But where Avatar strikes me as a fantasy, Fullmetal Alchemist seems to be more sci-fi because its magic system is based in science: alchemy, which I’ve come to understand is a sort of precursor to chemistry.

Like Avatar, the characters, the world, and the magic system are complex.

I wanted to find something as thought provoking, moving, and fun and it wasn’t until I saw Fullmetal Alchemist that I found something that came close. I watched them on Netflix after seeking and failing to find a show that rivaled Avatar: The Last Airbender. I’m glad that I watched the shows first because I doubt I would have liked them as much as if I’d read the mangas before seeing them. Since I watched the anime before reading the books, I kept referring back to the show (or shows, rather, since there’s Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, which seems to closely follow the manga than the first show) as I read. The story is a somber one centered on sacrifice and what should be treasured in life, but much humor is included to lighten the story’s load, especially the suffering of the protagonists, who it’s sometimes easy to forget are just kids. It’s up there with Harry Potter and will remain in my memory for a long time. But the more the brothers the learn, the more they realize that finding the stone comes at a high price. They have many adventures while searching for the stone and meet many dangerous people who are also interested in the stone and its power. Though young, in their early to mid-teens, the brothers are incredibly smart and Ed, the oldest of the two, was able to join the military. The brothers seek the stone to replace their bodies - Edward’s arm and leg and Alphonse’s entire body, - which they lost when they used a forbidden alchemical ritual to bring their dead mother back to life.Įd now has mechanical limbs called auto-mail and Al’s soul is bonded to a suit of armor.

When considering which manga to start with, I thought it best to begin with something familiar so I grabbed the first bind-up copy of Fullmetal Alchemist and kept returning for more to satiate my growing interest.įullmetal Alchemist is about brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who’ve joined the military to seek and study the Philosopher’s Stone, a chemical substance that grants immense power. I usually stay away from them because they seem like a lot (those shelves filled with numerous issues for a single series stomp me), but I became curious and decided to give them a try. As I’ve mentioned before, venturing into comics led me to mangas.

Fullmetal alchemist 01 hiromu arakawa