Fullmetal Alchemist manga *Spoilers*

[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]

Originally Posted by 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.

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]

Originally Posted by phil_

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.

Originally Posted by 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!"

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.