is a Japanese
manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series written and illustrated by
Hiromu Arakawa
is a Japanese manga artist. She is best known for the manga series ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' (2001–2010), which became a hit both domestically and internationally, and was adapted into two anime television series. She is also known for ''Silver ...
. It was serialized in
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
's
''shōnen'' manga anthology magazine ''
Monthly Shōnen Gangan
is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company re-branded as Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese mar ...
'' between July 2001 and June 2010; the publisher later collected the individual chapters into twenty-seven ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes. The
steampunk
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
world of ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' is primarily styled after the European
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
. Set in the early 20th century, in a
fictional universe
A fictional universe, or fictional world, is a self-consistent setting with events, and often other elements, that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed, or fictional realm (or world). Fictional universes may ...
in which
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
is a widely practiced science, the series follows the journey of two alchemist brothers,
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
and
Alphonse Elric
is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga series and its adaptations created by Hiromu Arakawa. Alphonse is a child who lost his body during an alchemical experiment to bring his deceased Trisha El ...
, who are searching for the
philosopher's stone
The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", a ...
to restore their bodies after a failed attempt to bring their mother back to life using alchemy.
''Fullmetal Alchemist'' has been adapted into various
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
two television series and two films, all animated by
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
as well as
light novels
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English language ...
. The series has generated
original video animation
, abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...
s, video games, supplementary books, a
collectible card game
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise. A
live-action film
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
based on the series was released in 2017, and two sequels in 2022. In North America, the manga was localized and published in English by
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
.
Yen Press
Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...
has the rights for the digital release of the volumes since 2014.
The manga has sold over 80 million volumes worldwide, making it one of the
best-selling manga series
The following is a list of the best-selling Japanese manga series to date in terms of the number of collected ''tankōbon'' volumes sold. All series in this list have at least 20 million copies in circulation. This list is limited to Japanese ...
. It received the 49th
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...
for the ''shōnen'' category in 2004, the UK's
Eagle Award for favorite manga in 2010 and 2011, and the
Seiun Award
The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fict ...
for best science fiction comic in 2011. Reviewers from several media outlets positively critiqued the series, particularly for its character development, action scenes, symbolism, and philosophical references.
Synopsis
Setting
''Fullmetal Alchemist'' takes place in the fictional country of . In this world,
alchemy
Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...
is one of the most-practiced sciences; alchemists who work for the government are known as and are automatically given the rank of
major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
in the military. Alchemists have the ability, with the help of patterns called
transmutation circles, to create almost anything they desire. However, when they do so, they must provide something of equal value in accordance with the
Law of Equivalent Exchange. The only things alchemists are forbidden from transmuting are humans and gold. There has never been a successful human transmutation; those who attempt it lose a part of their body, and the result is an inhuman mass. Attemptees are confronted by , a
pantheistic
Pantheism is the belief that reality, the universe and the cosmos are identical with divinity and a supreme supernatural being or entity, pointing to the universe as being an immanent creator deity still expanding and creating, which has ex ...
and semi-cerebral God-like being who tauntingly regulates all alchemy use, and whose nigh-featureless appearance is relative to the person with whom Truth converses; it is frequently claimed and believed that Truth is a personal God who punishes the arrogant.
Attemptees of human transmutation are also thrown into the , where they receive an overwhelming dose of information, but also allowing them to transmute without a circle. All living things possess their own Gate of Truth, and per the
Gaea hypothesis
The Gaia hypothesis (), also known as the Gaia theory, Gaia paradigm, or the Gaia principle, proposes that living organisms interact with their Inorganic compound, inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a Synergy, synergistic and Homeostasis, se ...
, heavenly bodies like planets also have their own Gates of Truth. It is possible to bypass the Law of Equivalent Exchange using a
Philosopher's Stone
The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", a ...
, a red, enigmatic substance. Philosopher's Stones are used to create
Homunculi
A homunculus ( , , ; "little person") is a representation of a small human being, originally depicted as small statues made out of clay. Popularized in sixteenth-century alchemy and nineteenth-century fiction, it has historically referred to the ...
, artificial humans of proud nature who are named after and embody the
seven deadly sins
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...
; Homunculi have numerous superhuman abilities unique among each other, and look down upon all humanity. With the exception of one, they do not age and can only be killed via the destruction of their Philosopher's Stones.
