Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an anime that challenges the audience and convinces you to root for characters that you’re not quite sure are the good guys. There isn’t a single person who is completely innocent or clean in their actions or motivations throughout the story, and this gives us incredibly complex characters who grow, fail, and persevere no matter what their end goals are.
Despite Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood focusing on the Elric brothers, Brotherhood gives us a dozen other characters that we care so much about. One of the most memorable being the homunculus Greed. Even though the homunculi are the villains of the story, often fighting against the Elric brothers and their allies, Greed is quickly shown to be different. His interactions with other homunculi, his indignation regarding his father, and his unique relationship with his host Ling, Greed does what he does best by stealing the spotlight every time he’s on-screen. Let’s take a deep dive into Greed’s redemption arc and figure out what exactly makes this homunculus the star of the show.
Who Is Greed?
Greed is one of the seven homunculi created by the main antagonist, Father, in the series. As his name indicates, he embodies every form of greed that one could imagine. Being born a homunculus, Greed has near immortality and invulnerability as well as special powers given to him by his Father. His unique ability is known as “Ultimate Shield,” which allows him to rearrange his cells to either be the most durable or brittle substance.
Throughout the series we see two different Greeds thanks to Father absorbing the first one back into his body after he rebels against him. It isn’t until Father meets Ling, the aspiring emperor of the Xingese dynasty, that he decides Greed should live once more. Father then inserts Greed into Ling’s body, effectively erasing Greed’s previous memories of the life he once had. This new manifestation is vehemently loyal to his creator and is unlike the original homunculus, until he begins to regain his memories. The Ling and Greed hybrid is the character that we see transform from fully-fledged villain into the martyr we know and love by the end of the series.
What’s Greed’s Relationship With Father Like ?
As mentioned previously, Greed inherently rebels against his Father. Both incarnations of the homunculus are extremely independent and hellbent on gaining everything for themselves. With his creator’s evil plans to absorb God by means of mass sacrifice, Greed doesn’t find himself aligning with those goals.
With Father expecting nothing less than ultimate devotion from his “children,” Greed consistently finds himself at odds with his dad, unable to devote himself to anyone besides himself.
Greed’s Relationship With Ling
When the second Greed is born inside the body of Ling, we begin to see the internal dialogue between the two. It’s inside this internal arena that we observe the physical and mental struggles as both beings strive for dominance over their physical body. During these dialogues the audience begins to see the birth of a partnership.
With Ling’s ambition to be emperor of the Xing Dynasty and Greed’s undying hunger for power and sustained immortality, separate from his Father’s doing, the two decide to work together to achieve their goals. Once they start working as one, Ling starts to grow attached to Greed and push back against the homunculus’ supposed nature. The audience sees Greed’s desire to stand atop all other beings fade as he forms a friendship with Ling.
Together with Ling, Greed is shown the true power of collaboration and bonds when he works with Ling’s subordinates, Lan Fan and Fu, to fight back against his Father. Ling’s existing partnership with the Elric brothers also helps bring Greed closer to true human relationships as his circle of trusted people grows larger and larger. In the end, Greed accepts Ling as a true friend and is even willing to go against his own nature in order to save him one last time.
The Virtues Of Greed: Why Does Greed Do What He Does?
Homunculus are known to harbor some form of disdain or disgust towards humans, yet Greed has never consistently shown this. At most, he has an indifference towards humans, but grows to see them as equals. As his personality and relationships grow in the series, the audience is left wondering what his motivations are.
Greed is no stranger to stating his reasons for wanting everything. He was born with nothing but avarice, desiring wealth, power, riches, strength, and anything else that can be obtained. However, in a conversation with Edward Elric, Greed shows what’s really behind the cardinal sin he represents when he says:
“I disagree. You want to bring back someone you lost. You might want money. Maybe you want women. Or you might want to protect the world. These are all common things that people want. Things that their heart desires. Greed may not be good, but it’s not so bad either. You humans think that greed is just for money or power, but everyone wants something they don’t have.”
It’s in those last few words that the homunculus’ real motivations are revealed. Greed simply wants something that he has never had: a true human experience. In his journey he finds love, friendship, pain, and sacrifice and reflects on these feelings, ultimately feeling thankful he experienced them but remorseful he’s leaving them behind.
Going From Selfish To Selfless
The rollercoaster that is Greed’s character arc in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a rider worth taking. Despite being a supporting character, the journey he goes on and changes has made him one of the most fleshed-out people in the story. While other characters experience hardships, most of the characters remain true to themselves. Greed completely changes from a selfish homunculus willing to do anything to achieve his own goals, to a person willing to sacrifice his own life for the sake of others.
Without Greed’s sacrifice, the battle against Father would have most certainly been lost. Using his “Ultimate Shield” to turn Father’s body into the most brittle material on Earth, Greed ends the fight against the main antagonist once and for all. However, if the audience hadn’t seen the struggles he went through or the bonds he made with Ling and others, the redemption of Greed would not have hit home. Even though many die during the final battle of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Greed’s death is still one of the hardest to watch because you see him as a true hero and ally.
Even though it’s hard to say goodbye to the one who taught us the virtues of greed, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood gives us one of the most enjoyable redemption arcs in anime. Don’t let Greed’s sacrifice be in vain, and give the anime another viewing as soon as possible.