Ch. 108

[dragonimp]

Well, the scanlation is up.

Okay, the fight was wrapped up really well. There's not much to say about that. It kept the same level of intensity as the last several chapters. And seeing the blob get eaten by the Gate was worth it.

I still think Roy getting his sight back cheapens it. That wasn't the only option. But at least she did it in a way that makes sense; his eyes weren't healed, the implication was that he actually went back to the Gate and used the Stone as the toll to get them back. But it still annoys me.

At least Al and Ed didn't settle down right away. I'm glad she showed them preparing to travel around and learn.

The Ed/Winry stuff... I'm not upset that it happened. I knew it was coming I'd resigned myself to it. And Ed's way of 'proposing' was actually pretty Ed-like and cute. But there are still some things that bug me:

Winry was always Ed's equal. She was never one to submit or back down. To the point of being, eh, kinda abusive, but the point is that they've always been on a pretty even footing. But now we get this:

A condescending pat on the head, and her hiding in his arms like a little girl. If I was an Ed/Win shipper I'd be pissed (I'm pissed anyway), because the dynamic of their relationship was just ruined within a handful of panels.

But that's not the end of it. In the photos at the end, we don't get to see how Ed and Winry are getting on some years down the road. We get this:

Hohenheim and Trisha, take 2.

The picture itself is not the problem (I can see them doing that to honor Ed's parents), it's the fact that it's all we get. Way to honor the characters, turn them into clones of the previous generation. It's particularly insulting to Winry; at least Ed looks like himself. Did Winry really have to be wearing Trisha's hairstyle?? Let her be her own person!

I can mostly live with this ending. We knew we - 'we' being the yaoi fans - would have to rewrite things to some extent anyway, so that's irrelevant. But Roy getting his sight back doesn't sit well, and Ed and Winry's relationship went from boring to disturbing. It's aggravating.

Beyond that, there's always going to be a let-down when something ends, especially something that's been going on as long as this. May we all continue to find solace in fandom!

Comments

[pandoraculpa]

First of all, my disturbed brain keeps insisting that those kids in the picture are actually Al and Mei's. Ed and Winry tried the whole married thing, but it fell apart pretty quick because of how easily Winry rolls over for Ed, when what he needs is a strong adversary for a partner. But then, like I mentioned, that's my denial brain in action.

(although I really have felt like, toward the end of the manga, Winry went from being a strong woman to being the stereotypical waiting-in-the-wings-and-weeping obligatory girlfriend. Ugh.)

I'm also with you about Roy's sight. I'd rather have seen him buck the system and stay on in the military regardless of his blindness, being the strong leader we know him to be. I'm also unhappy that the bit about regaining his sight was ALL of the wrap-up we got for him. He deserved so much more than that! Hell, the chimeras got a better ending than him! (better in terms of completeness, I mean)

But Ed's loss of alchemy was intriguing. As in, is already trying to spawn stories in my head (which, of course, feature the aforementioned denial ending). I thought that did great service to Ed's character, and spoke well of who he'd become.

So yeah, there were some flaws in the ending, but overall, I think it was pretty well managed. Another 30 or so pages to really flesh out the aftermath would've been nice, but eh. That's what fanfiction is for, ne?

[dragonimp]

Yeah, Winry turned into a stereotypical anime girlfriend :P. I'm not all that surprised, really, but it's disappointing. And it's mostly little things, too, like the staging of that hug at the train station. Even with Ed's new height, she could've drawn that so it didn't look so unequal. But eh - not my OTP anyway.

I would've been happy if there'd been a line about Grumman changing the rules to let disabled soldiers serve in a non-combat capacity, or if Roy had retired but stayed as a civilian advisor or something. That kind of thing lets him have much more strength of character than "oh here - magic fix!" This is the guy who cauterized his own wounds and then carved his array into the back of his hand - he'd have found a way.

Part of me thinks Ed should've taken Hohenheim up on his offer ^^. But what he actually did is much more in keeping with character. It seemed like it was party "I don't want this thing any more, it causes too much trouble."