Among the tapestry of themes and ideas presented in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, the story's
take on anger is one of the most interesting.
It's a topic that is lesser discussed compared to other elements of the narrative, but it
is just as prominent of a theme as nearly anything else.
It's about fury.
Hatred.
Some would say, wrath.
And how these things can apply to revenge.
Brotherhood is not afraid to delve into arguably mankind's most base and feral emotion, and
this is demonstrated throughout.
The story is filled to the brim with iconic moments that have a fundamental basis in hot
rage, and it's not difficult to see why given Hiromu Arakawa's stance on anger and
how humans react to upsetting events.
The series' writer has gone on record to say that "We adults are angered by the senseless
things that happen every day in this world… but at the same time we repress those feelings
by telling ourselves 'there was no other choice' or 'there must have been a reason
for it.'
But it's a natural human reaction to be outraged when senseless things happen.
Some things can't be justified or rationalised.
I want boys and girls to grow up valuing those feelings."
Here, Arakawa is saying that there is value in anger and that you need not try to downplay
injustice or feign hopelessness to avoid it.
Allow yourself to feel it and use it to change society for the better, learn and progress.
It's not something that should ever be shamed because it is human nature at it's purest,
and sometimes it's completely warranted and beneficial.
Sometimes anger and hatred are deserved and right.
Sometimes things change because of it."
Not only can these emotions be the gateway to positive societal change, but sometimes
retribution feels so right and does such good that you would not have it any other way than
white hot revenge.
There is often very little value in trying to become entirely zen and cutting out anger
and rage entirely, because not only is that agonizingly difficult to achieve, but it suppresses
a great deal of what makes us human.
The unpredictability and unrestricted variability of our nature.
Needless to say, anger is not an inherently bad emotion, and revenge is not an innately
bad motivation.
Oftentimes they are the fuel for success, proving others wrong, allowing us to have
backbone, confidence, authority and personal agency..
However, this does not at all mean that this story advises you to follow your anger religiously
and let revenge drive everything.
In fact, it advises the opposite - that we should use anger as a tool in our arsenal,
a means to constructively release and build ourselves up, but one that we should not lean
on.
There are always limits.
Just as radical pacifism has it's obvious downsides, so too does limitless fury.
There is a point where it becomes too much, and in excess, rage can be detrimental.
Ieating away at itself and leaving no satisfaction or value.
There's a fine line that must be tread before an outlet becomes a black hole.
And when it gets to that point, you must cut your losses and learn to move on.
This stance on anger, revenge, and extremes in general is strongly evident through Scar,
who encapsulates this philosophy so faithfully that one might mistake him for a mouthpiece
if he wasn't so full of development and human nuance.
In the beginning of his character arc, Scar is completely possessed by a thirst for vengeance.
Due to his people, his kingdom and most importantly, his brother, being slaughtered by State Alchemists
under the orders of King Bradley, along with the very concept of alchemy being thought
of as an affront to God by all of Ishval, he holds a loathing abhorrence to all state
alchemists and alchemy in general.
His brother, who was conducting blasphemous research on alchemy and alkahestry in order
to gain a worldly understanding and create a better future, entrusted the research and
alchemic powers within his arm to Scar so it could live on after he died.
And so, Scar uses this arm to take down the people who took everything away from him as
a sort of poetic retribution, with the goal of not stopping until every state alchemist
has paid their dues.
Despite being painfully aware that his methods of revenge are in conflict with Ishvallan
teachings, Scar still claims to be an agent carrying out God's divine will and retribution.
However, this is just a brittle front used to cover his true ambitions of displaying
his fury through exacting his revenge.
He becomes something of an ideologue, closely adhering to his revenge and Ishval's creed
to form his own philosophy which he sticks to dogmatically.
This leads to a hatred of all State Alchemists, even those who had no part in the genocide
- it's an irrational attitude with no broader perspective and due to how contradictory this
is to his religion, Scar thinks of himself as a disgrace.
This much is obvious given how he exiles himself and forfeits his name, which is considered
a sacred gift from God by Ishval.
Scar doesn't think that he's a hero for doing this - he is just doing what he feels
he needs to do.
