| abstract
| - Other Characters:
* Marcoh revealing to Envy that since he knows how to make Philosopher's Stones, he knows how to destroy them. Since Homunculi are created from Philosopher's Stones, Envy is in trouble, to say the least. And by "in trouble", we mean "Marcoh blew his giant monster body apart and reduced him to a tiny, cowering tadpole-thing, with one transmutation. Doubly awesome given that Marcoh is possibly the least threatening character in the story (Besides Yoki. BUT SEE BELOW). Turned him into one of this troper's favorite characters, that did.
* Dr. Knox shows us that doctors should not be messed with. When May Chang and Lan Fan wake up in the same room, their first respond is... to try to take out each other. Even Al can't stop them. Right before the situation became grim, the doctor appears, hitting and yelling at them both and asking them to stay in beds like the good patients they are. When they refuse, the doctor yells at them even louder, then reminds them that nasty things can be done to them as a doctor. Nevertheless, they complied. Also a Crowning Moment of Funny.
* A miniture CMOA hidden here: May Chang - Badass Adorable Alkhestris with an miniture army of knives and can do long range alchemy AND knows the xingese martial arts, is going against Lan Fan Handicapped Badass with just a knife and an arm that's been in a hospital bed. Lan Fan is clearly outmatched but is going to go against her anyways. That takes GUTS. CMOA right there.
* Actually, May Chang is not in better condition, since she got high fever.
* Two different Awesome Moments one right after another: Ling Yao gets his fighting King Bradley in a sword fight while holding Lan Fan after Bradley has grievously injured her. While escaping, Lan Fan tries to kill herself so that she can no longer be a burden to Ling, while Ling tries to stop her. Bradley, following her trail of blood, sees her arm attached to a dog -- Lan Fan had cut her arm off, and escaped into a sewer.
* "A king is there for his people. Without people, there's no King!" Then "Yes, a king cannot exist without people. But without king, people will lose guidance".
* Ling Yao finishing the fight against Gluttony by shoving a grenade into his mouth, blowing it, then quickly tying him up while he's regenerating. All in less than 5 pages.
* Another one is when he forces Greed to regain his memories after Bido dies at his hand.
* Lan Fan gets another one when she reveals that she has fulfilled her promise to get an automail arm, and be back in fighting condition in 6 months, in time to help the rebellion by stopping Gluttony, just as he was about to go into "devour everything" mode.
* Okay, let's give Lan Fan the credit she deserves here. She doesn't just stop Gluttony. She utterly owns him. Ed, Greed/Ling, and Darius are standing in a dark forest, totally unable to see what Gluttony is doing, about to be devoured, when BAM, someone sprints out of the forest so fast that at first it seems that Wrath is attacking Gluttony. The new arrival attacks Gluttony so quickly they are literally a blur of sword-strokes, and Gluttony falls backwards, spasming as all of its wounds start to crackle with regenerative energy that just cannot keep up with the amount of damage it just took. And then the figure turns around and: SHE'S BAAAAACK! Easily one of the most awesome entrances on the show.
* Wrath's utter pwnage of Greed, giving him no time to shield himself and repeatedly calling him pathetic, ultimately paralyzing Greed by skewering him with his swords.
* Of course, Greed got his own in round two. He didn't win, but he didn't lose either, since he'd clearly learned from the previous encounter.
* Father's would be when he stamps his foot, and Ed, and Al can no longer perform Alchemy until Father wishes it. The idea that the Big Bad is so powerful that even the best alchemist from Amestris are helpless against him is chilling.
* That scene did double duty. The fact that Father managed to stop the Elric brothers' alchemy was frighteningly awesome... the fact that Scar and May Chang shocked everyone, Big Bad included, by still being able to transmute was a more traditional variant of awesome.
* Oh it wasn't just the Elric Brothers. He shut off the Alchemy of EVERY SINGLE ALCHEMIST IN THE VICINITY, IF NOT ALL OF AMESTRIS.
* This troper finds Scar's Unstoppable Rage to be a CMoA in itself. "No. I will not send you to God where my fellow countrymen of Ishval reside. Think of yourselves as undeserving of rest or redemption!" as he forces Gluttony out of his way in about two seconds.
* Then Scar going for the kill for Father. Father's response: "A destruction alchemy... interesting." Without. Moving. A single. muscle. Scar's realization of his failure, and either Father's counterattack or his own failing alchemy backfiring on him are pure awesome.
* Pride eating Gluttony was a Kick the Dog moment and Nightmare Fuel, sure. But it also went to show how Badass and deadly he is, as did his epic fight with Kimblee against Al.
