CAA: Christian Anime Alliance

If Naruto and Bleach deserve this kind of front row seating, then I'm vouching for FullMetal Alchemist here. This thread is for discussing anything and everything about Hiromu Arakawa's work, particularly for those of us who are caught up with the monthly Japanese chapters (73 as of July 11, 2007). To keep the discussion friendly for those who neither can nor want to read beyond the official Viz translations (13 volumes as of May 2007), please use spoiler tags for all chapters beyond 53. Anything prior to that, however, is fair game, so it is assumed that if you're participating in this thread, you've at least read up to that point.

Hiromu Arakawa
Manga Chapter/Tankōbon Guide

I'm game.
...and the thread title initially made me wonder if there had been some unique attempts at FMA merchandise that I hadn't heard about. FMA water coolers?

Anyway, haven't actually got around to reading the latest chapter yet, so I'll comment when I do.

I've seen RAWs for chapter 70 and read a transcript. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have our 7th Sin.
[spoiler]The final homunculus (Pride) is Salim Bradley.[/spoiler]

I just rebought FMA volume 1, so here's hoping I'll be able to catch up. I'm enjoying it so far!

Fish and Chips wrote:I've seen RAWs for chapter 70 and read a transcript. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have our 7th Sin.
[spoiler=Chapter 70]The final homunculus (Pride) is Salim Bradley.[/spoiler]

Wow. That is quite a shocker. I've read up to 69, still waiting for 70.
Although
[SPOILER]I was hoping it would be someone more original. They can't do anything right by this kid. First he dies in the anime and now he's a villain?! I feel bad for Wrath's wife! Unless she's in on the whole scheme.[/SPOILER]


I also thought you meant an actual water cooler. Thanks for getting me all excited.

KBMaster wrote:Wow. That is quite a shocker. I've read up to 69, still waiting for 70.
Although
[SPOILER]I was hoping it would be someone more original. They can't do anything right by this kid. First he dies in the anime and now he's a villain?! I feel bad for Wrath's wife! Unless she's in on the whole scheme.[/SPOILER]

[spoiler]Actually, if you flip back through the previous chapters and read Salim's conversations, a lot of them have eerie new significance. I think Arakawa's had this in mind for some time now.

Not to mention that now all the Homunculi show up in chapter 31.[/spoiler]

KBMaster wrote:I also thought you meant an actual water cooler. Thanks for getting me all excited.

As much as I'm not a fan of crass commercialism, if there was a FullMetal water cooler, I would probably own two. Install them in the workplace, if I could, or lug them over to my Anime Club.

Hear hear. This thread has been needed for some time, and now we might actually have enough members to discuss it significantly. Though I was expecting some sort of bizarre product as well...

My favorite characters are Riza Hawkeye and (increasingly so) Hohenheim.

I read chapter 70 a while ago, so I must be using a different source than most here. On that subject:
[spoiler]I like this development. It was well played, too, with the mention that Salim comes from his father's side of the family. In retrospect, the silhouette of Pride did look very much like him; I had assumed it was just featureless as opposed to a child. I really should look over his previous conversations but I probably won't have the time. Given that the "aura" around Pride seems to be similar to what attacked the soldiers in the north, does that mean he was two places simultaneously? Or is that more of a generic effect than I recall?

With this revelation, Wrath loses a level of supposed humanity. His wife is still human as far as we know, though, so we can continue to wonder. I suspect we won't see him switch sides, as some have speculated. He seems too hardened to me.

What I'd like to see are thoughts on the overall direction of the series. While I'm a bit disappointed with the revelation about the entire country forming an alchemical seal, I'm still immensely curious about Father and much of the dialog surrounding those scenes. This and the origin of alchemy (main as well as Eastern) are my primary points of curiosity about the manga.[/spoiler]
I always like to believe that manga-ka have their series planned in advance and will present a well-designed and cohesive plot. Naruto I've completely given up on and Bleach I maintain hope, but Fullmetal Alchemist I have rarely doubted. If only it came out faster than once a month.

wow. i read up the like chapter 56 awhile back and stopped to give the manga time to progress more (cause 56 was the latest chapter back then). guess i'd better get back into the series.

uc pseudonym wrote:Hear hear. This thread has been needed for some time, and now we might actually have enough members to discuss it significantly. Though I was expecting some sort of bizarre product as well...

