Fullmetal Alchemist manga *Spoilers*

[Premmy]

OOOOH boy. Discuss the Fullmetal Alchemist manga as it starts to wind down(up?)
Edit: For spoilers up to it's release in stateside stores, Go spoiler free, for up to fan-translations, put spoiler tags around it.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

FMA is my favorite Manga.
And I really like the recent chapters.
Shit's happening as it's about to end.

EDIT: Wait a sec, I took a look to my shelf and noticed I somehow managed to forget about Berserk.
FMA is still my favorite Shonen Manga, though.

[CelesJessa]

The manga is really getting intense although I'm not sure if we're talking about where it is right now as far as it's release in stores or where it is as far as fan translations online.

In any case, chapter 102 was aaaargh. I couldn't believe what they did to Roy, but this means he'll be able to do transmutation-circle-less alchemy, so I bet he's going to do something awesome.

[Premmy]

The manga is really getting intense although I'm not sure if we're talking about where it is right now as far as it's release in stores or where it is as far as fan translations online.
Check the Edited OP

In any case, chapter 102 was aaaargh. I couldn't believe what they did to Roy, but this means he'll be able to do transmutation-circle-less alchemy, so I bet he's going to do something awesome.
Maybe, but having no eyes
would make him rather useless in a fight, just check Ed in the first fight against Pride.
Also hehehehe Hoho-Crotch
SCAR DOING ALCHEMY HOLY HELL YES!

[phil_]

See, Prem, maybe it's because I haven't been paying enough attention, but the Best Thing Ever to me seemed like an ass-pull of nearly a "Who said the Espada went from 1 to 10?" level. Did they foreshadow it in any way? Can this lead to anything but "Bigger, Stronger Ed fights Wrath?"

I dunno, I really only care about Ed and the crew in the bowels of Hell right now, since it's the stuff that leads to the end of the story. I could have dealt with Bradley just falling into the water having killed a few characters and been done with him.

Make me think this is awesome.

[MasterOfMagic]

I think I missed the change in morals that caused the "best thing ever" to be okay with its character. Previously he had been completely against that kind of thing.

[Premmy]

It's awesome because it symbolizes Scar's union with his brother coming to fruition, his soul being redeemed, and the only possible thing that can Kill KIIIIIIIING MUTHAFUCKIN' BRADLEY's ass
As for foreshadowing, it's all the way back when Scarbro was displaying his alchemy tatoos, one for creation, one for destruction. The Ishb/valan leader telling Scar he needs to change, in issue 21 chapter 8...6 I think and the fact that Scar had ben studying his bro's notes since Ed and Al hit Briggs.Finally, he has obviously been spending quite a bit of time with Amestrians, softening his hate for them. Coupled with the things he's said with/to winry, and his speech about trying to change the country shows he no longer holds blind animosity towards them, And his Interactions with Mei Chang probably taught him a different side of Alchemy, this, along with the fact that He's basically utilizing Xingese alchemy, which exists for healing, does'nt hurt
PS, "Don't Cry Like a girl when you act like a man." , is my favorite line And I'll readily admit him not dying sorta cheapens that awesome moment, but then again, KIIIIIIIING MUTHAFUCKIN BRADLEY!"

[Magus]

SPOILERS up to chapter 103:

Nothing ass-pullish about Scar completing the Ishvalan arm tattoo alchemy thing, it was something that was going to happen eventually. I was under the impression it was supposed to be the key to battling Father, so it makes sense for it to appear. Maybe you don't like the opponent being Bradley, but then again he is technically the person most responsible for Scar's people being slaughtered, so it's fitting that he be the one to take him out. You could maybe complain about Bradley continuing to be in it over and over again, but he's so awesome that it seems difficult to dislike repetitive battles involving him.

Also, I was surprised I was actually right about homunculi made from humans only having to be killed once, which is why Father made them out of the homunculi with nigh invincible abilities like stone skin and the ability to see the future.