There are several cities throughout Amestris. The main setting is the capital of , along with other military cities such as the northern city of . Towns featured include , the rural hometown of the Elrics; , a city tricked into following a cult; , a town that specializes in automail manufacturing; and
Ishbal
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scienti ...
, a conservative-religion region that rejects alchemy and was destroyed in the Ishbalan Civil War instigated after a soldier shot an Ishbalan child. Outside of Amestris, there are few named countries, and none are seen in the main story. The main foreign country is
Xing
XING is a Hamburg-based career-oriented social networking site, operated by New Work SE (until mid-2019 ''XING SE'').
The site is primarily focused on the German-speaking market, alongside XING Spain, and competes with the American platform Li ...
. Heavily reminiscent of China, Xing has a complex system of clans and emperors, as opposed to Amestris's government-controlled election of a
Führer
( ; , spelled or ''Fuhrer'' when the Umlaut (diacritic), umlaut is not available) is a German word meaning "leader" or "guide". As a political title, it is strongly associated with the Nazi Germany, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.
Nazi Germany ...
. It also has its own system of alchemy, called , which is more medical and can be bi-located using
kunai
A is a Japanese tool thought to be originally derived from the masonry trowel. The two widely recognized variations of the kunai are short kunai (小苦無 shō-''kunai'') and the big ''kunai'' (大苦無 ''dai-kunai''). Although a basic tool, ...
; in turn, it is implied that all countries have different forms of alchemy.
Plot
Edward
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
and
Alphonse Elric
is a fictional character and one of the protagonists in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga series and its adaptations created by Hiromu Arakawa. Alphonse is a child who lost his body during an alchemical experiment to bring his deceased Trisha El ...
live in Resembool with their mother
Trisha
Trisha is a unisex given name, usually derived from the female Latin given name Patricia.
Notable people and characters with the name include:
People
*Trisha (actress), Indian film actress Trisha Krishnan (born 1983)
* Trisha Baptie (born 1973 ...
and father
Van Hohenheim
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scie ...
, the latter having left without reason. Trisha soon dies from an illness. After finishing their alchemy training under
Izumi Curtis
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scienti ...
, the Elrics attempt to bring their mother back with alchemy. But the transmutation backfires, and Edward loses his left leg while Alphonse is completely deconstructed. Edward sacrifices his right arm to retrieve Alphonse's soul, binding it to a suit of armor. Edward is invited by
Roy Mustang
is a fictional character from the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga series and its adaptations created by Hiromu Arakawa. In the series, Mustang is a State Alchemist of Amestris' State Military, as well as the superior of the series' protagonist, Edw ...
to become a State Alchemist (to research a way to restore their bodies) and undergoes a painful medical procedure that grants him prosthetic automail limbs. Edward becomes a State Alchemist, with the title of Fullmetal Alchemist. The Elrics spend the next three years searching for the mythical
Philosopher's Stone
The philosopher's stone or more properly philosophers' stone (Arabic: حجر الفلاسفة, , la, lapis philosophorum), is a mythic alchemical substance capable of turning base metals such as mercury into gold (, from the Greek , "gold", a ...
to achieve their goals.
The Elrics are eventually attacked by an Ishbalan
serial killer
A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A
*
*
*
* with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...
known as
Scar
A scar (or scar tissue) is an area of fibrous tissue that replaces normal skin after an injury. Scars result from the biological process of wound repair in the skin, as well as in other organs, and tissues of the body. Thus, scarring is a na ...
, who targets State Alchemists in revenge for his people's genocide in the Ishbalan civil war. Returning to Resembool to have Edward's limbs repaired by their childhood friend and mechanic,
Winry Rockbell
is a fictional character from Hiromu Arakawa's ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga series and its adaptations. Winry is a teenage mechanic who often spends time with the central characters, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are childhood friends ...
, the Elrics meet
Dr. Marcoh, who provides them with clues to learn that a Philosopher's Stone is created from human souls. They investigate a laboratory in which the Stones were created, but are hindered by the Homunculi. The Elrics decide to visit Izumi, hoping to improve their alchemy. Mustang's friend
Maes Hughes
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scienti ...
continues the Elrics' research and finds out about a government conspiracy, but is killed by the homunculus
Envy
Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it.
Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...
. The Elrics learn that Izumi also performed human transmutation, having attempted to use alchemy to revive her stillborn child. Alphonse is captured by the homunculus
Greed
Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as Social status, status, or Power (social and politica ...
