Top 3 episode of the series HANDS DOWN! 🔥 Our reactions to the rest of the episodes are out now on Patreon for anyone interested! www.patreon.com/carlie_and_ange
One of my favorite trope subversions in FMA is the fact that the carefully thought out plan of the main villain that took hundreds of years to fulfill wasn’t taken down by some spunky teenagers, but by a carefully thought out *counter plan* that took equally long to set up and execute
Not only that, but it wasn't even the *first* plan. The counter-transmutation circle was a failsafe in case the plan to take Father down by infecting him with allied souls didn't succeed, or if Hohenheim was unable to confront him in time.
If you think about it, the counter circle can be also somewhat related to "power of friendship" as Hohenheim befriended the souls and they helped him out but unlike most shounen, the clutch moment actually makes sense and not just some BS power of friendship power up that came out of nowhere.
@@criomede9536 The starting point for shounen genre fiction is an unshakeable humanism, the power of friendship is always going to be in there somewhere.
I think what Bradley means about his wife is: by the very nature of his job and position there as always the chance that he would die suddenly without a chance to say goodbye. In his mind, shes already accepted that and made peace with any feeling she might have about it
I think he is also subtly saying, I've given ger enough love to make sure she doesn't regret it when it happens. He chose her to be his wife after all. The only choice he made, I bet Bradley put her on a pedestal
About Pride's "death", Pride is “excessive belief in one's own abilities” and he always stated the pride of homunculus being so superior over humans. Despite that, as Kimble stated once weaken he tries to assume the form of what according to Pride is "a lesser being", "a low-life form" (Humans). Once Ed get to him and destroys his Philosophers' Stone, pride takes away and whats left is a incapable form, a weak little baby. Who seeks not his own powers and abilities, but instead the warm and comfort of his mother as he repeatelly calls "Mom, mom, mom". No Pride left.
It can also be interpreted that out of all of Pride's posturing and continuous denial of other human aspects within him (notably anger, like when he was confronted by Hohenheim in the tunnels, or when Ed confronts him about how Father treats him as a tool and not much else), Pride actually has a very fragile and infantile ego--which is near identical to Envy's (the only difference is how these two sins manifest). To further add on to this, psychologist Carl Jung also spoke of personas and archetypes, among his famous examples are the "shadow archetype" and the "child self". The TLDR of it is that many of these archetypes manifest in order to protect the "child self" which is your "inner" or "truest" self. The shadow archetype can often come from repressing your "self" or when you are internally challenged after making a decision that runs contradictory to your own morals (more on this later)--and the more your "true self" is repressed, the stronger the shadow self tends to become. Though it isn't 1 to 1, Pride more or less physically and symbolically embodies this aspect as his power is to manipulate and "hide" in the shadows. This may also explain as to why Pride can seem so overpowered (and not just on a technical level)--it is because his presents himself as the powerful first homunculi. To add icing on the cake, since Pride consumed Kimblee and has his soul residing in him, the final interaction can also mean that Kimblee has become Pride's "shadow", acting as an odd source of moral conscious when faced with his own weakness and was going to forego his "Pride as a homunculus" and running contradictory to Pride's posited morals regarding his identity. Once all of this is stripped away, what you get is the bare bones, "true self" residing in Pride all along-- a fragile child seeking to be nurtured and loved by a mother (almost as if his public persona as "Selim Bradley" might have been an aspect of his inner self all along, hence imagining being a family with Wrath and Mrs. Bradley before Ed turns his shell into dust). Anyways...there are so many layers to FMA's characters...it's insane!
Divine intervention for Scar was also very interesting, it reminded me of the flashback when the leader of Ishval begs Bradley for mercy and he refuses, denouncing their god in his face. Right in the moment where Bradley was about to finish Scar off, the ray of light (The Light of Ishvala) blinded him (which is also poetic considering his power comes from his vision) which allows Scar to save his life and deliver the killing blow. Scar having lost his faith after his entire country was exterminated, and receiving the intervention in the most meaningful moment was the cherry on top for his enlightenment, quite literally.
It's also not insignificant that this episode starts with specific dialogue highlighting the fusion of the moon and sun specifically as a symbol for "god," the perfect being. The solar eclipse created by the sun and moon finally shifts, and it directly causes the opening that lets Scar win. Divine justice and providence, indeed.
This show just doesn’t fucking miss. Nothing is wasted, everything is used. Every character trait, every backstory element, it’s all relevant. Absolutely fantastic writing, it impresses me every time.
I'm glad you two enjoy the characters as much as I did, I genuinely loved pretty much every character in this show. When I made my list of favorite characters for the show I couldn't decide. I absolutely love the character writing in this show its some of the best.
What I love is that they all have their flaws and vulnerabilities, which makes them even more relatable, and believable. It has some great role-models/people to look up to, and they all feel like real people!
The whole reason Hohenheim left his family is slipped into this episode. He spent years walking around the entire country. The first time he came back home and talked to ED is probably when he was finally done.
and he probably took a trial and error with the eclipse. imagine how long does he have to wait for full eclipse to occur just to perfect the calculations for the shadow
As abominable as Pride is, seeing him think of Mrs. Bradley out of fear and panic during his final moments always makes my heart hurt a little. Just like a normal human child, when frightened and in pain, he instinctually looked for the security of his mother. Even the brattiest kid will set aside their pride and cry for their mama when they get hurt and I guess that applies to Homunculus too lol I love Kimblee’s end. He’s such an incredibly self aware psychopath who knows what he wants, what he believes in, who he is, and will unbudgingly stick to his character and beliefs until the very end. He’s psychotic but principled and in a way, as fucked as his personal beliefs are, it’s respectable. He acknowledges that different people will have different principles and respects it so long as the person is consistent and holds conviction in their beliefs. The man’s got zero tolerance for pretense and that’s why Pride, in all his cowardice, narcissism, and hypocrisy met his end by Kimblee’s hands. Amazing characters.
He remembered the illogical act of protection she did for him. And longed for her to protect him in his moment of greatest despair. He didnt even called Father
The fact that the first thing you hear is a baby's cry - oh just Chef's kiss on the whole thing, emblematic of life itself and the power of it. Always hits me hard that moment does.
I swear to God, every time I watch this show and it gets to this scene I always feel myself holding my breath for that moment, waiting to hear the if the baby is alive again. I know what's going to happen, but my breath still catches like I don't know.
