Full Metal Alchemist Series

Over the past week I began reading Full Metal Alchemist, a manga series by Hiromu Arakawa that follows the adventures of two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Edward. They are both alchemists, which are in the context of the manga people that can create and destroy material on the principle of equal exchange. After a horrible alchemy accident, Edward loses multiple limbs and Alphonse loses his entire body, so the former utilizes prosthetic limbs called "auto-mail" while the latter manifests his soul in a giant suit of armor.

Though not the first, this is the first mange series I've read in a long time. I've started a few manga series like Hikaru no go, Death Note, and The Prince of Tennis, but that was a long time ago and I don't exactly remember much about them or the medium itself.

I admire many things about the series, including its complex yet intriguing plot, its uniquely designed characters, and the artistic style. I experimented with drawing Japanese style back in eighth grade, when my father bought me a guide book. I think that has had a huge imfluence on the way I draw now, as with each new face I still start out with the basics as taught in the book: lines that define the middle of the face, the brow line, the nose, and the hair line. I have deviated quite a bit though, especially with the eyes.

Characters die all along the way in Full Metal Alchemist, so it would seem like a pretty somber series if I had just told someone about the general plot. But really, it's not. There's plenty of comic relief: for example, there exists what's called a "strong-arm (?) alchemist", named Major Armstrong (pun intended), who frequently flashes his enormous bulging muscles, though he is also comically shown to have a weak spot when it comes to tragic, moving stories. Edward's height and seniority to Alphonse is also a running gag: though Edward is older, Alphonse is much taller and bigger so many of the characters believe at first that Alphonse's that Full Metal Alchemist. This is a huge thing: I'm trying to find ways to implement comic relief into my own graphic novel.

I am really enjoying reading FMA so far. Also, I just started Bleach today, so a journal for that will come up in a bit.