Reviews

Fullmetal Alchemist Ultra Edition 03 by Burkhard Höfler, Hiromu Arakawa

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eesh25's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 Stars

I think I said this in my review of the last three volumes that the book was the end of the intro portion of the series, where you're getting to know the main characters. I felt that things would be moving forward, plot-wise, soon. And I was right!

Volume six left off with Ed and Al reunited with their teacher. We now know what happened with the experiment when the brothers tried to bring their mother back. They've even faced one of the Sins. And at this point, they're taking a step back and trying to make another plan to get their bodies back. Which, as we know, has been their objective this whole time. It's something that I've found very refreshing. That their mission is so personal, and not about saving the world or anything. Not that I have an issue with the latter. I just appreciate something different.

Of course, things can't stay just "personal" for long. The brothers don't know it yet, but Hughes was murdered. And that's the point when you know shit has hit the fan. I mean, there's some mysterious evil guy pulling strings, suits of armour with serial killers in 'em, there are a bunch of seemingly unkillable Sin monsters, and now officers are getting killed? It's bad.

But as much as I want to talk about many of the things that happened in these volumes, you know I can't. It was all great, though. The tone of the series has shifted and become much more serious. And the shift is handled very well. For one, each slight change is preceded by a significant event that warrants the shift. And second, there are still moments of levity in there to cut through the heaviness. So even as everything changes, there are familiar elements. And a lot of heart. I swear, there were a couple of times when I teared up.

The characters have really grown on me. I mean, I've loved Al from the beginning, but we're getting to know all the other major players as well, and I'm so excited to see where the arcs of each of the characters will go.

I already have a copy of the next three volumes so I'll be reading them either this month or next. I'm absolutely loving this manga and the way the world and the story are slowly unfolding with every volume. We even got to see parts of the political climate of the country. And I'm eager to know how that will come into play as well. Because after nine volumes, it's easy to see how deliberate each addition to the manga is.