FMA 18

[redbrunja]

What I Liked:

-Izumi stealing from Briggs for a month

-Major General Olivia Armstrong. Oh, she's epic with her sword and her hair and realistic body type and killing her superior and not leaving her subordinates behind.

-Scar. Oh, Scar. "I am the ooze born from the gaping wound that was Ishbal. I neither pray to god nor appeal to him. Ooze deserves no forgiveness. And I will burn until I'm left for dead in a ditch like the scum I am." The only way you could get more awesome is if Lust was around to snuggle up to you.

-Pride and Riza and how goddamn creepy he is.

-Roy plotting.

-The belief that you can stop the cycle of violence and do not need to forgive or forget to do so.

I keep finding series that are doing what a previous series I loved tried and failed to do. It makes me feel mean spirited but must be said (or, well, I'm going to say it). This is the people who have been hurt deciding to end the violence. This is exactly what Naruto is trying to do, only HE is asking the people who have been hurt to let it go. Putting his principals were his mouth his would be letting them kill Sasuke and not retaliating.

What I Didn't Like:

-At Briggs, the epic fortress where only the strong survive there is Major General Olivia.... and not one single other female. (And Olivia doesn't count as female because she's so scary.)

-Winry is really, really feeling like the girl at this point. Even as she demands to me more involved. I think that is an inescapable consequence of the two epic brothers and The Girl trope which I am so. fucking. sick. of.

Comments

[devimelete.livejournal.com]

Naruto is asking them a favor they cannot do. Besides, why didn't he tell the kage about the possibility that Killerbee might have escaped?

But the plus is some nice Sai and Sakura interaction.

[nimblnymph.livejournal.com]

Freakin' Olivia is bad ass. Her and Riza really make me love FMA, as does Roy and Hughs and Pride... Pride is straight up fucked up. I love him. And while the story with Ed and Al is tragic and entertaining in itself, I do like a lot of the side characters/plots a lot more. Such as, like you mentioned, Roy. He's awesomes; calculating, a bit manipulative, and sometimes a little dark with his motives and scheming, but over all he's not a bad guy and he does look out for those close to him. He's lovely.

Naruto stuff: The part where he was crying and begging to the Raikage to spare Sasuke... it wasn't so bad until I reread it. And while I do understand that Kishimoto wants Naruto to be a very emotions-driven character, it seems like all he's really done since Nagato died is whine and cry and martyr himself out. I really don't like the direction his character is going.

HOWEVER... the Raikage gets massive points from me. His line where he says, "I'll kill Sasuke. If you wanna stop the cycle of violence, then don't come after me in return." THAT was just flat out awesome. He was basically accepting potential consequences for his future actions while pretty much forcing Naruto into a corner; either kill him to save Sasuke and risk bringing war or stand back, let him get his revenge and then have to swallow it down in the name of peace. Very cool.

[the-sun-is-up.livejournal.com]

*INSERT INCOHERENT EPIC LOVE FOR OLIVIA HERE*

[okroginator.livejournal.com]

Putting his principals were his mouth his would be letting them kill Sasuke and not retaliating.

Doesn't Raikage point this out to him?

Also, word on Olivia. ♥s

[okroginator.livejournal.com]

it seems like all he's really done since Nagato died is whine and cry and martyr himself out.

The sense I am getting from this is that his encounter with Nagato and Nagato's subsequent death have really shaken Naruto to the core. For the first time, he has had to think about the consequences of war and their way of life, and entertain the notion that maybe Konoha aren't always in the right, the way he's been taught to think. Also, he's seen Nagato and what became of Nagato's personal quest for revenge, and he's terrified that that will happen to Sasuke--which he even mentions to Raikage ("Revenge changed him," etc.).

I personally think Naruto's in a kind of shock over the events of the Pain arc and might be seriously wary about/hypersensitive to the consequences of violence (see: him letting Karui beat him up without retaliating). Not, let me add, that I think this is necessarily good, I just find it interesting/sense-making in context. IMO

[nimblnymph.livejournal.com]

What I did like about that scene was the fact that he IS acknowledging Sasuke has changed. And I agree that facing Nagato was very hard on him. I mean, the man killed what was tantemount to his father figure, destroyed his village, practically killed the girl who just admitted she loved him... and then he watches as Nagato kills himself to correct some of the damage. I can very easily see how all that would be very jarring for him.

