HAGANE NO RENKINJUTSUSHI

DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ANIME ActionHagane no Renkinjutsushi: FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST
ANIME ActionHagane no Renkinjutsushi
ONE SHOT ActionHagane no Renkinjutsushi: Prototype
ONE SHOT AdventureHagane no Renkinjutsushi 0
NOVEL ActionHagane no Renkinjutsushi
MANGA ActionHagane no Renkinjutsushi 11.5: Tabidachi no Mae ni

REVIEWS

• 

  MedakaOP

  92/100
  An unmissable manga that can appeal to everyone. A multi-layered classic with punchy scenes and characters.

  1) This critic will be full of spoilers be aware of it.
  2) I'll only talk about the manga, I didn't see the two adaptations.
  3) If you don't agree on a point, come to my profile it'll be fun to talk about it

  In the first place, Full Metal Alchemist (I'll call FMA now). Is a manga that I know for a really long time. It's the 1st manga I get in volume and the 1st series I complete.

  What I think about it ? A masterclass at a lot of level. It's a manga which mix perfectly real alchemy elements (Ouroboros, Homonculus, really sign in alchemy, ...) and fiction and make in coherent and entertaining. A manga where there are, for a series of 27 volumes, a high concentration of great character with and equal number of male and female strong character. Taking that into account FMA have a feminist aspect that we can't ignore.

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  I can't talk about FMA without mentioning the brother Elric one of the best duo I ever see with Zoro/Luffy and Gon/Killua. They are brothers who live with their single mothers, A mother who die when they are still really young. For tempting to made revive her. They lost, for Alphonse(AL), his whole body, and for Edward(Ed) his left leg. This was taken by the verity, an entity which punished the persons who think to be as powerful of god. It'll take every time the things we need the most. For children who need to feel warm of a mother, it'll take body part, for a mother who want to see her baby it'll take her right to make baby and for the person who look too much in the future he'll be blind. That always fair and never too much. ED and AL are really great characters we can easily relate to, especially if you're under 20. They made mistake and they know it. They'll try to fix it without made their entourage be hurt mentally or physically because of them. We have the example of the philosopher's stone which is made with the murder of people, they don't want to use it because. They don't want to use the death of people to fix their own mistake. I find this way to think pretty intelligent, and it can be adapted to your own life.

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  Besides these 2 brothers, there are in FMA a lot of secondary character which are fascinating in their own way. As I say before there as much male than female strong character and I love it. I'll only talk about my favourite character of FMA but there are a lot of average to pretty good character. 1st, and by far, Winry. The childhood friend of ED and AL. She is also the mechanic of ED for his arm and his leg. Winry is the closest person of the Elric brother they know each other since their birth. They support each other when winry's parent leave and die at the Ishbal's civil war and the opposite too when the brother lost everything. One of the best (for the beginning) friendship and love after with ED. For me Winry is one most important character for the brother. They want to find their original corpse for them but also for the persons who help them. They don't want Winry to worry about them and finally eat together that apple pie which is one of the goals of this manga. She is also the only character who can provide a power-up to ED, I'll talk about it after. Another great duo of this manga is Mustang/Hawkeye. They need each other to exist in this manga. They can't be dissociated. Mustang who learn the fire alchemy by the father of Hawkeye. He leaves all his search to Hawkeye with a tatoo on her back. We can't talk about them with mentioning the death of Hughes, which gave to us some really sad scene and give to mustang a will of vengeance really strong which almost lost him if Hawkeye was not there to save him of the madness which is contained in the fire alchemy. I can also talk about King Bradley, Olivia Armstrong or Lin which is super great character which we can talk about them hours and hours. I also wanted talk about Greed, for me have the best development in the ""bad guys"" team.

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  One of the things I love the most is the fact that the manga never stops and shows us in each chapter a new character or story element. I have never had the feeling during my multiple readings that the manga turns on itself. The reveal and plot twist of the plot is often very often done well, and the main villain (s) change very regularly helps a lot with that feeling. At first the main villain is Scar, then the various homunculi we meet on the trip to Amestris after that is Kimblee during the briggs arc, then the father at the end on the promised day. Another thing that accentuates this feeling is that the manga adds a new character with new information at the right time. I particularly think twice. 1st, volume 8. After the incident in the 5th laboratory. Ed's automail is broken, and then they have to go back to Rush Valley so Winry can fix her automail. At this point, we meet Lin and his bodyguard: Ranfan and Who. They are from Xing and they are also looking for the Philosopher's Stone to have Eternal Life. At the same time we also meet May, who also the Philosopher's Stone, who will join scar quite quickly. He adds a new great character, adds to the manga what he didn't have at exactly the right time. They also bring a new way of looking at alchemy, as for now, we're only seeing how Amestris uses alchemy for military or personal purposes. The second is the briggs bow, one of the best bow for me, an bow that brings a lot of new information to the reader. (father's plan, the last homunculus : sloth, all the major military authorities are with the father and want to sacrifice the population for their own sake). This arc will feature Olivia Armstrong, Miles: an Ishbal who is in the military or even Buccaner. During this arc we also have a new villain: Solf.J. Kimblee, who was introduced during Ishbal's Civil War flashback.

