Bargain omnibus editions of one of the bestselling manga series of all time!
In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Elric lost his arm and his leg, and his brother Alphonse became nothing but a soul in a suit of armor. Equipped with mechanical ""auto-mail"" limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother's bodies...the legendary Philosopher's Stone.
Contains volumes 10, 11 and 12 of Fullmetal Alchemist!
Ed returns to Resembool and meets his estranged father Hohenheim for the first time in many years. Though their meeting is brief and strained, Ed comes away with the revelation that Al’s body is still alive somewhere. But before the newly energized brothers can search for it, Scar returns, catalyzing an unlikely alliance between the Elric brothers, Prince Lin of Xing, and Colonel Mustang. Though they hope to use Scar to lure in a homunculus, the hunters become the hunted when Gluttony proves more than they can handle.
Hiromu Arakawa (author: 荒川弘) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no renkinjutsushi). Her real name is Hiromi Arakawa (荒川弘美).
Arakawa was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaidō. She thought of being a manga artist since she was little. After graduating high school, she took oil painting classes while working on her family's farm. During that time, she also created dōjinshi manga with her friends and drew yonkoma for a magazine. After eight years she moved to Tōkyō and started out as assistant writer for Hiroyuki Etō. Her debut as manga artist is in 1999 with STRAY DOG. In 2001 she started working on her famous and award winning series Fullmetal Alchemist, that soon gets a successful anime adaptation. Other works include Silver Spoon (銀の匙 Silver Spoon, Gin no saji Silver Spoon).
The three volumes collected in this omnibus sees alongside new players from the East the opposing sides clash quite often; volume 10 focus on Mustang and co with his determination to uncover all by reaching the pinnacle himself; in volume 11 is all about the past in the flesh and in memory; will the brother continue to pursue their joint goals? Volume 12 sees the coalition really take it to the antagonists with forward planning and team working. If I read this in isolation I'm not sure I'd even recommend it, but with so many interesting Goodreads' reviewers loving this series, I think everyone should give it a go, despite me seeing this series lacking any real heart, nuance or real sense of jeopardy! 7 out of 12, Three Star read. 2024 read
How did I forget to update this? Of course these volumes continue to be a 5 stars for me.
I like how some parts are different than the anime. I think the manga allows you to spend time with the characters and think how they evolve, which might not happen in the anime with the sound effects and the animation of the battles. I really liked the separation between Al and Ed and how they grew from the time apart from one another.
Also, this volume had the most epic battle of the entire series. Yes, Mustang is ruthless and freaking bad ass! And also the first apparition from Hohenheim. We are getting into the gritty truth of Amestris and I'm here for it.
This was my favorite volume so far! The backstory about Scar and and Winry's parents, new information about the Homunculi and so much more... Highly recommended! 5 of 5 stars
OK, OK, I'm increasingly thinking I'm past the point of in for a penny, and I'm rapidly gravitating to in for a pound. Not quite halfway yet, but pretty invested in the characters at this point.
I know I shouldn't be surprised at this point, but, nonetheless, I still find it surprisingly engaging.
Volume 10 - This volume was a nice chance for Alphonse to shine, and provided some interesting developments to the overarching plot line. Overall rating: 4 stars
Volume 11 - Lots of action and plot development in this one, along with great character growth and depth. Overall rating: 5 stars
Volume 12 - Ok so that twist was hinted at in the last volume but it still shocked me! Right from the start, this volume was so intense, so much development; it included plenty of action yet also lots of emotionally charged scenes. Overall rating: 5 stars
—— Read for the Arithmancy A Level and Charms E and O Levels (1 volume per prompt) for the 2019 NEWTs Readathon.
More stories about the Elric Brothers will bring interesting things, more development to tha characters, new characters, secrets that enhance the plot and show each brother at their own as they get separated and we can see each one of them and their own decisions.
Edward makes a journey to foreign lands in the East, where he will know more about secrets from the past, a girl lost , the war between the Ishbalans and the Amestrians and details about Winry's parents.
[Spoilers ahead ]
Meanwhile, Al is at central, fighting the Homunculus with Lin and Colonel Mustang. This will bring a big battle that will get into [spoiler] Lust death.
A new character appears at Pinaco's house, at the same time that Edward arrives. This will bring a lot of drama and fight as he is [spoiler] Edward's father. His appearance will bring a lot of questions to the readerm but it helps Edward to find more information about the day he tried to bring his mother back.
Stories get between with the comeback of Scar, killing alchemist and being join by a little girl. Also the homunculus getting a doctor-alchemist that gas a philosopher's stone.
Edward and Al are back together at central, where they share the new information and get a plan for their next moves. This plan will get in trouble to everyone, as it will include Scar, a secret of Winry's parents and the homunculus.
Winry will get hurt Scar get into battle, Colonel Mustang and the President secrets exposed and Glutony showing more of him. Interesting great final.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
You will not be dissaponted with Fullmetal Alchemist, it is a fantastic manga series. I highly recommend it to everyone, doesn't matter if you are a manda fan or not, you will love it.
[third read for 2018 booktubeathon, for the movie adaptation challenge]
5/5 stars
Oh my god this volume was so fucking emotional. Winry and Edward really went for my throat in the latter half, can you believe this? I'm so happy I checked this series out, it's incredible, but every single chapter makes me upset/cry in some way, my poor little heart can't cope.