* In a flashback, after being ordered by his ridiculously vile superior to execute an Ishvalan peace envoy, Basque Grand informs him that many of the highest-ranking soldiers who died in the Ishbalan genocide were killed, not by Ishbalans, but by their own disgusted soldiers. Grand then walks up to his superior and does exactly that. Just thinking about it gives this editor chills.
* After being told that, as an officer, he should stay in the back, Grand tells his subordinate that he belongs on the front line, and alchemically slaughters the enemy.
* Olivier acting as the Reverse Mole in a meeting with the treacherous General Raven. You can tell that Olivier, who believes that the strength of the army lies in each individual soldier, is getting extremely angry as Raven rants on about mindless Super Soldiers, so once she gets the information she needs out of him, she stabs him and shoves him into wet cement. Ridiculously cool. And she didn't even bother to deny it when confronted by Bradley.
* Her introduction alone is Crowning Moment of Awesome. She makes Ed squirm in fear while taunting him about his height. A pure Badass indeed.
* Then when Sloth appears, the scene turned into Crowning Moment of Awesome for the whole Briggs brigade. They systematically tried to eliminate him. When Ed reveals that "Guns and fire won't do anything on him!" She retorts,
*
* She continues her habit of killing members of High Command after one of the Generals holds her at gunpoint. She stabs his arm, causing him to drop his gun, and then in one smooth motion, she picks up the gun and points it at a second General. She then points out that their cause is not noble, nor is she like Mustang -- and shoots him in the head.
* She then takes the first General as a hostage, holding him at both gunpoint and sword point and orders his subordinates to call off the men defending Central. When they don't comply, she stabs his foot. After all that, the General then pulls off his own moment of awesome, telling his men not to comply with General Armstrong's orders. While General Olivier Mira Armstrong holds him with both a sword and a gun. That takes guts.
*
* And when they revealed that they can hold her as hostage, she said, "You don't understand, do you? Our motto is 'survival of the fittest'. If I had to die here, then it's just proves that I didn't have what it takes to survive." This is what happens when you mix Social Darwinist, Determinator, and Mama Bear.
* Then she manages to convince the Central soldiers to work with her against the Cyclops Army. Though it's granted that Central Circle is Bad Boss in general....
* Then, after all the crap they gave to him, Sloth finally focusing his attack toward Armstrong siblings. Alex realizes this, and telling the soldiers... "Stay back. We are the targets". And what they do? These soldiers, who are less than 3 chapters before are ready to kill Olivier and Armstrong without a single thought, instead pull a You Shall Not Pass to Sloth. These siblings are so awesome, their awesomeness turns the opposition.
* The Briggs soldiers, taking out the head command, when the commander is about to commanding the civilian area bombardment. And then...
*
* Olivier arriving on an elevator. IN A TANK.
* Major Armstrong and Sig Curtis instantly(and I mean instantly) bonding and tag teaming on Sloth. A manlier scene has not been seen in anime since Fist of the North Star.
* Cute Bruiser May manages to clock the utterly surprised Elric brothers in tandem and rescue Scar from military police capture with a powerful combination of long-range alkahestry and wicked martial art skills.
* The four chimera introduced in the Mt. Briggs arc have already gotten some even though they were recently introduced, and are minor characters:
* Zampano and Jerso manage to defeat Scar through careful study of his observed tactics. Later on, Zampano tricks Envy into a trap by pretending to betray the Elrics. Both of them then help Scar and May fight him.
* After Pride has captured Al for a second time its revealed that Al doesn't have the Philosopher's Stone... but Marcoh does, and he's used it to heal Heinkel. Pride then notices that the wind has changed and tries to warn Kimblee, but it's too late as Heinkel chomps down on Kimblee's neck.
* Hohenheim: "Don't EVER insult my son." Seriously, don't insult his son.
* Hohenheim destroys Father's container by letting Father absorb some souls from him. How did that destroy Father's container? Hohenheim had gotten to know each and every person within his body. Whereas Father saw the Philosopher's Stone only as a bundle of energy, Hohenheim like Al saw that the Philosopher's Stone contained people. Who were really pissed off at Father for ripping their souls out of their body and stuffing them in Hohenheim for over 500 years. The souls then rip Father apart from the inside. Too bad Father no longer needed his container.
* Chapter 105, holy goddamn hell. HE CAUGHT A GENERATED SUN. A FUCKING SUN. WITH HIS HANDS.
* Chapter 89 is pretty much nothing but awesome. In short order:
* Mustang and his crew (that's FIVE people) begin a guerilla war against the entire Central Army. After they are surrounded, the opposing Captain tells his men to kill everyone but Mustang (including the captive Mrs. Bradley), and just when it looks like the end, the soldiers are shot by Mustang's old platoon from Ishval who had already sent King Bradley into a river.
