I wish there was a separate folder that I could put this in to differentiate it from the other manga in the "Complete List." This is the one of the few - VERY FEW - manga that set the standard for what a manga should be: an entertaining, unique story, engaging characters demonstrating a range of human emotions, offers some thought-provoking ideas, a COHESIVE world. (Now, I'll name some of my top favorites to illustrate that I'm not predisposed to a particular genre - and to unashamedly promote:
Nodame Cantabile (a quiet, slice-of-lifey josei, about MUSIC, yes!),
Gintama (contains the most outrageous humor, lovingly parodies shounen tropes),
Lovely Complex, (one of the best shoujo with non-stereotypical couples, cast, and a surprisingly well-done romantic angle)
Monster (a brilliant, psychological seinen that is as 'literary' as manga can get),
Annamarasumanara (webcomic, a magical tale that pushes the artistic boundaries of the medium).
Some manga try to become great and fail, some manga rely on the shounen-mold that I'm quickly coming to despise for its lack of ingenuity, some manga try to carry an exciting story and fall from its own weight. Fullmetal Alchemist succeeds by following basic story-telling 101: BY TELLING A DAMN GOOD STORY. This may seem like a 'well, DUH' point but it's actually difficult. Maybe it's because I have high expectations, but I think there are quite few manga that carry through with a story without losing steam or are just plain juvenile or lacking in pacing or getting bogged down with stereotypical characters. The few great manga are the ones that DO NOT use the medium of 'manga' as a crutch or an excuse for low-quality story-telling, but works with the medium to its fullest potential.
In FMA, important plot points are unveiled throughout in just the right moments as to have a FUNCTION. Clearly there is thought and care in planning the story on the author's part. The villains are fleshed out enough so they don't have a 'villain-of-the-day' feel, which is something I loathe, abhor, DETEST in shounen manga. FMA touches many themes: the meaning of humanity, the distribution of power, the ethics of mass genocide, the importance and power of familial bonds. I don't judge manga on whether they tackle big themes because it's a choice on the mangaka, and if I DID judge them that way, I would probably eliminate some from my favorites list. But if a manga chooses to mention some, I expect them to elaborate upon them in such a way that they factor into the plot in some important way, and in a non-didactic manner.
Some final points:
- Minor characters are brought back - NOT in a 'oh, remember this character that showed up ages ago? Well, as a bone to the readers who stuck by this manga since the beginning, I SPY!'. They either have a function by becoming a major player or they remain as part of the background, as recognizable landmarks, so to speak, that intensify the realism and cohesivity of the FMA world.
- The main characters are MULTI-DIMENSIONAL. They have human, realistic, logical concerns, desires and fears, that drive the story forward.
- There is a wonderful range of antagonists and villains who thwart the heroes. Some have multiple layers, some are flat (flat characters ARE necessary, too) - and most, if not all, are NOT completely black-and-white. And I don't mean in the typical shounen way, like after defeating the current villain the readers are privy to his sympathetic life story which is supposed to endear him/her to the readers in his/her last moments - NO.
- The females are as kick-ass as the males. This is one of my biggest pet peeves of shounen manga. 'Strong' females in shounen typically tend to be strong in the physical-sense, but beyond that? No. FMA successfully displays the RANGE of females as equal to the range of males. Some females are strong, physically and emotionally, some are strong only physically, some are strong emotionally but not physically. One example: Winry NOT participating in physical fights is not 'insulting' to her character and is in no way a kind of underhanded 'women can support in the background' BS (I'm looking at you, Naruto). Winry is Ed's primary mechanic, which is her strength, therefore she IS a support character - not once do I think that it's because she's a female that she's a supprot character. She's also the Elric brothers' anchor, and, as demonstrated in the crucial scene
when she's about to shoot Scar but Ed stops her
it is symbolic for her to NOT sully her hands. Which brings me to...
- Fighting isn't glorified in this shounen. This is not to say that the fight scenes aren't amazing - they are and it's awesome to see. (Who doesn't like a good fight scene? Especially the ones in FMA, in which battles are resolved in many different ways, by a combination of brute strength, ingenuity, luck, determination...) Fighting is in no way glorified, which is appropriate to the war theme that FMA has.
- The range of relationships in FMA - familial, romantic, platonic - is just so well-done. God, most shounen with romantic elements are just...so juvenile, I shouldn't be so harsh considering the intended audience of shounen manga, but that's my point - FMA goes beyond its genre. Some of the romance is hinted at so lightly it can be taken as an extremely strong bond
Roy, Riza.
Some of the romance is light, but definitive
! Ed, Winry.
The bond between the Elric brothers may be considered in-your-face-ish, but it's because IT'S WHAT DRIVES ED AND AL; it's damn important. The friendship and camaraderie that develops between major/minor characters are NOT done in the obnoxious, in-your-face-ish-shounen-YOU-ARE-MY-NAKAMA way and therefore seems realistic, to me at least.
- Not only is the plot of FMA amazing, but it also has MEANING. There's meaning to the characters' actions/words, there's meaning to the plot - If I can write a veritable ESSAY on FMA, then I know that it has enough depth.
- The ending - one of the most satisfying, complete, perfect endings I've seen in a manga. I had no questions or qualms against it.
It may seem that I'm mainly talking about characters, but that's because a story IS as good as its characters. You can give me an amazing plot but the characters are the ones who give it momentum, who give it life. FMA is quite possible the only manga that I simply cannot decide on a favorite character because, truly, there are too many characters that are so real and amazing and all those good adjectives. The world of FMA is one that is both familiar (Western and Eastern elements, possibly Europe and Asia?) and unfamiliar and it's exciting. By the end of the series I have felt that I have actually traveled to Amestris, and the journey with the characters has come to an end. I've come to recognize landmarks of a fictional world because I've visited them numerous times; they are not simply places that the characters have visited, but places attached to memorable events, with meaning.
In most shounen manga there is brotherhood, there is sacrifice, pain, love, redemption, fire-forged bonds. But while most shounen manga come across as flat and devoid of that elusive 'something' that really leaves a mark on me, FMA succeeds; the brotherhood is integral, the sacrifices are real and moving -
the death of Maes Hughes is still one of the fictional deaths that I refuse to accept
, the love is understated, the redemption is realistic, the fire-forged bonds are not outrageously dramatic.
Now, I'll stop talking about FMA because I could go on forever. To the reviewers who gave this manga a poor rating, I'm honestly curious as to what manga you gave a GOOD rating. Because either they must be extremely amazing or...
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