The thing that actually felt like an ass pull to me was Roy being physically forced to perform human transmutation, although there is an obvious downside to the homunculi doing this that is hinted at, so maybe it will be interesting in the end.

[greed]

..... holy shit.

Father just ate god. And it looks like he took Al's body. And only the sacrifices are alive, just like with Xerxes. This is going to be interesting.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Possibly some lame I know you're somewhere in there Al speech, or Suit Al getting really emotional about it and somehow conquers his body back with the power of love to follow this.
Please impress me FMA, I know you can do it.

[phil_]

I'm pretty sure that body is a younger Hoenheim, what with the identical haircut and Father already being Hoenheim. The only difference is that the Godfather has muscles from not being a malnourished slave in the desert.

But, yeah, eating god. I'd say that's worth digging a nation-sized ditch and causing five wars. I mean, as far as the effort involved.

Also, I'll save you guys some trouble if you want to check out the haircut thing. Lil' Hoenheim shows off his bishi bishi shining locks in chapter 74.

There is little thought put into what gets spoilered in this post.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

I'm pretty sure that body is a younger Hoenheim, what with the identical haircut and Father already being Hoenheim.
That was my first thought too, but I kinda like to think it's Al. Given the fact that he's basically Hohenheim Junior and that whole malnourishement thing might have been fixed with godlike alchemy it's not too far-fetched. But still just some sort of theory I have.

[Amake]

I'm continuously impressed by how clever people in the story are, like Roy's spy games. . . though we haven't seen a lot of that lately. And a glaring mistake: With all the blowing up of floors Scar does, why doesn't he think to destroy some transmutation circles? I'm sure there was at least one point where he could have completely short-circuited the grand plan. Or anyone with the power to erase a line etched in the floor really.

Anyway I found it most interesting to know exactly how many souls Hohenheim had in him. The homunculi would have to have the same number divided amongst them, minus everyone they've lost in various fights, although now the number might be at least four times bigger I guess. Anyway it's a limited number, and the good guys will just have to beat them to death that many times in a row to win. We hope.

Also, I like Pride. It's great how he can't function in complete darkness or blinding light, but only in shades of grey. Like pride takes us when we wander in between good and evil. How symbolic.

[Magus]

Pssh, don't go getting all deep on us. :p

I, too, was under the impression it was just a younger version of Hohenheim, to reflect an age-reverse type of thingy which would occur with a massive influx of souls. Or something like that. I noticed throughout the manga that Father looked older than Hohenheim, due to burning off souls doing all the stuff he was doing, like creating homunculi, so it sorta holds up.

Anyway, we all know the ending will involve altering the transmutation circle to reflect the design on the backs of the Matthias' journal's pages, which will remove all the souls from Father and put them back in the people he took them from, or something along those lines. The impression I had was it was supposed to be the total opposite of the transmutation circle he had created, or some other type of great fix.

While it's true that Scar could've destroyed part of the nationwide transmutation circle, he's only one man and could only have accomplished so much before Pride would show up and dice him to bits. Also, removing his damage would've only taken a few minutes between Sloth and Pride's powers. Maybe timing the damage to occur within a time frame where it couldn't be fixed would make sense, but I guess the author wants to do something grander with her ending than applying that sort of logic to it...

[Premmy]

I'm siding with that just being a new Father body/based off hohenheim's rather than Al's, since it's not all that hard for him to make a new one. Pride seems to be crumbling from one punch, possibly the "side effects" from forcing Roy to do human transmutation?

[Magus]

Yeah, that was implied in last month's, that it "cost them something" to force him. I'm presuming most of their vitality.

Also, I think Greed's greed hit maximum this month, there's basically nothing less that he'll want from now on.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

105 is out... That one line on the last page cracked me up "I'm gonna take you and your stinkin' truth and kick your asses".

[Magus]

I had quite the unintended laughter at Hohenheim's line: "I abandoned you as kids...but watch this cool-ass shit!" Not in so many words, of course.

Bradley using a sword with no hands pretty much makes me assume that is his entire character's purpose, to reach that point of badassedness. There's no real higher point that can be reached.