King Bradley's whole life was planned for him . He was raised in a lab being augmented and trained to be the ruler of amestris. He was never given a choice in anything. The only choice he got to make was the women who would be his wife. Now this was to be a superficial arrangement to look the part. But he genuinely wanted to be with her and that was the take back from this. When given the choice he'd chose her.
He certainly didn't bother to instill the notion that she's not to be killed out of hand as ordered by the top brass of the military a few episodes ago....Straight up ordered to kill everyone except Mustang, choosing deliberately to kill her for no reason because she's a nobody.
@@technofsfsfsfsHis co-conspirators gave those orders while he was missing in action. I don’t doubt that he’d kill his wife if Father gave the order, but he would never have allowed her to be killed unnecessarily as mere operational convenience.
In Dante's Inferno (A book about the Seven Vices of Man.), A prideful person regresses into the form of a baby in order to return to a state of obedience.
As part of the series finale of the manga, Arakawa made an art piece that featured the entire main cast for the protagonists, every character, main and minor, reaching their hands in solidarity, while not shown in his entirety, at one of the edges you can see Kimblee's arm, hat in hand alongside them, while not a good person, he had his role to play for their side
Prides death was a little hard to see the irony, But in his death all he could think about was his mother and father as if he was truly proud to have them as his "parents" The sin of pride is the oppisite of the virtue of humility (the seven sins vs the seven virtues) as Kimblee humiliated him Wrath was pretty straight foward, He died with a heart full of love for his wife. Mrs Bradley must of been something real special to be the final thoughts of the two scariest Sins dying thoughts.
It’s also worth noting that Wrath and Pride die in the same episode and the circumstances are quite contrasting. Pride the most homunculus of all the homunculi fears dying, while Wrath the most human of them all willingly faces his death as part of his humanity he never gave up.
I'm still very impressed by Carlie's very sharp and quick mind in finding out things a lot of time before it happens! I love Ange's theorising on the messages it delivers! You're so complementary that's why it's so enjoyable to watch your reactions
I was afraid Ange was going to be pissed that Pride wasn’t outright killed. Would have been funny to see, but this whole reaction was great! The socks comments 😂 You guys get it and notice details, and it’s so fun hitting all these payoffs again with you!
Actually about Envy's death, the irony is that he was always envious of human because as Ed's phrase to him. "And yet... When we're beaten down, when we stray and fall, WE FACE THE CHALLENGE AGAIN AND AGAIN and our loved one are always there to pick us up and you're jealous of that". And despite criticizing and treating human as weaker. He is jealous of how humans are resilient and how they always have people to help them, he hated the fact that he was envious of humans and wanted to be like them all along and decided to off himself. That's what i pick up from that.
Is that considered irony though? Isn't Envy's death more true to nature? The jealousy that they felt towards others (specifically humans) represents their humunculus trait and died feeling that way, rather than the opposite which I guess would be pride in oneself.
He probably decided to off himself because he had given up hope. He definitely already realised long ago that he will NEVER have whatever the humans are having. He was just being spiteful and thus committed all kinds of atrocities on humans, something along the lines of if I can't have it then so can't you. It was his coping mechanism. However, when Edward exposed all of his inner most feelings and thoughts and reasons for his actions, along with witnessing first hand the humans flaunting in his face the very thing he is jealous about, he just got so done with life that he committed suicide.
It's a good thought that she had a vision of knowing what happens at the end. The more times I re-watch it the more I think she actually wrote the story in reverse, giving each character the payoff she wanted their character to have and then using that as guidance as to how she could get them there. So many anime get sloppy like you say.
I’ve rewatched this show so many times both myself and through reactions and this final stretch of episodes still gets me SO FUCKING HYPED the exact same way even after close to 5 years since I watched for the first time! I don’t think anything hits the same way for me. I’m so torn between being excited to see you two react to these episodes and not wanting these reactions to end as you get so close to the finale. They’ve been an absolute delight to watch!
Wrath ironically predicted his own death. "Remember when he challenged the Ishvallan priest for God to strike him down? You think a season veteran like Wrath would accidently be blinded by the light off the sword there? Maybe his normal eye but I am rather skeptical that the "Ultimate Eye" could be given his first fight with Ling and the flashbomb.
In regards to Selim, I think what's happened to him is that all the souls in his Philosopher's stone were released similar to what Marcoh did to Envy. What was left was just his original soul (or I guess his fragment of Father's soul) so now he is just like Bradley able to grow and die like a normal human. We have to remember that the Homunculi ARE humans, just artificial ones. I personally like this end for Pride mostly because it means that Mrs. Bradley can have her son. It would be a little too tragic for such a nice lady otherwise.
Nowhere close to the best anime of all time. It's very solid, but lacks a lot of gravitas and weight, impact. Vinland Saga and Attack on Titan tell similar stories and themes but the characters and story are more grounded, real, impactful. In comparison, FMAB is a more child-friendly, digestible and palattable adventure story. Does a good job approaching VS and AOT's calibre, but falls short still. I'd say FMAB is too PG and idealistic, comic superheroey to be considered best anime of all time. The plot is too neat and romantically/thematically designed. IMO.
Like I said before this show just keeps getting better and better, and the really nails the landing - these last few episodes are just pure fire and raw emotion!
Bradley and kimblee are definitely my favorite villains. This episode is also one of my favorites. Father worked on his plan for hundred of years, but so did hohenheim to thwart that. Love it so much.
Everyone's comments are so well thought and clever so far..., and i don't have any this time). Just want to share what a pure joy it is watching this particular episode and the whole wonderful FMA (again) with you guys). Thank you for this! ))
Great reaction guys. I genuinely mean it when I say you guys are one of the higher tier reactors out there for your discussions. Love the points you brought up. Regarding Pride; to me the symbolism was that Pride is normally extremely proud of himself, his strength, his superiority to humans which really came through in what he said this episode. But his form being that of a baby - what could be more helpless, defenceless than a tiny baby which cannot do anything for itself. Completely counter to the pride in his own abilities, that is how I interpret the irony.
I distinctly remember watching for the first time and the cry of the baby followed by the opening bringing tears to my eyes. No show quite compares to this one.
