Story:
Fullmetal Alchemist has the reputation of being indisputably the best animanga work of all time. Revered to by many as "flawless" and "perfect" and after concluding such masterwork I've come to the conclusion that such claims are not lies, they're the undeniable truth. FMA has a great story-line, fantastic art, a great ensemble cast, historical villains and an epic and a masterful and well-done conclusion. Unlike many works before it that tried to show deep themes for the sake of it and expectjng to sell well, it does it to teach us many life-lessons and change our worldviews with its eloquent philosphy. It is really great and it is not afraid to show it.
Characters:
Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric and Winry Rockbell make up the main cast and they're nothing short of fantastic. Edward is smart, cool, headstrong, layer'd, deep, funny and one of the best protagonists of all time (#1 Ed; #2 Zack Fair #3 Sousuke Sagara). Alphonse is kjnd, helpful, useful and has a personality. Winry is supportive, cute, likeable and a great female lead to speak of. Roy Mustang is a fierce leader and his partner Riza Hawkeye is no slouch too. There are many memorable supporting characters such as Maes, Trisha, Hoeheim and Alex Luis Armstrong, whom along with his sister, Olivier make a badass team. They all have distinct personalities and meaningfully tragic backstories and gripping devlopments. In short they're all great in their own ways.
The antagonists/villains deserve their own paragraph. Lust is one of the best villainess of all time with her majestic design and seductive personality she always steals every scene she's in. Her companions Envy and Glutyony have solid characterizations. Greed, Wraith, Sloth, Pride and Father all make an fearsome group to be reckoned with. They're not evil for the sake oc being evil like the guys from Laughing Coffin from SAO (for the Evulz as one may say it.). They're evil for a reason and this reason os laid out to you as the chapter progresses. My personal suggestion is to not get attached to them since their fate is sealed and they're fated to perish as this is not a grey morality work. It has good vs. evil disposed clearly. And that's why Hiromi Arakawa is my favorite author/mangaka of all time (save for the prophets who wrote the bible, obviously).
Art:
The artwork is phenomenal. Every drawing has emotion carried over it. The fights are engaging and the romantic scenes are heartwhelming (note: romance is just a subgenre of this manga, don't expect a lot of it). Every cover is a work of art, the character designs are unique and eye-catching. Everyone looks distinct from one another. There's a wide variety of races, colors and ethinicities on this manta and they're represented respectully and in a way that feels organic. Amazing to say the least. I'm glad that Arawaka-sa is such a proeminent name in the anime industry due to her writting and art because she's trully the best.
Enjoyment/Overall:
Despite some blasphemies and anti-Christian messages Fullmetal Alchemist takes the cake as the most well-written manga of all time. Better than the Big Three, Berserk and Shinseiki Evangelion. Everything works organically. The characters are fleshed out. The illustrations are phenomental. In short:
Fullmetal Alchemist is an groud-breaking, life-changing masterpiece.
