*flappy hands*

[sholio]

... so apparently I stopped reading the FMA manga right before things got good, eh?

I just mainlined vols. 6-10 tonight (up to the latest one the library had in stock), and

OMG OMG THE FIGHT WITH LUST WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME THIS WAS SO AWESOME *_*

It's pretty rare for me to ship a couple who aren't an established couple in canon, but ever since the beginning of the series I've shipped Riza/Roy liek whoa (though my adoration is firmly rooted in their comrades-in-arms bond, and if they never do anything but save each other's lives for the rest of the series, I'll be a happy camper). The original anime gave me a bunch of happy little crumbs, but the manga is giving me GOLD.

The only part that fell a little flat for me was Riza giving up and deciding to die when she thought Roy was dead (and he was right to chew her out for that afterwards) but other than that, all I really have right now is SQUEE! FLAIL! SQUAIL! Code names and trust and worry and SHE'S dead and then HE'S dead and stabbings and explosions and PRESUMED DEAD WITH NOT-SO-DEAD LAST-MINUTE RESCUES I LOVE IT SO!

... oh, and I guess there was something in there about Ed, too, but I was distracted. XD

(I actually love all the characters in FMA, even most of the bad guys -- and was so delighted that Havoc and Maria survived, though I saw the Maria thing coming from pretty much the moment of her "death", and the Elrics and Winry will never not be adorable ... but OMG, pretty much the entirety of the fight between the Sins and Roy and his people in vols 9 & 10 mashed down my fan buttons SO HARD.)

I shall be off to get subsequent volumes as soon as I can! Please, please do not spoil me beyond vol. 10, which I think is about ep. 20 of Brotherhood (not that I've been looking up episode guides or anything XD ... though with one eye squeezed shut to avoid spoilers). FMA is a series that I really, really want to read unspoiled, because I love those "OMFGWTFBBQ" moments that Arakawa does so well.

Edit: Also, does anyone know of any good Riza gen or Riza/Roy (actually, Riza/anyone, come to think of it) that's not spoilery for post-vol. 10(ish) of the manga? Anything from the original animeverse (i.e. not Brotherhood) is also fine; I've seen all of that. I'm afraid to look up fic or vids for fear of spoilers, but I want more Riza like burning! (So to speak...)

Comments

[naye]

Eeeee~! I am so excited! You are reading FMA! And I just read all 24 volumes published so far!! (How many are translated?)

I promise not to spoil anything ever, because you're right - Arakawa does brilliant storytelling, and the twists and turns is one of the best thing about a series that has MANY bests!

I'm like you - I was feeling kind of so-so about the manga for the first couple of volumes, and then somewhere around 5 or 6 the pace picked up and I found myself glued to the edge of my seat.

I haven't come unstuck yet. XD

And I, too, find Roy & Riza to be fantastic together in all sorts of capabilities. Um. Sorry I can't help you out with fic or anything - I haven't really felt up to dealing with fandom yet, not with so much canon to digest. But if you find stuff, I'd love recs, I think. ♥

Oh, the fight with Lust is EPIC - Roy is as badass as badass can be, and especially following his moment freaking out about Havoc (ordering people not to die!!) and then Riza freaking out about him and. Awwwwwww~!

The fight itself is... kind of gruesome. She does that well, Arakawa does. Fighting is cool, sure, but it's also horrible. Killing is horrible - even when the enemy is a monster.

And I am so happy that you love all of the characters! Yay! Me too~!

I think one of the major differences between FMA and the manga/FMA:B is that the manga has more humor. And it is far better for it! FMA really took the angst and ran with it (ran a whole marathon, dragging your heart over broken glass for half the way), but in the manga - sure, the angst is there, but there's a lot of other things, too. There's more... hope, maybe? more lighthearted moments. And less rubbing the reader's face in DRAMATIC ANGSTY DEATH!! DRAMATIC ANGSTY MOMENT!! FEEL THE ANGST!!!

And I say this as someone who loved FMA the first time around.

Okay, I will stop flailing excitedly at you now. ^^;;

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

I think I'm glad I saw the anime first (haven't yet tracked down "Brotherhood" because when I tried to get to the advertised free-and-legal streams I crashed my computer), because I loved it and yet the manga is so much more complex. Encountering them in reverse might well have disappointed me.

I've bought up through 18 or so, read through 15 or so, and forgotten huge chunks. That's the problem with series, for me; with each new release, I have to go back and reread all the previous to remember what the heck is going on. I find that with most anything, but especially with FMA, because there's just so much going on.

[calcitrix.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is good to know. I tried reading a few manga titles back when Akira came out and the US started getting some really weird titles that were obviously hurriedly translated and I couldn't get into any of them. I keep thinking I should try one or two again, but the sheer number is overwhelming now. But I liked the anime series and the movie. Maybe I'll give it a shot.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Oh my goodness, if you think it's awesome at vol. 10, wait til you get to the current stuff. SO AWESOME IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY. Though also sad, because it's almost ending. I will miss it! But I hope Arakawa will go on to write something even awesomer.

[sheron]

I've seen the first FMA anime in its entirety and loved it, but I haven't been following Brotherhood. Is it a sequel?

>who aren't an established couple in canon

they practically are

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Eh, maybe I'll give this one a try. I keep trying to get into manga or anime to help with my Japanese studies, and so far nothing has clicked for me. This one does sound interesting.

[crashbarrier.livejournal.com]

I had a major Brain fart moment and was sat for 10 minutes wndering what FMA was.. for some reason my brain was saying to me "its football!" but i know it wasn't then I realised its Full Metal Alchemist.

It is fully awesome is it not.


Which reminds me i still have to acuire the anime at some point.. it sooo spensive! and i keep getting distracted By Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex