Fullmetal Alchemist

AUTHOR: Arakawa, Hiromu

ARTIST: Hiromu Arakawa (illustrator)

PUBLISHER: Enix (Japanese); Square Enix (Japanese); VIZ Media (English)

FIRST SERIAL PUBLICATION:Hagane no renkinjutsushi, 2001-2010

FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION: 2002-2010 (English translation, 2005-2011)

Publication History

Fullmetal Alchemist, written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa, was first published in one of Enix’s monthly manga magazines, Shonen Gangan. (The publisher merged with Square, becoming Square Enix in 2003.) In the almost nine years that it ran (the story was serialized from July, 2001, to June, 2010) Fullmetal Alchemist comprised 108 chapters, not including the gaiden (bonus) stories included in some of the collected volumes. Almost immediately after its initial serial publication, it was gathered into twenty-seven tankobon volumes beginning in January, 2002.

Fullmetal Alchemist’s commercial success in Japan attracted the interest of American audiences seeking manga with dark themes and complex characters. VIZ Media published an English-language edition of Fullmetal Alchemist from May, 2005, to December, 2011.

Plot

Fullmetal Alchemist is a complex story that has many intersecting arcs occurring in both the present and the distant past. The series opens with two boys, Alphonse and Edward Elric, who are in search of the fabled “Philosopher’s Stone”—a stone that can cure any disease or injury. The backstory of the alchemical experiment that changed them so dramatically is told in a series of asides and flashbacks during the first nine chapters. As children, they try to resurrect their deceased mother. But because of the alchemical law of “Equivalent Exchange,” the reanimation of their mother’s body causes the dissolution of Alphonse’s body and Edward’s left leg. As he sees his brother disappear before his eyes, Edward sacrifices his right arm to bind his brother’s soul to a nearby suit of armor.

The Elric brothers’ act of human transmutation is illegal, attracting the attention of the alchemical division of the state military. Recognizing that the boys have talent, Colonel Roy Mustang approaches them, offering them the opportunity to join the military and research a method to recover their lost bodies. Having few alternatives, Edward agrees. His left leg and right arm are replaced with “automail” (controllable prosthetic limbs), and he learns to alter the structure of metal (hence his code name, “the Fullmetal Alchemist”).

The role of state alchemists is not always well regarded by citizens. In response to religious extremism practiced in the Ishbal Province (to the northwest of the capital), the state military of Amestris decides that the rioting in Ishbalan would be best handled through genocide. Edward and Alphonse’s quest for rejuvenation is constantly sidetracked by the political machinations of the military; the murderous intentions of Scar, one of a handful of Ishbalan survivors, who seeks vengeance; and the monstrous plots of the homunculi, the artificially created agents of the Father.

