The battle for Amestris begins!
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Hiromu Arakawa
Translation: Akira Watanabe
Adaptation: Jake Forbes
What They Say
In the war between science and magic – the future of the world belongs to 2 brothers.
In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical “auto-mail” limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother’s bodies…the legendary Philosopher’s Stone.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Mustang and his men finally make their move, going all out against the military as they hold the President’s wife hostage. Meanwhile, General Armstrong wreaks her own brand of havoc at Central Headquarters. However, the enemy’s not going down so easily. As the military plays their trump card, Hohenheim and the homunculi’s Father face off beneath the streets of Central!
You know you’re getting to the end of the series when all the characters who haven’t shown up for a while make an appearance. As Mustang’s intricate plan unfolds, we discover how many and far-flung his allies are. Even Havoc gets a cameo. One thing that’s interesting to watch is the contrast between Mustang’s and Olivier’s styles during the fighting. While Mustang’s group strives to take control without casualties, Olivier and her Briggs men don’t hesitate to cut down anyone in their way. Considering that the two are essentially rivals, it’ll be interesting to see whether Mustang or Armstrong comes out on top.
The top military brass proves itself to be less than capable in the face of the uprising. When they finally unleash their secret weapon, things go badly awry for everyone. The result is that the final chapter looks much like zombie attack out of a bad horror flick. However, the homunculi prove much more capable at thwarting their enemies, and it’s anyone’s guess which characters will make it out of fighting alive.
In summary:
Central plunges into battle — on the outskirts, within military headquarters, and underground. Mustang and Armstrong have plenty of surprises up their sleeves, but so do the homunculi. It’s nonstop excitement with Eastern and Northern troops, Xingese warriors, homunculi, and even an army of undead rampaging through town!
Extras consist of a story thus far summary and character lineup, seven pages of Arakawa’s post-manga extras, a preview for Volume 23, and ads for other Viz products.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: January 19th, 2010
MSRP: $9.99
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In addition to writing reviews here, I’ve authored a number of short works, including several stories in Cricket magazine. I also have novel-length projects in the works. Find links to my works at my blog: sqeries.wordpress.com.
