Fullmetal Alchemist

Fullmetal Alchemist is not spectacular. What I mean is that nothing about the art or the plot immediately strikes the audience as impressive or unique. The art is not flashy or detailed. It gets the job done, but only just. The action is easy to follow from panel to panel, and it is just dynamic enough to be interesting. The characters are all pretty much distinguishable from each other, despite their simple designs, and some of them look kinda cool. More than anything, the art is solid. It never gets in the way of the audience's enjoyment. And sometimes that's enough. The only times I ever took issue with the style were when the characters were morphed into chibis in a weak attempt at comedy.

And that brings me to my next point: The comedy. It's not comedic. Early on, there are many repetitive running gags and the only thing they accomplish is kicking me out of the story. Such a blatant attempt to appeal to the audience can backfire if delivered poorly, and so it felt like a slap in the face delivered through the 4th wall. I don't want to deal with that. But I think that the mangaka realized this direction wasn't working early on, and the manga generally gets more serious as time passes.

Although the presentation of the plot changes over time, the plot itself rarely deviates from a single unified arc, and this becomes more apparent towards the middle of the series. It's clear that the overarching plot was plotted out from inception to conclusion from the beginning. The major villains and major allies are essentially the same throughout the manga, and this helps with the sense of unity and harmony that I get from it. (A unity that reinforces the main themes of the manga, which might otherwise seem to be poorly applied pseudo-philosophy.) There are no major power-ups or ridiculous ass-pulls. All of the plot developments are logical and well-paced.

The action, unfortunately, can be a bit of a weak point. There are several characters who use special alchemy techniques to interesting effect, but Ed's (the main character) fighting style is rather pedestrian in comparison. Still, the idea of equivalent exchange helps the fights maintain an appealing sense of reason and rationality that I appreciate quite a bit. It makes them feel less contrived, something that this genre tends to suffer from severely. Also, nothing was ever dragged out unnecessarily and mid-fight dialogue/flashbacks were never taken too far. Fullmetal Alchemist avoids the major pitfalls of battle shounen and brings in a sense of logic that is very rare to see.

The characters are mostly static, and there is no unexpected development. Sometimes they can feel like cardboard cut-outs. But other times I find myself thinking "wow, a couple of these cardboard cut-outs actually look pretty good in context." Rather than linear development, the characters are developed via increased insight into them and information about them. They are developed from the perspective of the audience. This is a very sensible approach given the relatively short time frame that the series covers; there is some linear development, but it is subtle. Not subtle as in hard to spot, because it is pretty clear when you see it, but it is slight. The characters don't suffer from any about-faces or drastic personality transplants. The most apparent changes that the characters undergo are simply a result of us learning more about them. This makes the manga somewhat reminiscent of a well-structured canvas painting. It is all one unified and unmoving image, but as you look at it, you notice more about it and it seems to tell a story. There are also some irritating imperfections, it looks better from a distance than it does up-close, but these flaws fail to ruin the whole.

The issue with the above picture is that the foreground is probably weaker than the background, and isn't that where our eyes are drawn? Ed's character is mostly defined by basic traits, habits, and general goals; all nuance is absent. This is certainly intentional, to avoid alienating any of the audience from him, but this lack of ambition is irritating for me. Al's character is kind of empty. (Pun retrospectively intended.) His most significant developmental event was his contrived existential crisis that was quickly resolved and never really dwelled on again. These criticisms apply to many of the characters, in varying degrees. Even as we get more in depth into them, they don't ever feel real. That said, they are often entertaining and they get the job done. Ed is not always the focus and even minor characters are established early on and given essential roles. Rather than any individual characters being well-written, what is well-written is their interactions and relationships with one another, and where they are placed and what they do. Every character has purpose and motivation and defining character traits, even if they don't quite feel organic. If you pulled one character out of the plot, everything could collapse. No character is superfluous and no character is forgotten. This says more about the plot than the actual characterization, but it's a positive nevertheless.

