FMAB Manga Thoughts - 07/05/2026 (Patreon)

I've been reading through Volume 4 & 5 and it's only recently that I started jotting down some of my thoughts.

Might not interest anyone but I thought it'd be fun to share the little "oh hold up a second that foreshadowing was way earlier" or "I wish they had included this in the anime" that I've been having.

I am considering (at some point) doing a react to the Berserk manga rather than jotting down my thoughts but will need to free up some time to do that!

If there's any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors I do apologise. They're written as I'm reading so not the most put together!

Hughes already knew that Bradley was involved after his visit in the hospital. He went to call the 'President' and then decided against it because it clicked in his head that the reason Bradley 'knew so much' and 'warned them to stay out of it' was because he was the enemy on the inside that he was warning them about. It's why he changed his mind and went outside to ring Roy to warn him about the military and the danger it was in. I know it was shown the same way in the Anime but it's only just FULLY CLICKED in my brain that he went from calling Bradley to leaving and calling Roy.

The end with Roy having a moustache isn't a mistake but actually is a subtle reference to a short quib at the end of Volume 4 of FMAB. Roy talks about wanting to be taken more seriously but because he looks so young people don't treat him with the respect he feels he deserves. He talks about perhaps having a moustache would change things. Riza draws on cat whiskers. The fact that Roy DOES HAVE A moustache when he becomes Fuhrer ties into that humorous moment of him thinking one will make him more respectable in the eyes of the military.

I wish they had kept in the scene of Black Hayate and how Riza came to take him in as it would have been humorous especially as it leads to revealing Al hiding a stray cat inside of him and this not being the first time he's done it. It could have been a running gag in the anime that Al would just have a cat randomly at any point just pop up!

The lesson that Ed learns in the finale about alchemy not being the solution to all his problems is actually a topic brought up by Izumi when they first visit her after Rush Valley. There's some local children that ask Izumi to fix their broken toy and when they ask why she doesn't use alchemy - she talks about how "you shouldn't depend on alchemy for everything. Try to fix whatever you can with your own hands." I really wish they had kept that moment in because as much as Ed's journey has been about Nina, I think there's some beauty to be found in him remembering Izumi's words and that reasserting to him that there is more to life than alchemy. Especially considering she becomes a mother figure to him.

There's also a moment where Izumi comforts a young girl whose cat has passed away (I'm glad they didn't include that for selfish reasons because I would have been a WRECK) and reasserts the message that what is dead cannot ever be brought back. This is way before Ed realises that the body in the grave wasn't his mother. Again - a powerful moment of showing just how much influence Izumi has on the boys and their perspective on the world. It's not just about her being their teacher in the alchemical sense but how they carry her lessons forward with them to the very end. It just would have been a nice full circle moment much in the same way it was when we had Ed reassert that his realisation that he is just a human is all because they couldn't save a little girl.

If you guys like these little snippets I'll be sure to post more :')