The beauty of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. Not one line wasted. Not one character disguarded. We now see that the Freezing Alchemist from episode 1 was right about King Bradley all along. He knew even before Hughes the conspiracy. Alex Armstrong also objected to the war, but did not know what Freeze and Hughes knew. He was branded a coward but his big heart made him one of the most courageous heroes. FMAB is in the Top Ten of anime. Such a beautiful story. Side note: Please react to King Bradley: King of the Black Forces and the blooper reel when this is over. 😂😂😂
On top of Wrath dying at peace he's also killed by a man seeking vengeance, but whereas Scar's vengeance used to be retributive revenge that perpetuates a cycle of hate (killing any state alchemist regardless of their involvement in Ishval), here his vengeance is purely just and breaks the cycle
Bradley/Wrath is one of my favourite characters in the show and his death was sooo well done. FMA is still a great show despite its age, a true classic.
this episode shows one of the reasons why hoenhiem is my 2nd favorite character only behind his son Al.... Explaining why he left and what hes been up to since he left his family, the other reasons he's among my favorites is just how truly his tragic his story is, to me there's just a sad beauty to it
Since you've now seen the last episode (on patreon), I will comment my thoughts on the Pride irony in case no one else has said it. I think that the clear most significant but of irony here is this; unlike the other homunculi, Pride's ironic death is that he *didn't* die. And instead was "reduced" to the "lower lifeform" he so despised. I'd argue in fact that this "ironic death" is even stronger than Gluttony's
I think my fav characters are Roy Mustang, Greedling, Edward and Alphonse are among the best protagonists of all animés! They are so fair with flaws that we love in them because they are humans! Olivier and Izumi are also characters I really love
i think the beauty of wraths death is that scar who abandoned his hate is the one that took him down and buccaneer, fu and greed seemed to be too wrathful only in the end could inflict a mortal wound to him at their dying peace
Id like to point out that in the flashback ep to the Ishvalan War of Extermination, Bradley says something along the lines of to "if you wish to see me struck down do it yourself, not the name of your god." to the high priest, and then here the light from the eclipse is what blinds Bradley allowing Scar to strike the final blow, and an eclipse represents a perfect being, or god. Arakawa is such a great writer
I think the symbolism for Pride's true form is that prideful people, while trying to give out a sense of superiority above others, they deep down are small and fragile, just like a baby
You can destroy everything but a man's pride. I think that's why pride is the only one that lived. (Safe to say this since you've completed the show on Patreon).
did you notice that of all character Scar, killed Wrath? and after accepting both sides of alchemy, accepting his brother's gifts entirely, becoming a "full" or "complete" and after that "reversing" or healing the damage made in part using his compatriots pain. FMA is awesome...
In the next few episodes, people will unstand and remember it as "the masterpiece of all time". And to think that it can achieve that title in merely 64 episodes? Mind-blowing.
I love that in the last few episodes you guys were trying to predict who would take Bradley down and theorising about all the fitting rivalries that could come into play. Characters like Mustang and Greedling who both have aspirations of leadership. But you completely forgot about Scar. The man who ordered the ishvalan extermination taken down by one of its sole survivors - I couldn't think of a more fitting matchup.
The thing with Lust's death is that she commented about Mustang's indifferent look as he burned her to death. For someone who seduced and manipulated people, it was ironic to be killed by the supposed playboy who didn't care a whit about her appearance.
THAT moment from Kimblee was what I was waiting for. That crazy bastard still has a code and stands by it. Even though they are enemies, he understands and respects Ed more than any of the homunculus. One of my favorite characters
I have to say, and i don’t care you don’t read the comments: Your reaction on fmab is top tier reactions of all time, and all your commentary afterwards makes it even better. I had goosebumps even with the reaction commentary
Lust I believe died ironically of bloodlust of wanting to toy with Roy when knowing how dangerous he is did not take him out immediately despite the risk of not doing so.
Shout outs: Scar's brother, who figured out and planned a reverse transmutation circle while living through a civil war in a country that hated alchemy. Hoenheim, who set up a failsafe just in case Father got as far as he did. And to Kimblee, who proved once again that while he's a mass murdering sociopath, he still has standards that he'll stick to, even if it means his death.
4:08 This right here is why Hohenheim had to leave Ed, Al and Trisha. Not over some trivial matter but because of exactly this. Because he had to calculate and arrange his philosopher's stones, the souls within him, so that when the day comes he'd be able to prevent what happened to the people of Xerxes from happening to the people of Amestris. He is the hero, and he sacrificed time with those he loved. (also, being able to calculate the shadow is fucking mental)
I do love the bit about wrath and his wife. He’s a man without romance, he shows her respect. He chose her and lived with her for decades. She was the one and only thing in his entire life he could choose, he shows her complete respect and for him thst is love. Remember he is wrath, how could he experience a romaniptic love. Also I know no one recommends the original show bc it’s not true to the manga, but it contains so much more context to a lot of moments in brotherhood. It’s interesting to compare the two.
Edward has essentially become an expert at manipulating souls with alchemy. So what he did was extract his conscienceness into Pride and located his core essence. He then separated and destroyed the philosopher's stone from said essence. Keeping him alive whilst stripping him of his power.
The promised day starts and it does not stop. The end of two homunculi, and the payoff of two country-wide counter-offenses that have been building for ages. They managed to show a villain that just gained the power to make a new sun in his hand, and that wasn't even the most epic moment in the episode. As for Pride... I don't know for sure, but in the theme of ironic homunculus deaths I think the point is that Pride got humbled. He was a foolish boy, despite being the eldest, and he got reduced to a form where he can actually grow up as normal, rather than a tool for the Father. Ed didn't want to kill him, obviously, but he saw a little runt that was just viewing himself as an unquestioningly loyal tool to his father, and Ed couldn't stand it as someone who has had a strenuous relationship to his own father. So Ed took away the "shadow" of the dwarf in the flask (shown in the scene with the shadows fading, leaving only the boy) and he practically reset Selim's life.
I feel like lusts death wasn't necessarily ironic, but I had some thoughts. She seemed to be lusting over Mustang "I love that focused look in your eye" type thing. I think she respected Mustang who didn't bend to her, and wasn't terrified by her. Maybe? I've seen some people point it out that lust could mean bloodlust, she enjoys watching people suffer, which is why she wanted mustang to bleed out watching Havoc bleed out. I don't think this way. She makes men kneel, but died on her knees to a man? Maybe Perhaps the irony is less so with lust as she hadn't actually planned on doing that, the first I think 16 episodes were paced differently for reasons I can't remember but have been brought up, so her character arc perhaps became a casualty of a tight schedule, or the fact that she was feeling rushed by the manga. Actually the original FMA, not brotherhood, it followed the manga up until a certain point and then caught up to it and then just started winging it because there wasn't any material to use, rather than going on a break. Brotherhood follows the manga faithfully because it aired after the manga was done I think.
