Fullmetal Alchemist manga licensed!

[Tremolo]

It was only a matter of time, and Viz (no suprise there) have snapped up the rights for the FMA manga.

"FULL METAL ALCHEMIST
By Arakawa Hiromu
A long awaited 4-volume manga series that tells the story of young brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric who attempt to use the science of alchemy to bring their mother back to life, with life changing and action packed results. (June)"

(http://www.time.com/time/columnist/arnold/article/0,9565,956125,00.html)

I hope that "4" is a typo. But apart from that it's pretty good news, even if Viz can be a bit odd with release dates.

[Illjwamh]

Woo!

I wish it wasn't Viz, but that's better than nothing, I suppose.

[Shounen]

Cool, I already have an extensive collection of the Japanese version manga, but I'll definetly invest in the English as well.

[Maveric]

You know, I had a father and son come into the Waldenbooks where I work looking for that manga. Glad it finally got picked up.

And Viz isn't so bad. It could have been worse: could have been Darkhorse (overpriced) or Tokyopop (major editing problems)

Oh, and I think that's supposed to be 14 volumes.

[Illjwamh]

Tokyopop doesn't have editing problems anymore. Not any worse than anyone else, anyway. That's the same as complaining about FUNimation. Get with the times.

Yeah, 14 volumes. And Viz is distributing them, so we can expect to have them all around the time the last Harry Potter book comes out.

[sakura_blossom]

true that it take viz forever to bring out new volumes of manga, and tokyopop is good at translating some manga. I like how they redid vol. 1-6 of Cardcaptor Sakura and added japanese terms, such as chan, san and calling them by there last names and also many others, I found it quite good.

Fullmetal Alchemist is so great though when is the first volume even coming out? I know I'll buy it I just want to know when and is the manga 4 or 14 volumes long?

[Maveric]

Alright, I'll conceed that TP has gotten better. Let's please not bicker over that. Most of the companies are about on par with each other when it comes to translating/editing now, so price and release dates are all that are left. Considering the popularity of FMA though, I'm willing to bet that Viz will be nice with their release dates, and let it come out rather quickly. Heck, Kenshin is getting a release every month.

Of course, if they put it in Shonen Jump, then it will take much longer since they'll only do about 2 or 3 chapters a month.

And sakura_blossom, it's definately 14, not 4, and the article says June.

[Hikaruotaku]

This is exciting!! I am goign to get it as soon as it comes out. great news!

[KiraraKim]

Viz takes too long to release their titles but other than that they are fine. I am kind of sad that the scanlations are going to stop because now I am going to have to wait forever for the manga to be released. But it will be nice to own the FMA Graphic Novels.

Also good news, Hunter X Hunter is finally licensed.

[ZalorD]

Dr. Slump is a way better manga than FMA, IMO. Funny but inevitable, just because the anime caused a big ruckus over here, the manga is automatically entitled to become one of the best-sellers.

[Illjwamh]

It's called an "established fanbase." It's why Halo 2 broke all records when it launched and then slowed down to a more normal pace.

All you'd have to do is mention to the teeming masses that Dr. Slump was written by Akira Toriyama (you'd be better off calling him "The guy who did DBZ"), and it would sell just as well.

[ZalorD]

Yeah, but before DBZ there was Dragonball, which is a damn fine piece of work. I've never seen more than a couple episodes of Dragonball, DBZ and the like, but the manga sure is one of my favorites.

[Illjwamh]

I never said anything about the quality of Dragonball. I love it. (The manga and the anime). It's just that everyone knows what it is, and people would buy something "written by the same guy" just because it was written by the same guy.

[ZalorD]

I know. What I meant to say was, the anime doesn't reflect the quality of the manga some of the time. The FMA manga (scanslations) doesn't measure up to its counterpart in this case. On the other hand, if one has read one of Toriyama's works before and enjoyed it, the expectation for the rest could be somewhat justified. I've read Dragonball and Dr. Slump (well, some of it) and found both to be quite entertaining. I didn't have the same experience with FMA.

[Illjwamh]

That makes sense. But when you think about it, it's only natural to assume great things about a manga when the anime is so good. It might not always be the case, but it's the intuitive inclination.

In any case, I look forward to it regardless, because even when one is good and one is bad, I enjoy analyzing the differences and simliarities in anime and manga counterparts.

[Yokuhiro]

Woo!

I wish it wasn't Viz, but that's better than nothing, I suppose.


