I imagine that just about everyone’s mind is on a certain book that will be made available at Midnight tonight, so I’m kind of wondering if anyone was looking forward to this week’s issue of FAnime Friday at all! So in keeping with the spirit of things I thought it best to look at a more magical anime/manga this week and naturally I was torn between Shamanic Princess and Hagane no Renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist). As tempting as it was to talk about Tiara I ended up going with FMA just because I love a certain homunculus to bits. Because there are some significant variations between the anime and the manga I have opted to discuss only the anime’s version at this time.

Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Envy

Now in the series the two main characters, Edward and Alphonse Elric, are searching for the Philosopher’s Stone, a stone created through alchemy that will enable the alchemist to disregards the rules of equivalent exchange (the principles of alchemy) and thus grants them the ability to manipulate matter however the user sees fit. Edward, having lost his right arm and left leg, and Alphonse his body, to a botched attempt at human transmutation (bringing someone back from the dead through alchemy) seek the philosopher’s stone in order to gain back what they have lost.

Edward and Alphonse are the sons of the infamous alchemist Hohenheim of Light, but unbeknownst to them their father is not all that they remember him to be and they are not his only children.

Hundreds of years ago Hohenheim and his lover Dante sought the philosopher’s stone for themselves. They failed numerous times until at last they achieved their goal, but it came at far too severe a price, Hohenheim’s body. As his body was destroyed in the process of creating the stone Dante hurried and attached his soul to the body of one of their accomplices. They had sought the stone to find a way to live forever and in a way they succeeded, temporarily. Soon it became apparent that their bodies would eventually rot and so they would eventually use the stone to jump to a new body.

Hohenheim spent many years at Dante’s side and fathered his first son with her. During the child’s life Hohenheim never seemed to show much love towards the boy and began to grow distant from Dante as well. It is suggested that at this point Hohenheim had doubts about their continued existence and had already discovered why exactly their bodies were rotting on them faster and faster with each transfer. At the age of eighteen Hohenheim’s son died of Mercury poisoning and once again Hohenheim and Dante dabbled in the forbidden. Using some of what was left of the philosopher’s stone Hohenheim attempted a human transmutation to revive his deceased son but he was successful and instead created a homunculus. This was the last straw for Hohenheim and he left both Dante and his son behind. Later he would meet Tricia Elric, marry her, and father two new sons whom he would shower with affection, something he did not do with his first son.

Dante would continue on to jump to new bodies when needed and not only fed her son pieces of the philosopher stone so that his strength and power as a homunculus would grow but she fueled his hate for the father that “created” him and then abandoned them the homunculus Envy was thus born. When Hohenheim left them he took what was left of the philosopher’s stone with him forcing Dante to create a new stone, but in order to create a new stone it would require many deaths.

Throughout time many alchemists would continue to seek out the philosopher’s stone and would continue to turn to human transmutation in order to bring back a loved one. On Dante’s orders Envy along with the other homunculi would lead alchemists she thought capable or usable along a desired path so that the necessary deaths could be attained. Envy, unlike the other homunculi never wished to be turned into a human the only thing he sought was revenge on his father for abandoning him and when he learned of the Elric brothers he sought to strip them of everything they had been given that he himself was denied. As the oldest homunculus Envy was also the strongest, his sole motivation was to extract revenge on Hohenheim and the Elric brothers, he despised all humans and had no love for his fellow homunculi. He never hesitated to turn on them and use them to his advantage. The only person who he is seen to have a close relationship with is Dante herself but it is a twisted one. Dante holds extreme power over him and he knows it and resents her for it. Thus when he lashes out at Dante it is often violent and even sets the unflappable Dante on edge.

Like all Homunculi Envy, despite his humanoid appearance, was faster, stronger, and more agile than any human is capable of. His agility, speed, and strength were certainly greater than other homunculi as well. Envy’s ability was to shape shift into anyone or anything that he wished. He could change his arms and hands into lethal weapons if he so chose but most notably preferred to shape shift into people. Because of his ability to accurately mimic a person’s appearance and voice Envy’s role was often to gather information, implant doubt amongst enemies, and carry out assassinations.

Throughout most of the series Envy appears as an androgynous character clad in a tight and ultra-revealing black sleeveless shirt and skort combo. His ouroboros symbol (a serpent eating it’s tail), a sign of being a homunculus is on his left thigh. He has long green hair, and a carefree but wicked demeanor. It is revealed early on that this is not his true form however by an offhand comment by Lust when she remarks that he’s still “in that form”. Envy claims to have forgotten what he originally looked like but in reality he choses not to wear his real face due to his resemblance to his father and his hate for the man.

I think I’m starting to spoil you my lovely readers. I was about to hit publish on this post when I realized I hadn’t included a special media treat this week! So for your listening pleasure I have now uploaded Kugimiya Rie’s Trance to Homunculus. This song is a tribute of sorts to the Homunculus of the series and features snippets of them as well. Enjoy!

As always, this file will be available to download for a limited time only and direct-linking is not allowed.

Download: Trance to Homunculus by Kugimiya Rie (FMA OST)

Last 5 issues of FAnime Friday:

• Issue #6, July 13, 2007: Ouran Koukou Host Club
• Issue #5, July 6, 2007: Original Soundtracks
• Issue #4, June 29, 2007: It’s Angelic Layer!!
• Issue #3, June 15, 2007: Toushirou Hitsugaya
• Issue #2, June 8, 2007: Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo

Read the rest of the FAnime Friday issues on the FAnime Friday page! ^_^