In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical ""auto-mail"" limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother's bodies...the legendary Philosopher's Stone.
As the Day of Reckoning dawns, the Elric brothers, their father Hohenheim, and all of their allies battle to the death against the homunculi’s “father.” The fate of the entire world hangs in the balance. To claim victory, some will have to make the ultimate sacrifice. When the dust clears, will a happy ending await our favorite characters in the final volume of Fullmetal Alchemist?
Hiromu Arakawa (author: 荒川弘) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no renkinjutsushi). Her real name is Hiromi Arakawa (荒川弘美).
Arakawa was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaidō. She thought of being a manga artist since she was little. After graduating high school, she took oil painting classes while working on her family's farm. During that time, she also created dōjinshi manga with her friends and drew yonkoma for a magazine. After eight years she moved to Tōkyō and started out as assistant writer for Hiroyuki Etō. Her debut as manga artist is in 1999 with STRAY DOG. In 2001 she started working on her famous and award winning series Fullmetal Alchemist, that soon gets a successful anime adaptation. Other works include Silver Spoon (銀の匙 Silver Spoon, Gin no saji Silver Spoon).
So this collects the last three volumes of this series with our motley crew of rebels up against the Homunculi, and not just your average run-of-the-mill Homunculi! Will Ed and Al get their heart's desire. What will be the final fate of Roy Mustang? What about our crew from Xing, will they come out of this unscathed? Scar? Izumi? All this and more is answered in this epic finale. Just about an 8 out of 12, Four Star read for its scope, but I would have preferred the series without the brothers in it! 2024 read
Aw, c'mon, there's no way I'd cry through the last couple of hundred pages, right? No, we're not talking mere sniffles here. We're talking, gotta put the book down, take off the glasses, wipe the eyes so I could keep reading the text.... And all of that in the middle of the epic fight scene (and, OK, the gratifying aftermath).... Seriously?
Definitely my favorite installment in the series, and I'm glad I stuck it out to get to this point. Kudos to the author for wrapping things up about as exquisitely as possible.
Old dog, new tricks? Over the years, I've picked up some Manga for various reasons, but never fully engaged. I'm not sure if this experience will formally convert me into a more regular or consistent Manga consumer, but I'm definitely more inclined to experiment more broadly with the genre and take a look at some of the other epic series having, ultimately, really enjoyed this.
The ending was simply spectacular. I liked the feeling of knowing there is more to the story than what we know at the moment, we are allowed to peak into the future. And what a future it is.
Higly recommend for you to read this series if you haven't. If you want my full review of the series you can find it here: Review for FMA
At this point in the series, there’s no way for me to talk about the events of the later installments without some major spoilers… so instead I decided to just finish the series and write one review for the last four volumes :) the story begins with two brothers, who after a failed attempt at an alchemy experiment lose parts of themselves… one of them loses his arm and leg, the other his whole body… now they are on a journey to regain what they’ve lost… along the way they meet a lot of interesting characters and discover plots that are much bigger and more dangerous that they could’ve ever anticipated… the further you get into the series, the more complex and serious it gets… don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of adventures and humor, but in the later installments there are many more complicated and serious themes… specifically the last two are very fast paced and action packed… they actually take place mostly over the span of less than one day… I really liked how the whole series ended, it was a very satisfying finale :) I will definitely reread the series at some point in the future, when I will be able to concentrate more on each individual installment, but overall the whole series is a worthy 5 stars read :) I highly recommend it :)
Peak. Life changing. Objectively and subjectively one of the best things I've ever read and watched (still have 23 episodes left tho, but it's basically the same as the manga, so I know it's gonna be fantastic). Also on the account of the anime, yes I'm both watching brotherhood and reading the manga, and not only is it not affecting my experience (because they're basically identical), it's improving it since I get to experience peak twice, at the same fucking time. I wouldn't change a single thing about this story, wouldn't change a single character, I absolutely loved everything. My top 3 favorite characters would definitely be Roy, Greed and Ed, but honestly, they are all my favorites, the villains and the heroes with all of their flaws. Every death was perfect, everything that happened was magnificent, on point, in character, one can easily tell this was a story crafted by a woman. The ending got me too of course, I was bawling my eyes out at the last 3 pages, and I already see myself crying again while watching it. All in all, 10 out of 10, 100/100.
In the military state of Amestris, there are those who can perform alchemy, the elemental control of the world around them. There is only one law: the law of equivalent exchange—to get something, something of equal value must be given. It follows that human transmutation isn't allowed because what could be as valuable as a human soul?
Edward and Alphonse Elric, tiny alchemist orphans, figure they can crack the code to bring their mother back from the grave—and in the attempt lose an entire body (Al), an arm and leg (Ed), and childhood innocence when they bring something to life for a brief, grotesque moment. Attempting human transmutation is enough for Ed to come face to face with The Truth, who claims first his leg as a toll for trying to transmute a soul, and then his arm when he returns to save his brother. Al's soul ends up bonded to a suit of armor, and Ed ends up with automail limbs and the ability to perform alchemy without needing to draw a transmutation circle.
