[Manga] Manga Plot & Story Discussion

[Sannom]

Originally Posted by Haladflire65

But Roy didn't even get that kind of victory from Wrath. I really hope Roy gets to prove to Wrath his strength and that he's worthy to take the place of Furher... even though he's blind and as holes in his hands.

There is not a heavy history between Bradley and Mustang as there was between Scar and Kimblee. Wrath doesn't have a beef or a rivalry with a particular character, he is so above the rest of the cast in term of power and capacity to keep his cool that no character get the honor to be the one Wrath "chose" as an opponent.

Plus, Roy has proven his strength, multiple times. It's just that he is not match for Bradley. Which is nothing to be ashamed of, since nobody can claim to be able to fight on even grounds with him.

Now, Bradley will probably be offed by the name who shares the most traits with him : no name, both are hard-trained warriors, both are ruthless and straight-forward, both don't really have a motivation to go further.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by Sannom

There is not a heavy history between Bradley and Mustang as there was between Scar and Kimblee. Wrath doesn't have a beef or a rivalry with a particular character, he is so above the rest of the cast in term of power and capacity to keep his cool that no character get the honor to be the one Wrath "chose" as an opponent.

Plus, Roy has proven his strength, multiple times. It's just that he is not match for Bradley. Which is nothing to be ashamed of, since nobody can claim to be able to fight on even grounds with him.

Now, Bradley will probably be offed by the name who shares the most traits with him : no name, both are hard-trained warriors, both are ruthless and straight-forward, both don't really have a motivation to go further.

And assuming Wrath goes down in the near future, which is likely, it won't have been any one person who took him down. A number of people were involved in (nearly) dropping a train on him, Fu got a few good licks in, Buccaneer skewered him (with the help of Fu, admittedly), Greed took his Eye, and presumably Scar will get the deathblow. "Death by a thousand cuts" indeed.

Arakawa-sensei has written a recipe for how to go down in the annals of badassery...

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

And assuming Wrath goes down in the near future, which is likely, it won't have been any one person who took him down. A number of people were involved in (nearly) dropping a train on him, Fu got a few good licks in, Buccaneer skewered him (with the help of Fu, admittedly), Greed took his Eye, and presumably Scar will get the deathblow. "Death by a thousand cuts" indeed.

Arakawa-sensei has written a recipe for how to go down in the annals of badassery...

One of the many things that makes Arakawa so awesome. A lot of times authors tell us how powerful villains are but when push comes to shove when they go against the hero they are always beaten in the end. With Bradley we know he will be beaten but look how many people it took to take him down.

[aohige]

Wow..... all the questions we've been wondering about in the last few chapters were voiced by Ed in chapter 103.
Refreshing considering so many manga simply brute force plotholes and brush them off.

Spoiler:

Ed wonders if the homunculus are able to "force" Mustang to open the gate, why didn't they simply use that method to gather the sacrifices they needed.
He also says how it's not fair for "the truth" to penalize someone who didn't initiate human transmutation on his/her own will.
Only those who did it by their own initiative, such as Al, Ed, and Izumi, should be penalized for the sin.
Both of these points were frequently brought up among fan discussions in the past few months.

Mei declares Father to be her target and tackles him alone, and Al & Ed doubleteam Pride.

Meanwhile Scar vs Wrath is going pretty even.
Wrath manages to slice up Scar a few times, but Scar also manages to destroy one of Wrath's blades.
Wrath uses the broken blade and stabs through Scar's arm, and it seems he cornered Scar....

But then Scar reveals his hidden trump card to turn the tables!
His other arm now has inscriptions on it too... inscription for reconstruction. Newly added after studying his brother's research book.
He used alchemy to create stone thorns much like how Ed and Al does when they fight, catching Wrath off guard and damaging him.

I wonder if this means Scar has finally gotten over the hatred of alchemy for being unnatural.

[The Small One]

Originally Posted by aohige

Wow..... all the questions we've been wondering about in the last few chapters were voiced by Ed in chapter 103.
Refreshing considering so many manga simply brute force plotholes and brush them off.