I think another irony to Lust's death is that Mustang killed Lust to protect the woman he loves (Hawkeye), but his relationship with Hawkeye is chaste. Also, Mustang has cultivated a false reputation as a womanizer, but he displays zero interest in an embodiment of lust.
Lust herself was more a subtle homunculus death, but the irony is still there. Lust is very domineering and is generally seen most satisfied dominating and killing “overconfident men,” but she saw true beauty in the purely focused Roy Mustang, who she underestimated (making her lust for domination over him her downfall).
And so continues the irony of the deaths of the homunculi. -First of all, we have the death of Wrath. The embodiment of rage and fury falls in combat to a man who had previously been consumed by wrath himself. This man is only able to defeat Wrath once he is able to come to terms with his own anger and put it aside, learning to make peace with those he hates. And finally, as this duality is resolved, Wrath dies peacefully, with a smile on his face. -And second, we have Pride. Father's first creation, the embodiment of his ego who takes on his own form, denies his own nature and his sense of superiority in an attempt to take on a human body. In doing so, he is brought down from within by one of the most arrogant humans we have seen in this entire series, Kimblee. At the same time, he is finally destroyed by Edward, whose entire character arc has revolved around paying the price for his own arrogance. And finally, Pride is reduced to the most humble body imaginable; a tiny baby, crying for its' mother. I love this series. Six homunculi have fallen. The fate of the seventh remains to be seen; Greed.
I’ve always seen Prides death as a “Pride is childish” kind of thing. Like when the chips are down and you are scared and hurt and alone your pride wont save you. We al go back to that base feeling of wanting your mom. And he may see himself as to prideful and great to want his mother but in reality he’s just a little kid who wants his mother. Wrath is just a stragly peaceful death for a man so full of rage. Once again meditating on his wife. Something about Mrs. Bradley. She has a way of making these homunculi feel so human. Also with wraths death the sun taking him out is ironic. The sun is a symbol of God and remember he said “don’t use god to take me down do it yourself” or something like that. Yet in the end god took him down. God and a man of God.
It's a great story that even made a psychopath like kimblee redeem in some form. Kimblee despises hypocrites, The prideful creature that was willing to reduce himself to being a human to see his skin. He did similar with hawkers when she was feeling bad for killing people. In that moment before you shoot them isn't there just a second that you are proud for a job well done. And she knew he was right. Also prides true form. Small. Frail. And Bradley dying by God. The sunlight in the eclipse. If one wanted proof of God. Great moment.
The thing that makes this anime great imo is that it's the opposite of most animes for kids. Here the heroes aren't seeking power. In fact it's the opposite. Yet the show is exciting and entertaining still due to the fantastic writing and pacing
Lust's irony is a bit difficult to explain, a good one I heard is that she wasn't sexual, but blood lust: she enjoyed killing people. And even though she was killed with fire, Mustang did it in an emotionless, cold hearted manner.
@CarlieAndAnge Lust died at the hands of the only man who did not fall under her spell. Perhaps there was irony in this. her comment about Mustang's cold eyes indicates this
im convinced lust died first in the narrative and wasn't revived again bc lust was the least significant aspect father thought was necessary for his plans. Good while she lasted as a pawn, but ultimately what's lust (the sin) gonna do for him when he's trying to attain the truth or whatever. She felt like an offshoot "sin" he developed when he attained a human body and went "Well its there might as well put it to work"
So in terms of ironic defeats, we have: Original Greed: died alone and with nothing Lust: Killed by a man who could not care less how attractive she was(Mustang was cold and focused, as she put it) Gluttony: Eaten by someone else Envy: Ended his own life after being understood and pitied Sloth: Killed after trying his best Wrath: Died peacefully Pride: Reduced to a fetus after attempting to escape into a "lower being"
![YoungBoy Never Broke Again - Catch Me [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KxwEXXFQMTY/mqdefault.jpg)
Top 3 episode of the series HANDS DOWN! 🔥
Our reactions to the rest of the episodes are out now on Patreon for anyone interested! www.patreon.com/carlie_and_ange
im curious about the top 1 ep but i guess we’ll find it soon lmao
You should check out the FMAB 4-koma shorts, especially Mustang’s rap
@@ilsrzz135 We might just find out next episode.
Or the next one.
Or the next one.
Now will y'all check out the bloopers and the ova's
One of my favorite trope subversions in FMA is the fact that the carefully thought out plan of the main villain that took hundreds of years to fulfill wasn’t taken down by some spunky teenagers, but by a carefully thought out *counter plan* that took equally long to set up and execute
Not only that, but it wasn't even the *first* plan. The counter-transmutation circle was a failsafe in case the plan to take Father down by infecting him with allied souls didn't succeed, or if Hohenheim was unable to confront him in time.
If you think about it, the counter circle can be also somewhat related to "power of friendship" as Hohenheim befriended the souls and they helped him out but unlike most shounen, the clutch moment actually makes sense and not just some BS power of friendship power up that came out of nowhere.
@@criomede9536 The starting point for shounen genre fiction is an unshakeable humanism, the power of friendship is always going to be in there somewhere.
I think what Bradley means about his wife is: by the very nature of his job and position there as always the chance that he would die suddenly without a chance to say goodbye. In his mind, shes already accepted that and made peace with any feeling she might have about it
I think he is also subtly saying, I've given ger enough love to make sure she doesn't regret it when it happens. He chose her to be his wife after all. The only choice he made, I bet Bradley put her on a pedestal
Pride: 'How, Kimblee? You should be completely fucked up from my last attack!'
Kimblee: 'That's my secret, Cap: I've always been fucked up.'
About Pride's "death", Pride is “excessive belief in one's own abilities” and he always stated the pride of homunculus being so superior over humans. Despite that, as Kimble stated once weaken he tries to assume the form of what according to Pride is "a lesser being", "a low-life form" (Humans). Once Ed get to him and destroys his Philosophers' Stone, pride takes away and whats left is a incapable form, a weak little baby. Who seeks not his own powers and abilities, but instead the warm and comfort of his mother as he repeatelly calls "Mom, mom, mom".
