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Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 ,Hagane no Renkinjutsushi?, lit. "Alchemist of Steel"), is an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after European Industrial Revolution. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques known to man, the story follows the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, who want to restore their bodies after a disastrous failed attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy.
The manga is serialized in Square Enix's Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine (starting January 2001) and currently has 21 tankōbon volumes. It was adapted into an animated television series of 51 episodes by Bones from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004, later followed by a movie sequel that concluded the story of the anime. A multitude of spin-off novels, autentic video animations (OVAs), drama CDs, soundtracks, and video games have been adapted from the series. A collectible card game, numeroase supplementary books, and a variety of action figures and other merchandise based on the characters of the series have also been released.
The manga has been licensed by Viz Media for publication in the United States, with seventeen bound volumes released currently. Although there are no major differences with the Japanese version, some pages have been edited to avoid references to Christianity. Funimation has dubbed the anime episodes in the United States and Canada, and has also released them in all English-speaking DVD regions. The English version of the movie premiered in a limited number of U.S. theaters on August 25, 2006 and was later released on DVD. Funimation and Destineer have also been releasing the video games from the series.
The franchise has seen high popularity in both Japan and North America. As of March 2008, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga has sold over 30 million volumes in Japan. The English release of the manga's first volume was the top-selling graphic novel during the year 2005. In two TV Asahi web polls, the anime was voted #1 most popular anime of all time in Japan. It was nominated in six of the eight categories for which it was eligible at the American Anime Awards in February 2007, winning awards in five of them. Reviewers from several media have noted the characters' complex personalities and original designs.
See also: List of Fullmetal Alchemist characters
Edward and Alphonse Elric are two alchemist brothers who search for the legendary Philosopher's Stone, a powerful object which would allow them to recover their bodies (which were lost in an attempt to bring their mother back to life through alchemy). Born in the village of Resembool from the country of Amestris (アメストリス ,Amesutorisu?), the two brothers lived there with their parents. Their father, Hohenheim, left home for unknown reasons and years later, their mother, Trisha Elric, died of a terminal illness leaving the Elric brothers alone. After their mother's death, Edward becomes determined to bring her back through the use of alchemy, an advanced science in which objects can be created from raw materials. They researched Human Transmutation, a forbidden art in which one attempts to create or modify a human being. However, this attempt failed, ultimately resulting in the loss of Edward's left leg and Alphonse's entire body. In a desperate effort to save his brother, Edward sacrificed his right arm to affix his brother's soul to a suit of armor. Some days later, an alchemist named Roy Mustang visits the Elric brothers, and he tells Edward to become a member of the State Military of the country to find a way to recover their bodies. After that, Edward's left leg and right arm are fitted with two sets of automail, a type of advanced prosthetic limb, created for him by his close family friends Winry Rockbell and her grandmother Pinako. Edward sets out to become a State Alchemist (国家錬金術師 ,Kokka Renkinjutsushi?), an alchemist employed by the State Military of Amestris, which infamously annihilated much of the neighboring country of Ishbal's population in the past decade. Becoming a State Alchemist enables Edward to use the extensive resources available to State Alchemists, but it also turns him into what they call a "dog of the military". His more friendly relationship with Roy Mustang however, whom he reports to and who recruited him, allows the brothers freedom to search for the Philosopher's Stone as part of Edward's research, as each State Alchemist is expected to independently research new things which may be of a use to the State Military of Amestris. The brothers set off in search of the Philosopher's Stone as a means to restore their bodies. Throughout their journey, they meet many antagonists, including those who are willing to do anything to obtain the Philosopher's Stone; Scar, one of the few surviving Ishbalans, who seeks vengeance on the State Alchemists for the destruction of his race; and the homunculi, a group of human-like creatures who carry pieces of the Philosopher's Stone inside themselves, and from it derive the ability to survive almost any harm. As the story progresses, Edward and Alphonse discover the vast expansion of Amestris was the result of the homunculi, who created and secretly control the State Military. The homunculi and much of the high-ranking military officers are commanded from behind the curtains by the creator of the homunculi, a man simply known as Father, who gained immortality by using a copy of Hohenheim as his new body centuries before the series' timeline. He plans to use Amestris as a gigantic transmutation circle and turn the entire country into a Philosopher's Stone. When Edward and Alphonse discover Father's plans, they set out to defeat him along with other members of the State Military.
