Hagane no Renkinjutsushi 0 Beginning of a Long Journey
Series experience: I’ve read and seen everything except the light novels
Short review: Fullmetal Alchemist 0 is a short oneshot chapter released in conjunction with the 2017 live-action movie, which discusses mostly the state alchemist qualification exam. Ed passes and meets a few state alchemists, and we also glimpse a bit of Shou Tucker as he discusses the same qualification exam with his family. This interesting and foreboding oneshot gives us a bit more of a clue about the characters who might be included in the live action, but is not a necessary read.
Full review:
Warning: review contains spoilers of early parts of the manga (around vol 3-4)
It’s cute that we get an extra chapter more than five years after Fullmetal Alchemist’s ending, and the story is one which is placed even before the Elric brothers’ journey. There isn’t much of a plot in this one, the oneshot more of serves as a reminder of who the characters are before everything big happens.
The main four characters that people usually see (Ed, Al, Winry, and Roy) are all present, and we see a bit of Roy and Ed discussing what it means to be a state alchemist - nothing too new. The Ishvalan War is brought up, although it plays no role in the movie. We also get Grande and Armstrong, which is funny because you’ll notice how alike they look (and the irony of their contrasting personalities if you’ve read the manga). This is a bit odd, as they’re also absent from the live action film, but the comedy is appreciated. It's definitely nice to see Riza with mid-length hair as well, which is consistent with how she starts to grow it out after meeting Winry (this is discussed in a gaiden chapter).
In any case, the most interesting thing about this chapter is the little bit about Shou Tucker in the latter half of the oneshot. The Nina/Alexander chimera has been memed too much to the point that some people are sick of it, but it still remains a very emotional part of the series for first time watchers/readers. For a lot of people, it could be what gets them really invested in the series. Catching a glimpse of the life-sewing alchemist’s initial failure in the exam and where exactly his madness begins adds to the sadness we feel for the tragedy of the Tucker family. Seeing them complete and knowing that nothing can be done to stop the ideas budding in Shou Tucker's mind is depressing.
Overall, it’s a nice little short to hype people up for the live action (which sucks, by the way, I’m sorry), but it’s not something that really adds too much to the world of Fullmetal Alchemist.
Plot 5/10
Art 8/10
Characters 8/10
Overall personal enjoyment 6.5/10
Thank you for reading!
Review for the manga: Fullmetal Alchemist Review