(L) Fullmetal Alchemist Manga Discussion

[orangejuicetang]

Spoiler for 100:

Well, everybody else already pretty much said it, but DONT DIE ON ME RIZA!. It also looks like Ling finally Ling finally went full greed Armor mode. There ain't nobody getting through that gate now.

[germanturkey]

Spoiler:

omfg, don't die Hawkeye

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Ziziphus

Spoiler for chap 100:

I'm thinking of another possibility, if May arrives in time (I can't remember where she is atm), and somehow they manage to get Riza back from the soldiers, May can use Rantanjutsu to heal Riza. But the chance of it is very slim, considering how skilled the soldiers are and how severe Riza's wound is. Guess Mustang will have to open the Gate after all. Although I'm still not giving up on Marcoh, I hope he would be the one to open the gate instead of Mustang.

And if what you said about Al is true, then there's a good chance Al will be able to get back his body next chapter or so, instead of the last chapter (guess I'll pray for Al too).

You said sth about Greedling earlier, I think in his beast form he's Greed. Ling had given Greed complete control over the body before he transformed. So it's not that Ling has inherited Greed's habit, the person is Greed himself with his own habit.

Spoiler for 100:

MAY!!! That's her name!! Thanks for refreshing my memory!

Yeah, she could help Riza if she can stop the bleeding. The cut doesn't appear very deep but considering the situation, she'll probably die if someone doesn't do something about her very quickly, and I seriously doubt May will be able to get there on time. Even I don't remember where she's gone off to now.

Marco was another option as well. I'm pretty sure that the Homunculi were considering him to be one of the sacrifices but when you really think about it, he doesn't really have anyone very close to him, and he's lived long enough to shoulder the grief of losing someone precious, especially after he's killed so many people to create Stones. Mustang, on the other hand, is still really young and he doesn't want to go through the same grief of losing someone close to him again. He's lost Hughes already. I doubt he's just going to let Riza go since she's right in front of him and Mr. Goldtooth is conditioning him into thinking he can do something about it.

And yeah, there's a good chance that Al will get his body back soon. What's concerning me is how is he going to get out of the white dimension, considering it was only his armor that made it to Father's place. Al probably has his body back, but his body is in serious condition as it's not been looked after for so many years. Ed's gonna have to think of something really quickly to try and get him out of there. I remember that Ed said that their respective consciousness were mixed together following their attempt to revive their mother because they mixed their blood for the soul transmutation during the experiment. That being said, Ed and Al are somehow connected to each other in terms of their soul. Ed might try enter the white dimension and because he'll be able to see Al, he may find a way out for both of them.

Yeah, it could be Greed, but this chapter confirms my first thoughts about the time Lan Fan's dad told Greed to protect Ling. Greed is lending all his power to Ling, but on the surface, it's actually Ling that's fighting. When he was fighting Bradley, his arms were carbonized but he was shedding tears for the old man. I don't exactly see Greed doing that since he has little connection to him, or not enough to shed tears for him at any rate. Same goes for Lan Fan. Imho, Ling has gained complete control over Greed and subdued him to the extent that Greed has become completely obedient. Think of it as the relationship between master and horse. Greed is the horse and Ling is riding him.

[orangejuicetang]

Spoiler for 100:

It's not really subdued as it is working together. During this chapter, Ling asks Greed to lend him more power, and Greed agrees. If it was the other way, then it would be more like Ling forcefully using Greed's power regardless of whether Greed wanted it or not. If you also notice, it is Greed who has control now over the body when he is "fully armored". Either that or they're sharing control, but the most likely thing is that Greed is taking into consideration Ling's feeling as well as his own. The "anybody who has someone precious get out now" is probably Greed's concession to Ling, but the "I really don't like fighting women" is definitely Greed.

[Vicious108]

A scanlation has been out for a while now, I don't think you guys need to use spoiler tags anymore.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by orangejuicetang

It's not really subdued as it is working together. During this chapter, Ling asks Greed to lend him more power, and Greed agrees. If it was the other way, then it would be more like Ling forcefully using Greed's power regardless of whether Greed wanted it or not. If you also notice, it is Greed who has control now over the body when he is "fully armored". Either that or they're sharing control, but the most likely thing is that Greed is taking into consideration Ling's feeling as well as his own. The "anybody who has someone precious get out now" is probably Greed's concession to Ling, but the "I really don't like fighting women" is definitely Greed.

Well, I say subdued because of Greed's nature. He's absolutely selfish and wants everything for himself above anything else. I doubt someone like him would willingly lend someone his power unless he had a really good reason to. I doubt dying is of any concern to him because he believes himself immortal due to the philosopher's Stone inside him. Although I don't think forcing is the correct word for it either. It's more like, they are so similar to each other that they became as though they are one, with Ling being the superior one. It's a kind of mutual partnership but Ling is the leader who does the talking and Greed does the walking.

