Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 11

Book Description

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 brother and himself...the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

Customer Reviews:

Ah, Hohenheim, we knew you'd be back........2007-08-01

Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 11 (ViZ, 2005)

[note: this review contains a major spoiler for vol. 10. If you haven't read it yet, don't read this review!]

So now we know that King Bradley is Wrath, one of the seven homunculi. No one else does, but you know that since the reader now has the information, it's not going to be too long until the rest of the crew finds out. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we pause the action for a bit of character development (and burgeoning romance?) between Ed and Winry. It's not the best volume in the series, especially considering the one just before it, but it's a good one. *** ½

WELCOME HOME DAD.......2007-02-12

Edward has returned to Resembool to find out the truth about what happened the night him and Al tried to resurrect their mother all those years ago, but imagine his surprise when he finds his father, Van Hohenheim, a man he hasn't seen in 10 years, already standing at her grave! Ed blames his mother's death on his father, or at least he has a lot of anger towards him for dumping his kids and not being there when she was dying. It's been implied that perhaps she died of a broken heart. So the conversations between Ed and his dad are not going to be very pleasant. Meanwhile, Al, Mustang, and Xing deal with the aftermath of their battle with the Homunculi last volume which has left Havoc paralyzed from the waist down. When Mustang tries to contact Dr. Marcoh, the medical alchemist, for help in healing Havoc, he finds that the Homunculi too have an interest in the doc. And Scar is back in town, doing what he does best: killing State Alchemists!

I wanted to comment on a problem I'm sure a lot of people are facing when reading this manga. I just finished watching the Fullmetal Alchemist movie last weekend after watching the TV series over the past year and a half. One problem I had in reading Volume 11 was trying to seperate the characters and events of the manga from the anime. For instance, Lust was taken out by Mustang in Volume 10 while she met a completely different end in the anime. Scar is following a different line of motivation and has picked up a sidekick. Dr. Marcoh is still alive while he was killed early on in the anime. I thought the Elric brothers had realized King Bradley was a Homunculi but in this volume it seems as though they don't know. Am I getting it confused with the anime again? So I think I will enjoy the manga more (Which, by the way, I think is superior to the anime) if I just go back and start reading from Volume 1 again, starting with a clean slate, without any inteference from the anime version. As for this volume, is no surprise that it has good art, great characters, and universal themes that touch everyone, as after 11 volumes, this has become the norm rather than the exception. One of the best series out there!

Can it get any better?.......2007-01-20

After action-packed volume 10, can Fullmetal Alchemist get any better? The answer is yes. Volume 11, while not as edge-of-your-seat exciting as volume 10, is still gripping and delivers a lot of punch.

Ed goes to visit his mom's grave, only to find his dad there. Hohenheim left the family many years ago, and Ed hates his guts. When Hohenheim finds out that Ed and Al tried to resurrect their mom, he asks a very strange question: Was what they brought to life really their mom?

Back in Central, Havoc has just found out that he's suffered spinal cord damage and will never be able to walk again. Mustang sends Breda to find Dr. Marcoh, in the hopes that he can help Havoc. Unfortunately, Breda finds that someone has beaten him to Dr. Marcoh; someone who looked exactly like Breda.

Meanwhile, May Chang (who was Mei Xhang, back in volume 8; more on that later) is rescued from starvation by none other than Yoki. May Chang is still searching for Edward Elric, and she decides to travel with Yoki and Scar until she can pay off her debt to them.

There isn't much actual action in volume 11 until the end, but there is a lot of character development. The reader finally discovers what happened to Al's body when he went through the gate, and what happens when an alchemist attempts a human resurrection. Lin has a much larger part, and we have a chance to learn his back story as well as his reason for being in Amestris. There aren't many pages of extras in this volume, but the "Edward Elric, Alchemist of the People" scene definitely makes up for that.

The art is, as always, wonderful. Arakawa-sensei is very good at capturing human, or in some cases, inhuman emotions.

My only problem with the volume is Viz's translation. Not only does Viz replace all the Japanese sound effects with English ones, but they have yet again proven their inability to proofread anything. Ed has a line where the verb is missing ("He just doesn't to be a parent, that's all."), there's a page where Winry's and Ed's lines are switched, and there's the totally nonsensical line "Mercy me!". Although it's pretty easy to tell what the characters are supposed to be saying, there's no reason for Viz to do such a sloppy job.

