Fullmetal Alchemist (2010)

[鋼の錬金術師]

Volume 26

Author/Artist: Hiromu Arakawa
Publisher: Gangan Comics

Synopsis:
As the eclipse draws near, the sacrifices desperately struggle to defeat Father before his plan can come to fruition.

Story/Characters:
I hear 'eclipse' and I get Berserk flashbacks. Thankfully, while the results of this eclipse are bad, they aren't nearly that bad. We get taken to the edge of despair before our heroes get their second wind. It's really rewarding to watch all the pieces fall into place, both Father's plan and our heroes' counter to it. We're not quite done yet, but most of the side threads get tied up so we can bring it all to an end.

Art:
Chapter 104 has a nice two-page spread of the sacrifices lined up with their arms crossed. The eclipse as it plays out is quite visually striking and then there's the flashy power struggle between Father and Hohenheim. There's another nice two-page spread for the the finisher in the fight between Ed and Pride. Overall, there's a lot of lavish detail going into the finale here.

Other:
The bonus comic has Father making a different sort of preparation when he appears in his new form and there are three 4-koma.

Conclusion:
While I thought the previous volume was just a smidge weaker in comparison to the trend we'd been seeing in this final arc, Arakawa bounds forward with a lot of visual punch to make this final battle feel suitably epic. This is great payoff for having stuck with the series this far and well worth having.

Rating:
Own It