Differences in the first anime adaptation
The first half of the first anime's plot closely follows that of the manga, but diverges near the middle of the story; when the homunculus Greed has his underlings kidnap Alphonse. A former lover of Hohenheim, Dante, acts as the series' main antagonist, appearing only in the anime. Centuries ago, the two perfected methods for making the Philosopher's Stone, achieving a sort of immortality by transferring their soul and intellect into others' bodies as they age. Hohenheim was eventually overcome by the guilt of sacrificing lives to make the Stone and left Dante. Although Dante is still able to jump from body to body to cheat death over the centuries, she is able to spend less time in each body as it decays faster with each jump. She uses the Homunculi to spur Edward and Alphonse, along with other Alchemists equally desperate, into creating another complete Philosopher's Stone for her.[2] When Scar tries to create the Philosopher's Stone, the stone is infused into Alphonse's metal body, making him the main focus of Dante's efforts leading to him being kidnapped.[3] When Edward goes to rescue him, he is killed by the homunculus Envy. Alphonse uses the Philosopher's Stone to revive his brother but disappears in the process. Dante tries to escape but she is killed when the homunculus Gluttony loses control after having his mind destroyed by her. After being revived, Edward risks his life to bring back his brother in exchange. As a result, Edward ends up in a parallel world, while Alphonse recovers his original body. Determined to return with Alphonse, Edward becomes involved in rocketry research, with the intention to use that technology to try to get back to his home world.[4] The story is followed in Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa situated two years after the end of the anime. While Edward is working in Germany to find a way to return to Amestris, Dietline Eckhart, a member from the Thule Society, discovers the existence of Ed's world and starts giving him hints to open a portal to Amestris. Alphonse, having been looking for his brother after two years, also discovers the portal and opens it at the same time as his father Hohenheim opens the one from Germany, allowing Dietline to enter Amestris and try to conquer it. Edward reunites with his brother and they join forces to defeat Dietline. Knowing the danger that both worlds are now connected through the portal, Edward returns to Germany to destroy it, knowing that he would be trapped there forever. Alphonse secretly follows him, having decided to stay with Edward.
Production
After reading about the Philosopher's stone, the author Arakawa said that she became attracted to the idea of using alchemy in the manga. She liked it so much that she started reading books relating to alchemy, which she found very complicated due to the fact that some books contradicted others. Arakawa was attracted more by the philosophical aspects than the practical aspects.[5] For the Equivalent Exchange concept, she was inspired by the work of her parents who had a farm in Hokkaidō and always had to give all their effort in order to earn the money to eat.[6]
Arakawa wanted to integrate social problems into the story. She gathered information watching news programs and talking to people, such as refugees, war veterans and former yakuza. Several plot elements expand on these themes, such as Pinako Rockbell caring for the Elric brothers after the death of their mother, and the brothers helping people all over the country, to gain an understanding of the meaning of family. When creating the fictional world of Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa was inspired after reading about Europe during the Industrial Revolution period; she was amazed by how different the people from different countries were, in terms of their culture, architecture and clothes. She was especially interested in England during this period and "added to it her own original flavor to turn it into a fantezie world".[5]
When the manga began serialization, Arakawa had in mind how the story would end. As the plot continued, however, she felt some characters were maturing and decided to change some scenes, resulting in some sketches of the faces of the characters being improvised.[6] In creating the characters' designs, she comments that the manga authors Suihō Tagawa and Hiroyuki Eto are her main inspirations, and describes her artwork is a mix of both of them. The easiest of the series characters for her to draw was Alex Louis Armstrong, as well as little animals. Due to the fact she likes dogs, Arakawa added several of them in the story.[7] Arakawa made comedy central in the manga because she thinks it is intended for entertainment, and tried to minimalize focus on sad scenes.[6]
During the development of the anime, Arakawa allowed the anime staff to work independently from her, and requested having a different ending from the one in the manga. She said that she would not like to repeat the same ending in both media, as well as to make the manga longer to work more in the development of the characters. When watching the ending of the anime, she was amazed about how different the homunculi creatures were from the manga and enjoyed how the staff speculated about the origins of the villains.[5]
Manga
Main article: List of Fullmetal Alchemist chapters
This panel from volume 8 shows some of changes in the graphics Viz Media made in their English release of Fullmetal Alchemist (left) versus the original (right)
Written and drawn by Hiromu Arakawa, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series is serialized in Square Enix's monthly manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Gangan. Serialization began in January 2001 and is still ongoing, with a new chapter in every issue. Square Enix is collecting the chapters in tankōbon format. The first volume was released on January 2002, and as of December 22, 2008, 21 volumes have been released.[8][9] A few chapters have been rereleased in Japan in two "Extra number" magazines and Fullmetal Alchemist, The First Attack, which features the first nine chapters of the manga as well as other side stories.[10] Viz Media is releasing the manga in North America. The first volume was released on May 3, 2005, and the latest volume they have released is volume 17 on October 21, 2008.[11][12]
