I just read the chapter, and I'm speechless...
Why did Roy have to lose his eyesight? ;_; That was so cruel. I just hope that when the story ends, everyone will get what they lost back.

Al meeting his body was a touching scene. And he rejected his body in order to be able to fight with everyone... It must've been a hard decision for him.

May landing where Ed and the others are... And Father noticed something about her.

And the Scar vs. Bradley fight began. My idea is that Scar will reveal his name after he killed Bradley.

I want 103 now!

...What a chapter

I feel so sad for Roy, the truth is always so cruel I have to agree with Kale Mustang, losing his sight makes sense, but still...Oh no, I just remembered Lust's last words. Something like "I like those determined eyes of yours...the day that they'll be filled with anguish is just right there..." >.<

I'm glad about Al's decision, although his body's words after he left makes me worry about his chances later.

And Wrath just refuses to die Die already, old geezer! I kinda guessed right that it'll be fast against fast, Scar vs. Wrath.

Someone mentioned that maybe Scar will break the floor in the chapter 101 thread, and it came out true, haha. Nice prediction!

And lastly...geez, I'm just away for less than 24 hours and there's 14 pages of discussion already? How am I supposed to finish reading that? XD

Almost forgot about that quote and it looks like Lust's final words were also foreshadowing, as after all, his eyes were filled with anguish (Hawkeye getting hurt), agony (getting stabbed through his hands) and fear once he saw his truth.

Thanks for the reminder!

It could be worse. Like a leg or two or his HEART xD
Roy has his Hawkeye(s) who will watch and look for him.

Now we know what to get Roy for his birthday! Two eyepatches! *shot*

and finally omg two Al's inside the gate...!!! That smile... and "Welcome home"... what a touching moment...!
but I can't believe that Al would choose to abandon his body and go back to the fight! argh... @_@ I wonder if the body will rot away by the time he goes to the gate again...

and lol page 39 is like, a mecha scene XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I don't think I can sleep tonight knowing that Alphonse chose not to take his body right away OTL

Nah...he could probably just borrow Scar's sunglasses, especially since they'd be more subtle than say the eyepatch from the first anime series

I wonder if May could do something to help Roy using Xingese alchemy. Hohenheim was able to help Izumi to an extent afterall.

From the description of Xingese alchemy we have, the energy flows through what's there. Unlike in the anime when Roy lost his eye, he still has his eyes... they just don't work. It seems like healing them with Xingese alchemy is in the realm of possibility.



Well, Kimbley was dying, Goldtooth was dying (Pride stabbed him just before absorbing him), Gluttony was dying. Maybe besides gaining their abilities, he also gains their current physical state. If that's the case, wouldn't those deaths count against his stone? Depending on his habit of absorbing things, that could eat away at it quite a bit. The energy for the transmutation may have come out of Prides stone as well. I suppose that could explain it.

First big thanks to mangastream & HisshouBuraiken for scanlation!


Alphonse is such a sweetheart, let's hope his selfless act won't have any bad consequences. I was axious the whole time reading it. SO anxious that Mustang getting blind was kind of welcome compaired to what I feared might've happened.

'OMG, he's got all limbs, so he must be bleeding internally! Oh, blind? Good, could've been worse.'

And I LOLed at Mustangs describing his experience as 'everything was soooo white and there was a big gate there' It sounded so... not a scientific kind of putting it.

Scar started to talk about his name again. Oh. Bad sign. He's a goner, I guess. BUT chimeras' way of thinking 'they don't want us to go down there so there's we'll definetely need to head there is actually clever and real-life like. Good work, Arakawa-sensei!

Pride's disintegrating. Good. Someone shoot him before Father can save him. He deserves to die... a lot. Dr. Goldtooth was tranformed into many-headed monster. Is it possible Pride's souls stayd with him?

I don't believe Izumi and Mustang will ever get back what was taken from them. Hohenheim could've heal Izumi completely but he didn't. May isn't able to do so. Same goes for Mustang. The only one with the power to return his sight to him afterwards (if he survives) is Hohenheim but I doubt he'd do so, even though Roy didn't iniciate human transmutation.


