Sloth

"What a pain."

- Sloth

Sloth (スロウス, Surōsu) is the embodiment of some of Father's sloth in the manga and the 2009 anime. He is not to be confused with Sloth from the 2003 anime, who is a very different character.

Appearance
Sloth is the largest Homunculus (with the exception of Envy's true form), having the appearance of a large, muscular man. He wears black pants and shoes and sports black straps across his chest. He has long and stringy black hair that runs down his head, sharp teeth and a single blank white eye with a scribbly outline. His red node that he shares with most of siblings is on the right side of his body, and goes from where his right eye should be, down to the right palm of his hand. He is also commonly seen with chains around his wrists. Sloth is almost always frowning while baring his sharp teeth, only smiling when completing the tunnel, and when dying. The only time he closed his mouth completely is in his debut appearance in the Manga, when the first Greed asks Lust where Sloth is.

Personality
His personality isn't explored much. However, as shown through his few appearances, he is often shown complaining about how much work he has to do. He claims that even simple things such as thinking are a pain and smiles when he dies, stating living itself was a pain. However, he diligently follows the orders given to him. In addition, when frustrated or pushed too far he will become annoyed and resort to full strength and become dedicated in fulfilling his task, as shown by his determination to kill General Armstrong. He is rather simple-minded and doesn't seem to be able to think about difficult or complex strategies. This, along with his clumsiness, means he is not good at stealth or surprise attacks. Unlike other homunculi, aside from Gluttony, he doesn't seem to view humans as inferior, or at least never vocalizes it. Likewise, while fighting or killing he doesn't seem to feel glee or joy, only the drive to finish his mission so that he can rest.

Part in the Story
In the original story, Sloth is not introduced until midway through the series, where he is revealed to be a muscular, but dimwitted giant standing almost twice the height of a normal man. Sloth's Ouroboros tattoo is located on his right shoulder blade and he is listed in Perfect Guide Book 2 to be the fifth Homunculus created by Father.

Sloth is tasked with digging a gigantic transmutation circle beneath Amestris to be used in turning the country into a Philosopher's Stone. Though he is briefly yielded in this job when he runs into the Elric brothers at Briggs Fortress, he is allowed to continue his work, finishing the circle in chapter seventy-eight. Just as his name implies, Sloth is always wanting to rest and finish his job so he can stop working, repeatedly stating that everything he is forced to do, and even living itself, is always "bothersome".

When Greed is captured by Wrath, he asks about Sloth and Lust answers by saying he is still working, meaning he was already making the tunnel before Greed left the group one hundred years before. After finishing the transmutation tunnel, he acted as Father's personal bodyguard, following him when he took direct control of the army and sleeping near Father's throne when he had nothing else to do. In Chapter 91, he was sent to deal with Major General Olivier Armstrong when she took one of the corrupted generals of Central hostage. However, Sloth inadvertently kills the hostage in a lazily thought out surprise attack before finally engaging in battle with the female general. After a lengthy battle with both Armstrong siblings, in which Sloth gets impaled several times, Izumi Curtis and her husband, Sig, come to their aid, further hindering Sloth's progress. Sig and Alex Armstrong then proceed to brutally attack Sloth and finally throw him onto a transmuted earth spike, impaling him. As he attempts to recover, he, in disbelief finds that he quickly begins to disintegrate. Realizing his now imminent death, he embraces it with a smile, stating that even living was too much effort for him. Sloth was the 4th Homunculus to permanently die.

Powers and Abilities
In combat, Sloth uses his fists and the chains on his wrists coupled with his astonishing physical strength. He is more than capable of crushing and tearing through solid rock and steel with his bare hands and can easily crush a human body with accidental ease. Sloth's hide is also extremely tough, being capable of resisting bullets and merely being staggered by a rocket launcher - however it has weak points: such as on the top of his head and the inside of his body. Nothing short of tank or artillery fire could pierce it from a distance. In his most devastating attack, he hurls himself towards his foes at incredible speed. In fact, his speed is so formidable, he appears to have no means of controlling his momentum and is thus incapable of stopping himself without crashing into something. He claims to be the fastest Homunculus, which is fitting, as the sin of Sloth signifies a wasting of one's potential.