  ---

  When I talk about FMA, I'm also talking about major scenes, important enough to be known to everyone, even those who haven't watched / read FMA. The 1st scene takes place in chapter 5 where Shô Tucker, to pass his exam, transforms his daughter and his dogs into a chimera. For me, this scene traumatizes me almost as much as berserk (volume 13 you know). The dialogue between ED / AL and Shô tucker will remain in my memory for a long time. The second scene is the death of Hughes, Mustang's best friend with the funeral. These two deaths even if it is not the death of the "main" character will remain in memory during all the reading whether it is for the characters or for the readers. Hughes' death will be significant enough to drive Mustang into the madness of revenge.

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  The only main flaw I can say to this manga is Edward's lack of development on a physical level (yeah that's little flaw but I need to find at least one xD). Edward often loses his fight and on my first reading I still think he would learn the alchemy from Xing to counter Father's power. I have the feeling that it is the same since the 1st volume. His only real power-up is during the briggs arc where Winry made him an automail made for the cold, it's not really much, you can agree. At this level, Alphonse beat him. I try to find other fault but I can't see any. Did you see another negative point?

  ---

  In conclusion, a must to watch or read. Lots of crazy characters with real character development: ED / AL, Scar, Mustang or Greed for the most impressive. A not too long manga that can be read in 3 days if your fasting and maybe want to enjoy more in 1 month it can be done easily. Great plot twist. A pure classic for me.

  ---

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• 

  infinitely

  93/100
  Fullmetal Alchemist is an action-packed adventure with an amazing set of characters and an unforgettable story

  Fullmetal Alchemist

  Series experience: I watched Brotherhood a few years ago and (as of writing this) I am watching the 2003 anime

  Short review: Fullmetal Alchemist is little step up your average shounen action-adventure series, creating a unique world with memorable characters, lore, and legend. Following two young heroes, the story grows and our characters get entangled with creations and monsters beyond their imaginations. Not forgetting to pack the comedy (and a little bit of romance), the series mixes everything into a beautiful tale that will always be great to go back to.

  Full review:

  Warning: review contains spoilers

  I’ll have to say that out of all the manga I’ve read, Fullmetal Alchemist is so far the only one where I feel like every event is really connected to the others. From the beginning where everything is set up, instead of a linear direction where you feel like you’re following one hero up and down a path, FMA gives me that feeling of sitting on large bird that flies up slowly and reveals the entire landscape. I can hardly find faults with the plot - it’s not too fast paced, and it knows when it needs to end. There is never a moment you will be bored, and it’s exciting to uncover the bigger picture along with the protagonists.

  From the beginning where we have Ed and Al and the introduction of our basic concepts - The Philosopher’s Stone, transmutation, equivalent exchange - everything is weaved together in a way where things are not revealed too quickly for us to stomach, or too slowly that we would get bored. I think that what the manga has over both the 2003 and 2009 series is that here Arakawa tells the story how she likes - and that greatly gives us the pace we need. We get to feel every loss and every discovery with equal parts terror and wonder, making each reveal more and more interesting.

  One more of the best things about the series is the scope. We may begin our journey with a fourteen and twelve year old boy, but by the end we are witnessing the story of an entire nation. And all of this is revealed so artfully, letting us know bit by bit about the homonculi, the nationwide transmutation circle, and Father. This is told to us not only through Ed and Al, but eventually with the help of the Mustang Unit, the Briggs team, and even people from another country, Xing.

  Speaking of the characters, Arakawa did a great job of writing fleshed out ensemble characters. For such a large group, as a reader, I still ended up appreciating more than enough of my share of the cast. Maybe because Arakawa is a female author writing a shounen series but I felt the significance of most of the main characters in such a way that other mainstream shounen titles are unable to pull off. There is depth and growth in the love interests, the parent figures, and the villains. The lack of flat side characters makes Fullmetal Alchemist so refreshing. This is probably a personal preference as well but Arakawa writes some of shounen’s best female characters. She has stated that she grew up in a tough family and surrounded by strong women, and the influence shines in the characters such as Winry, Riza, Lan Fan, Izumi, Olivier, and Mei Chang.