More than anything, Fullmetal Alchemist is solid. Most of its imperfections are minor and don't reach the series' core. Nothing about the series is all that exceptional or original in itself, but it adds up into a very well-structured and cohesive work that manages to avoid making a lot of mistakes that are not often avoided. (And, despite its popularity, it never overstayed its welcome and was relatively concise for what it was.) Still, it doesn't really accomplish all that much that I haven't seen done as well or better. It is simply less flawed than most similar works. This makes it feel unique holistically, but not on a more critical examination. It is unique in that you'd be hard-pressed to find a more perfect battle shounen, but this quality is negatively defined: Fullmetal Alchemist is most praise worthy for the things it does not do; what it does do is not nearly as impressive or difficult.

The lack of originality or risk-taking factors against Fullmetal Alchemist, but the form and presentation of it warrants a solid 7. It's quite good, but not quite great.

I being a huge fan of FullMetal Alchemist enjoyed reading this. I only wish other characters such as Roy, etc...could have been added. I gave "8 for character" because there could have been at least a few afterwords on everyone else lives. I gave "9 for overall" because I just felt again, the other characters could have had a few mentions. But it's about Ed, Al, and Winry's life after the end of the manga so I'll deal with it haha :] Overall its a warming conclusion full of love. Long live FMA!

Normally, I don’t write reviews. But after I read the last chapter, I thought FMA deserves a review. Maybe it’s not that good, but I still hope you find it useful and decide you want to read it, since FMA is the best series I have ever read.

Story: When you read the story synopsis, it’s not that special. You find more stories like that. But, what makes FMA special is how it’s thought out. The story is really deep, nothing is unimportant. Characters aren’t forgotten, they keep coming back, and everything is explained. And it’s always surprising. You think you got the whole story figured out, but then Arakawa points out you haven’t and leaves your mouth hanging open in surprise.
The story is amazing and deep, I give it a 10.

Characters: The characters are all loveable in their own way, even the villains. They all have their strong points, and their bad points. The main characters have bad points, and the villains have good points. It’s all balanced out. Some make you cry out in frustration, others make you laugh your head off. They all have their own strength, and they all have a purpose. As I said in the story part, the characters arent’forgotten. You think you won’t see a character again, and suddenly they pop up again later on in the story.
You see the characters grow, learn from mistakes and keep on trying. You become attached to them. If something happens to them, you get worried for them. If something good happens, you’re happy for them. If they die (not saying they will, just using it as an example) you cry for them.
I love the characters and have come to care for them, that shows they deserve a 10.

Art: The art isn’t all that flashy. It’s basic. But that helps fuel the magic that is called FMA. Art like One Piece wouldn’t fit FMA, neither would art like Claymore or Death Note. Arakawa’s art is perfect for this series, she is great with expressions, and she’s great at making fun of Ed in his chibi style. Some parts were drawn a bit sloppy, but it’s not annoying or even noticeable. You get drawn in to the story, it doesn’t really matter if the drawing is a bit less than normal.
The art isn’t that special but it fits and belongs with FMA, so it gets a 9. If it wouldn’t have been sloppy at some places, I would’ve given it a 10.

Enjoyment: There isn’t any other series I enjoyed more than FMA. It starts out good, and it gets better and better. It reaches it’s climax at the last 2 chapters, and it dies out in a perfect ending, showing what became of everyone 2 years after everything is over. I loved seeing how everyone turned out to be.
FMA lets you experience all kinds of emotion. I have laughed my head off at Ed’s antics. I have cried when a character I loved got hurt. I have been amazed at the discoveries everyone has been making. I have been worried when a character I like was in the hospital. I have been angry at villains for doing horrible things. you keep getting drawn in, never losing interest for even one second. Every month waiting for a new chapter was torture, especially after a cliffhanger.
FMA is the series that has kept my attention for the longest, never losing it. It deserves a 10.

Overall, FMA was perfect in my eyes. No mistakes made, and Arakawa stopped at the perfect moment. It deserves higher than a 10, but since I can't give it something higher I'll settle for a 10.

