Comments for Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 21

Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 21: 01/05/14

In Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 21 by Hiromu Arakawa, Ed and Al are reunited but something is wrong with Al. He's not in control of himself! Al has hidden people before inside his armor but never a homunculus! This time, though, Pride (pesky Selim Bradley) has taken control. He may be the smallest but he's certainly one of the most powerful of the homunculi.

Selim, we learn, draws his power from the shadows. Like the vashta nerada of Doctor Who, Selim's shadow is deadly. Fighting him, though, takes an opposite approach — turning off all lights to there can be no shadow, rather than turning on all lights. I found that piece of strategy the most interesting part of the fight.

This volume is the start of the final battle. Although I've enjoyed, loved, obsessed over this series, multi volume fight scenes can get tedious. In this case, the battle with Selim was interesting and different. But if he returns, the future battles won't hold the same sway over me.

Five stars

Comments (0)