He is carrying out what he feels is proper retribution, but he is not proud of his methods.
On occasion, he has lamented that he did not die in situations where he could have, likely
because he believed that he deserved such a punishment.
He isn't losing his way by accident - this is all completely self-aware.
And if you hurt others with your fury, you become hated as well, perpetuating a cycle
that is difficult to stop.
He is still capable of compassion, as shown through his mercy killing of Nina and Alexander,
but Scar is all in.
He knows that what he's doing isn't right, but he needs this.
And nothing, not even anti-hatred advice from Ishvalan elders really convinces him to sway
on this stance.
Until he meets Winry.
About a third of the way into the story, it's revealed to the cast at large that Scar was
responsible for the death of WInry's parents, who were doctors in the Ishval war treating
military and Ishvallans alike.
Having realized that his brother had been killed, Scar went Berserk and killed the couple
who had saved him - the simple, kind-hearted doctors just doing their job and caring unconditionally.
In realizing the horror of what he did, Scar accepts his life as forfeit.
He/Scar doesn't blame her in the slightest for wanting to kill him and exact revenge.
After all, being a person molded by revenge himself, he is all too familiar with that
need.
But..
WInry doesn't shoot him.
She very nearly does, but her hesitation speaks volumes to Scar.
Winry's hesitation gave him pause but it coalescing with Ed's protective stance makes
this a watershed moment - one that firmly cemented this cyclical nature in Scar's
mind.
He has previously only thought that this chain could only by halted by his own death, but
this shifted Scar's perspective a little bit and made him begin to question things.
He had been going through his vengeful, rage-induced motions, deliberately dismissing any path
that wasn't self-destructive revenge because nothing had convinced him to do otherwise.
But this opened his mind a little.
Why was he really doing all this?
Is there more to this life than this shallow gratification?
Is all of this anger being directed properly?
Is this revenge even worthwhile anymore?
From this point, Scar's motivations irreversably change.
He doesn't disregard the concept of revenge but he opens his mind.
Undoubtedly helped by the presence of May, Scar begins thinking about alternative endeavors,
other purposes.
When he first comes into contact with Father, he realizes that those who were responsible
for Ishval's demise are way more powerful than he imagined, and that straightforward
thoughts of revenge would not make the impact that he desired if he didn't change.
He realizes that this fight is much bigger than he imagined, and that much more is at
stake.
This didn't help Scar realize that he was wrong, as once again, he knew he was doing
terrible things and just couldn't bring himself to stop himself, but all of these
factors shift his perspective and finally give him reason to think of an alternative.
When he comes in contact with Dr Marcoh, we witness another benchmark moment.
Here he meets someone who was a primary contributor to all of the suffering his people endured.
But instead of killing him, he demands knowledge of the war and ultimately decides to escape
with Marcoh to the north to recover his brother's research.
He is no longer fixated on pure revenge - he is searching for a truth, a greater purpose.
It's a far cry from the man at the beginning of the series, who likely would have killed
or maybe even tortured Marcoh without hesitation.
But the final step in his development and the biggest shift he experiences comes once
again from the young woman who first began changing things for him.
In the frigid north, Scar hesitates in his fight with the Elrics the moment he sees the
girl who is so significant to him for so many reasons, which allows him to be subdued.
Given that Scar once again encourages Winry to exact revenge, it's clear that despite
his growth he still has not completely turned a corner with his feelings about revenge.
However, what Winry proceeds to do, or rather, not do, signals the approaching conclusion
of Scar's character arc.
It all begins to click for Scar here.
Through displaying a microcosm of Arakawa's stance on the extremes of human anger and
hate, Winry does not give in to meaningless rage and foregoes revenge.
Bandaging Scar despite her hatred, caring for him because that's what her parents
would have done..
Scar knew he wasn't a good person but it is here where he finally understands why he
was wrong and how he completely missed the point.
Winry doesn't forgive Scar and she still hates him.. but revenge here would be a pointless
action.
It wouldn't achieve anything, it wouldn't make her feel better, it wouldn't bring
her parents back and it wouldn't do anything to benefit the world.
There are just some things that are more important, and when those things are in the forefront
of your mind, everything else becomes trivial.