Spoiler:

Ah, finally. I was waiting for Scar to get a full set of tattoos since they retrieved the brother's research.

But there is something I was wondering since the flashbacks of Ishbal: Isn't this tattoo the most advanced form of alchemy in the world? As I understood it, he can transmute everything he wants into anything, just by his thoughts. Normal alchmists need different transmutation circles and even the technique of Ed and Al has the big drawback, that they need to clap their hands beforehand.

[Haladflire65]

Anyone know where we can get the raw? It is a bit early...

[aohige]

Originally Posted by The Small One

Spoiler:

Ah, finally. I was waiting for Scar to get a full set of tattoos since they retrieved the brother's research.

But there is something I was wondering since the flashbacks of Ishbal: Isn't this tattoo the most advanced form of alchemy in the world? As I understood it, he can transmute everything he wants into anything, just by his thoughts. Normal alchmists need different transmutation circles and even the technique of Ed and Al has the big drawback, that they need to clap their hands beforehand.

It does seem like it, yes.
Everything we've seen in the series suggests Scar's bro was the greatest (mortal) alchemist to live the earth.
He can create all-purpose transmutation formula, he was the first to realize what's wrong with the alchemy in Amestris, and even created a counter for it...
State Alchemists have nothing on that bad boy.

[Sannom]

Originally Posted by The Small One

Spoiler:

Ah, finally. I was waiting for Scar to get a full set of tattoos since they retrieved the brother's research.

But there is something I was wondering since the flashbacks of Ishbal: Isn't this tattoo the most advanced form of alchemy in the world? As I understood it, he can transmute everything he wants into anything, just by his thoughts. Normal alchmists need different transmutation circles and even the technique of Ed and Al has the big drawback, that they need to clap their hands beforehand.

Spoiler for Chapter 103:

Yeah, I was hoping for that too, but not really believing in it.

And yeah, Scar's brother's alchemy is truly the most advanced in the world right now. The guy was a genius who had the chance to learn about Rentanjutsu as well as Renkinjutsu. He also had the scientific mind of an alchemist but also the spirituality of a believer in Ishbala.The best combination ever, and the result is just mind-blowing. His alchemy combines the universality of Rentanjutsu (deconstruction as well as reconstruction on every kind of material, even organics) and the practicality of Renkinjutsu (tatoos instead of throwing knives).

[Haladflire65]

I found spoilers and some pages, but now good raw download yet...

http://mangahelpers.com/forums/showt...02#post1742602

[K_Babyy]

Originally Posted by Haladflire65

I found spoilers and some pages, but now good raw download yet...

http://mangahelpers.com/forums/showt...02#post1742602

I'm about to go crazy I can't wait lol. Those look awesome!
Love your sig, Halad!

[zebra]

... must not look at the spoilers ... must not look at the spoilers ... must not look at the spoilers ... must not look at the spoilers ... >_< *mutter*

GAH! I'll wait patiently () for the translations .....

[-Suigetsu-]

What does Ed's sacrifice have to do with losing his mother? It's the only one I didn't understand.

Originally Posted by fizzmaister

Wrath, not Wraith. Wrath is one of the seven deadly sins, essentially an archaic term for anger, but also with a subtext of vengeance. A wraith is an apparition or ghost in the Scottish dialect. Also, a scouting unit for the undead in Warcraft III

What are you talking about? There is no unit in WC3 called a wraith. The scouting unit for undead is a shade.

[akire_and_atem]

Originally Posted by -Suigetsu-

What does Ed's sacrifice have to do with losing his mother? It's the only one I didn't understand.

I think he lost his leg so he couldn't be the support for his family, not being able to stand up for them and (maybe) he lost his arm as the result that he couldn't help his brother when he need him.

[Haladflire65]

Originally Posted by akire_and_atem

I think he lost his leg so he couldn't be the support for his family, not being able to stand up for them and (maybe) he lost his arm as the result that he couldn't help his brother when he need him.

