¡PENÚLTIMO VOLUMEN DE ESTE CLÁSICO MODERNO DEL MANGA!
Central se ha convertido en un doble campo de batalla: por una parte, el ejército liderado por Mustang y los hombres de Briggs se rebela contra los jerifaltes de la capital, pero en el subsuelo la criatura del frasco adquiere un poder inimaginable...
Hiromu Arakawa (author: 荒川弘) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no renkinjutsushi). Her real name is Hiromi Arakawa (荒川弘美).
Arakawa was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaidō. She thought of being a manga artist since she was little. After graduating high school, she took oil painting classes while working on her family's farm. During that time, she also created dōjinshi manga with her friends and drew yonkoma for a magazine. After eight years she moved to Tōkyō and started out as assistant writer for Hiroyuki Etō. Her debut as manga artist is in 1999 with STRAY DOG. In 2001 she started working on her famous and award winning series Fullmetal Alchemist, that soon gets a successful anime adaptation. Other works include Silver Spoon (銀の匙 Silver Spoon, Gin no saji Silver Spoon).
This one was a bit of a letdown, unfortunately. While it seems that a lot is happening on many fronts, the action doesn't move forward until the last pages. And while there are several great scenes, the whole is underwhelming, plagued by sudden changes in logic. The fickle authorial fiat is not something I cherish, and here it is implemented in crucial places, just to get the action going. Also, Arakawa is not the best at fight scenes and here most of the volume is devoted to them. Particularly the battle with father seems weirdly static and without any tangible stakes. The battle between Scar and Wrath is cool, though!
All in all, a bit of a filler volume with weirdly flat emotional tone throughout. Still, I'm looking forward to the conclusion!
“a pair of brothers who were so desperate to feel their mother’s warmth again that they dared do the unthinkable…one of them lost a leg to stand on and all but lost his only remaining family. the other was deprived of ever again feeling the warmth of human contact. a woman who tried to bring back her dead child, only to be cursed with a body that could never again nurture life. and finally…a man with a vision for his country’s future has been stripped of his eyesight. now he will never see the future that comes to pass. for every human who dares challenge the natural order, a fitting punishment is meted out to put them in their place.” goosebumps every time
Uoooo, la aparición de Sloth sólo se ve incrementada en impacto por el túnel. Briggs está resultando dar exactamente lo que promete. Tengo la sensación todo el tiempo de que es algo inhóspito.
Im finally here! One more book to go. Seeing as Vol 17 felt like one big fight scene, it was action packed and exciting. I can’t wait to see how Arakawa wraps up this beautiful series
Fullmetal Alchemist takes place in the fictional country of Amestris which is heavily based on the Industrial Revolution. Amestris is a unitary state under the rule of a parliamentary republic, run by state alchemists that serve the king utilizing the mystifying arts of alchemy. Alchemy is the power to alter the physical world utilizing its natural elements, performing magic and miracles in the form of science. Alchemy follows the law of equivalent exchange, you must sacrifice something that is of equal value to what you create. You must sacrifice a life to create a life, you must extinguish one flame to ignite another, you have to sacrifice one home to build another, etc...
After being abandoned by their father as children and subjected to watching their mother die, Edward Elric and his brother Alphonse once attempted to utilize the power of alchemy to bring their mother back from the grave, ignoring the dangers of creating a life by offering something of equal value. Edward loses an arm and a leg while Alphonse loses his entire body; his soul placed in a hollow suit of armor that can't feel the touch of others. As neither of them sacrificed their lives in their entirety, the exchange failed and the boys created an abomination in place of their dead mother.
After burning their own home down and dealing with the abomination they created, Edward and his brother enlist themselves in the military to atone for their sins and learn more about the many secrets of alchemy; potentially learning how to recover their original bodies in the process. While serving in the military, the brothers begin to realize how the wonders of alchemy can be abused for nefarious purposes. Immortal life can be gained by sacrificing hundreds of innocents souls, wars can be staged and foreign nations can be annihilated under false charges, human experimentation aided by alchemy can lead to unnatural mutations, the world of alchemy is more dark and dangerous than either of them could've bargained for.
Fullmetal Alchemist grew on me the longer I read it. When I first started reading, it seemed like it was going to be generic shounen material, but it gets deeper and darker the further it goes on. The way it handles political and religious corruption, the dangers of advanced states abusing their technology and resources at the expense of foreign nations caught in the turmoil, and the sad futility of revenge are all very well done.
The characters all bear the weight of what alchemy is capable of. Edward and Alphonse carry the burden of abusing alchemy for selfish purposes. Their master Izumi loses her womb after attempting to resurrect her dead child. Scar takes many lives after his entire country is desecrated and gets trapped in a pointless cycle of revenge. Roy and Riza endure the regret of committing brutal war crimes for the sake of protecting their own nation. Alchemy creates and destroys in equal measure and no one is free from the consequences of tipping the balance.
The fight scenes are flashy and exciting without being too over-the-top because of the dangerous limitations that alchemy involves. The law of equivalent exchange keeps the power scaling in check and adds plenty of tension to the action. The female characters are especially well done, all of them are strong and unique in their own way. The lead heroine Winry being a skilled mechanic, Riza being an honorable warrior of the military, Olivier Armstrong as cold and vicious as the snowy fortress she guards, and that's just a few of them.