Al. I hope you're well.

Greatest chapter in a while. Packed with drama and emotion. Al must be the bravest, unselfish character ever. Worrying how his body says "your return may only bring ruin". I assume he is referring to if Al would return to the gate once more.

Looking forward to see Scar fight Bradley - it's how I wanted it, the fastest dudes in the series in a last showoff against each other. And I like how Bradley makes the comparison that neither of them have any names. Two, nameless warriors. Fitting.

About Roy losing his sight; your posts made me think he was actually going to lose his eyes, instead of "just" going blind. That would have been darker, more gruesome, and more fitting I think. This way it's more subtle and clean. Heck, it's still very impactful and melodramatic and sad, but I believe I would have preferred it if he'd had his eyes taken, lliterally. Love for the dark.

Still love how it came out, though.

And I agree with the irony. I also rather enjoyed how Father stated the loss that everyone had suffered. Roy's declared future was very bitter.

Lastly, THANKS A MILLION TO EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN SCANNING AND TRANSLATING THIS!!

The preview was posted only yesterday, and today already we have the cleaned, finished chapter! So fast! Awesome! Thanks a lot!

OMG (and mangahelpers must have superpowers to produce such a beautiful scanlation in such a short time...)

One thing I'm 90% positive of: Mustang won't regain his sight. If he does, it'll be like Lelouch coming back to life, which will completely destroy something meaningful

Arakawa has again completely reduced me to screaming hysterically at the screen. To me, being blind is definitely the worst impairment on earth (short of losing your whole body tho). His face completely broke my heart.

One thing I am looking forward to: Major Royai moment when Riza learns this XDD (why am I looking forward to this??)
But anyway, not although, but BECAUSE Roy is blind, I believe it'll make him a better Fuhrer. He will have plenty of people to help him, because Kings rely on their subjects (obviously).

However, on the lighter side, I am DEF looking forward to the omake ripping off the 'useless colonel' and the new 'blind alchemist' XDD (But on the other hand, how can he fight in the final battle now???? With Ed's directions???"

Ed: Homunculus at 3 o'clock, approx. 20 m at a 30 degree angle, power: 67%!
Mustang: *fires* I feel like a Gundam.
Al: I LOOK like a Gundam, because I'm damn selfless

On the other note: Al's body is creeping me out. It's like it has its own mind. It can speak its own thoughts. It can give ominous warnings. It refers to Al not as itself, but as a seperate entity. It's still creeping me out. I actually canNOT picture Al through that body, the armour Al is still firmly entrenched in my mind (hey its been 102 chaps).

Anyway, although the New Year seems eons (21 days) away, I so want 103 noooooooowwwww (dies of suspense, as usual)

Oh this chapter was like a torture! I've cried almost all way trough reading it! ;___;
I tried to guess all posibilities what may happen to Roy but THIS hadn't crossed my mind... My god...
And I feel so sad for Alphonse!
The best chapter in a while!

Well that was nice to wake up to!

This chapter had alot of 'of COURSE' moments for me.

of COURSE the doctor would get messed up by the transmutation
of COURSE Mustang would go blind
of COURSE Scar would end up fighting Wrath
of COURSE Alphonse would refuse to take his body

All these things seem so obvious to me now but at the time never occured to me. Good to see Kimblee's absorption was used in the way we suspected. It also looks like Pride is on his way out. I'm guessing the gate took something from him, considering his little problem regenerating occurred mid way through taunting Mustang. He and Wrath are probably gonna be gone by next chapter I suspect.

May being able to get into the bottom layer seems to have surprised Father and again I suspect this is connected to the Eastern Alchemy. They've been harping on about that for a long time so it must be connected. The scene with Alphonse and his body was just awesome.It also seemed to indicate that Alphonse could've just taken his body and left not that he would have to stay with it, which is interesting. Also interesting was Father's reaction to his magnificent return; looks like Al just screwed everything up for everyone else by accident.