Also the epic final battle of epicness is actually a bit of a downer, as it seemed somewhat like a generic anime final battle. Just seems a bit over the top.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Chapter 106: Scar talks about his bro some more. Kimbley ruins Pride's shit. After that Homunculus is being an ass

I assume we'll have two chapters more, so we have that magical 108 everybody likes so much.

[Magus]

You kind missed the part where Ed smashed in Pride's head and pulled out that weird little one-eyed baby form of him that was pretty damn disturbing, really.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Yeah, I didn't miss that. I just completely forgot it after reading to purge my brain. Thanks for reminding me, though.

[Magus]

Yeah, what's up with series having to be 108 chapters, is it because it's exactly 9 years or is something else at play here?

[A Zarkin' Frood]

It's some sort of important number in Buddhism.
The TV-Tropes article is actually more helpful than Wikipedia here (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OneHundredAndEight)

[Magus]

There's also that 108 warriors legend thing (may be Chinese or a different number).

Haha you almost got me to look at TV Tropes good try I have stuff I have to do tonight well alright one little click--SHIT.

[Magus]

This month's chapter was great. And yes, apparently next month is the final, decisive chapter. Really, at this point all that surprises me is that Greed is going to survive. I didn't expect any of the homunculi to survive...Pride might also survive, they could always give him one extra soul and he could regenerate his normal body or something and live as a little kid, perhaps learning his lesson when Father completely abandoned him and only used him....

[Arcanum]

I've only seen poor quality versions out there, and I'm waiting on my one totally legit source to spit out its high quality version before I read it. I will be back and talking about whatever happens when I finally read it.

Although I figured it would be wrapping up in the next 2 or so chapters, what with FMA Brotherhood catching up (and it didn't look like they'd just put it on hiatus)

e- oh and looking back on the past couple of posts, that whole 108 thing too I guess.

[greed]

Maybe, though all that him humanising and all sounds like they're setting him up to die, like Hughes and his baby pictures.

But it was a totally awesome chapter, and was not expecting Al to sacrifice himself like that.

So now that it's ending, I'm kinda hoping the mangaka does another series. She's done a pretty great job with this one so I hope she doesn't retire like some of them do after one hit. Anyone heard anything about her plans?

[A Zarkin' Frood]

I'd definitely be curious about a new project by Hiromu Arakawa.
The world needs more good series that end one day instead of going on till it doesn't make any money anymore.

[Magus]

She has (or had) that quarterly one, Juuben something or other, but I didn't care for it that much (though it was kind of funny that the villain in it looked exactly like Bradley--perhaps she isn't that great at designing new looks for characters? Although anybody is better than say, Toriyama...:P)

[Lithp]

I was actually really hoping that Olivier would be the one to finish off Wrath. For being as badass as she was, she didn't really take down anyone major. She still could, but let's face it, she's not killing Father. Plus, it would have made for a good atmosphere! Epic sword fight!

EDIT: Damn. Sorry, I got carried away & forgot to censor the spoilers.

[Magus]

Her killing that one general guy and dumping his body in the concrete way back when was epic enough.

[Lithp]

It really isn't though. That feels like it's serving to show us she's awesome so we're prepared for some awesome shit she does in the future. Take some other badasses:

Scar-He was originally established as a serial killer who could blow shit up with his hands. This was to lead to his fights with Kimblee & Wrath.

Mustang-Hero of the Ishbal War. Uses flame with a flick of his finger. Envy kills a certain someone. Mustang goes apeshit on Envy.

Hohenheim-We find out about his interesting past, which leads to him confronting the Big Cheese himself.

You get the point. Generally, you don't kill a mook or put on some flashy display just to leave it at that. Typically, it's a form of foreshadowing. Armstrong, in my opinion, is way too badass to be a killer of nameless mooks, something any generic soldier can be. And General Raven was barely above that level. He had no alchemy, no weapon skills, & he was a massive coward. She may as well have been shooting a mean-spirited, ankle-nipping pidgeon. As satisfying as it would be, it's not the best use for your sharp-shooting skills.

