Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: What Gluttony's Death Says About Ling Yao and Lan Fan
- natalie sensei
- Jul 26, 2022
- 5 min read
Gluttony's death is symbolically important to Ling Yao's aspirations and Lan Fan's devotion. But why?
BY NATALIE CHERIE CAMPBELL
It’s been thirteen years and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (FMAB) is still on top. Ranked the #1 anime and the #16 TV Show on IMDB.com, FMAB continues to stand the test of time for good reason. FMAB remains true to Hiromu Arakawa’s bestselling manga, delivering all the action and suspense we expect from a shonen while remaining focused. FMAB’s large cast of complex characters wrestle with politics and intrigue, relationships with the self and others, as well as philosophical and moral quandaries, making the story engaging for a wide variety of viewers. ******* Spoilers ahead. But, if you’ve been missing out for this long, go watch it stat. *******
FMAB is packed with symbolism, not least of which are the seven homunculi. Each homunculus is an incarnation of one of the seven deadly sins: Pride the Arrogant, Lust the Lascivious, Envy the Jealous, Sloth the Indolent, Gluttony the Voracious, Wrath the Furious, and Greed the Avaricious. Created by Father, the homunculi are his extracted vices distilled into a philosopher’s stone and placed in either artificially-formed or human bodies. They are undying monsters that can withstand any injury and the passage of time. Yet, they have a fatal weakness. They can be killed if the energy in their core is exhausted.
The homunculi’s deaths and who kills them is packed with meaning and symbolism, so let’s dig into the particularly disturbing Gluttony.
Gluttony’s incarnation is an obvious representation of his deadly sin. He is ravenous, rotund, and regressive. Gluttony is creepy because he is both surprisingly childish and affectionate to his siblings while also being a rabid, doglike monster who is always hungry for you and never stays dead. But Gluttony is more than the obvious because Father’s gluttony is about more than food.
Gluttony is the failed product of Father’s attempts to create a Gate of Truth. Father hoped to access Truth’s domain without having to pay the equivalent exchange required to learn and return. Father fails, creating a corrupted, bestial Gate with an Eye of Providence at its center. The Gate is revealed when Gluttony’s stomach and jaw rip open and splay out, consuming everything in the sight line of the Eye. Going through Gluttony’s gate takes one to a stagnant, endless void, where the consumed remain, removed from the cycle of life with no way out.
Fast forward to the day Gluttony dies. An endless fight rages in the dark hills above the village of Kanama. Gluttony’s regenerative energy is being whittled down as he is tracked via his chi and killed over and over by Lan Fan and Ling Yao. Gluttony is disoriented and pitiful, yelling, “Will you stop killing me!? I don't want to die anymore. Why won’t you just let me eat you already?” Gluttony follows Ed’s flash bomb to Pride, whose philosopher’s stone is also severely depleted. Pride calculates their odds of survival. While considering the threat of Lan Fan and Ling Yao, Pride realizes that he, too, must have a way to sense his foes in the dark. A keen sense of smell would do the trick. Pride surrounds Gluttony with his shadow and devours him as Gluttony begs him not to.
Gluttony’s death and Pride’s betrayal are incredibly disturbing. The irony is apparent. Gluttony was eaten. However, Gluttony’s death is largely due to not Pride but Ling Yao and Lan Fan, who whittled down Gluttony’s regenerative energy and posed the motivating threat of being able to track homunculi. But why is this important?
Consider the idea that the deadly sins are overcome by the contrary virtues. Gluttony is overcome by temperance. So, why Ling and Lan Fan? Neither cut figures of temperance since their schtick is constantly eating Ed out of his hefty paycheck. If the contrary virtues play a symbolic role here, then where is the self-sacrificing temperance in Ling and Lan Fan? Ling and Lan Fan may eat an enormous amount of food, but a more profound understanding of gluttony shows that neither is actually gluttonous. Gluttony means overindulgence and overconsumption to the point of waste. This is considered a sin because overconsumption indirectly withholds food from the needy and can lead to their starvation. So, when expanded, gluttony is, in essence, selfishness. This means that what we’re really talking about is letting one’s impulses and self-absorption overshadow the needs of others. This is explicitly contrary to Ling’s philosophy on what it means to be a king. Ling’s identity is formed by his sense of duty to his people. His goal to become Emperor by any means might be greedy, but the purpose behind it is very selfless. Lan Fan, forever selfless in her love for the Young Lord, accompanies him on his mission to find the philosopher’s stone. Her efforts to help him attain his goal of becoming the Emperor is tied to her own desire for an emperor who cares for and attends to the needs of her people. Their selfless motivations allow them to be temperate. For example, they never waste their food and eat because they are genuinely, voraciously hungry. Ling exercises discipline and restraint so that he can successfully share his body with Greed. Ling and Lan Fan restrain their prejudiced suspicions and animosity toward Mei Chang. Eventually, Ling becomes a temperate Emperor who does not glut himself on power and luxury.
Despite these manifestations of their selfless temperance, Ling and Lan Fan do not actually overcome Gluttony. Gluttony’s slow death at the hands of Ling and Lan Fan is finished off suddenly by Pride. This detail matters. Ling will become Emperor and will be surrounded by luxury and excess. Lan Fan will continue to love him from the shadows. Their every day will be defined by the choice to cater to their own impulses or to the needs of the people. Like their persistence in killing Gluttony again and again, they will both have to “kill” their own gluttony again and again. If Gluttony’s death is anything to go by, I’m fairly certain they’ll do just fine—though, I’m sure few of us wouldn’t mind Lin Yao finding a way to make things work with Lan Fan.
In the end, Gluttony had to die, and Pride eating him is a nice ironic touch. But, Gluttony’s death when taken as a symbol as well as a plot point becomes a commentary on Ling and Lan Fan’s continual efforts to selflessly dedicate themselves to their people. So let Ling and Lan Fan eat as much as they want, they are still models of temperance.
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