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What is Fullmetal Alchemist?
Fullmetal Alchemist is a manga series by Hiromu Arakawa. It started running in 2001, and was loosely adapted into an anime by Studio BONES during the years 2003-2004. The story follows Edward and Alphonse Elric, two young alchemists who try to resurrect their deceased mother through the forbidden taboo of human transmutation. In the process, Edward loses a leg, and Alphonse loses his entire body. Edward manages to sacrifice his arm in order to bind Al’s soul to a nearby suit of armor. After doing so, Edward acquires auto-mail, or fake mechanical limbs, and sets off on a journey with Al in pursuance of the Philosopher’s Stone, a mythical red stone that can supposedly return Al to his original body. Along the way, Edward joins the military as a State Alchemist so that he can do more research about the Stone. He and Al are pursued by Scar, Lust, and the rest of her comrades.
I will admit it- I got into this wonderful series late. I tend to watch anime and read manga at my own pace, without letting hype and fads drive me, so I didn’t pick up my first Fullmetal DVD until March 2006. But once I did watch it, I really fell for it. And I’m glad that I did, as I’ve gotten so much joy out of it.
Scar and Lust… interesting names… so who are they?
Scar is a native of Ishbal. His real name is unknown, but he is called ‘Scar’ by the citizens of Amestris due to the X-shaped scar on his forehead. Because State Alchemists destroyed his homeland and slaughtered his people, he seeks revenge by hunting down every State Alchemist he can find and exploding his or her brains using his right arm, which bears a strange transmutation circle. He acquired his special right arm from his older brother, who created Lust.
Lust is homunculus, or an artificial human being. She was created by Scar’s older brother when he attempted to bring back his deceased lover. She was rescued by Dante, and fed many Red Stones so that she could take on a human form (homunculi are nothing more than a pile of ugly flesh and bones when they are first born.) She seeks the Philosopher’s Stone so that she can become a real human. Since homunculi are incapable of performing alchemy themselves, Lust, along with the other homunculi under the control of Dante, teases and tricks real alchemists into trying to create the Stone for her.
How do they meet?
Scar and Lust first encounter each other at the beginning of episode 18 in Central City’s library. Scar is instantly intrigued by her, as she naturally looks and sounds almost exactly like his brother’s beloved. Lust (who is there searching for a particular book with her hungry homunculus companion Gluttony) realizes Scar’s presence, and he steps out of the shadows and faces her, commenting on how she looks so much like the woman he used to know. Lust then asks him if he is after Edward, and goes on to say that he cannot murder Edward, as she plans on using him to help her make the Philosopher’s Stone. Soon realizing that she’s said too much, she allows Gluttony to try to eat Scar, and takes part in battling him right there in the library. Scar barely manages to escape.
Not too long after that, Scar and Lust run into each other again in Laboratory 5, both of them again in search of Edward Elric. They once again engage in battle, which ends with Scar falling down a large hole in the ground into what Gluttony dubs the “bad place.” He remains there for awhile, seemingly unconscious. Once he regains his strength, he crawls out of the hole and stops Edward Elric from killing many prisoners to create the Stone just in time. He then returns to his Ishbalan refugee companions, and his relationship with Lust is put on hold until 18 episodes later.
Okay, so they tried to kill each other twice when they first met. Or, to be more accurate, Lust and Gluttony tried to kill Scar twice and he just tried to defend himself. Talk about true love! But seriously, it’s only to be expected that Lust would try to kill anyone that was getting in the way of her goals. At the time, she didn’t know Scar, so of course she hadn’t had the time to fall in love with him. The same goes for Scar. It can be inferred that after meeting Scar, Lust’s memories from the life of the woman she was made from really began to surface, thus causing her to become more and more intrigued by Scar, who was no doubt present in many of the memories. Many of the memories, which no doubt consisted of the love between Scar’s brother and his girlfriend, probably inspired Lust to want to pursue and experience her own love, with Scar as her first choice, seeing as how he was already connected to her through her creator. It can be surmised that Scar, on the other hand, was naturally drawn to Lust, as it is revealed in episode 40 that he had a crush on the woman she was based on when he was a child.