, but is rescued by Amestris' leader
King Bradley
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scienti ...
. Bradley is revealed to be the homunculus Wrath and brings the captured Greed to the Homunculi's creator,
Father
A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...
. When Greed refuses to rejoin his fellow Homunculi, he is reabsorbed by Father.
After meeting the Xingese prince
Lin Yao, who seeks a Philosopher's Stone to cement his position as heir to his country's throne, the Elrics return to Central City, where they learn of Hughes's murder. Lieutenant
Maria Ross is framed for Hughes' murder, so Mustang fakes Ross's death and smuggles her out of the country. In encounters with the Homunculi, Mustang kills
Lust
Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can ...
. Lin captures
Gluttony
Gluttony ( la, gula, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items, particularly as status symbols.
In Christianity, it is considered a sin if ...
, who swallows Lin, Edward, and Envy into his void-like stomach. They escape from Gluttony's stomach after he takes Alphonse to meet Father, who makes Lin the vessel of Greed. Mustang tries to expose Bradley to the government but finds that the higher officials are complicit in Father's plans. The Elrics and Mustang are released, but warned not to oppose Father, who seeks to use them as "human sacrifices". Meanwhile, Scar heads north with the Xingese princess
May Chang, fires the corrupt official
Yoki, and kidnaps Dr. Marcoh.
The Elrics head north as well, and reach Fort Briggs, commanded by General
Olivier Armstrong. They confront the homunculus
Sloth
Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their li ...
and learn that Father founded Amestris to amass enough population to create a massive Philosopher's Stone. With it, he can achieve godhood by absorbing the being beyond the Gate of Truth on the "Promised Day". Forced to work with
Solf Kimblee, a murderous former State Alchemist and ally of the Homunculi, the Elrics turn on him and split up, joined by a reformed Scar, his group, Kimblee's chimera subordinates, and later Lin/Greed.
Riza Hawkeye
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scienti ...
discovers that King Bradley's son
Selim
Salim, Saleem or Selim may refer to:
People
*Salim (name), or Saleem or Salem or Selim, a name of Arabic origin
*Salim (poet) (1800–1866)
*Saleem (playwright) (fl. 1996)
*Selim I, Selim II and Selim III, Ottoman Sultans
* Selim people, an eth ...
is the homunculus Pride. Hohenheim reveals that he was made an
immortal
Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life.
Immortal or Immortality may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film
* ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...
when Father arranged the fall of Cselkcess four centuries ago and had been working since then to stop Father.
The Promised Day arrives, with Father planning to use an
eclipse
An eclipse is an astronomical event that occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ce ...
and ‘human sacrifices’ — alchemists who have performed human transmutation — to trigger the transmutation, with Wrath and Pride forcing Mustang to perform human transmutation to make him a sacrifice. The Elrics and their comrades battle Father's minions, with Kimblee and almost all of the Homunculi dying. However, Father manages to activate the nationwide transmutation circle and absorbs the superior being. Hohenheim and Scar activate countermeasures, draining much of Father's absorbed souls, and rendering him unstable. The Elrics and their comrades face Father in a final battle, in which Greed sacrifices himself to protect Lin. Alphonse, his armor almost destroyed, sacrifices his soul to restore Edward's right arm. Edward defeats Father, who is dragged into the Gate of Truth, from which he was created. Edward sacrifices his ability to perform alchemy to fully restore Alphonse from an impressed Truth, while Lin receives a Philosopher's Stone. Hohenheim goes to visit Trisha's grave, where he dies peacefully.
The Elrics return home and separate two years later to further research alchemy. Years later, Edward and Winry marry and have two children.
Production
Development
After reading about the concept of the Philosopher's Stone, Arakawa became attracted to the idea of her characters using alchemy in the manga. She started reading books about alchemy, which she found complicated because some books contradict others. Arakawa was attracted more by the philosophical aspects than the practical ones.
For the concept, she was inspired by the work of her parents, who had a farm in
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
and worked hard to earn the money to eat.
Arakawa wanted to integrate social problems into the story. Her research involved watching television news programs and talking to refugees, war veterans and former
yakuza
, also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...
. Several plot elements, such as Pinako Rockbell caring for the Elric brothers after their mother dies, and the brothers helping people to understand the meaning of family, expand on these themes. When creating the fictional world of ''Fullmetal Alchemist'', Arakawa was inspired after reading about the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
in Europe; she was amazed by differences in the culture, architecture, and clothes of the era and those of her own culture. She was especially interested in England during this period and incorporated these ideas into the manga.