* Mustang and crew do all this without killing anyone. SIXTY injuries, NO fatalities.
* After a large number of troops are sent to take down Mustang's forces, and the High Command of Central declares that they will defeat Mustang even if they have to use their secret weapons, Olivier tells him "Right on cue. You're nothing but bait for the bears of Mount Briggs. I wonder if your precious dolls will be able to stand up to them?" The bears of Mount Briggs then proceed to attack. They had hidden in the Armstrong mansion while it was being renovated. Magnificent.
* Roy foreshadowed this in chapter 85: "'Large' doesn't even begin to describe this mansion. In fact... I think you could fit a company... maybe even a full battalion here."
* Riza's friend Rebecca shows up with new weapons, an armored Ice Cream truck, and Maria Ross. Mustang's mysterious benefactor calls him, saying "Serving the community for 80 years, this is Havoc Sundries. From underpants to armored cars, we're your one-stop shop for anything and everything! AND we deliver!". He's even grown a Badass Beard.
* Also, the look on Roy's face is absolutely priceless.
* "Second Lieutenant Maria Ross, returning to active duty without permission, sir!"
* Kimblee gets a crowning moment of psycho-awesome when, as he's being escorted out of prison, he thanks the warden for his "kindness" with a friendly smile and a handshake... transmuting the man's watch into a bomb, resulting in general terror and panic before everyone realizes it's a fake. "Just a toy, my dear warden. A gift for your children."
* He got another one, during the first part of his fight with Al:
*
* For me his crowning moment is his Hannibal Lecture to Roy and the others in the Ishval War.
* And his fight with Ed, who knows that destroying Kimblee's transmutation circles is pointless while Kimblee still has his Philosopher's Stone. So Ed disarms him of the stone, cuts Kimblee's circles, and declares victory. Kimblee simply laughs and calls Ed naive, saying something to the effect of "It never even occurred to you... that I might have another Philosopher's Stone, did it?" And he proceeds to bomb Ed, nearly killing him.
* And then, just when we think he's died in an anticlimactic, but fitting way, he's back for one more EPIC gloat in 106. Helping Ed pwn Pride? T'was awesome.
* How about the fact that he survived out of all the souls in Pride because, as he put it, "Howls of anguish...are like lullabies to my ears!" Along with that, the last we see of him is him waving goodbye, holding his hat in the air, and in a perfectly white suit. That has got to be one smooth criminal.
* It's also worth bearing in mind that he was perfectly willing to let Pride kill Ed because he simply wanted to see how Humans v. Homunculi would legitimately play out. What pissed him off was that Pride cheated. The man may be an acknowledged and completely self-aware psychopath, but he's no hypocrite... For this troper, CMoA of the entire series.
* Sloth reveals that he is in fact the fastest of the Homunculi when he has to exert himself, attacking both Armstrong siblings, hitting them constantly before they have time to react. Also hilarious when the Armstrong siblings are shocked and pointing in different directions.
* When it looks like Sloth has killed Olivier it's revealed that Alex, using nothing but pure strength, is holding back Sloth, and then punches the ground to collapse the floor to save his sister. Bear in mind that Sloth was barely perturbed by a tank crashing into him.
* "Some minor broken bones" was pretty awesome too.
* And when Alex finally trashes Sloth in one strike, using his alchemy. Harming a Gentle Giant's older sister (even an ungrateful, foul-mouthed, much-more badass than he sister) is really a bad, bad, bad idea.
* Dear God chapter 95. When Sloth finally manages to pull the spike out of his mouth, he delivers Alex another beatdown, ending in Alex's arm being pulled out of its socket. Alex's response is to let Sloth beat him up even more, ultimately knocking his arm back into place, then punches Sloth full of holes and then drives a spike into each hole!
* Best part of that moment? Alex's line immediately after doing it (at least in Brotherhood): "This artistic muscular and artistic alchemic collaboration..." And at this point we expect him to say the ever famous "Has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" But no, he instead follows it up with: "...is excellent and elegant!" In other words, that technique hadn't been passed down the Armstrong line for generations, Alex was just badass enough to trash Sloth with his own power, skill, and ingenuity. Truly awesome.
* Lampshaded by Olivier. "Forget him! My brother is trained well enough to survive a few of those lovetaps!"
* A minor one, during chapter 57.
*
*
* Which he brings up again in chapter 96.
* Yoki gets a Crowning Moment of Awesome when he rams a car into Pride. In his own words: "I'm tired of you guys hogging all the cool parts! Let me be in the spotlight for once, dammit!". Keep in mind that in the matter of under 10 seconds, he blocks an attack on Marcoh, rams a Cosmic Horror and liberates Al from it, and brings in an escape vehicle to get away from said Cosmic Horror and towards the bigger battle.
