(L) Fullmetal Alchemist Manga Discussion

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by duckroll

I don't mean that she's stalling for those reasons. Personally, I have a feeling she's "stalling" or rather slowing down the pace, simply so the manga doesn't end too many months before the anime does.

Well in one recent interview she did say the manga was going to be a little longer than she thought because she had a few more stories to tell. But I don't necessarily think that is why the fights are longer. I think the fights are longer because these are the final fights of the series so it makes sense. The fight with Pride was also a bit longer than usual but then he is supposed to be the strongest homunculus.

Also when she says longer I still don't think it will go on for much more. At one point she predicted that it will end at chapter 100 and I think she just means longer than that. But I still feel a lot of significant things are getting done that are leading to the end of the story.

On another note I am not sure if Hohenheim VS father will be the final Father battle. I suspected Hohenheim to lose but after this chapter I am not sure what to think.

[Sannom]

On a side note, do you think more people are going to go in the tunnels underneath Central? Or will there be just the main characters (Ed, Roy and Scar) and their cohorts?

Nah, who am I kidding? There is NO WAY my weird idea of an Olivier X Scar pairing could happen

[Jarmel]

Once again I want to emphasize the fact that I do NOT WANT an anime-only ending. If she wants the story to go longer than by all means go right ahead but I would sincerely hope this has been discussed with Bones if the series turns out to be 52 episodes long. I guess I'm stuck for the ride right now though.

[Yu Ominae]

So awesome.

Spoiler for Latest chapter.:

Izumi and Sig brought Sloth down for good! AWESOME!!!

[GaimeGuy]

Correction, Yu:

Spoiler:

Izumi, Sig, and Alex Louis Armstrong brought him down for good.
I can't believe Izumi fucking threw sloth across the room to her husband LOL
Also I'm glad to see Father vs. Hohenheim finally begin. This should be awesome.

[Vicious108]

Spoiler:

The fact that Olivier had nothing to do with Sloth's demise in this chapter makes me think (wishful thinking too) that Arakawa has something else big in store for her. Like maybe a confrontation and/or fight with Wrath when he inevitably returns.

And at the end of the chapter, by "I did the one thing you never could" did Hohenheim mean have children or something? Which might have changed his inner self somewhat and thus Father could not take his Philosopher's Stone for himself? Probably not, but there must be some reason for what happened there. Maybe it just has something to do with that chapter where Hohenheim released a bunch of souls in the form of stones from inside of him. Guess we'll find out... in a month. These waits are evil.

As for the stalling thing... are you serious? Two homunculus just died in two chapters. If anything it would be rushing.

[quigonkenny]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

Spoiler:

The fact that Olivier had nothing to do with Sloth's demise in this chapter makes me think (wishful thinking too) that Arakawa has something else big in store for her. Like maybe a confrontation and/or fight with Wrath when he inevitably returns.

And at the end of the chapter, by "I did the one thing you never could" did Hohenheim mean have children or something? Which might have changed his inner self somewhat and thus Father could not take his Philosopher's Stone for himself? Probably not, but there must be some reason for what happened there. Maybe it just has something to do with that chapter where Hohenheim released a bunch of souls in the form of stones from inside of him. Guess we'll find out... in a month. These waits are evil.

As for the stalling thing... are you serious? Two homunculus just died in two chapters. If anything it would be rushing.

Spoiler for new chapter, speculation:

Wrath vs Olivier? Oooohh... That would be pretty sweet. Do I think it will happen? No (at least not in a "final" sense, unless Wrath kills her), since Wrath's final battle is going to be versus Roy. Or more specifically it will be Roy vs Fuhrer Bradley, considering what the winner will get. With all the additional foreshadowing she's done, I can't see Arakawa letting Roy's career go the way it did in the movie.

And agreed on the pace. I think we're going to see a bit of a slower pace from here on out (don't think we'll be losing homunculi at a pace of one per chapter, at least) than we've had the last few chapters, but the end is definitely near. I wouldn't be surprised if Wrath and Pride make it all the way to the last chapter, actually.

[Vicious108]

Originally Posted by quigonkenny

Spoiler for new chapter, speculation:

Wrath vs Olivier? Oooohh... That would be pretty sweet. Do I think it will happen? No (at least not in a "final" sense, unless Wrath kills her), since Wrath's final battle is going to be versus Roy. Or more specifically it will be Roy vs Fuhrer Bradley, considering what the winner will get. With all the additional foreshadowing she's done, I can't see Arakawa letting Roy's career go the way it did in the movie.

