#Hoenheim

[fullmetalfears]

Hoenheim is one of my favorite characters in the OG FMA manga and Brotherhood. He made me love the sad immortal that hates themself trope, and in general I find the combination of failed father figure, gentle kind person, and the violence he accidently did to his people make for a dynamic character.

But I do 100% think FMA made the other characters far too quick to forgive Hoenheim for leaving the boys.

In the manga, it was directly said that Hoenheim wrote back home but in the anime you get NOTHING. Either way, the man left for a decade, during the most important period of his children's lives as children... because he felt like a monster. Not because he was actually doing things to his kids, but HE wanted to live like a human.

It's shitty. It's awful. One of the people that Ed and Al were supposed to rely on most left because he couldn't get over his own misery. Instead of waiting even a few years to make sure they could even take care of themselves better before leaving, he left before they could even really remember him at all.

I say this not because I don't think it was a good character decision. In fact I think it's tragic in a way that the series needs. The lack of clear lines between monsters and people, where one of Hoenheim's worst decisions is leaving his wife and kids, something that any person can do.

Hoenheim's real flaw when it comes to his family is not valuing that people want him to be there.

Which makes his final offer to Ed to sacrifice himself take on a different light.

In canon, the manga/anime make it clear that Ed calling Hoenheim a shitty father was meant to be as much Ed chastising Hoenheim for not understanding they won't use philosopher stones as it is an acknowledge that Ed accepts him as his father.

But to me, it shows that Hoenheim still hasn't learned why leaving was such an awful blow to the family. Yes, Trisha died because he wasn't there but even if he came back ten years later, did he still expect it to be from a loving family? Did Hoenheim expect the world to stand still while he left?

Hoenheim is still sacrificing himself after all this damn time. He still doesn't see that being there for his kids could invaluable. Maybe they grew up without him, and hell, maybe he doesn't deserve a second chance after so long, but for the boys, making sure you live to the next day is their entire philosophy. And Hoenheim, is willing to give that next day up.

In context, he's giving himself up for his boys after all this time of putting his own feelings first, but he would still be gone. What's worse, in Ed's perspective it's an impossible choice. If Ed couldn't have thought of another way to get Al back, Hoenheim basically offered Ed a chance to kill him in exchange for his brother.

You know. Killing. The one thing that Ed will not fucking do.

Hoenheim doesn't understand Ed. He also even after all this time doesn't get that living for them and to move forward would be the best thing he could do.

So yeah. I adore Hoenheim but the manga/anime kinda does a clumsy job with him. It does such a good job of setting Hoenheim up as looming negative premise in the beginning and then the story overcorrects in trying to make you like him that it forgets that, yeah, leaving your wife and kids for a decade is kinda bad actually!!!

It doesn't help that no one else is angry at Hoenheim. Izumi knew the boys as small children, presumably orphans and yet greets Hoenheim warmly. In the manga the people of Risembol are baffled on his arrival but otherwise move on. Pinako WHO BASICALLY HELPED RAISED THEM is just sorta neutral towards him. Even Al isn't angry. He just wants his dad back which is fine, but it leaves Ed's anger as an outlier, like it's childish of him not to understand.

By the time of his death, Hoenheim doesn't really learn anything. He's forgiven because he really was a good dude and he felt really bad about leaving for a decade so he can totally be forgiven by everyone right?

Right.

So yeah. Hoenheim? Great character, but awful dad which is part of why he's a good character but the story really pulls its punches about him.

~Luna

#fma #fma manga #fma:b #Hoenheim #van hoenheim

[gayleviticus]

I haven't gotten up to hoenheim reappearing in fmab on my rewatch yet so not directly comparing then but I like the way 03 hoenheim being actually pretty shit feels... honest? he has enough of a reason (not wanting to expose his rotting corpse of a body to his family, altho this is ultimately his own fault) that he's not a total dipshit, but like, eds feelings arent criticised or condemned, he's allowed to be mad at his deadbeat, flawed, complicated dad, even if he does clearly still care for his kids in some way (immediately going to confront Dante when he realises she's got her claws in his sons, everything he does for ed in our world)?

