User rating of this review - 4.8 out of 5
Story/Plot - 5 out of 5
Characters - 5 out of 5
Drawing Style - 4.5 out of 5
Enjoyment - 4.5 out of 5
Overall - 5 out of 5
Plot/Story
Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric are out on a journey to locate the Philosopher's Stone, a powerful stone capable of powerful alchemy. When they were young, their mother had died. Because they loved her, the siblings performed forbidden alchemy, which resulted in the lost of one of Ed's arms and one of Ed's legs, and the body of Alphonse Elric. Luckily, Ed managed to seal Al's soul in a suit of armor, and a friend of his called Winry managed to make automail for to replace Ed's arm and leg. As they set out on their journey, they encounter the military, numerous people, and enemies who are also searching for what they want...
The story is quite interesting overall. The depth of the plot is fascinating, especially for a shounen manga. The depth of the little things is also quite amazing.
Characters
The characters are all very likeable. Each character has a unique personality and ambition. The two main characters are:
Edward Elric: Edward Elric, or Ed, is the main character of the manga. He is a fifteen-year old State Alchemist, making him a prodigy. Although he is fifteen, he is often mistaken as a child or is called very small. This often enrages Ed and will say ridiculous things about what the person said, even if the individual never said it.
Alphonse Elric: Alphonse Elric, or Al, is the sibling of Ed. He lost his body while reviving his mother. Al is very caring, unlike his older brother. He is fourteen years old.
Drawing Style
The drawing style is very good, but I think that the humans are somewhat odd looking, but not too much. The humans are still well-drawn Everything else, from the background to the minor details, excel.
Enjoyment
I personally would give it a five, but I decided to make it 4.5 due to the fact that few people may not enjoy the depth of it. It's very interesting, but also very deep.
Overall
Fullmetal Alchemist is recommended to anyone who likes shounen. It's a different kind of shounen manga, but it still is very good. It's quite popular, although manga like Naruto, One Piece, and Bleach are still much more popular. Anyone who likes manga with some depth to it, Fullmetal Alchemist isn't a bad choice.
FMA was the very first manga I ever read. Ever since, I've been trying to find a manga that can come close to being as good. Haven't found it yet!
From reading the comments, it sounds like a deep manga is a bad thing. Am I the only one who really liked how deep it was? Manga is entertainment, yes, but the really deep and thought-provoking parts were the parts I liked the best.
Anyway, amazing manga in every way, shape, and form.
this was amazing TO THE END, most mangas aren't like that so i really appreciate this work
Though I am not a fan of Shounen manga, this one is just amazing. The plot, the humour, the ... everything is spectacular. The plot details keep your hair on end throughout the whole reading experience. Every little occurrence effects the story. The protagonists aren't perfect and totally unrelatable.
IMO, it's the awesomest Shounen out there. 😀
I would've given it a five myself. FMA is my favourite shonen manga at the moment. The most recent chapters are just so full of action, it's awesome!
Actually, IMO it's not too deep that people would be put off by it. Even those who only prefer a good drama, action or clever plot twists would enjoy it a lot. It's not immensely philosophical or anything if you don't read too much into it. There are also some humours abound, although slightly more scarce in the recent chapters I think, to keep the mood quite light as well.
