Manga Fullmetal Alchemist Manga

[Ikillion]

[COLOR=#35160f][SIZE="1"][FONT="Trebuchet MS"][spoiler]Seeing[/spoiler] Mustang in the upcoming battle will be a [spoiler]sight[/spoiler] to behold.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Shinmaru]

[quote name='Ikillion'][COLOR=#35160f][SIZE="1"][FONT="Trebuchet MS"][spoiler]Seeing[/spoiler] Mustang in the upcoming battle will be a [spoiler]sight[/spoiler] to behold.[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

I [spoiler]see[/spoiler] what you did there. :p

Crazy chapter. I'm still taking everything in, especially since it is a hell of a lot longer than I expected it to be. I guess Arakawa believed everything needed to happen at once to have the most dramatic impact.

Everything with Wrath is definitely my favorite part of the chapter. He has been shooting way up my favorite characters list since I've been watching [i]Brotherhood[/i]. I love how much he blurs the line between [spoiler]human[/spoiler] and Homunculus. Hell, he might be the most tragic figure in this series, even if he does not see it that way at all.

[Magus]

[size=1][font=franklin gothic medium][color=darkred]What could bring me, Magus into reading this series when I distinctly said that I wasn't gonna put up with Ed or Al again? It was the latest chapter seeing [spoiler]Ed (or someone that look like Ed taking blows from everyone) fighting everyone[/spoiler] and that kind of made me want to check this out from the beginning.

While it's not the manga's fault, but I felt like the first 10, maybe 12 chapters were kind of draggy. Like I said, it wasn't the mangas fault, it was because I had already seen most of those events in the original anime and didn't want to go through that again. I'm not really interested in how the manga and anime differed in its story-telling. (I did skip some stuff though)

Ed and Al are almost like completely different characters compared to the original anime counterparts, wow. Considering that they were suppose to be 16 and 15 in that anime whereas one is 15 and the other 14 in the manga. They still have that hiliarity to them, but Ed's bratty-ness and Al's whining is almost non-existant. [spoiler]I thought for certain that when they ran into Marcoh[/spoiler], Ed's bratty-ness would come out, but to my surprise it didn't, and I like how it was handled.

Another character who I thought would bother me would be Winry. While I didn't mind her so much in the original anime, I still found her to be on the annoying side, especially during that episode where they were arm wrestling.

Some unexpected stuff also surprised me a bit. Particularly the comedy side of the homunculus (sp?). Speaking of those characters, could Lust be any better? Then again I'm also split because I like her in the original anime just as much as I like her here. Either personality suits her just fine. Then again, I liked just about all of the secondary characters in the anime. Ed and Al were real annoying but I could always depend on Mustang and the rest of the characters to bail the anime out.

Anyway, I left off on chapter 32, and look forward to catching up on the rest. Also, it feels really strange reading manga that's over 30 pages long.[/font][/color][/size]
________________________

[font=franklin gothic medium][color=darkred]So I'm currently up to chapter 71. All I can really say at this point is that this manga makes up for the original anime's shortcomings. (Mainly Ed and Al) I'm expecting great things from Brotherhood down the line.

At this very moment I'm tempted to say that FMA has the best female characters that I've seen in my history of anime/manga (which is fairly impressive, but at the same time is not because I've seen my share of anime but read very little manga).

Ross (I think of Friends when I see that name). I really like Ross's character in here as well as the original series. [spoiler]I hope she's okay and nothing happens to her[/spoiler].

Lust is Lust. Different personality compare to her anime counterpart, but I enjoy both of them equally. She rocks. [spoiler]Laura Bailey voicing her... Lets just say she get me to do anything if she (Laura) whispered in my ear. :animeswea:catgirl:[/spoiler]

Hawkeye, Izumi and [spoiler]Olivia Armstrong[/spoiler] are the best female characters ever. Topping the major (ghost in the shell) and Revy (Black Lagoon). I don't I even need to explain how awesome they are.

Edit:

I was just thinking how I didn't mind Winry and then I come to chapter 72. This girl is just as dumb as other damsels. I can't stand this girl. :mad:[/font][/color]

[Ikillion]

[font="Trebuchet MS"][color="#8b0000"]Haha oh wow, that ending man.

GOOD END all over the place.[/color][/font] Edited June 7, 2010 by Ikillion

[Magus]

Agreed. I thoroughly enjoyed this series from beginning to end. (Not gonna lie. I skipped a chapter and skipped some flashbacks for various reasons. Had I not done that I would've stopped reading it) Who'd have thought the same Edward Elric in the original anime, who annoyed the crap out of me, would turn out to be such a great character in the end. I would've like Ed in the anime had they left his brattiness out of it. But whatever, that's old news.

Outside of Psyren, I haven't read a series where I enjoyed the entire cast of characters. With Rurouni Kenshin being my #1 favorite manga, there were still a few characters in that I could've done without. Even though I stated in my earlier post how I couldn't stand Winry, I do have to admit that that was a one time deal, and ever since she hasn't done anything to annoy me at all. In the end she turned out to be a pretty desent character.

[spoiler]Scar with a ponytail, and looks like he's wearing a suit is shocking stuff. I am glad that Mustang got his eyesight back. Seeing my favorite character go down like that would've been an all time crappy blow. I wouldn't wish blindness on anymore.[/spoiler]

I definately would like to see this animated. All of these fights were amazing to read, and from what I saw with the first episode of Brotherhood I think I'll get my fill of greatness since the animation in Brotherhood is no slouch (I still prefer the original in terms of animation and artwork though)

But yeah, this series has been a great ride. Nothing felt draggy and nothing felt rushed. Just smooth sailing. Sad to see it end though. 108 chapters... Way better than this 300-500+ stuff. Don't need no never ending adventures to make something great.

Now I gotta find a replacement.

[The Spectacular Professor]

[quote name='Magus' date='11 June 2010 - 12:37 AM' timestamp='1276241852' post='695078']Now I gotta find a replacement.
[/quote]
[font="Comic Sans MS"]Soul Eater is still getting better by the month, if that helps.

This was a fantastic end to a fantastic series. Everything the characters did fit them perfectly, even [spoiler]Greed's heroic sacrifice. I bet nobody saw that coming, but damn if it wasn't believable, even though the guy's name is Greed. He committed one of the most selfless acts in the entire series and did it all while being the cocky bastard we all know and love.[/spoiler]

Ed [spoiler]giving up his ability to perform alchemy in order to bring Al back was another great development. It makes sense that no one has been able to figure this one out for 107 chapters, since most people wouldn't consider alchemy as a valid part of Equivalent Exchange, but rather a tool used to regulate that law. Ed's always thought outside the box, and it seems fitting he'd be the first person for that thought to occur to.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Father's final fate is excellent. I consider it ultimate proof that Hiromu Arakawa does her research, especially considering the fact that she's a Japanese mangaka. It parallels Christian theology quite well and manages to avoid two basic mistakes that other works of fiction make all the time.

1: Most works of fiction depicting the Devil portray him as some kind of all-powerful anti-God who rules Hell with an iron fist and has an awesome time doing it. According to Christian belief, this is fundamentally wrong. Hell is supposed to be the ultimate punishment for everyone who dwells there, especially Satan himself. The Devil isn't in Hell to rule it, he's there to be punished for his hubris (incidentally, Satan is supposed to be the current form of the angel Lucifer, who was exiled from Heaven for attempting to equal God. Sound familiar?). If we think of Father as the Fullmetal Alchemist version of Satan, his end perfectly mirrors this.

2: Mostly a problem with other anime and manga series, but most mangaka/anime studios tend to not bother researching Western religion at all and just throw in words like "angel" or draw a few crosses here and there because it looks cool. Arakawa, on the other hand, actually manages to go pretty in-depth and show her work. Which is kind of funny, since her main character is a self-proclaimed atheist (at least he used to be, not sure where he stands on that after all the crazy stuff that just went down.) Either way you look at it, you have to admit that this is pretty impressive on Arakawa's part, whether or not you actually believe in any of it.[/spoiler]

The epilogue was really nice, and it was a total bonus for me because just about every ship I boarded ended up being canon [spoiler]Say what you will, Older MayxAlphonse is adorable.[/spoiler]

Although I'm not sure about one. [spoiler]It depends on whose puppies those were and whether or not Black Hayate is actually a girl. If so, DenxHayate FTW.[/spoiler]

All in all, a fitting end to a great ride. I'm looking forward to Arakawa's next series and hope it comes soon. She's a brilliant storyteller and it's just not going to be the same as long as I don't have another chapter of her work to look forward to every month.[/font]

[Magus]

[quote name='gallowsCalibrator' date='11 June 2010 - 05:57 PM' timestamp='1276293437' post='695098']
[font="Comic Sans MS"]Soul Eater is still getting better by the month, if that helps.

[spoiler]Father's final fate is excellent. I consider it ultimate proof that Hiromu Arakawa does her research, especially considering the fact that she's a Japanese mangaka. It parallels Christian theology quite well and manages to avoid two basic mistakes that other works of fiction make all the time.

1: Most works of fiction depicting the Devil portray him as some kind of all-powerful anti-God who rules Hell with an iron fist and has an awesome time doing it. According to Christian belief, this is fundamentally wrong. Hell is supposed to be the ultimate punishment for everyone who dwells there, especially Satan himself. The Devil isn't in Hell to rule it, he's there to be punished for his hubris (incidentally, Satan is supposed to be the current form of the angel Lucifer, who was exiled from Heaven for attempting to equal God. Sound familiar?). If we think of Father as the Fullmetal Alchemist version of Satan, his end perfectly mirrors this.

2: Mostly a problem with other anime and manga series, but most mangaka/anime studios tend to not bother researching Western religion at all and just throw in words like "angel" or draw a few crosses here and there because it looks cool. Arakawa, on the other hand, actually manages to go pretty in-depth and show her work. Which is kind of funny, since her main character is a self-proclaimed atheist (at least he used to be, not sure where he stands on that after all the crazy stuff that just went down.) Either way you look at it, you have to admit that this is pretty impressive on Arakawa's part, whether or not you actually believe in any of it.[/spoiler]

The epilogue was really nice, and it was a total bonus for me because just about every ship I boarded ended up being canon [spoiler]Say what you will, Older MayxAlphonse is adorable.[/spoiler]

Although I'm not sure about one. [spoiler]It depends on whose puppies those were and whether or not Black Hayate is actually a girl. If so, DenxHayate FTW.[/spoiler]
[/font][/quote]

I don't know. For Soul Eater, the manga is too fanservice-y for my taste and it's pretty much fallen off the radar. If I were to get back into it, I'd probably go with the anime instead.

[spoiler]"Friend in the Flask" (Father just sound too "ugh") absorbing "God's" power did have me raising an eyebrow a couple of times (I'm a church/christian guy)[/spoiler], but for the most part it was an interesting take on Arakawa's part.

Begone with your fanship stuff. It's the root of all evilness.