The series has a
steampunk
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery. Steampunk works are often set in an alternative history of the Victorian era or ...
setting.
The
Ishbal
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scienti ...
region has similarities to the Middle East, with the plot anticipating elements of the
Iraq War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
which later occurred in the real world.
When the manga began serialization, Arakawa was considering several major plot points, including the ending. She wanted the Elric brothers to recover their bodiesat least partly.
As the plot continued, she thought that some characters were maturing and decided to change some scenes.
Arakawa said the manga authors
Suihō Tagawa
, better known by the pen name Suihō Tagawa (田河 水泡, ''Tagawa Suihō''), was a Japanese manga artist.
Biography
Born in Sumida, Tokyo, Nakatarō Takamizawa grew up an orphan: his mother died upon his birth, his father and his uncle (who ...
and Hiroyuki Eto are her main inspirations for her character designs; she describes her artwork as a mix of both of them. She found that the easiest of the series's characters to draw were
Alex Louis Armstrong
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and anime series feature an extensive cast of fictional characters created by Hiromu Arakawa. The story is set in a fictional universe within the 20th century in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scie ...
, and the little animals. Arakawa likes dogs so she included several of them in the story. Arakawa made comedy central to the manga's story because she thinks it is intended for entertainment, and tried to minimize sad scenes.
Conclusion
When around forty manga chapters had been published, Arakawa said that as the series was nearing its end and she would try to increase the pace of the narrative. To avoid making some chapters less entertaining than others, unnecessary details from each of them were removed and a climax was developed. The removal of minor details was also necessary because Arakawa had too few pages in ''
Monthly Shōnen Gangan
is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company re-branded as Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese mar ...
'' to include all the story content she wanted to add. Some characters' appearances were limited in some chapters.
At first, Arakawa thought the series would last twenty-one volumes but the length increased to twenty-seven. Serialization finished after nine years, and Arakawa was satisfied with her work because she had told everything she wanted with the manga.
During the development of the first anime, Arakawa allowed the anime staff to work independently from her and requested a different ending from that of the manga. She said that she would not like to repeat the same ending in both media, and wanted to make the manga longer so she could develop the characters. When watching the ending of the anime, she was amazed about how different the
homunculi
A homunculus ( , , ; "little person") is a representation of a small human being, originally depicted as small statues made out of clay. Popularized in sixteenth-century alchemy and nineteenth-century fiction, it has historically referred to the ...
creatures were from the manga and enjoyed how the staff speculated about the origins of the villains.
Because Arakawa helped the
Bones
A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
staff in the making of the series, she was kept from focusing on the manga's cover illustrations and had little time to make them.
Themes and analysis
The series explores social problems, including discrimination, scientific advancement, political greed, brotherhood, family, and war. Scar's backstory and his hatred of the state military references the
Ainu people
The Ainu are the indigenous people of the lands surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, including Hokkaido Island, Northeast Honshu Island, Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula and Khabarovsk Krai, before the arrival of the Y ...
, who had their land taken by other people.
This includes the consequences of guerrilla warfare and the number of violent soldiers a military can have. Some of the people who took the Ainus' land were originally Ainu; this irony is referenced in Scar's use of alchemy to kill alchemists even though it was forbidden in his own religion.
The Elrics being orphans and adopted by Pinako Rockbell reflects Arakawa's beliefs about the ways society should treat orphans. The characters' dedication to their occupations reference the need to work for food. The series also explores the concept of equivalent exchange; to obtain something new, one must pay with something of equal value. This is applied by alchemists when creating new materials and is also a philosophical belief the Elric brothers follow.
Publication
Written and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa, ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' was serialized in
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
's monthly manga magazine ''
Monthly Shōnen Gangan
is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix Holdings. It originated as a manga imprint for Enix before the company re-branded as Square Enix. It publishes manga in several anthologies aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese mar ...
''. Its first installment was published in the magazine's August 2001 issue on July 12, 2001. The series finished with the 108th installment in the July 2010 issue of ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'', published on June 11, 2010. A side-story to the series was published in the October 2010 issue of ''Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' on September 11, 2010. In the July 2011 issue of the same magazine, the prototype version of the manga was published. Square Enix compiled the chapters into twenty-seven ''
tankōbon
is the Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes, released from January 22, 2002, to November 22, 2010.
