Envy is the secondary antagonist of the Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 anime series,
Appearance
This version of Envy appearance is mostly the same as his manga counterpart, except with a more slender and agile physique along with dark green hair (rather than black or wispy). His true form has shoulder-length blond hair and golden eyes, much like his father and half-brothers, as well as sharing the same skin complexion as them.
In his leviathan form, Envy's body is mostly green with a grayish-white under-belly along with dark-gray spots in next to the two colors. Envy's eye color is still the same as his androgynous form, excluding the cat-slit pupils. Envy has dark-yellow spots on his face, in-between his eyes and nose. He also has two green fins behind his neck (one on each side), six thin gray wings (three on each side), and his tail resembles those found on a sea serpent.
Personality
This incarnation of Envy is depicted as being jealous of the fatherly love Edward and Alphonse received from Hohenheim. Although he hates both of the Elric brothers due to their relation to Hohenheim, his animosity is geared mostly towards Edward (often mocking the alchemist's size, usually by calling him "Pipsqueak").
Envy is a certifiably murderous, cruel, aggressive, manipulative, and sadistic psychopath, so he shows no remorse and is all too gleeful for all his actions, from killing Hughes to mortally wounding Ed. He has also clashed occasionally with the other homunculi (particularly Greed), and shows he has no love for either of his brethren as well. He is loyal towards Dante and acts as her high-ranking enforcer throughout the series, despite being aware of Dante's true intentions of keeping the stone for herself.
Envy has a singular desire to kill Hohenheim, due to the lack of acknowledgment of being his son and the abandonment he felt after his father saw him as an abomination. This resentment was so great to the point where he threw himself into The Gate to personally kill Hohenheim. In Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy still remains vengeful, with Dietlinde Eckhart stating that Hohenheim was the only means of keeping him under control; Envy finally achieves his vengeance after killing him, despite knowing that it would mean being transmuted.
Unlike most of the other homunculi, Envy has no desire for the Philosopher's Stone nor becoming human. He is also more intelligent and deceitful than the manga version, and perhaps even the other Homunculi, as he manipulated Wrath into becoming obsessed with vengeance, so he could "run out and do what he is meant to do."
History
Envy in the 2003 anime series.
In the first anime, Homunculi are based on failed Human Transmutations intended to bring the dead back. Because of this, Envy, being based on Hohenheim's dead son, is male rather than being a genderless entity. Whether Envy is male or genderless in their typical Homunculus form is unknown.
Out of all the Homunculi, Envy serves as the primary antagonist of the group. He is first seen at the end of episode 2 of the 2003 series, where he starts to impersonate the tarnished Father Cornello. He is not seen in his preferred form until the beginning of episode 14, and he does not reveal his original form until episode 50. As the oldest Homunculus, he claimed that he had forgotten what he originally looked like. However, it was actually a lie stemming from his hatred towards his father, Hohenheim, resulting in him transforming to look nothing like his original form. This was because Hohenheim was the one who created him as an attempt to bring back his first son (who died of mercury poisoning around the age of eighteen) and abandoned him. Envy hated all humans and followed Dante mostly for the opportunity of killing as many people as he could. This is what drove him in all that he did; unlike the other Homunculi, he did not care about the Philosopher's Stone, nor about becoming human. His most prominent murder was that of Maes Hughes. After his cover was blown while impersonating Second Lieutenant Ross, Envy transformed into Hughes' wife, Gracia, and used his hesitation to fatally shoot him. He also served as a key in imprisoning Greed, with whom he had a long-standing grudge against, within the Fifth Laboratory. It is also notable that Envy had no love for his Homunculi brethren and mainly antagonized his first "brother," Greed. Also, he quickly turned upon Gluttony, Wrath, and even the higher ranked Pride. The only person that posed the possibility of a relationship with him was Dante herself. He was usually her enforcer and often carried out her whims more directly than most of his comrades. He was also apparently more comfortable in her presence than the rest of the Homunculi. However, he also lashed out at Dante with particular intensity when she impeded his ambitions of death and revenge. Well aware of the power that Dante held over him, Envy was at once the most uncontrollable yet most reliable member of her legion.