* "It's not like they have tanks."
* Nobody has bothered to post it, but IMO, Ed using himself as a Stone to heal his life-threatening wounds from the battle with Kimblee (basically exchanging long-term life for short-term life) = Awesome. Determinator to the max.
* Honorable mention to Lan Fan, who got an automail implant, a painful process which normally takes three years to recover, and takes Determinator Edward Elric a full year to recover. However, she was back in action only in six months. "If this shrimp can do it one year, I'll do it in six months." indeed.
* A bunch of bit characters get a moment of sneaky badass in chapter 94 when they throw off the Central military bosses by claiming to be hostages, while in reality, they're gleefully working with Mustang's crew to broadcast 'the most amazing scoop ever'.
*
* What, blowing up Bradley's train doesn't count?
* Even better in Brotherhood (Which seems to be a common trend), where you can see one of them laughing his head off in the background the whole time and the look on the Central commander's face after one of them pretends to have been shot to avoid a request to talk to Mustang. Absolutely priceless, and if that wasn't enough, followed up quickly by a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming and "It's not like they have tanks."
* The end of the Sloth fight gives us two CMOA:
* Izumi Curtis just shows up and throws Sloth like it's the easiest thing in the world, sending him to her husband.
* Best part of all? Even Olivier is shocked; the expression on her face is priceless.
* Sig shows off how his muscles are not just for show, and teams up with Alex to finally kill Sloth by throwing him into a spike that impales him.
* So, Riza and Roy sit down at a table together during lunch -- keep in mind that Riza is now Wrath's bodyguard as a way of keeping Roy's crew away from him -- and have an innocent conversation about old friends and stuff like that. Later on, Roy goes into a bathroom stall, pulls out a pen and paper and from memory recites all the persons she named in the conversation chronologically, writes the first letter in their name down, and gets this message: SELIM BRADLEY IS HOMUNCULUS. I bet no one saw that coming.
* It wasn't from memory, though. He was actually writing down the names as he pretended to do paperwork. Still awesome.
* The return of King Bradley. All of it. He makes his first appearance announcing that he's going to stop the coup, he then attacks Briggs head on telling them that "What need is there for a king to enter his OWN castle through the back door?", then destroys the tank by himself in a Curb Stomp Battle. He then defeats Buccaneer and demands that Falman open the door.
* With a sword. He destroyed the tank with just his sword.
* He did finish the tank off with a hand grenade.
* If anything, Brotherhood makes it EVEN MORE BADASS, as he slices a Tank shell in half, cuts through an entire brigade to get to the Tank, which is backing up the passage to Central Command, while firing at him. Sweet lord.
* Falman refuses Bradley's order, raises his gun and gets ready for Bradley to chop him to pieces. Falman has balls.
* Despite crying like a little girl. But it's not like we can blame him.
* "Don't cry like a little girl when acting like a man!!"
* Okay Gurren Lagann fans, raise your hand if you made the obvious Actor Allusion during this.
* Buccaneer gets one immediately after this by standing up and announcing that he can still fight even with his automail arm destroyed and having suffered numerous slash wounds.
* And then, as Bradley scoffs at their futile effort to resist, asking if that was what humans called "bravery in the face of death." The one who answers his question isn't Buccaneer or Falman, but Greed/Ling, setting up for a hell of a rematch.
* Buccaneer's abs are stronger than a tank! King Bradley stabs Buccaneer, but he can't pull out his sword, forcing him to fight with combat knives.
* Which is a CMOA for Bradley, too. "Dear me. I guess I'm not quite as proficient with these..."
* After finding out the truth about what High Command planned, the Central Soldiers who fought with Olivier become so disgusted they rip off the Amestris Insignia and drop them at the Brigadier General.
* Let's not forget Fu, who in addition to taking out all the guards so quickly you can't even see him also manages to avoid a point blank stab from Bradley and chip one of his combat knives. It's obvious he's not happy to see the man who cut off his granddaughter's arm.
* Izumi is full of this.
* Survives 6 months in Briggs, beat the crap of soldiers there (not just any soldiers, they're Briggs Bears, for god's sake) and stealing their supplies, and, when she found that his supposedly teacher is not an alchemist teacher, beating the everloving crap out of him, despite his martial artist status
* Storming Devil's Nest, filled with Chimeras, just to chew her late-came-to-home students.
* She makes her entrance dragging the unconscious body of a man she probably beat up outside, and ignores the dozen or so Chimeras and one Homunculus who just kidnapped her student, and instead throws the unconscious man at her aforementioned student.