The villains are an interesting parody of the seven deadly sins. Each of them represent the darkness and regrets of each of the main characters and they can only be conquered by coming to terms with their own flaws and sins. The characters having to overcome their personal demons to take on the greater demons trying to overthrow the world from the shadows made the struggles of every single person in the story feel personal. Every character, no matter how minor had their moments to shine. Everyone had a vital role to play and the camaraderie between friend and foe alike never felt cheesy or forced.
Unlike most shounen series I've read, the final arc was my favorite. A lot of long-running shounen series have a habit of being dragged out, losing touch with what made them great or breaking their own rules in messy, plot-hole-filled final arcs that leave a lot to be desired. Fullmetal Alchemist has no lose ends, all characters have complete arcs where they learn and grow from their dark pasts, the romance and comedy are handled well without relying on cheap fanservice, the action scenes are great but they don't overshadow the plot and the final chapters tie everything together beautifully. It's not my favorite manga by any means as I usually tend to favor seinen, but it's definitely one of the greatest stories to ever come out of the shounen demographic in my opinion. The ending is a tearjerker but it left me in good spirits.
Le final est lancé, et bel et bien lancé ! L’intensité de nous lâche pas, dans les combats, dans l’émotion et notre coeur est mis à rude épreuve pour tout le talent dont fait preuve la mangaka.
J’ai encore une fois été scotchée à la lecture de ce tome par la maîtrise d’Arakawa en terme de narration, de mise en scène, de combat, d’intensité dramatique et d’enjeux. C’est simple, j’ai rarement vu une autrice et une oeuvre aussi complète. Je cherche les défauts.
Voilà pour moi le tome parfait pour amener à une grande conclusion, un combat final d’une grande intensité entre le bien et le mal telle qu’elle le définit dans cet univers tellement gris où les frontières ont presque disparu. On en vient à avoir peur du basculement de certains « gentils » et même à être presque attristé du devenir de certains « méchants ». Rien ne va plus !
L’autrice est sur tous les fronts tandis que le grand plan final, la fameuse éclipse (tiens tiens !) arrive. On voit par petits indices disséminés de-ci de-là que les pions sont placés et que c’est ici que le gouffre va s’ouvrir sous nos pieds. La question est : qui va tomber dedans ?
On suit ainsi avec passion les combats d’un Greed/Lin vraiment brillant qui se révèle être une figure de superhéros inattendue avec son Alfred à lui, qui nous offre un super duel avec Bradley. On se passionne également pour Mustang et Hawkeye qui sont tombés dans le piège du savant derrière notre Roi, et on craint vraiment pour le premier tant il est proche de basculer. On tremble quand on voit »le père » capturer les sacrifices et avancer dans son plan aussi machiavélique que fou et triste. Et comme les habitants, on ne peut qu’être spectateurs impuissants de tout cela.
Mais notre plu-value en tant que lecteurs, c’est de pouvoir en prendre plein les yeux. Et on peut dire qu’Arakawa sait y faire. Elle intensifie un combat d’un combat, lâche une petite info de l’autre lors d’une pause, revient en mettant en avant un personnage au détour d’un moment héroïque. Elle joue sur les notions d’humanité et de sacrifice comme personne. Elle déploie aussi d’énorme qualité dans les relations complexes d’amour/haine qu’elle souligne entre les personnages. Elle est vraiment sous tous les fronts. Et on se régale autant des combats millimétrés et surprenants qu’elle organise, que des moments dramatiques où elle nous prend à la gorge. C’est implacable.
Alors merci Mme Arakawa pour tous ces grands moments que l’on vit à vos côtés dans cette belle et grande série qui se lit et se relit à toute époque avec toujours la même ferveur, la même émotion et la même intensité. Il n’y a pas qu’un héros ici, il y en a pléthore. Il n’y a pas qu’une histoire, il y en a mille. Il n’y a pas qu’une destinée, toutes sont liées. Je salue ainsi Greed, vieux Lin, Buccaneer, Roy et bien sûr Alphonse, mes héros à moi dans ce tome ❤
"Pensavo che davanti a una persona importante in punto di morte, non avresti esitato a fare una trasmutazione umana." "Forse "il vecchio me" l'avrebbe fatta. Ma il "me di adesso" ha accanto persone in grado di fermarlo. Persone in grado di indicargli la strada giusta da seguire." "Ogni volta che penso che gli umani non impareranno mai, ci sono persone come voi che invece riescono a cambiare. Non vi capirò mai, umani. Mi date fastidio quando non vi comportate come vorrei."