Mustang losing his eyesight is very sad and I don't think it'll be healed by anyone, my reasoning being that Hohenheim told Izumi way back he couldn't restore her organs because they were a symbol of her sin. Of course this means Ed and Al's quest will never bare fruit, so I'm hesitant to completely write off the idea that people can get what they need back out from the gate.

Anyway, great chapter with alot of plot advancement and alot of surprises that on reflection were obvious - i.e the best kind.

I knew there wouldn't be a Roy-Bradley battle. Sorry fans, but the fact Arakawa allowed Anime1 to have one made things clear she had a different ending in mind. So instead we have the two Wraths fighting.

As for Roy...well, it's about time. As I noted before, the guy (like Edward) seemed to possess a lot of 'get-out-of-jail-free' cards. Now he gets something that won't be solved by a 'part of the villain's plan' or 'somebody to the rescue' plot device. This does suggest that Roy is free of using that damned Alchemy, unlike his Anime1 counterpart. I don't know if it means he can become Fuhrer though. From way back it's been a factor that losing sight, hearing, or voice meant losing one's legitimacy for a authoritative position (in fact, some assassins thought removing eyes or tongue was enough to remove said fellow from power).

And Al, well, you knew the guy wouldn't do it if it meant abandoning someone in need. Just like Anime1Edward at the end of the series.

I was surprised to see that it was Alphonse rejecting his body, not the other way around, which was the main fear.That was a nice twist from Arakawa there. Then again, it's just utterly Al, always putting others before himself, literally in this case. I just hope it doesn't come back to bite him in the a$$, though his body did seem pretty okay with being joined with his soul again. A heart breaking scene all round, especially his dismay on realising he can't fight in that body.

Feelings a bit torn about this chapter...

On one side it was emotional (Al...), and certainly most promising (Pride's trouble, Scar vs Bradley...), but on the other side it has left me somewhat disappointed.

One factor, though, is not the chapter's fault but because of...



^this, some scanlation group keeping the RAW for themselves.

I know this doesn't belong here, but the whole scanning-fantranslating thing is already a shadowy legal-void-y enough business, that at least can get somewhat justified by the fact that most people do it uninterestedly (spanglish?), for everybody's enjoyment.
Trying to make profit out of it (be it internet fame by being the First!!!111 to deliver the stuff, be it by getting paid by page hits via ads) is downright ugly.

Share the love, man...

Sorry for the baity offtopic rant, but this really hit home. Had to take it out. (Also, rant not particularly directed at Hisshou, but these new mangastream guys in general)

===============================================

Now for the chapter:

Another reason why it felt off was pointed out by penguin:



Yes, Pride couldn't do it before because he had no "Alchemist Inside" (though that brings the question that in the centuries of Amestris existence he must've had many chances to eat alchemist before), and given the apparent consequences on him, it is certainly a sort of last ressort trick... but still.

And...




It was easy to assume he'd gotten his eyes taken because another character (for whom seeing his results was the most important thing too) already did.
And because so far all transmutations had taken out physical parts (organs, limbs, aforementioned eyes -with a big ol' slice in the face to boot- and whole body) so far... and now what? Only the retinas whatsoever? Or worse, the abstract concept of "vision" itself?

I agree with Chouchou (not for liking it "darker", though ). Even if it can be argued, this feels too clean, too "convenient" again. And self-contradictory, given how she had made a character with the same punishment before.

===============================================
EDIT: Why did you take out the feature that in case of double posting it joined the 2 posts automatically?
If sth has to be changed, fix the bug for maximum amount of quotes per post.

Now for some good ol' discussion and jokin'!

@'jacksparrow589':

Not that much useful in his case, I'm afraid... Think about it: before he needed the circle, yes, but only one hand with the circle on it... And he kept 2 of them for good measure. Now he needs both hands to perform the alchemy... And he STILL needs to create the spark somehow afterwards.
And then, of course, there's the aiming issue.[/Captain Obvious]

But knowing the character and Arakawa sensei, she'll probably make him get around it somehow. ù.u




A severe case of foreshadowing, m'afraid.