I agree, im not a viz fan
Tokyopop doesn't have editing problems anymore. Not any worse than anyone else, anyway. That's the same as complaining about FUNimation. Get with the times.

Yeah, 14 volumes. And Viz is distributing them, so we can expect to have them all around the time the last Harry Potter book comes out.


Agree again

Well anyways, i hope this manga is as good as the anime

[KiraraKim]

I have been reading the manga and personally I think it is excellent. I can't compare it to the anime since I have only seen what has been released in the US but I love the manga. And though I have heard some people who said the manga is nothing compared to the anime, I have heard just as many maybe even more people who prefer the manga.

I read the first chapter of FMA awhile back and it didn't impress me much so I decided to read Hunter X Hunter instead. After starting the anime and liking it I decided to give the manga another try. The first 4 chapters (first graphic novel) weren't that great, but after that the story really picks up. Now I prefer FMA over HXH.

So regardless of the anime, I do think the FMA manga can stand on its own.

[Maveric]

You know, now that I think about it, it very well could be 4 volumes. The Japanese volumes only have 4 or 5 chapters in them, whereas they usually have 10. Perhaps viz is doing us a favour releasing it in 4.

[KiraraKim]

Well the manga is not done in Japan yet. Apparently it is going to be about 20 volumes there. So I don't see how it can only be 4 volumes unless they don't plan on releasing the whole thing. I think the 4 issues was a typo.

[Dennis]

I think that the manga can and will do well if Viz establishes a regular release schedule, granted they are not as bad as ADV, because once it hurts the racks fans will want more as soon as possible.

[Yokuhiro]

Hopefully this is as good as the show, because FMA has grown to be my fav. anime

[w0lfW00ds_gh0st]

id rather see Darkhorse do it than Viz but its much better than Shonen Jump god i still cant get over Art of The Valentine for Ino's Shintenshin no jutsu *shudder*

[Maveric]

dude, shonen jump is Viz, just at a lower price thanks to the magazine sales

[w0lfW00ds_gh0st]

dude, shonen jump is Viz, just at a lower price thanks to the magazine sales

yeah i know it was my little brother who was using my account

[Shadowmage]

I have been reading the manga and personally I think it is excellent. I can't compare it to the anime since I have only seen what has been released in the US but I love the manga. And though I have heard some people who said the manga is nothing compared to the anime, I have heard just as many maybe even more people who prefer the manga.

I read the first chapter of FMA awhile back and it didn't impress me much so I decided to read Hunter X Hunter instead. After starting the anime and liking it I decided to give the manga another try. The first 4 chapters (first graphic novel) weren't that great, but after that the story really picks up. Now I prefer FMA over HXH.

So regardless of the anime, I do think the FMA manga can stand on its own.
..The manga is good, the anime is excellent. The two differ as much as Tenchi Muyo is different from Tenchi in Tokyo....
I think the manga can stand on its own as well, but I don't think that it can beat the revamping that SquarEnix gave the anime.

[Tremolo]

You know, now that I think about it, it very well could be 4 volumes. The Japanese volumes only have 4 or 5 chapters in them, whereas they usually have 10. Perhaps viz is doing us a favour releasing it in 4.

Now that would be cool. Save the fans a bit of money as well! *glares at ADV for releasing the 26-episode Gantz anime over 13 discs*

[KiraraKim]

..The manga is good, the anime is excellent. The two differ as much as Tenchi Muyo is different from Tenchi in Tokyo....
I think the manga can stand on its own as well, but I don't think that it can beat the revamping that SquarEnix gave the anime.

Maybe so, but that is just your opinion. I personally haven't seen enough of the anime to form my own opinion yet, but there are people who have read/seen both who disagree with you. In fact at a FMA message board I go to the results were

Manga- 20
Anime- 18
Undecided- 14

I of course voted undecided, but so far I am enjoying both the manga and anime.

[Junko]

I'm more of an Anime fan than a manga fan so I cant argue about the publishing companies. I love Full Metal Alchemist and am looking forward to reading it when it is released.

[Elric]

I have 8 volumes of it. I read like 3 though

[KiraraKim]

I decided to bump this thread instead of starting a new one. Now that volume 8 is released in the states I wonder how many people are following this manga? Volume 8 is the first volume where the manga really starts to diverge from the anime (although there are differences throughout). Looking at my earlier replies I said I enjoyed the anime equally to the manga. Now that I have seen all the anime+ the movie and read the manga up to the current chapter (chapter 61) I can say 100% that the manga is superior to the anime.