Envy's true form as Hohenheim's son in the first anime.
Envy's original human form is revealed in the penultimate episode of the 2003 series. He was created three hundred and eighty years ago by Hohenheim in an attempt to resurrect the son he and Dante conceived, who died from mercury poisoning when he was 18 years old. Envy held a great hatred towards him for never being acknowledged as his son and for abandoning him and Dante. As a result, he also hated his younger "half-brothers," Edward and Alphonse, as they obtained the fatherly love that he himself never received. When learning from Dante that Hohenheim was gone, Envy snapped at being denied his wish to kill him. Dante, however, remarked that the Elric brothers are still alive and now have the Philosopher's Stone, as a consolation prize to curb his anger. The fact that they possessed the Stone and would regain everything they lost made him more jealous of them and more intent on making them suffer as he had. However, Edward managed to see through his disguises and tricks, until the Homunculus revealed his true form (an imitation of Hohenheim's deceased son with Dante) and his connection to Hohenheim. That stunt was all it took for him to successfully kill Edward, as the distraction gave him enough time to pierce him through the heart. He is then transported to The Gate by Alphonse, meeting up with Edward again. Upon learning that Hohenheim was still alive on the other side of The Gate, Envy was able to successfully open and make his way through the doors. Once inside The Gate, The Gate Children attacked him, but he fought them off by transforming into Edward. Just before reaching his father, he changed once again into his original human form, likely to get The Gate Children to take him to Hohenheim faster. By the time he made his way through to the other side, Envy took to a serpentine dragon form.
Conqueror of Shamballa
Envy's dragon form from the movie.
During the two-year gap between the end of the anime and Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy was captured by the Thule Society sometime after arriving at Earth to find Hohenheim. With Envy in his massive serpent form, the Society intended to use him as a literal Ouroboros to open a physical Gate and transfer their soldiers to "Shamballa" on the other side.
Around the time of Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy had escaped and took shelter in an abandoned castle, only to cross paths with Edward once again. In their ensuing fight, Envy was attacked on all sides by the Thule Society, who recaptured him and managed to get a small regiment of soldiers to the other side for a short time. During this time, Hohenheim was imprisoned and offered Envy as a sacrifice in order to keep the "Great Serpent" calm as they formulated their plans. In the end, it was Hohenheim who sacrificed his own life, using Envy as his means and enabling Ed to return to his own world in a final act of redemption for his sins. Thus, Envy finally realized his sole desire to kill his father, ultimately at the cost of his own life. He was the seventh and final Homunculus to die in the series.
Powers and Abilities
This version of Envy is more skilled in combat, with his attacks ranging from simple punches and kicks to Capoeira-like techniques. Envy is also a gymnast and moves with superb finesse. In fact, he knocked down Pride and had to be distracted by Wrath for Edward to pin him down.
Very much like his manga counterpart, Envy can change his form to whomever he chooses and copy their voices as well. Envy takes advantage of this technique to catch his opponents off-guard, often by turning into someone the target cares about. He also has the typical homunculus strength, speed, and regeneration abilities.
As a dragon in Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy uses his large body and powerful jaws to fight (as seen in his fight with Edward Elric); he managed to fell one of the planes the Thule Society used to capture him. Because he came through The Gate, Envy was seen glowing with mysterious alchemic marks, which proved to be a key component in activating The Portal to Amestris.
Relationships
Hohenheim of Light
Envy held a special resentment towards his "father/creator" for abandoning him and because of that very reason, is why he rejects his true form (claiming to have forgotten it). When hearing that Hohenheim had came out of hiding, he makes his way to Dante and asks for his whereabouts, only to snap after she robbed him of his chance to personally kill him himself. When learning from Edward that Hohenheim's still slive on the other side of The Gate, Envy recklessly threw himself into The Gate in order to reach him.