And agreed on the pace. I think we're going to see a bit of a slower pace from here on out (don't think we'll be losing homunculi at a pace of one per chapter, at least) than we've had the last few chapters, but the end is definitely near. I wouldn't be surprised if Wrath and Pride make it all the way to the last chapter, actually.

Spoiler:

I've talked about that in Roy's character discussion thread. Roy vs Wrath has indeed been very built up but so was Scar vs Kimblee and it looks like we won't be seeing that, so it's really not a good idea to take stuff for granted in Arakawa's manga. She can be really unpredictable.

I think having Olivier fight Wrath and/or become the next Fuhrer instead of Roy sounds just like the kind of twist she might pull. Especially since she obviously loves her strong female characters kicking ass and taking names.

And obviously another reason I could see Olivier vs Wrath happening is for the sake of the fight choreography, since a sword vs sword fight would definitely be better to draw than a sword vs flame one, which I can't see lasting very long.

As for it being rushed, I said if anything it would be that, but I don't actually feel it's been so. The flow still feels natural and the scenes are far from disjointed. Two homunculus dying in two chapters does sound like rushedness, but their respective final parts in the story lasted at least 3 chapters, and neither's death scene was sudden or unexpected. So yeah, did not feel rushed to me.

Btw an amusing detail I noticed in this chapter since I've been re-reading the manga recently. The soliders who are there alongside Ross, Breda and Fuery are Mustang's squad from the Ishval campaign, who he failed to recognize back then. More proof that Arakawa never forgets about any of her characters, no matter how minor they might be.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

Spoiler:

Btw an amusing detail I noticed in this chapter since I've been re-reading the manga recently. The soliders who are there alongside Ross, Breda and Fuery are Mustang's squad from the Ishval campaign, who he failed to recognize back then. More proof that Arakawa never forgets about any of her characters, no matter how minor they might be.

Wow Endless Twilight great catch I didn't notice that at all but these little things are why I love this series oh so much.

Another thing I loved about this chapter is all the characters were the adults. That definitely is something you don't usually see in a shounen manga.

As for the final fights not only is it hard to predict because Arakawa is unpredictable but the fact is there are more "good guys" than "villains". I am sure Arakawa will have a part for everyone though even if it is not actually defeating a homunculus.

[Vicious108]

Indeed, which is why I said "final parts in the story" instead of simply "final fights". I've seen complaints here and there in other forums of people who seem to think some of the good guys are going to get shafted, seeing as there aren't many homunculi left to defeat, since apparently doing so is the only thing that counts as a good guy doing something important. But yeah, that's definitely not how FMA works and there is a lot more that can be done besides defeating a homunculus, sometimes not even with action, but with words, which can be just as important.

I'd go as far as to say that, of all the shounen manga with extensive casts I've read, FMA/Arakawa is the best one at juggling between characters and giving them all their proper moments and time in the spotlight. And her statement in that recent interview that "there are more stories she wants to write" totally backs up the fact that she intends to have a part for everyone in this final arc.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

I've seen complaints here and there in other forums of people who seem to think some of the good guys are going to get shafted, seeing as there aren't many homunculi left to defeat, since apparently doing so is the only thing that counts as a good guy doing something important. But yeah, that's definitely not how FMA works and there is a lot more that can be done besides defeating a homunculus, sometimes not even with action, but with words, which can be just as important.

THANK YOU sorry that needs to be emphasized because I hate this argument. I am not sure why some fans base a character's importance on how many homunculus they killed but I unfortunately see this all the time. It's really annoying.

[Vicious108]

You'd think that having a character as minor as Heinkel killing an antagonist as important as Kimblee would make it obvious that getting to finish a bad guy or not is NOT a good way to measure a character's importance.

But yes, sadly that kind of thinking tends to show. It was probably the reason for most complaints about Envy's death too, since I'm sure those people were all looking forward to seeing who would have the big honor of doing him in. But personally I think seeing Ed or whoever normally kill Envy wouldn't have been nearly as impactful as seeing Ed see through to him, and with meaningful words, that eloquently described one of the main themes in FMA, drive him to commit suicide (not intentionally of course, but yeah). Typical non-standard Arakawa way of doing things, which I'm constantly grateful for, since it keeps everything so much more interesting and fun to read.

[Sannom]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Another thing I loved about this chapter is all the characters were the adults. That definitely is something you don't usually see in a shounen manga.

