The character of Envy in FMA: Brotherhood will be one of my favorite villains of all time, mainly because of how relatable he is.
Envy was created when Father stripped himself of the seven deadly sins and made each of them into a homunculus. Envy being one of them, represents the sin of, well you guessed it, envy. His ability to shape-shift into any human, makes him one of the most dangerous and cruelest homunculi among the others. Throughout the series, he takes pleasure in killing humans and toying with their emotions while doing so, such as when he transformed into Maes Hughes’ wife before murdering him. When he eventually died, I think a lot of people were glad that it happened. As for me, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him all this time.
To be envious of someone is to want something they have that you don’t have. That’s what Envy is. In fact, he is the only homunculus to never have experienced any satisfaction in his life. Lust had the love of other men, Sloth had content in his death, Pride had his ego, Gluttony had everything to eat, Wrath had power and a family, and Greed had loyal friends. Despite Envy having a strong hatred of humans because he thought that they were weak, it’s shown that this hatred actually comes from his jealousy of them. Specifically, he’s envious of the bonds they have, and the love they give each other. Since Envy was created with the purpose to help Father in his ultimate goal of being “perfect” and superior to God, everything he committed were malicious acts, resulting in being disconnected with humans. When Edward helps him discover this revelation, Envy commits suicide out of humiliation of being understood by a human. However, I think Envy decides to kill himself after realizing that he was never going to obtain what he has been secretly wanting so long, which was love.
Envy is a lot like people in the real world. There are many people who strive to be loved by others and experience what Envy lacked. While some people succeed, there are also those who don’t, which can result in them being bitter, depressed, and hopeless. I hope no one comes across the same experience and endures those same feelings.
Despite Envy being created as an artificial human, he is, in my opinion, the most human of all the homunculi.
