<p>Note that <em>Brotherhood</em> and the 2003 series are separate continuities that often differ in their treatment of any plot points and characters that they have in common. Hohenheim is affected by this issue:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>In the manga (which <em>Brotherhood</em> roughly adapts), Hohenheim is a living philosopher's stone who was given half of the souls that Father stole from Xerxes.</p></li>
<li><p>Per <a href="http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Van_Hohenheim/2003_Anime" rel="noreferrer">the Wikia</a>, in the 2003 series, like Dante, Hohenheim was able to transfer his soul into another body to avoid death and had taken advantage of this knowledge in the past. However, there is an inherent instability to this procedure that leads to a breakdown of the body. If I am not mistaken, Hohenheim was also reluctant to switch out of his "final" body because of Trisha.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Note then that in neither continuity is Hohenheim a homunculus. Furthermore, there is no reason to think that the Elric brothers are anything but human:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>In the manga continuity, Hohenheim is a human who just happens to hold a philosopher's stone of significant size: <a href="https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/21625/2604">If Van Hohenheim is a living Philosopher&#39;s Stone, what does that make Edward and Alphonse?</a></p></li>
<li><p>In the 2003 series, Hohenheim is essentially still a human. All that has happened is that he has been switching his soul into different bodies for a period of time.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Now, let's deal with the issue of whether the Elric brothers are half-Amestrian and half-Xerxian:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Hohenheim was originally from Xerxes in the manga continuity. A description of the Elric brothers as half-Xerxian and half-Amestrian would then be technically correct. However, since Xerxes has long been destroyed, it seems doubtful that the average person in the FMA universe would have "Xerxian" or "half-Xerxian" in his vocabulary.</p></li>
<li><p>In the 2003 series, Hohenheim's background is not given in detail, so there is no reason to describe the Elric brothers as anything but "Amestrian".</p></li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-27T14:58:13.170Z
At least, both brothers clearly inherited xerxian ethnic features - golden hair and eyes.
lentinant
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-01T14:40:55.503Z
@lentinant: Winry, the Armstrong siblings and Hawkeye (among others) all have blonde hair too but they are not half-xerxian.
Flater
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-09-03T00:34:47.687Z
@Flater yet they do not have golden eyes. If you pay attention to memories about Ishval war, you will notice, that most Amestrians had two most common features - blonde hair and blue eyes. Meanwhile, in Heonheim memories, most of Xerxian are shown to have both [blonde hair and yellow eyes](http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Xerxes#Ethnic_Characteristics) (just like Heonheim himself). Given that Trisha had brown hair and green eyes, Elric brothers obviously inherited their eyes and hair color from their Xerxian father.
lentinant
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-23T21:55:09.383Z
2017-04-23T21:55:09.383Z
Maroon
<p>If Hohenheim is a homunculus (I know that he still has a humanoid body, because otherwise he wouldn't even have had children) and he has a family with Trisha, who is human, does this mean that the Elric brothers are half-human and half-homunculus?</p>

<p>Also, just to make sure, the Elric brothers are half-Amestrian and half-Xerxian (i.e. with a background from Xerxes), right? They don't explain that in either series.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-23T21:05:26.960Z
I'm not 100% since it's been a while since I read the manga, but I think certain humonculi kept more of their humanity than others. Like Wrath ages and so on.
Matt
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-23T21:27:17.283Z
FMA:B and the 2003 series are _separate_ continuities that often have completely different takes on the characters; note that they differ on the issue of Hohenheim's backstory. To clarify, can you tell us if you interested in the manga/Brotherhood continuity, or in the 2003 continuity?
Maroon
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-04-23T21:30:03.773Z
I didn't read the manga, I only watched both series. But it is not explained in both series.
Nightmareflower
<fullmetal-alchemist-series><fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood><fullmetal-alchemist-2003>
Are the Elric brothers half-homunculus?
# Are the Elric brothers half-homunculus?
Posted by: username_0 on 2017-04-23
If Hohenheim is a homunculus (I know that he still has a humanoid body, because otherwise he wouldn't even have had children) and he has a family with Trisha, who is human, does this mean that the Elric brothers are half-human and half-homunculus?

Also, just to make sure, the Elric brothers are half-Amestrian and half-Xerxian (i.e. with a background from Xerxes), right? They don't explain that in either series.
**Tags:** fullmetal-alchemist-series fullmetal-alchemist-brotherhood fullmetal-alchemist-2003
> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I'm not 100% since it's been a while since I read the manga, but I think certain humonculi kept more of their humanity than others. Like Wrath ages and so on.  
> **username_2**: FMA:B and the 2003 series are _separate_ continuities that often have completely different takes on the characters; note that they differ on the issue of Hohenheim's backstory. To clarify, can you tell us if you interested in the manga/Brotherhood continuity, or in the 2003 continuity?  
> **username_0**: I didn't read the manga, I only watched both series. But it is not explained in both series.  
---
## 1 answers
### Answer by username_2 on 2017-04-23. Score: 12 | Accepted answer
Note that *Brotherhood* and the 2003 series are separate continuities that often differ in their treatment of any plot points and characters that they have in common. Hohenheim is affected by this issue:

* In the manga (which *Brotherhood* roughly adapts), Hohenheim is a living philosopher's stone who was given half of the souls that Father stole from Xerxes.
* Per [the Wikia](http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Van_Hohenheim/2003_Anime), in the 2003 series, like Dante, Hohenheim was able to transfer his soul into another body to avoid death and had taken advantage of this knowledge in the past. However, there is an inherent instability to this procedure that leads to a breakdown of the body. If I am not mistaken, Hohenheim was also reluctant to switch out of his "final" body because of Trisha.

Note then that in neither continuity is Hohenheim a homunculus. Furthermore, there is no reason to think that the Elric brothers are anything but human:

* In the manga continuity, Hohenheim is a human who just happens to hold a philosopher's stone of significant size: [If Van Hohenheim is a living Philosopher's Stone, what does that make Edward and Alphonse?](https://anime.stackexchange.com/q/21625/2604)
* In the 2003 series, Hohenheim is essentially still a human. All that has happened is that he has been switching his soul into different bodies for a period of time.

Now, let's deal with the issue of whether the Elric brothers are half-Amestrian and half-Xerxian:

* Hohenheim was originally from Xerxes in the manga continuity. A description of the Elric brothers as half-Xerxian and half-Amestrian would then be technically correct. However, since Xerxes has long been destroyed, it seems doubtful that the average person in the FMA universe would have "Xerxian" or "half-Xerxian" in his vocabulary.
* In the 2003 series, Hohenheim's background is not given in detail, so there is no reason to describe the Elric brothers as anything but "Amestrian".
> **Comments:**
> **username_3** (2017-04-27): At least, both brothers clearly inherited xerxian ethnic features - golden hair and eyes.  
> **username_4** (2017-09-01): @lentinant: Winry, the Armstrong siblings and Hawkeye (among others) all have blonde hair too but they are not half-xerxian.  
> **username_3** (2017-09-03): @Flater yet they do not have golden eyes. If you pay attention to memories about Ishval war, you will notice, that most Amestrians had two most common features - blonde hair and blue eyes. Meanwhile, in Heonheim memories, most of Xerxian are shown to have both [blonde hair and yellow eyes](http://fma.wikia.com/wiki/Xerxes#Ethnic_Characteristics) (just like Heonheim himself). Given that Trisha had brown hair and green eyes, Elric brothers obviously inherited their eyes and hair color from their Xerxian father.  
---
