Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood 40 'Homunculus (The Dwarf in the Flask)' | First Time Reaction

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Embark on a journey into the dark origins of the Homunculi with Arianna and Maple as they react to "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood," Episode 40, titled "Homunculus (The Dwarf in the Flask)." This episode dives deep into the backstory of the mysterious Homunculus known as Father, revealing his beginnings as a small creature in a flask. Watch as our reactors uncover the chilling past and the alchemical experiments that led to his creation and rise to power. React with them to the pivotal historical events that shaped the entire series, including the early life of Hohenheim and his unwitting involvement in the sinister plans of the Homunculus. This episode not only fills in crucial gaps in the series' lore but also heightens the emotional and philosophical stakes of the story.
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00:00 - Intro
00:10 - Reaction
16:04 - Review

[@zeroswat1762]

Ever notice that Ed, Al, and their dad are the only people with gold/yellow eyes? They are the last of the line of Those people.

[@Zbeast5972]

Holy shit

[@weebanimefan7760]

I mean it's obvious. The crazier thing is how Hohenheim's genes did dominate and you can't see a damn trace of Trisha's features.

[@alexdundas-taylor3420]

Yep. Xerxians.

[@houseofaction]

well technically they are not, the homunculi were created by father, from his body making the homunculi genetically xerxian as well

[@ArcSeraph]

This is when it becomes clear that Hoenheim is a victim of Father as well

[@Wezt334]

Fun Fact: the voice actor for young Hohenheim is the same person who played Al in the first Fullmetal Alchemist series. Most of the cast from the first series reprised their roles for Brotherhood however Dismuke who was a young actor at the time of the original series could no longer do the voice for Al as his voice had changed due to puberty.

[@yakamen]

Can we not ignore this plot arc of 2 orphans searching for the Stone but also finding THEIR father because the two are the same thing? Also - from here it just ramps up to 120% until the finale so don't worry.

[@loganyoung9805]

A lot of people get tripped up by the awkward translation of Prides line “I was the first homunculus”. What he really means is he was the first Homunculus created by Father. The dwarf in the flask was Father, who then went on to make the other homunculi

[@Patriot009]

It also fits into Pride's sin that he would say "I'm the first!" despite it not being true. He thinks himself superior to the rest.

[@nox_tech_]

hopefully it clicked upon reflection, but what also helps (i can't remember if it's shown before or after, but it should be shown separately) is pride being shown separately from father.

[@houseofaction]

technically father birthed them all, only wrath is not created from a fathers dna directly

[@nox_tech_]

@@houseofaction father is mothering~ 💅

[@puririiin]

@@nox_tech_ 😐

[@user-kf2hr8zw9v]

Don't overthink. Pride is just lying about his resume.😂😂

[@jakeDgirl]

Because he's prideful haha

[@user-kf2hr8zw9v]

@@jakeDgirl Lamo.😂😂😂

[@yakamen]

This is well put, haha

[@yikesman2717]

Think its also in part father hides / denies his human origins since he looks down on humans so much. Some internalized shame right there, makes sense with pride being his strongest emotion. To quote uncle iroh "pride is the source to shame" SPOILER even truth reprimands father for rejecting his human origins.

[@Shinbu150]

It might be a mistranslation or it might just be Pride being prideful, but The "Homunculus"/Little One in the Flask was the first Homonculus ever made. Selim/Pride was the first one Father made.

[@saberx0467]

and father made Selim look like him because father has a massive ego.

[@ryanakers1372]

Also, Pride is the first one Father made, so Selim saying he's the first isn't completely inaccurate.

[@brianlaureus]

Yeah it’s weird cause technically both statements are true but in different contexts

[@Pandaemoni]

Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim was a real world alchemist, who went by the name Paracelsus (c 1493-1541).

[@lefishe5884]

Can't believe the show waited 40 episodes to tell us that Hohenheim was the main character all along

[@jacobhatcher5409]

Also realize this. Ed and Al are the last remnants of Xerxes. Theyre the only Xerxians left, along with Hohenheim

[@houseofaction]

technically father birthed all of the homunculi aside from wrath making them all xerxian a s well

[@RiffRaffish]

I love that it's actually Hoenheim that you first see in original intro and not Ed.

[@kennethmorgan8795]

Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim is actually a famous real life German 'alchemist', widely considered the Father of Toxicology. And now you know why he calls himself a monster...

[@Mr.hale4]

I love that they think they figured something out, but are still pretty much clueless. I’m dead 😂

[@user-ne8gu1hb2x]

Father created pride he just made pride look like how he was In the flask pride is the first humiculis born from father

[@alexdundas-taylor3420]

About the little breaths: a long-standing convention in anime is to seldom let a reaction shot go by without a vocal effect to mark it. It was probably a panel in the manga, so it has its own minor significance to the artists. Because these shots are usually static with open mouths, the sound that makes physical sense is usually a restrained breath.