[Magus]

While I admit that the idea of a sword fight between her and Wrath would've made a ton of sense and now I kind of wish it had gone that way, how it finally turned out was pretty awesome:

**SPOILER**Look, Ma, no hands! (http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5696/lookmanohands.jpg)**SPOILER**

And really Scar had the biggest reason to fight Wrath.

Plus Olivia as awesome as she is is completely lacking in super powers, which is why her brother had to step in and help her defeat Sloth. She probably would've lasted about five seconds versus Wrath.

What is Olivia's strength is leadership ability, toughness, and ruthlessness and she has excelled at those. The coup using Briggs' soldiers she personally trained is her main contribution and while it may be indirect it is probably more important than any one battle.

[Lithp]

Wrath ultimately lost because he was blinded by an eclipse. With that circumstance, any reasonably skilled character could have defeated him.

I actually hated how that fight ended until I realized I was being a massive hypocrite for liking what happened with Kimblee & Scar in the original anime.

Anyway, I don't really care so much WHO beats Wrath. When I misread a TV Tropes thing & thought Yoki did it with a fucking car, I thought it sounded like the coolest thing ever. I just wanted her to FIGHT Wrath.

[greed]

Maybe, though all that him humanising and all sounds like they're setting him up to die, like Hughes and his baby pictures.

But it was a totally awesome chapter, and was not expecting Al to sacrifice himself like that.

So now that it's ending, I'm kinda hoping the mangaka does another series. She's done a pretty great job with this one so I hope she doesn't retire like some of them do after one hit. Anyone heard anything about her plans?

And she's doing another series, haha, announced on the last page of the finale. Awesome. Oh man that was seriously a great ending. Wrapped everything up perfectly. Also glad that she actually gave us a look at the future. Like Al and Mei, and Ed and Winry all grown up and with babies, and Emperor Ling.


Also goddamnit Greed! I knew it, I knew they were setting him up to die. It was done about as awesomely as possible but still sad.

[Grimpond]

And she's doing another series, haha, announced on the last page of the finale. Awesome. Oh man that was seriously a great ending. Wrapped everything up perfectly. Also glad that they actually gave us a look at the future. Like Al and Mei, and Ed and Winry's all grown up and with babies, and Emperor Ling.


Also goddamnit Greed! I knew it, I knew they were setting him up to die. It was done about as awesomely as possible but still sad.

God damn Greed was so cool. I'm sad to finally see this end, but the Author really did wrap it up in the best ways possible. AND she said she's starting on a new work! :dance:

[Amake]

In the words of Chazz Michael Michaels, Bam!

I love every part of the ending. But the best of all? "I'll give you half my life, so give me half of yours." That's how an alchemy otaku should propose.

And they didn't even have a big old cliche wedding like I and probably everyone else expected. Too few couples get married their own way, in words and actions that are meaningful to themselves, instead of going through the whole church charade. Only Natural Born Killers spring to mind, actually.

Yeah, I'm going to call it their wedding right there on the page, with the speeches, the misunderstandings, the laughing and the hugging. You can theorize they went through whatever passes a traditional wedding ceremony in Amertris and made it official later if you want.

PS. Is it just me or does it look like Winry had both Ed and Al's babies? Hopefully the mini-Al she's holding is Mei's. . .

[phil_]

Hmm, I wonder how much Pride is still Pride. Is he still a mass of evil wrapped in a little boy, or is he the little boy now, with whirling evil-blades on the side? That should be Arakawa's next project: Salem's new life. It would be like Yotsuba, except with violence.

[Wigmund]

dawwww....Hayate had puppies :3

[A Zarkin' Frood]

I usually don't like x years later endings. But this one I do, sort of.

Winry's reaction to Ed's silly half life line was priceless.

Now I hope someone licenses Brotherhood for some country I live in so I can watch the whole story again instead of starting to read it a fourth time.