Sloth is also extremely clumsy and easily fooled. While incredibly fast, he lacks proper coordination needed to fully utilize such abilities, and thus tends to have a very poor aim as well. He is very slow-witted and apathetic, resulting in opponents getting the better of him simply by outpacing him. His sluggish nature may also explain his low intelligence, as in his last moments he claims that thinking "takes too much effort".

His regenerative abilities are notably slower than those of the other Homunculi, though the reason for this is unknown. It is in line with his sluggish character and may be an effect of his large frame. He is able to use this to his advantage however, by stretching out the tendons in his muscles, increasing the range of his attacks. However, it has also been shown to be a hindrance as well, as Sloth did not need to be killed nearly as many times as his Homunculi brethren. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is that when Alex Armstrong impaled Sloth through the mouth with an earth spike, the Homunculus's Philosopher's Stone apparently lost a lot of energy keeping Sloth pinned before he could slowly regenerate and free himself. This incredibly slow regeneration also led to both Sig and Alex being able to inflict massive, continuous damage onto Sloth (increasing the amount of energy needed to heal himself as well) until he finally disintegrated a short time later.

Some of the Stone's power may also have been lost keeping Sloth alive while he was frozen in a snowdrift outside Fort Briggs, as it was a fairly long time before he was thawed out. Another theory is that Father never intended for Sloth to be used for combat, and thus gave him only enough souls for self-sustenance while digging the tunnel.

Trivia

 * Unlike other homunculi clothing, like Lust's gloves, Sloth's chains aren't apart of his bodies, as shown when they don't regenerate after his arms are severed.
 * According to an interview, Sloth's chains were attached to him after birth. The reason for this was because a newborn Sloth wasn't good at controlling his speed, and had to be restrained in order to prevent him from destroying Father's lair
 * Sloth's human form is the largest of the homunculi in terms of body size, but not in body mass (Envy's human form is the heaviest)
 * He shares the same type of eye(s) as Gluttony; rather than an iris or a normal shape, they are very tiny and blank in color. Perhaps not coincidentally, since both Homunculi share similar mentalities. Also, like Gluttony, Sloth has enormous palms in comparison to his body size which is possibly symbolizing how both of them are the two most low-ranking of the homunculi and are destined to do the dirty work.
 * Additionally, he shares the same triangular teeth as the first Greed.
 * He also has long, black and wispy hair, similar to that of Envy's.
 * Since he was working in the tunnel for so long, Sloth was the last Homunculus to become aware of the Elric Brothers' existence.
 * Sloth's pattern of never-ending activity is a reference to Dante Alighieri's "Purgatorio", in which the indolent are told to engage in constant activity to cleanse them of their slothful ways.
 * Sloth is either missing an eye, or it is covered by a red node that runs through the right side of his body. His Homunculus brethren share the same wire like attachments on their bodies as well, but he is the only one with it on his face.
 * Despite his extremely lazy personality, he can become determined to accomplish something if pushed far enough. When tasked to kill Olivier Armstrong by Father, Sloth eventually becomes so frustrated to finish his task, he resorts to using his full might, even exclaiming, "I'm killing the female general!"
 * In the last popularity poll, Sloth is the least popular Homunculus. He is also the least developed and is given the least amount of screen time, as he dies fairly soon after his late introduction. He is also the only Homunculus never to share a scene with any of his siblings.
 * Sloth's strength and speed may be based on the fact that "a lazy person possesses so much potential, but they choose to waste their abilities."
 * It may also be a reference to the surprising speed of the animal sloth during emergency flights from predators, its strong body.
 * Raven's false description of Sloth as a "chimera" may also be a reference to the mammal.

In the 2003 Anime


Sloth