Fullmetal Alchemist vol.2 and... Dragon Knights?

So, after my excitement over the first volume, my husband surprised me with the second. I read it in an afternoon and I'm still impressed. In fact, I enjoyed this volume better than the first.

The first was great when it came to action and humor. There was depth in the story, but not as much as the second. Reading the second is like wading in those swimming pools people get installed in their backyard... you know, the ones with the diving board? Anyway, it's like wading from the shallow end toward the diving board. There's a point where the ground dramatically slopes away and you realize you've just hit deep water. That's what volume two feels like.

The story of the Elric brothers continues (obviously) but this time in the course of looking for the Philosopher's Stone (or anything that might help them get their old bodies back) they end up meeting the Sewing-life Alchemist and his daughter. And what began as a fun romp takes a darker turn due to the new characters introduced. Events that seemed isolated begin to tie together until you realize the story is much bigger than you expected when you first started reading.

Overall, I enjoyed the depth. It's not overdone or maudlin. Characters behave just as you would expect them to behave and when they don't, it never seems out of character. The plot gets pretty thick in this one: I can see why people say InuYasha moves at a snail's pace if FMA is closer to the norm for decent plots. And yet, even though I felt a little breathless at the end due to the pace, it was never too much. It also helps that the humor doesn't go away. In fact, Hiromu Arakawa creates just the right balance of comedy to drama (and occasionally tragedy) to the point where I've decided that the first two volumes should be permanent features in any decent fantasy library, whether or not the author is into manga.

Oh, and just a quick note on the artwork... Hiromu Arakawa does a fantastic job of conveying emotions. I know very little else about art, so that's all I'll say for now.

Looking forward to volume three. :)

***

So, my step-mother heard that I'm into anime and manga (kind of hard not to since I've been gushing about the shows I've seen/comics I've read to just about everyone) and she mentioned a series some kids mentioned to her: Dragon Knights.

She knows I'm a Firefly, Terry Prachett kind of girl, so she thinks this will be right up my alley. In the reviews I've read on Amazon, it seems to be just as fun as she describes it, with just enough drama to keep the plot going.

But I'm not sure I'll be able to afford two long-running series. *sigh* We'll see. Necessities first, then fun.

And in the meantime, I've started writing again. Fifteen minutes a day at least. Actually, it's turned out more like one or two hours once or twice a week, but still, I'm shocked I'm getting any writing done at all considering all the other things I'm doing. I have FMA to thank. Most of the time when I read something, I end up not liking something about it and think, "I can do better than this." Often this gets me writing simply so I can prove to myself that I really can do better. Every fantastic book I've read has actually kept me from writing, since I feel I can never write as good as the book I've just read.

However, FMA has had an effect I've never felt before. I haven't found any fault with it, and yet I haven't stopped writing. I read it and couldn't wait to jump back into my own world... not because I think I can do better. I just want to write again. Odd.