A few chapters have been re-released in Japan in two "Extra number" magazines and ''Fullmetal Alchemist, The First Attack'', which features the first nine chapters of the manga and other side stories.
Square Enix republished the series into eighteen ''
kanzenban'' volumes, from June 22, 2011, to September 22, 2012.
In North America,
Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
licensed the series for an English language release in North America and published the twenty-seven volumes between May 3, 2005, and December 20, 2011.
From June 7, 2011, to November 11, 2014, Viz Media published the series in an omnibus format, featuring three volumes in one.
In April 2014,
Yen Press
Yen Press, LLC is an American manga and graphic novel publisher co-owned by Kadokawa Corporation and Hachette Book Group. It published ''Yen Plus'', a monthly comic anthology, between 2008 and 2013. In addition to translated material, Yen Press ...
announced the rights for the digital release of the volumes in North America,
[Fullmetal Alchemist – Yen Press](_blank)
/ref> and on December 12, 2016, has released the series on the ComiXology
Iconology Inc., d/b/a ComiXology (styled comiXology), is a cloud-based digital distribution platform for comics owned by Amazon, with over 200 million comic downloads . It offers a selection of more than 100,000 comic books, graphic novels, and ...
website. Viz Media published the eighteen-volume ''kanzenban'' edition, as ''Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition'', from May 8, 2018, to August 23, 2022.
Other English localizations were done by Madman Entertainment
Madman Entertainment Pty. Ltd., also known as Madman Films, is an Australian distribution and rights management company headquartered in East Melbourne, Victoria, specialising in feature films, documentaries and television series across theatri ...
for Australasia and Chuang Yi
Chuang Yi Publishing Pte Ltd. ( zh, s=创艺出版社) was a publishing company based in Singapore that specialized in producing domestic and imported comics and comics-related merchandise in English and simplified Chinese. Chuang Yi distributed ...
in Singapore. The series has been also localized in Polish, French, Portuguese, Italian, and Korean.
Related media
Anime series
''Fullmetal Alchemist'' was adapted into two separate anime series for television: a loose adaption with a mostly anime original story titled ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' in 2003–2004, and a retelling that faithfully adapts the original manga in 2009–2010 titled ''Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood''.
Theatrical films
Animation
Two feature-length anime films were produced; ''Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa'', a sequel/conclusion to the 2003 series, and ''Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos'', set during the time period of ''Brotherhood''.
Live-action
A live-action film based on the manga was released on November 19, 2017. Fumihiko Sori
Fumihiko Sori (曽利 文彦) is a Japanese film director and film producer. He received a nomination for the 'Best Director' prize at the Japanese Academy Awards for his directing debut, ''Ping Pong''.
Filmography
Director
*2002 ''Ping Pong'' ...
directed the film. The film stars Ryosuke Yamada
is a Japanese singer and actor. He is a member of Hey! Say! JUMP.[Hey! Say! JUMP Pr ...](_blank)
as Edward Elric, Tsubasa Honda
is a Japanese actress and model.
Career
In mid-2006, Honda entered the entertainment industry after being scouted by seven different people on the same day. She then debuted as an exclusive model for the magazine ''Seventeen'' in the same year. ...
as Winry Rockbell and Dean Fujioka
, better known as , is a Japanese actor, singer-songwriter, musician, model and film director. He is a talent of Amuse, Inc.
Biography
Dean Fujioka was born in Sukagawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Moving with his family, he grew up in Kamagaya, ...
as Roy Mustang.
The sequels and were released on May 20 and June 24, 2022, respectively. They became available on Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
on 20 August and 24 September respectively.
Light novels
Square Enix
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...
has published a series of six ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' Japanese light novel
A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...
s, written by Makoto Inoue. The novels were licensed for an English-language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
release by Viz Media
VIZ Media LLC is an American manga publisher, anime distributor and entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ M ...
in North America, with translations by Alexander O. Smith
Alexander O. Smith is a professional Japanese to English translator and author. While his output covers many areas such as adaptation of Japanese novels, manga, song lyrics, anime scripts, and various academic works, he is best known for his sof ...
and illustrationsincluding covers and frontispiecesby Arakawa. The novels are spin-offs of the manga series and follow the Elric brothers on their continued quest for the philosopher's stone. The first novel, ''Fullmetal Alchemist: The Land of Sand'', was animated as episodes eleven and twelve of the first anime series. The fourth novel contains an extra story about the military called "Roy's Holiday". Novelizations of the PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
games ''Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
is an action role-playing game developed by Racjin and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console. The game features an original story by Hiromu Arakawa from the creator of the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga. It is based on the ''Fu ...
