If you kidnapped me, took me to an underground agent far from civilization, put a gun to my head, and forced me to choose the greatest manga/anime of all time, firstly, please don’t do it, and secondly, I might It won’t be difficult to tell full metal alchemist. Yeah, yeah, I know what you’re going to say, “but what about *insert comic name*?” Maybe you’re right, but let’s be honest; few series can match the highs and lows of FMA.
It already has it all! Misguided but brilliant brother protagonists on a quest to get their bodies back, an incredible fantasy world with one of the most original magic systems, a centuries-old mystery, and a gripping account of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. Surprised by harsh criticism. To be honest, I can’t think of a more enduring manga, but since its conclusion in 2010, its creator, Hiromu Arakawa, has fallen off the radar of most people.
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Arakawa was not idle during that time, and she has completed several works since then, the best of which is the slice-of-life, coming-of-age farming manga Silver Spoon, but outside of FMA, you don’t hear much about her ‘s name says so much outside of superfans. This was a mistake for a number of reasons, especially since she’s actually been working on a relatively new comic for a few years that FMA fans really shouldn’t miss: Demons of the Shadow Realm.
For one, if having siblings as protagonists is one of your prerequisites for reading comics (weird choice, but you do it), then you’ll be happy to know that Daemons does just that! It stars twins Yuru and Asa, who are separated without the former’s knowledge. From the start, Yuru looks like a mountain village that lived in Japan at least a few hundred years ago, but we soon discover there’s more to the world than just that mountain.
Yuru later gained the ability to command two souls, the titular demons, in contrast to his sister Asha, who had special, slightly clumsy powers. Of course, there are also some apocalyptic stakes, possibly because of these twins whose fates are at stake, and there are various groups trying to kill or protect them. Demons is still a work in progress, so the story isn’t resolved yet, but one thing is clear from the start – from the very first chapter, you can feel that a big adventure is waiting for you.
I think the spirit of adventure is the most attractive thing about FMA. Its world is obviously huge and you can see every aspect of it; you really feel like you’re part of the Elric brothers’ journey, even though they’re apart. Arakawa had such a clear vision for FMA and executed it so well that the opportunity to experience something similar again, only when it was released, felt like a huge shame of missing out.
What I’m trying to say is that if you sometimes say to yourself “I wish I could play Fullmetal Alchemist again,” then you don’t have to do that anymore because there’s something new worth investing in. Conveniently, it’s also officially available in English via Square Enix’s comics app MangaUp! Stories like FMA only come around once in a while, so you should catch Daemon while you still can, because we’re lucky to have it.
