Fullmetal Alchemist: The Downfall of Van Hohenheim

gamerant.com:

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood centers primarily on its protagonist, Edward Elric, and his brother and deuteragonist, Alphonse Elric. Although their father, Van Hohenheim, is introduced as a minor character whose sole purpose is to provoke the events leading up to the central plot of the story, it becomes quite apparent throughout the anime that Hohenheim is so much more.

As an alchemist, Hohenheim is powerful, intelligent, and exceptionally critical to the story. However, the same can't be said about his role as a father. Although Van Hohenheim has failed his children numerous times, perhaps the reasons behind his decisions are not so black and white.

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One of Hohenheim's biggest slip-ups in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood occurred prior to the beginning of the anime arc. After meeting Trisha Elric, Hohenheim fell in love and, though hesitantly, decided to pursue her. Eventually, they got married and had two sons, Edward and Alphonse. Seemingly, Hohenheim struggled with the fact that he was cursed with immortality and would have to watch his family grow old, and as a result, abandon them. While his fear was understandable, he failed as a father because he not only intentionally had children (and married Trisha) without resolving his inner conflict, but he also abandoned the responsibilities that accompany fatherhood.

Aside from leaving his family at the beginning of the franchise, Van Hohenheim abandoned Edward once again the day after he unexpectedly encountered him. His dear friend, Pinako Rockbell, even questioned this, but Hohenheim was seemingly okay with leaving without saying goodbye. The fact that this was the first time he had seen his child since he abandoned