4,5
Roy e Riza, parte 2. Questi due ci stanno regalando delle scene epiche. E il legame che hanno costruito nel corso degli anni passati a lavorare insieme è incredibile. Ormai non hanno nemmeno bisogno delle parole per capirsi. E così a dispetto dell'affetto che li lega e del pericolo che sta correndo Riza, Roy si rifiuta di effettuare una trasmutazione umana e, forte dei compagni che sono con lui, si prepara a combattere. May riesce a salvare Riza, ma purtroppo le cose non vanno bene lo stesso: Roy diventa il quinto sacrificio umano (dopo Ed, Al, Hohenheim e Izumi) e finisce al cospetto del Padre, dopo aver pagato lo scotto per una trasmutazione umana che gli è stata imposta da Bradley e Pride. L'uomo che sta combattendo per Amestris, che da anni ha gli occhi puntati sul futuro della sua nazione, ha perso la vista. Izumi, che desiderava tanto un bambino, ha perso la possibilità di averne dopo aver fatto qualcosa di proibito. I corpi di Ed e Al hanno subito le conseguenze del loro gesto. E poi c'è Hohenheim. Cinque sacrifici umani finalmente riuniti. E con l'eclissi di sole che finalmente raggiunge il suo picco, il piano del Padre sembra inarrestabile. A dispetto degli sforzi profusi dai cinque, dalla piccola May e da Greed. Fuori dalla stanza del Padre, Scar e Bradley stanno combattendo uno scontro all'ultimo sangue. Vedremo se i poteri alchemici di Scar, frutto degli studi del fratello, sapranno tenergli testa.
Comunque sia, questo volume celebra la resilienza degli esseri umani. Bradley, il Padre e compagnia cantante si sentono superiori, forti delle loro capacità, fisiche e mentali, di alto livello. Eppure i piccoli, patetici umani non ne vogliono sapere di darsi per vinti. Fu e Bucaneer danno le loro vite in nome di questi ideali. I fratelli Elric portano avanti la loro missione incuranti dei poteri forti che cercano di fermarli. Roy e la sua banda di disperati si rifiutano di abbandonare Amestris al suo destino. Le persone vogliono vivere le loro vite e nessuno ha il diritto di portargliele via. Che sia la resilienza degli esseri umani la chiave per sconfiggere il Padre?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Cap. 99 - 104 Meno uno alla fine… non sono pronto a dire addio a questi personaggi, a questo mondo. In questo volume i personaggi che prima erano sparsi in vari luoghi, in un modo o nell’altro, arrivano al cospetto del Padre: l’essere ha inglobato Hohenheim ed è deciso a portare a termine il suo piano, ovvero avere un corpo tutto suo, diventando l’essere perfetto, a discapito di tutta la gente della città. Riusciranno i nostri eroi a sconfiggerlo ora che siamo alle battute finali della saga? Ma soprattutto… ne usciranno tutti vivi? Io, intanto, preparo i fazzoletti.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
En este tomo se nota que el final de los mangas se acercan. Las cosas se van complicando y enredando, y tenemos a los personajes en escenas de acción constante. Ed y Al ayudados por varios personajes, tendrán que enfrentarse a lo que les ha estado esperando todo este tiempo. El libro está lleno de situaciones de tensión y que te pondrán el corazón en un puño. El final del manga queda en lo mejor. Me encanta el universo que crea esta autora.
Le doy 5/5 🌟
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
It’s kind of weird how the penultimate volume isn’t as good as all the others. While there are some absolutely AMAZING moments in this volume, some of it just.. feels useless? Like… what’s stopping the main bad guy from grappling everyone and dragging them to the center of the room from the start? Why wait for 3 more people to show up? The end of the volume was crazy as hell, but the lead up was kind of bloated.
Brillante, coinvolgente, buio e catastrofico. Le parti continuano a scambiarsi punti fino al momento topico. E da li... dobbiamo solo iniziare a sperare. Cosa mi aspetto? Un lieto fine. Spero però che, a farlo accadere, siano i personaggi che abbiamo imparato a conoscere. Cosa spero? Che non entri un personaggio x a risolvere la situazione. Ma.. nei patti possono esserci solo conversioni. Che bello. Anche se ora stiamo tutti dormendo. -1
Semua berperang dengan lawan masing-masing. Ada yang seimbang, ada yang terlalu tidak seimbang. Tapi Bradley sudah babak belur sebelum berhadapan dengan Scar.
Ketika semua tumbal sudah berkumpul, muncullah sosok antagonis baru yang mengaku sebagai Tuhan. SINTING!!!! (Kupikir ni orang siapaaa kok ada di sampul manga).
***zaterdag 19 november 2022*** I'm so glad I waited until I had the last volume in the series. Also I finished this 2 minutes before I have to do something for work so that's timing for ya.
The emotions. Dude. Some parts I didn't understand what was going on but I think watching the movies will help with that. oef.
To be converted into pure energy, to not even have a physical body or even to leave a corpse behind is a scary thought. What’s even worse is for this to be forced upon you. An equally tense volume like the latter, but a seemingly scarier one where we reach the all is lost moment and a lot of tremendous and, perhaps, irreversible terrible fates befall our characters.
Senang sekali bisa menyelam kembali ke dunia Elric bersaudara setelah sekian lama! Saya takut kurang menghargai pekerjaan Arakawa sensei dari sepuluh tahun yang lalu, tetapi sama sekali tidak: Saya masih sangat menyukainya. Dan versi yang diterbitkan ulang ini luar biasa!!!