True!
Good point!

@penguintruth & Broken Chouchou:

The "namelesses"' battle! I also think it looks promising enough. Certainly Scar's up there in fighting prowess with (a badly wounded) Bradley.
Keeping in mind that Arakawa said that Scar's name would come up in the main manga (not omakes, guidebooks, whathaveyou), my prediction is that he'll defeat Bradley, probably getting fatally wounded in the process, and after that consider himself redeemed (or by someone? Fellow Ishvalans from the PS, for example?) and recall his name before dying a redempted death.

Hope I'm wrong and Arakawa surprises me, 'f course.

@Turdaewen:

Good point here too.
And to back it up, you have Izumi's sentence: "Truth is cruel, but just" (words remarked by me ). Father not acknowledging the latter point might end up being his downfall indeed.

Looks like that makes two of my favourite alchemists now~
Thinking back to the Blind Alchemist OVA; it reminds me of how Judau could merely see the people he loved in his mind, but not physically.

I wonder if that's what Roy will have to live with now?



XD!
It'd be just like that certain icon!

~~~~

Aiyah, I really want to see the RAW of this chapter, it sounds awesome from what people have been saying about it.

It's funny how I once asked in this forum a long time ago if Roy would lose an eye like he did in the first anime. And everyone was like NO. Well. Here we are. Anyways, I get a feeling that he won't be totally blind forever. Of course I think thats wishful thinking on my part.

As soon as I got to that page where you discover he lost his sight, I gasped loudly and covered my mouth! I couldn't believe it! It was pretty cruel, even if the twist was interesting.

As far as Al rejecting his body, I was pretty annoyed, and yet I knew this would happen, I mean, when we all saw what Al's body looked like in the past, then what would you expect from Al???

I think Ed will come back for Al's body. Ed did promise that HE WOULD COME BACK for it. Maybe that's another reason it was rejected. i don't know.

I was devastated by this chapter, and I hope things get better for our heroes soon.

BTW....Where is Greed/ling???????

I have a strong feeling that if Al took back his body, he'd have to stay at the gate with it. After all, how would it be equivalent exchange if he was the only one from the bunch to just walk in there, take his lost body parts back an walk out?

Mei is going to definitely make things difficult for Father, I can tell

an is anyone else kinda distracted by Father's 'Homer Simpson'-esc stomach?

I also second that notion that either Pride, Wrath or both Pride and Wrath will be gone by next chapter.

Whoa, that was awesome!!!!

First: Mustang blindness. When I saw him falling whole and without blood, I was worried about missing internal organs, but "luckily" it was "just" his eyesight. Losing his eyes would have been logical too, but you can loose a part or a nerve or something internal and keep your eyes perfectly. I don't think he will recover his eyesight (assuming he survives this), Arakawa doesn't seem to like whole happy endings...

Second: Al's rejecting his body. Simply priceless. Al's just too kind for his own good. (And it creeps me too Al's body capacity of having his own thoughts x_x)

Third: Gooooo Scar!!!!

Fourth: Cliffhanger. AGAIN. My... another whole month u_u

I agree about Mei making trouble against Father, but that creepy smile when Al returned is no good at all. I was distracted with his belly too, and then I remembered Hohenheim. Do you really think he's done everything he's capable of? I really hope not!!

How exactly is Mei-chan a threat to Father?????? I still haven't quite figured that out. Is because she can use alchemy / alkahestry around him??

and what did Al's body mean by "It will be worse when you return"??? Will his body no longer be there?? Or was he referring to Father's plans???

Well, Mei's not a sacrifice, her alchemy is not controlled by Father and has proved to be skilled. I think she´ll be of any help to them so that's a problem for Father. She hasn't a chance against him, of course, but I think she will be able to help in some way.

I think Al's body was referring to the fact that Al is the fifth sacrifice.

Agreed about Hohenheim, I'm sure he's doing something with the souls inside of himself as Father rambles on

