Fullmetal Alchemist: Finale

Spoilers everywhere! After fifty episodes, we’re down to this. I have my uncertainties on how the series ended but this was a great setup for the movie, possibly the ‘real’ finale. Or maybe it’ll be just a coda… Either way, I’m happily surprised at feel-good atmosphere it left its audience. So what happened to our characters? Let’s start with the Elrics and work our way down the list.

Once again, the Elrics showed the strong bond they share even if it meant sacrificing their own lives. Al revived the bloodied Ed and vice versa. I’m very miffed with this easy manipulation of the writers. If it weren’t for the continued journey of Ed, who’s on the other side of the gate, and Al, who’s facing a tough training ahead from Izumi-sensei, I’d be very disappointed with the writing. The fact that the finale emphasized the brotherhood these two established through those painful years were enough for me to compensate for the slight annoyance.

As expected, the Fuhrer’s “treasure” became the essential weapon to defeat him. Mustang barely managed to face off only to be taken down by Archer. In an unexpected twist, we find out that he was only unconscious when Hawkeye found him sprawled on the floor. We see him later recovering quite nicely sporting a new look. I’m a little bit weary with this whole eye-patch thing. Why do I have this sinking sensation that this may be Pride’s new disguise? I’m really sure Pride does not possess the ability to transform and there’s a certain Professor Hans on the other world who looks distinctively similar to the Fuhrer. I’m only paranoid but we’ll find out for sure when the movie comes out.

While the Fuhrer is truly evil, it seems that Envy still has emotions left in him. For all of Envy’s devil-may-care attitude, deep down inside him, he only wants to be cared for by his father. He even traveled through the gate just to find Hohenheim. Unfortunately , I don’t think he was lucky enough to reach the other side.

Dante’s fate was quite gory and fitting since she was devoured by her own monster. Of course, it was not shown but only implied.

Wrath was the only one survived amongst the homunculi. After Winry fixed him a set of automail for his missing limbs, he opted to stay away.

The military government changed into a parliament. The people of Ishbal returned to their homeland. Basically, things calmed down after the big showdown. Mustang’s loyal followers survived the front lines in the North. Armstrong’s partiality to, um, posing has finally rubbed of to one of his comrades. A beginning of a trend? I hope not.

As mentioned, the series ended on a brighter note than speculated. For now, everything is peaceful and calm. We have to wait a few more months to see if the movie we’ll bring answers to many unanswered questions. I suppose we have to wait patiently til then.