But… homunculi don’t have souls; therefore they can’t fall in love!
*Twitch* This is arguably the most popular argument against this pairing. Well, I’ll argue right back. What really defines a soul? Whoever said anywhere in the anime that homunculi FOR SURE don’t have pieces of a soul? How does Edward Elric know for sure that they sometimes don’t exhibit feelings? Has he ever spent a decent amount of time around a homunculus, trying to reach out to it and get to know it? How does he know that everything in the alchemy books is correct? And about Dante explaining to her pawns that they are soulless- how can we be sure that she isn’t wrong? Or lying just to make sure the homunculi don’t become emotionally attached to anyone or anything as they carry out her dirty work? Plus, Lust is very set on becoming human and figuring out who she is. She also ponders where she will go after she dies. Those are very soulful traits for a so-called ‘living doll.’ So I will firmly stand by my belief that Lust is capable of being in love, even when in homunculus form.
I don’t believe you. Show me the proof!
Many fans claim that there is no real evidence of romantic vibes between Scar and Lust. I beg to differ. If one would watch closely (and think!), he’d be surprised with what he would notice:
*Ep. 35 (the Lust-centric episode): In the middle of this episode, we see Scar in the desert holding the infamous locket. True, at this point he does not fully understand that Lust is not the woman he used to like, but this could still be seen as a form or foreshadowing or endorsing of a future relationship with Lust.
*Ep. 40: After Ed explains to Scar that Lust is just a fake, soulless doll, the look on his face appears to be very desirous.
*Ep. 41: In the Japanese version, Pride asks Lust if she embraces any "wasted feelings" for Scar. The dub makes it more clear by saying, "Don't you think you're taking this INFATUATED SCHOOLGIRL routine a bit too far?" (I love Funimation for writing that in, by the way. They're my heroes.)
*Ep. 42: Ahh, the big one. The episode in which Scar and Lust confront each other. Granted, Scar is a total jerk to her at the beginning, but if one pays close attention and uses his/her brain, he/she will understand what's going on. All right, time to dissect my favorite episode:
-Point 1: Going back to the hint from episode 40, I will go on to say that Ed probably explained to Scar off-screen that homunculi are only able to be killed when they are near the remains of the people that they were supposed to be. Scar was no doubt aware that he was the only person who could kill Lust, but he made no attempt during episode 42 to kill her.
-Point 2: Lust cannot bring herself to stab Scar. She sees an image of his brother with the woman she was supposed to be. This could be interpreted as her realizing that what she wants most is to be human so that she can enjoy a life with Scar. Or it could be seen as her just wanting to keep Scar alive so that she can find out more about her past. Either way, it is rather shippy.
-Point 3: We see Scar walking away from Lust after being a jerk to her, and then cut to Ed talking to Rose and Lyra. After that, we go back to Archer and his troops as they watch Scar throw Kimbley's corpse off of the roof. We then see Scar jump down, with Lust following him. They then start running together. Don't you think it's kind of odd that they'd all of a sudden be working together after fighting? (By the way, it was Lust who helped Scar get to the top of the roof. I HATE when people call that a plot hole.) Of course, that doesn't mean they harbor romantic feelings for each other, but I honestly don't think Scar would let anyone help him out like that unless he really cared about her.
-Point 4: Scar shields Lust from the bullets. Right after, Lust asks him if he loved her, and he responds, "No." Most people turn off their brains at this point and conclude, "Oh, he doesn't like her after all." Not true. Lust asked if he LOVED her. As in, the past tense. And going by the past tense, of course the answer would be "no", because he didn't know her in the past time frame she was referring to. Not only that, but he protected her even though he knew who and what she was. He knew she was a monster, and he knew that she couldn't die. Sure, he claimed that his body moved out of reflex, but he's obviously one to lie and hide his feelings.