Before this event, Scar had developed pretty significantly and started rearranging his
priorities.
But here, he begins consciously thinking that maybe he could be devoting his agony and energy
to something more important and fulfilling.
In this action, Winry reinforces the words that Scar had heard quite a while ago and
forces him to rethink those words through a new perspective.
This experience gives these words much more meaning and fresh context.
He formerly thought of their nonviolence as overly pacifistic sentiment that wasn't
worth much thought - but now he sees the greater purpose in it, the bigger picture and the
road to breaking the cycle and seeking salvation.
It is here where this theme is presented most forcefully.
Hatred is unavoidable and often a natural, justifiable response.
However, it should be used with a bigger picture in mind.
Use it as an outlet for significant value, not as an aggressive release for the sake
of it.
There is no need to forgive all the time - we are all human and things just don't work
out that way.
But there IS need to move on.
Scar now realizes this and makes strides to do the same - he lets go of the temptation
of revenge and instead directs his attention towards working with everyone to end the imminent
threat and bring about a better world for Ishval.
It's an indication of progression - THAT is how he chooses to direct his fury, and
it is a much more productive and significant goal.
By dismissing his personal vendetta and letting go, and by turning his enemies into his allies
in order to help Ishval, Scar chooses to strive past hatred as his brother and his people
would have wanted.
He has no obligation to stop hating, but he owes it to himself and those he cares for
to not let it overpower his life and control his actions.
This is what lead to his past cycle of bloodshed.
If you maintain that cycle and drown in anger, you will lose yourself.
But Scar doesn't let that happen.
And funnily enough, through choosing this path, Scar becomes even more technically blasphemous
to Ishvallan teachings in doing so, as he decides to go all in with alchemy - embracing
his brother's research in order to help the cause as much as possible.
During the battle of the Promised Day, he finally begins using the final step of alchemy,
reconstruction, to optimize his power.
In an abstract form of equivalent exchange, he sabotages his beliefs completely to purge
his soul of this unwanted bloodlust.
Using his brother's work and embracing alchemy here is a symbolic gesture from Scar.
He finally got the point.
His brother had been conducting this research of alchemy and alkahestry with the goal of
gaining knowledge and perhaps even building connections between different types of people
to create a much more harmonious future.
Scar had been so angered by the war on his people that he didn't see the value in it
in the past, but through accepting it now, he is completely showing his devotion to the
future of the world, and his intention to make it one for which all people can leave
happily.
However, there is also a dualistic function in Scar's development here that relates
to another of the story's major themes - that of science vs religion.
It's an ideological tug of war that goes on for the length of the story, but it reaches
it's point primarily through Scar.
Consistent with the writer's thoughts on extremism with relation to anger, the story
clearly portrays that neither science nor religion is fundamentally right or wrong,
and that both sides are capable of atrocities.
The genocide of Ishval is the best example of science being taken to radical levels and
the fuel for the idea that some Ishvallans hold - that alchemy is a disgrace and a disruption
of the natural world that God created.
But in response, there is a proportionately extreme countermeasure demonstrated through
Scar's consequent quest for bloodshed, which, as discussed, is displayed to be an excessive
and improper way to harness anger.
Mass murder is obviously an act that is chastised by Ishval, but Scar hypocritically uses religion
as an excuse to commit it - an act that directly contradict that religion's very philosophical
basis.
This is the biggest demonstration of this theme, but it is present in micro-situations
throughout the story as well.
Basically, both sides can be good if used sensibly, and both sides can be terrible if
taken to an unsavoury and dark extreme.
This is what Scar realizes.
He learns to open his mind and accept that the world is multifaceted, with good and evil
everywhere.
He learns that hardly any ideals or schools of thought are inherently bad, and that alchemy
itself is not a problem so long as it is being used correctly.
Scar is what Arakawa uses to communicate the dangers of radical extremism or fanaticism
when it comes to beliefs.
Any ideology is capable of terrible acts if someone leans too far and gets engulfed by
dogma, or more prevalently, if someone uses it as a front or excuse to satisfy their own
desires.
Good, bad and everything in between are on all sides - it just depends on the person.