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the most amazing, interesting, emotional series I've ever been fortunate to read. The powerful mix of brilliant characters, an outstanding plot, interesting settings, and thoughtful concepts drew me in from the very beginning.

Story: (10) I give this series 10 when it comes to story. Fullmetal's plot is one of the most well-developed and interesting plots I have ever encountered when dealing with manga. Every event has a reaction that ends up playing larger roles in the story than you would think.

Art: (8) I give this series an 8 when it comes to art. Hiromu Arakawa has, without a doubt, tremendous skill when it comes to expressing emotions and human anatomy. However, her work slips in some places, some more noticeable than others. The fact that she is working on at least two series at one time is obviously effecting her work, as the quality of the art does not have a steady line as more chapters are released. Regardless, Arakawa has definite skills, and makes up for her slips with dedication to the characters, plots, and settings.

Character: (9) With every character that is introduced, Arakawa has never failed to surprise me. Fullmetal's characters are some of the most well-developed characters I have ever come across. Their personalities are unique and effective to other characters and the plot, and their pasts are explored with such detail and emotion that the characters alone could keep me dedicated to this series.

Enjoyment: (10) I have followed this series since its August 2001 debut, and it has never lost my interest, or hit a dull note. The excitement, suspense, sadness, anger, and happiness I have felt alongside the characters amazes me.

Overall: (10) Overall, I give this series a 10. This series is definitely worth my time and money, and I highly recommend it to everyone!

Okay, so let me just start off by saying that I am writing this review mainly because of the numerous people who will probably check the manga out after the FMA: Brotherhood hype, which as I'm sure everyone knows, is following the manga storyline. Hopefully this will be able to clear up any doubts or misconceptions some might have about the series. I can safely say that I started the first FMA anime early this year. A few years back, I tried picking up the FMA manga but it didn't manage to captivate me at all, and I ended up dropping it after the first few chapters. Now after I've been exposed to more anime/manga, I decided to pick the manga again and boy, I finished the entire thing in a single sitting.

The story is extremely intriguing, and the great thing is that after reading more chapters, you can see that the mangaka has thought out of the entire storyline way before the manga is actually published. Which actually reminds me alot of One Piece that is unlike other mangas which seem to churn out crap that does not make sense in a supposedly "plot-twist chapter". What I absolutely LOVE about this manga is that it manages to stay shounen with all the epic battle scenes, but yet delves into the human nature (Homunculi are representatives of the 7 deadly sins), consequences of war on individuals and society and boy, it really is an emotionally gripping manga. For me, I found myself feeling sorry for characters whom I thought I'd loathed, and some VERY twisted plot twists that keep coming keep me on the edge of my seat which is a good thing I presume. I can say flat out that the first anime DOES NOT have anything to do with the manga. As to why well, you'll have to read it to find out won't you?

The art is something which needed time for me to get used to. But well after around 10+ chapters the panels seemed to flow smoothly to me. The character's designs are simple yet distinctive, making it easy to recognise who is who. Eyes are drawn simply and with no elaborate details eg. Vampire Knight, Full Moon wo Sagashite etc. It may seem sketchy and unappealing at first, but you'll find out that it matches with the storyline perfectly.

One thing that I didn't like about this manga at first was the huge cast involved. I've never really liked stories whereby there are just so many people involved. But this manga made me think otherwise. The characters are each very distinctive and easily to differentiate, and all serve important roles in the story. Development is also very well done, and the series makes the characters as human like as possible. For example soldiers do not march off into battle fearlessly like in most shounen, but they cry and grapple with their conscience if what they're doing is right or wrong. Various relationships are also shown clearly, and not like BAM and they're in love! or some dumb things like that.

Overall I enjoyed the manga as I am able to relate to most of the characters, and there ARE some parallels to our real world (kind of obvious, actually). I like fantasy with a touch of realism, so this manga suits me just perfectly. I regretted dropping such an amazing gem but oh well at least I've picked it back up :D Oh and for those who are still unsure, the first FMA anime was good yes but compared to the manga storyline it is mediocre indeed. Pick up the manga now!