Yes, I know it's en vogue to illegally download it. But it's really not that simple in my case (shitty internet).
My rebel attitude also prevents me from doing what the kool kids do.

[CelesJessa]

Oh man I can't believe it's finally done. I've been following FMA for... so long. And it ended so wonderfully. I cried like a baby though.

Just... wow that was a great ending.

[krogothwolf]

Oh man I can't believe it's finally done. I've been following FMA for... so long. And it ended so wonderfully. I cried like a baby though.

Just... wow that was a great ending.

it's okay, I almost cried too, it was a really great ending. Awesomeness!

[Magus]

I was a little underwhelmed but it was probably because last month's events were separated from the end of the ending by a whole month of real time.

[Lithp]

My opinion on the ending, from another topic:


Having read the ending, I didn't entirely care for it. For starters, the wrap-up with Father was not only Phlebotinum Overload, his situation doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Why is he going into the Gate? Why does he resemble it so much? There were still some good questions left about him & now they're unanswered.

The resolution of the political system was emotionally satisfying, but thinking long-term, the anime got it right. A dictatorship doesn't work because even if you have a great guy who picks another great guy as his successor & so forth, it's going to get screwed up down the road & then there are no checks & balances.

The other thing is the personal relationship aspect. The way the brothers' bond was so emphasized & now they're going to spend years apart. I like the idea of what they're doing, especially that Ed can continue his alchemy carreer even if it's just research, & I guess they could still visit each other, but it doesn't feel right. It's also great ammo for anyone who wants to argue that Winry's portrayl is very sexist. Ed travels the world while Winry sits at home & it's heavily hinted that this is actually going to be a relationship model for them. That...would never work anywhere outside the realm of fiction.

I kinda like what happened with Pride, but where did his personality go? What's up with that? Greed was also satisfying, 'cause he went outlike a total badass.

And last but certainly not least, the final chapter once again convinces me that someone should kill that asshole Truth. "I will give you despair." Paraphrased. Who else was it that said that again...?

So overall, pound for pound, I prefer the anime's story. The manga was still a great story & unbeatable for detail short of a guide book that explains what the manga left out, but in the grand scheme of things, the anime had a better grasp of its plot. The endings are no exception.

But you know what really pisses me off about this ending is?

It's over. There's no more Fullmetal Alchemist. I can finish watching Brotherhood & even catch the episodes in English, but I'll never get anything new from that universe or its characters. It's actually kinda sad....

So, yeah, TL;DR version:

Cons
1. Ending felt rushed.
2. Didn't really like what the characters chose to do now that it's all over, in some ways.
3. Left a lot of unanswered questions.
4. Waaah, no more FMA!

Pros
1. Greed's a badass.
2. Fairly clever way of taking Father down.
3. The researching the 2 alchemy styles angle.
4. The priceless exchange between Ed & Winry.

Strangely enough, I actually did not notice that one picture towards the end. Interesting note, albeit a tad disturbing, does anyone notice that Winry basically picked up Trisha's hairstyle? From now on, I'm calling Ed "Oedipus Elric." And, ah, isn't Mei a little bit young for Al, if that is indeed what's going on in this picture?

[Magus]

Eh, there's no reason that Grumman won't institute democracy, he seems like a pretty nice guy and he's surrounded by a bunch of people pushing for reform. I think he's more of an interim guy than a dictator. Not to say he won't take advantage of course but if it's not in the purview of the plot I'll just assume "happy ending!"

Yeah, I thought the thing with Mei and Al was a little screwed up, maybe she was supposed to be older than she appeared? That and we don't know how many years down the road the pic is taken, age differences decrease in severity the older the people are. If she was only 2-3 years younger than him or whatever it wouldn't matter when they're both older.

If it was taken at the 2 years later point though it's kind of screwed up unless she was supposed to be older.

[phil_]

I have a new thing to wonder about concerning the ending: how much pain did Ed ending up with Winry cause CelesJessa?

[CelesJessa]

I have a new thing to wonder about concerning the ending: how much pain did Ed ending up with Winry cause CelesJessa?