'', ''Curse of the Crimson Elixir
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
'', and '' The Girl Who Succeeds God'' have also been written, the first by Makoto Inoue and the rest by Jun Eishima. Two Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
games, ''Prince of the Dawn'' and ''Daughter of the Dusk'', were also novelized in one volume by Sōji Machida.
Audio dramas
There have been two series of ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' audio dramas. The first volume of the first series, , was released before the anime and tells a similar story to the first novel. The Tringham brothers reprised their anime roles. and are stories based on different manga chapters; their State Military characters are different from those in the anime. The second series of audio dramas, available only with purchases of ''Shōnen Gangan'', consists of two stories in this series, each with two parts. The first, , was included in ''Shōnen Gangan'' April and May 2004 issues; the second story, , was issued in the November and December 2004 issues.
Video games
Video games based on ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' have been released. The storylines of the games often diverge from those of the anime and manga, and feature original characters. Square Enix has released three role-playing games
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...
(RPG)—''Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
is an action role-playing game developed by Racjin and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console. The game features an original story by Hiromu Arakawa from the creator of the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga. It is based on the ''Fu ...
'', ''Curse of the Crimson Elixir
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, ...
'', and '' Kami o Tsugu Shōjo''. Bandai
is a Japanese multinational toy manufacturer and distributor headquartered in Taitō, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Toys & Collectables America and Bandai UK, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and Richmond ...
has released two RPG titles, and , for the Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
and one, '' Dual Sympathy'', for the Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
. In Japan, Bandai released an RPG for the PlayStation Portable
The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...
on May 20, 2010. Bandai also released a fighting game
A fighting game, also known as a versus fighting game, is a video game genre, genre of video game that involves combat between two or more players. Fighting game combat often features mechanics such as Blocking (martial arts), blocking, grappli ...
, '' Dream Carnival'', for the PlayStation 2. Destineer
Destineer, Inc. was an American umbrella company covering a holding company, a video game publisher, and a video game developer that was based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The company was founded by Peter Tamte, former executive vice-president of ...
released a game based on the trading card game
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
in North America for the Nintendo DS. Of the seven games made in Japan, ''Broken Angel'', ''Curse of the Crimson Elixir'', and ''Dual Sympathy'' have seen international releases. For the Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
, was released in Japan on August 13, 2009. A direct sequel of the game, , was released on December 10, 2009, for the same console.
Funimation licensed the franchise to create a new series of ''Fullmetal Alchemist''-related video games to be published by Destineer
Destineer, Inc. was an American umbrella company covering a holding company, a video game publisher, and a video game developer that was based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The company was founded by Peter Tamte, former executive vice-president of ...
Publishing Corporation in the United States. Destineer released its first ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' game for the Nintendo DS, a translation of Bandai's ''Dual Sympathy'', on December 15, 2006, and said that they plan to release further titles. On February 19, 2007, Destineer announced the second game in its ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' series, the ''Fullmetal Alchemist Trading Card Game'', which was released on October 15, 2007. A second game for the PlayStation Portable titled was released in Japan on October 15, 2009. A European release of the game, published by Namco Bandai Games
is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...
, was announced on March 4, 2010. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
''MapleStory
''MapleStory'' () is a free-to-play, 2D, side-scrolling massively multiplayer online role-playing game, developed by South Korean company Wizet. Several versions of the game are available for specific countries or regions, published by vario ...
'' also received special in-game items based on the anime series. For the 20th Anniversary of the series, Square Enix announced ''Fullmetal Alchemist Mobile'', which was released for iOS
iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...
and Android
Android may refer to:
Science and technology
* Android (robot), a humanoid robot or synthetic organism designed to imitate a human
* Android (operating system), Google's mobile operating system
** Bugdroid, a Google mascot sometimes referred to ...
devices on August 4, 2022.
Arakawa oversaw the story and designed the characters for the RPG games, while Bonesthe studio responsible for the anime seriesproduced several animation sequences. The developers looked at other titlesspecifically Square Enix's action role-playing game ''Kingdom Hearts
is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...