One of the problems with something being truly good is that every so often it becomes a victim of its own success, and in a sense that's what happened with the fans of Full Metal Alchemist.

Arakawa Hiromu's tale of two brothers and their adventures in alchemy is one of the most well known stories in anime and manga to date, and has spawned a horde of games, a movie (with a second one planned), numerous doujins and fanfics, piles of merchandise ranging from tatoos to chibi plushies, and two very different anime series. The story itself is very typically shounen at times, however there is a depth to proceedings that belies the initial look and feel of the manga. While things begin innocuously enough, it's not long before the reader finds themselves wrestling with moral, religious, and even philosophical motives and actions as the Elric brothers make their journey towards their destiny.

Enough waxing lyrical, on to the nitty gritty. Anyone familiar with Arakawa's other works, especially her one shot manga, will undoubtedly find some surprising similarities to certain events and situations that occur in Full Metal Alchemist. The reason for this is because Arakawa had the foresight to test out various ideas in another form and format before adapting them for use in her flagship title, and this refinement process shows throughout the story. Although this is a shounen tale in the truest sense, there's a degree of complexity and innovation which has been carefully applied in an effort to draw the reader in, and this is one of the hallmarks of Arakawa's storytelling style.

As with any work though, there are a few areas that could have been improved upon. In an effort to lighten the mood from time to time the mangaka has seen fit to apply a few doses of comedy here and there, and while stories like Raiden 18 make it clear that Arakawa has some skills in that department, the application of humour in Full Metal Alchemist is sometimes a bit haphazard. That said, it seems like the mangaka herself also had a similar realisation as the tone of the series becomes much more serious during the latter half, and the frequency of comedic moments drops quite sharply. Surprisingly, the humour is less of a distraction and more of an anodyne for the reader during the later stages of the story, which is a testament to the idea that "less is more".

The artwork is very typical of the mangaka, however once more there is that look of refinement about the characters and settings, and even some of the action sequences. One big plus is that the reader is given a more visual, and sometimes visceral, look into the author's world than one might find in other shounen manga. That said, Rumiko Takahashi's InuYasha is a serious contender in this department, but like that manga, Full Metal Alchemist also suffers from the same problem - the highly stylized characters.

The main issue with the design is that some people may find it doesn't suit their tastes, which will in turn impact upon their appreciation of the story. That said, as an advocate of more individualism in manga and anime, it's nice to read something that remains true to the author's style as there are far too many titles that look identical to each other (e.g. harem romantic comedies and about half of the shoujo manga out there).

As for the characters themselves, suffice to say that the development of the lead roles is very good indeed, and the supporting roles are given a healthy amount of space to shine as well. One of the more interesting aspects is the pace at which the characters are developed throughout the story, and a big plus is the degree of attention given to the "bad guys", especially later in the series. It's a sad fact that shounen tales are filled with shallow antagonists who serve no other purpose than to give the lead character a wall they must "beat down" in order to move the story forward, and while Full Metal Alchemist contains the basic elements of this type of progression, it manages to mask them far better than most action manga out there.

Is there a major downside then? Well, unfortunately there is, but it's one that's very much dependent on personal taste. The reason why the Full Metal Alchemist franchise is a victim of its own success is because of the original anime adaptation of the unfinished manga.

Now one of the problems that fans have is that the two versions of the tale are wildly different in terms of atmosphere, story and character mentality (basically they're like chalk and cheese). The main issue at hand is that while the manga version of Full Metal Alchemist is an excellent series, the original anime adaptation is becoming maligned and misunderstood because it deviates too much from Arakawa's story. Personally I consider both to be equally good, just not in the same way.

Here's what I mean.

Arakawa's manga is a very good story that incorporates a number of typical shounen aspects like never giving up, trusting in one's friends and allies, etc, and while the tale is excellent in both content and execution, in all honesty, it lacks a degree of "darkness" that was inherent in the first anime. One of the things that struck me about this dissonance was the fact that the whole theme of obsession seems to peter out by the end of the manga, whereas the first anime actually ended with that theme still running strong.