Viz is also unable to decide on names. In the earlier volumes, it's the Ishvarlan war, but in the more recent volumes it's the Ishbalan war. Mei Xhang's name was also changed to May Chang in volume 11 for absolutely no reason. Once you pick a spelling, for the sake of your fans, stay with it!

Other than that, volume 11 is an amazing addition to an amazing series. So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and buy it!

Average customer rating:

Big ugly battle time!
Great Manga, acceptable translation

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 13
Hiromu Arakawa
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1421511584

Book Description

In the midst of heated battle, Ed and Prince Lin of Xing are swallowed whole by the homunculus Gluttony. Will they survive the depths of Gluttony's gullet like Jonah inside the whale, or has Al lost his brother for good? And the political power structure of the military may be irreparably shattered when Colonel Mustang confronts Führer President King Bradley with his horrifying suspicion that Bradley is a homunculous!

Customer Reviews:

Big ugly battle time!.......2007-08-01

Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 13 (ViZ, 2005)

Ed and Al continue the battle with Scar in order to lure one of the homunculi out so Lin can capture it-- but Greed shows up to the party while Lin is off tangling with Wrath. Once that mess is sorted out, then comes the real fight, where greed encounters Roy Mustang, from whom he holds a very deep grudge, and the battle between humans and homunculi rages anew. As if that's not enough, there's another huge revelation at the end of the volume. Arakawa's really cranked this one up; can't wait for vol. 14. *** ½

Great Manga, acceptable translation.......2007-05-21

This volume is enjoyable for any fan of FMA, since it contains scenes with practically all of the characters sans Major Armstrong. The five stars is for Arakawa's writings and drawings, which are superb in this consistently excellent series. The translation, however, is not perfect. From time to time it seems a little rough, perhaps going for a literal translation when an intent-based translation would feel more authentic. Don't let that stop any FMA fan from buying this volume and supporting Arakawa, though, because it's still a fantastic manga even with this translation.

Average customer rating:

Just when I was ready to give up on the series...
BROTHERS SHOULD TALK

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 4

Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1591169291

Customer Reviews:

Just when I was ready to give up on the series..........2007-05-27

Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 4 (ViZ, 2005)

Something happened between Fullmetal Alchemist 3 and this volume. I'm not sure what, but whatever it is, I like it a great deal. There's a real story arc! There's continuity! Dare I say it? Fullmetal Alchemist is actually starting to live up to its sky-high reputation with Volume 4. Ed and Al head back to their hometown of Resembool so Ed can get fixed up after that last battle, and we get to know Winry and her grandmother a good deal more. Ed realizes that, while he's a state alchemist, he has a lot more maturity and experience to gain, so the boys decide to head back and see their old teacher. Winry, finding out they're going past Rush Valley, decides to tag along. All this means there's really not much going on in this volume actionwise, but Arakawa handles it better than any volume so far in the series. Finally, I see why this series gets so much attention. *** ½

BROTHERS SHOULD TALK.......2006-01-15

After barely surviving their encounters with the guards of Laboratory #5 and the arrival of Lust and Envy, Ed has to be put into the hospital to recover. While he gets in contact with Winry to ask her to come fix him up, Al has something on his mind. Ever since his encounter with the armor-bound former serial killer Barry the Chopper, he has begun to question whether he really IS Alphonse Elric, or whether he is merely the memory of Al, artificially created and place in the suit of armor by his brother. At the risk of his own safety Lt. Col. Hughes begins to investigate a dark web of deceit and lies perpetrated that could involve all levels of the military order.

This was probably one of the best manga volumes of any series I have read. Not only does it contain humor and action it also questions what humans really are composed of. Is a memory of someone just as valid as the real thing? There are also some very poignant scenes in here. Hiromu Arakawa is not afraid to take her characters to very dark places and she is not afraid to kill them off either. The art is great and her storytelling is excellent. Her humor can be a little ill-placed at times but that's a minor complaint. Classic series.