'' and other games based on manga series, such as ''Dragon Ball
is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...
'', ''Naruto
''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...
'' or ''One Piece
''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...
'' gamesfor inspiration. The biggest challenge was to make a "full-fledged" game rather than a simple character-based one. Tomoya Asano, the assistant producer for the games, said that development took more than a year, unlike most character-based games.
Art and guidebooks
The ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' has received several artbooks. Three artbooks called were released by Square Enix; two of those were released in the US by Viz Media. The first artbook contains illustrations made between May 2001 to April 2003, spanning the first six manga volumes, while the second has illustrations from September 2003 to October 2005, spanning the next six volumes. The last one includes illustrations from the remaining volumes.
The manga also has three guidebooks; each of them contains timelines, guides to the Elric brothers' journey, and ''gaiden
In media, a spin-off (or spinoff) is a radio program, television program, film, video game or any narrative work, derived from already existing works that focus on more details and different aspects from the original work (e.g. particular topics, ...
'' chapters that were never released in manga volumes. Only the first guidebook was released by Viz Media, titled ''Fullmetal Alchemist Profiles''. A guidebook titled , which contains post-manga story information, was released in Japan on July 29, 2011.
Merchandise
Action figures, busts, and statues from the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' anime and manga have been produced by toy companies, including Medicom and Southern Island. Medicom has created high end deluxe vinyl figures of the characters from the anime. These figures are exclusively distributed in the United States and UK by Southern Island. Southern Island released its own action figures of the main characters in 2007, and a 12" statuette was scheduled for release the same year. Southern Island has since gone bankrupt, putting the statuette's release in doubt. A trading card game was first published in 2005 in the United States by Joyride Entertainment. Since then, six expansions have been released. The card game was withdrawn on July 11, 2007. Destineer released a Nintendo DS adaptation of the game on October 15, 2007.
Reception
Manga
''Fullmetal Alchemist'' was one of the Manga Division's Jury Recommended Works at the 8th and 11th installments of Japan Media Arts Festival
The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition.
Based on judging by ...
in 2004 and 2007, respectively. Along with ''Yakitate!! Japan
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takashi Hashiguchi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from December 2001 to January 2007, with its chapters collected in 26 ''tankōbon'' volumes. A sixty-nine ...
'', the series won the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga awards, and is sponsored by Shogakukan, Shogakukan Publishing. It has been awarded annually for serialized manga and features candidates from a number of publishers. It is the oldest manga award in Japan, being ...
for the ''shōnen'' category in 2004. It won the public voting for Eagle Award's "Favourite Manga" in 2010 and 2011. The series won the "Shonen Tournament 2009" by the editorial staff of the French website ''manga-news''. The manga also received the 42nd Seiun Award
The is a Japanese speculative fiction award given each year for the best science fiction works and achievements during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by , the awards are given at the annual Nihon SF Taikai, Japan Science Fict ...
for best science fiction comic in 2011. Arakawa also received the New Artist Prize in the fifteenth Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize
Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan.
Current ...
s for the manga series in 2011. ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' ranked 3rd on the first annual Tsutaya Comic Awards
is a manga award sponsored by TSUTAYA, a major chain of rental and sales stores for books, music software, and video software.
Overview
The first award was held in 2017 as a celebration of Tsutaya stores, until 2018 the awards were divided i ...
' All-Time Best Section in 2017. The manga was nominated for the Grand Prize of the 10th Sense of Gender Award
The Sense of Gender Awards are annual awards given by the Japanese Association for Gender, Fantasy & Science Fiction since 2001 for the science fiction or fantasy fiction published in the Japanese language in the prior year which best "explore an ...
in 2010.
In a survey from Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...
in 2009, ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' ranked ninth as the manga that fans wanted to be turned into a live-action film. The series is also popular with amateur writers who produce ''dōjinshi
, also romanized as ', is the Japanese term for self-published print works, such as magazines, manga, and novels. Part of a wider category of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, ''doujinshi'' are often derivative of existing works and created ...
'' (fan fiction
Fan fiction or fanfiction (also abbreviated to fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF) is fictional writing written in an amateur capacity by fans, unauthorized by, but based on an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted characters, settin ...