We meet Ed and Al a few years after Ed's become a state alchemist—nicknamed the Fullmetal Alchemist by the Fuhrer—dedicated to finding some way to reclaim Al's lost body and Ed's sacrificed limbs. They're on the trail of the fabled philosopher's stone, a tool that amplifies natural alchemic reaction and potentially give Ed the power he needs to barter with The Truth. And it's this search that leads to the discovery that there's something rotten happening in Amestris...
There's a lot happening in Fullmetal Alchemist: a teenage boy struggling with the choices he made as a child that lost him his arm and leg and trapped his brother in a suit of armor; a solder alchemist who wants to run the country and the lieutenant who has back—either to guard or shoot as necessary; the automail mechanic who lost her parents to the country's civil war and is worried about losing her childhood friends to the increasing conflicts; the teacher who lost her baby and harnesses great power as a humble housewife; the political assassin who is seeking revence for the atrocities committed on his people by the Amestris government; the starving prince seeking immortality to promote his clans interests back in his homeland—I could go on. The breadth of life in Fullmetal is engaging and interesting and very well balanced. There are, obviously, good guys and bad guys but the good guys are guilty of bad things, too, and it's this self-reflection and awareness that highlights why they're the "good guys".
I liked Ed (and his hatred of being called short); I liked Al growing as an individual (instead of being just "Ed's little brother"); I loved Roy and Riza being competent badasses with all their will-they-won't-they tension; I appreciated Scar's journey as a man seeking revenge and finding recompense; I liked Olivier being a cold-motherfucker who takes no shit and gets shit done. There were a few characters that were a bit tedious—Kimblee, I'm talking about you, you psychopath—but they are necessary to the scope of the thing, I think.
One other minor gripe—absolutely minor— was the lack of resolution to the story. The major battle and climax ends, and there's a handful of disparate scenes that close out the books—Ed yells about feelings on a train platform and Al's going on a trip as well as a few other things—but it doesn't quite tie off the threads of the plot as well as I would have liked. A personal preference? ABSOLUTELY. But I definitely was disgruntled so it gets to end up in my review
If you're interested in fantastic worlds and political intrigue, definitely check Fullmetal Alchemist out.
i absolutely love this series, it is one of my favorite stories of all time, right there with avatar: the last airbender. if I could go back in time to read/watch this for the first time again I would in a heartbeat
Najbitnije je da neko nema moralni problem korišćenja moći koje su na raspolaganju. Ali dok smo došli dotle ja sam morala da crknem prvo Što bi određeni rekli, bravo svi za poslednji arc
There's no need to mention that the Elric brothers... and Winry... and Mustang.. and Hawkeye and... are awesome. The brothers are the backbone of the story and it works. One has to love them and cheer for them no matter what.
Yet, I need to say that the bad guys were superb as well. I didn't really like Father - especially in the end. But... oh boy... Lust and Wrath - what great villains they were. The chill one felt when they were on the scene. Magnificent. Greed, the outcast of the group. Also magnificent. And the best villain of the series - Envy. Envy was so despicable, so "bigger than the human worms". So manipulative... just great.
Plus, Arakawa managed to close the story without forgetting anyone - yes, even Nina, the one that couldn't be saved, is remembered in the end.
"A lesson without pain is meaningless... ... because gaining anything worthwhile requires sacrifice. But if you can overcome that pain and achieve your goal... ... you can achieve a fullmetal heart, and that's irreplaceable."
Haaaah, so ein schönes Ende! <3 Das Finale war furios und wieder war der Anime hier ganz nah an der Vorlage, mit ist nur wenige Abweichungen. Davon ist mir eine regelrecht ins Auge gesprungen, da sie mein Fangirlherz hocherfreut hat: Mustang hat am Ende der Geschichte keinen Schnäuzer! Boah, fand ich den im Anime furchtbar. xD Wahrscheinlich wird niemand, der darüber nachdenkt diesen Manga zu lesen, in eine Rezension zum letzten Band schauen. Trotzdem wiederhole ich auch hier nochmal mein Mantra: Lest diesen Manga! Er ist ganz, ganz weit oben auf meiner Favoritenliste. Außerdem ist der Oberst hot.
Incredible, from beginning to end the story never weaver or felt rushed. The pacing was incredible right to the epic final. Every character had an arc and a satisfying conclusion. I also felt like the love interests and romances in the series were incredible and always felt well-written and earned. Overall, one of the best manga series I have ever read if not the best, a classic.