In "Conqueror of Shamballa", Envy finally gets a chance to meet Hohenheim again and immediately lunged for him. In the meantime, Envy has Hohenheim fixed in the jaws of his dragon form and later kills him, thereby achieving his life-long goal (at the cost of his own existence).
Dante
Envy and Dante common ground is the abandonment they've both suffered from Hoheheim. Envy acts as her enforcer and carries out her dirty work (with the only satisfaction he gets is the pain and suffering of others). In spite of his loyalty, he lashed out at Dante for banishing Hohenheim, thereby robbing him of his chance for vengeance, regardless, he still assisted her in the final phase of her master plan, up until the point where he was accidentally transmuted by Alphonse. In the end, Envy abandons Dante to achieve his vengeance (proving that his personal desires took top priority over seeking a way back to aid Dante).
Edward and Alphonse Elric
Envy is resentful towards his younger half-siblings for having the fatherly love he never had. He sought to make them suffer any way he could (whether through physical or psychological abuse), spitefully calling Ed a Pipsqueak or attacking him, not caring in the slightest about Al's predicament as a philosopher stone. Next to Hoheheim of Light, killing the Elric brothers is his secondary goal in which he did succeed in killing Ed for a time.
Greed
Envy and Greed appear to dislike one-other, the reason was never stated, but it could've been linked to Dante, which is further augmented by Envy being responsible for sealing Greed in the 5th laboratory.
Homunculi
Other than Greed, his relationship varies among his homunculi brethren:
Lust - Envy and Lust appear to be comfortable in each-other's presence, with the two usually having casual conversations. Another thing to note is how they confide in each-other about different things.
Gluttony - While Envy's mostly indifferent to him, Gluttony's moping over Lust triggers him to threaten to force feed Gluttony The Philosopher Stone. Envy was visibly concerned for him both times when Dante lobotomizes him into pure Gluttony and when his lower jaw melted.
Pride - Similar to Greed, Envy appears to have a disdain for Pride, due to his relationship to humans. Envy spitefully calls Pride a Puppet and Pride's comment on Envy's personal life caused a violent reaction, further straining their relationship.
Sloth - Whilst Envy appears to be rather annoyed with Sloth's bossy and patronizing personality, they are at least shown to work together if told to.
Wrath - Initially Envy acted as a role model of sorts, by feeding him the Red Stones and educating him on the true concept of a homunculus. It was after Sloth's death and Wrath insistence on resurrecting her, to where Envy repeatedly beats him (albeit on Dante's behalf). In the penultimate episode, this relationship was further strained when Wrath attempts to bring Sloth back himself and assist Ed against Envy and Dante (due to Wrath realizing that he was being manipulated this entire time).
Trivia
- Envy is said to be the first born homunculus, making him the oldest in this continuity
- Envy's true form bears a similar resemblace to Father's third form, both of whom were born from Hohenheim.
- Envy has the distinction of being the first Homunculus born and the last to die.
- It is a mystery as to why Envy's true form looks anything like Hohenheim, as Hohenheim is in the body of a different man to whom Envy would bear no resemblance.
- It could be possible that Hohenheim recreated his original body through alchemy, given his viewpoint on body-swapping, as he could no longer stand taking bodies. It may explain how Dante and Envy immediately recognizes him.
- In the movie Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy is permanently stuck in his dragon form, unable to use his shape-shifting powers due to the lack of alchemy in that world.
- He can still speak as a dragon, but is unable to move his mouth in the form of a human tongue.
- Similarly, while Envy is being shot by planes, at certain points the dragon roars are coupled with human-like wailing (although this is more noted in the english dub).
- In the Chibi Party OVA, Envy's dragon form is revealed to be a costume and can thus remove said outfit, showing his preferred form (much to Ed's surprise).
- In the description of the 31st episode on Netflix, Envy is mistakenly referred to as female.
| Homunculus |
|---|
| Father |
| Lust | Gluttony | Greed | Sloth | Wrath | Envy | Pride |
| 2003 Anime Exclusive |
| Wrath | Sloth | Pride |