) that borrows characters from the series. In the Japanese market Super Comic City, there have been over 1,100 ''dōjinshi'' based on ''Fullmetal Alchemist'', some of which focused on romantic interactions between Edward Elric and Roy Mustang. ''Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
'' said the series had the same impact in Comiket
, more commonly known as or , is a semiannual ''doujinshi'' convention in Tokyo, Japan. A grassroots market focused on the sale of '' doujin'' (self-published) works, Comiket is a not-for-profit fan convention administered by the volunteer-ru ...
2004 as several female fans were seen there writing ''dōjinshi''. On TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150.000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' ranked No. 9.
Sales
The series has become one of Square Enix's best-performing properties, along with ''Final Fantasy
is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
'' and ''Dragon Quest
previously published as ''Dragon Warrior'' in North America until 2005, is a franchise of Japanese role-playing video games created by Armor Project (Yuji Horii), Bird Studio (Akira Toriyama) and Sugiyama Kobo (Koichi Sugiyama) to its publi ...
''. With the release of volume 27, the manga sold over 50 million copies in Japan. As of January 10, 2010, every volume of the manga has sold over a million copies each in Japan. Square Enix reported that the series had sold 70.3 million copies worldwide as of April 25, 2018, 16.4 million of those outside Japan. As of July 2021, the manga had 80 million copies in circulation worldwide. The series is also one of Viz Media's best sellers, appearing in "BookScan's Top 20 Graphic Novels" and the "USA Today Booklist". It was featured in the Diamond Comic Distributors
Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other po ...
' polls of graphic novels and ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Best Seller Manga list. The English release of the manga's first volume was the top-selling graphic novel during 2005.
During 2008, volumes 19 and 20 sold over a million copies, ranking as the 10th and 11th best seller comics in Japan respectively. In the first half of 2009, it ranked as the seventh best-seller in Japan, having sold over 3 million copies. Volume 21 ranked fourth, with more than a million copies sold and volume 22 ranked sixth with a similar number of sold copies. Producer Kouji Taguchi of Square Enix said that Volume 1's initial sales were 150,000 copies; this grew to 1.5 million copies after the first anime aired. Prior to the second anime's premiere, each volume sold about 1.9 million copies, and then it changed to 2.1 million copies.
Critical response
''Fullmetal Alchemist'' has generally been well received by critics. Though the first volumes were thought to be formulaic, critics said that the series grows in complexity as it progresses. Jason Thompson called Arakawa one of the best at creating action scenes and praised the series for having great female characters despite being a boys' manga. He also noted how the story gets dark by including real-world issues such as government corruption, war and genocide. Thompson finished by stating that ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' "will be remembered as one of the classic shonen manga series of the 2000s." Melissa Harper of ''Anime News Network'' praised Arakawa for keeping all of her character designs unique and distinguishable, despite many of them wearing the same basic uniforms. IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's Hilary Goldstein wrote that the characterization of Edward balances between being a "typical clever kid" and a "stubborn kid", allowing him to float between the comical moments and the underlying drama without seeming false. Holly Ellingwood for Active Anime praised the development of the characters in the manga and their beliefs changing during the story, forcing them to mature. Mania Entertainment's Jarred Pine said that the manga can be enjoyed by anybody who has watched the first anime, despite the similarities in the first chapters. Like other reviewers, Pine praised the dark mood of the series and the way it balances the humor and action scenes. Pine also praised the development of characters who have few appearances in the first anime. In a review of volume 14, Sakura Eriesalso of Mania Entertainmentliked the revelations, despite the need to resolve several story arcs. She also praised the development of the homunculi, such as the return of Greed
Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as Social status, status, or Power (social and politica ...
, as well as their fights.
See also
* List of Square Enix manga franchises
is a manga imprint owned by Square Enix. It publishes manga in several magazines aimed at different reader demographic groups in the Japanese market. Its magazines are home to some popular Square Enix manga series which were adapted into anime s ...
* List of Square Enix video game franchises
This is a list of video game franchises by Square Enix, a Japanese video game development and publishing company formed from the merger of Enix and Square on April 1, 2003. Square Enix acquired Taito in September 2005, which continues to publish ...
References
External links
Official Gangan Online ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' homepage
(in Japanese)
Official Gangan ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' manga and novel website
*
*
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{{Hiromu Arakawa
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Fullmetal Alchemist
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. It was serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology magazine ''Gangan Comics#Monthly Shōnen Gangan, Monthly Shōnen Gangan'' between July 20 ...
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