5.17: The Boomtown of Broken Down



WOMP. That is all. Oh this series sometimes.

5.18: The Value of Sincerity



Man they're young.

Hilarious though:



...



I wonder if I would have thought they were so young if I had read this book a decade and multiple children of my own ago?

5.19: I'll Do It for You Guys!



Eh? 200 days is only 6.5 months. They never really explain that one. It's an interesting point. There's always something complicated about straight up making life.

Also:



Oh Granny's got a rep.

5.20: The Terror of Teacher

Teacher! I remember thinking this section was pretty cool in the show.

5.21: The Brothers' Secret



I know that feeling.

Also oy. Just oy. Teacher totally lost someone too. ( )

Nothing much happens here. I like that they have started creating the past. The sensei being a lady was a pleasant and very much wanted surprise. ( )

Winry Rockbell, a prosthetics engineer and potential love interest for our hero, takes center stage for the first half of the volume before we veer into the start of an Elric Brothers origin story.

As always, Arakawa is great at writing character bits. As I know from Silver Spoon, her one fault may be the sheer number of side characters she introduces and constantly brings back. Things are manageable so far with a villain group, a military group, and now an extended family (genetic and chosen) group for the Elrics.

The series is definitely getting into its groove now, and I have requested another stack of six volumes from the library. ( )

I found this volume much more fun than the previous one. Winry convinces the Elric brothers to take her with them as they go to visit their teacher. I like how she always teases Ed...and makes him mad. There's a ccertain chemistry between these two characters who grew up together as children but are not related.

Along the way, we meet a pickpocket with amazing automail. When Winfry sees that automail, she wants to learn how that is made. She is taken to meet the very grouchy automail engineer Dominic, but gets into his good graces by helping deliver his grandson. For a grouchy character, he did have this soft touch.

Dominic then makes provisions for Winfry to stay and work with one of his engineers. That's very nice because she is trying very hard to improve her skills. I like this character very much.

Meanwhile the Elric brothers travel on and, after they find their teacher, are left with an almost impossible task. The ending of this volume seems so unfair. These were two very young children (we've now moved into the past history of Ed and Al) who were placed in a horrendous situation. What can I say other than I need to read volume six to see what happens!

Mostly this story seems violent with everyone bashing each other. However, at times, this story can be very beautiful. I especially liked these quotes from this book:

"Try to fix whatever you can with your own hands. You shouldn't depend on alchemy for everything."

"...our souls become nourishment for the people around us, and live on through the memories of those we loved." ( )

Volume five had some ups and had some downs. I loved reading about Rush Valley and getting to see this auto-mail mecca and the engineers (and people in need of them!) that lived there. Also reading about the story and the lessons learned by and from the pick pocket was good fun. Who knew one girl could give two alchemists so much trouble? And she does! It’s great fun! The most powerful part of the book was where the boys learned the limits of alchemy and the wonders of the human condition as they got to attend the birth of a baby. The creation of a human life is something alchemy cannot achieve and was just one of the many ways the boys are truly humbled in Rush Valley.

The story gets a little shaky after the boys leave to meet their teacher and the book flashes back to when they first started learning alchemy, and why. I thought that the scenes with their teacher when they show up on her doorstep from Rush Valley were a little forced. They were obviously supposed to show us some of their teacher’s beliefs and teachings without Ed and Al having to “tell” us them. But having random kids show up right at that time just so Teacher could solve their problems and show us the limits and proper attitudes towards alchemy that she likes to teach was almost more than could be believed. I wish that was done in a different way.

All in all another great addition to the Fullmetal Alchemist series. I enjoyed reading about the boys adventures – not to mention watching their interactions with Winry, Teacher and each other – and of course watching them eat their huge helping of humble pie that they have to choke down in every chapter of this volume! ( )