[@Maxisamo1]

If you haven't noticed, Hoenheim, Ed, and Al, are the only modern-day characters who have the specific blonde hair with brownish-yellow outlines, and redish hazel eyes It's because they're the last of the Xerxes people

[@Maxisamo1]

"I've never seen a Philosopher Stone that big" Not only has he multiple times, he is the SPAWN of one

[@cobaltjay9862]

Fun fact: the voice for young Van Hohenheim is the voice of Alphonse from the original series

[@brucemaximus3797]

Ah, and now we hit the gas pedal. Buckle up, buttercups, we're goin' for a ride.

[@carlbowen7965]

To put it in context, when Father and Hohenheim met was ~400 years ago. They meet approximately 1505 and its 1914 present time

[@b_g_c3281]

Yeah, indeed you pretty much nailed it, Maple. But Arianna, you're never a slouch...and you were theorizing pretty intensely up to this episode. ...I'm looking forward to the day you two put forth a short film and/or some short stories/novellas/novels!

[@nachofilament294]

So you've finally noticed that anime makes all the small breaths and grunts audible. The little ones that everyone makes, but you can only hear your own.

[@Novouto]

The sudden breaths in anime is EVERYWHERE lol. You get used to it.

[@edwardelric8354]

Y’all two are in for a ride. It only gets better from here and you two are so adorable.

[@McBeelzebub]

If you don’t already know, you guys should check out the concept of delayed auditory feedback. You all but describe it during your outro.

[@MrPlexie]

The way that we're gonna have to hold an intervention for Ariana's overuse of the phrase "the way ..."

[@SpiderRiderKya]

You know if you think about it, The Dwarf in the Flask/Father DID make the king of Xerxes immortal. After all, he's forever remembered as the king who destroyed his country in a single night. Also, when Selim calls himself the First Homunculus, he means he's the first/oldest of the 7. The 7 Sins homunculi are made by and from Father, they are literally a part OF him. He basically split those emotions/feelings (Lust/Gluttony/Pride/Wrath/Greed/Sloth/Envy) from his very being and made them their own physical things, powered by Philosopher's Stones. Which kinda makes the Homunculus like, half siblings to Ed and Al in a way

[@b_g_c3281]

This episode is PIVOTAL...

[@laney3483]

Fun fact the name Theophrastus Bombastus is actually the first part of the name of the real life alchemist Hohenheim is named after! His full name is - and sorry this is probably spelled wrong - Theophrastus Bombastus Aerulus Paracelsus Van Hohenheim (though he’s usually just referred to as Paracelsus)

[@Frosty8221]

It do make sense that you'd feel a bit of that lull in the action. From the point where Ed sees Al's body in the portal to now, it's all kind of set-up for the finale. Believe it or not, but after 45, the pacing doesn't stop, it's all plot threads coming together and paying off arcs right up to the ending. You're in for a ride!

[@chill-potato]

Wild that the first two scenes of this episode are sick and have major implications, and yet I never even remember that they happen in this episode just cuz the back half is so insane.

[@stardmg]

Father is some sort of being that existed within the Portal of Truth, as when he says "he used [Hohenheim's blood] to open the doorway" he obviously wasn't talking about Xerxes, since the King's blood was used there. He was talking about when he was "created", because as it turns out he was not so much "created" as he was *summoned* from beyond the Door. Also, Father didn't go into the King's body lol. He was naked upon gaining his new form and in the manga says he just "found it lying around" or something to that effect. Also also, when Selim said he's "the first Homunculus", he meant that he was the first out of the Seven Sins that Father separated from himself.

[@NotSeregnar]

This episode is so great! It was fun seeing your theories pay off! Also, I totally get the mispronunciation thing! If memory serves speech jammers works by playing back sounds with a small delay, which confuses the speech centers of the brain or something along those lines.

[@renanjose7198]

Actually the Homunculus didn't share half of the lifes in Xing to thank Hohenheim, i think its because Hohenheim was in the center of the circle with him, it wasn't a choice, the transmutation share equally the souls between Hohenheim and the Homunculus.

[@xotmatrix]

This show is about to get nuts.

[@MST3KNJ]

Briggs is the tippy top of the big hill of the roller coaster that is FMAB. Now the ride gets REALLY good!

[@moley2317]

1:42 this is legit, people have made speech jamming guns that use directional speakers to project their voices back to them which makes them unable to speak properly

[@nekorion]

you guys hear yourself when you record? god, id die, i refuse to do it. Sometimes theres feedback in drive thrus and i can barely order. fwiw were getting to the point where they have to stop dropping bombshells to finish up the story tho :P

[@bastianflores5269]

Also the truth has nothing to do with father o father plans... It almost has no will...

[@Maxisamo1]

I have no idea why, but Japanese media LOVES to do little gasps when a character is even slightly taken back You can't escape it in most Japanese media, live action or anime

[@geminiblade]

Wooo we got there, most of the mystery is now revealed and we can get to how are we going to stop father.