*Sigh.*

I just thought it would be more clever than a mechanical "Chapter Discussions" title, but then I realized everyone would think I was selling something so I added that in parenthesis. Leave me alone!

uc pseudonym wrote:I read chapter 70 a while ago, so I must be using a different source than most here. On that subject:
[spoiler]I like this development. It was well played, too, with the mention that Salim comes from his father's side of the family. In retrospect, the silhouette of Pride did look very much like him]

[spoiler]I also enjoyed this turn of events, and a while back in July 2006, someone in the FullMetal Alchemist fandom actually wrote a "Crack theory" that Salim might be Pride, and used evidence from his conversations and actions in the series. So of course, now that he IS Pride, everyone's laughing.

And I still say there's some hope for Bradley. He at least has some major part to play (moreso than his woefully underused Anime counterpart), and he's still the most human of the original Sins (not counting Ling). Arakawa's wasted a little too much time developing his history and character if he's just going to get killed off like the rest, I think[/spoiler]

uc pseudonym wrote:I always like to believe that manga-ka have their series planned in advance and will present a well-designed and cohesive plot. Naruto I've completely given up on and Bleach I maintain hope, but Fullmetal Alchemist I have rarely doubted. If only it came out faster than once a month.

Although for a once a month publication, 40 pages a chapter is nice, thick read to wait for (Hirano, you lazy, lazy man). I think it benefits from having longer waiting periods and thus longer chapters, as opposed to more frequent chapters cutting up story developements and action scenes.

That's true. The pacing is good as well, so things develop significantly in the space of those 40 pages. However, I think that Arakawa is a skilled enough writer to work in the confines of a weekly pace without chopping up the story unnecessarily.

It's just that the story interests me more deeply than most series, but the gaps between chapters seem comparatively long so it feels a long time to wait.

Fish and Chips wrote:I just that it would be more clever than a mechanical "Chapter Discussions" title, but then I realized everyone would think I was selling something so I added that in parenthesis. Leave me alone!

Ha ha! You're a sillyhead!

Seriously, it's fine and few people object to efforts at being clever. I'll edit the thread title accordingly.

uc pseudonym wrote:That's true. The pacing is good as well, so things develop significantly in the space of those 40 pages. However, I think that Arakawa is a skilled enough writer to work in the confines of a weekly pace without chopping up the story unnecessarily.

Possibly, but as of now I'm satisfied. What I'm afraid of is that the chapters would feel choppy, a la Hellsing's 12 pages per month.

uc pseudonym wrote:It's just that the story interests me more deeply than most series, but the gaps between chapters seem comparatively long so it feels a long time to wait.

Arakawa is an excellent story teller, so much so that after reading FMA I find most other Shounen fail to keep my attention by comparison]Ha ha! You're a sillyhead![/QUOTE]
...Wow. This is a first for the record books.

Much obliged.

Side-Note: Would linking to some of Arakawa's unlicensed one-shots be fine? It's doubtful that any of it will even be reprinted in Japan, much less shipped over here any time this decade, if ever.

OMGosh! Please do if it's not against the rules! I've been looking for Stray Dog FOREVER but with no luck!

On a side note, I just read chapter 70 today....

[SPOILER]Riza's in trouble...... She hasn't been in it enough lately so I was glad when she came in this chapter. Salim is so creepy![/SPOILER]
I wish I could read the above mentioned's previous conversations, but I lent my first ten volumes to a friend.....

I'm quite interested in what Kimbley meant by Ed's third mission. As always, wonderful work by Arakawa.

KBMaster wrote:OMGosh! Please do if it's not against the rules! I've been looking for Stray Dog FOREVER but with no luck!

I've got Stray Dog, Demons of Shanghai, and Bat in a Blue Sky (my personal favorite of all Arakawa's off-shoots). All are one-shots (though Shanghai is four chapters), and thus the chance of them ever being marketed or republished in any manner is slim to none. You won't find these off the Internet unless you live in Japan and know/are a magazine collector.

I can host them all and link it, but I'd rather play it safe and ask the staff first.

anonymous wrote:[spoiler]The scanslator I dl from is the girl who predicted the whole Salim=Pride thing, and so she transmitted her gloating in the form of browser screenshots at the end of the scanslated chapter, of her old "crack theory" LJ post + comments from way back in July 2006, and another few of additional "evidence" from a later chapter. and then some more screens of a recent post/comments simply stating: I WAS RIGHT.
XD she currently Owns the Internets for this incident...[/spoiler]

Yes, that would be CSakuraS, and yes, she does own the Internets. At least till the next chapter.

anonymous wrote:\*o*/ Arakawa one-shots~!! please? X3~?

