Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood used its famously strong writing as a shonen anime to make sure most cast members got a proper ending to match their cool introductions. Those strong character endings provided some serious drama and thematic weight, and plenty got a happily-ever-after to end Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood on a memorable note. Still, a few characters in this anime were handed a weak and unsatisfying end to their arcs, or else they personally deserved better than they got.
This is known to happen in shonen anime like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, such as if the plot simply doesn’t have the room to give a character a more impactful or worthwhile ending to their arc, whether or not death is involved. Sometimes, the story has to just toss aside some cast members to make room for more prominent characters, and it always feels like such a shame. And for emotional reasons, anime like these are liable to give terrible fates to good people, and fans dearly wish it could have been any other way.
Trisha Elric Met the Same Fate as Many Anime Moms
That Hairstyle is a Total Death Flag
There seems to be a rule about killing off anime moms, such as in One Piece, with mothers getting written out with shocking regularity. Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood did this too, treating Trisha Elric as little more than an emotional plot device for her two sons. As a rural resident with no powers or major skills, of course Trisha wasn’t going to play a major role in the story, but she still deserved better than she got. Trisha was dealt the same hand as many shonen protagonist parents are: getting killed off to amp those emotional stakes.
In Trisha Elric’s case, the cause of death was hardly even an afterthought, with her dying of some disease or other as a convenient way to get rid of her. She didn’t even die heroically to shield her sons from an intruder or wild animal; Trisha merely caught Plot Disease and wasted away. Trisha ended up more important in death, being the reason Edward and Alphonse unwisely attempted human transmutation. That, in turn, drove the mangled brothers to hunt down the Philosopher’s Stone.
Lust’s Death Felt Forgettable Compared to What the Other Villains Experienced
Lust Died in Her Only Major Battle
Lust may not rank that highly among the major homunculi in combat power, and that may be why Roy Mustang had a fairly easy time dispatching her in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood‘s first half. While Lust did land some nasty blows on Roy and Jean Havoc to demonstrate her power as an assassin with the Ultimate Spear, the story soon made a fool of her. Lust let her guard down while attacking Riza Hawkeye, and then Roy returned with his searing flame alchemy.
Lust stood no chance once Roy ignited her, and Roy kept it up until Lust was just cinders — if even that. Her Philosopher’s Stone was exhausted, and notably, Father made no attempt to revive his sole daughter. Gluttony and Greed were both brought back from annihilation, but Lust didn’t get the same favor, so it was clear Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood was done with Lust. It’s too bad, since her seductive assassin strategy was a fun one, and fans didn’t get to see Lust make the most of it before dying.
Gluttony Died Without Feeling Like a Major Threat
Gluttony and Lust Were Both Done Dirty
Gluttony is one of three homunculi siblings to end up with an underwhelming or disappointing fate in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Like his “sister” Lust, Gluttony simply wasn’t deadly enough to earn himself a glorious last stand once the heroes got used to fighting these creatures. The initial shock wore off, and then Ed, Roy, and the rest innovated ways to keep the homunculi on the defensive. Gluttony is the main example as a bumbling villain who was more useful in death than life, as far as Pride was concerned.
Who’s That Character?
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Gluttony was practically helpless once Ed and the rest got used to his powers, to the point Gluttony was just dead weight as Ed’s team faced Gluttony and Pride in that shadowy forest. Lan Fan, in particular, used her flash-bang grenades and remarkable agility to put nonstop pressure on her two homunculus foes. Gluttony was helpless, deflating his threatening aura a great deal before Pride merely ate him to obtain his strong sense of smell. Its was thematically ironic, for sure, though it still felt odd for a “superior” being to seem like such a chump at the end.
Maes Hughes Had to Die For the Crime of Truth
Not Even Roy Mustang Could Hide His Tears
If there is just one Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood character whom fans agree deserved a better ending, it would be Maes Hughes. He wasn’t a strong state alchemist, just an ordinary soldier with a flamboyant love of his family, so he was a pretty squishy target. Father and his homunculus minions probably would have left Maes alone as an unwitting part of the Amestris military, but Maes just had to find the truth that Lust couldn’t let him see. Maes deduced father’s plan, and that sealed his fate.
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Maes’ death does check out where the narrative and drama are concerned, to provide a much-needed gut-punch to viewers, and of course Lust and Envy would kill someone who stumbled upon Father’s plans. Thus, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood viewers want to give Maes a new fate simply because a great guy like him deserves one, not because the story botched the writing. The story was actually written just right for Maes, and that’s what makes the fandom cry the most.
Greed Had to Give His Life to Prove His Redemption
Greed Could Have Survived as a Solo Homunculus in the Human World
Unlike the other homunculi, Greed’s fate feels unfair, since this character actually managed to redeem himself. Some viewers might go as far as say Greed is the Maes Hughes of homunculi, a good person who had to get a rough ending to serve the story’s needs. Greed may not be innocent like Maes Hughes was, yet fans still wanted to see more of him so he could make the most of his life. Or rather, make the most of his second life, with his fresh new perspective on everything.
To wrap up Greed as a loose end, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood needed to write him out, and it also allowed Greed to show off his power of friendship with an ironically selfless twist. That being said, fans would love to see Greed survive the final fight with Father so he can wander the world and keep exercising his newfound heroism, all while remaining an oddity as the only major homunculus left in the world.