Since we have topics on One Piece, Naruto and Bleach I think it would be great to start a FMA manga discussion thread but I guess we can't discuss much unless others have been reading it. So I am curious who is reading the FMA manga and how far have you gotten?

[Illjwamh]

I've been keeping up on it too, but I still haven't decided which I like better yet. The anime was just fantastic in terms of plot and characterization, and the manga has great characterization and I'm liking where the plot is going. So I'm going to hold out judgement still until I've read some more. Like you said, we're just now starting to really veer off from the anime similarities.

[KiraraKim]

I've been keeping up on it too, but I still haven't decided which I like better yet. The anime was just fantastic in terms of plot and characterization, and the manga has great characterization and I'm liking where the plot is going. So I'm going to hold out judgement still until I've read some more. Like you said, we're just now starting to really veer off from the anime similarities.

When you say you have been keeping up with it do you mean with the American release or the Japanese release? I am guessing the Viz version since you said that you are up to the point where it is starting to diverge. :)

I do love the anime but unfortunately now that I have read the manga I can't help comparing the two. I just find the characters a lot more likeable in the manga and I actually think Arakawa has a better grasp of where she wants the plot to go. There is so much foreshadowing throughout the story but usually you are so focused on something else that you miss huge hints. For example in volume 8 Arakawa foreshadows a plot twist that takes place in the next volume coming out in Japan (volume 14). It's the type of a story that every scene, every line, etc has significance.

[w0lfW00ds_gh0st]

I actually think Arakawa has a better grasp of where she wants the plot to go.

well thats because Arakawa didnt have much to do with the anime, she didnt write for most of it or all of it, so ive heard.

[KiraraKim]

well thats because Arakawa didnt have much to do with the anime, she didnt write for most of it or all of it, so ive heard.

But what I am trying to say is the plot of the manga in my opinion is better put together than the plot of the anime. Arakawa had limited involvement with the plot of the anime. She faxed them ideas here and there and Bones used these ideas how they liked. Arakawa made one request that the anime end differently from the manga.

I think the anime did a good job of coming up with their own story based on Arakawa's work (with the exception of the movie I really like the anime) but the manga is just on a whole different level.

[w0lfW00ds_gh0st]

no i totally agree, the manga has more time to go in depth about the characters and just takes the time to flesh out their stories, which adds this feeling of closeness to the characters. you get to see what happened in their past that made them the way they are and how their interactions with all the ppl in the FMA universe, knowingly or unknowingly, helped them become the characters we love and know. and this just helps the plot become more cohesive and compelling

the anime also did a fantastic job, but with a limited amount of time and the need for a whole new direction it didnt allow that, tho it was still fantastic as they kept it as close as possible to the manga works without jumping from plot point to A to X without warning or reason.

[jetfire]

I only own the 2nd volume of the Full Metal Alchemist manga at the moment, and I agree that it is really good, but the volume I read didnt top the anime in my opinion. There were some things that the anime added that gave me more of an emotional impact. In the manga, the whole Nina and Tucker situation's outcome was portrayed pretty differently than the anime, and I cared for the whole plot twist a lot more in the anime. Maybe I just havent read enough of the manga to understand, as it's been said recently that it picks up and gets more interesting. I know many mangas can be better than their anime counterparts, so I'll give the manga more of a chance and I'll buy some more volumes eventually.

[KiraraKim]

I only own the 2nd volume of the Full Metal Alchemist manga at the moment, and I agree that it is really good, but the volume I read didnt top the anime in my opinion. There were some things that the anime added that gave me more of an emotional impact. In the manga, the whole Nina and Tucker situation's outcome was portrayed pretty differently than the anime, and I cared for the whole plot twist a lot more in the anime. Maybe I just havent read enough of the manga to understand, as it's been said recently that it picks up and gets more interesting. I know many mangas can be better than their anime counterparts, so I'll give the manga more of a chance and I'll buy some more volumes eventually.

That is only one example and actually I prefer the Tucker situation in the manga because after awhile the Tucker thing went overboard in the anime. Episode 7 is great but they didn't need to bring Tucker back in my opinion. Unnecessary angst in my opinion that didn't actually add much to the story.

I really need to stop replying because I am very biased towards the manga which makes my arguments flawed. But I do think you should continue to read the manga I think you will really enjoy. At least try to read it where is starts to differ from the anime and then you can really start to judge it since you won't be comparing it to what you already saw. :)