[@TheWindcrow]

It's the slowest, greatest burn ever

[@houseofaction]

the population of xerxes was 1,072,658 that means that Van hohenheim has 536,329 souls within his philosphers stone

[@kontrastowa_9098]

This is one of my favorite episodes. So crazy!

[@forkxin]

Pride was the first Homunculus that Father created. Father was *really* the first.

[@user-ne8gu1hb2x]

Von and father are two different people von is a human but got turned into a stone so he’s half human half stone that’s why he was able to have kids and father cannot so he separates his seven sins and have them call him father

[@alexcloud2275]

I strongly recommend watching the original series as like a offshoot to this. Yes there are more episodes but from the introduction to greed it goes a completely different direction. Frankly its not "as good" but very very much worth your time.

[@JaakunaSetsu]

No spoilers but explaining a bit about Homunculus. Hes the original Artificial human so hes like homunculi 0 while Selim is homunculi 1.

[@JustinRm6820]

4:33 / 6:41 ☕ You should look up these people Paracelsus Nicolas Flamel

[@Corey313]

Love your reactions Frfr especially to FMA: Brotherhood

[@KJ-pr1hq]

you guys going crazy over this episode is cracking me up lmao

[@chaserandalow8548]

Pride's line about him being the first homunculus is true only on a technicality in a specific context. He is the first among the homunculi created by father, so he is more accurately the "first homuculus of the sins" rather than the actual "first homunculus". Father did indeed come well before Pride, so Father is the first true homunculus while pride was created from him as his first child homunculus. As for why he would say it like that, we can't exactly expect a being based around the concept of conceit to talk about themselves very humbly. The reason why pride's shadows look like father's original form are explained later.

[@DaDunge]

11:00 It predates the holy trinity. Its the three aspects of neoplatonism. God, the agent intellect and the world soul. But yeah its likely where Christians got the idea for the trinity.

[@jacobhatcher5409]

Its not. We derive the doctrine of the Trinity from both the Torah and writings of the New Testament.

[@jacobhatcher5409]

Neoplatonism is more akin to the Gnostics. And trinitarianism predates neoplatanism by at least 100 years

[@DaDunge]

@@jacobhatcher5409 Because there is absolutely no philosophical influences on those.

[@jacobhatcher5409]

@@DaDunge that is correct. Christianity was trinitarian well before neoplatanism. The new testament documents date to the late 1st century at the latest.

[@jamaelbaskerville4547]

OMG YALL THINKING TOO HARD!!!

[@richardsanchez9073]

Here we go!

[@5593956]

oh yeah the HUH>?? is japanese to the core, is on every anime ever made lol.

[@derekdaniels16]

I've been waiting for this stretch

[@keyblader1985]

My man Hohenheim got up in Izumi and rearranged her guts

[@dquanissavage6287]

Diegesis Awesome Video Today!!🔥🐐🐐💎

[@Pennyf4rthought]

Maple can get it if she wants it that is😂 😅

[@SgtWicket]

Anime grunts and gasps really are distracting once you start paying attention to them

[@tedslanders4945]

was wrong the entire show gets proven wrong arianna "i knew it! i knew it the whole time" ??????????????? what

[@MS-bk7we]

i think it would be helpful to leave the full discussion at the end of the reaction. you are missing a lot of details by talking over the dialogue. all love tho

[@Shad0wmoses]

i had a feeling you guys were getting bored lol. imo the weakest part of the series is probably around the briggs part. its when the pride revelation and followup with the hohenheim revelation is when it gets ramped back up again.

[@1Poxxxx]

5:56 ooh please just focus on the plot!!!! its such a good episode!!

[@cawreveiwer2010]

Stop tryig to guess every little thing and overthinking. Listen to your comments.

[@jbwade5676]

I am Big Fans❤

[@MiArcangel]

Demon Slayer next?? After this😅

[@ciscoralmazora289]

In a way, that explains Edward's hate and revulsion for his own father -- he may instinctively sense that he faces the true horror of the Philosopher's Stone in Von Hohenheim. 😲

[@alexarias5717]

Nah he's just pissed cuz he's a deadbeat

[@ciscoralmazora289]

@@alexarias5717 😄 jeez, just wanted to give Edward some props...

[@AlbertusDeLosCorpus]

Subs over dubs, but dubbed VA for Fuhrer King Bradley is one of the rare exceptions.

[@mynameisnoonesbusiness4488]

Plzzz more Peaky a bit more regular. You can’t get into the vibe with just once a week.

[@steamdeck-nz6kc]

I really wished you guys started your first anime by watching Death Note. It's so much better than full metal alchemist. One of the best mature anime out there that discusses the ethical dilemma of justice and murder.

[@mem5860]

Watch attack on titan is better thsn shogun and this show

[@Brandon-vb5lp]

No. No it's not. At least not with the ending

[@mem5860]

@@Brandon-vb5lp yes it is. Because of the ending it ruined all the show?

[@smiffy68]

I'm desperate for you to be done with this garbage so you can spend time on good things.