first series. The character's madness and disbelief over his own existence has been praised; Beveridge said it "could make up a series all by itself.." In a later volume review, Beveridge said the series' change of focus to Alphonse "as an actual young boy" was "a nice change of pace." T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews' Samuel Arbogast wrote that the interaction between the Elric brothers as they travel is interesting and that Alphonse's armor was of the most notable characters designs from the series. The brothers were also noted to "becoming men" by Active's Anime Holly Ellingwood after the first appearance of Van Hohenheim in the manga as the two investigate ways to recover their bodies. Lydia Hojnacki said Alphonse's character is as important as his brother to the series after commenting on Edward as she considered Alphonse to be Edward's yang. Rebecca Silverman from Anime News Network praised Alphonse's development in the manga, especially where he refuses to recover his weakened body and instead helps his friends. As a result, Silverman brought a comparison between the two brothers and wondered whether Edward would have done the same. Chris Beveridge found the character's growth in Conqueror in Shamballa appealing as he starts visually resembling Edward. When reviewing the video game Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel, RPGFan's Neal Chandran enjoyed the dynamic between the main characters both in fights as well as dialogues. After Aaron Dismuke's voice matured, Anime News Network writer Justin Sevakis criticized him for his part in the Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium OVA Collection, writing that "he simply no longer sounds like Alphonse". References Fullmetal Alchemist characters Martial artist characters in anime and manga Comics characters introduced in 2001 Fictional alchemists Fictional armour Fictional characters with elemental transmutation abilities Fictional child prodigies Fictional child soldiers Male characters in anime and manga Orphan characters in anime and manga Teenage characters in anime and manga Square Enix protagonists