Character Discussion - Xing Clan

[White Manju Bun]

The purpose of this thread is to provide a place to discuss all things related to anyone from Xing . This includes Ling, Mei, Ran Fan and Fu.

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Note: Please don't use this for the specifics (i.e. episode, chapter, game, etc. discussion) there are other threads for that stuff.

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[Kanish]

As I mentioned in the other thread. Originally, the characters from Xing were such a drastic departure from the previous anime and add to that the general inferiority of this series up until that point made me nearly give up on this series.

It's amazing then how much they've come along in this series. The impact they've made on the series as a whole. How they've all emerged as major players and don't feel tacked on even in the slightest. Makes me wonder why they were left out of the first series.

[Krazzy Angel]

The manga had not yet reached the chapter where the Xing characters appear when they started the first anime.

[Kanish]

Oh really? The way most people here lambast the first series I thought its producers had gone along on their own tangent completely ignoring the manga.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Kanish

Oh really? The way most people here lambast the first series I thought its producers had gone along on their own tangent completely ignoring the manga.

Well they did but that was planned from the beginning because they knew there was so little manga material available. I don't think everyone who puts down the first series does so because it doesn't follow the manga. Personally there are just some things I don't like about the first series (that doesn't mean I dislike it all).

I also don't agree with you that the first part of this series was really that inferior. I do think this series suffered from comparison because the first series did a lot of those events first: thus people were seeing them for the second time and the directors rushed through these same events to get to the new stuff.

However if you don't compare events but episodes I don't really think the early half of the first series (with all its side stories) was really that much better than the early half of this series with all its rushed episodes. They were both flawed but in different ways.

Now to get on topic of the Xing characters I see a lot of people who thought the same as you that they don't fit based on what they saw from the first series. Heck I know people who gave up on the manga at vol 8 (when the Xing characters are introduced) for the same reason. It's a real shame that people would judge characters like that without giving them a chance so I am glad you did give them a chance. They are 3 of my favorite characters and there is a lot of great moments with them to come.

[GaimeGuy]

Especially Ling

[Ziziphus]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Heck I know people who gave up on the manga at vol 8 (when the Xing characters are introduced) for the same reason. It's a real shame that people would judge characters like that without giving them a chance so I am glad you did give them a chance. They are 3 of my favorite characters and there is a lot of great moments with them to come.

Oh, so there're ppl like that too? I'm so sorry to hear. Truth is, when the Xingese were introduced for the first time, I don't like them either, but only b/c Ling was a jerk! I grew to like them more as the story progressed though, and I don't see how they not fit in the story. Those characters are a great add actually. I love how they help widen the alchemic world, and make the story more deep and interesting.

[Tsuyoshi]

When May was introduced in the manga, I laughed my @$$ off at the way she fell for Ed. I thought she was really funny. I thought she was also really interesting because she introduced us for the first time to Shingese Alchemy and I want to know more about her in particular since she can reveal most of the details on her form of Alchemy. Ling was pretty interesting, although a bit of a jackoff but I grew to like him more and more as well. Lan Fan and her father are also really good characters and I actually like them very much, especially Lan Fan and her single minded devotion to Ling.

[Vicious108]

I've always felt that the "Xing characters don't fit in with the rest of the story/world" complaints were simply because they weren't included in the first anime series.

For me they've always fit like a glove as great characters with very nice additions to the storyline of FMA.

[Krazzy Angel]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

I've always felt that the "Xing characters don't fit in with the rest of the story/world" complaints were simply because they weren't included in the first anime series.

For me they've always fit like a glove as great characters with very nice additions to the storyline of FMA.

Maybe you are right. When I started reading the manga, I had just finished rewatching the first anime + movie. Seeing the Xing characters looked a bit "awkward", but as I continued reading I was particularly intrigued by them and their country. Their ability to sense the ki and Amestris' strange alchemy intrigued me more. Now I can't imagine FMA without Ling, Lanfan, Fuu, May and Shia may.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Yoko Takeo

When May was introduced in the manga, I laughed my @$$ off at the way she fell for Ed. I thought she was really funny. I thought she was also really interesting because she introduced us for the first time to Shingese Alchemy and I want to know more about her in particular since she can reveal most of the details on her form of Alchemy. Ling was pretty interesting, although a bit of a jackoff but I grew to like him more and more as well. Lan Fan and her father are also really good characters and I actually like them very much, especially Lan Fan and her single minded devotion to Ling.

