Character Discussion - Roy Mustang

[Charred Knight]

Count me another that loved the flower scene, it was an incredibly well done setup scene that made you say Holy crap!

[blewin]

haha, if we didn't know Roy's background (which hasn't been explained in this current anime, rigth?), we'd have thought that Roy's the ultimate villain!

[yezhanquan]

Roy may be a "jerkass" at times, but very few people took him seriously. In fact, I would say that he's locked out of the loop sometimes, as he's not as insidious as others even in his most serious times.

Spoiler for my personal crowning moment related to FMA:

When he exposes Bradley as a homunculus to the rest of the military leaders, they go, "So what?"

[Vicious108]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I love those Roy parts you guys are talking about because it highlights Roy's double nature so to speak. Not to mention I love that FMA isn't all action. It's just as much build up and strategy which is what you were seeing going on in those scenes with Roy.

His interactions with the flower ladies were pretty fun to read, no doubt. And yeah it built up well for the following events with him.

So, how many people here started hating Roy when

Spoiler for Manga:

It looked like he'd killed Ross? I have a few friends who totally wanted him to die right away after that supposed villainous act. Thankfully I never believed it to be true, since it had always looked pretty fishy.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

So, how many people here started hating Roy when

Spoiler for Manga:

It looked like he'd killed Ross? I have a few friends who totally wanted him to die right away after that supposed villainous act. Thankfully I never believed it to be true, since it had always looked pretty fishy.

Just like you,

Spoiler for manga:

i never believed it to be true. Yes we knew he wanted revenge, though he wasn't the type of character who'd just go kill Ross without any evidence that she was in fact the one that killed Hughes. I knew there had to be something going on behind the scenes regarding it.

[yezhanquan]

Spoiler for My take on Maria:

Not to mean anything about her abilities, but seeing as how well Roy knows Mae (and his Knife Nut tendencies), I'm pretty sure he doubted Maria's ability to kill his best buddy by herself.

[Darklord_bg]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

So, how many people here started hating Roy when

Spoiler for Manga:

It looked like he'd killed Ross? I have a few friends who totally wanted him to die right away after that supposed villainous act. Thankfully I never believed it to be true, since it had always looked pretty fishy.

I think that it depends on whether people really like Roy before that or not.

Spoiler:

From my experience the ones who liked Roy either did not believe he did it or did not care as much, and tried to come up with some explanation when it happened, whereas the ones who did not like Roy or did not care much about him hated him.

It will be interesting to see people's reactions in the anime among anime-only watchers. I foresee a lot of "Roy must die!" posts in the future.

[Kirarakim]

I wasn''t as big of a Roy fan that I am now at that point but I still didn't hate him

Spoiler for Manga:

Actually I am not sure if I remember what I felt about Roy killing Maria. I guess I felt horrible for the whole misunderstanding and I was thinking how Roy must have felt about Hughes. And I wasn't 100% sure if it was real either. Well actually I don't remember if I believed it or not.

But even at that point I didn't think Roy was a bad guy. One of the scenes that always touched me was when Roy was afraid to confront the Elric Brothers about Hughes death.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Spoiler for Manga:

One of the scenes that always touched me was when Roy was afraid to confront the Elric Brothers about Hughes death.

Spoiler for Manga:

Yeah this is one of those scenes you'll never forget. For me, it's Mustang's facial expression he pulls when Ed asks him about Hughes. It's one that completed destroyed me.

[Westlo]

Originally Posted by Shiroth

Hey, they don't all wear skirts in the game.

Roy made the anime producers an offer they couldn't refuse.

[Vicious108]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I wasn''t as big of a Roy fan that I am now at that point but I still didn't hate him

Spoiler for Manga:

Actually I am not sure if I remember what I felt about Roy killing Maria. I guess I felt horrible for the whole misunderstanding and I was thinking how Roy must have felt about Hughes. And I wasn't 100% sure if it was real either. Well actually I don't remember if I believed it or not.

But even at that point I didn't think Roy was a bad guy. One of the scenes that always touched me was when Roy was afraid to confront the Elric Brothers about Hughes death.

Spoiler for Manga:

"I guess I don't have the right to call Major Armstrong soft."

Yep, that was touching alright.

And to think the next time they see each other after that Roy smacks Ed in the face, heh.

[Haladflire65]

Spoiler for Manga:

You know, I'm wondering whether the manga will have any more big role left for Roy. Because I just remembered Wrath saying after Roy killed Lust that he'd keep him alive because he's useful... And since Wrath's been gone for a while, wouldn't he come out again pretty soon? I was also thinking about a Roy/Wrath showdown, but that seems unlikely, since Roy's just fought Envy.

[Vicious108]

Spoiler for Manga:

Oh I'm sure it will. Some characters are probably having their final "big moment" right now I think, such as Armstrong I'm afraid, don't see him doing anything special after probably defeating Sloth. But yeah, Roy's not one of them. He's definitely still gonna play a big role in the climax. Or at least he'll have the climax to his story and then Ed and Al have theirs aka the final one.

Roy's a main character and a potential sacrifice after all. And yeah, a confrontation with Wrath does seem like the most likely option. It's been hinted at on many occasions, and symbolically it makes perfect sense for Roy to defeat the current Fuhrer so he can take his place. Even in his deal with Envy that theme was kind of alluded to, as Riza told Roy "It's not to help the country or save a comrade! You only want to kill him to satisfy your own hatred (Wrath)!" As in Roy can't lead the country if he'll just end up as a second Bradley/Wrath.

