Fullmetal Alchemist (2003)

[鋼の錬金術師]

Volume 5

Author/Artist: Hiromu Arakawa
Publisher: Gangan Comics

Synopsis:
The Elrics and Winry stop by Rush Valley, known as "the Mecca of Automail Engineers".

Story/Characters:
Most of this volume is spent in Rush Valley and feels a bit like a throwback to Volume 1, being smaller scale, simpler and lighter than the main story. It gives Winry the opportunity for development and sets her on her own arc. Your mileage may vary on new character Paninya. It depends on how much you get invested in this mostly self-contained story. From there, we follow the Elrics into Dublith, where they meet up with the woman who trained them in alchemy. This section of the story is far more interesting. I like Izumi and the flashback to the Elrics' training is good stuff.

Art:
The art is solid as always. There are a couple rain scenes that are well-craftd enough to deserve note.

Other:
We only get one 4-koma this time around, but we also get a page-long feature of Arakawa's assistants coming up with designs for Ed's underwear.

Conclusion:
This is a decent volume, but the Rush Valley stuff doesn't hold a candle to what follows. If you're looking for a breather after all that's happened lately, this fits the bill. Give it a read and look forward to the next one.

Rating:
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