The reason I think I'm not really feeling the tears this time is that I'm tired of him doing EVERYTHING for Sasuke. Sasuke chose to leave. Sasuke chose to do all the things he did. And yeah, I understand that Naruto sees Sasuke as family... but it's getting to the point where I'm sick and tired of him playing the martyr for Sasuke's sake. He has other people who care about him and who DIDN'T turn their back on him. I'd rather he focus on his OWN goals (i.e. peace and becoming Hokage) than constantly obsessing over someone who very clearly does NOT want to have anything to do with him.

[okroginator.livejournal.com]

Yeah...

It's possible that this could all lead up to a final emotional conflict in which Naruto learns he has to let Sasuke make his own decisions and not retaliate after Sasuke is killed.......ahahaha wow I'm pretty funny. :|

[nimblnymph.livejournal.com]

*SNORTS* My god, what a sense of humor you have. As if Kishimoto would EVER let Sasuke suffer some real consequences. Or let Naruto move on and do the things HE wants to do.

Although it WOULD be very interesting if Sasuke was killed and Naruto was forced to chose between taking revenge or sucking it up. The potential angst from that would be delicious.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Although it WOULD be very interesting if Sasuke was killed and Naruto was forced to chose between taking revenge or sucking it up. The potential angst from that would be delicious.

I so wish that was going to be what was going to happen.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

The reason I think I'm not really feeling the tears this time is that I'm tired of him doing EVERYTHING for Sasuke. Sasuke chose to leave. Sasuke chose to do all the things he did. And yeah, I understand that Naruto sees Sasuke as family... but it's getting to the point where I'm sick and tired of him playing the martyr for Sasuke's sake.

I'm far past that point myself... but that is such a bedrock part of Naruto that I know that it's not going to change. Sadly.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yes he did, which I totally forgot about and which made him terribly awesome in my eyes.

[nimblnymph.livejournal.com]

*nods* True, true. That's why fanfiction was created.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

When she kills him and he falls back into the cement and she's like 'you all saw nothing' I was just ♥.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Such as, like you mentioned, Roy. He's awesomes; calculating, a bit manipulative, and sometimes a little dark with his motives and scheming, but over all he's not a bad guy and he does look out for those close to him. He's lovely.

He's also rather comedic is this terribly human way, you know? Mustang is my favorite character in the manga.

HOWEVER... the Raikage gets massive points from me. His line where he says, "I'll kill Sasuke. If you wanna stop the cycle of violence, then don't come after me in return." THAT was just flat out awesome. He was basically accepting potential consequences for his future actions while pretty much forcing Naruto into a corner; either kill him to save Sasuke and risk bringing war or stand back, let him get his revenge and then have to swallow it down in the name of peace. Very cool.

I'd say so. If I was writing the manga, that's what Naruto would have to do. Really suffer for the peace he says he wants.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Besides, why didn't he tell the kage about the possibility that Killerbee might have escaped?

Yes, why DIDN'T he tell that kage about the one thing that would make him the most likely to call off the death order on Sasuke?

[the-sun-is-up.livejournal.com]

YESSSS. Also the part where she's conning General Raven and being all like "Woe, I am a soft-hearted woman and so I couldn't kill a child, woe," and the one soldier's like "LOL THAT'S A LAUGH" and Ed and Al are like O______O;

ALSO IF YOU KEEP READING, IN ABOUT 20 CHAPTERS THERE'S A SCENE WHERE IZUMI AND OLIVIA MEET. AND OMG IT IS EPIC.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Also the part where she's conning General Raven and being all like "Woe, I am a soft-hearted woman and so I couldn't kill a child, woe," and the one soldier's like "LOL THAT'S A LAUGH"

That was so epically hilarious for just that reason.

I think I remember reading a snippet of that meeting in you lj.