First thing I thought was "o kurwa!" (a Polish exclamation something like oh f*ck!) Now it's like, oh man, I still can't go over it, when I was reading this chapter tears just started flowing down, damn...I don't think he will get his eyesight back, really, I don't...Nah, this reminds me of the so damn crappy FMA movie... Ok, he can lose his sight (I mean it'll be a while since I'll get over it but in the end I will) but I swear if he is going to become so oh-so-angsty-emo I will go and kill some cows...Urgh, yeah, it is funny, about those forum talk "Roy losing eyes", damn it, some of you were right xP About Al...well, wow...Now I just wonder what did his body mean by it...Though at the second thought I like the idea of “A man who had a grand vision to save his country loses his eyesight,
forever unable to see what his beloved nation will become.”, well, a smart idea still very sad…
I hate cliffhanger, ever said that...
Go, go Scar! Take down this old bastard!
Oh, my, I just hope that Hoho has some plan...
A whole month of waiting, damn those cliffhangers…
Urgh, ok, I just realized I don't really make sense since everything I'm writing now is based on the emotions after reading the chapter...Will rant sometime later, maybe...It sure will be more logical than now...

No...... way.

I have to admit that Mustang's case was quite a surprise... for me, at least. Damn you, Arakawa! I was so shocked when I realised what the truth took from him... Poor guy! I'm gonna cry again T.T
But I still have to admit that it just had to happen, you guys have already pointed it many times. But it's still cruel.

Weeell, anyway, I'm very proud of Al. He's so brave it's melting my heart. It's just that... I'm not sure anymore if he'll get his body back at all. I mean, before I have thought if there's one 100% sure thing in FMA, it will be Al getting his real body back. It was like the entire goal of the series. But I'm not sure about that anymore. If you think about it, Izumi, Ed, Al and Mustang have all committed a sin. And because Hohenheim didn't heal Izumi completely back then because of her sin, then why should Ed or Al get their bodies back. It's just so unfair. I think that there can be only two options: A. The laws of equivalent exchange will be broken and they all will get back what they lost or then B. nobody gets nothing - even thought it's not very likely, it isn't impossible, don't you think. Or then I'm just more illogical than ever. Well, I tryed, feel free to laugh.

The Roy losing his eyesight part was really "o m g". The funny thing is that I automatically looked at his face when he came out from the gate and I said "Ah thank God he hasn't lost his eye" and then...
I don't really know what will happen to him, if he will be able to see again :\

Al's part was great too.



I think that he was referring to the fifth sacrifice thing. Al accidentally helped Father coming back from the Gate, I guess.


However I don't really get how exactly Pride forced Roy to open the gate...I mean...who activated the circle? Pride itself?

Of course not. He'll be using Riza's.

I always thought it had something to do with the eclipse; maybe they had to wait for one to come along? I'm not sure how, but the whole eclipse idea itself interests me because in the past it was considered to be a bad omen, foretelling a natural disaster or the death or downfall of a leader. It also symbolizes the redemption of sin.

I was just thinking about what a TRUE VILLAIN Father is. He is just PURE evil and menace. There is nothing redeeming about this character, which I find incredible. Even Dante in FMA1 had a bit of a sad past.

Father is also pretty damn creepy. I really want the next chapter to get things moving too!!! I want to see how they will pull this off!!! Man, the anime will have to slow down! It seems like the manga still has some life left to it.

I get the feeling that Roy's alchemic powers may be pretty awesome. I don't think Arakawa will take away his eyesight, and leave him hanging.

The raw is up: (from Raw-Paradise)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PXPCNTLI

There's also a prologue for the Wii game:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=0RW4LM4C

Regarding Father's speach on the truth... he sounds like he's speaking from experience. What did he desire? What did he lose? He somehow wants to control the gate but thus far it seems he hadn't succeed.

Sesenic--Ah, I meant alchemy in general, not just flame alchemy. At the very least, I'm sure he could construct a shelter of some sort so that he doesn't get killed. I mean, I would assume that sight makes alchemy a LOT more effective, but Roy's aware of the amount of space he takes up. Could he use that knowledge, even without seeing, to make sure he doesn't die?