*
* Lampshaded with Ed:
*
*
* Which, later, he tries. He sends the army to start looking for her somewhere around chapter 74, and they never find her. In chapter 93, almost 20 chapters later, she turns up at Briggs of her own will, adding another moment to the list.
* Fu orders Greed to armor up to prevent Ling from moving, then announces his resignation and tries to commit a kamikaze attack on Bradley, only for Bradley to instead cut the fuses off the dynamite, and take Fu out. Buccaneer then takes out Bradley's sword and impales Bradley by going through Fu as Bradley can't see past Fu's body. Buccaneer than tells Fu that he's going to accompany him on his journey to Hell.
* But Bradley survives, though. And Lan Fan and Ling don't take it well. To give you the details, Ling is so outraged that he manages to override Greed's mind, uses Greed's diamond-hardened fist to break through Bradley's sword, and destroys King Bradley's Ultimate Eye.
* And he one ups it the next chapter by finally giving us the return of Greed's Ultimate Shield. Cue Unstoppable Rage fueled asskicking.
* And for those of you who liked original Greed:
*
*
* T-100, you can eat your gun. Now.
* Upon reading that page, this troper grinned from ear to ear (and in fact was going to post that moment here herself, but was glad to see that someone else aGREED). Or should I say, "Greened?" "Greedened?" Aw, never mind. You get the idea.
* This troper can't be the only one who heard Disturbed's "Indestructible" playing in his head when this happened.
* "Hey, daddio, hand the center of the world over, wouldja?"
* Roy's response after Riza's throat being sliced, and being toyed with by that mad doctor: "I understand, lieutenant. I WON'T do a human transmutation."
* The Chimeras are back!!
* With May Chang as well!!
* And she chooses the lives of comrades an "ally" over the philosopher stone! Thank you very much, now, Riza is saved!!
* What about Riza herself? "I won't die. I've been ordered not to die."
* And Bradley is back too! And Se...lim... bloody hell, that's not good at all.
* Given that Pride and Wrath are not only the last Homunculi, but the strongest out of the seven, and that saying they're pretty much pissed off at that point is an understatement, I'd bet it is quite troublesome, yes.
* "Now, you all have seen my condition. Who shall be the one who gets the honor of finishing me? The Chimeras? The foreigner? Mustang's loyal dog? Or perhaps... you all want your shot for immortality?" This troper feel shivers on his back.
* Not to mention that Bradley is bleeding and blind in one eye and not even in his prime as a fighter, but as one of the pretty Badass Chimera's said, that even with Bradley walking around already beaten up he's terrified of fighting him.
* "A battle to the death between two nameless warriors... I like it."
* Alphonse is given the opportunity to take his original body back, but refuses, because that body, weakened and underused, would be useless in the final battle.
* Chapter 103. Scar and Wrath are fighting when Wrath finally manages to trip up Scar and put him on the ground. He stabs Scar's right arm and is about to impale him with his other sword...when the ground erupts in spikes, sending Wrath flying. He looks at Scar with a look of complete surprise on his face, as Scar stands up and reveals that while his right arm has the power of deconstruction, his left has the power of reconstruction. Wrath's face pretty much says it all.
* This has the benefit of being both pretty darn awesome in it's own right, but also demonstrating just how much Character Development Scar has gone through.
* From Father: "I believe this is yours."
* Maes Hughes figures out what's going on ages before anyone else. Too bad he gets Killed Off for Real for his trouble.
* Father eats the countries of Xerxes and Amestris, then finishes with the God/Eldritch Abomination the Truth. Keep in mind that Father started out a wisp of black gas inside a flask, which would cause his death if broken.
* Chapter 105 is full of this. It might as well be called a Crowning Chapter of Awesome.
* Hohenheim (with May helping to protect the rest) is able to return everyone in Amestris their souls back.
* What makes this even more amazing is the way he does this. He hid some of the souls that conformed the Philosopher's Stone within him in strategic points of the Earth's soil that he knew would have the effect of releasing the Amestrians' souls from within Father's body. And then he completed the transmutation circle with the shadow cast on Earth by the Moon during the solar eclipse. And he'd been planning this for years. It's not only a HUGE and ridiculously risky Plan, it might be the mother of all Crowning Moments Of Awesome. EVER.
* He later manages to deflect a blast with the power of a sun when Scar activates the Alkahestry circle.
* Scar is able to finally defeat King Bradley by removing his arms, but Bradley is able to weaken Scar by slashing him with the sword in between his teeth.
* It's like the Black Knight, but dead-serious and incredibly awesome.
