Fullmetal Alchemist 16
Posted: April 6, 2008 | Author: Connie | Filed under: Fullmetal Alchemist |1 Comment »The whole flashback was contained in the last volume, and I was happy to see that things were back in the present. A lot of what goes on here is sort of setting things up for future plot developments, and I still didn’t really enjoy this volume like I should. The characters are sort of shuffled around a little (at least Ed and Al are) and we get to catch up with a few other people, but there aren’t any battles (at least between main characters) or anything, nothing further is explained, and since I would love to see Al in human form RIGHT NOW, anything that doesn’t feel like rapid progress towards that goal is kind of disappointing.
There is still plenty to like here, though. Ed and Al decide to learn more about Eastern Alchemy, and to do that, they need to go to a northern base and meet up with Major-General Armstrong. I forget precisely why they need to stop here before traveling (probably because they need to travel in secret), but Major-General Armstrong is an awesome character. You’d expect them to be awesome because of a resemblance to the Armstrong we know, but the person is awesome on their own merits. I also really liked some of the bits of wisdom one must follow in the northern climates, especially about automail. Details like that make things more interesting.
Kimblee is released. He’s definitely a monster, but I can’t figure out what kind of monster he is. His fight with Scar is the only action we get to see this volume. It’s a pretty decent battle considering the fact I don’t really care about either character.
I also don’t care about Mei, but I like the fact that she and Scar have teamed up. I liked it even more when there was a gag strip in the back that implied that the two formed some sort of plastic surgery team, with Scar causing damage and Mei fixing the damage into a new person.
Eh. Maybe next volume will be more my thing.
[...] 1 of Sunflower at Manga Jouhou. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie looks at vol. 11 of Skip Beat, vol. 16 of Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 1 of Honey and Clover, vol. 1 of Devil’s Bride, vol. 15 of Berserk, and vol. 11 of [...]