No Pride left.
Isn't he already in the form of a human boy?
@@technofsfsfsfs A baby in wolf's clothing in sheep's clothing
It can also be interpreted that out of all of Pride's posturing and continuous denial of other human aspects within him (notably anger, like when he was confronted by Hohenheim in the tunnels, or when Ed confronts him about how Father treats him as a tool and not much else), Pride actually has a very fragile and infantile ego--which is near identical to Envy's (the only difference is how these two sins manifest).
To further add on to this, psychologist Carl Jung also spoke of personas and archetypes, among his famous examples are the "shadow archetype" and the "child self". The TLDR of it is that many of these archetypes manifest in order to protect the "child self" which is your "inner" or "truest" self. The shadow archetype can often come from repressing your "self" or when you are internally challenged after making a decision that runs contradictory to your own morals (more on this later)--and the more your "true self" is repressed, the stronger the shadow self tends to become. Though it isn't 1 to 1, Pride more or less physically and symbolically embodies this aspect as his power is to manipulate and "hide" in the shadows. This may also explain as to why Pride can seem so overpowered (and not just on a technical level)--it is because his presents himself as the powerful first homunculi.
To add icing on the cake, since Pride consumed Kimblee and has his soul residing in him, the final interaction can also mean that Kimblee has become Pride's "shadow", acting as an odd source of moral conscious when faced with his own weakness and was going to forego his "Pride as a homunculus" and running contradictory to Pride's posited morals regarding his identity.
Once all of this is stripped away, what you get is the bare bones, "true self" residing in Pride all along-- a fragile child seeking to be nurtured and loved by a mother (almost as if his public persona as "Selim Bradley" might have been an aspect of his inner self all along, hence imagining being a family with Wrath and Mrs. Bradley before Ed turns his shell into dust).
Anyways...there are so many layers to FMA's characters...it's insane!
@@zachreyes4943 goated comment fr fr
Very well-written! I 100% agree
Divine intervention for Scar was also very interesting, it reminded me of the flashback when the leader of Ishval begs Bradley for mercy and he refuses, denouncing their god in his face. Right in the moment where Bradley was about to finish Scar off, the ray of light (The Light of Ishvala) blinded him (which is also poetic considering his power comes from his vision) which allows Scar to save his life and deliver the killing blow. Scar having lost his faith after his entire country was exterminated, and receiving the intervention in the most meaningful moment was the cherry on top for his enlightenment, quite literally.
It's also not insignificant that this episode starts with specific dialogue highlighting the fusion of the moon and sun specifically as a symbol for "god," the perfect being. The solar eclipse created by the sun and moon finally shifts, and it directly causes the opening that lets Scar win.
Divine justice and providence, indeed.
This show just doesn’t fucking miss. Nothing is wasted, everything is used. Every character trait, every backstory element, it’s all relevant. Absolutely fantastic writing, it impresses me every time.
I'm glad you two enjoy the characters as much as I did, I genuinely loved pretty much every character in this show. When I made my list of favorite characters for the show I couldn't decide. I absolutely love the character writing in this show its some of the best.
There are so many favourites to choose from 😆
What I love is that they all have their flaws and vulnerabilities, which makes them even more relatable, and believable. It has some great role-models/people to look up to, and they all feel like real people!
The whole reason Hohenheim left his family is slipped into this episode. He spent years walking around the entire country. The first time he came back home and talked to ED is probably when he was finally done.
and he probably took a trial and error with the eclipse. imagine how long does he have to wait for full eclipse to occur just to perfect the calculations for the shadow
As abominable as Pride is, seeing him think of Mrs. Bradley out of fear and panic during his final moments always makes my heart hurt a little. Just like a normal human child, when frightened and in pain, he instinctually looked for the security of his mother. Even the brattiest kid will set aside their pride and cry for their mama when they get hurt and I guess that applies to Homunculus too lol
I love Kimblee’s end. He’s such an incredibly self aware psychopath who knows what he wants, what he believes in, who he is, and will unbudgingly stick to his character and beliefs until the very end. He’s psychotic but principled and in a way, as fucked as his personal beliefs are, it’s respectable.
He acknowledges that different people will have different principles and respects it so long as the person is consistent and holds conviction in their beliefs. The man’s got zero tolerance for pretense and that’s why Pride, in all his cowardice, narcissism, and hypocrisy met his end by Kimblee’s hands. Amazing characters.
He remembered the illogical act of protection she did for him. And longed for her to protect him in his moment of greatest despair. He didnt even called Father
The fact that the first thing you hear is a baby's cry - oh just Chef's kiss on the whole thing, emblematic of life itself and the power of it. Always hits me hard that moment does.
I swear to God, every time I watch this show and it gets to this scene I always feel myself holding my breath for that moment, waiting to hear the if the baby is alive again. I know what's going to happen, but my breath still catches like I don't know.
it was such good writing, they didn't even need to show the baby moving in the crib, the cry was enough to signify that people are alive again
it always makes me tear up at that scene, so powerful.
King Bradley's whole life was planned for him . He was raised in a lab being augmented and trained to be the ruler of amestris. He was never given a choice in anything. The only choice he got to make was the women who would be his wife. Now this was to be a superficial arrangement to look the part. But he genuinely wanted to be with her and that was the take back from this. When given the choice he'd chose her.
He certainly didn't bother to instill the notion that she's not to be killed out of hand as ordered by the top brass of the military a few episodes ago....Straight up ordered to kill everyone except Mustang, choosing deliberately to kill her for no reason because she's a nobody.
@@technofsfsfsfsHis co-conspirators gave those orders while he was missing in action. I don’t doubt that he’d kill his wife if Father gave the order, but he would never have allowed her to be killed unnecessarily as mere operational convenience.
Scar's brother underrated hero btw, remember he understood EVERYTHING
In Dante's Inferno (A book about the Seven Vices of Man.), A prideful person regresses into the form of a baby in order to return to a state of obedience.
As part of the series finale of the manga, Arakawa made an art piece that featured the entire main cast for the protagonists, every character, main and minor, reaching their hands in solidarity, while not shown in his entirety, at one of the edges you can see Kimblee's arm, hat in hand alongside them, while not a good person, he had his role to play for their side
Just to clarify, Ed did not call Hohenheim 'Dad'. That was Al.