I'm a fan of Naruto too, and you know, seeing Olivia taking her responsibilities as an adult just made me feel good because in Naruto the adults all seem to be counting upon the teenagers

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

Indeed, which is why I said "final parts in the story" instead of simply "final fights".

I can't wait to see Scar's final part. I hope his true name will come up soon, I've been wanting to know more about this for a long time. Even if I still believe his name will be some Ishbalan word for "cat lover"

[Vicious108]

Originally Posted by Sannom

I'm a fan of Naruto too, and you know, seeing Olivia taking her responsibilities as an adult just made me feel good because in Naruto the adults all seem to be counting upon the teenagers

Both series have a "the older generation needs to pave the way for when the younger one takes charge" theme going on, but yes in FMA the adults actually play an important part themselves, instead of always leaving the decisive stuff to the kids.

And yes, Scar's role in this final arc is very intriguing. There's no telling what will happen with him, which just makes it all the more interesting.

And I'd actually forgotten about his real name not having been revealed yet. I guess I just assumed we'd never know since in the first anime series he just went "I don't have one anymore", but you're right, we can still find out here. Nice.

My guess would be the Ishvalan word for lolicon maybe.

[Sannom]

As for Scar, I could see him battling and defeating one of the remaining Homonculus :

--- Pride because of the whole absorbing Kimblee thing.
--- Wrath because he is the one who ordered and lead the Ishval extermination.
--- Greed for pure opposition of values and way of life : as a warrior priest of Ishbala, I could see Scar as a sort of ascetic. Also, he is a character who used very little in the time we've known him, only using what was strictly necessary. Unlike Greed who wants absolutely everything for the sake of possessing it.

[Kirarakim]

Well Greed joined the "human side" so I don't see why they would need to fight him. Maybe Ling and Greed will have a confrontation but I can't really see any other characters confronting him when he is not really one of the villains.

[Sannom]

The guy fled without telling anyone. Even Lin was like "What the hell are you doing?!?". This, for me, is suspect. So I consider Greed as a threat now, he is not on Father's side, but neither is he on the Human Side. His agenda can't be on par with the others' plans, or else he wouldn't have left everyone like a thief.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Sannom

The guy fled without telling anyone. Even Lin was like "What the hell are you doing?!?". This, for me, is suspect. So I consider Greed as a threat now, he is not on Father's side, but neither is he on the Human Side. His agenda can't be on par with the others' plans, or else he wouldn't have left everyone like a thief.

I am sure Greed is up to something but I highly doubt his actions will be against the humans, if anything what he is planning to do could be something that will benefit the human side even if that is not his intention. And like I said before if anyone is going to confront Greed it will be Ling.

[Vicious108]

I agree that Greed is definitely not on the homunculi side anymore, but c'mon now, he said himself that he wants to take over the world. That doesn't really sound like something that will benefit the human side to me.

But yeah, I too don't see him fighting any of the good guys now. Except obviously Ran Fan, seeing as she'd want to force him out of Ling's body. But then again, she wouldn't be able to seriously fight him out of fear of damaging said body... so who knows.

And speaking of this who will fight who thing, I actually hope Arakawa doesn't simply break down every homunculus left into a standard singles fight against somebody. FMA's always had some of the best team action out there, so it'd be cool to see more two on two fights, or four on one (poor Sloth), etc.

You know, seeing as Wrath and Pride are naturally related and both should be on their way to Central right now, I could see them both returning and trying to stop the heroes together, with an epic team showdown taking place.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

I agree that Greed is definitely not on the homunculi side anymore, but c'mon now, he said himself that he wants to take over the world. That doesn't really sound like something that will benefit the human side to me.

He also said something about taking over the world because only Sloth & Father are left (well this is what he thought at the time although he is mistaken). Perhaps he is planning to confront Father? Okay so maybe Greed isn't really on the human's side most likely he is on Greed's side but I don't think there would be any benefit for him to go against the human side at the moment. He has to deal with Father first and they are helping him with that. Of course it will be interesting to see what Greed has up his sleeve and if this is what could possibly lead Ling to get Greed out of his body.

And speaking of this who will fight who thing, I actually hope Arakawa doesn't simply break down every homunculus left into a standard singles fight against somebody. FMA's always had some of the best team action out there, so it'd be cool to see more two on two fights, or four on one (poor Sloth), etc.

I was thinking possible team ups as well. Although I do sort of miss the one on one fights: I think some nice team ups could possible be Scar/Riza/Roy, Ed/Al, Ed/Al/Roy, Ed/Al/Hohenheim.