Knew this might be a popular idea.

One-shots: I am going to approve this. If it becomes an issue I'll take whatever blame there is for it, so post away. I believe I've read most of her one-shots, but chances are you'll have some that will be new to me.

Fish and Chips wrote:...Wow. This is a first for the record books.

You would think so, but...

uc pseudonym wrote:One-shots: I am going to approve this. If it becomes an issue I'll take whatever blame there is for it, so post away. I believe I've read most of her one-shots, but chances are you'll have some that will be new to me.

Groovy. Might take some time to upload them all onto an image hosting site and then again onto my site. I'll see what I can usher in by Friday.

You would think so, but...

*Reality shatters.*

I took an FMA manga break.
Has it gotten good since Chapter 60?

Is it coming to a conclusion?

Tom Dincht wrote:I took an FMA manga break.
Has it gotten good since Chapter 60?

Well, I can't recall what happened in chapter 60, but the recent chapters have been really good.

Is it coming to a conclusion?

Ah, no, not really.

Arakawa began a new serial recently. A Chinese fantasy called Juushin Engi that's based on an old novel, although I don't think very much has been scanlated currently.

Anyway, about Chapter 70:
[spoiler]
I'd figured Pride was a character we had seen, although Selim Bradley didn't initially come to my mind. But, we will see what happens.
This also reaffirms that Sloth is my least favorite homunculous...

Also, Kimbley is certainly a little manipulator, isn't he? Our protagonists are going to have to think fast to get out of this one.
[/spoiler]

MasterDias wrote:Arakawa began a new serial recently. A Chinese fantasy called Juushin Engi that's based on an old novel, although I don't think very much has been scanlated currently.

Yes, Juushin Enbu. I've seen some of it, and I can't say I'm terribly impressed (especially when contrasted with Arakawa's other works), but I've heard it's actually a reprisal of a series she worked on with someone else back when she was an unknown in the industry, so the "Meh" plot isn't necessarily her own.

[spoiler]As antagonists go, I'm starting to like Kimberly. Mostly for how he's carried himself so far and is manipulating the current events. I like him more than the homunculus, anyway (barring Pride because too little is known of him).[/spoiler]
And not to move backward, but the other day I reflected on this:

Fish and Chips wrote:Possibly, but as of now I'm satisfied. What I'm afraid of is that the chapters would feel choppy, a la Hellsing's 12 pages per month.

The specific thing that I don't like about monthly chapters is that the amount of space in between interrupts my flow of thoughts. I don't keep track of details like I would with a more regular series (for example, Wrath says that someone telling his son his secret cannot be his weakness, and that really should have been an obvious clue but I'd essentially forgotten about it). That is a shame, because the plot is complex enough that such a process would be rewarding. So in a way I feel as though my personal reading is more choppy in monthly chapters, though in a very different sense than Hellsing.

uc pseudonym wrote:[spoiler]As antagonists go, I'm starting to like Kimberly. Mostly for how he's carried himself so far and is manipulating the current events. I like him more than the homunculus, anyway (barring Pride because too little is known of him).[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Yes, I also find this version of Kimbley much better than his Anime adaption. In the Anime, he's mad and nihilistic]

uc pseudonym wrote:And not to move backward, but the other day I reflected on this:

The specific thing that I don't like about monthly chapters is that the amount of space in between interrupts my flow of thoughts. I don't keep track of details like I would with a more regular series (for example, Wrath says that someone telling his son his secret cannot be his weakness, and that really should have been an obvious clue but I'd essentially forgotten about it). That is a shame, because the plot is complex enough that such a process would be rewarding. So in a way I feel as though my personal reading is more choppy in monthly chapters, though in a very different sense than Hellsing.

Fair game, I'll concede. I'm also more patient than others when it comes to waiting for new chapters, so perhaps it's just my temperment.

ear hear. This thread has been needed for some time, and now we might actually have enough members to discuss it significantly. Though I was expecting some sort of bizarre product as well...

UC, I used to have a thread like this, you don't remember?

The FMA Fan Thread?

Last year?

