#but no 03 scar

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

What else am I supposed to feel besides unending adoration?

[ghast1yghosts]

Eddie’s mostly covered in tattoos and scars. he thinks he looks scary. but little kids are far from scared when they interact with him—they just think he’s neat.

they know he’s joking when he responds to questions about what happened—“shark attack”—“had a cheese grater thrown at me”—“i didn’t eat my vegetables”—“battled a dragon”—“spilled some coffee”—“got abducted by aliens”—“watched TV too close to the screen”—

but they never push him to an actual answer, tiny minds moving too fast to really stop and consider.

of course, older kids give him more looks than the younger ones—they stop and consider. but they’re never really rude, more curious then anything. it’s not everyday you see someone like him walking down the street or into a coffee shop.

there’s something so wonderful about kids. something about how they don’t have these pre-conceived notions or ideas about people. they’re just sponges, soaking up anything they can get their hands on.

it’s nice when a little kid stops dead in their tracks in pure awe and wonder at him. not fear. not worry. not anger or hatred.

but in awe.

it’s a nice reminder he’s not a monster. not some repulsive abomination.

just a guy who’s been through some shit.

[budgebuttons]

wisdom

[sepublic]

Just thinking of how Scar sees himself in Alphonse, the little brother to an alchemically-brilliant older brother who was (more of) the mastermind behind a failed human transmutation to bring back a woman important to him. And when Al is about to be turned into a bomb, he doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice his own life to save Alphonse. And as he’s about to prepare the ritual that will kill one younger brother and save the other… Scar reflects on how much he misses his older brother and wished he could say that he loved him.

And it’s so much clearer that he wants to save Al because he has an older brother who is alive, that he can actually get back to and tell that he loves him. But for Scar, his older brother is dead; The only way they can reunite and exchange words is if… Scar himself died.

And then suddenly, maybe this was the ideal scenario, after all. Maybe this is really how it should’ve been, this is what Scar would want from the start; For two little brothers to reunite with their older brothers in their own way. And it’s like Scar is actually getting to do this for himself and not someone else, as he always had.

[penpenpencil]

Arm

[salvidida]

Everything about Scar's treatment in Brotherhood sucks so bad, but there was something specific that has been bothering me for awhile. I hadn't been able to quite put my finger on what it was since watching FMAB for the first time recently (as a lifelong 03 fan). So I rewatched FMA 03 again and it finally clicked what it was that further upsets me about Brotherhood regarding Scar, besides the more obvious imperialist propaganda and racism:

The Elric's relationship to him.

Now obviously Ed's racism towards Scar in Brotherhood is pointed out frequently enough, but it doesn't stop there. It's the way that Brohood Ed is incapable and fully resistant to ever bridging that gap besides a deeply uneasy allyship-of-convenience. Al is also fully distant from Scar, besides their mutual antagonism in the earlier arc. And nothing more is really explored here between these characters.

And I didn't realize how much I valued the way 03's Scar, Ed, and Al contrast, overlap, mirror, battle, and support one another. Their fates and goals are inseparable. Alchemy's impact on the Elrics' lives is reflected with Scar's life and his brother's, as well as their familial relationship to their own brothers; many point out the similarities between 03 Scar and Al, with some noting how Ed and Scar's brother match each other. And the way the Elrics here are more able to engage with the harsh realities that inform Scar's choices and actions versus that of their place as Amestrians, and for Ed as an active member of the military who, despite wanting to cling to his principle of never taking a life, at times can see Scar's point of view and even, with reticence, sympathize with him (Al even more so).

There are layers to the relationship across these three characters. The tension and humanity that arises is a driving force in revealing the dialectics of this show. It's to the point that Al and even at times Ed defend Scar when talking with other characters towards the end of the show, and they even ultimately owe their lives to him (the philosopher stone and grand arcanum that allowed both Ed and Al to live, and for Al to regain his body). And the bond between the Elrics help Scar to forgive his brother, to speak aloud that he loves him in his final moments, before triumphantly accomplishing his goal against the Amestrian military, saving the remaining Liorans, and saving Al from becoming Kimbly's final bomb.