Prides death was a little hard to see the irony, But in his death all he could think about was his mother and father as if he was truly proud to have them as his "parents"
The sin of pride is the oppisite of the virtue of humility (the seven sins vs the seven virtues) as Kimblee humiliated him
Wrath was pretty straight foward, He died with a heart full of love for his wife.
Mrs Bradley must of been something real special to be the final thoughts of the two scariest Sins dying thoughts.
It’s also worth noting that Wrath and Pride die in the same episode and the circumstances are quite contrasting.
Pride the most homunculus of all the homunculi fears dying, while Wrath the most human of them all willingly faces his death as part of his humanity he never gave up.
Yeah Arakawa did have most of the story planned out from the beginning and it really shows
Indeed that helps minimize inconsistencies and plot holes. No wonder this is one of the best written stories in anime history.
I'm still very impressed by Carlie's very sharp and quick mind in finding out things a lot of time before it happens!
I love Ange's theorising on the messages it delivers! You're so complementary that's why it's so enjoyable to watch your reactions
And still he doesn't see the irony in lusts death lmao
I was afraid Ange was going to be pissed that Pride wasn’t outright killed. Would have been funny to see, but this whole reaction was great! The socks comments 😂 You guys get it and notice details, and it’s so fun hitting all these payoffs again with you!
Bradley’s wife was the only thing in his life that he had any choice in, everything else was planned for him since birth.
Actually about Envy's death, the irony is that he was always envious of human because as Ed's phrase to him. "And yet... When we're beaten down, when we stray and fall, WE FACE THE CHALLENGE AGAIN AND AGAIN and our loved one are always there to pick us up and you're jealous of that". And despite criticizing and treating human as weaker. He is jealous of how humans are resilient and how they always have people to help them, he hated the fact that he was envious of humans and wanted to be like them all along and decided to off himself.
That's what i pick up from that.
Is that considered irony though? Isn't Envy's death more true to nature? The jealousy that they felt towards others (specifically humans) represents their humunculus trait and died feeling that way, rather than the opposite which I guess would be pride in oneself.
He probably decided to off himself because he had given up hope. He definitely already realised long ago that he will NEVER have whatever the humans are having. He was just being spiteful and thus committed all kinds of atrocities on humans, something along the lines of if I can't have it then so can't you. It was his coping mechanism.
However, when Edward exposed all of his inner most feelings and thoughts and reasons for his actions, along with witnessing first hand the humans flaunting in his face the very thing he is jealous about, he just got so done with life that he committed suicide.
“Pride” is now gone, only “Selim” remains. I think Ed transmuted or ripped the pride out of him.
It's a good thought that she had a vision of knowing what happens at the end. The more times I re-watch it the more I think she actually wrote the story in reverse, giving each character the payoff she wanted their character to have and then using that as guidance as to how she could get them there. So many anime get sloppy like you say.
I’ve rewatched this show so many times both myself and through reactions and this final stretch of episodes still gets me SO FUCKING HYPED the exact same way even after close to 5 years since I watched for the first time! I don’t think anything hits the same way for me.
I’m so torn between being excited to see you two react to these episodes and not wanting these reactions to end as you get so close to the finale. They’ve been an absolute delight to watch!
Wrath ironically predicted his own death. "Remember when he challenged the Ishvallan priest for God to strike him down? You think a season veteran like Wrath would accidently be blinded by the light off the sword there? Maybe his normal eye but I am rather skeptical that the "Ultimate Eye" could be given his first fight with Ling and the flashbomb.
But his ultimate wye was destroyed by Ling earlier, that's the only reason he was defeated
In regards to Selim, I think what's happened to him is that all the souls in his Philosopher's stone were released similar to what Marcoh did to Envy. What was left was just his original soul (or I guess his fragment of Father's soul) so now he is just like Bradley able to grow and die like a normal human. We have to remember that the Homunculi ARE humans, just artificial ones.
I personally like this end for Pride mostly because it means that Mrs. Bradley can have her son. It would be a little too tragic for such a nice lady otherwise.
also I'm really glad y'all picked up on why Bradley put so much emphasis on choosing his wife
It's so good see people enjoying the best anime of all time.
Nowhere close to the best anime of all time.
It's very solid, but lacks a lot of gravitas and weight, impact. Vinland Saga and Attack on Titan tell similar stories and themes but the characters and story are more grounded, real, impactful. In comparison, FMAB is a more child-friendly, digestible and palattable adventure story. Does a good job approaching VS and AOT's calibre, but falls short still.
I'd say FMAB is too PG and idealistic, comic superheroey to be considered best anime of all time. The plot is too neat and romantically/thematically designed. IMO.
Like I said before this show just keeps getting better and better, and the really nails the landing - these last few episodes are just pure fire and raw emotion!
Bradley and kimblee are definitely my favorite villains.
This episode is also one of my favorites. Father worked on his plan for hundred of years, but so did hohenheim to thwart that. Love it so much.
Scar vs Bradley was my favorite fight in the show, the monologues were just next level
Everyone's comments are so well thought and clever so far..., and i don't have any this time). Just want to share what a pure joy it is watching this particular episode and the whole wonderful FMA (again) with you guys).
Thank you for this! ))
Great reaction guys. I genuinely mean it when I say you guys are one of the higher tier reactors out there for your discussions. Love the points you brought up. Regarding Pride; to me the symbolism was that Pride is normally extremely proud of himself, his strength, his superiority to humans which really came through in what he said this episode. But his form being that of a baby - what could be more helpless, defenceless than a tiny baby which cannot do anything for itself. Completely counter to the pride in his own abilities, that is how I interpret the irony.
I distinctly remember watching for the first time and the cry of the baby followed by the opening bringing tears to my eyes. No show quite compares to this one.
The beauty of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. Not one line wasted. Not one character disguarded. We now see that the Freezing Alchemist from episode 1 was right about King Bradley all along. He knew even before Hughes the conspiracy. Alex Armstrong also objected to the war, but did not know what Freeze and Hughes knew. He was branded a coward but his big heart made him one of the most courageous heroes. FMAB is in the Top Ten of anime. Such a beautiful story.
Side note: Please react to King Bradley: King of the Black Forces and the blooper reel when this is over. 😂😂😂
On top of Wrath dying at peace he's also killed by a man seeking vengeance, but whereas Scar's vengeance used to be retributive revenge that perpetuates a cycle of hate (killing any state alchemist regardless of their involvement in Ishval), here his vengeance is purely just and breaks the cycle
Bradley/Wrath is one of my favourite characters in the show and his death was sooo well done. FMA is still a great show despite its age, a true classic.