#fma 03 #fma #hoenheim of light #fullmetal alchemist #fma 03 spoilers #hoenheim

[ozlices]

oscar vessalius' long lost twin id like to fu-

#mine #sorry not sorry im not normal abt him whatsoever #fma #fmab #pandora hearts #hoenheim #nsfwish// #implied ig. #LISTEN.......................... h e. #u know he even has quite a similar arc to oscar. #i wonder if they've ever talked abt it since they're friends. #anyway i forgot how much of a rollercoaster that episode in particular is #i dont even get to have a full dracula tepes kinnie moment over my lust wife before i gotta bark abt HIM #'are u implying u also feel the same way abt oscar btw' i will neither confirm nor deny this. GUESS.

[girlpog-productions]

Late October 3rd post to practice my painting :)

#LOVE FROM THE OTHER SIDE IS SUCH A FMA SONG #EVERY LINE IS ABOUT EVERY CHARACTER ITS INSANE #god im so excited to see fob in march #full metal alchemist #october 3rd #fall out boy #so much for stardust #love from the other side #trisha elric #van hoenheim #hoenheim #art #my art #digital art

[olyia-stories]

I am going feral over the parallels in costuming between Ed and Hoenheim in ep 47!

Ed with his hair pulled into a ponytail and wearing a suit, he just looks so much like Hoenheim

#fma brotherhood #edward elric #Hoenheim #olyia watches things

[royaigarbage]

Can a slave preach freedom?

Can a captive take hold…

… of what they believe in?

x

#hohenheim #and dwarf in the flask #their story is so fascinating to me #I love moral ambiguity #I also love #van hoenheim #lights my favorite fma fan #lights my beloved #hohenheim my beloved #I truly love him sm #sigh… #dwarf in the flask #fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist manga #lightsy

[queenofzan]

i've also seen people try to argue that fma's use of prosthetics is "fantasy perfect prosthetics" and like. it's. very textually not.

a: the fantasy part (connected nerves) is shown as being quite painful

b: the materials, despite being necessary, are shown to have drawbacks (primarily the heat reactivity of metal, but also the weight)

c: we get multiple arcs where ed basically has to chill at home because he has wrecked his complicated prosthetic so bad it takes multiple days to fix or fabricate new parts

we also get other automail users struggling with the same issues and also other ones, such as lan fan's uhhhh pushing herself through the recovery process to be present at the final battle and that being stated to be bad for her long term health

automail is fantasy prosthetics in that useful hand prosthetics don't...really exist irl...but they come with enough drawbacks (and outright cost!) that it's very clear why they wouldn't be an option for everyone (and why they would still be the preferred option for someone like ed)

honestly arakawa-sensei did a great job balancing the narrative and technical needs of the fantasy prosthesis in fma. it's thematic, even! it comes with a price! it comes with a sacrifice! it requires adaptation!

there are other things to critique about fma's handling of disability but the complaints i've seen about automail have been very...stupid.

#nb: i don't use any prosthetics myself and am not a prosthetist #like how fma is content to use ugliness as a proxy for morality often #how disability is built into the literal plot but somehow isn't especially considered thematically #hoenheim just reaching into izumi's guts and fixing them without explanation or consent #i do appreciate how it's clear that other characters think ed is looking for the philosopher's stone to get his limbs back #and he is really thinking mainly of al #with his own bodily recovery a secondary concern it becomes clear he is much much less invested in #fma #disability

[pocket-size-cthulhu]

Not to post Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood spoilers but we literally do NOT give Von Hoenheim enough credit for being the actual hero of the whole operation and the tipping point of the story

#fullmetal alchemist #Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #Fullmetal alchemist... fullmetal alchemist #Edward Elric #alphonse elric #Von Hoenheim #fma: brotherhood #fma:b spoilers #if you haven't seen it idk what to tell you

[catgirlkirigiri]

Planning to grind out to odds tomorrow (if I don’t get the shiny before then lol) so place your bets now: what number egg will sparkle?