Kale--Way to rub it in and list why it makes sense. *sighs* Doesn't change the fact that it does, though, I know. It's just kind of sad still.

And whoever said it--I totally did NOT remember Lust's words. Agh... this has been a long time in coming!

Isn't father just a homunculus though???

As for Roy becoming fuhrer?? I dunno now. Maybe with Hawkeye by his side, MAYBE. However, there is also Olivia who could become fuhrer??? But then there is the 520 cenz promise....ugh...this sucks. I feel terrible for Roy. Honestly losing a limb would have been better!

That isn't Al. It's Truth. Arakawa said in an interview in a Guidebook (see a topic from last month here) that Truth acts like a container for the person he is meeting. That's why Truth owns Ed's missing limbs in an otherwise empty body.

Dude, now that you mention it, he is really evil. All and only. Which feels rare these days when every other bad guy is emo and tormented by their terrible past (as you mentioned Dante), which is supposed to explain his/her urge for murder and/or world domination/destruction, or other things that brings ruin to people.

But what is percieved as evil by us is something else to Father. I don't think he considers himself evil. He's just a black inky thing that wants to know ALL of the truth alternatively gain control of the gate (or whatever his plan is), and to do so he needs to sacrifice humans, which are just raw material to him.
He isn't even human to begin with, so he doesn't share any human values, morals or *emotions. (*Not anymore, at least, and those he only gained by obtaining a human body.) He considers humans as humans consisers ants, as I remember him saying.

But yes, he's an evil f*ck who needs to be killed BADLY. Preferrably soon, too. Creepy bastard.

And I agree that his... beer belly... is rather distracting. Makes you lol.

But Hohenheim is definitely not done yet. I suspect he will play a major role in defeating Father. I can't imagine any of the "ordinary" characters doing away with him all by themselves. He's probably up to something inside that black, lumpy beer belly.


@ Sensenic - If you look at Roy's eyes they look rather lifeless. I don't know if that's simply supposed to signify that he's blind, or if it suggests that something was physically taken from his eyes. If him losing the "concept of vision" would be the case, then The Truth is a little self-contradictory, if we're to believe Father's monolouge by word.

Alphonse lost his body and the ability to feel the warmth he so longed for.

Couldn't he just have had some neural connections screwed with then, so that he lost his sense of touch?

I go away, perform, come back, and the chapter is out?!

The mangastream website apparently doesn't work for me. Will try to download the RAW.

Any news on when the Chinese will be out? I don't want to be spoiled by any more. Thanks for keeping it in the spoiler tags. I'll come back after I find it.

Alphonse's look on page 38 really creeped me out. He just seems so ominious.

Finally someone gets the idea to just blast a hole in the floor and go down to Father's lair. I really thought that once Scar was fighting Wrath he would say what his name is. But I think his name will be revealed soon. (hopefully) But Scar and Wrath are a good match up for a fight. Wrath lead Amestris during the Ishbalan Annilation Campaign, and Scar did become very vengeful after that.

On to Roy now. Roy didn't willingly choose to open the gate, so why should he lose his eyesight forever? I know that when Hoho partly healed Izumi, he said he couldn't get her organs back, then wouldn't that mean Ed and Al can't restore their bodies?

I don't know how I feel about Roy, I am upset, but at the same time I feel like that was some damn good writing. I really do believe that the one person who needs to be restored is Al. He is the one in the most danger living as a suit of armor. The armor could reject his soul forever. I mean Izumi could always adopt a child if she wanted too, Roy will have Riza helping him and Black Hayayte. And Ed has automail. The automail may be a nusiance for him at times, but there are plenty of other people in Amestris that have to live without their limbs. Also it is not like having automail is deadly, unless some sort of disease called 'automail poisoning' happens. Also Ed's automail has saved him plenty of times.

Is it January yet?

WHAT?NOOO??!! I officially hate school, I missed all this. And then THE PAGES WOULDN'T LOAD.

Anywho, now I've read the chapter, my initial reaction was:
HUUUUUUUUUU!!!! etc etc, I won't repeat what everyone else has allready written, but I haven't cried. I don't think I've ever cried in FMA. I'm heartless, o.o

