Categories > Anime/Manga > Full Metal Alchemist > Jean Havoc: A Work In Progress
Spoilers for Ch. 38 of Manga: The aftermath of chapter 38 told from Jean Havoc's point of view. What is life like afterwards and how does he come to terms? Please leave a review! They're like ca...
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Jean Havoc: A Work In Progress
(#) Misk 2006-08-26
I'm really enjoying these chapters. I've never read the manga, so I don't know any of Havoc's back-story, but the chapters so far are bringing it to life very well.
If I were to have any reservations (and they're small, really), I'd say that Havoc's emotions are not shown as strongly as perhaps they might be. We hear him describing them briefly and almost clinically, as though from a distance. We don't entirely have him actually feeling them. (I'm not sure if I'm being clear or giving enough explanation; feel free to let me know if you want clarification.)
Are the chapters meant to be something he has written in his journals? Or are we watching the account as he describes it in his own mind? I suspect, if it's the latter, that his emotions might swing back and forth rather more wildly as he becomes accustomed to his new condition.
But as I say, in the general flow of the entire story so far, this isn't a huge matter.
Thanks for the story!Author's response
Thanks for the review. It's really a bit of both, some of his writing, a lot of his introspection.
I debated about "how strongly" his denial/anger/bargaining would show... I'm on chapter 35 of this fiction, and this is a newer archive for it. The remainder is at havocmangawip on ff.net.
No worries, he's still emoting quite strongly at six months post-injury. He's eerily calm at first, his sense of duty dictates that he shouldn't show too much emotion and he's very torn by his loyalty to Mustang. (Manga!Havoc is so much better than anime Havoc... truly. The Manga in general is better!)
But yes, he is very isolated and detatched from a lot of his emotion, this being a "mission" to him in some way and as a self-preservation mechanism. Also, Havoc is very pre-occupied with making OTHERS comfortable with his situation. He spends so much energy on that, on "passing" as ok, that often he IS utterly disconnected from himself. (That is definitely addressed in later chapters... no worries, much research and personal experience were utilized in this. The Rating finally kicks in in later chapters too.)Jean Havoc: A Work In Progress
(#) Misk 2006-09-05
I've been away, and only just caught up on the rest of the chapters, so I hadn't read your response to my original comments. I'll go see the rest, as I get time! It's really delightful so far.
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