Volumes

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 1 (2005). Collects issues 1-4. The Elric brothers search for the Philosophers Stone.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 2 (2005). Collects issues 5-8. Edward begins his work as a state alchemist. Roy Mustang sends the Elric brothers to Shou Tucker, the “Life-Binder Alchemist,” who claims that he is able to create new life-forms.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 3 (2005). Collects issues 9-12. The brothers look for Winry Rockbell. They discover the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 4 (2005). Collects issues 13-16. Showcases the value of Dr. Marcoh and his research to the brothers. Alphonse begins to question his humanity because he can no longer recall what his childhood was like. Envy, one of the Father’s homunculi, kills Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 5 (2006). Collects issues 17-21. Includes a flashback that relates how the brothers learned to practice alchemy.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 6 (2006). Collects issues 22-25. Provides background on the relationship between the Elric brothers and their teacher, Izumi Curtis.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 7 (2006). Collects issues 26-29. Alphonse is kidnapped, and Elric goes in search of him. He has to fight a homunculus along the way.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 8 (2006). Collects issues 30-33. Edward and Izumi learn that King Bradley is not what he appears to be. Edward undergoes a formal assessment of his research on the Philosopher’s Stone. Chimeras lure Alphonse away from Izumi, offering to provide information about reversing transmutations. Edward and Izumi learn that King Bradley is the homunculus Wrath.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 9 (2006). Collects issues 34-37. Wrath punishes the rebellious Greed by taking him to the Father, who kills him and consumes his body. Meanwhile, Edward and Alphonse go back to Rush Valley and meet Prince Lin Yao, the ruler of Xing Valley.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 10(2006). Collects issues 38-41. Alphonse, Prince Lin Yao, Lin’s bodyguard, Lan Fan, and Roy Mustang’s soldiers fight against Lust, Envy, Gluttony, and Pride. Roy Mustang uses his alchemical fire to “burn out” Lust’s Philosopher’s Stone. Edward and Roy Mustang take Ross to Xing.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 11(2007). Collects issues 42-45. Alphonse and Edward meet Hohenheim, their long-absent father. They do not reveal their mother’s transmutation.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 12(2007). Collects issues 46-49. With the assistance of Prince Lin, the brothers capture Gluttony. Wrath discovers their plot and attacks the prince.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 13 (2007). Collects issues 50-53. Despite his appearance, Gluttony is utterly inhuman. A fight between Edward, Prince Lin, and Envy results in Gluttony swallowing the three combatants. While inside Gluttony, Envy reveals that Gluttony’s original purpose was to act as a gate between the lands of the living and the dead. Using Envy’s internal Philosopher’s Stone, the three are transported outside Gluttony.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 14 (2007). Collects issues 54-57. Recognizing that Edward and Alphonse are the sons of Hohenheim, Father uses his alchemical abilities to heal them. He hands over Edward and Alphonse to King Bradley, who admits that he is Wrath. He tells Edward that if he tries to leave the state military, he will murder Winry Rockbell. In the meantime, Scar finds Tim Marcoh and forces him to reveal the original deception that started the Ishbal Civil War.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 15 (2007). Collects issues 58-61. Edward learns the role that the alchemists played in the Ishbalan campaign, the tragic consequences of which are still felt.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 16 (2008). Collects issues 62-65. Riza Hawkeye confirms that the alchemy division of the state military conducted the Ishbalan genocide. She recalls that an attempted surrender offered by the Ishbalan resistance was rejected. The brothers discover the homunculus Sloth while digging a tunnel under Amestris.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 17(2008). Collects issues 66-69. The brothers combat Sloth. Kimblee fights Scar and is wounded. He is healed by a doctor who possesses a Philosopher’s Stone.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 18(2009). Collects issues 70-73. Sloth has been involved in creating a massive transmutation circle under Amestris. The only option the brothers have to slow his progress is to freeze him. Wrath’s adopted son is the homunculus Pride. They both threaten Riza. Kimblee continues to hold Winry Rockbell hostage to ensure the Elric’s loyalty to the state military.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 19(2009). Collects issues 74-78. Major General Armstrong and President Bradley (a homunculus) meet. Edward is badly hurt.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 20 (2009). Collects issues 79-83. Reveals that Hohenheim, Edward and Alphonse’s father, achieved immortality by being implanted with a Philosopher’s Stone formed by the destruction of the city of Cselkcess. Envy is destroyed by Dr. Marcoh. Envy’s remains are then confined to a jar, intended to be taken to Xing for safekeeping. At the same time, Prince Lin is briefly able to regain control of his body from the parasitic Philosopher’s Stone within him.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 21 (2009). Collects issues 84-87. Mustang and his soldiers attack King Bradley as he travels by train. Alphonse is abducted by Pride and loses control of his armor. Edward, Heinkel, Greed, and Darius, along with Prince Lin’s servants, finally force Pride to release him. Pride devours Gluttony and absorbs his Philosopher’s Stone.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 22 (2010). Collects issues 88-91. Alphonse and his father force Pride into a cave, holding him captive. Edward and his group overtake Father. Roy Mustang hopes to make public the true nature of the military.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 23(2010). Collects issues 92-95. Chimera Heinkel attempts to assist the Elric brothers against the nearly impervious homunculi. Heinkel’s stone not only helps Alphonse during his combat with Pride, but also proves useful when Dr. Marcoh uses it to heal the injured Chimera.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 24 (2011). Collects issues 96-99. Hohenheim confronts Father, and the latter must return to his shadow state. Sloth is killed.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 25 (2011). Collects issues 100-103. Wrath remains loyal to his creator, but Greed joins Edward. Wrath manages to activate the transmutation circle beneath Amestris, which sends Edward, Izumi, and Alphonse to the Gate of Truth. Alphonse is brought back into contact with his original body for a short time.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 26 (2011). Collects issues 104-106. Father undertakes his “master plan,” which reconfigures the world. The brothers attack Father.

• Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 27 (2011). Collects issues 107-108. Alphonse makes a final gamble and offers his soul to the divine essence of Truth in exchange for Edward’s original arm. This allows Edward to fight Father more effectively. Greed offers his own destruction as a means of keeping Father trapped in the circle. Edward offers the ultimate exchange—his alchemical ability for the body and soul of his brother.

Characters

• Edward Elric is blond, short, and hotheaded. He is the older of the two Elric brothers. He and his brother, Alphonse, become interested in alchemy after their father abandons them and their mother dies. Edward is the youngest applicant to ever pass the state examinations for alchemists.

• Alphonse Elric is the younger of the Elric brothers. Although temperamentally calmer and the intellectual equal of Edward, he decides not to become an alchemist, primarily because his lack of a conventional body would prevent him from passing the required physical examinations. On the other hand, the suit of armor that comprises his “self” makes him extremely strong and difficult to damage.

• Father is a small, shadowy creature and the villain of Fullmetal Alchemist. He is a homunculus—a humanoid created artificially through illicit use of the Philosopher’s Stone—and he creates a series of other homunculi to serve his purposes.

• King Bradley is the king of Amestris and führer of the state military. He is a tall and dark-haired man who wears an eye patch to conceal the Ouroboros mark that identifies him as the homunculus Wrath.

• Lust, an attractive, curvaceous female, is one of the seven homunculi who act as physical manifestations of the Father’s traits. She uses her fingers as weapons, extending them into spear-like points. Like all of the major homunculi, she is marked with the sign of the Ouroboros and can quickly recover from most types of damage.

• Gluttony, a short and stocky figure with strong jaws, is Lust’s constant companion. His original purpose—to act as a portal for the Father—has become subverted to his perennial hunger.

• Envy is a slim, dark-haired youth who can change his appearance at will. He frequently acts as a spy for the Father, assuming any identity needed to gain an advantage over an opponent.

• Greed, who appears in the guise of an attractive, dark-haired man, is unable to control his desire to possess whatever appeals to him. In pursuit of his desires he is incapable of being loyal to the Father or other homunculi.

• Sloth is a large, powerful man easily controlled by the Father. His lack of intelligence or introspection makes him a perfect tool for the other homunculi because he fails to question the purpose behind his assigned tasks.

• Pride appears in the persona of King Bradley’s young son, Selim. Although he can only exist within the transmutation circle underlying Amestris, he has the ability to mimic the abilities of any individual he consumes.

• Lt. Colonel Roy Mustang is an attractive, youthful man. He is known as the “Flame Alchemist” because of his ability to create and control fire.

• Riza Hawkeye, a slim, blond woman, is Roy Mustang’s assistant and closest companion. She has deadly aim with any handheld weapon.