  An issue I have with some manga is when the art style gets so similar I can’t tell characters apart. That is not an issue with FMA. Most of the characters are memorable and distinct, and the art showing us Amestris is beautiful as well. One thing that stands out in FMA is the humor - it has the usual shounen formula of injecting comedy to lighten the tone, and FMA has some of my favorite chibi versions of the characters. The balance between jokes and serious topics is not too wishy-washy, you feel the seriousness and humor in the right times.

  Overall, I’d recommend FMA in a heartbeat to anyone. It touches on heavy topics while keeping the perfect tone, has adorable comedy and art, lovable and relatable characters, and an exciting story that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire way. Not to mention the ending doesn’t feel as dissatisfying as a lot of the endings of other big name anime. FMA is smart, but it never lacks in heart. It’s not that lengthy, but you will be investing quite some time on it. No worries, though, as the principle of equivalent exchange states, you’ll be getting something in return. I promise you, what you’re going to be seeing is worth it.

  Plot 10/10
  Art 8/10
  Characters 10/10

  Overall personal enjoyment 10/10

  Top 3 fave characters

  Ed - a protagonist you’ll really support!! his love for his brother is heartwarming but the way he really shines is how human he is despite his status as a prodigy
  Roy - annoying at times but also his love for his subordinates really gets to you, the way he sticks to his principles is admirable and he’s the staple dark hero in contrast with our bright colored main one
  Riza - I love Riza because she’s not some Roy-lovesick puppy. she’s as intelligent (maybe moreso) and is so integral to everything coming together

  Others:
  Winry, Envy, Ling/Greed

  

  Thank you for reading!

  Review for the anime adaptation: Fullmetal Alchemist Review
  Review for the Brotherhood anime adaptation: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Review

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• 

  Arian404

  95/100
  Very good manga from start to finish, lives up to its hype

  The following review does not contain any spoilers!

  Story:
  Fullmetal Alchemist is a well-known name for everyone in the anime/manga community, be it with its anime adaptation "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood", which is one of the best-rated anime series of all time on numerous websites, or as a recommendation to get into the anime world. Unfortunately, the source material, the manga, is often overlooked. At first glance, it seems to be a typical battle shonen, as there are already plenty of them, but it still manages to stand out from the crowd thanks to a wide variety of elements and to take a special place in the hearts of many people.
  There are so-called alchemists in this story, who have a wide variety of abilities and thus great battles are almost guaranteed. However, alchemy also raises many moral questions, which is why our two main characters follow the principle of the equivalent exchange. There is also a lot of politics involved, as the whole story takes place just a few years after a major war and you can still feel the after-effects of it, with themes of racism, hatred and revenge coming to the fore.
  I think the world the mangaka has created is amazing, it feels so real and alive with the many places we travel to in the manga from deserts to icy landscapes. I also find the cultural differences between the different nations, both in clothing style and religion, very realistic.
  The main genres of this work are action and adventure, but there are also a lot of comedy and drama elements and even a bit of romance now and then.

  Characters:
  Our main characters are the Elric brothers Edward & Alphonse, who lost their mother and therefore tried to bring her back to life using alchemy, but since this is a taboo, Edward lost his leg and Alphonse even lost his whole body, to save his brother's life Edward sacrificed his arm to bind his brother's soul to a metal armor. But there are other exciting characters, like her childhood friend Winry Rockbell, who pops up every now and then, various state alchemists who are all very unique and the antagonists are also very interesting as they are based on the Seven Deadly Sins.
  In general, I would say the characters are the heart of this work, you're always wondering who is currently where, how they interact with each other and how they will develop. The mangaka doesn't shy away from inflicting irreparable injuries on some characters or even killing them.

  Art:
  I would describe the drawings as very clean. The panels are rarely overcrowded and you can always tell what's happening. It's a little more text-heavy than other battle shonen, but you still read through the 27 volumes of this manga very quickly. The art style seems a little generic at first glance, but you can definitely recognize the style of the manga also in his other works. There are very nicely detailed highlight panels, which are really well drawn, but there are also many chibi scenes, which are funny but sometimes occur a little too often for me personally, which sometimes made me wonder if it wasn't a comedy manga after all.

  Summary:
  It's one of the best shonen manga I've ever read and lives up to its hype. The drawings are good and definitely convey the story very well. The story is multi-layered and complex, but still easy to understand. The characters carry this work and each one adds something to the story. The only criticisms I have are that there was too much comedy in some of the serious situations, which were sometimes also solved with comedy, and at the end I would have liked to see a bit more of the characters and what happened to them, as it jumped back and forth a bit too quickly.

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