* Ed and Al going to help and encourage Hohenheim while he's deflecting Father's attack is both this and a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, especially considering Ed hates his dad.
* "I may have been a terrible father, but at least I can show my boys something cool!"
* King Bradley showed up to observe the joint training exercises of the Northern and Eastern armies under General Grumman personally. The problem? Grumman, Mustang, and General Armstrong are planning to take that army and attack Central with it. So Grumman deliberately leaks their plans to the enemy. If Bradley stays where he is, Central is left undefended. If Bradley goes back to Central, his train gets blown up by a bomb planted by their allies... and Central is left undefended. His smile just says it all. And in the anime, the closing theme starts up right there, making it even better.
* Scar's Brother figured out what Father has kept hidden for 400 years. He placed a buffer under the Earth's crust so that he could control when Amestrian Alchemy worked, then purged all knowledge of Alkahestry so no one could figure out what he had done. Scarbro got the knowledge from caravans from Xing which allowed him to learn it and fashion a counter.
* The man is obviously Ishval's very own version of Maes Hughes. The glasses should've been a clue.
* Let's also remember that during his lifetime, while he was doing this research, Scar's bro was the only Ishvalan that didn't hate alchemy. Which makes Scar and the other Ishvalans' use of this counter to free the Amestrians' use of some of the same alchemy that pillaged them from Father's control that much more beautiful to see.
* In Chapter 106, Father deliberately creates Nightmare Fuel for the sole purpose of freaking out his opponents long enough to let him blast them all while they're distracted. Unspeakably horrible (but when is he NOT?) but very awesome indeed.
* What about everything else in Chapter 106? Ed having a standoff with Pride, to the point where the Homunculus attempts to take over Ed's body, claiming it's possible due to his lineage connected to Hohenheim and therefore Father. Who shows up to help him, of all people? Kimblee, who had been assimilated by Pride earlier in the story, which allows Ed to release all the souls inside the homunculus and put Pride back in his original form: a baby fetus, of all things. Mein gott.
* To go further in depth on Kimblee's resurfacing? He managed to maintain his sense of self amongst thousands of wailing, pained souls simply because he's so batshit insane. "Screams of agony are like lullabies to my ears!"
* And what about the time Winry kicked two soldiers, two chimeras, and a homunculus out of her room? Ed's expression in the anime was priceless.
* Her first Moment of Awesome was delivering Satera's baby in episode 11, and later earning enough respect from Dominic for him to recommend her to Garfiel.
* CHAPTER. 107.
* Roy using circleless alchemy, with Riza to judge the distance.
* Al transmuting his soul for Ed's right arm, also a HUGE Tear Jerker. And he does this as he's already falling apart because he shielded May from Father's psycho Beam Spam. The poor kid never stops giving.
* After getting his right arm back, Ed GOES TO TOWN on Father; with the chapter ending on the same words he gave Cornello in chapter 1!
* Also, the Briggs soldiers. In an attempt to provide some support to the protagonists, they unload everything they have from small arms and mortars. Their response when Father doesn't even seem to be phased by their attacks? They keep shooting.
* The cover pic is likely the best one we're going to get. For bonus points, check around the edges, especially the upper right corner.
* OH MY GOD. How the HELL did this troper miss that?!
* Doesn't the author herself, Hiromu Arakawa, deserve a mention for her story-telling? She took the concept of revenge, and clearly defined it, something that Masashi Kishimoto is still working on in Naruto, and shows it through Roy Mustang and Scar as the story progresses.
* That, and that she keeps managing to up the ante. Seriously, pretty much every chapter from about 85 or so on is listed under CMOA, CMOH, Tear Jerker, or Nightmare Fuel, and often more than one.
* This editor must also give her props for her impressive use of Foreshadowing. You know your story is well-planned when the shape of a certain hallway turns out to be important.
* You know what?...I'm just gonna say it. Fullmetal Alchemist is a Crowning Moment of Awesome for anime and manga as a whole.
* Let's call it Crowning Manga Of Awesome.
* For something even more awesome about this entire storyline that Arakawa has concocted, let's seriously pay attention to The Illuminati trope and conspiracy theory and list off a number of ways that the Amestrian conspiracy can be said to be similar. We're talking about a shadowy cabal few people know exists secretly ruling all facets of how this country operates, engineering bloody wars and conflicts for its own sinister purposes, working for a being that could in so many ways be called the series' version of Satan himself, all to fulfill this being's purposes of not only ruling this entire world, but taking over the seat of God, and all believing that they will share in this being's glory. This work, at its core, beyond the remarkable science-based superpowers and further enhanced by the terrific story mechanics and beautiful characters, is about an ever-growing group of willing and capable human beings (and even a Noble Demon), all scarred by the deception in some form or another, waking up to the truth and coming together to DEFEAT THE ANCIENT WORLD-DEVOURING CONSPIRACY. Whether you believe in this sort of thing or not, you have to admire the way Arakawa tackles the theoretical issue, with a story that entails all the pitfalls of a world at least partially dictated by such an organization while still insisting that they can be beaten.