Yippee! Just read Chapter 70! Arakawa-sensei ( ) has amazing ability; every chapter gives you just enough information to make you feel the wait was worth it, but then leaves things unresolved so you'll keep on reading next month.
[spoiler]I, for one, never saw Pride's true identity coming. For a while, I was fond of the idea of Hohenheim actually being Pride. It would explain why he refers to himself as a "monster", and a Homunculus that can reproduce would be worthy of Father calling it his "pride". I got over that idea, because Hohenheim wasn't anywhere near the other Homunculi when Pride was talking to them, and their attitudes are completely different. So then the position of Pride was completely up for grabs for me. I never, ever would have seen Selim coming. He doesn't seem evil AT ALL! But it makes sense, I suppose. I can't wait till the next chapter to find out what Hawkeye does with this stunning new information! I also want to find out what Mustang's going to do, and what a "crest of blood" is going to be.[/spoiler]

I read the scanlation from zomgfta.com too!

the_wolfs_howl wrote:[spoiler]I, for one, never saw Pride's true identity coming. For a while, I was fond of the idea of Hohenheim actually being Pride. It would explain why he refers to himself as a "monster", and a Homunculus that can reproduce would be worthy of Father calling it his "pride".[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Personally, I never thought it was Hohenheim, and I'm glad it wasn't. Think of the sin of Pride]

Fish and Chips wrote:[spoiler]Personally, I never thought it was Hohenheim, and I'm glad it wasn't. Think of the sin of Pride]

[spoiler]Yeah, I only held the Hohenheim-is-Pride theory long enough to think it through and discard it. I was thinking something along the lines of "Hohenheim could be the newest Homunculus, Father's pride and joy, his masterpiece, but Hohenheim ran off." That theory didn't hold too much water, and Selim makes much more sense. Still...doesn't it just drive you crazy wondering what's up with Hohenheim's body?! [/spoiler]

the_wolfs_howl wrote:[spoiler]Yeah, I only held the Hohenheim-is-Pride theory long enough to think it through and discard it. I was thinking something along the lines of "Hohenheim could be the newest Homunculus, Father's pride and joy, his masterpiece, but Hohenheim ran off." That theory didn't hold too much water, and Selim makes much more sense. Still...doesn't it just drive you crazy wondering what's up with Hohenheim's body?! [/spoiler]

Not particularly. I have faith in Arakawa to make all things clear eventually.

And if anyone's interested, I'll be uploading Arakawa's one shot Soten No Komori (Bat in a Blue Skey) tomorrow, and Stray Dog sometime next week (let's space these out, makes it more special).

Rather than quote within spoiler brackets, I'll address issues and hopefully everything will be clear...
[spoiler]Wrath: He's probably my favorite humonculus. He wins major points in my book for fighting with a sword instead of alchemy or all these newfangled powers.

Hohenheim: As I said earlier, I like him, more so as we learn more. I found his flashbacks of late very effective, and I liked the scene where he names each of the souls in his Philosopher's Stone (presumably) before using them. Regardless of what exactly he is, I hope he plays a much more significant role in the manga than in the anime.[/spoiler]

Fish and Chips wrote:Fair game, I'll concede. I'm also more patient than others when it comes to waiting for new chapters, so perhaps it's just my temperment.

And the opposite holds true as well: the monthly pace merely disagrees with my temperament, not that I mean to criticize it.

uc pseudonym wrote:[spoiler]Wrath: He's probably my favorite humonculus. He wins major points in my book for fighting with a sword instead of alchemy or all these newfangled powers.

Hohenheim: As I said earlier, I like him, more so as we learn more. I found his flashbacks of late very effective, and I liked the scene where he names each of the souls in his Philosopher's Stone (presumably) before using them. Regardless of what exactly he is, I hope he plays a much more significant role in the manga than in the anime.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]I'd actually say Wrath is probably my favorite character in the whole of the Manga, for a number of reasons I'll no doubt get into later. But yeah, he lives in a world powered by alchemy and gunpowder, and uses neither. Point. Major points.

And I wouldn't worry about Hohenheim not playing a major role, as by this point it's pretty much set in stone. I still hold that he is the Sage from the West, and if anyone is going to stand toe-to-toe with Father, it's probably going to be him.[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Wow, Fish and Chips, that's one Hohenheim theory I'd never considered before. Still, that'd mean he's immortal, right? And how did that come about? *muses endlessly*[/spoiler]