Arakawa Hiromu - Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 01-06 (Eng. trans.)

[oyceter]

Hrm. It looks like I forgot to write up 1-2 when I first read them, which means I have forgotten a ton about them.

So far, the manga is following the plot of the anime fairly closely, with a few differences on the timeline of certain events. As of now, I like the anime timeline a little better, just because it introduces us to a more vulnerable Ed and Al much earlier on and got me emotionally invested sooner. The manga is a little snarkier and the art is a bit simpler.

Also, Scar is not hot. This makes me sad.

For those of you who haven't seen the anime: Edward and Alphonse Elric attempted human transmutation in order to resurrect their dead mother (never a good idea). Unsurprisingly, things go dreadfully wrong, leaving Ed without an arm and a leg, and leaving Al with pretty much nothing except a soul bound to a suit of armor. Currently, Ed is a State Alchemist; on the side, the brothers pursue the Philosopher's Stone in hopes of breaking the alchemical law of equivalent exchange and restoring their bodies. Meanwhile, these strange quasi-human things named after the seven deadly sins are wandering about, a guy with a scar is killing people, and Ed's superiors in the military don't seem all that trustworthy either.

I'm not quite as fond of the Elrics as I was in the series; part of that is probably the lack of the excellent voice acting. They're also a little snarkier and less vulnerable, as noted above. For example, in vol. 6, Ed and another person joke with Al about what I think was the single most terrifying image in the entire aniume series.

The action is happening fairly quickly; vol. 5 is around ep. 25 of the anime. The strange thing is, I felt that ep. 25 of the anime was like a mini-finale, but vol. 5 of the manga doesn't feel like the action has been ratcheted up that much. This is probably because a very dramatic part of the anime arc was added to the anime. But at vol. 6, it feels like things are starting to diverge a little more, and I'm getting curious as to where Arakawa is going.

Also, I like the manga's Winry better for some reason.

Please, no spoilers for the anime or the manga in the comments unless you want to use super-special spoiler code: <span style="color:#666666;background:#666666"> </span>

Comments

[grendelity.livejournal.com]

Ah, just curious, but what did you think was the "single most terrifying image" of FMA?

[jinian.livejournal.com]

My question exactly! I certainly have my opinion, but I wonder if we all agree.

[oyceter]

http://oyceter.livejournal.com/563510.html?thread=4729654#t4729654

Gaaah. It still creeps me out.

[oyceter]

The Evil Black Door of DOOM and eep all the little black things with giant eyes and those evil grabby hands. *shudders* Freaky.

[jinian.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Yeah. Personally I am more freaked out by the snake-spy-girl getting killed INSIDE AL by a smiling authority figure, but yours is way creepy too. I can't see joking aobut it.

[oyceter]

Oooo yes, that part is really creepy as well!