Now, some of you maybe a little confused by that perspective, especially as both tales feature the same characters to a degree, however one look at their respective endings will begin to make things a little clearer, and pay particular attention to Alphonse Elric as he is the reason why I consider the two tales to be so very different (and if you're still unsure, then feel free to ask me about it).

It's pretty obvious that I enjoyed Full Metal Alchemist immensely, however my only real gripe with the manga, especially after reading Arakawa's other works, is that there are too many occasions where it feels like the author has purposely moved away from a theme or situation that was used in the original anime, and this can make parts of the story feel a bit rushed. That said, this is actually a minor problem as the whole tale fits together extremely well, and in terms of content Full Metal Alchemist is easily on par with Takahashi Rumiko's masterpiece.

What Arakawa Hiromu has given us is a work that is truly good, despite some minor niggles here and there, and while there are some typically shounen aspects to the tale, Full Metal Alchemist, like Inuaysha, is a far cry from what one would consider a typical shounen manga.

Isn't it ironic then, that the two of greatest shounen tales weren't written by men?

I noticed no one has reviewed this yet, so I thought I might as well do it myself. I have read all the volumes released in the USA (5 of 7).

These stories aren’t in the Manga and weren’t written by Arakawa (creator of FMA manga). However, Arakawa supervised the creation of the novels and helped create the stories. So, I would consider the information in these books to be an actual part of the FMA world and not just "filler." One of the stories even was animated in the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime.

These are a series of light novels. Each novel is about 220 pages or so and are an easy read. Don't expect some literary masterpiece that you can analyze; these books are to be exclusively read for fun. Also, the series is not necessarily continuous in the sense that you can pick up the 4th novel without reading any of the other ones. Each novel is independent and has its own story. Also, you don’t really need to have watched or read FMA to understand these books. The books give no spoilers and each book spends a few pages describing Ed and Al, their bodies, their journey, etc. However, I don’t think it introduces the characters enough to make them as loveable as the manga and anime do. So, it’s possible to read these without knowing about FMA, but I would mainly recommend it to FMA fans.

There are 7 books in total in the series. So far, 5 have been translated into English. The fifth book was translated in 2007, so I'm unsure whether or not they'll ever be fully translated. It's shame really because these books are not bad at all. Some of the books are one full story (full 200+ pages), others have a long story (180 pages or so) and a short story (40 pages or so), and others have two stories (100ish pages each).

The plot for these stories isn’t very complex or mind-bending. Usually you can see what’s going to happen from the start. Usually it goes like this, Edward and Al are out looking for a philosopher’s stone, notice something seemingly good, learn the true bad side of the situation/person/thing, and save the day. Some of the stories do, however, reveal some information about FMA that wasn’t in the manga or anime. For example, in book 4, we learn about one of Ed’s best childhood friends named Pitt.

As for extras, every book has a full color image as the first page, and a few black and white sketches throughout the book. There is always a humorous prologue from the author (Makato Inoue) and sometimes a short, 1 page, funny manga strip.

The US translation occasionally has some grammatical errors and awkward sentences. The most grammatical errors were found in the first book and much fewer can be found in later books. The books read in a very informal manner as if one were talking. I highly recommend this if you can’t get enough FMA.

For information purposes, here is the ISBNS for the books:
Book 1: The Land of Sand ISBN 978-1-4215-0155-0
Book 2: The Abducted Alchemist ISBN 978-1-4215-0222-9
Book 3: The Valley of White Petals ISBN 978-1-4215-0402-5
Book 4: Under the Faraway Sky ISBN 978-1-4215-1397-3
Book 5: The Ties that Bind ISBN 978-1-4215-1431-4
Book 6 (Japanese): A New Beginning ISBN 978-4-7575-1984-8
Book 7 (Japanese): Daughter of the Dusk ISBN 9784757528666