FullMetal Water Cooler (FMA chapter discussion)

[Sheenar]

[spoiler] Ah, it was just a cover to help her leave the country. Gotta give the Colonel points for that one...[/spoiler]

[Sheenar]

Just finished Ch 77. Wow. What an ending...can't wait for 78 to come out!

[Fish and Chips]

Volume 18 cover.

Five bucks says Pride is on the spine.

Ten bucks says I'm wrong, and it's Fallman.

[MasterDias]

So...yeah, chapter 78...
[spoiler] Hohenheim is really getting around. He goes underground at Lior and encounters Pride with the evident intent of taking the fight to Father himself.
Isn't this the first time we have seen Rose in the manga since like Volume 1?

Meanwhile, Kimblee defects to Drachma in order to take out Briggs, Al/Scar/Winry's party has a turncoat, and Ed is still missing.
A lot is happening rather quickly.[/spoiler]

[Fish and Chips]

Yeah, second appearance since the first two chapters, aside from an omake.

The next couple chapters are gonna be huge.

[uc pseudonym]

That was my thought as well: this chapter covers a lot of ground. It is interesting to know more about the philosophy behind the seven deadly sins and also about Pride's limits. I liked Hohenheim's declaration of war quite a bit.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Yes, I believe so. [spoiler]I think basically it means that Pride can only move in a certain radius from Father. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Father has planned to make Amestris that size from the beginning because that was the limit to which Pride could go. Though why that's particularly important, I'm not sure.[/spoiler]

[GrubbTheFragger]

Holy cow FMA manga is much longer and well better than the series or so it looks. I have always heard but yeah now reading about some of the stuff makes me want to read it

[the_wolfs_howl]

Dude yeah! It's twice as good as the anime, I think! Probably because it's the way the story was meant to be done, since Arakawa-san is the one doing it.

[Fish and Chips]

After reading chapter 79, I realized I'd been waiting for this for some time now.
[spoiler]Envy - 0
Marco - 1

And the entire Drachma army has been wiped out. Busy interlude. Clearly, the Northern Cliff of Briggs knows how to play the defensive. But Kimbley's mission is just to ensure the death toll rises to appropriately devastating levels, so he doesn't sweat the small stuff.[/spoiler]

[mechana2015]

79 isn't out yet on the site I watch so I'm gonna avoid Fish's comment and just say that the whole Hohenheim declaring war thing was awesome. And that Pride is one of the scariest antagonists I've seen in a manga in a while.

[uc pseudonym]

Concerning 79:
[spoiler]This was good to see; I've always thought Marco should have this kind of knowledge. At the moment he's still alive, but so is Envy, so things are up for grabs. Hopefully Marco will survive long enough to teach this to the Elric brothers.

Kimbley's internal Philosopher's Stone proves effective yet again. Am I correct in remembering that he lost the other one during his fight with Ed?[/spoiler]

[Fish and Chips]

[spoiler]The second Philosopher Stone up his sleeve, yeah, that's right.[/spoiler]
There are a number of things I respect about FullMetal Alchemist, but one of them is how much mileage Arakawa gets out of her secondary/supporting cast. Ed and Al have been fairly inconsequential these past couple chapters, and the story continues under its own steam. Too many series (Shounen in particular) act like the entire universe revolves around the main lead.

[the_wolfs_howl]

My big rant on the chapter that probably no one wants to read:

First of all, I'm mainly just disappointed that it had to be so short. I mean, really it was only one scene! Is it just me, or is each chapter getting progressively shorter?

[spoiler]On a happier note: YAY ENVY'S DEAD!!!!!! I know there are a lot of Envy fans among the FMA fandom for some reason, and he's one of the Homunculi we're most familiar with, but I'm just really really glad he's gone. Not because I didn't like the concept of his character or anything, but because he really needs to go. Just look at all the lives he has inside him, and just think about all the deaths he's caused. The worst, of course, would be the instigation of the Ishbal war and the murder of Hughes.

And you know, right as I was writing this I realized something. First of all, it took a while to really sink in, but have you realized that three of the seven Homunculi are gone now? Only four more to go! XP Also, I realized that the three that have been killed so far - Lust, Gluttony, and Envy, not counting Greed since he's back - are the first three that were introduced. They've been there almost since Chapter 1! And now they're all gone.... That, combined with Roze from the last chapter, really hits home that we're getting close to the end.

Oh, another note about Envy was that when you see him as an Ishbalite with Zanpano and he grins, something stirred in the back of my mind. I said, "There's something familiar about that smile." I didn't wait to puzzle it out, and kept reading, but as soon as Envy started to transform, I was like, "Yes! That's it!!!"

My jaw literally dropped when it was revealed that the "traitor" was actually luring Envy there. That was SO cool! I suppose I should've seen something like that coming, Arakawa being herself and all.[/spoiler]

The only things I didn't like about this chapter were that it was too short and it was basically only one scene.

