[Manga] Manga Plot & Story Discussion

[Jarmel]

Bravo. Nothing else really needs to be said.

Spoiler for Opinion on chapter:

This was easily one of the better endings I've seen for any series in any format. While admittely it is a happy ending, it's not diabetes sweet like the Harry Potter ending. We see the ramifications, have things sorta answered(regarding Truth), see the development of the characters along the way, see Ed sticking to his beliefs in a worst case scenario, and see Ed act all Gar on Father. We also see Father get punished in one of the worst ways possible. Arakawa showed an EdWin ending without it being sappy and showed the brothers moving on with their lives. We have the redemption story in Scar and how he finally can do some positives for the Ishabalans(I absolutely love his new look too). Mustang was the only one who got a bit of a half-assed ending. There was no Deus Ex Machina for any event nor did Ed just magically pull his brother out of the gate, sticking to a very prominent theme throughout the manga that "A lesson without pain is meaningless". This is how you do an ending.

[Freya]

Omg Winry's dog had puppies too! Too cute.

[Who]

Time to read this manga again from chapter one with no monthly waits in between.

[Tyrone Biggums]

Wait so Ed and Winry had kids????

Haven't read the chap yet, currently at work...

But seriously? They did?!?!? Why the hell would he propose at the end then if they already had the kids...

[Rennir]

I can't believe it ended already . I always get sad when a series ends, espcially such a good one like FMA.

Spoiler for 108:

The chapter was amazing, not 150 pages but still awesome. The hole that Ed managed to punch in the father made him look like an arrancar . And is it just me or did the fathers door look different from Eds? Also, while I admire ed's determination to stick by his principles and morals, I would've used the philosophers stone because it came down to him choosing his morals or his brother. Ling and mustang both look really funny . And how about selim? Like really? They're stupid to keep a homunculus alive, even if he is being watched. You never know what can happen. Though I could see him being the base for a movie or something . The proposal was one of the best parts with Winry debating how much of her life to give Ed . And Ed jr looks exactly like Ed, the smiling looks like it was copied and pasted .

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WEED VAPORIZERS

[Kusa-San]

Beautiful ending. Nothing more to say execpt :

Thank you very much for your fantastic work Arakawa Hiromu !!!

[Jehuty]

Originally Posted by Blaat

Spoiler for ending:

Considering that Ed and Winry are holding the kids I'm guessing they're the parents while Al and Mei are on family visit

Originally Posted by Slayerx

Spoiler:

Actually i think those may have both been Ed's kids

Holy crap you're right!

Spoiler:

Now it makes me wonder even more - are both of his children boys?! eeee

[zebra]

Spoiler for puppies:

Originally Posted by Freya

Omg Winry's dog had puppies too! Too cute.

I thought Black Hayate became father actually, since the dog has no metal leg.

Wow. That's pretty much all I can say. I could go on hours about the 100+ pages, but I won't .. I can't. Just wow. Satisfying end. Made me happy and teary eyed all the same. Gonna elaborate later on it .. too emotional now XD

I'm SO gonna miss FMA

I was pretty happy they already pointed to Arakawa's next work. Something to look forward to.

Ah wait there's one minor thing I raised an eyebrow over:

Spoiler for last page:

Am I blind or has Hawky cut her hair again?

[Rennir]

Originally Posted by Tyrone Biggums

Wait so Ed and Winry had kids????

Haven't read the chap yet, currently at work...

But seriously? They did?!?!? Why the hell would he propose at the end then if they already had the kids...

Spoiler for Answer:

They ha dkids after he proposed. As to whether they were married or not, that's debatable but most likely they were.

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Weed Vaporizers

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Arabesque

Spoiler for Finale:

I know that there were tears in my eyes as I was reading the chapter, but it wasn't because the events in the chapter were that touching (heart-warming yes but not tear jerking ... well some of them T_T were) but because it felt like saying good bye to an old friend.

Damn, so much I want to say ...

My thoughts exactly.

Spoiler for 108:

The events in this chapter were very touching but not really tear jerking or sad (except for Hohenheim ;_____; ) but I had tears in my eyes during the whole epilogue. It's hard to say goodbye...

I am personally completely satisfied with this chapter. With the fight against Father dragging out, I was always afraid Arakawa wouldn't leave enough pages for an epilogue, but we had plenty of it. I can't believe the chapter really was 100+ pages long! Arakawa-sensei and her assistants must have overworked themselves. My deepest thanks to them.

Really sad that Hohenheim had to go and couldn't spend more time with his sons (and his last words were ;____; ) but at least he died with a smile on his face in front of Trisha's grave. This is a great death for him. Greed's death was also pretty good.

