But that is very far from the truth of it all. I take my inspiration from places where children should never venture, and my favourite 'comics' are no comics at all, but rather graphic novels. Stories with depth and feeling. With character that come alive as you read.
When people understand that...they ask what my favourite manga is. I've read hundred of mangas, spent countless hours reading - but only one manga has kept me up all night. And that was the legendary 'Full Metal Alchemist'. A story I started reading long before it finally ended come June this year.
For those of you not familiar with it, it's the tale of two brothers; Edward and Alphonse Elric. The story in itself is too complex to just tell briefly, but in short: Their mother died when they were young, and their father was absent. The boys knew and practiced alchemy, and came to the drastic conclusion to use alchemy to try bring their mother back - through human transmutation, something that is taboo for a reason.
Of course...the transmutation didn't work out. Alphonse lost his entire body, and Edward his left leg. In desperate attempt to save his brother, he sealed Alphonse's soul into an armor, sacrificing his right arm in the process - the rule of equal value.
Crippled and scarred for life by the incident, Edward choses the cruel path of becoming a State Alchemist and gets advanced prostetics - called Automail - to replace his lost limbs as he and Alphonse go onto the hopeless path of trying to find a way to restore their bodies.
A path filled with sacrifice and pain.
It is a tragic story...but, it feels like a tale that needs to be told. When you read, you get the feeling that these people really existed, and their story is being told so others will learn from what happened to them.
An anime was made for this manga, which completely butchered both characters and story. And then...
They made Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood.
As I watch this new anime, true to the manga, I get reminded why I loved the manga so much.
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