Book Review: Fullmetal Alchemist Vol. #1 (Manga)

Book: Fullmetal Alchemist Volume #1 by Hiromu Arakawa (Chapters 1-4)

Rating: 4 stars

My Review:

This was much better than I thought it would be. It was really funny but also very well written. It focused on two brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric who are alchemist. In volume #1, Edward and Alphonse were traveling heroes. Whatever town they traveled to they ended up stopping crime and corruption.

In the first two chapters, the two heroes went up against another alchemist who was deceiving the townspeople into believing he was providing them with religious miracles. He was nothing more than a fraud. But there seems to be something sinister working in background because there were two mysterious characters who dealt with the fake preacher after the brothers ruined his scheme. I figure they will probably show up again in future chapters.

Chapter three had the brothers helping a small mining town from the corruption of a military officer. The Lieutenant was over taxing the town and was making it hard for the townspeople to barely earn a living. Edward came up with a plan to help the townspeople. It was quite ingenious and funny.

And the last chapter had the brothers trying to stop hijackers who had taken over a train that they were on. Those two took on at least ten hijackers and all before the train reached its destination.

I'm going to continue with this series, I was pleasantly surprised by how good it was.

Currently Reading: Birds of Prey Vol #7, Kieli Vol #1 and Fullmetal Alchemist Vol #1

I will be reading the single issues #86-95 including #91 which is not included in the trade. The pre-new52 Birds of Prey is one of my favorite series. The characters are smart, funny and totally kick-butt. This is one of the best series.

Book: Birds of Prey Volume #7: Perfect Pitch by Gail Simone (Trade issues: #86-90 and #92-95)

Book Description:

After being paralyzed by the Joker, former Batgirl Barbara Gordon became Oracle and formed a crime-fighting team with other female heroes including the martial artist with a devastating sonic scream, Black Canary, the vigilante known as the Huntress and the mysterious Lady Blackhawk!

In this volume, the Secret Society of Super- Villains takes one of the Birds of Prey hostage and demands their leader's secret identity as ransom. The Birds will have to save their friend and battle the superhuman mercenary known as Deathstroke in order to defend the security of their leader.

This looks interesting doesn't it? Can't wait to start reading it.

Book: Kieli Volume #1 by Yukako Kabei

Book Description:

Kieli sees ghosts. It's an odd ability for a 14-year-old girl, and it makes her a bit of an outcast at her boarding school. Her only friend, in fact, is the (semi-) departed spirit of a girl who used to inhabit her room. That is until the two encounter a young man who appears to share Kieli's "gift." It doesn't take long to discover, though, Harvey is an altogether different sort of creature - one of the infamous Undying, the reanimated corpse of a dead soldier.

Could it be that in this cursed fellow Kieli has finally found a kindred spirit? Throwing in her lot with this strange, soulless man and his possessed radio, she means to find out...

I want to give this a try to see if it's interesting. Perhaps it's better than interesting but actually really good. Well, I'll see.

Book: Fullmetal Alchemist Volume #1 by Hiromu Arakawa

Book Description:

Alchemy: the mystical power to alter the natural world; something between magic, art and science. When two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, dabbled in this power to grant their dearest wish, one of them lost an arm and a leg...and the other became nothing but a soul locked into a body of living steel.

Now Edward is an agent of the government, a slave of the military-alchemical complex, using his unique powers to obey orders...even to kill. Except his powers aren't unique. The world has been ravaged by the abuse of alchemy. And in pursuit of the ultimate alchemical treasure, the Philosopher's Stone, their enemies are even more ruthless than they are...