Solf Jacob Kimblee - also known as the Crimson Lotus Alchemist - is a supporting antagonist from the anime/manga franchise Fullmetal Alchemist. He is a State Alchemist who possesses the ability to transmute materials into explosive elements using transmutation circles drawn on his hands. A misanthropic and nihilistic sociopath, Kimblee has no regard for human life and uses his explosive talents primarily for his own amusement. He appears in both the 2003 and 2009 series, though his character is significantly different in each.
Japanese Voices: Yuji Ueda (2003) and Hiroyuki Yoshino (2009)
English Voice: Eric Vale
History[]
2003 series[]
In the 2003 anime series, Kimblee is first seen in a cameo as one of the State Alchemists during the Ishval Civil War in Tim Marcoh's story. Kimblee isn't properly introduced until a few episodes later, where he is in prison, serving his time for the war crimes he committed in Ishval. Along with other prisoners, he is sent by Envy, disguised as Basque Grand, to Lab 5, where he would be a human sacrifice for the Philosopher's Stone being created by Edward Elric at the same time. However, Kimblee escapes death by exploding one of the inmates who believes that his alchemic skills are a hoax. While leaving the facility, he meets Greed, also escaping, and his newly formed Chimera gang. Having few options, Kimblee joins.
After the Elric brothers return from Yock Island, Kimblee helps Greed by assisting, along with Bido, in trying to capture the homunculus Wrath from Military headquarters. While there he personally meets Frank Archer who is impressed with him and points out that he could help Kimblee get back into the military if he wishes to. After they fail, he helps Greed in kidnapping Alphonse. Shortly afterward, Kimblee betrays Greed by sending an army unit (as well as Lust and Gluttony) into the hideout, where they kill most of Greed's gang. In doing so, Kimblee is recruited back into the military under Archer's command.
Kimblee, having been promoted to Lt. Colonel, later travels with Archer, Mustang and their men to Reole, where they attempt to find Scar (though Mustang is disgusted that Kimblee is back in the military). There, Kimblee is confronted by Martel, the only surviving member of Greed's gang. Enraged, she attacks Kimblee, only to be nearly killed. She is saved by Alphonse who injures Kimblee's arm in the process due to Al's strategy of using Kimblee's own alchemy against him. This only earns Al Kimblee's wrath that makes Kimblee swear he'll get revenge by turning Alphonse into a bomb next time they met. Hours later, Kimblee is employed by Bradley to go into Reole to stir an uprising with the help of Shou Tucker's chimeras as part of his plan to ensure that the military wouldn't be blamed for any wrongdoing in the destruction of Reole, along with the command to secretly assassinate Edward Elric to aid their cause. During this attack, he confronts Scar, which Kimblee was responsible for his facial scar and the death of Scar's brother during the Ishval rebellion (Kimblee initially didn't remember him, until he recognised that scar as his handiwork). Kimblee fights Scar, but is impaled through the chest by the vengeful Ishvalan. His last act is to turn Alphonse into a bomb to exact his revenge, by designing to explode after a slow chemical reaction in order to give Alphonse "time to think about his death, and reflect on how meaningless his efforts have been."
Scar, along with Lust's assistance, would later use Kimblee's body to draw the military forces into Reole, allowing him to turn them into Philosopher's Stone ingredients in the end.
2009 anime[]
Kimblee's rationale is more deeply explored during the Ishval extermination. He looks with disdain upon Mustang and Hawkeye's guilt regarding their actions against the Ishvalan citizens, reminding them that they bore the military uniform of their own free will, knowing what may have been expected of them when they made the decision. He also purposefully thwarts any attempts other state alchemists make to show mercy to the enemy, such as when he kills two fleeing Ishvalan women whom Armstrong attempted to spare, reminding his comrade that allowing an enemy to escape was an offence punished by court-martial before extending a hand to help him up.
After it was discovered that the Rockbell doctors were aiding the Ishvalans, Kimblee's superiors express discontent for their actions. Because they were providing humanitarian aid, it was the military's duty to protect them, an act which they felt was an unnecessary burden to them. Kimblee's unit is the one sent to guard the Rockbells, with it being strongly implied that he was to assassinate them as soon as possible. Kimblee expresses admiration toward the doctors, stating his respect for their doing their job as doctors in such a chaotic time. When it's discovered that they were killed prior to his arrival, Kimblee states that the purpose of a soldier is to take life, and the purpose of a doctor is to save it, and as such, the Rockbell's deaths were noble ones.
Following these events, Kimblee kills several of his superior officers, in doing so maintaining his possession of the Philosopher's stone he was issued, and was subsequently sent to prison.
After the war, Kimblee is released from jail by order from the Führer and Envy gives him a new Philosopher's stone. He is then sent to capture Scar and Dr. Marcoh. Of course, he was oblivious to the identity of Scar as the man whose entire family he's slain, and thus was fairly stunned at this revelation. He engages Scar in brief battle on a train to the north but is badly wounded by a steel pipe thrust by Scar through his left side. He is then transported to Briggs, and General Raven arrives along with the Alchemist doctor who heals him.