The content of the manga released by Viz in the United States were mostly consistent with the original material. As of August 2007, the only edits that have been made were to a set of twelve panels from volume 8, depicting the Homunculus Greed tied to a cross-shaped stone slab in crucifixion style. In the U.S. version the stone was redesigned to become round in each panel,[13] as commented by Viz to avoid references to Christianity. This change in the manga was made with the approval of Arakawa.[14]
In Singapore, the manga is being published by Chuang Yi. Publishing in both English and Simplified Chinese, seventeen volumes have been released in English, while fourteen volumes have been released in Simplified Chinese. In Poland, Japonica Polonica Fantastica is publishing the manga[15] - as of January 2009, fourteen volumes have been released. In France, the manga is being released by Kurokawa.[16] Volume eight, released in September 2006, was available also in a collector's edition, which consisted of the book packed with the original comedic novel Flame Alchemist, focusing on Roy Mustang's schedule.[17][18] Prior to this, this novel was only available with the limited edition of volume six in Japan.[19] In Brazil, Editora JBC is publishing the manga with thirty-four volumes equivalent to the first original seventeen volumes having been released currently.[20] In Italy the manga is published by Panini Comics using the label "Planet Manga"[21]
Anime
Main article: List of Fullmetal Alchemist episodes
The animation studio Bones adapted the manga into a 51-episode anime series. It was directed by Seiji Mizushima, written by Shō Aikawa and co-produced by Bones, Mainichi Broadcasting System and Aniplex. Character designs were handled by Yoshiyuki Itō. The anime was broadcast on Mainichi Broadcasting System, TBS, and Animax in Japan from October 4, 2003 to October 2, 2004,[22][23][24] with a 6.8 percent television viewership rating.[25] The English dubbed version of the anime was produced by Funimation and debuted on the Adult Swim block of the United States cable channel Cartoon Network on November 6, 2004.[26] A year and a half later, Canada's YTV began airing it on March 3, 2006.[27] The anime's later story and conclusion by Bones is different from the manga (which is still ongoing) due to a request by Arakawa.[5] During the making of the anime, Arakawa was present in meetings to give the staff insight in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist, though she did not actively take part in any writing for the TV series.[6]
The series has been released in a series of thirteen DVDs from December 17, 2003 to January 26, 2005 in Japan.[28] Funimation also released the same series of DVDs from February 8, 2005 to September 12, 2006 in the United States.[29][30] MVM had released the first eight volumes in the United Kingdom; however, Funimation gave the rights over to Revelation Films.[31]
A movie sequel, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, was made by the same studio, and premiered in Japanese theaters on July 23, 2005.[32] A series of five original video animations (OVAs) were also released. The majority of these OVAs are side stories and do not expand on the plot. These OVAs also conține a live action segment with Alphonse Elric travelling around a city. In March 2006 a DVD featuring these OVAs was released in Japan with the name of Fullmetal Alchemist: De lux Collection.[28] Funimation acquired and dubbed Premium Collection during the end of 2008 for English release. The release date of the DVD has yet to be revealed.[33] During January from 2009, Bones released a "DVD box archives" of the anime. It will include the first anime of 51 episodes, the film, the CD soundtracks, and guidebooks from the series.[34]
In the 20th volume of the manga, creator Arakawa announced that a second Fullmetal Alchemist was being produced. Bones produces the new series with Yasuhiro Irie as director and Hiroshi Ōnogi as writer.[35][36] The series premiered on April 5, 2009 on MBS-TBS' Sunday 5:00 pm JST anime timeblock, replacing Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and that voice actors Romi Park and Rie Kugimiya reprised their roles as main characters Edward and Alphonse Elric respectively.[37] On March 20, 2009, it was announced that the English title of the series was Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and that it would receive its English language premiere on Animax Asia, with Japanese audio and English subtitles, from April 10, 2009 at 8:30 p.m, five days after its Japanese premiere.[1] On April 3, 2009, Funimation announced they would stream English subtitled episodes 4 days after they air in Japan. Madman Entertainment will also stream it "within days" of the episodes airing in Japan
Light novels
Main article: List of Fullmetal Alchemist light novels
A series of six Fullmetal Alchemist Japanese light novels, written by Makoto Inoue, have been published by Square Enix.[39] The novels are licensed for an English-language release by Viz Media in North America, with translations by Alexander O. Smith.[40] Although Arakawa did not write the novels, she did illustrations for them, including covers and frontispieces.[41] 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 the episodes eleven and twelve of the anime series.[42] The fourth novel also contains an extra story about the military called "Roy's Holiday".[43] Novelizations of three of the PlayStation 2 games, Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel, Curse of the Crimson Elixir, and The Girl Who Surpasses God—have also been written. The first was authored by Makoto Inoue and the rest by Jun Eishima.[39] None of these have been translated for distribution outside Japan.
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