Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

Rated T for Teen 13+

The Main Library has books volumes 1-7, the DVDs volumes 1-4 and the movie.
The North Branch Library has books volumes 1-18.

This was the first anime I watched and the first manga series I fell in love with. I love all the characters, especially Maes Hughes, and find the story compelling. And much as I loved the anime series, I am really enjoying the more recent manga volumes--which are getting into entire plotline and characters that never appeared in the series. I don't even mind when the one contradicts the other (such as the identity of the creator of the homunculi, or which homunculus is which) because I just get to spend more time in a universe which fascinates me.

So which do you prefer--the anime or the manga?

Volume 15: On the recommendation of the kids in my Manga Book Club, Fullmetal Alchemist was the first anime that I watched. I was captivated immediately. I also love the manga series. One of the things I'm enjoying about it is the differences between the two formats. It's almost like an alternate alternate reality which allows me to still have that sense of anticipation and surprise.

This entire volume is an extended flashback to the Ishbalan Massacre. We get to know more about the relationship between Hawkeye and Roy Mustang, Marcoh's experiments in creating the philosopher's stone, Scar's brother's studying of alchemy from other countries, and Kimblee's murder of Scar's brother. We get a different but no less shocking look at the fate of Winry's parents. I was personally delighted to see Maes Hughes again. Mostly we watch Mustang as he is changed by the war and he arrives at his understanding that the only way he will ever be able to make the world better is to rise through the ranks and become president.

Two very brief moments had an impact on me. The first comes when Hughes goes into one of his trademark raptures upon receiving a letter from Gracia. Mustang tells him to stop it: "Soldiers who go on and on about their family and loved ones have a high probability of getting killed." Is this why Mustang has no one waiting for him at home? Why his loved ones are his fellow soldiers?

Then, in what I think may be the most significant line in the book, Scar's brother is surrounded by books, charts, and scrolls. Something catches his attention and he realizes "There's something strange about this country's alchemy!!" Is this somehow referring to how the homunculi are influencing alchemy in Amestris?

Volume 16: After the extended flashback of Vol. 15, we jump back to the story. Edward and Alphonse search for May Chang, the little girl with the black-and-white cat (which I still think looks more like a miniature panda.) They want to learn the purification style of alchemy that she can do. Scar breaks Dr. Marcoh out of prison heads north with him--not because he has any love for Marcoh but because Scar thinks Marcoh might still prove useful. May catches up with them and travels with them. Kimblee is released to lead the manhunt for Scar; they encounter each other on a train and Kimblee is left rather the worse for it.

Major Armstrong tells Edward and Alphonse to head to the north and gives them a letter of introduction. When they arrive at the fortress that guards to border between Amestris and Drachma they encounter Major General Armstrong--the Major's sister! (She is nothing like she was in the brief glimpse we saw of her in the anime series!) Edward discovers that the climate is too cold for his auto-mail and can cause damage to the connective tissue--ewww! Edward and Alphonse are put to work knocking down icicles where the encounter 2nd Lieutenant Falman. A loud rumbling sound can be heard; a new homunculus makes his appearance. "I feel like I'm going to die, but dying is too much work." Could this be Sloth?