It's very crazy but both Bradley and Selim loved Mrs. Bradley, the 3 of them were a "real" family.
these episodes go so quick, its incredible.
this episode shows one of the reasons why hoenhiem is my 2nd favorite character only behind his son Al.... Explaining why he left and what hes been up to since he left his family, the other reasons he's among my favorites is just how truly his tragic his story is, to me there's just a sad beauty to it
Since you've now seen the last episode (on patreon), I will comment my thoughts on the Pride irony in case no one else has said it.
I think that the clear most significant but of irony here is this; unlike the other homunculi, Pride's ironic death is that he *didn't* die. And instead was "reduced" to the "lower lifeform" he so despised.
I'd argue in fact that this "ironic death" is even stronger than Gluttony's
I think my fav characters are Roy Mustang, Greedling, Edward and Alphonse are among the best protagonists of all animés! They are so fair with flaws that we love in them because they are humans! Olivier and Izumi are also characters I really love
pride it a little thing that can cause so much damage and harm to hide how little and small they are
i think the beauty of wraths death is that scar who abandoned his hate is the one that took him down and buccaneer, fu and greed seemed to be too wrathful only in the end could inflict a mortal wound to him at their dying peace
Id like to point out that in the flashback ep to the Ishvalan War of Extermination, Bradley says something along the lines of to "if you wish to see me struck down do it yourself, not the name of your god." to the high priest, and then here the light from the eclipse is what blinds Bradley allowing Scar to strike the final blow, and an eclipse represents a perfect being, or god. Arakawa is such a great writer
7:00 I always love the reactions to the scene because... holy fuck. what a moment. iconic. sublime. we hate it but it's so fucking amazing.
please watch the official bloopers after ending the show. Also... last two episodes have special credits, so please don't skip them
Oh yes please I hope they watch them. The bloopers are fucking SWEET!
Before I forget, there is also 4 OVA episodes. Some of them are incredible, specially the Ishval one
Not just that, but "Scar's real name".
ohh really, i never knew that ,thx man
Mustang’s rap is pretty great too
I think the symbolism for Pride's true form is that prideful people, while trying to give out a sense of superiority above others, they deep down are small and fragile, just like a baby
Ed didn't call Hohenheim dad, it was Alphonse.
You can destroy everything but a man's pride. I think that's why pride is the only one that lived. (Safe to say this since you've completed the show on Patreon).
did you notice that of all character Scar, killed Wrath? and after accepting both sides of alchemy, accepting his brother's gifts entirely, becoming a "full" or "complete" and after that "reversing" or healing the damage made in part using his compatriots pain. FMA is awesome...
In the next few episodes, people will unstand and remember it as "the masterpiece of all time".
And to think that it can achieve that title in merely 64 episodes? Mind-blowing.
RIP Ed Blaylock man really went all out for the legend that Wrath/Bradley was.
Bro the biggest uno reverso in anime history. this show is goated from here. they really nail the landing. stoked for you to get to the end.
I love that in the last few episodes you guys were trying to predict who would take Bradley down and theorising about all the fitting rivalries that could come into play. Characters like Mustang and Greedling who both have aspirations of leadership. But you completely forgot about Scar. The man who ordered the ishvalan extermination taken down by one of its sole survivors - I couldn't think of a more fitting matchup.
The thing with Lust's death is that she commented about Mustang's indifferent look as he burned her to death. For someone who seduced and manipulated people, it was ironic to be killed by the supposed playboy who didn't care a whit about her appearance.
THAT moment from Kimblee was what I was waiting for. That crazy bastard still has a code and stands by it. Even though they are enemies, he understands and respects Ed more than any of the homunculus. One of my favorite characters
“He burnt the socks too lets gooo” is amazing lmfaooo
I have to say, and i don’t care you don’t read the comments:
Your reaction on fmab is top tier reactions of all time, and all your commentary afterwards makes it even better. I had goosebumps even with the reaction commentary
the vine booms are SENDING me 😂
Lust I believe died ironically of bloodlust of wanting to toy with Roy when knowing how dangerous he is did not take him out immediately despite the risk of not doing so.
Great episode and reaction!!! and yeah... ED EVEN BURNED HIS SOCKS!!! 😂🤣
Shout outs:
Scar's brother, who figured out and planned a reverse transmutation circle while living through a civil war in a country that hated alchemy.
Hoenheim, who set up a failsafe just in case Father got as far as he did.
And to Kimblee, who proved once again that while he's a mass murdering sociopath, he still has standards that he'll stick to, even if it means his death.
Love this ! Love hohenheim! So sweet to see his son supporting him❤
4:08
This right here is why Hohenheim had to leave Ed, Al and Trisha. Not over some trivial matter but because of exactly this. Because he had to calculate and arrange his philosopher's stones, the souls within him, so that when the day comes he'd be able to prevent what happened to the people of Xerxes from happening to the people of Amestris. He is the hero, and he sacrificed time with those he loved. (also, being able to calculate the shadow is fucking mental)
Also, Wrath was trying to prove that th god Ishvala had abandoned Scar, but then the sunlight blinded him. Beautiful
Selim is now a cute innocent little baby. He can finally have a real life
Imagine one soul taking longer to find their body like forgetting where your car is lol 😭
I do love the bit about wrath and his wife. He’s a man without romance, he shows her respect. He chose her and lived with her for decades. She was the one and only thing in his entire life he could choose, he shows her complete respect and for him thst is love. Remember he is wrath, how could he experience a romaniptic love.
Also I know no one recommends the original show bc it’s not true to the manga, but it contains so much more context to a lot of moments in brotherhood. It’s interesting to compare the two.
Edward has essentially become an expert at manipulating souls with alchemy. So what he did was extract his conscienceness into Pride and located his core essence. He then separated and destroyed the philosopher's stone from said essence. Keeping him alive whilst stripping him of his power.
