Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 7

Despite the horror and goriness of the scenes in previous volumes, especially the ones that depicted what really happened to Ed and Al the night they lost so much, this volume is the most gruesome yet. The scenes in the Devil’s Nest are very bloody and for once I am glad that the manga is in black and white. This definitely is a series for teens, not children!

I enjoyed getting to see Teacher fight and also getting to see Ed use his head in a fight and not just brute strength. He may have become the youngest state alchemist because he saw “the Truth” but the kid had some brains before all of that and that intelligence comes through even under pressure to help him and his friends on and off the battle field.

The plot thickens as more pieces of the puzzle fall together and twists reveal surprises in unexpected places requiring us to re-evaluate the series and re-think who is “good” and who is “bad”. It is not so black and white as it first seemed. ( )

A volume full of conflict with opposition who demonstrate that some of the limitations on alchemy can be surpassed... finishing with a revelation of just how twisty the conspiracies are. ( )