Fullmetal Alchemist
Ren's Home
"This is truly... a masterpiece!"
After receiving Ren's new script and setting collection, Claire and the others gathered together and started reading it carefully.
From the very first page, they were captivated by the story.
The balance between the characters' abilities and intelligence is just right!
Any work with superhuman abilities often faces two common problems.
One is the frequent dumbing down of characters' intelligence;
the other is the power system itself.
Dumbing down intelligence is common in many action-packed stories.
The second issue is the power system.
Many works with superhuman abilities have some sort of ranking system.
For example, "Bleach" has captain-level rankings, and "Tokyo Ghoul" has A, B, C, D, etc.
This is a common trope in such works.
Without it, the power system could collapse, and even with it, many stories face power scaling issues in the later stages.
However, Ren's new work is completely different.
It only mentions State Alchemists, but that's not really a ranking, just a profession.
In this story, alchemy can't solve all problems; many times, it's human willpower and intelligence that determine the outcome of battles.
Even in the later stages, there's no power scaling issue.
Of course, the key is the setting and background of the story.
Even though they've only read part of the plot, it took them considerable effort to fully understand the setting and background.
This impressed them even more.
Alchemy, equivalent exchange, human transmutation, the Philosopher's Stone, the Gate of Truth...
These concepts alone were breathtaking.
Especially human transmutation, which gave off an air of grandeur.
Additionally, the story unfolds through multiple perspectives along the main plot.
Unlike many other works where side stories are often told through flashbacks, "Fullmetal Alchemist" constantly switches perspectives, and aside from the Ishvalan war arc, there are hardly any flashbacks.
Some plot points weren't clear on the first read but became evident on the second read, revealing the clever setup.
Moreover, the story is tightly paced.
From the beginning, it foreshadows the antagonists' power, and the plot truly unfolds after Hughes' death.
The whole story feels like watching a thrilling movie without any drag.
"Teacher, this Xin country, it's based on our country, right?"
"Yeah, I noticed that too!"
Everyone couldn't help but ask.
The setting of Xin country is heavily influenced by China, with characters named Ling Yao, Mei Chang, Lan Fan, and so on.
"Yes, that's correct."
Indeed, Xin country in the story is clearly inspired by China.
The original author, Arakawa-sensei, has mentioned that China is her second favorite country.
This made Chinese fans of "Fullmetal Alchemist" even more fond of the work.
"In short, this work is very important. I know everyone has a lot on their plate, with scripts and upcoming animation projects, but we need to give our all for this one!"
Ren told everyone.
Lately, the pressure had indeed been immense.
With "Bleach," "Seven Swordsmen," "Cardcaptor Sakura," "Ultraman Nexus," and even "The Garden of Sinners," there were many pages to handle. Now adding "Fullmetal Alchemist" made Ren feel a bit guilty.
"No worries!" Everyone present seemed unfazed. They all loved manga and were happy to see these works come to life through their efforts.
Of course, being well-compensated was also a major factor.
"That's good," Ren nodded and looked at Claire, "What about you? Will you have enough time once school starts? If your studies suffer, you don't have to come."
Claire had applied to a local university, planning to continue working here.
"No need," Claire shook her head, "I'll manage my time well."
"Alright then, it's up to you," Ren patted her head, "But you must show me your final exam results. If you fail, you won't be allowed to come. Even if your scores are barely passing, I won't let you come until you improve."
"What???"
...
With everyone's hard work, "Fullmetal Alchemist" soon began its promotional campaign.
The first teaser appeared on Ren's Weibo.
"Humans are really quite cheap."
"35 liters of water, 20 kilograms of carbon, 4 liters of ammonia... 3 grams of silicon, 5 grams of iron, plus trace amounts of 15 other elements. For a standard adult, these are the components of the human body. You could buy all these materials with a small amount of money at the market."
Additionally, there was an image of a magic circle on Ren's Weibo.
This text, along with the image, intrigued many fans.
"What does this mean? What's with all this talk about water and carbon?"
"Idiot, it says these are the components of the human body."
"No duh, I know that. But what's the point?"
"Not sure, but combined with the magic circle below, I think it's a new work from the teacher?"
"Speaking of magic circles, I think of 'Madoka Magica.'"
"Hopefully, it's not another tear-jerker... 'Cardcaptor Sakura' was nice, though it did cost me a lot. My daughter buys those cards at a school stall every day..."
Claire looked at her phone, thinking about "Madoka Magica."
She shook her head.
It was indeed a great work, but it had many scenes like the one with Kyouko losing her head.
Like in the "Chimera" arc, she couldn't forget the empty, soulless eyes of the creature that kept repeating, "Edward, Edward, brother."
Especially knowing that the creature was once a cute little girl named Nina and a lively dog named Alexander made it even worse.
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