I read somewhere earlier that theres a possibility Mei could heal Roy by using her maginess/alkahestry. I doubt that could happen, seeing as she can't really get a hold of his 'sight' which is with truth now, the same way Al + Ed's limbs and stuff are there too. Bummer.

ROYWILLSTILLLEADTHECOUNTRY - After yelling out to my family, who have been eyeing me warily for the past hour, my sister thankfully reminded me of David Blunkett, the Education Secretary in Britain, who is also blind (from birth). But, uhm, I think the scale is smaller, and .. yeah. But I'm sure there's a loophole somewhere o.e

I don't think being blind will hinder him THAT much, him and Riza were almost joined at the hip, and I'm guessing (if they come out of his alive (PLEASEPLEASE)) they'll be joined more so when they rule [strike]the world[/strike] Amestris. Also, when Ling was fighting Wrath ages ago, and they were in that building, Ling managed to locate the entrance by the feel of the wind or something cool like that... so that + Riza and her eyes looking for him for everything, I don't think this will be the end of Roy's fame alchemy.

Even though the likelihood is slim, it would be wonderful to see Roy and everyone have their limbs and stuff back. When Ed+Al and Izumi eventually/maybe/PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE get their bodies back the way they were, Roy won't be the only one left standing blind??? Or, like I think will actually happen, Al will be the only one to get his body back, and Ed and the rest will just have to live their lives unwhole. TT_TT

I was going to say something else, but I cant remember ... ehh...

You are missing a few important things. It's actually been said before that Pride could not do alchemy. Back when we didn't know Selim was Pride at the end of chapter 31.

Selim says I wish I could learn alchemy too and help Father. This shows that until Pride swallowed Kimbley he could not do alchemy. In this chapter it was revealed that until Pride swallowed Goldtooth he didn't have the knowledge to open the doors. Now he does and he probably felt very proud that he helped in Father's plans. He finally got what he wanted to learn alchemy (and you can say this was all foreshadowed by what Selim said in chapter 31).

The other important point was there was no rush to get the sacrifices before. It was obvious Father was waiting for the opportune time: when the circle was completed and all those tiny rebellions and wars were fought around the circle. This obviously took years since the formation of the country. It seems getting the sacrifices was part of the final stage. So there might have been others that went through the doors of truth over time, but Father would only be concerned with those who went through in recent times.

Not to mention there is the Eclipse. It's obvious that Father's plan only works on a certain day and time, during the Eclipse. They didn't need to force the sacrifices before this time they could wait and be patient and use the state alchemist position to discover these alchemists. They ended up forcing Roy because they were down to the last possible minute.



edit: Also about Roy's plan to become fuhrer, I don't feel that was ever really his plan. He only wants to become fuhrer to change the country into a democracy. When I think fuhrer I think dictator (I think there is a reason Arakawa used that title). In a democracy you have elected officials not someone who took the country by military force. I mean Roy could possibly be elected into the newly formed government but I don't think that is his plan. I think Roy is trying to pave the way for the future generations.

Upon reading the chapter for the... er, I've already lost count... time, the only thing I can say about Scar vs. Wrath is: YES. This is totally the way it should go down. The question is, is Scar gonna make it out alive? Even with Mei... kinda close at hand, I'm still thinking probably not, which makes me a bit sad. He's too bad@$$ to die! (Oddly enough, I almost feel the same way about Wrath at the moment... Weird...)

I'm not using spoiler tags anymore...I assume people have read it.

So...now after a night's sleep after reading it...still...HOLY CRAP!! I'm so depressed over Roy losing his sight! T_______T

Most of all, I'm simply anxious to see how he handles this from this point forward. Ed's face when he realized Roy had lost his sight is priceless, and even more depressing. I mean, what happened to Ed and Al is depressing on its own, but...they brought it on themselves. Same for Izumi. The three of them knew what they were doing was forbidden, but ignored that and did it anyway. That's the lesson with them.

