Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist earned a worthy adaptation in FMA: Brotherhood, a masterpiece anime still regarded among the finest ever made. Its characters are often vehicles for delivering themes and messages, a rule that applies equally across the story. As such, it’s no surprise that the greatest quote in anime history comes from a supporting character, Greed, a homunculus who subverts the existential meaning imposed on him.
By the end of the series, Father distancing himself from the seven sins of “humanity” is exposed as a pathetic attempt at superiority, all because he could never fully reject his desires. Meanwhile, Greed’s best quote highlights a simplicity Father was incapable of imagining: every single Homunculus expresses a form of greed, a desire for something they do not possess.
Greed Discovers That Friendship Was His Greatest Desire
The Homunculus known as Greed undergoes a minor redemption arc before his death in Fullmetal Alchemist, offering key combat advice against his siblings. Meanwhile, Brotherhood‘s Greed evolves into a human long before he consciously recognizes the change. The first iteration remains essentially identical across the FMA manga and both its anime adaptations, but his ultimate transformation begins only when Father bonds the second incarnation of Greed with Ling Yao.
Until this point, Greed had seemingly fought for himself, turning into the most stereotypically blatant rendering of Father’s insatiability. He declared that everything in the world belonged to him alone, essentially saying aloud what Father believed about himself.
Unfortunately for the villain, such self-serving behavior was going to be detrimental to his overarching scheme. After dissolving him in molten gold, Father recast Greed within Ling Yao’s body.
Bearing a newfound allegiance to his creator, Greed retained control for a long time, only for his past to catch up in the form of Bido. Killing his forgotten comrade — or property, as he called his underlings — triggers an avalanche of memories that allows Ling Yao to drive the point home further.
Confused by the unexpected rush of emotions beyond his predestined archetype, Greed replicates his former defection and forsakes Father once again, but he still refuses to abandon himself. Greed grudgingly accepts a symbiotic relationship with Ling Yao, and offers his help in exchange for being the “boss.”
Even then, it sounded like an excuse to justify his increasing affection for humanity. There are times when his innate yearning takes over, invoking some truly inexplicable choices like ditching his truest friends to satisfy his sinful appetite, but FMA: Brotherhood‘s favorite anti-villain never forgets what they did for him.
Greed’s final act was a noble sacrifice that seriously saved the day, and his last thoughts turned to the family he found along the way. It was during his end that he truly understood and celebrated shonen’s central tenet: the power of friendship. Observing Ling and Ed’s pained reactions to his demise, Greed left the world satisfied: “That was plenty, that was enough for me… I don’t need anything else.”
And yet, it is important to remember that the most lovable Homunculus never abandoned his origins. He was always Greed, and so was everyone else in their own way. Arakawa’s sublime storytelling sowed the seeds that later flourished into the undeniable truth, with Greed’s best quote appearing several episodes before his climactic conclusion. No matter how his journey ended, he discovered that his sin was also the feature connecting him most intimately to humanity.
Greed Reveals Desire as the Driving Force of FMA: Brotherhood
Greed’s repeated announcements of ownership and desire, laying claim to the world, highlight his perception of companionship through the only emotional vocabulary available to him. He doesn’t just treat people as subordinates; they become extensions of himself and, therefore, become worth everything to him. The original Greed displayed the same vicious loyalty to his chimera squad as the Greed who died for his friends.
The fact that his Sin and his need for friendship overlapped is the obvious message, but what lies beneath his anime-redefining quote is one of the best interpretations of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
You humans think greed is only about money and power. But don’t forget: everybody wants something they don’t have.
Hiromu Arakawa’s sophisticated simplicity has produced numerous iconic quotes, memorable assertions of strength and acknowledgments of hope, but this line shines deeper than any other. Greed exposes a profound truth lurking just outside reach, and delivers it with the brutal clarity that only he’s capable of. Severing the Sins couldn’t have possibly changed Father, because Greed was all of them.
The Homunculi were each disguised desires for different things: Pride and superiority, Wrath and control, Lust and experience, Gluttony and consumption, Sloth and comfort, Envy and admiration. Some of them masked themselves further, and others shamelessly flaunted their Sins, but they all wanted something they did not have.
Likewise, it can be argued that all forms of motivation are fueled by desires, including every major hero in FMA: Brotherhood. Greed was also the first and final Sin expressed by the Dwarf-in-the-Flask, who begged the Truth to understand his unquenchable thirst for knowledge and perfection: “What’s wrong with wanting it? What’s wrong with desiring it? What’s wrong with wishing for it?”
Although Father was penalized for his pride — the “conceit” that Truth also punishes humanity for — greed was the desire propelling him forward, not once leaving his side. On the other hand, Edward and Alphonse Elric’s desire to redeem themselves was gloriously elevated by Ed’s unbelievable sacrifice, truly shedding the avarice Father could never overcome.
Abandoning alchemy, the very power defining his existence, in exchange for his brother was the most poignant instance of altruism in an anime filled with noble individuals and heroic deeds, and it came from a complete rejection of personal desire. At the same time, it was the need for Alphonse’s survival that permitted Ed’s sacrifice in the first place.
Greed permeates Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, reframing the morality of desire according to the choices made in its name. From the most selfish impulses to the very foundation of selflessness, greed remains the fundamental force governing the path of Arakawa’s masterpiece.