He sacrificed his arm to get Al's soul back, remember? It wasn't a part of his toll. It says that he lost his leg so he 'can't stand alone', so I guess it has something to do with his pride and desire to support his loved ones.

[aohige]

Originally Posted by -Suigetsu-

What are you talking about? There is no unit in WC3 called a wraith. The scouting unit for undead is a shade.

He probably got it confused with StarCraft Wraith, which also has a cloaking ability and is invisible much like the Shade in Warcraft III.

[Vicious108]

Originally Posted by zebra

... must not look at the spoilers ... must not look at the spoilers ... must not look at the spoilers ... must not look at the spoilers ... >_< *mutter*

That's the way to go. Too bad you probably looked.

But I did wait patiently and just got done reading the chapter without being spoiled. And boy it was worth it,

Spoiler for 103:

cause the impact for the Scar twist just wouldn't have been the same.

I like the symbolism in this development, since only after changing his ways and learning how to break off the chain of hatred has Scar learned how to create instead of just destroying.

But he isn't really able to transmute everything he wants into anything just by his thoughts, he had his hand on the ground when he transmuted it. Also I really don't think he can go against the law of equivalent exchange either. Still, he seemingly doesn't need to clap his hands so it's still an impressive form of alchemy.

Anyways, though the Scar twist was very interesting, my favorite part of the chapter was still Wrath's speech. The big panel with him saying it's comforting to fight for no one was truly epic.

And lol at May. She's got guts but she's in way over her head.

Also, what exactly was the point of showing those Ishvalans? What were they doing? Didn't really get that.

[GaimeGuy]

Spoiler for Ch 103:

It appearas to me like Scar basically has all the abilities of Ed, Al, Izumi, and anyone else who has seen the truth, now that he has the powerso f both destruction and reconstruction.

We've seen Ed and Al both mimic scar's destructive alchemy a handful of times, and Izumi, Al, and Ed seem to always be reconstructing the earth and its materials into shapes, objects, and formations as they desire, making bridges, pillars, spikes, and weapons as they please.

Scar's new alchemy seems to be almost exactly the same, and I now can't help but think that seeing the truth bestows upon an alchemist the power of destruction and reconstruction in its most elemental form, without the need for an alchemic array.

Scar has that same power now, just with two separate arrays.


Also, King motherfucking Bradley *bow* *bow* *bow*.

[Haladflire65]

Great chapter.

Spoiler for Chap 103:

As Endless Twilight said, I didn't get the part with the Ishvalans.. And also, as ET said, I loved Scar's twist and that brutal fight between him and Wrath. It's pretty epic. I'm excited to see what else Scar'll be able to do with that other arm of his.

Poor Roy. He's just getting bumped around now. It looks like Izumi appointed herself as his caregiver to make sure he isn't blown up while the others fight...



And I wonder what's gonna happen to Mei. Did I see Hoho correctly? He came out for a minute but went back inside?

[Vicious108]

Originally Posted by Haladflire65

Great chapter.

Spoiler for Chap 103:

As Endless Twilight said, I didn't get the part with the Ishvalans.. And also, as ET said, I loved Scar's twist and that brutal fight between him and Wrath. It's pretty epic. I'm excited to see what else Scar'll be able to do with that other arm of his.

Poor Roy. He's just getting bumped around now. It lookslike Izumi appointed herself as his caregiver while the others fight...



And I wonder what's gonna happen to Mei. Did I see Hoho correctly? He came out for a minute but went back inside?

Spoiler:

Yeah, nice of Izumi to do that. Though it should be Riza's job. Speaking of which, what was it with that darkness that prevented her and the chimeras from descending into Father's room? If that was there, how did May get down?

And yeah that was indeed Hohenheim. And nope he didn't go back inside, he was still there when Father wtfpwned May.

[Nosauz]

after watching the pretty sub standard dtbs2... i have no faith in bones. As long as the envy fight gets properly animated, and probably the greed/greed fight, then i'm all good. still... mustangs.. yo i heard you liked drama, so I drama'd your drama during prior to the gate scene was a bit trivial. The whole point was that it was going to force mustang to choose and in the end he didn't have to.