Fullmetal Alchemist (aka Why I Should Listen to My Friends)

Last spring, my friends Kayla and Anila (of The Cuckoo’s Nest and Keep Calm and Om Nom, respectively) sent me the link to read a manga online, insisting that I absolutely MUST read it.  It was for a series by the name of Fullmetal Alchemist, which I had heard of before but wasn’t all that interested in reading. Over the next few months, the conversation went something like this:

ANILA: “Rae you absolutely have to read FMA, it’s SO GOOD!”

ME: “m-hmm…maybe.  I’m really busy right now with AP Studio Art though…”

Two Weeks Later

KAYLA: “Rae, have you started reading FMA yet?  There’s some crazy stuff in there!”

ME: “I can’t right now, I have five art classes all with projects that need to be finished and really don’t have the time…”

Four Weeks Later

ANILA: “Rae, you’ve finished your AP studio art portfolio, so get START READING FMA!!! Four volumes, that’s all I’m asking you to read!”

ME: *resigned* “Fine, fine, I’ll read four volumes, but that’s it!”

And so I read the first volume and a half, and over and over I was geeking out over the pen and ink technique, and was so distracted by the art that it was taking me about seven times longer then it really should have.  Eventually I said, “ah, screw it,” and watched the FMA: Brotherhood anime instead.

OH. MY. GOD. 

First off, thank you Anila and Kayla for pressuring me and pressuring me and not letting up until I actually buckled…you were right.  There, I’m not going to say it again.

For those who do not know – which would be ridiculous as the only two people that I know are following this blog are the two friends aforementioned in this post – FMA is a story about two brothers, Alphonse and Edward Eleric, who try to resurrect their mother using a taboo form of alchemy, and instead end up losing their body, and arm and leg, respectively.  Honestly that super, super basic description doesn’t even do the story justice.  It’s also a story of loyalty, of good versus evil, of a corrupt government, of frenemies, of alliances and espionage, and of how much one will sacrifice for the greater cause. 

In short, it’s just damn good.

Even in the anime I was stunned by the quality of the animation and the detail.  Although it was not as detailed in the inking (I loooooove pen and ink), it still was exceptional in the varying line thickness and the color palette that many American animators could do well to learn from.  More then anything, however, I was impressed by the backgrounds.  I know it may seem strange that I was looking at the backgrounds when there is so much going on with the characters, but the painted backgrounds are so truly magnificent that I have to give them a shout-out.  I actually was jumping up and down in excitement when I was trying to explain this to one of my friends…art nerd, okay?  Give me a break!

As of now, I’m currently working on actually reading the manga (on a much smaller screen as to avoid the massive art geeking out that was occurring earlier) and it is just as exciting the second time around.  So, to anyone that is in the tiniest bit curious about Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood, if you’re watching the anime), go, watch it.  Read it.  Just experience it.