-Point 5: After Scar is shot, both he and Lust are shown hiding out in a random building. First of all, why are they hiding out in a random building in the first place? Scar's goal was to create the Philosopher's Stone and help Alphonse. He was shot three times, and he knew he was about to die. So why did he risk taking the time to hide and spill his guts out to Lust when the best thing to do was hurry up and make the Stone before his time ran out? Lust could have just helped him off of the ground, and they could have just kept on going, with Lust ready to stab any soldier who saw them.
-Point 6: Lust says, "I don't even know your real name" to Scar before he leaves to make the Stone. Right before that, Scar tells Lust, "LET'S go" in the dub. These lines prove that they truly care about each other.
-Point 7: Lust's face looks soft and sad as the Stone is being transmuted. Why would she look so sad? The Stone is what she wanted most… shouldn’t she have been smiling?
-Point 8: Lust never smirks or looks evil ever again after this episode. She always looks sad. Hmmm....
*Ep. 46: When Lust finds Ed, he says, "My brother told me who and what you really are." And just who and what is that? Some fans, like me, believe that Al saw Scar and Lust acting couple-y and later reported it to Ed. It’s a definite possibility, if you think about it.
*Ep. 47: Before Lust dies, a couple of flashbacks are shown as she thinks about why she wanted to be human. The final shot is that of little Scar, and it stays on the screen for about 3 seconds.
*Conqueror of Shamballa: The end of the movie. You see them sitting in the truck, side by side. Enough said.
*Chibi Party OVA: Ah, the cracktastic Chibi OVA. Many fans use Roy's "tragic romance" line and Riza's speech to justify their thinking that Roy and Riza hooked up at the end of the anime. I agree with them. I would also like to point out that another couple was basically canonized in this OVA: Scar and Lust. I mean, come on. They pop up side by side in their armor outfits, they shout "It's OUR turn now", they're wearing almost-matching clothes, Lust says "we" over and over again when talking Ed about being extras in the movie, and finally (my absolute favorite), when Gluttony attacks, Lust hangs onto Scar’s arm and he doesn’t object. They are then eaten TOGETHER. If this does not prove that they are a couple, I don't know what does!
But… it’s necrophilia and adultery!
Um, no it’s not. Necrophilia is the act of a living human being attracted to- or having sex with- a corpse. A motionless, thoughtless, completely lifeless corpse. Lust is not a motionless, thoughtless, completely lifeless corpse. She moves on her own, thinks for herself, ponders her memories, etc. And on the adultery note, Lust is stated, even by Scar himself, to NOT be the real girlfriend of his older brother. She a completely separate being, and while she may have been made out of the remains of Scar’s brother’s girlfriend, her mind is not that of that woman. She has simply had some of that woman’s memories burned into her thoughts.
Why do I ship them? Why should you ship them?
I’ve always been a sucker for villain love. I just find it captivating to watch seemingly heartless and destructive people care for someone else so much. I see Scar and Lust as two lonely, confused people who can’t help but feel drawn to each other, but cannot allow themselves to truly pursue love. Scar is too caught up in his revenge against State Alchemists to try to reach out to Lust, and Lust is too busy worrying about where she came from and where she’s going, as well as whether or not her feelings are real. Their dynamics and interaction feel fresh and original. I’m also an angst addict, and Scar/Lust fanfiction dishes out some of the most well-written, fascinating angst I’ve ever read. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re both pretty much the two sexiest people in the series. XD I am quite shocked that they receive so little love in the fandom, because they really are an interesting and unforgettable couple. But those who do loyally follow the pair and write fanfiction for it do so very well. Rarely does one come across a Scar/Lust fic that is OOC. I find all of these to be perfect reasons to ship Scar/Lust.
Links
http://community.livejournal.com/scarlust : The Scar/Lust Community.
http://geocities.com/sin_andsalvation : Scar/Lust Fanfiction Archive
http://familiar.senbonzakura.org/SxL/index.php : Official Scar/Lust Fanlisting (owned by yours truly)
I love Scar/Lust! ^_^
What is Fullmetal Alchemist?