Average customer rating:

The volume where everything changes.
FMA Volume 10
TWO DEGREES OF SEPERATION
An Excellent Continuation

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 10
Hiromu Arakawa
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic

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ASIN: 1421504618

Book Description

Barry the Chopper, the psychopathic killer whose soul is encased in a suit of armor, has been captured by Colonel Mustang's troops. Fearing he will reveal the Philosopher's Stone conspiracy, Gluttony and Lust decide to kill him, using Barry's own original soulless body to track him down! Though Colonel Mustang has anticipated their moves and set up an ambush, Gluttony and Lust prove too powerful and easily fight their way through to Barry, who is being protected by Al and Lieutenant Hawkeye. In a terrible battle, a badly injured Colonel Mustang sacrifices all in a last-ditch attempt to stop Lust!

Customer Reviews:

The volume where everything changes........2007-07-05

Hiromu Arakawa, Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 10 (ViZ, 2005)

Now things are getting really interesting. Whose side is Barry on? Whose side is the government on? Whose side is Roy Mustang on? For that matter, what are the sides? Vol. 10 is a book of revelations, and they're big, ugly ones, stuff that's going to change the entire complexion of the series. None of them are entirely a surprise--no good revelation is, in retrospect--but Arakawa did a very nifty job of building a red herring through the past few volumes to make us forget we were wondering whether that particular person had anything to do with that particular group. We also meet another of the deadly sins (and are treated to another bit of rather masterful misdirection by Arakawa), and find out what the deadly sins really are. Again, it's nothing you didn't see coming, once it's all laid out for you, and you got hints of it during the assault on Lab 5. Perhaps the best volume in the series so far. *** ½

FMA Volume 10.......2007-01-10

Again, my son read the book in one day. Said it was great.

TWO DEGREES OF SEPERATION.......2006-11-25

For the first time in this series the Elric brothers have gone their own seperate ways as Ed is cajoled/pushed into accompanying beefcake Major Armstrong back to Resembool to get his automail fixed. Ed is left in the dark as to the real reason they're going there and an important detour they're going to take along the way. Meanwhile, back in Central, Mustang is using Barry the Chopper as bait to draw the Homunculi out into the open in an effort to expose the powers moving the events of the Fullmetal world. His plan works, but will even his flame powers be able to match the superhuman abilities of Lust, Gluttony, and Envy? Or will him and his officers end up dead?

Volume 10 of Fullmetal Alchemist continues to get into territory that the anime never went to. In fact, I would hazard to say that the manga is BETTER than the anime. I like it because Arakawa has a lot more time to work on her characterization, even with the supporting cast, so the manga has a lot more depth. In addition, there are characters and situations that never appeared or occurred in the anime, which makes this an entirely different experience. You feel that the brothers have more help in the manga, and that they are less alone. Also, the manga has a more humorous tone and tones down the sturm and drang. This is a great book and series.

An Excellent Continuation.......2006-11-22

The 10th installment in the Fullmetal Alchemist series certainly does not disappoint. It starts off with an intense battle that picks up where the last installment left off. It was quite a shock to see a novel start off with this much action, and it was indeed refreshing, when compared to the sometimes, slower-paced segments of the series. The fire that this novel starts with doesn't dwindle down until halfway through the book where the story changes, and even from that point it's still enjoyable. Arakawa's art is nothing short of amazing. Her triumphs here and in the battle scenes where the characters are constantly moving and the action is never ceasing. There is also a point where even here use of panels is original and certainly aids the story. And speaking of the story, it is once again, fantastic. It is almost impossible to put this book down upon picking it up. Twists, turns, witty dialogue, and high-paced action grace this novels story, with some comedy sprinkled in. All in all, if you've made it through nine installments already, there's almost nothing stopping you from getting this one. For those who have not made it this far or who are new to FullMetal Alchemist,I need only say that this volume continues a series graced with beautiful artwork and a well written story that never disappoints!

Average customer rating:

Things are really gearing up now.
A new and bold direction.
VIZ really needs better editors....
Fullmetal 9-Another Great Addition
FRIEND OR FOE?

Fullmetal Alchemist, Volume 9
Hiromu Arakawa
Manufacturer: VIZ Media LLC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Comic