Customer Reviews

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 6

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ed and Al's flashback to how they were trained in alchemy by Izumi Curtis continues as they try to survive for a month on a deserted island with no conveniences and no food except what they can hunt for themselves. They also have an unwanted companion, a masked strongman with a wooden club who beats the snot out of them and steals their food whenever he gets the chance! And don't forget that this is just to earn the right to BEGIN training! We also get more information about what happened the night that Ed and Al tried to bring back their mother from the dead and what Ed encountered in those moments that took his arm and leg. Bringing us up to the present, the extended flashback also shows how Mustang came looking for the boys, after hearing about their powers.

I thought this volume worked really well. It's not often that an entire volume of a manga is a flashback but some plot points in Fullmetal needed some more clarity. But don't get me wrong, there are still a ton of mysteries left that I look forward to seeing revealed. I liked the sequence on the island because when Fullmetal is at its best, it raises some hard questions about the nature of life, of how we are just specks in the universe of small consequence and how there are powers out there that we will never understand.

This arrived WEEKS before I was expecting it, and it was in like-new condition. I will definitely consider buying from you guys again!

The more this series goes on the more complex it gets, in a very good way. Volume 6 continues the flashback from volume 5 covering the history of the boys and how they learned alchemy. The training was almost unbelievable to read about. I could not understand why some of the unspeakable and terrifying things even happened to them in the first place. This was true in the anime as well. But it really sets the tone for just how brutal and dark the rest of the series gets as things progress. They need to be toughened up in their training for what comes after and I understand that more now. But, the first time I read it? I could barely stomach it.

The rest of the volume doesn't lighten up much either as you see the rest of what you caught a glimpse of in the very first frame of the very first volume (finally!) and get a lot of questions answered. But not all, of course. I really enjoyed having all the blanks filled in concerning the history of the brothers and how they got to where they are. I also enjoyed having some more of the tenets of alchemy spelled out for us and more of a foundation set up so that we can better understand the limitations, and what happens when an alchemist tries to play god (an ongoing theme). After all the humble pie from volume 5, volume 6 goes straight for your gut. Those poor, poor boys.

But isn't it a nice flashback? This volume gives a lot of clarification on some plot points, you get to see Little!Ed and Little!Al, and you even get into some philosophy. Definitely worth reading, I ate right through it.