In the ancient land of Xerxes lived a man
simply known as 23 - the twenty third slave of a the most prestigious royal house in the
land. 23 did not want for much - despite being confined,
he was satisfied with his position and lived out his days performing menial tasks. He held some vague dreams about starting a
family, but never really thought it possible. However, one day, he came into contact with
a strange creature named Homunculus, or the dwarf in the Flask. It was a result of an experiment that required
some of 23’s blood in order to provide it with sustainable life, which it appreciated. In return, this being provided 23 with a name:
Van Hohenheim. The homunculus taught Hohenheim a wealth of
things and provided him with an education, which allowed him to slowly gain status and
influence and climb the ranks in Xerxes. And this all allowed Hohenheim to desire things
for himself - he had true ambition, and most importantly, he now felt as if his endeavour
to have a family was within his reach. However, the dwarf in the flask also had grand
ambitions that coincided with the death of the people of Xerxes - all except for Hohenheim,
whom he granted immortality and an endless life out of gratitude for providing it with
life. This immortality was granted thanks in part
to the endless souls that Hohenheim forcibly consumed in this ritual, and through Hohenheim’s
subsequent opposition and compensation, this event formed the crux of the enigmatic character
that is so fundamentally tied to the main messages of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. This dwarf did a many terrible things, but
at a base level, it is ironically the reason that the traits that characterized Hohenheim
in the years to come - a desire for connection and family, a resolve to protect what he cherishes
and redeem his sins - are so ingrained in his psyche. Such a traumatic event would naturally give
someone a sense of focus and perspective in life, and through making Hohenheim something
akin to a grounded god, the dwarf imbued him with a true sense of purpose that would slowly
materialize over the coming years into a genuine conviction. The most minute specifics of Hohenheim’s
life are not shared, at least to my knowledge, but the important thing that is made clear
is that as a young man, he was a slave with little to no meaningful connections and no
real desires.. apart from that abstract dream. But after a glimpse, after a little taste
of what you’ve been missing, the human heart desires more. Hohenheim grew to appreciate life much more
after moving up in the world, appreciating connection and joy and fulfillment - and that
is why he is so torn up after this event. Without that taste, I seriously doubt that
he would have been this affected - or at the very least, not traumatized to the same extent. Regardless, after this catastrophe, the homunculus
left Hohenheim to his grief as the latter was forced to constantly hear the cries and
screams of the people he consumed. But empathetic and compassionate as he was,
he learned to listen and communicate and understand those souls - all 536,329 of them. Their motivations, their names and pleas..
partly due to them, Hohenheim was able to learn XIngese medicine and use it to help
people in the west, and after years and years of learning of the world, applying his trade
and connecting with these souls, he came into contact with a young woman in Risembool and
fell in love. Trisha Elric accepted him wholeheartedly and
never once thought of him as a terrible person after learning of his life, and eventually,
they started a life and family together after her insistence that Hohenheim deserved a true
life of his own, one where he could be genuinely happy and not pining for constant redemption. This concept was welcoming, but also a very
difficult thing for Hohenheim to get used to. Having lived as what he viewed as an immortal
monster for so long, bearing so many sins, his self-worth was very low and that sort
of life was something he desired but never truly felt he would be able to grasp for himself. While he valued it very much, the concept
of connection to anyone apart from the souls in his body was quite foreign to Hohenheim,
and being a parent did not come easily. He was simply awkward and uncomfortable a
lot of the time, but it’s totally understandable given that he had received such little love
throughout his life and was thus unfamiliar with expressing it. But perhaps the foremost reason behind his
hesitancy was how fearful he was of making connections as an immortal, due to how scary
it could be to form close relationships with people, only to live to see every one of them
die. All of these things were very substantial
factors in Hohenheim’s demeanor, and as such, he simply didn’t know how to express
love and connect properly. But Trisha and his sons slowly showed him
how meaningful family was regardless of this. And despite his awkwardness, he was happy. He was loved, and he loved. It was all he ever wanted, and he realized
this. Yet his immortality was a constant factor
in his mentality, and he saw it as a curse that made him a monster, made him fearful
of seeing those he loved perish before him. It’s something that put him at constant
odds with his feelings - during all of his happy times with Trisha, Ed and Al, he simultaneously
felt an immense grief and sadness because he realized what he would be leaving behind. He has also been shown to be uncomfortable
touching his sons, due to believing himself to be an unworthy wretch that may pass on
this curse of immortality to them, caring for them in a detached way rather than a nurturing
one. Eventually, Hohenheim mustered up the resolve
to find the answer to getting rid of his immortality, to make things better for himself and his
family through allowing him to finally live life with sincerity and abandon. However, his research into this coincided
with a discovery that the Homonculus, who had now become Father, was planning to destroy
Amestris with a nation wide transmutation circle. And so, this brought up a new feeling of fear. He knew that were Father’s plans to be carried
out, this - his family, Amestris, and everything he held dear - would all be for naught and
it would all be cut short. He wouldn’t have to worry about seeing his
family growing old and dying, because they would be snuffed out before that could ever
happen. And all of this put him on a different plane
from the rest of the world - with his knowledge and immortality, Hohenheim had a unique responsibility
to stop Father and an endeavour to become a mortal again if possible. So to prevent this - he had to leave behind
everything that made him happy and fulfilled and take on this burden, promising to Trisha
in parting that they would be able to grow old together. In seeing his father’s right before he left
for this journey, Ed recalls seeing Hohenheim leave for the final time and witnessing what
he viewed as a cold look in his eyes - but in reality, Hohenheim was just trying to not
cry. This started a ten year disappearance, during
which Hohenheim’s absence was very much felt. Not only did Trisha deeply miss him, but his
