FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (VOLUME 20)

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FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST (VOLUME 20)

September 3rd 2010 20:51

Category: Manga

Publisher: Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd
Story & Art by: Hiromu Arakawa
Translation by: O Keime
Cover Design: Nicole Ng
Interior & Lettering: Nicole Ng
Cost: AU$14.95

You know it’s been some time since I last had a good read of the antics of the Brothers Elric and their ongoing saga to try and repair the damage that they inflicted on themselves as a misguided attempt to bring back to life their deceased mother. If memory serves me correctly, to borrow a phrase from Iron Chef’s Chairman Kaga, Fullmetal would have been one of the first things I reviewed when I started out in this gig. Regardless of whether that is actually correct it is good to get back into this story by Hiromu Arakawa. This manga revolves very much around the esoteric practice of Alchemy and the whole Philosopher’s Stone shtick and frankly it does it so well.

The whole premise that runs throughout this manga is that Edward and Alphonse Elric are distraught with their mother’s passing that they attempt to learn alchemy in order to bring her back to life; like you do. Now apparently attempting to bring the dead back to life is one of the three taboos of alchemy, along with transmuting base metals to pure and disobeying the military. It’s something that you don’t do; but sometimes grief can overwhelm rational thought blowing aside reason like paper before the wind. When they feel that they have enough knowledge and are able to gather the requisite materials the two brothers attempt the ritual to revive their mother. Of course it all goes horribly horribly wrong. Ed loses a leg and arm whilst his brother Alphonse loses his entire body with only his spirit remaining – only as a last ditch effort by Ed sees Al bonded to an ancient suit of armour.

So the two brothers are actively engaged in trying to restore themselves to their original forms, they need to find the legendary Philosopher’s Stone as with this device they can ignore the restrictions within alchemy that require an equivalent exchange. In essence the stone allows near limitless power and capability, Ed believes that with it he can restore both himself and Al with no problems. The only catch is trying to track down the means by which a stone can be created. And thus leaving behind their home town, their home and their childhood friend both Elric brothers end up joining the military in order to gain access to various tomes, funds and other research materials necessary for their quest. In the world of Fullmetal Alchemist to be a practitioner of alchemy one has to be registered and registration means placing oneself at the disposal of the military.
What is begun by Edward joining the military becomes an epic quest that uncovers a whole raft of conspiracies and unpleasant truths concerning the nature of the Amestrian military and its campaign years ago in Ishbal. Couple this with a bunch of entities known as the Homunculi and you have the classic kind of villain, mysterious, powerful and somehow intimately connected with the very thing that our two protagonists are searching for. One of the homunculi is actually the ruler of Amestris, the country in which the vast bulk of the action occurs. Fuhrer King Bradley is the homunculus Wrath; the ouroboros that distinguishes homunculi from everyone else is actually in his eye, the eye that he keeps concealed behind an eye patch.
Now homunculi are artificial beings, beings created from alchemy thus breaking the very taboo that is meant to prevent the creation of human life via this power. The mystery is who then created these creatures and too what purpose – called Father this being looks exactly like Edward and Alphonse’s father, Van Hoenheim who is a lot more than what he seems. He was the initial impetus behind the two brothers delving into the science of alchemy; it was via his texts and treatises that gave them the building blocks to start their study. He is an alchemist of considerable potency so perhaps this talent is genetic as his two sons have gained a skill and mastery of the art that would have taken years for others to achieve, at great cost though.
In this particular volume we see that the two brothers have become separated through pursuing various leads and clues and that they’re are seeking to link back up and effectively try and add what they have discovered into the mosaic that they have concerning the Philosopher’s Stone and the Homunculi and their agenda. The trouble is that even as they are becoming able to see the forest more clearly their enemies are on the hunt for them, seeking to stop them before their own schemes are brought to fruition. Envy; one of the remaining Homunculi, has managed to track down Dr Marcoh, a former military alchemist, who was involved in the production of Philosopher’s Stone for the military campaign in Ishbal. Alphonse and family friend Winry Rockbell are also with the good doctor but Envy has no idea what he is about to encounter.
Scar and the princess from Xing; Chan Mei, have also become involved with Dr Marcoh and at an Ishbalan refugee shanty town they have come together almost like a cabal of conspirators engaged in hatching a plot. If he wasn’t such an arrogant excuse for a human being Envy would realise right from the get go that something is up, that this convergence of significant players into a united whole is not in the best interests of himself or his ‘Father’. In fact it is a potential turning point in affairs; unfortunately Envy is too consumed in seeking to exact revenge on Dr Marcoh whom he promised to torment if the good doctor went against his wishes. He is unaware of the trap that has been laid specifically for him or the capability of those arrayed against him. It’s a major flaw that has catastrophic consequences for the shape shifting homunculi...
Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 20 demonstrates just why this has been one of the most successful manga series going around, it has all the right ingredients that go to providing a great story. There is humour, mystery, horror and action aplenty along with a great cast of characters. My favourite has to be Greed; of all the homunculi he is the coolest as he seems to operate on his own code of ethics as determined by him, not by the entity that created him. Which no doubt goes a long way to explaining his independent streak. As far as things go if this kind of story is up your alley then engage in an equivalent exchange and get your hands on this volume...

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