The plot and the character development in this series is amazing! This particular volume contains a steadily moving plot and character growth in spades!
NON-STOP ACTION!!! This trifecta of volumes 10,11,12 was reeeeeeeaaaaaalllly good. And of course the ending left me hanging. Good thing I’ve got the next one right here .
I'm giving 5/5 for Vol 10-12. I truly loved this one as much as I have the others. Vol 10-12 was mind blowing. So many characters continue to develop at an amazing rate. They grow on you... even the most villainous of the villains. It's hard to write a review for a book that is several wrapped into one especially when you're on a later volume. so many spoilers! (gasp). But seriously, the story line continues to get better. This one will definitely leave you on a cliffhanger and ready to continue the saga. I am looking forward to reading the next gut wrenching escapades of the Elric Brothers. I NEED ANSWERS!
Muahaha. My collection is slowly growing... :) dang I love this manga. And the Brotherhood anime. SO GOOD. Edward Elric was my first love. Screw that Cullen fellow. JOKES, I still love him too. Just not as much. Okay, going on a tangent now. Gonna stop. Now. :D
I wish I'd read more manga so that I could start the review by saying that I was glad to be continuing my favourite one. Because I'm pretty sure this would be a favourite. There's a lot of creativity, humour and heart that goes into every single volume. I also love the art in this series and all the characters.
At the end of the last three volumes (pretty sure it was near the end), we found out that fucking King Bradley is a homunculus! I did not see that coming! And that's just one of many things when it comes to this series. Arakawa does a fantastic job of subverting expectations. There were several things/revelations that I didn't think could, or would, happen; but they did! The priorities are shifting fast—though getting Ed and Al's original bodies back is still a focus—and we're getting a lot more insight into the side-characters.
I think that, at this point, all the major players have been introduced to some extent. We even got a teeny-tiny glimpse of the Big Bad. And now, what's left is for us to know which characters will play what part. But Arakawa is so good at not being predictable that we can't be sure where each character will end up.
For example, I thought Lin was just going to be a useless fucking asshole for a couple of chapters and then disappear. But it turns out there's more to him than meets the eye. Scar keeps coming back too, and I still fucking hate the guy. Self-righteous fuck-heads like him are particularly loathsome to me. But, at the same time, I'm curious to know what he has to do with everything. I want him to be one the "side of good," but I also wanna kill him.
The developments in these three volumes had a lot to do with forming a team of good guys, and about them finding out what the fuck is going on. There was a lot of action, not as much humour (understandable), and plenty of having to deal with the Homunculus. Also, plenty of Winry (yay!). So, overall, this was another great installment in the series, and I'm excited to read further. And... also a little afraid, because our protagonists are in so much shit.
One last thing, if this review felt a little swear-heavy to you, you can blame Gordon Ramsay because I've been binge-watching Kitchen Nightmares clips for the past two-to-three days.
Yet another example of me taking forever to read a manga and totally forgetting what happened in the last few volumes. I can remember the first five well enough, as I read them multiple times in my youth when I owned so little manga overall. Volume 6 was largely a flashback to the Elrics' training with Izumi. But 7 through 9, collected in the last omnibus I read... I guess that would have been when we got the Xing characters, but that's about all I remember. Oh, and Barry's return! So those things are relevant here as well, including the "death" of Barry.
Things seem to progress quite a bit in the volumes collected here. We kill a second Homunculus. We learn of Winry's parents' fate. Edward runs into his father. We learn the creature the boys brought back wasn't actually their mom, so The Truth tricked them. There's some idea that Al's body must exist somewhere, and Ed is probably short and sleepy because he's supporting Al's body in stasis as well. Scar returns. There's a plan to capture a Homunculus for questioning, which leads to a rampaging Gluttony. And the heroes learn King Bradley is a Homunculus himself.
Lust is dead, so I feel like there's almost no reason to keep reading. Hawkeye is still cute, but we never see her boobs :( Hawkeye with (fake) glasses, though... I need more of that! And it's good to see Lanfan without her mask again. Sweaty Lanfan recovering from cutting her own arm off...! 🥵
I don't think I was expecting the reveal of the boss of the Homunculi being the Elrics' father happening so soon. I mean, I knew of it in advance, so whatever. I just expected it to be kept under wraps for longer. Wait, this is true in the 2003 show, right? Maybe Arakawa revealed it earlier in the manga to not drag it out for audiences who already had it spoiled by BONES? Because these volumes are dated for 2005, which is (if I'm not mistaken) a later year than 2003.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Volume's 10-12 of Fullmetal Alchemist are the most action packed in the series to date. The punches almost never stop flying with no less than three major encounters with the Homunculi. The action is brutal, fast-paced and still manages to move the plot along with every page! And in true FMA tradtion, there are some shocking and powerful revelations revealed. Don't sleep on the manga just because you've seen the anime all the way. This is a whole other ball game!
Arakawa: "Let's throw in some more feels!" Me: *sobs* Arakawa: "And some more!" Me: *cries* "Why?!"
Arakawa, you brilliantly evil person who created this amazing story, in case you're wondering: Yeah, I am fine. Everything is perfectly fine. Don't mind me, I will just have to get my hands on the next 3-in-1 volume asap.
I really enjoyed this volume. I think it might have been my favorite. I am curious to see what happens next. I have an idea about something and I want to see if I end up being right.