leave coincided with both her death, and his sons subsequently performing human transmutation
and losing so much. It is likely that him being present may have
helped with Trisha’s illness, or prevented Ed and Al from being so rash, or even just
provided the two with support even after their failed attempted to bring back Trisha. As a result, this caused a festering hatred
in Ed directed towards him for seemingly abandoning them, and it lead to Hohenheim hating himself
for feeling as if Ed was somewhat correct, even if any choice he made would have seemed
like a bad one in retrospect, with loved ones dying either way. It was quite a difficult situation for him
to be put in, but even still, he resolved to make up for all this by figuring out how
to stop Father’s plan, viewing himself as the catalyst for all of this misery - and
any potential future misery, should he fail. Yet, I must stress that Hohenheim is far from
a one-dimensional personality, despite the crux of his character being someone full of
self-blame, hell-bent on putting things right. He’s often quite silly and humorous, and
has learned to live life with a smile, as Trisha would have wanted for him. He’s also very capable of being genuinely
as stern and harsh as Ed’s unreliable memories viewed him as being, calling his children
out for being childish for burning their old house down. This was very likely something that he said
in pain after hearing of Trisha’s fate and everything that transpired, but regardless,
it’s important to note that the broad resonance of his character doesn’t accurately capture
everything about the man. However, at his core, he is still very much
set on salvation and atonement. He takes responsibility for making the better
of two bad choices, accepting the brunt of Ed’s frustration and pain, and works with
him, Al and their gang from there. The fate of the world never left his sights
thanks to his resolve, but as one would expect, his sons were of even greater import. He spends the majority of his time in the
story trying to right his wrongs and redeem himself - for bringing Father into the world,
and most importantly of all, for leaving Ed and Al. He is constantly doing his utmost to protect
them in times where they’re in danger, trying to make up for lost time in a sense. Because here, and in the past, he just wanted
to be a loving person, and through his actions, he can finally communicate that. Hohenheim was never great with words, so through
these acts of protection and defiance, he’s finally able to be whole through expressing
what he feels to his boys. And being men of actions themselves, Al and
especially Ed are able to see this crystal clear. I think that his efforts and motivations here
are an encapsulation of how and why Hohenheim and Father foil one another. While the two share a similarity in the sense
that they both desired a life greater than the one that had been given to them upon birth,
they diverge in almost every conceivable way.. apart from appearance. Father was full of pride and wanted everything..
but Hohenheim just wanted.. something. Something resembling a life. As time went on, Father desired immortality
and perfection and a grand existence to satisfy his ego.. while Hohenheim just wanted a quiet
existence to spend with loving family, and his only small acts of desire came when he
sought a life for himself beyond that of a slave, when he wanted to destroy Father to
save the world, and when he realized that he simply wished to live a little longer to
spend some more time with his sons. Father spurned humanity despite being so very
human, attempting to get rid of his vulnerability, and that was a big reason for his downfall. But Hohenheim embraced his humanity and learned
to love it, and that was part of the reason he was able to salvage so much meaning from
a life that could have become void of.. anything. And it all comes together for him in a moment
of true pain, after he offers his life to Ed in order to save Al. Finally being able to find the right words,
Hohenheim says that he does this simply because he’s their dad - he wants to finally act
like a proper father, and he wants them to be happy. But in response, Ed angrily chews him out
for even considering the idea, and calls him a rotten father - and in doing so, in using
that word, he accepts Hohenheim’s role in his life for the first time since his departure. While Ed’s words may seem condemning and
harsh out of context, they are a representation of Hohenheim achieving what he set out to
do - properly expressing his love, becoming completely whole and human, and redeeming
himself to those who matter most to him. From an apathetic slave, to a lost soul, to
a tortured wanderer, and finally, to a true father. Hohenheim learned about himself, about the
world, and about others every step of the way, and slowly came to appreciate the strength
and meaning of love and connection. Alone, any human would seem insignificant
and weak. But together, we can find that purpose and
we can do the improbable. Thanks to Trisha and his sons, Hohenheim was
able to understand the beauty of being human, of finding solace from within the deepest
darkness, and of finding significance from the seemingly insignificant. Through embracing the double-edged nature
of humanity and accepting everything, Hohenheim reflects on his life and realizes that in
spite of all of the pain and suffering, it was one of utmost value and one that he greatly
appreciated. An equivalent exchange. And he can finally pass on to join his beloved,
ironically happy with the regret of leaving such joy behind. But his ideals, resolve and life will be carried
forward through the ones he sacrificed so much to protect, and we can see this through
the contrast between the iconic photo of Hohenheim crying with his family, and the ones of Ed
we’re shown in the final minutes of the story - and this is not to downplay his love
for Alphonse whatsoever, but the contrast is more apt when comparing him to his older
son. With Hohenheim we see a devastated, regretful
man, crying because he knows that it’s unlikely that he will be able to live a peaceful, loving
life with his family - something he ended up being right about, yet something that didn’t
stop him from finding value in life anyway. And then we see a brimming, joyful Edward,
a spitting image of Hohenheim, gleefully living in the moment with his family, loving his
work and overall just being able to live in the way he desires. It’s everything that a father would ever
want for a son, and it’s a true representation of Hohenheim’s legacy - an appreciation
and advocation of the joys of love and humanity. Thanks very much for watching, and I’d just like
to give a big thank you to Boomslank for sponsoring this video. Boomslank is an anime lifestyle brand run
by three brothers in Raleigh, North Carolina. All Boomslank merchandise is based on original
anime artwork, and all of it is pretty damn awesome. A link to their website will be in the description,
where you can use the coupon code ALECZANDXR15 - don’t forget the x - to get a 15% discount
on any purchases you may make. Be sure to check their stuff out, and as always
(and once again), many thanks for watching.
