limitations … but keeping one slot for a series that gets selected by public votes .. hmmm .. i think many who follow you reviews will like the idea .. still the poll choices will all be up to you (personally i wish you could get some time to review ‘Ghost in the Shell’ or a classic like ‘Cowboy Bebop’) … but this is your blog … so ignore this portion of my post if you don’t like it … and keep up the great work.
The manga is still ongoing and the anime still has a ways to go before it catches up. If you look at chapters 58, 60, and 61 of the manga you’ll see what Riza’s tattoo is. It also should have been covered in the anime somewhere around episode 30 or so, but I only watch the anime occasionally so I’m not certain of that. (Which is why I’m not just writing the answer directly)
@m
Thanks, but i heard a while ago that the final chapter in the manga has already been announced (it’s number) and that the manga is very close to its finale .. that’s why i’m surprised it isn’t over yet.
As for Lt.Hawk/Riza tattoo, it has been shown in the anime around ep30 like you said .. but that was just Riza taking a shower and we got a glimpse of her back and the tattoo (pic here –> http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2338/33861478.jpg) .. that’s all … but it was never explained (people could guess it is related to her father who -we figure out at that point- was an alchemist).
They never said in the anime what purpose does it serve or how did it end up on Riza’s back .. or even why is it scorched .. all we know is taht it might have something with Riza’s father ultimate research which was handed over to Roy .. nothing more .. so good thing you didn’t accidentally explain it .. but it is good to know that it got explained in the manga already.
Again I have to say that Pride is just as his name implies, and thus while in terms of raw potential he is the strongest, his very essence makes him weak.
Breaking it down further:
Wrath: We’ve seen that he is indeed wrathful. Wrath isn’t outright anger. Wrath is far more than that. Without waxing too philosophically about it, one can say that the way Wrath has been seen to pursue a target relentlessly (Greed) or bide his time and manuvouer things both to his advantage while also causing suffering (treatment of Mustang and Co.) as well as his ability to acknowledge a foe that he fully intends to crush (Lin, Lan Fan) can all be seen as different facets of wrath.
Greed: Both straightforward in his desire but layered in his execution, Greed desires all things. And while it hasn’t been clearly stated, when you desire everything, that includes friends. His Ultimate Defense can be seen as another of way of showing just how much he loves himself. Greed is also selfishness, and that can be seen in how he desired to kill Pride, but immediately left Al and the others as soon as he realized he had the opportunity to expand on his goals.
Envy: A shapeshifter who mimics human form, hiding a more monstrous form that displays it’s human components. A homonculus that mocks humans and everything they stand for, but disguises itself as one at any opportunity, and felt horror at people seeing his true, and pathetic, form. While not obviously stated, he obviously envies at least the myriad physical variety in humanity, or at least that they have a form other than his.
Gluttony: Not much need to go into detail on this one, it’s fairly straightforward. Though one has to wonder if his hunger is as much his desire to fill the void that is the Imperfect Door inside him.
Lust: A bit harder to define, you still see clear examples of her desires. Lust isn’t just a purely physical desire. One can lust for power, prestige, wealth, to destroy, etc. I’d have to rewatch her scenes to get a better idea of the subtleties of her position but for the most part I think it’s still fairly clear.
I won’t go into Sloth because they haven’t shown much and thus far it’s not too unpredictable.
Suffice to say then, that each Homunculus clearly displays the traits that Father cast out of himself. In doing so maybe purifying himself of those “vulnurabilities”? Maybe the point was his acknowledgment of their uses, hence making them into servants, but not personally holding them in himself, keeping him pure?
I like Envy especially when he being embarrased by Dr Marcoh…
Love that scene
“Pride” You’re cocky, so you prefer to taunt and hold back at your foes.
In the dark, maybe Wrath could kill Pride, but with light, Pride’s shadows would tear him apart in the blink of an eye. Keep in mind that Wrath can’t regenerate either.
“Pride” You’re cocky, so you prefer to taunt and hold back at your foes.
In the dark, maybe Wrath could kill Pride, but with light, Pride’s shadows would tear him apart in the blink of an eye. Keep in mind that Wrath can’t regenerate either.
Riza’s tattoo will be explained. Probably around chapter 100-ish area. Since they cut it out from the Ishbal flashback and KEEP showing it in the themes, I’m betting on them reinserting it around there or something.
Don’t worry though, it’s not a deus ex machina by any means. If you want to guess what is is, take a close look at it and then see if it doesn’t remind you of something else.
@Gutts
Will try and find a clear picture of it to analyze it .. this could prove to be fun 😉
Full Metal Alchemist will always be remembered as always There’s no words to describe magnifico….
late post, but I WANT A FEED! it would make things a lot easier for me. love your blog, btw.
I think pride is extremely powerful after he devours former partner Gluttony, he becomes very reckless and rips up a tree faster than Mustang’s fire clicking.
appreciate the info guys
nice post sir…
thanks a lot…
makasih yaaa