* 108. Greed does a Heroic Sacrifice. Enough said.
* While Greed is sacrificing himself, Father asks why he's disobeying him. Greed replies with, "I have finally reached that rebellious age, father!" Awesome.
* Ed punching Father through the chest, Truth giving Father his long-awaited comeuppance, and let's not forget Ed sacrificing his own ability to do alchemy by transmuting his Gate (and in the process impressing Truth). Hell, Truth gets his own in that scene with his Famous Last Words:
*
*
* Ed's probably one of the only people to EVER accomplish this, as he needed to use Al's gate to get back
* Even more awesome in the anime, as Truth jawdrops.
* This Troper thought Ed and Truth got another one with Ed's reply to Truth's query as to if he was actually willing to give up all that power. Ed tells him that he still has his friends, and so he would still be all right. What does Truth say in return but by laughing out "THAT IS THE CORRECT ANSWER!", basically confirming that Ed just found the Meaning of Life.
* Hearing and seeing this scene in the English dub of episode 63 only drives it home even further that this was God here, clearly celebrating the fact that someone finally got it right. ESPECIALLY with the twist on Truth's voice during that scene (see Funimation's crowning moments a bit lower on of the page).
* And of course, seeing Father, now back to his original form as Homunculus, getting punished by all the shit he pulled thorough the series is very satisfying. Specially when Truth says it is exactly what he wished for...
*
* What about when Lan Fan cuts off Father's arm after Greed makes a Heroic Sacrifice?! That was AWESOME.
* When Gluttony attacks Scar from behind and Scar doesn't even turn around, just reaches behind him and manages to grab Gluttony's head and toasts it.
* Oh god NO LOVE FOR LUST?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! She's one of the most Badass characters in the series. She blows things up. Nearly oneshots Roy's ENTIRE team (sure she may have failed but she gets points there). Hell, she fuelled the awesome during her battle with Roy. She also attacked Scar and nearly killed him, sparing the Elric brothers. And winning against Marcoh and threatning him. She was a walking CMOA when she existed.
* Of the homunculi, Lust's death could be argued to be the catalyst for the breakdown of the organisation as a whole. Gluttony and Envy are fairly useless without her leading them. Additionally, she only ever fails due to her arrogance caused by 250 years worth of her own badassery, rather than a lack of power. Mustang's just lucky that she wanted him to suffer before dying, that's all I'm saying.
* Barry the Chopper barging into the prison and swatting people aside (and terrifying them!) in order to bust the innocent Maria Ross out of there.
* Also, cottoning on to Mustang's girlfriend-code-talk right away when Mustang implies that he needs to use a safer telephone line to speak, was this and a Crowning Moment of Funny.
* FUNimation earns a CMOA for reuniting nearly the ENTIRE ORIGINAL CAST for the Brotherhood dub. Even those that are not playing who they played in the original are back. ( Aaron Dismuke playing Young Hohenheim, Monica Rial playing May Chang, Troy Baker playing the second Greed).
* They also earn an extra CMOA for actually accentuating a moment that's already been mentioned. Specifically, it involves Truth. Whereas in the Japanese version Truth's Voice of the Legion would be an accentuated form of whoever's voice Truth was speaking to at the time, Funimation had Truth strictly voiced by Luci Christian. Except during Truth's shout of approval as Ed sacrifices his alchemy in episode 63 - Maxey Whitehead and Vic Mignogna took over as Truth right at that point in the conversation, creating the effect that Truth broke into a legion voice of Ed and Al out of sheer pleasure at seeing Ed's selflessness!
* Scar killing Shou Tucker. For this troper, who prayed that it would happen in the first anime, seeing it actually happen, and seeing the evil prick offed in the same episode he turned poor Nina into a chimera, it was beyond awesome.
* Where's the love for Isaac McDougal? Sure, he shows up and dies in the first episode, but he STILL nearly destroys the military's headquarters, which we later find out is the home of the bad guys! And he does it all by himself.
* And he didn't just happen to target and nearly destroy the home of the bad guys. He knew EXACTLY what was going down. Albeit in cryptic language, he essentially said as much, and Ed figured out what he meant halfway through the story. Pretty awesome for a filler character, eh?
* Ed has a bevy of moments:
* The first time he performs alchemy without a transmutation circle.