[GaimeGuy]

Originally Posted by Yoko Takeo

Spoiler for 100:

It's not actually neccessary to have a philosopher's stone in order to heal a wound, or stop the bleeding at any rate. Ed's already done it once using his own life energy. Only difference is that Ed knew the sensation of being transported through the gate and how to use his own life energy. Mustang doesn't. Also, stopping someone's bleeding is easy if you know Rentanjutsu. The little Xingese girl whose name escapes me has already done it to Marco. Mustand doesn't know rentanjutsu either, so you're probably right for Mustang and you would need a stone.

And yeah, Riza's not gonna bite the dust just yet. One way or another, Roy will find a way to save her. That and I really don't want her to die. And Greed using his full power at last was something brilliant. Now I remember why I like Greed so much. He could've saved a lot of trouble, but I actually like how he's using all his power now after the hard part's done. It shows that even though the tough guy's done, he's more determined than ever to protect the ones he cares about. It also looks like Lin has gained complete control over Greed's power but he's also inheriting some of his habits. I remember the old Greed saying he doesn't like to hit girls, and that he doesn't like using his ultimate form because of how ugly it is. That's probably why he's using it only now after Bradley's been beaten.

Spoiler for Chapter 63:

Actually, Mustang had a whole bunch of documents with him on Rentanjutsu when he met with grumman in the graveyard. It's possible that Mustang could have studied and taught himself some Rentanjutsu.

[orangejuicetang]

Originally Posted by Yoko Takeo

Well, I say subdued because of Greed's nature. He's absolutely selfish and wants everything for himself above anything else. I doubt someone like him would willingly lend someone his power unless he had a really good reason to. I doubt dying is of any concern to him because he believes himself immortal due to the philosopher's Stone inside him. Although I don't think forcing is the correct word for it either. It's more like, they are so similar to each other that they became as though they are one, with Ling being the superior one. It's a kind of mutual partnership but Ling is the leader who does the talking and Greed does the walking.

Well, first thing's first. Greed does not think himself to be immortal in anyway. In fact, it's one of his primary goals, which is obtaining immortality. It is true that Greed is well, greedy, but to say that that's the only thing he cares about is wrong. He delivered Ling's message to Ran Fan through Ed way back when they first 'fused', even though he didn't really have anything to gain. Greed had nothing to gain to fight King Bradley at the gate, but he does it. It's not like Greed goes "I see no reason for me to help you, so I won't". It's like you said, a partnership, but it definitely does not break down into "Ling is the leader who does the talking and Greed does the walking." I don't see anything that indicates this at all. There is no superior or inferior in that partnership. If anything, even if there was a superior/inferior member, the superior would be Greed. Normally, Greed is in control, except for either a. he let's Ling take control like during the fight in the dark against Gluttony, b. he freaks out which gives Ling an opening to use the body, or c. something happens that gives an incredibly emotional boost to Ling that sort of acts as an adrenaline boost which allows him to take control briefly. For a. and b., Greed takes control of his body again eventually, and as for c., I doubt he can maintain that frame of mind for very long. And if you think that Greed wouldn't be pissed off when Wrath killed Huu, you realize that one of Greed's beserk buttons is his subordinates, who he actually does care about, albeit due to greed. The same could arguably stretch over into Ling's subordinates as well, which would be another reason Greed could be angry at Bradley.

[GaimeGuy]

Either way, we've definitely seen the distinction between Greed and Ling become a bit blurred over the last 2-3 chapters, what with them constantly switching in and out of control, tears being shed at Fuu's death, the merger of their fighting styles, Ling speaking while Greed was putting the shield up at the same time, even Ling demanding for Greed to give him his power (and Greed complying!) Instead of competing for control, we're seeing Greed and Ling become one entity. (By the way, up until chapter 100, when Ling was in control, his hair covered his left eye. When greed was in control, his hair covered his right eye. in chapter 100, and a bit during chapter 99, we see this change in seemingly eveyr panel on eveyr page, regardless of who is in control.)


I dunno, I think the idea Arakawa is going for is that caring for others (friends, subordinates, subjects, acquaintences, whatever) can be considered a form of greed. They're YOUR friends, in other words.

What I thought she was going to end up doing with regards to Wrath (humanizing him, having him turn to good, or something like that.... which I still think there's a chance of him doing) is what arakawa ended up doing with Greed/Ling. She showed how Greed is a good thing, how it is a driving emotion tied closely with ambition (See: Mustang and Ling wanting to become rulers of their countries), how it also be considered the emotion behind friendship and comradeship. That's what she's going for.