This theme dovetails seamlessly with the story's take on anger to form the core of Scar's
thematic resonance in the story - and his story reaches the most appropriate conclusion
imaginable as he resolves to confront Fuhrer King Bradley.
A man who ironically advocates the value of religion vs one who despises the concept of
a God.
One who contradicted his beliefs for a greater purpose vs one whose purpose was set in stone
who hated anyone that wavered in their beliefs.
But, most resonant of all - a man facing up to the person who ordered the death, torture
and experimentation of his people.
It was a fight that meant so many things thematically, and, some would argue, one that reached the
conclusion that both men desired deep down.
The quick scene in the final opening of the series is a great microcosm of two comparable
character journeys.
King Bradley, the raindrops disguising themselves as tears of his, the embodiment of Wrath who
spent his life bound to duty faced with the one who discarded his wrath and freed himself
from an unhealthy obligation.
As Scar throws off his cape, he sheds his former self-imposed burdens to do what he
needs to do, to move on and progress in his life with his motivations more profound than
ever before, while Bradley sits there, contemplative, almost inviting Scar to take everything from
him.
In the end, Scar achieves his original goal by helping to kill those who slaughtered his
people, and he himself kills the person who was arguably most responsible.
But the ironic thing is that without opening his mind and progressing, he likely would
never have gotten to this point and gotten what used to be his revenge.
My guess is that he would have died along the way.
And if he did somehow achieve revenge on the path he was on originally, he would have burnt
himself out through doing so and felt an emptiness when everything was done, nothing close to
fulfillment.
Along with his journey being ingrained in some of the essential themes of the work,
Scar is undoubtedly one of the characters that receive the most personal development
throughout.
From a narrow minded, feral animal running on hateful fumes to one who learns so much
from those around him that he is able to find fulfillment where he thought there was none
and pass on his wisdom to those who he formerly would have killed in an instant.
Appropriately for a character that ultimately breaks the cycle, it is a progressive, symmetrical
character arc that rhymes and folds in on itself.
"Talking down the rageful alchemisr" When you are possessed by rage, there comes
a point where revenge is no longer justice.
Where it goes so far that there is no justifiable retribution, no equilibrium, no balance - and
it just becomes an atrocious act in response to atrocious acts to satiate an empty hole.
Clinging on only lets a pathological hatred fester, the start of a downward spiral.
Scar continuously, consciously found himself in this state and could not bring himself
to stop.
It's very hard to give up that rage and drive because it almost feels like betraying
the memory of those you are avenging.
But Scar is mature enough to realize that there is a much bigger picture and that those
he was doing this in memory of would not want this for him.
He's a character that displays the story's takes on how to use anger and hatred, the
concepts of revenge and ideological extremism - and through him coming to his realization
through the help of others, he also subtly contributes to the story's advocation of
human connection to make life worthwhile.
In a drearier story where Scar may not have found anyone to learn from, we could have
seen a much darker outcome for the nameless Ishvallan.
But instead, he found purpose beyond grief, and achieved something very special.
Thanks for watching.
I'd just like to take the time to thank Amino Apps, in particular, their Fullmetal
Alchemist amino, for sponsoring this video.
Amino is the ideal community to find and connect with others who share your interests, as there
is a community for virtually every interest you can imagine.
There's always something to do on Amino and you'll always find people online to
talk to - for example, at the time of filming this footage there were 35 people chatting
and discussing things on a late Friday night.
These users are passionate about their community and this is obvious through the content - whether
it be fan art, memes or theories.
The chatrooms are always buzzing as well and welcome new members all the time, so it's
easy to hop in and begin talking about your favourite stuff.
Anyways, I'd definitely encourage trying out amino and interacting and commenting on
the latest posts.
Give the app a try through the link in the description and check it out.
I'd also like to take the time to thank my Patrons for their contributions in the
past month.
I really appreciate every single one and the support has been really welcome for as long
as I've had it - a bunch of you have had hands in some of my funded videos that I'm
proud of and it really means a ton.
Anyways, thanks again for watching.
Leave your thoughts on Scar, my interpretation of this thematic meaning, and anything to
do with Fullmetal Alchemist in the comments, and I'll see you guys in the next video.
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