Spoilers for Daemons of the Shadow Realm ch. 10The newest series from Fullmetal Alchemist's Hiromu Arakawa, Daemons of the Shadow Realm, started off its plot fast, but recent chapters have allowed the story to slow down, revealing that the aspects which made her first work so popular are just as present here.
Upon its release and especially its completion, Fullmetal Alchemist was praised by fans and critics alike for its in-depth character exploration, making each and every character a fleshed-out, real-feeling person. Whether the character was nominally associated with the villains or the heroes, all had understandable and relatable motives, so much so that it was hard to root against some of them, even as the series' final confrontation approached. Now, Arakawa is taking advantage of a break in the action of Daemons of the Shadow Realm to establish the start of some very similar character arcs here, turning it into the Fullmetal Alchemist successor it was always meant to be.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm has centered on a conflict between two groups, the Kagemori family and Higashi village--the site where a pair of twins whose birth signaled potential disaster were born. Chapter 1 of Daemons (Yomi No Tsugai in Japanese) opened with an unprovoked attack on the village, but as the brother Yuru escaped, he encountered a woman claiming to be his sister, who insisted the one he'd grown up with was a fake. When he speaks to her, he winds up in the home of the Kagemori clan, which then comes under attack itself. Yuru fights alongside them, and by morning is convinced that these people aren't trying to harm him. Yuru invites his village guardian, Dera, to come to the Kagemori house so that the two sides can present their cases before he and his sister Asa.
Over the course of chapter 10, the Kagemori accuses the Higashi villagers of being extremists, trying to bring about these prophesied twins so that they can take over the world. Shockingly, Dera doesn't deny this; instead, he says only some villagers are radical. These radicals were shown via flashback to have tortured and killed Asa as part of fulfilling their prophecy, despite being unsure that she'd revive. The Kagemori's attack, while excessive, was actually justified. And even though the Kagemori are his family's enemy, Dera is willing to talk things out. Yuru's entire morality was upended in a single night.
How Daemons of the Shadow Realm Mirrors Fullmetal Alchemist's Storytelling
While the series has plenty of visual similarities (like its version of Fullmetal's Gate of Truth) in common, the two stories have been different so far, aside from the focus on siblings. To draw comparisons, Dera would most closely match up to Major Hughes: he's a good-natured family man working for an organization that's far from being good. Daemons of the Shadow Realm now puts Asa and Yuru in a similar position to Ed and Al, forcing them to be pawns in greater conflicts due to their unique powers. There are good people on both sides of this conflict, and there are already hints that other interlopers may get involved. Morally gray conflicts like this were FMA's bread and butter, and Daemons is looking to be much the same in that regard.
All the pieces to tell a tale as great as Fullmetal Alchemist are now present in Daemons of the Shadow Realm, and it hasn't even been a year since the first chapter was released. Fans of FMA would be doing themselves a favor by getting in on Arakawa's new series early.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm can be read in English via Square Enix's Manga Up! App, with new chapters released at the end of the month.