Fullmetal Alchemist is a manga series by Hiromu Arakawa. It started running in 2001, and was loosely adapted into an anime by Studio BONES during the years 2003-2004. The story follows Edward and Alphonse Elric, two young alchemists who try to resurrect their deceased mother through the forbidden taboo of human transmutation. In the process, Edward loses a leg, and Alphonse loses his entire body. Edward manages to sacrifice his arm in order to bind Al’s soul to a nearby suit of armor. After doing so, Edward acquires auto-mail, or fake mechanical limbs, and sets off on a journey with Al in pursuance of the Philosopher’s Stone, a mythical red stone that can supposedly return Al to his original body. Along the way, Edward joins the military as a State Alchemist so that he can do more research about the Stone. He and Al are pursued by Scar, Lust, and the rest of her comrades.
I will admit it- I got into this wonderful series late. I tend to watch anime and read manga at my own pace, without letting hype and fads drive me, so I didn’t pick up my first Fullmetal DVD until March 2006. But once I did watch it, I really fell for it. And I’m glad that I did, as I’ve gotten so much joy out of it.
Scar and Lust… interesting names… so who are they?
Scar is a native of Ishbal. His real name is unknown, but he is called ‘Scar’ by the citizens of Amestris due to the X-shaped scar on his forehead. Because State Alchemists destroyed his homeland and slaughtered his people, he seeks revenge by hunting down every State Alchemist he can find and exploding his or her brains using his right arm, which bears a strange transmutation circle. He acquired his special right arm from his older brother, who created Lust.
Lust is homunculus, or an artificial human being. She was created by Scar’s older brother when he attempted to bring back his deceased lover. She was rescued by Dante, and fed many Red Stones so that she could take on a human form (homunculi are nothing more than a pile of ugly flesh and bones when they are first born.) She seeks the Philosopher’s Stone so that she can become a real human. Since homunculi are incapable of performing alchemy themselves, Lust, along with the other homunculi under the control of Dante, teases and tricks real alchemists into trying to create the Stone for her.
How do they meet?
Scar and Lust first encounter each other at the beginning of episode 18 in Central City’s library. Scar is instantly intrigued by her, as she naturally looks and sounds almost exactly like his brother’s beloved. Lust (who is there searching for a particular book with her hungry homunculus companion Gluttony) realizes Scar’s presence, and he steps out of the shadows and faces her, commenting on how she looks so much like the woman he used to know. Lust then asks him if he is after Edward, and goes on to say that he cannot murder Edward, as she plans on using him to help her make the Philosopher’s Stone. Soon realizing that she’s said too much, she allows Gluttony to try to eat Scar, and takes part in battling him right there in the library. Scar barely manages to escape.
Not too long after that, Scar and Lust run into each other again in Laboratory 5, both of them again in search of Edward Elric. They once again engage in battle, which ends with Scar falling down a large hole in the ground into what Gluttony dubs the “bad place.” He remains there for awhile, seemingly unconscious. Once he regains his strength, he crawls out of the hole and stops Edward Elric from killing many prisoners to create the Stone just in time. He then returns to his Ishbalan refugee companions, and his relationship with Lust is put on hold until 18 episodes later.
Okay, so they tried to kill each other twice when they first met. Or, to be more accurate, Lust and Gluttony tried to kill Scar twice and he just tried to defend himself. Talk about true love! But seriously, it’s only to be expected that Lust would try to kill anyone that was getting in the way of her goals. At the time, she didn’t know Scar, so of course she hadn’t had the time to fall in love with him. The same goes for Scar. It can be inferred that after meeting Scar, Lust’s memories from the life of the woman she was made from really began to surface, thus causing her to become more and more intrigued by Scar, who was no doubt present in many of the memories. Many of the memories, which no doubt consisted of the love between Scar’s brother and his girlfriend, probably inspired Lust to want to pursue and experience her own love, with Scar as her first choice, seeing as how he was already connected to her through her creator. It can be surmised that Scar, on the other hand, was naturally drawn to Lust, as it is revealed in episode 40 that he had a crush on the woman she was based on when he was a child.