And there are other moments, such as Scar helping Al in Lab 5, telling him he sees his unmistakable humanity after Al helps him save Ishbalan refugees. Scar attempting to help Ed in Lab 5 after he refuses to sacrifice the prisoners for the Philosopher Stone, because he sees the humanity in Ed too, the humanity that can resist merely being a ruthless military dog and scientist. The way Scar treats Al almost like a little brother of his own, and when he mentions that Ed and his older brother share the same kind eyes- said at a time when Scar still harbours ill feelings for his brother's taboos and his sacrifice; which becomes all the more poignant when he forgives his brother before creating a Stone passed down to the Elrics. Scar mentions having sworn off specifically targetting state alchemists post-Lab 5, and this feels like his way of sparing the Elrics of his wrath, even as he holds fast to fighting against an oppressive system with necessary violence. The material here is rich for analysis and appreciation! It doesn't settle on more digestible, black-and-white character archetypes and plot conveniences.

There's a reason why the final outro for 03, where it flashes across four deceased characters who mattered to the Elrics, includes Scar. The man is in the ranks of Trisha, Nina, and Hughes! This isn't a mistake, the writers are intentionally showing the indelible impacts of these people who they cared about.

But with FMAB, it's exceptionally flat here and entirely derogatory. Ed hates Scar, and the narrative treats him as wholly right to do so. Scar needs to repent and reform to the side of his genociders, and never shall these characters interact or converse beyond putting a stop to Father. Scar was nothing more than a vehicle to reach his murdered brother's alchemic research, and an example to be made of any radical who so much as raises a finger against the State. All three of these characters want nothing to do with each other, and that's about as far as we get with them. In Scar's own words, he's nothing more than the 'ooze' (the poison) that arises from military conquest, and by the end of the show it's clear that, even with Scar saving the entire country that destroyed his life, to the Elrics, he will always be that 'ooze'.

In Brotherhood Scar committed what the Elrics clearly considers to be the ultimate sin: he killed Winry's parents, and no matter the circumstances surrounding that event, no matter what else changes, no matter which mass murderers, monsters, and genociders the Elrics can sympathize with, humanize, befriend, and forgive, Scar will never be anything more than an unforgivable murderer. The best everyone gets here is moving on and living seperate lives. Nothing more.

The fact that Ed openly wishes he could beat the shit out of Scar, he verbalizes as such while Winry patches him up and Miles lectures him about the value of reforming the military regime to include more racialized people for its imperialist complex. And the big mercy Ed in this moment offers to Scar is... Not kicking the shit out of him after all.

The juxtaposition between these adaptations, the cold hatred of FMAB versus the entangled, poetic antagonism and comradery of FMA 03 makes experiencing the former anime so depressing. Until watching Broho it never dawned on me just how much I truly appreciated the complexities between Scar and the Elrics in 03. Finding Scar's Earth counterpart at the end of Shambala wasn't just a fun cameo: it feels like a road that leads back to an ally.

At least now I have something I can more consciously enjoy whenever I revisit 03, while articulating yet another reason why I can't stand Broho.

[the-catmans-offical-2]

DON'T FORGET 0CT.3.10. !!!!

[sarcasticmirage]

i was watching COS and look at these parallels between scar (in lab 5) and ed (in the thule society)

interesting how in 03 the scene is scar realizing what ed has been complicit in, and in COS it's ed realizing what alphons has been complicit in.

[crystalrainfall]

Clip for reference, this is the third episode in the series and one I personally liked alot because of multiple reasons:

It just expands a bit more on the boys earlier life and shows them being children and enjoying alchemy. It's a big contrast to how things are later, it's a needed contrast to show how messed up it is for Ed and Al to be involved with the military, to have gone through such a horrible accident with something that they used to do for fun things like making a doll for their best friend.

Winry also shows how some people outside of alchemists view alchemy. This is so necessary because fma especially fma 03 tries to ground itself to reality, exploring how real people think and feel, and despite alchemy in their world being said to be scientific, in our perspective it's not, and through winry we the audience have that link, that even to people in the anime, alchemy is still kinda Incomprehensible, scary and basically magic.