He arranges to have Winry brought to the northern base, under the guise of needing her help in making Ed combat-ready, but in reality securing her as a hostage to force the Elrics to cooperate with his search for Scar. Ed confronts him on his siding with the homunculi, but Kimblee states that he did so out of simple curiosity. He says that he knows he is what the world would regard as psychotic, but he passed the psych test for his State Certification because he knew how they expected a stable person to respond. He further says that the world was on the brink of change, and he acted because he wanted to see which side the world would support in the end. He feels that, like the people stationed at Briggs, he is merely seeing "survival of the fittest", and that whichever side triumphs, human or Homunculi, will be the world's verification of that principle. He is eventually able to force Ed into compliance, both because he holds Winry as his hostage and with the "carrot" of giving Ed a Philosopher's stone should he succeed in his threefold assignment: 1) to find Scar and notify him, 2) to find Dr Marcoh and notify him, and finally, 3) to "carve a crest of blood" into the mountain, which would help as part of the Nationwide Transmutation Circle.
Kimblee's search resumes, taking him, the Elrics and several Briggs soldiers to the abandoned mining town, Baschool. The Elrics conspire with Dr. Marcoh and Scar behind his back, faking Winry's kidnapping as a means of freeing her from Kimblee's grasp. They arrange a scene to create the illusion that Winry has been taken by Scar, in the hopes that Winry's presence would stop Kimblee from attacking, and give the perfect excuse for her sudden disappearance. The plan goes awry when Scar taunts Kimblee, telling him that it seems their roles had switched from when they had first met, bringing Kimblee to a rage that makes him attempt to use his alchemy to attack. The encroaching blizzard prevents the scene from growing bloody, and Kimblee's army is forced into shelter as Scar and his party navigate the mines for a path to Briggs.
While snowed in, the Briggs in Kimblee's search party begin plotting his assassination, convincing an uncertain Ed to participate by drawing his attention away while their snipers take positions. Ed attempts to comply with their plan, but Kimblee reveals that he's perfectly aware of the attempt, stating that he could sense the murderous intent coming from the Briggs unit the whole time. He creates an explosion to blur the view of the snipers and escapes into the mines.
After taking care of his subordinates Ed follows Kimblee into the mines and fights him. Ed manages to separate Kimblee from his first Philosopher's stone, and cut the transmutation circle on his hand, believing these actions to have effectively ended Kimblee's ability to perform alchemy. Kimblee expresses his respect to Ed for trying to live true to his code of possessing the strength to not kill, but says that it's that same naive belief that will cost him his life. Kimblee then uses the other stone (which Ed was unaware of) to create an explosion which collapses the mine.
He then searches Sloth's tunnel but encounters Pride, who orders him to "carve a bloody crest into Briggs".
He attacks Briggs along with the Drachman army, posing as an Amestrian traitor. However, while the front of the Drachman forces are getting wiped out by Briggs, Kimblee was busy removing the remaining soldiers himself, completing the "blood crest".
On the night before the Promised Day, Kimblee had returned to central and was enjoying a killing spree, but lamented that he had stained his white suit with his victims' blood again after having it custom made for himself. When Pride had been detained by the Elrics, Kimblee is sent by Father to rescue him after hearing a message sent by Pride banging on Al's helmet in morse code. Ironically this is just like when Riza sent Mustang a secret message about Selim being the homunculus Pride. Using the element of surprise Kimblee blasts a hole in the dome of earth that had subdued Pride. However, Al takes Kimblee's old Philosopher's Stone in which Heinkel had found after the skirmish in Baschool and had kept. After a while of fighting against Al, Kimblee gets bitten in the neck by Heinkel in chimera mode. They attempt to escape by car while taking Kimblee as a prisoner, but Heinkel decides to toss Kimblee's body back at him in order to buy them further time. Rather than pursue them, Pride stays behind with Kimblee; it was his intent all along to get the sacrifices back to Central.
Pride shifts his amused stare down at the fatally wounded Kimblee, stating that this truly proves that humans have no place in the natural world. He marvels at how Kimblee's suit, which has been dyed red by the blood from his throat, now had a colour that so perfectly suited him, and asks Kimblee how he planned to see the side the world would choose if this was all his strength could do for him. He decides to help Kimblee in his desire by letting him "live on as a part of him." As Pride's shadows overtake Kimblee's half-dead face, he is entirely consumed, his body and soul, coupled along with the new Philosopher's Stone in his possession are added to Pride's own collection of souls.
Kimblee appears one final time towards the end of the series, emerging from the vortex of souls within Pride's consciousness to interfere with the Homunculus' attempt to steal Edward's body. Though mired in the agony of centuries-old spirits, Kimblee is able to retain his individuality. To Pride's surprise, Kimblee considers the wails of agony from the other souls to be as soothing as a lullaby. When asked why he would interfere, Kimblee comments on Pride's lack of resolve in calling himself a "superior being" one minute and then turning around to obtain the body of a "lesser being", such as a human, the next, solely to save his own life. Kimblee makes it very clear to show his disdain for Pride's lack of elegance, inadvertently having bought Edward enough time to counterattack. However, Kimblee assures the Homunculus that Edward will not be murdering him (remembering the conversation the two alchemists had regarding the "resolve not to kill") and willingly vanishes as the Philosopher's Stone comprising Pride's core is destroyed, doffing his hat at Edward as he travels into oblivion.