Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 02: 05/23/11

After having watched the first anime version of Fullmetal Alchemist last year I decided to read the manga series. While I enjoyed the quicker pace of Volume 1, that same quick pace caught me off guard in this volume.

Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 2 covers the entire arc of Shou Tucker, the Sewing Life Alchemist. In the 2003 anime Shou Tucker and his daughter are introduced over the course of a couple episodes. Here the entire plot takes half the volume.

While that brevity does cut out a lot of the cornball sappy filler it also lessons the shock value of how Shou Tucker is accomplishing his alchemy. It's a look at the awful things parents sometimes do to their children for petty reasons.

Meeting Shou Tucker is one of the first tests of the Elric's brother's conviction to undo their mistake without committing further crimes against the natural order of things. They could easily become another Shou Tucker were it not for their strong moral conviction.

Five stars.

Comments (2)

Comment #1: Monday, May, 30, 2011 at 08:25:02

Kah Woei

If you prefer the manga's storyline, I think you'll like the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime version. Personally, after watching the second version, the first version just wasn't good enough anymore :-)

Comment #2: Monday, May 30, 2011 at 12:05:25

Pussreboots

I've seen Brotherhood parts one and two. I'm still waiting to see part three. I've also seen the motion picture and all of the original anime. I'm not buying the manga though; I'm reading it through my library. I'm up to volume 20. Since I'm near the end I have to put them on hold as they are always checked out.