[uc pseudonym]

[spoiler]I'm not sure I agree with your Homunculi analysis. Envy is reduced to some fetus-type thing, but isn't actually dead yet. Unless we saw his Philosopher's Stone break in this chapter, I'm not counting him out until I see the body. Or lack thereof, in this case.

As far as Gluttony... is he really dead? I could be wrong, as I don't keep very good track of FMA. But as far as I recall Father still has his essence and could very well recycle it like we saw with Greed.[/spoiler]

[R. Zion]

Actually...

[spoiler] Only One Homunculus is truly dead, and that is Lust. Though Gluttony's stone ran out of power, Father was regenerating him. We just haven't see him yet since that time.

Also, technically, Envy isn't dead. I was expecting Scar to fry him, but our de-evolved friend still seems to be among the living for the time being. I have my theories, but nothing I'd voice yet...[/spoiler]

[Mave]

The war declaration was cool and I also don't think E is dead yet.

[mechana2015]

Pretty awesome chapter, fight wise. Its nice to see all the team based fights, and this was a fun one. Gotta love thousand years of death alchemy.

Marcoh dosn't look so hot though.

[Fish and Chips]

Chapter 80.
[spoiler]Envy in a jar. And Marcoh's still alive. From an author who popularly kills off characters "For real," relieves a little tension from the January chapter.

Three chapters and no Edward. Worried about the little guy.

And the immortal Bradley fan that I am, I'm impatient for translations now that he's back on the scene. And all that jazz with the nonliving army, too.[/spoiler]

[uc pseudonym]

As far as chapters between major points of action go, I enjoyed this one.

[spoiler]Not that people were disagreeing with me, but see what I was saying? Envy is defeated but not dead, which in the FMA world means he's not out. I do hope he is eliminated, however, instead of being involved in too many more fights. His character has runs its course for me and I'd like to see some other villains get attention.

On that subject, interesting character development with Bradley.[/spoiler]

[Fish and Chips]

Oh right, FullMetal Alchemist. Chapter 81.
[spoiler]And that polishes off volume 20. I think this might be Ed's only appearance in it.

I'm curious if those immortal dolls are just a macguffin. Father probably sees his military state like a pet project, tossed aside after it's served its use.

And now we're back at Lior/Reole/Newark.[/spoiler]

[uc pseudonym]

[spoiler]The main character came back and I don't mind. Yet another sign that FMA is above average. As far as the dolls I'm still wondering how they will be used - it is an interesting thematic development that the law condemning human transmutation was pragmatic, not theological. That has been a major background theme for a good portion of the manga and I can't imagine it would be undermined without a good reason.[/spoiler]

[Fish and Chips]

Volume 19 cover.

[Sheenar]

Anyone read chapter 83 yet? I did yesterday!

[spoiler] Some funny moments --when Ed calls the chimeras his servants and they stomp him on the ground. The Ed joins up with Greed to find out more information about Father and his plans to open the gate on the "day". Hmm...sounds like things will be coming to a head soon. Which means things will just continue to get better... [/spoiler]

[uc pseudonym]

Right, I was wondering if anyone else gets a sense of climax here.

[spoiler]Also good to see Ling/Greed join the group. I wasn't expecting it quite so soon, but assumed it was inevitable. That will be an interesting dynamic. As per usual, FMA proves itself worthwhile in that the way the conclusion will fall out doesn't seem foreordained.[/spoiler]

[Fish and Chips]

I have read both chapter 82 and 83, but cannot think of much to talk about. More of Arakawa's excellent writing and tension for the end. Things are moving a little faster than I might have preferred though.

[Sheenar]

Chapter 84 was an excellent continuation of the plot. More great writing. Things are moving along pretty quickly though... I just hope he isn't trying to rush the plot along...

A couple of funny points:

[spoiler] Winry beginning to change in her room and Ed is sitting in the corner --and they both scream. Winry taking out those soldiers to get them out of her room. Winry repeatedly beating Ed with the wrench. And I think the idea of a "Sheep Festival" is very fitting for a town like Resembool. [/spoiler]

[Fish and Chips]

Chapter 84 was an excellent continuation of the plot. More great writing. Things are moving along pretty quickly though... I just hope he isn't trying to rush the plot along...

"She." Hiromu Arakawa is a woman.

[spoiler]Gluttony's back. And paired off with Pride like he should have been back in volume 11/12. Envy's in a glass jar halfway to Central, and Ed's "Working for" Greed. Lust is still dead and will stay dead stop trying to bring her back to life. The Homunculi are thinning]
Haven't talked about FMA for a bit. Feels good.

[Sheenar]

Duh, I knew that:shake:...thanks for clearing that up, Fish. I guess I forgot the mangaka is a woman.

[uc pseudonym]

I think the pace is fine, actually. It's beginning to gather speed for the end, but not too quickly. I'll be looking forward to this "conflict" with Al... if there's much of one. But it seems there will be a development on this major plot element shortly.