Hi!
I just finished the final manga last night (grabbed it thanks to a well timed ice cream craving by my friend). I was surprised-I heard a lot of fans complain that the ending was too quick and easily resolved, but I felt that it was done really well. Most of my favorite characters made it to the ending, and I felt that Ed's sacrifice was really well done-the theme was strange, but completely in character for the series. Also, this one made me have a lot of emotions-I started crying at one part, which I have never done at a comic before, but then again, this is pretty much the end of an era for me. This started in third grade, when my friend turned to me at a sleepover and said, "Hey, you wanna watch something cool?", and it all ended tonight. -rantrantrant-
Also noticed that my opinions changed a lot. At the start, I was all too eager to write off Roy as a cocky hothead (also was a furious Elric fangirl who didn't believe in things like rationality and reason), but I got older and saw that he was already a developed character, if not the man behind the machine. Same goes for Hohenheim-in fact, he turned out to be one of my favorite characters. Poor hurting old man. I mean, completely doddering at times and the ability to throw an emotional punch or two, but that's what makes him cool.
Spoilers: Also, I felt super happy at Pride's resolution. He could have been offed, but he? Selim? both of them? were given a chance at a normal childhood. I'm just happy that it worked out without more kids dying. But I'm still not happy about Havoc's resolution-I mean, he just starts walking again? Sure, it's not depicted as a cakewalk, but he's using muscles that he hasn't used in roughly two years. And I only saw two philosopher's stones-one for Xing, and one for Roy's eyes. How did Havoc even get to walking in the first place? I know, right? I choose exactly this moment to start asking questions about Fullmetal Alchemist.
And there should have been more of Mustang's men. I mean, seriously. They could have carried the entire series on their shoulders. I would pay to read a series about Falman, Furey, Breda, and Havoc. I mean, seriously. We could watch them play chess, shoot one liners, and fight people.
So what did I miss?