Brotherhood and the Manga doesn't mention Ishval until a bit later and I think that kinda sucks, because showing winry mourning the loss of her parents in the third episode , tells us early on that something bad happened and that the characters are aware, but at the same time don't know the exact details. I like that 03 shows the war through so many different perspectives and not just the perspective of the guilty war criminals were meant to sympathize with like in the Manga... Because honestly scar killing those state alchemists shouldn't have been a big deal because if justice existed, those alchemists would've been killed or put on trial for their crimes anyway, they just had an extended death penalty and scar just finished the deed.

And just... Showing mostly the soldiers perspective sorta demonizes scar and makes his trauma seem less significant which pissed me off, because It makes you have more sympathy for the people who are feeling guilty after committing the inhumane crime instead of the people actually hurt by the crime.

The Ishvalans have suffered greatly and are still suffering because no way is Amestris fixing its racism in just one day because a new Führer said so. They've gone through shit for years.

I just think showing us the war through the ishvalans perspective would make us care more about the ishvalans.

(one that's not just scar and that old lady but have us actually follow a character for a flashback seeing how much their life got torn to pieces!!)

additionally show us how much the actions of the military character's suck and that while they have their good moments they still suck.

(side tangent: I just find it gross how they keep on saying they want to be Führer.. Ya know still keeping the military dictatorship instead of saying stuff like, "oh I want to weaken how much control the military has on major political decisions in the country so that shit like Ishval can't happen just because some loser dictator said so." Saying Mustang becoming Führer will fix the country is so shit because it ignores the actual issue. You're just essentially saying that the dictatorship is suddenly fine now just because a "nice guy" is now in charge.)

[cosalphonse]

we need to do a study on the overlap between fma 2003 fans and lesbians. what is it about 03 that drives us all to it like moths to a flame.

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

Can you imagine if he found out about that?

[scarwasright]

little Scars, requested by @ci-ah!

[hifuus]

FMA (2003) Opening 1 Melissa

psd used

[sad-stucky-shipper-107]

WHY. I HAVE ONE QUESTION. WHY.

LMFAOOO KEEP BEING THIS OPTIMISTIC MY DUDE

LMFAOOO SHES THAT SCARY?!

I THINK SO MUCH OF HIS BEHAVIOUR STEMS FROM THE FACT THAT HE KNOWS HE MIGHT BE KILLED ANY MOMENT AS A STATE ALCHEMIST SO HE MAKES SURE THERE IS NO DOUBT HE LOVES HOS WIFE AND DAUGHTER VERY MUCH

THEY ARE NOT PAYING HER ENOUGH

MM once again, I smell BULLSHIT

BRO DON’T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT. THINGS LIKE THAT GET YOU MURDERED

FUCK FUCK FUCK- DON’T DIE. DON’T DIE. DON’T YOU DARE FUCKING DIE HUGHES-

FUCK TEAR MY HEART OUT WHY DON’T YOU

I FEEL SO BAD FOR HIM BECAUSE THAT WAS ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO HE TRUSTED, WHO WAS HIS FRIEND, WHO KNEW THE ‘REAL’ HIM

THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR CALLING WINRY’S AUTO MAIL SHODDY

WINRY IS SCARY

OH MY GOD. GRANDMA WAS HOT

SENSEI IS SCARY

SENSEI IS SOOO COOL HOLY SHIT

OOO HE’S COLLECTING HIS TEAM SFJKLDJSFL

I CAN SEE WHERE ED GETS HIS WISDOM FROM

HEY, HEY LADY. GO EASIER ON THEM. THEY WERE KIDS. GRIEVING STUPID KIDS.

I have mixed feelings about this after that beating she delivered but I’ll take it

I think leaving 2 kids in the woods by themselves is uhh uhm questionable.

Bro why u bullying the lil guy, it’s not his fault

BABY. HONEY. SUGAR-PIE. DON’T DO THIS. PLEASE. DON’T THIS.

NO ROY. DON’T DO IT ROY.

WHYS SHE SO COOL N OP DAMN

[stackslip]

ep 38-42 of fma 03 has very obvious budget and time issues to the point of silliness at times and yet it might be one of the strongest and thematically focused span of anime episodes ive seen since fucking utena

[selamat-linting]

Scar vs. Kimblee (FMA 2003)

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