That was but one of the many parallels drawn between the current Fuhrer and the one who aspires to become the next. Others being the fact that Roy can't allow himself to lose his subordinates and has a strong to desire to protect them all, while Bradley has no problem leaving behind those he sees as mere pawns. And then of course, there's that great moment in the Ishbal flashback arc, where Bradley notices Roy amidst the crowd of soldiers and notices that he's already "looking past him". So yeah, with all the build up, I can definitely see this fight happening and it being Roy's final "big role". Riza might also be involved, seeing as Wrath told Father that Roy's kindness was his weakness and he would use that to have him open the doors.

Though it's probably not a good idea to take the fight for granted. I thought we were gonna get one last Scar vs Kimblee confrontation too, but it looks like a lost cause now. It's also occured to me that it might be Olivier fighting Wrath, since they're also suitable opponents for one another, both using swords and all. In the end though Roy vs Wrath still seems more likely, only it probably won't happen all that soon now, since as you said Roy just had a big fight and moment against Envy. The focus of the story will probably shift to some of the other characters for a while now before going back to Roy for his big role left.

[Kirarakim]

I honestly don't take anything for granted with this manga because I find Arakawa to be pretty unpredictable.

Anyways I was thinking about Roy's role in the end of the story

Spoiler for manga:

Although Roy is a potential human sacrifice so is Marcoh. And it looks like Father has all of his other sacrifices chosen: Ed, Al, Hohenheim, Izumi. Of course one of these might not work out. But if he only needs one more I wonder who it will be. Of course on one hand since Roy is more of a main character than Marcoh you might expect it to be him. But then you also wonder why Arakawa is keeping Marcoh around if he is not going to play some important part in the end.

Well either way I am sure Roy will still play a major part at the end of the series. I always consider him after Ed & Al to be the most important character. While Ed & Al represent the younger generation he represents the older generation.

[Sannom]

Spoilers manga :

Spoiler:

seeing as Wrath told Father that Roy's kindness was his weakness and he would use that to have him open the doors.

I think he said it was his weakness and his strength, no?

As for Bradley's final opponent.. well there are three popular characters : Mustang, Olivia and Greelin.

I can't see Mustang doing it, because he will get butchered by Bradley : the Colonel never fought someone with so much skills and raw power before, Lust and Envy were all raw power and no experience or fight skills.

I'm more for Olivia doing it, especially since she is as harsh as the Führer but with more good sides and consideration for other people. Plus she is good with a sword.

[Kirarakim]

You really underestimate Roy's skills Sannom.

Although I was thinking of the possibility of a rematch between

Spoiler for manga:

=Greedling and Wrath

[Haladflire65]

Spoiler for Manga:

^ Yeah, that would be pretty great. I'd also like to see Ling get his body back...

As for Roy's power... He's an incredible alchemist, perhaps even stronger than Ed and Al. If he's fueled like he was in the Envy battle, I think he'd be able to beat someone like Bradley... Of course it''ll be a close fight, which is what I'd like to see...

Yeah, although I agree that we can't predict anything detailed, but I'm pretty sure Roy will have a large part in the climax. It's just odd how closely placed his Envy fight and the final fight might be... Actually, that depends on the length of the manga - I have a feeling that it's almost over?

[Sannom]

Spoilers manga :

Spoiler:

You really underestimate Roy's skills Sannom.

To me, it's more like everyone else overestimate his fighting skills, because he won so easily his previous fights once he got in good condition : big room, no water Roy always had the luck to fight against targets that were unable to dodge his attacks because they were too slow. His destructive and long-range alchemy is extremely effective against those, perhaps its even the most effective. If he fought against someone like Scar or Bradley, it will be way more difficult for him. And since I don't think his close combat skills are that high...

[yezhanquan]

Spoiler for manga:

Er, he doesn't have to aim that much. I can believe Wrath outrunning flames, but Scar?

Don't forget he can and will fry eyeballs to win, even if they are right in front of him. If anything, he is MORE dangerous if you choose to close in.

[Kirarakim]

@Sannom

Spoiler for manga:

Roy is easily the best fighter in the manga because he is such a great tactician. It's not just about having the skills but how you use them.

As for not being good in close combat well Envy thought as much in Chapter 94 but Roy proved that he was just as good as close combat by pinpointing his attacks with one hand and making huge blasts with the other.

Does Roy's fire alchemy give him an advantage yes. But he definitely did not just get that advantage because of the alchemy

Now granted I did think Envy was not nearly as strong of a homunculus as some people assumed (since he relied quite a bit on manipulation than skill) but he did give Ed and Ling a hard time inside Gluttony.

Also as for the "no water" thing Roy even got around that in the Lust fight by using Havoc's lighter. Of course he might not always have this option but it shows that he was intelligent enough to come up with that plan and he is not just relying on luck and raw power.

edit: As for Wrath I do think he could give Roy a hard time because of his own skills. I am not so sure about Scar. In fact if it wasn't raining that one time they were about to fight I am not really sure who would have won. I think there is a good chance it would have been Roy. Well it all depends on who would have been faster.