Artistic Style

Arakawa’s bold, expressive style seems to explode off the pages. She presents the characters’ emotional states in bold lines and frequently draws dialogue to duplicate, visually, the content of an utterance. At the end of each manga chapter, Arakawa draws comic “interludes” that poke fun at the more serious themes within the respective chapter. These interludes provide a welcome relief from the intense and often horrific occurrences that dominate the primary events of the series. For example, in the “Binding-Life Alchemist,” Shou Tucker, turns his beloved daughter, a mere child, into a grotesque blend of a little girl and a dog; Ultimately, both are destroyed by the Ishbal rebel, Scar, as a way of purifying the evil of Tucker’s alchemical act. Arakawa ends the chapter by cartooning the young girl, presenting her as an angel with a little halo, while her monstrous father is slipping downward into a cartoony “hell.” In another example, Arakawa pokes fun at Roy Mustang’s immense ego when she has him attempt to hijack the role of the central protagonist from Edward Elric. Edward can be observed glowering in the background. These touches bring much-needed humor to a rather dark series.

Themes

Arakawa uses her exaggerated world to present lessons in humanity to her readers. The value of life, both human and animal, is presented through the analogy of transmutation. Grotesqueries, like the homunculi, seem to represent traits inherent in all human beings to a lesser or greater extent, but their continual symbolic presence in the background of the plotlines suggests the presence of lust, envy, wrath, and the other deadly sins within the human characters. Shou Tucker is as driven by pride and envy as the two homunculi who bear those titles. Lust rears her head not only in her tight, black dress but also in the form of the lustful Cornello, who eyes his worshipper Rose inappropriately. The fact that King Bradley initially appears to be a decent and evenhanded leader is undercut by the reality of his dual role as Wrath. Appearances can be deceiving. Both Edward and Alphonse learn repeatedly that individuals have hidden sides to their personalities, which define their behaviors more clearly than the “outer” self they present to the world.

Impact

Fullmetal Alchemist presents concepts that have universal appeal. In many ways, Fullmetal Alchemist is a typical example of Japanese fantasy-based manga. It subverts what many Americans regard as a literary form for adolescents (a series of “comic-strip” images, and utterances appearing to be hand-drawn and hand-lettered) into a vehicle intended as much for the presentation of graphic violence, dark themes, and contemplative philosophies as comedy and lighthearted amusement. Intuitively, Western audiences realize that they are witnessing a profound difference between the two cultures’ use of literary form, but they still have difficulty absorbing that a Japanese audience can present the annihilation of humanity in a graphic form without flinching at the subject matter.

Films

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie—Conqueror of Shamballa. Directed by Seiji Mizushima. Aniplex/Bones/Dentsu, 2005. FUNimation Entertainment released the English-language version of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie—Conqueror of Shamballa in August, 2006, and then on DVD.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos. Directed by Kazuya Murata. Aniplex/Bones/Dentsu, 2011. This film premiered in Japan in July, 2011. FUNimation Entertainment has acquired licensing rights to an English-language version for distribution in the United States and Canada in 2012.

Television Series

Fullmetal Alchemist. Directed by Seiji Mizushima. Aniplex/Bones/Mainichi Broadcasting System, 2003-2004. Bones Studio adapted the manga characters and plot into fifty-one episodes released between October, 2003, and October, 2004. The series, which differed significantly from the original manga series, still retained the appeal of Hiromu Arakawa’s original.FUNimation Entertainment took on the challenge of dubbing the Japanese anime series and distributing it for English-speaking audiences.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Directed by Yasuhiro Irie, et al. Bones/Square Enix, 2009-2010. This anime series follows the plot of the manga (the first series used an original story line). The English version aired on Cartoon Network from 2010 to 2011.

Further Reading

Shirow, Masamune. Ghost in the Shell (1989-1991).

Yoshiyuki, Tomino, and Yoshikazu Yasuhiko. Mobile Suit Gundam (2002-2003).

Bibliography

Solomon, Charles. “For Manga, a Novel Approach.” Los Angeles Times, April 29, 2007. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/29/entertainment/ca-manga29

Yadao, Jason S. The Rough Guide to Manga. New York: Rough Guides, 2009.