You know, I like Winry better in the manga. I'm still not terribly fond of her but... it was okay. I actually didn't notice the babies in the small pictures until someone else mentioned it because I was too busy going "aaaaaah FMA endeeeeeedd"

[Premmy]

FMA's over..... WEE.... yay... DAMMIT!

[Daimo Mac, The Blue Light of Hope]

I guess I can rewatch the death of Hues over and over again for enjoyment!

[Lithp]

First of all, because I refuse to accept that it's over, I have to theorize about the unrevealed truth of Father: Suppose he's a piece of the Truth that was drawn out of the Gate, rather than someone being taken to it. There are a few references, although I considered them bad translations at the time, to him "coming from the Gate." Since those little Gate Gremlins, as I call them, don't exist in the manga, he obviously can't be one of them. But this might explain why he behaves somewhat like the Gate & why he knows things he shouldn't, like how to make Philosophers Stones. There's also the fact that souls act somewhat like a tangible thing in FMA.

Eh, there's no reason that Grumman won't institute democracy, he seems like a pretty nice guy and he's surrounded by a bunch of people pushing for reform. I think he's more of an interim guy than a dictator. Not to say he won't take advantage of course but if it's not in the purview of the plot I'll just assume "happy ending!"

It might be personal preference, but I'm thinking that Mustang will become Fuhrer next.

Yeah, I thought the thing with Mei and Al was a little screwed up, maybe she was supposed to be older than she appeared? That and we don't know how many years down the road the pic is taken, age differences decrease in severity the older the people are. If she was only 2-3 years younger than him or whatever it wouldn't matter when they're both older.

Well, I was thinking about that the other day, & I came to a similar conclusion. I'm still weirded out, though.

If it was taken at the 2 years later point though it's kind of screwed up unless she was supposed to be older.

I'm thinking that the pictures are not from the same time as the epilogue itself.

As a slight tangent, why do "x years later" endings seem to bother people? FMA didn't matter because it was only 2, but I know there are still a lot of people who bitch about Harry Potter's ending.

[greed]

As a slight tangent, why do "x years later" endings seem to bother people? FMA didn't matter because it was only 2, but I know there are still a lot of people who bitch about Harry Potter's ending.

A lot of people like to create their own futures for characters, if not write fanfics doing just that. X years later endings interfere with that by telling who got together with whom, kids and what not. That and it can be a bit cliche if done badly.

[Lithp]

Fair enough. But, ironically, I HATE unanswered questions! >.<

Couplings I don't really care about, & I can see leaving them to the imagination.

[Magus]

"X years later" pairings don't bother me because I care about the pairings, they bother me because I don't care about the pairings and think they are fairly pointless and cliche, like greed mentioned. The Harry Potter one was really lame, this one was a little less so because it was only like two-pages/six-panels 'cause it's a comic book...

Regarding Father: it seems like he must have come from the other side of the gate but because he was separated off from Truth he's like his own being, similar to how the homunculi are separated off from him and have their own "soul" to them (despite their being a distinct lack of soul, they have an "I" to them that is all their own, like Greed). I think it would be cooler if he was like an evil demon or something but probably not. Anyway, me and a buddy of mine were talking about this and we were more interested in what happened to the slavemaster alchemist that created/extracted Father, 'cause he must be the really talented guy in the whole thing!

[Lithp]

Not really. He created Father by accident. And he was one of the souls sealed into Father.

Pairings can be pointless, on one hand, but on the other hand, it's also annoying when attractions between characters are pointed out & then completely ignored. FMA handled it quite well.

And I still don't see why the Harry Potter ending was that bad. I mean, what did people expect? "Voldemort's dead, so now I am Lord of the Dance!"?

And evil demons aren't cliche? I fail to see how that would even fit into FMA.

[Magus]

Evil demons is evil demons, pairings is pairings. Different cliche strokes for different folks.

[Lithp]

Fair enough. But I still don't see where it would fit in FMA.