But… homunculi don’t have souls; therefore they can’t fall in love!
*Twitch* This is arguably the most popular argument against this pairing. Well, I’ll argue right back. What really defines a soul? Whoever said anywhere in the anime that homunculi FOR SURE don’t have pieces of a soul? How does Edward Elric know for sure that they sometimes don’t exhibit feelings? Has he ever spent a decent amount of time around a homunculus, trying to reach out to it and get to know it? How does he know that everything in the alchemy books is correct? And about Dante explaining to her pawns that they are soulless- how can we be sure that she isn’t wrong? Or lying just to make sure the homunculi don’t become emotionally attached to anyone or anything as they carry out her dirty work? Plus, Lust is very set on becoming human and figuring out who she is. She also ponders where she will go after she dies. Those are very soulful traits for a so-called ‘living doll.’ So I will firmly stand by my belief that Lust is capable of being in love, even when in homunculus form.
I don’t believe you. Show me the proof!
Many fans claim that there is no real evidence of romantic vibes between Scar and Lust. I beg to differ. If one would watch closely (and think!), he’d be surprised with what he would notice:
*Ep. 35 (the Lust-centric episode): In the middle of this episode, we see Scar in the desert holding the infamous locket. True, at this point he does not fully understand that Lust is not the woman he used to like, but this could still be seen as a form or foreshadowing or endorsing of a future relationship with Lust.
*Ep. 40: After Ed explains to Scar that Lust is just a fake, soulless doll, the look on his face appears to be very desirous.
*Ep. 41: In the Japanese version, Pride asks Lust if she embraces any "wasted feelings" for Scar. The dub makes it more clear by saying, "Don't you think you're taking this INFATUATED SCHOOLGIRL routine a bit too far?" (I love Funimation for writing that in, by the way. They're my heroes.)
*Ep. 42: Ahh, the big one. The episode in which Scar and Lust confront each other. Granted, Scar is a total jerk to her at the beginning, but if one pays close attention and uses his/her brain, he/she will understand what's going on. All right, time to dissect my favorite episode:
-Point 1: Going back to the hint from episode 40, I will go on to say that Ed probably explained to Scar off-screen that homunculi are only able to be killed when they are near the remains of the people that they were supposed to be. Scar was no doubt aware that he was the only person who could kill Lust, but he made no attempt during episode 42 to kill her.
-Point 2: Lust cannot bring herself to stab Scar. She sees an image of his brother with the woman she was supposed to be. This could be interpreted as her realizing that what she wants most is to be human so that she can enjoy a life with Scar. Or it could be seen as her just wanting to keep Scar alive so that she can find out more about her past. Either way, it is rather shippy.
-Point 3: We see Scar walking away from Lust after being a jerk to her, and then cut to Ed talking to Rose and Lyra. After that, we go back to Archer and his troops as they watch Scar throw Kimbley's corpse off of the roof. We then see Scar jump down, with Lust following him. They then start running together. Don't you think it's kind of odd that they'd all of a sudden be working together after fighting? (By the way, it was Lust who helped Scar get to the top of the roof. I HATE when people call that a plot hole.) Of course, that doesn't mean they harbor romantic feelings for each other, but I honestly don't think Scar would let anyone help him out like that unless he really cared about her.
-Point 4: Scar shields Lust from the bullets. Right after, Lust asks him if he loved her, and he responds, "No." Most people turn off their brains at this point and conclude, "Oh, he doesn't like her after all." Not true. Lust asked if he LOVED her. As in, the past tense. And going by the past tense, of course the answer would be "no", because he didn't know her in the past time frame she was referring to. Not only that, but he protected her even though he knew who and what she was. He knew she was a monster, and he knew that she couldn't die. Sure, he claimed that his body moved out of reflex, but he's obviously one to lie and hide his feelings.