#currently hatched 172 so uh. don’t guess lower than that #which means I’m planning on a very normal and totally not insanely boring 340 eggs tomorrow worst case. considering I get around 40-50 eggs #per 30 minute breeding session… that’s gonna be 5 and a half hours of breeding alone if I hit odds. wow #yes I am using egg power for that btw. hoenheim and Spanish ditto just do not want to fuck I guess. they take it so slow #shoutout to Spanish ditto btw I love Spanish ditto they’re my bestie. I hate masuda hunting but don’t you dare think I hate my masuda ditto #zoracontent

[kyotosummer]

SAME ENERGY

#spy x family #melinda desmond #I'm telling you i smell Fullmetal Alchemist ALL OVER this manga #For anyone who doesnt know the context #Bradley's shaking at a funeral in this scene #and we learn SEVERAL chapters later that he was shaking in rage #Because Hughes' kid #who was VERY close to Anya's age #was crying at her father's funeral #I'M TELLING YOU TWILIGHT VS DONAVAN IS BASICALLY MUSTANG VS BRADLEY #AND THE SHOPKEEPER HAS SUCH FATHER OR HOENHEIM VIBES #I'M WAITING FOR MORE INFO BEFORE I DECLARE HIM EVIL OR JUST A WILLFULLY IGNORANT IDIOT

[smelricbros]

#hoenheim returns from the world's longest grocery run #fma the musical

[blyhowdy]

finished fmab

#blythoughts #OK SO #love it. love everyone #ALPHONSE!!! MY SWEET ALPHONSE like he is so happy and i love him so much #Ed coming in clutch YES KICK HIS ASS! and hoenheim is cool too ig.. #i hated mustang so much when i thought he killed maria ross!! i still have residual hate from the og FMA lol #but when he was hunting down envy i have never rooted for someone more. he was right for that #riza hawkeye my queen... again if she believes in mustang i simply must believe her. she deserves everything actually #i wanna name my fav characters but theres too many... Ed and Al ofc. Hawkeye Izumi Mustang Greed/Ling #love Ross Fuery and Havoc the absolute legend #i loved the darker more serious tone of fma 03 but i love the number of characters in fmab and how they all come together in the end. #hawkeye and mustang absolute power couple. they are so cool. i got so mad at how cool mustang was because i still wanted to hate him 😭😭 #also love the protagonist moments that al got near the end. he got to make his own decisions and sacrifices and they paid off!! #10/10 will haunt my brain forever #fma

[itswynsome]

a couple good boys ft. takizawas emotional support academic rival

#seidou takizawa #akira mado #van hoenheim #fullmetal alchimist brotherhood #tokyo ghoul

[sludgevevo]

A really good trope is when one character is very clearly trying to harm or kill another character but the other character is, either obliviously or intentionally, casually avoiding the attempts while saying things like "careful, you'll hurt someone" and "you nearly killed me!"

#poasts #best example is Hoenheim confronting Father in FMA:B

[gayleviticus]

I felt watching it that the stretch of episodes in fma 03 where winry is travelling around w the elrics seemed a little muddled re winrys involvement, like the writers weren't really sure what to do w her, but in hindsight I think it works because it's like you don't realise how good they had it until it's gone?

winry may not have a huge deal of significance every episode but there's just something comforting and homey about these three childhood friends adventuring and being there for each other, and then it's gone. and we don't even realise that this is really the last time these three will regularly all be in each other's lives well... ever. time goes so fast and heaven is lost

#iirc winry doesnt meet the boys again til they come to resembool and hoenheim turns up #and then... does she meet ed specifically sometime before the final showdown? #and then after that its just biefly giving ed his new automail in COS #fma 03 #fma 2003 #fma #winry rockbell

[of-nyon]

watched a guy seeing the fmab ops for the first time mistake Ed for a girl at first, and after the initial hee hee hoo hoo reaction I'm like, wait, that would fucking rule actually.

#telling her to be more ladylike gets you a kick in the shins #bare minimum #fmab #you did it! you found a way for hoenheim to be even more hopelessly out of depth with his oldest kid!