* His statue pwnage of Cornello in the second episode, showing for the first time just how powerful he really is.
* The way he defeated #48 by using Scar's alchemy technique.
* There's also the Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner. Since #48 is actually the souls of two murderer brothers bound to one suit of armor (Ed defeats one by knocking off the head containing the blood seal, but his brother, whose seal is on his body, simply picks it up and replaces it). The second brother, moving in for the killing blow, yells "This is for my brother!" Ed, injured and with his automail failing, almost gives up, but then he thinks of Al (who will be stuck forever as a suit of armor if Ed dies here) and enters his Heroic Second Wind with a shout of "And this is for mine!" Asskicking ensues.
* This Troper is personally fond of the decision not to go with strangers.
* His entire battle with Greed: "Let's start!" "Let's finish!"
* Countering Scar's destruction alchemy by subtly changing the composition of his automail.
* Al, of course, isn't without his moments:
* When he gets pissed and charges down Wrath.
* When he outsmarts and defeats Kimblee. "Devious bastard", indeed.
* In the final episode, using his own Philosopher's Stone body to fuel the world's first successful human resurrection.
* How about in the fifth episode, on the train to Central where the would-be hijackers turn around. Never has the word "Welcome" been more sinister or amazing.
*
*
* He gets another great Shut UP, Hannibal moment (Al's good at these) in the final episode when he basically tells Dante to shove it when she tries to stop him from using his Philosopher's Stone to bring Ed back to life: "Stay back! You can't tell me what to do!"
* Roy vs. Pride: "I don't know how long you've lived, Fuhrer, or how many times you've cheated death, but not anymore. It's the end of the line." Badass incineration ensues.
* The Ed vs Mustang fight in episode 13.
* Ed and Alphonse making their way up to Dietline Eckhart's ship in Conqueror of Shamballa movie.
* Ed revealing his Automail to Rose and Cornello in the first episode.
* Despite mainly being a Faux Action Girl in the adaptation, Hawkeye gets one when she trips Mustang to stop him from inadvertently getting himself killed against Scar.
* Scar versus murderous biker gang. Let's just say flying limbs are involved.
* Scar's dispatching of Basque Grand is pretty awesome too. Gran is a feared hand-to-hand combatant and, when they meet, is in possession of Dr. Marcoh's powerful Philosopher's Stone copy, which previously has enabled Grand to transform into a human buttkicking machine. Scar, however, eliminates him as easily as if he's blowing his nose.
* The Scar Vs. Grand fight in Brotherhood is also quite cool for both combatants. In this incarnation, Grand's alchemy allows him to summon cannons, maces, and bladed chains to throw at Scar. When Scar sidesteps this onslaught, Grand traps Scar in a giant iron box. Against almost anyone else, this probably would've been a victory for Grand right there. Unfortunately, he doesn't actually know what Scar can do, and gets a little too close to the box, allowing Scar to just blow a hole in the cage and do his thing with Grand's head. This fight is especially nice for fans of Grand; because in the manga, he was revealed, in an Omake no less, to have been taken out in a sneak attack while walking home. In this version, at least he doesn't go out like a chump.
* I'd have to argue that Scar's CMOA is his entire final episode.
* In his fight with Wrath and Sloth at the factory, Ed does what we've all been waiting for the entire series and transmutes a BUNCH of guns onto his automail. To quote Bruce Willis, "Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho." Also counts for a CMOA for Wrath, who one-ups Ed almost immediately by transmuting many more guns into * his* arm and starts shooting.
* King Bradley is stalking after a (relatively innocent) chimera, who tries to hide (at Al's suggestion) in Al's armor. Bradley walks up, sword drawn, a wide smile on his face, and greets him: "Good morning, Alphonse!" While sliding his sword down Al's neck. He pulls the sword out and walks away, leaving Alphonse dripping blood through the seams in his armor. Kick the Dog made into an art form.
* Izumi Curtis taking on the entire military including the powerful alchemist Alex Armstrong, at the same time, in order to get Wrath back from them and almost succeeding was extremely Badass.
* Ed's Final Battle with Greed is one of the best animated sequences in the show, and is very often cited when people discuss favorite anime fight scenes.
* And who can forget the moment during the warehouse battle when Edward did what fans of the series had wanted him to do since it first aired: transmute his automail arm into a freakin' Tommy Gun?
* Envy gets one in the final episode. Almost everyone is terrified of going into the Gate, where all sorts of mysterious, flesh-eating creatures dwell. However, when Envy finds out Hohenheim is on the other side of the Gate, he just strides through it like he owns the place and tells the Gate-creatures to fuck off, 'cause he's got a papa to kill.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)