-Point 5: After Scar is shot, both he and Lust are shown hiding out in a random building. First of all, why are they hiding out in a random building in the first place? Scar's goal was to create the Philosopher's Stone and help Alphonse. He was shot three times, and he knew he was about to die. So why did he risk taking the time to hide and spill his guts out to Lust when the best thing to do was hurry up and make the Stone before his time ran out? Lust could have just helped him off of the ground, and they could have just kept on going, with Lust ready to stab any soldier who saw them.
-Point 6: Lust says, "I don't even know your real name" to Scar before he leaves to make the Stone. Right before that, Scar tells Lust, "LET'S go" in the dub. These lines prove that they truly care about each other.
-Point 7: Lust's face looks soft and sad as the Stone is being transmuted. Why would she look so sad? The Stone is what she wanted most… shouldn’t she have been smiling?
-Point 8: Lust never smirks or looks evil ever again after this episode. She always looks sad. Hmmm....
*Ep. 46: When Lust finds Ed, he says, "My brother told me who and what you really are." And just who and what is that? Some fans, like me, believe that Al saw Scar and Lust acting couple-y and later reported it to Ed. It’s a definite possibility, if you think about it.
*Ep. 47: Before Lust dies, a couple of flashbacks are shown as she thinks about why she wanted to be human. The final shot is that of little Scar, and it stays on the screen for about 3 seconds.
*Conqueror of Shamballa: The end of the movie. You see them sitting in the truck, side by side. Enough said.
*Chibi Party OVA: Ah, the cracktastic Chibi OVA. Many fans use Roy's "tragic romance" line and Riza's speech to justify their thinking that Roy and Riza hooked up at the end of the anime. I agree with them. I would also like to point out that another couple was basically canonized in this OVA: Scar and Lust. I mean, come on. They pop up side by side in their armor outfits, they shout "It's OUR turn now", they're wearing almost-matching clothes, Lust says "we" over and over again when talking Ed about being extras in the movie, and finally (my absolute favorite), when Gluttony attacks, Lust hangs onto Scar’s arm and he doesn’t object. They are then eaten TOGETHER. If this does not prove that they are a couple, I don't know what does!
But… it’s necrophilia and adultery!
Um, no it’s not. Necrophilia is the act of a living human being attracted to- or having sex with- a corpse. A motionless, thoughtless, completely lifeless corpse. Lust is not a motionless, thoughtless, completely lifeless corpse. She moves on her own, thinks for herself, ponders her memories, etc. And on the adultery note, Lust is stated, even by Scar himself, to NOT be the real girlfriend of his older brother. She a completely separate being, and while she may have been made out of the remains of Scar’s brother’s girlfriend, her mind is not that of that woman. She has simply had some of that woman’s memories burned into her thoughts.
Why do I ship them? Why should you ship them?
I’ve always been a sucker for villain love. I just find it captivating to watch seemingly heartless and destructive people care for someone else so much. I see Scar and Lust as two lonely, confused people who can’t help but feel drawn to each other, but cannot allow themselves to truly pursue love. Scar is too caught up in his revenge against State Alchemists to try to reach out to Lust, and Lust is too busy worrying about where she came from and where she’s going, as well as whether or not her feelings are real. Their dynamics and interaction feel fresh and original. I’m also an angst addict, and Scar/Lust fanfiction dishes out some of the most well-written, fascinating angst I’ve ever read. And it doesn’t hurt that they’re both pretty much the two sexiest people in the series. XD I am quite shocked that they receive so little love in the fandom, because they really are an interesting and unforgettable couple. But those who do loyally follow the pair and write fanfiction for it do so very well. Rarely does one come across a Scar/Lust fic that is OOC. I find all of these to be perfect reasons to ship Scar/Lust.
Links
http://community.livejournal.com/scarlust : The Scar/Lust Community.
http://geocities.com/sin_andsalvation : Scar/Lust Fanfiction Archive
http://familiar.senbonzakura.org/SxL/index.php : Official Scar/Lust Fanlisting (owned by yours truly)
I love Scar/Lust! ^_^