Roy, on the other hand, knew it was wrong...and even when Hawkeye was dying in front of him, he didn't do anything. He knew it wouldn't save her. He wasn't so irrational. And yet he was FORCED to do it and lost his sight. The Truth really is cruel.

But now that the Sacrifices are all gathered...what happens next? I assume we'll see more of Scar vs. Bradley before we get the final result of what the 5 sacrifices will do against Father.

Father's speech on page 24 is amazing!



Maybe he won't be the Führer himself, but still will be the one giving the commands regarding the country? I also agree that his plan is not to be the führer but change the country into democracy like Kirara said. ("he's already looking past me") Being the Führer is just the part of that plan. That is if he gets out alive without properly being able to shot flames...

I'm so glad that we get to see Al. At least now we are sure that his body will accept the soul. But what does "Your return may bring nothing but despair and ruin" mean?! I'm afraid to think.. Al is too cute! >_<

And please somebody finish Wrath! He keeps coming back!!

Ya know why it's said that the return of Alphonse will bring despair and angulish or whatever that was?
Because now since he's back, all the sacrifices are complete and Father, Truth, what ever that black-eye-thing is, can fulfil his plan. This is what I think.

Well, I still maintain that Hohenheim has already defeated Father, Father just doesn't know it yet. It's why Hohenheim had been travelling around, spilling parts of himself out.

QUOTE (Full Metal Elf @ Dec 10 2009, 02:35 PM)

I'm not using spoiler tags anymore...I assume people have read it.

Yap, this thread is declared as a SPOILER PARTY thread (and hence we don't have to use Spoiler tags for the content of this chapter.)

QUOTE (Michiyo- @ Dec 10 2009, 11:44 AM)

The raw is up: (from Raw-Paradise)
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PXPCNTLI
......

Thank you, thank you, Michiyo-!! ( *hugs* ^^) Unfortunately, the file on that link has been "temporarily unavailable."

If anyone has a mirror link, or, was able to get the file before it went "unavailable" and can make a mirror, please kindly post the mirror link!!

...

I seriously don't know what to say, or where to start.

Thank you all for providing preview scans and scanlation (raw is not working for me though). The scanlation looked great, but do I sense too much smoothing out there? It almost looked like drawn in the graphic program.

And now to the actually story...holy ..... Roy's plotline was really really omgwtf! I feel so bad for him, so much going on now, first the rampage about the Hughes' death, then Hawkeye being fatally wounded and now he is blind! His expression when he realised that was really heartbreaking. I was suprised how much Ed was concerned about him, lol. Never thought he would be so worried about someone else than his brother or Winry. Pride looks like he is dying - he is dissolving or how would you call that... I didn't expect Wrath to simply come out of the circle and still have strength to fight. Probably Scar would kill him and say his name as a goodbye gift. Dunno. I don't know what to think about Al's storyline. Human one looked incredibly cute (apart from that crotch-shot...Arakawa could REALLY omit that, but fanservice had to be served ). It was nice of armor Al to reject the body for the greater good, but I think he is way too noble these days. He is going to be saint one day...maybe not, when he realises what did he do - now, Father can activate his plan. Everyone, let's facepalm.

@Tombow: I reuploaded the raw, here's the link:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VRKHX8TU

@up: Thanks! It feels kinda strange having scanlations ahead of raw :F

here you are, attempted to reupload raw

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6S7BYD8K
http://www.zomgupload.com/b1wna0fr6y4t.html
(the original link works 20% of the time for me, so it's not completely dead)

heh, beaten by Michiyo-

By the way, is anybody worried about Mrs Bradley? After all, she takes bad news, well, bad. And both Wrath and Pride are dying. I wonder how she would take it.

Thank you Michiyo- and SneakyRuler!! You guys are awesome!!

ETA: Um... is anyone getting "The file you are trying to access is temporarily unavailable" message on the new mirror links as well besides me?
I got it started!! Thank you!!!