It's strange how very personal Ed's and Al's motivations are throughout this manga ... and yet it still becomes epic. This isn't power fantasy as so many mangas tend to be in my (very limited) experience. if anything, power is actually lost here. And while there are battles (and plenty of them), Fullmetal Alchemist is a tight, character driven story.
There are no invincible Mary Sues here - all the protagonists go through some heavy character arcs and come out for the better. The plot has little to no filler - everything matters in the end. Antagonists are a legitimate threat (some of them hero killers ... yes, people die for real) with believable motivations and even better (incredibly ironic) demises.
This is not a story for kids. It's brutal. It's dark. Sometimes so much so it can give G.R.R. Martin a run for his money. But it never becomes hopeless.
And the characters are legitimately likeable. Ed, who is a collosal jerk at times but has a heart of gold and grows so very much throughout the story (both literally and metaphorically). Al, who is probably the nicest character in the whole manga but god help you if you piss him off enough. Ling Yao, who can be a greedy bastard but damn if he won't take care of what's his even if it means he has to sacrifice himself. Winry, who refuses to be a damsel in distress and will give her all to see Elric brothers okay. Izumi, who may just be the scariest alchemy teacher ever. Nina, who will never be forgotten. Hohenheim, who was used so very much. Mustang, who would see his Nazi-esque country reformed no matter what. Riza, general Armstrong, major Armstrong, Mustang team, the Xingese, Scar and Ishbalans and so, so many others. Even Kimblee, a complete psychopath but damn if he doesn't have his own moral code he will not budge from. And the Homunculi ... Lust, the most bloodthirtsy of them, Gluttony, the most naive of them, Envy, the most despicable of them, Sloth, the least motivated of them, Pride, the scariest of them, Wrath, the most surprising of them and finally, Greed, the absolutely best of them. All of them, all of them matter.
I already said it before but I don't really like manga or anime.
Fullmetal Alchemist is one shining exception. It tells a better story than many books I've read.
So if you're going to read just one manga in your life ... let this one with all the darkness and horror on one side and all the goofy shenanigans and amazing characters on the other be the one.
I honestly can't believe I finished this series, my heart is broken. This is such a satisfying conclusion to what is now my favourite all time manga series, I'm so glad I gave this a chance. These characters, this world, this story, mean a lot to me and the development of my reading, and I'm glad I got to experience this for the first time relatively spoiler-free. The final little scene broke my heart especially, and it has all of those moments you wait the entire manga to see happen. So so incredible! Hiromu Arakawa is a master!
There's a reason FMA is considered a classic. The last 20% were spent in tears even though I've already seen the anime 3 times.
I really wish the original FMA (2003) wasn't pseudo lost media. It's not readily available and it's depressing as it was in production while manga chapters were still coming out. Some of the gifs left on Tumblr are hilarious.
Fullmetal Alchemist ends exactly the way you expect it to--with a huge climactic battle that pretty much amounts to the entire fighting force against the Dwarf in the Flask, and then a "where are they now?" epilogue detailing the events of the days/weeks after the end of the last battle. It is not a distinctive conclusion in any way, but it is a satisfying one. Over the course of twenty-seven volumes, Arakawa's series never flagged, and that's impressive indeed.
“That’s the correct answer, alchemist. Take it all.”
It’s really impossible to measure the full impact this story has had on me over the years as a reader, a creator, and a person. Buying the volumes in print may be one of the wisest purchases I’ve ever made, and I look forward to rereading and re-crying about the Elric brothers for many more years to come.
Lai gan stāsts galvenokārt bija par diviem jauniešiem, beigās nozīme bija visiem, un viņi nebūt nebija tie lielie pasaules glābēji. Savu roku pielika visi svarīgākie tēli, lielāko daļu darba vispār izdarīja konkrēti pieaugušie, sīkajiem peitika vien piepalīdzēt ar pēdējo bliezienu pa lielo ļaunumu. Beigās, protams, uzvarēja draudzība, jo tas dzīvē ir pats svarīgākais (tipiski konkrētajam žanram). Vienlaicīgi smags, jautrs un mīlīgs piedzīvojums.
A really brilliant manga! One of the first anime that I had ever seen was Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood, sitting with my sisters and being spellbound by this new firm of media. I knew that the manga would be just as wonderful, but I hadn't bargained on how great reading it would really be. I only have one criticism: I read it far too quickly.
Die Reise geht zu Ende. Der Abschluss ist total gelungen und die gesamte Story gefiel mir richtig gut. Ich hatte zwar manchmal Probleme, hier richtig in den Lesefluss zu kommen, aber die Story hielt mich immer wieder daran fest, weiterzulesen. Eine absolute Empfehlung, auch für Personen, die wenig oder gar nichts mit Manga & Anime zu tun haben. :)
It was an incredible ending and very emotional. I may have actually cried. I must say that the characters are all completely lovable. I am quite sad that this journey had to end although I am honoured to have shared it with these awesome characters.