Ah, Fullmetal Alchemist: one of the most highly regarded anime and manga in the world. Many years ago, I had always come across watching an episode or two of the first anime on TV: it had never peaked my interest too much since many of the episodes had been reduced to filler. It was then that 2009 hit: BONES had announced that they would be making a remake of the show, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, making it closer to the manga. My first thoughts were, "Manga? Hm.. I wonder if I could find it online." After much persuasion from my friend, I gave the manga a read.
By the time I had hit Chapter 91, I was hooked and I wanted to read more. The sad reality was that I then had to wait for monthly scanlated chapters: whoo. x| With that being said, the final chapter recently became available this week, and now that I've read the manga completely, I feel a need to write a review about this wonderful series.

Story: The story is one of the most original tales I've heard in a very long time. Despite the fact that alchemy is a commonly-used factor to stories, I found Fullmetal's grasp of the concept to be the most intriguing in comparison to what I've read. The storyline easily receives a 10 from me.

Art: The art reflects the story well: its comedic when needed, and serious as all hell when the serious tone sets in. The art strays away from the usual big-eyed anime people, yet its anime style still remains apparent. There were parts in the action scenes where there was a little too much going on, so it was hard to tell what exactly was happening. For that, I give the art a 9.

Character: You simply CAN'T hate ANY characters in this series (maaaaybe except for Homunculus. But I even liked him! xD) The two main characters, Ed and Al Elric are very strong characters. The brotherhood they reflect is equally as powerful, and you just can't go wrong with Ed and short jokes sometimes. I can honestly say that Hoenheim and Ling were two of my all time favorite characters: Hoenheim was a bit of a tragic character; unfortunately always running away in order to protect the ones he loved. It was only by final few chapters that he realized that running wasn't always the answer. Ling originally traveled outside of Xing in search of the Philosopher's Stone. What he found when he got there was more than that: a friend whose heart had changed. His purpose gradually began to fluctuate, and is character development was wonderful to see.
Alongside this, all I can say is: Armstrong. ... You can't hate the guy. It’s impossible. xD Character gets a 10 from me!

Enjoyment: I was always looking forward to a new chapter: always anticipating a new plot twist, and the result of an epic battle. For Enjoyment, it receives a 9 from me.

Overall: Such a fantastic manga. Some things were a bit fast-paced, but other than that it was hugely enjoyable. The last chapter almost brought a tear to my eye, and no manga other than the powerful Fruits Basket has done that to me. I salute you, Hiromu Arakawa!

If you enjoy strong bonds of friendship, great action sequences, and delving into a little bit of black magic known as alchemy, I highly recommend this series.