[Haladflire65]

If Mustang can so easily heal Hawkeye with Rentanjutsu, I don't think Goldtooth would've even tried to hurt her like that.

Ha. I knew Roy was going to be a human sacrifice.

[orangejuicetang]

I'm actually quite interested in the identity of Goldtooth now. Just who is he? Seems to be a decent enough alchemist. Seems to be fairly trusted by Father. Looks at eternal life as a small chintzy bait. Hard to tell if he aged since he injected King Bradley. Who is this man?

[wandering-dreamer]

Goddammit, noooooooo Riiiiizzzzaaaa! Even thought everyone has been betting she would be killed off for the past 10 or so chapters, nooooooo!
And I think that Al has reunited his soul with his body which could make things interesting, if his soul isn't there I don't think they can do the giant pentagram thing.

[GaimeGuy]

Originally Posted by orangejuicetang

I'm actually quite interested in the identity of Goldtooth now. Just who is he? Seems to be a decent enough alchemist. Seems to be fairly trusted by Father. Looks at eternal life as a small chintzy bait. Hard to tell if he aged since he injected King Bradley. Who is this man?

High ranking scientist for the military working directly under Father. No more, no less. He's just not high profile like a general sitting on the military's high council (or whatever they call it) is. Those generals, too, also work for father.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by GaimeGuy

Actually, Mustang had a whole bunch of documents with him on Rentanjutsu when he met with grumman in the graveyard. It's possible that Mustang could have studied and taught himself some Rentanjutsu.

He was only carrying a picture of May's Panda. That doesn't make his other documents Rentanjutsu notes. They could be anything, and there's no metion of them being notes on Rentanjutsu. They could more likely be profile on May considering Roy was looking for her.

[Jarmel]

I have two regrets with this chapter. One is that it feels like the wheel's are spinning but we ain't going nowhere until the final page. The second is that I want Bradley dead but I have a feeling that he's going to screw up Father's plans somehow. Normally I though that it would be Bradley that would make Mustang open the gate but since it's obviously not, that implies that Bradley has some very important future role.

I am curious about Al, I wonder if this last trip was the final thing needed to push the soul over the edge. This actually makes sense because the blood seal would have needed to be decomposed and reconstructed and Al's soul might have drifted off at the decomposition phase. This doesn't matter for the other parties as their bodies act as magnets but Al doesn't have his true body.

Oh and the cool part is that once Mustang opens the gate, he won't need his gloves anymore. He can just clap and start a fire. That should definitely give him the upper hand against the Bradley rejects.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Jarmel

Oh and the cool part is that once Mustang opens the gate, he won't need his gloves anymore. He can just clap and start a fire. That should definitely give him the upper hand against the Bradley rejects.

He'd still need to create a spark from somewhere. That's why he still needs the gloves. I think clapping before creating the spark would actually slow him down because before, he had the tranmutation circle on his glove and he didn't need to create a new one. If he has to clap every time, and then create the spark, I think it would slow him down.

[Jarmel]

Yea I forgot about the spark. Static electricity? I don't think he needs to clap and it's just everybody else finds it more convenient. It does allow him to do more variety now though and not just rely on the gloves.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Jarmel

Yea I forgot about the spark. Static electricity? I don't think he needs to clap and it's just everybody else finds it more convenient. It does allow him to do more variety now though and not just rely on the gloves.

Yeah, but he'd be just like Ed, Al and Izumi. I'm pretty sure any one of them can transmute anything, including creating fire from sparks. We already know that Mustang's fire is one of the most destructive forms of alchemy seen so far (if not the most). We still don't see them do it like Mustang because it's inconvenient for them. Throughout the whole series, we've see Ed and Al transmute things that were already there. Mustang goes beyond that and creates the thing he wants to transmute with his gloves. He has the cricle ready for use at any time. It's true that he will be able to transmute a lot more things after opening the gate, but he won't be able to use the ability that defines him as well as he used to.

[Jarmel]

Well from what we saw, he got both gloves sliced I believe(I know one got sliced this chapter and the other previously?) so he might not even have an option but to use the clap. To be fair though, Arakawa might not even bring it up in the series because right after Mustang opens the gate, he gets teleported to Father's room and might not be able to use alchemy.

In fact the more I think about it, the real cliffhanger might be with Al.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Jarmel

Well from what we saw, he got both gloves sliced I believe(I know one got sliced this chapter and the other previously?) so he might not even have an option but to use the clap. To be fair though, Arakawa might not even bring it up in the series because right after Mustang opens the gate, he gets teleported to Father's room and might not be able to use alchemy.

For the moment, if he opens the gate, yeah he wouldn't have any other option but to clap and then create a spark. I was meaning in the long term more than anything.