Very pleased about the fate of the other protagonists, Mustang and Scar in particular. I was surprised that Selim not only managed to survive but is actually living like a normal human now. This is a better end than he deserves.

Loved Ed's confession to Winry, as well as her answer "I'll give you all my life". Awww. One thing bothered me about the last page though... Mei! It looked like her loli head was copy pasted onto an adult body, it looks so weird . And MILF Winry somehow looks younger than before.

Thank you so much Arakawa-sensei. And damn right I'm going to look forward to her next work! That reminds me, I should catch up with Juushin enbu...

[Blaat]

Originally Posted by Rennir

Spoiler for 108:

And Ed jr looks exactly like Ed, the smiling looks like it was copied and pasted .

Spoiler:

Now that I think about the poses are exactly the same Hohenheim's family picture with one big exception: the father is smiling.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by Rennir

Spoiler for Answer:

They ha dkids after he proposed. As to whether they were married or not, that's debatable but most likely they were.

Spoiler for Answer:

I can make out a wedding ring on Ed, so yeah they're married.

[Kibela]

This is ones of my all time favorites and i defiantly look forward to her new work.

[Slayerx]

And the biggest surprise of all

Spoiler:

Ed finally got that growth spurt he always wanted XD

[Haladflire65]

... fabulous. I'm getting teary. It's been such a wild ride, and it's over now.

Do we still need spoiler tags? Ok, just in case.

Spoiler:

It was a great ending. I loved how Ed got Al out, and I also liked how he decided to keep his automail leg. Ed proposing had me grinning, and I'm glad that Edwin got a nice ending. Scar and Miles - that was great. Greed and Ling... Greed's death was great... Just... wow.
I just wish it had more on Mustang and his team. They've been such major players in the series yet they really didn't even get a line of dialogue in the epilogue... And no Royai? No Royai at all? Really? That's the only thing I'm a bit disappointed with. There was so much satisfaction for the Edwin fans yet... us Royai shippers really didn't get anything out of the entire series...
And a question - Roy got his sight back with the Stone, right? Just clarifying.
Hohenheim's death got me tearing up.

[Klashikari]

I seriously still can't believe it has been 9 years. Almost a decade we could follow the adventures of Ed and Al, and I daresay I didn't expect such satisfying fashion to end the series.

It is first a feat to keep afloat a manga of this caliber that long, without dragging it much, but it is quite an accomplishment to tie everything: the climax, the themes of the series with a bare minimum of plot device, and even romance to boot.
I would say, it is one of the rare series that can boats such result recently. Really, I do not regret following this series for that long (oh boy, I hope Kurokawa will turtle a bit less their releases... I can sense the last volume being sold on February in France or even later...)

I sure hope Arakawa is proud of her baby, because I think there is little to no doubt it droved everyone's enjoyement to the max.
My only complain: not enough Riza + Roy, but well

[Battler-kun]

That's a fantastic ending!

Truelly great!

I am actually pretty much speechless!

[Rennir]

Originally Posted by Slayerx

And the biggest surprise of all

Spoiler:

Ed finally got that growth spurt he always wanted XD

LMAO I totally overlooked that! It wouldve been nice for arakawa to put in another joke at the end
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Digital vaporizer

[Jarmel]

Originally Posted by Klashikari

I seriously still can't believe it has been 9 years. Almost a decade we could follow the adventures of Ed and Al, and I daresay I didn't expect such satisfying fashion to end the series.

It is first a feat to keep afloat a manga of this caliber that long, without dragging it much, but it is quite an accomplishment to tie everything: the climax, the themes of the series with a bare minimum of plot device, and even romance to boot.
I would say, it is one of the rare series that can boats such result recently. Really, I do not regret following this series for that long (oh boy, I hope Kurokawa will turtle a bit less their releases... I can sense the last volume being sold on February in France or even later...)

I sure hope Arakawa is proud of her baby, because I think there is little to no doubt it droved everyone's enjoyement to the max.
My only complain: not enough Riza + Roy, but well

Honestly I don't see how she could have improved it at all except so more Riza+Roy at the end(here's to hoping she puts in some extra scenes for the pair in the volume). This is IMO the best shounen series I've read and one of the better works of fiction I've read in general. The small touches at the ending as well as the closure of most if not all the plot threads is to be strongly applauded.

Just to give an example, Ed shot up the moment he wasn't supporting Al's body in that limbo area supporting the earlier theory that he was providing nutrients and his automail was making him shorter. Small touches like that.

[Battler-kun]

Rip

but the romance of travelling for adventures will never die!

Never!