I love Mei (sorry it's a habit for me to spell it that way). I absolutely love her wild imagination. But while this series has included her scenes of dreaming about the Fullmetal Alchemist I feel that there is less of them than in the manga. Or maybe it's because the series is weekly and the manga is monthly, so everything happens quicker so I can't dwell on it as much.

But I enjoyed all the Xing characters early on because they cracked me up but I ended up loving them when their story took a more serious turn (when Ran Fan lost her arm.) Although I think they are the perfect examples of how Arakawa mixes drama and humor. No character is just there for comic relief while no character is completely dramatic.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I love Mei (sorry it's a habit for me to spell it that way). I absolutely love her wild imagination. But while this series has included her scenes of dreaming about the Fullmetal Alchemist I feel that there is less of them than in the manga. Or maybe it's because the series is weekly and the manga is monthly, so everything happens so quicker so I can't dwell on it as much.

But I enjoyed all the Xing characters early on because they cracked me up but I ended up loving them when their story took a more serious turn (when Ran Fan lost her arm.) Although I think they are the perfect examples of how Arakawa mixes drama and humor. No character is just there for comic relief while no character is completely dramatic.

That's the reason I love FMA so much, among other things. I'm never seen any story that mixes humor with a dramatic theme so perfectly. It certainly can't be done in real life, nor have I seen it in other manga or anime. More importantly, like you said, every character has a purpose. Heck, even Yoki turned out to be useful long after he was kicked out of the coal mines. The same goes for Xingese characters. I was really happy when Lan Fan returned for instance, with a bigger can of whoop-ass than she did before too.

[GaimeGuy]

I'd like to correct several people on one thing:

Fuu is Ran Fan's grandfather, not her father.

[Kanish]

Originally Posted by Endless Twilight

I've always felt that the "Xing characters don't fit in with the rest of the story/world" complaints were simply because they weren't included in the first anime series

Yeah! That's pretty much it. To me, At the time, it felt like a desperate ploy to add something to a series struggling to separate itself form the first one.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Kanish

Yeah! That's pretty much it. To me, At the time, it felt like a desperate ploy to add something to a series struggling to separate itself form the first one.

Well this series was never trying to separate itself from the first one. Most of the stuff that was the same as the first series comes from the original manga. I just think they rushed through the early stuff because they wanted get to the plot lines and characters no one had seen animated before (unfortunately this does make some of the early scenes suffer).


And it makes sense that the Xing characters fit into the story because Arakawa created the world and characters you see in the first series to begin with (with a few exceptions like Archer, Anime!Wrath, Dante etc).

[yezhanquan]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

Well this series was never trying to separate itself from the first one. Most of the stuff that was the same as the first series comes from the original manga. I just think they rushed through the early stuff because they wanted get to the plot lines and characters no one had seen animated before (unfortunately this does make some of the early scenes suffer).

I call them out on this part. Hellsing had the same situation in the OVA series. What did they do? They made the earlier parts more epic, compared to the anime.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by yezhanquan

I call them out on this part. Hellsing had the same situation in the OVA series. What did they do? They made the earlier parts more epic, compared to the anime.

Well I never said that they I agreed with them rushing through the earlier parts but I also understand why they did. After all people were complaining until episode 15 that this whole series was just a recap of the first and many people dropped it because they did not believe there would be new stuff.

But you shouldn't be comparing events but episodes. And if you look at the first 15 episodes of this series and the first 15 episodes of the first anime I don't really see how the first anime comes on top. This series does rush through stuff (and don't get me wrong that's a flaw) but the first series takes too long to get to the point with a bunch of annoying side stories.

edit: just condensed the post a bit

[yezhanquan]

Well, I still hope that they undo some of the rushing in the discs.

Back on topic: We probably need more instances of Rentanjitsu.

[RadiantBeam]

Spoiler for Sorry!:

My favorite scene(s) with the Xing characters (and I'm currently just following the English publication, don't have the time to read the scans):

1. Fuu finds out what Lan Fan did, slaps her for failing to protect Ling... then breaks down and cries into her sleeve when he truly realizes she's lost her arm. Broke my heart in two.

2. May's decision to leave the doctor's house so she and Lan Fan wouldn't fight again.

Those were the moments when I really fell in love with the characters. That and

Spoiler for Manga:

the recent chapter where Ling completely lost it with Greed.

It's amazing how far they've come when you consider how they were introduced into the series.

[Ziziphus]

Oops! Spoiler tags please! The anime hasn't reached this point of the story yet.