(OT) 7 Deadly Sins- Full Metal Alchemist

Background: Full Metal Alchemist

The 2003 anime series Full Metal Alchemist is perhaps the best example of the 7 Deadly Sins as a story-driving theme in a television show.  Full Metal Alchemist began as a manga series in Japan in 2001, which just recently ended its publication run last June.  In 2003 the manga was adapted into an anime that aired first in Japan before it was dubbed by Funimation and aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim.

This anime series eventually caught up to the manga in terms of storyline, and thus had to branch off with different writers and create their own ending to the series.  In 2009 the series rebooted as Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which recently concluded its own run and follows the story arc of the original manga, unlike the 2003 Full Metal Alchemist series.  I'm most familiar with the 2003 series, so that is what I'll focus on in my discussion.

Synopsis (Beware: from here on, there be plenty of spoilers)


Full Metal Alchemist follows two brothers, Edward and Alfonse Elric, as they seek redemption for the mistakes of their past.  Their world is a parallel of our own, with one key difference: sometime far in the past, instead of the world embracing technological advances, great strides were made in the study of alchemy: the ability to deconstruct something and reassemble it as something else.  Their world then developed with alchemy as their primary tool for societal advancement, not science.

The society of this world has developed its own "deadly sin": the taboo practice of human alchemy, or the attempt to use alchemy to bring someone back from the dead.  Early in their lives, Edward and Alfonse lost their mother.  They attempt the forbidden by using alchemy to try and bring her back, with dire consequences:

Alfonse's body is destroyed, and Edward sacrifices his own arm and leg to rescue his brother's soul and bind it into a surrogate body, a hulking suit of armor.  Edward replaces his lost limbs with mechanical prostheses.  The result of their sacrifice? A heap of bones and writhing organs instead of a mother.

Following me so far? ...Probably not.

The rest of the series focuses on their search for the Philosopher's Stone, a fabled artifact said to have enough power to correct the mistake they made.  Along the way, they encounter seven malevolent characters that aren't quite human.  

Around the midpoint of the series, it is revealed that these creatures are called Homunculi, and are the results of human alchemy gone wrong.  They are perfect replicas of human bodies and possess superhuman powers, but lack any soul whatsoever.  They go by the names Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Sloth, Greed, Wrath, and Pride, direct embodiments of the sins they are named for.  And guess what?  They all work for a character named Dante.  Save for one exception, they're also introduced in the order in which Dante Alighieri presents the 7 Deadly Sins in Inferno.

So.  How do are these representations of the 7 Deadly Sins similar to and different from their Dantescan predecessors?  Let's find out.

Lust

Beyond her femme fatale appearance and husky voice, Lust is perhaps the Homunculus that is the least representative of the sin she is named for.  We never see her actively seduce anyone in the series, or anything remotely close.  There are, however, key character traits that make her name a fitting one, if you dig deep enough.

1.  The woman whose form Lust assumed when she was "born" was a loving wife in life.  Her husband, driven mad by grief at the loss of his love, attempted to resurrect her.  He was banned as a heretic, and Lust was born into his wife's body without the soul, which is what any man in love truly adores.  Being a merely physical embodiment of his former love, Lust seems an appropriate name.

2.  Near the end of the series, Lust begins to question her existence, and betrays the other Homunculi in a tenuous alliance with the Elric brothers.  Though she is quickly murdered by her kinsman Wrath for this change of heart, it seems fitting that Lust, the sin least damning in Dante Alighieri's mind, is the only Homunculus that comes close to redemption.

3.  Her superhuman power?  Her fingers stretch into razor-sharp spears that "penetrate" her victims mercilessly.  Yup.

Gluttony 

Gluttony is the least-developed character among the Homunculi, little more than a walking appetite.  We learn nothing about his past throughout the course of the show.  He thinks only of fulfilling his voracious need to feed, and has a tendency toward cannibalism.  He has an almost childlike affinity toward Lust, the other "overindulgence" Deadly Sin/Homunculus.  When Lust dies, he loses interest in his gluttonous urges and can only dwell on her absence. 

In the show's finale, the Homunculus leader Dante removes the alchemical mark on Gluttony's tongue, removing any semblance of personality and making him a complete embodiment of his namesake sin.  As Dante is trying to make her escape, Gluttony devours her. By the time the film followup to the series, Conquerors of Shamballa, takes place, gluttony has transformed into a monstrous beast with many slavering mouths.  During the film he gets the opportunity to avenge Lust's death in the only way he is capable: by consuming Wrath.


Envy

Envy's power is to shift his appearance at will, become anyone.  His preferred form is that of an androgynous teenager with a feminine voice.  This ability is the first indicator of Envy's nature in regard to his name.  What does someone who is envious of another wish for most?  To become them.

The deeper meaning to Envy's name doesn't reveal itself until the penultimate episode of the series.  In a final confrontation with the Elric brothers, Envy reveals his original form: the body of Alfonse and Edward's half-brother, born to their absent and immortal father Hohenheim and Dante many decades ago.  Envy's relentless pursuit of the Brothers Elric was spurred on by a personal vendetta of envy for the one thing he never had a chance to have: a loving family.  Hohenheim abandoned Dante and his son for the one woman he ever truly loved: Ed and Al's mother.

Next up: The remaining four Homunculi: Sloth, Greed, Wrath and Pride.