The promised day starts and it does not stop. The end of two homunculi, and the payoff of two country-wide counter-offenses that have been building for ages. They managed to show a villain that just gained the power to make a new sun in his hand, and that wasn't even the most epic moment in the episode. As for Pride... I don't know for sure, but in the theme of ironic homunculus deaths I think the point is that Pride got humbled. He was a foolish boy, despite being the eldest, and he got reduced to a form where he can actually grow up as normal, rather than a tool for the Father. Ed didn't want to kill him, obviously, but he saw a little runt that was just viewing himself as an unquestioningly loyal tool to his father, and Ed couldn't stand it as someone who has had a strenuous relationship to his own father. So Ed took away the "shadow" of the dwarf in the flask (shown in the scene with the shadows fading, leaving only the boy) and he practically reset Selim's life.
I feel like lusts death wasn't necessarily ironic, but I had some thoughts.
She seemed to be lusting over Mustang "I love that focused look in your eye" type thing. I think she respected Mustang who didn't bend to her, and wasn't terrified by her. Maybe?
I've seen some people point it out that lust could mean bloodlust, she enjoys watching people suffer, which is why she wanted mustang to bleed out watching Havoc bleed out. I don't think this way.
She makes men kneel, but died on her knees to a man? Maybe
Perhaps the irony is less so with lust as she hadn't actually planned on doing that, the first I think 16 episodes were paced differently for reasons I can't remember but have been brought up, so her character arc perhaps became a casualty of a tight schedule, or the fact that she was feeling rushed by the manga.
Actually the original FMA, not brotherhood, it followed the manga up until a certain point and then caught up to it and then just started winging it because there wasn't any material to use, rather than going on a break. Brotherhood follows the manga faithfully because it aired after the manga was done I think.
I think another irony to Lust's death is that Mustang killed Lust to protect the woman he loves (Hawkeye), but his relationship with Hawkeye is chaste. Also, Mustang has cultivated a false reputation as a womanizer, but he displays zero interest in an embodiment of lust.
Damn, he called it with Hawkeye
Kimbly is the only soul in a philosopher's stone to maintain his drip
I wonder if Pride's original form is a baby because a newborn is typically a parent's "pride and joy"?
Lust herself was more a subtle homunculus death, but the irony is still there. Lust is very domineering and is generally seen most satisfied dominating and killing “overconfident men,” but she saw true beauty in the purely focused Roy Mustang, who she underestimated (making her lust for domination over him her downfall).
top10 most iconic deaths in all of anime, numer one, Selim's socks
I like how Vegeta’s pride and Selim’s pride have hit Ange differently 😂
"There was no cliffhanger."
Well, not an obvious one. Father is still on the loose.
Pride was humbled.
It’s easy to miss, but Scar’s last attack takes Bradley’s arms off, so he has to use his mouth to stab him…because he is the definition of savage.
That was the reason why hoheinheim needed to leave ed and al. He was preping for this fight travelling to lay down those souls on the ground
Bradley and scar are some of the best characters ever imo
And so continues the irony of the deaths of the homunculi.
-First of all, we have the death of Wrath. The embodiment of rage and fury falls in combat to a man who had previously been consumed by wrath himself. This man is only able to defeat Wrath once he is able to come to terms with his own anger and put it aside, learning to make peace with those he hates. And finally, as this duality is resolved, Wrath dies peacefully, with a smile on his face.
-And second, we have Pride. Father's first creation, the embodiment of his ego who takes on his own form, denies his own nature and his sense of superiority in an attempt to take on a human body. In doing so, he is brought down from within by one of the most arrogant humans we have seen in this entire series, Kimblee. At the same time, he is finally destroyed by Edward, whose entire character arc has revolved around paying the price for his own arrogance. And finally, Pride is reduced to the most humble body imaginable; a tiny baby, crying for its' mother.
I love this series. Six homunculi have fallen. The fate of the seventh remains to be seen; Greed.
A rat comes by and snatches up baby pride 😂
I’ve always seen Prides death as a “Pride is childish” kind of thing. Like when the chips are down and you are scared and hurt and alone your pride wont save you. We al go back to that base feeling of wanting your mom. And he may see himself as to prideful and great to want his mother but in reality he’s just a little kid who wants his mother.
Wrath is just a stragly peaceful death for a man so full of rage. Once again meditating on his wife. Something about Mrs. Bradley. She has a way of making these homunculi feel so human.
Also with wraths death the sun taking him out is ironic. The sun is a symbol of God and remember he said “don’t use god to take me down do it yourself” or something like that. Yet in the end god took him down. God and a man of God.
It's a great story that even made a psychopath like kimblee redeem in some form.
Kimblee despises hypocrites,
The prideful creature that was willing to reduce himself to being a human to see his skin.
He did similar with hawkers when she was feeling bad for killing people.
In that moment before you shoot them isn't there just a second that you are proud for a job well done.
And she knew he was right.
Also prides true form.
Small.
Frail.
And Bradley dying by God.
The sunlight in the eclipse.
If one wanted proof of God.
Great moment.
Bradley is a beast
Great reaction!
Thank you for the video
Wrath: I hate humanity and sentimentality, they’re useless.
Also Wrath: Thanks to the idiosyncrasies of humanity, it was at least a life worth living.
The thing that makes this anime great imo is that it's the opposite of most animes for kids. Here the heroes aren't seeking power. In fact it's the opposite. Yet the show is exciting and entertaining still due to the fantastic writing and pacing
Lust's irony is a bit difficult to explain, a good one I heard is that she wasn't sexual, but blood lust: she enjoyed killing people. And even though she was killed with fire, Mustang did it in an emotionless, cold hearted manner.
We're so near to the end! Exciting but kinda sad
@CarlieAndAnge
Lust died at the hands of the only man who did not fall under her spell. Perhaps there was irony in this. her comment about Mustang's cold eyes indicates this
it is called flame alchemy
im convinced lust died first in the narrative and wasn't revived again bc lust was the least significant aspect father thought was necessary for his plans. Good while she lasted as a pawn, but ultimately what's lust (the sin) gonna do for him when he's trying to attain the truth or whatever. She felt like an offshoot "sin" he developed when he attained a human body and went "Well its there might as well put it to work"
You should also watch Monster (2004)
Envy's irony i believe to be that he was fwced with his own envy for humanity. And unable to accept and live with it, he ended it.
So in terms of ironic defeats, we have:
Original Greed: died alone and with nothing
Lust: Killed by a man who could not care less how attractive she was(Mustang was cold and focused, as she put it)
Gluttony: Eaten by someone else
Envy: Ended his own life after being understood and pitied
Sloth: Killed after trying his best
Wrath: Died peacefully
Pride: Reduced to a fetus after attempting to escape into a "lower being"