Fun fact: We exclusively only see Roy Mustang wearing low-ranking uniforms after he gets promoted to Brigadier General in FMA 2003
Yes, in the entirety of the 2003 series we actually never get to see him wear the uniform of anything higher than the Colonel rank, ever.
In episode 46, after Roy got promoted to Brigadier General we never get to see him wear his uniform signifying his high status rank. In the short army speech scene about their deployment in Drachma, you don't see the stars (err, lack of) and stripes on his shoulders because he's wearing his black coat on top of his uniform:
Just to refresh people's memory, the Fuhrer wanted to send Mustang and Armstrong to war up north to hopefully kill them, and Mustang's plan was to swap places with Havoc (and Hawkeye with Fuery) while he remains in Central to assassinate Bradley. So that leaves Havoc with actually wearing his Brigadier General uniform up in Drachma.
Roy in Central was of course also in disguise as Havoc in the hospital with that scene wearing the wig and all, and then he dons Havoc's uniform with the 2nd Lieutenant rank in the bar scene. See also the lack of colored pins at the front:
That's the last ever time we'll see him wear his military uniform at the end of the anime series, as a 2nd Lieutenant. Right after that bar scene he immediately changes back to his civilian clothes, the suit, which is the same outfit he wears when he last sees Edward until his suicide mission to kill the Fuhrer in the Bradley estate.
And then you know what happens next at the start of the CoS movieć¼he's demoted himself all the way to the rank of Corporal and secluded himself in the mountains.
And just to put into perspective how low his rank is, I checked the military ranking list in the wiki. In the manga (and possibly Brotherhood) he's shown to have the rank of a three-star general according to the epilogue panel. Manga Roy is the second highest ranking named character in the entire series...
...meanwhile in 2003 Roy is the second lowest named character, just two ranks above Sheska.
Additionally, I do not know if it's deliberate from the 2003 series writers and director, and I am probably just reading too much into it, but it's very interesting to me how Colonel is still actually the highest rank we get to see him inć¼in uniform. And then the final final time we get to see him wearing the Colonel's uniform? This scene, near the end of episode 45, where it's raining.
I made this entire post because my curiosity got the best of me cuz WHY aren't there pictures of Mustang in his uniform with the rank higher than Colonel?! So I did some rewatching (skimming) and made this realization. But yeah, it's been decades since the 2003 series reached its conclusion and Roy giving up on his goals and ultimately succumbing to his trauma still feels so tragic and heartbreaking to me.
And unless I'm mistaken, this is probably the only image of Roy wearing the uniform with the rank of Brigadier General, from a magazine scan.
If there are more official pics of 2003 Roy in his Brigadier General uniform please, PLEASE let me know!
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