The Homunculi. If you’ve spent any time in the anime community, you know that Hiromu Arakawa’s masterpiece doesn't just use the 7 deadly sins fma as a gimmick. It’s deeper than that. Most shows treat the "Seven Deadly Sins" as a tired trope, a lazy way to color-code a group of bad guys so the audience knows who is who. But in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, these characters are basically the physical manifestations of Father’s discarded humanity.
It’s ironic.
Father wanted to become a god, so he purged himself of what he considered "filth." But in doing so, he created these incredibly complex, suffering beings that ended up being more human than he ever was.
The weird irony of the 7 deadly sins fma and how they die
There is this poetic justice—or maybe just cruel irony—in how these characters meet their end. Arakawa didn't just pick names out of a hat. She crafted their demises to reflect the very sins they were named after, but in a way that feels like a gut punch.
Take Lust, for example. In many versions of this trope, "Lust" is just a hyper-sexualized character who stays that way until the end. But in the 7 deadly sins fma lineup, Lust is the first to go. She’s killed by Colonel Roy Mustang, a man who was arguably a "womanizer" (at least on the surface). She dies by fire, her regenerative powers taxed to the limit until she’s nothing but ash. She dies "lusting" for the life she couldn't have. Then you have Gluttony. He’s literally eaten by Pride. It’s dark. Honestly, it’s one of the most unsettling moments in the series because it shows that even among "siblings," there is no loyalty if it gets in the way of Father’s plan.
Envy and the human heart
Envy is probably the standout for most fans. For most of the series, Envy is just a jerk. A shapeshifting, cruel, murderous jerk who sparked a civil war in Ishval just for the fun of it. But then we see his true form. He’s not a giant green monster; he’s a tiny, pathetic, parasitic worm.
The moment Edward Elric realizes that Envy is actually jealous of humans is the moment the character shifts from a villain to a tragedy. Humans are weak. We die easily. We’re small. Yet, we have the capacity to keep moving forward and supporting each other. Envy, despite his power, had nothing. He chose to "delete" himself rather than live with the shame of being understood by a "pipsqueak" alchemist. It’s a masterclass in character writing.
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Why Greed is the only one who got it right
Greed is the outlier. If you’re looking at the 7 deadly sins fma through a moral lens, Greed is the only one who flips the script. Twice. The first Greed was just looking for a good time and some loyal friends. The second Greed, inhabiting Ling Yao’s body, realized that "greed" isn't just about money or power.
It’s about wanting to protect what’s yours.
His soul was essentially a bottomless pit, but he tried to fill it with the souls of his friends. In the end, he dies satisfied. He realized that what he truly wanted wasn't the world—it was the connections he had made. It’s the only "happy" ending any of the Homunculi get, if you can even call it that. He sacrificed himself to weaken Father, proving that even a "sin" can be used for something resembling good if the intent is there.
The terrifying silence of Sloth and Wrath
Wrath (King Bradley) and Sloth represent two different ends of the physical spectrum. Sloth is a mountain of muscle who finds even the act of living to be a "pain." He’s the most straightforward of the 7 deadly sins fma, but his death at the hands of the Armstrong siblings and Sig Curtis is a spectacle of pure effort. It took the most "effortful" people in the show to kill the personification of laziness.
And then there’s Bradley.
King Bradley is terrifying because he doesn't feel like a monster. He feels like a man who has perfected the art of killing. Unlike his siblings, he was originally human, injected with a Philosopher’s Stone. He aged. He had a wife. He had a life that was a complete lie, yet he seemed to find a strange, cold comfort in it. His "Wrath" wasn't screaming and yelling; it was a cold, precise edge. When he dies, he isn't screaming for mercy. He’s just... done. He lived a life dictated by others and died in a battle of his own choosing.
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What we get wrong about Pride
A lot of people think Pride is just a bratty kid. Selim Bradley is creepy, sure, but his role in the 7 deadly sins fma hierarchy is pivotal. He is the first Homunculus. He’s the one who most closely resembles Father’s original form in the flask.
Pride’s downfall is his belief that he is fundamentally better than humans. He treats everyone—even his "mother," Mrs. Bradley—as a disposable tool. But when he’s backed into a corner by Edward, he tries to hijack Ed’s body. He tries to become "human" to survive. This hypocrisy is what destroys him. Kimblee, of all people, calls him out on it from within the Philosopher’s Stone. You can’t claim to be a superior being and then stoop to the level of your "prey" just because you’re scared to die.
Edward doesn't kill him. He turns him back into what he actually is: a tiny, harmless fetus. A reset button. It’s a fate worse than death for someone so arrogant.
The legacy of the Homunculi in anime history
Why do we still talk about these guys? Honestly, it's because they aren't just obstacles for the Elric brothers. They are mirrors. Every time Ed or Al faces one of the 7 deadly sins fma, they are forced to confront a part of themselves. They have to deal with their own anger, their own greed, their own pride in thinking they could bring their mother back.
The Homunculi are the personification of the "Easy Way Out."
Need to live forever? Use a Stone.
Want to win a war? Use a monster.
Tired of feeling guilty? Cut out your heart.
But the Elrics prove that the "Hard Way"—the human way—is the only one that actually matters.
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The detail that usually gets missed is that the Homunculi actually represent the failure of alchemy. Alchemy is about understanding, deconstructing, and reconstructing. Father skipped the "understanding" part. He thought he could just remove the parts of himself he didn't like and become perfect. Instead, he just became an empty shell, while his "sins" wandered the earth looking for a purpose he never gave them.
If you’re looking to truly grasp the depth of the 7 deadly sins fma, you have to look at the "Father" figure. He is the ultimate cautionary tale. He had all the power in the world and used it to try and be "nothing" (free of sin), and in the end, that’s exactly what he became.
How to analyze the Homunculi for yourself
If you're revisiting the series or watching it for the first time, don't just look at the fight scenes. Pay attention to the dialogue right before a Homunculus dies. That’s where the real meat of the story is.
- Watch Lust’s eyes when she realizes a human is actually capable of killing her.
- Listen to Greed’s final monologue about his "soul's hunger."
- Notice the silence when Wrath finally passes away.
These aren't just villains. They are fragments of a soul that didn't know how to be whole.
To really dive into the lore, I highly recommend checking out the original manga volumes or the Fullmetal Alchemist Archive artbooks. They contain notes from Arakawa about the character designs—like how Gluttony was designed to look "soft" but "frighteningly empty." You can also find deep-dive essays on sites like Anime News Network or MyAnimeList that break down the specific Buddhist and Christian influences on these character arcs.
The best way to appreciate the 7 deadly sins fma is to stop seeing them as monsters and start seeing them as the most tragic characters in the show. They were born into a world that didn't want them, serving a father who didn't love them, carrying sins they didn't choose.
That’s what makes them so hauntingly human.
Next Steps for FMA Fans:
Go back and re-watch the "Flame of Vengeance" episode (Brotherhood Episode 54). Focus specifically on the interaction between Envy and the group. Notice how the "heroes" don't feel joy in defeating him—they feel pity. This is the core of what makes the 7 deadly sins fma different from any other group of anime antagonists. Once you see the pity, you can't go back to seeing them as just "boss fights."