Fullmetal Alchemist 20th Anniversary Book

Fullmetal Alchemist: Art & Companion Books

by Hiromu Arakawa, Square Enix (Editor)

Celebrate 20 years of Fullmetal Alchemist with this stunning tribute to the genre-defining classic!

This memorial hardcover collection celebrates the legacy of one of the most beloved manga series of all time. Contains a complete collection of all the short manga from the series’ run, from game tie-ins to never-before-seen tales in rare Japanese guides, plus a bonus new prose story. Also includes extensive commemorative messages from novel, film, video game, and anime staff, including the full voice cast of the Fullmetal Brotherhood anime. And of course, don’t miss the thoughtful and goofy commentary on the reach and impact of Fullmetal Alchemist from artist Hiromu Arakawa!

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Art, Fiction, Shonen

240 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2021

About the author

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).

Reviews

[Conejo Literario · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se sintió tan bien visitar Amestris de nuevo 💜🥺✨️

[Valeria Cardoso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo disfruté mucho! Contiene bastante material interesante para los fans de la serie.

[Kenra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still am not over Fullmetal Alchemist so I had to get myself back in somehow, and this was the perfect little scratch to satisfy the itch.

As a celebration to Fullmetal Alchemist's 20th Anniversary (20?!?! Is it really that old?!?!) this book compiles and collects short stories, and comic panels from over the last 20 years as well as notes of gratitude from the staff of all the novels, animated adaptations, video games, and live-action films. It's just a delight to be able to hear the author talk about her love and fondness for a story that's been loved globally for so many years.

It's a lovely homage to a series that means so much to me and is so integral to the person I am, it feels only appropriate that after all the celebration and gratitude I've read from those involved in creating it's success, it's only fair that we as the consumer express the same amount of gratitude and celebration. I hope that Fullmetal Alchemist continue to inspire, amuse, and destroy fans for many more years to come. Ed, Al, Winry and the entire cast of characters are always near and dear to my heart.

[Ailbhe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s been 20 yrs since my favourite manga series of all time was released and this book is the perfect mix of nostalgia and Easter eggs of in serialised content.

I was delighted to get the arc of this book and will 100% be getting a hard copy.

For a series that was published 20yrs ago to still have so much hype surrounding it is a credit to the author arakawa, the achievements she has made are all completely deserved and then some. The series has impacted so many people and is a testament to her.

If you loved the series or the anime this is the perfect companion book to get.

[Marian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya pasaron 20 años desde la primera aparición del primer capítulo de Fullmetal alchemist en la revista Shonen Gangan, el 12 de julio de 2001.
.
E Ivrea nos trae en español, el libro que recopila lo esencial de estos largos años.
.
No hay mucho que pueda decir al respecto, así que preferí pintarles un poco con lo que se van a encontrar:
.
🧒🏻 El making of de algunas viñetas y personajes
✍🏻 Comentarios y mensajes de la autora, del staff de producción del animé y de los seiyūs (actores de voz -japoneses-)
⏳ Cronologia con los logros más importantes del manga y el animé, fechas de emisión, premios, etc.
🖼️ Galeria de ilustraciones representativas
📚 Lecturas complementarias o historias alternativas (Gaiden): El alquimista ciego" (que tiene OVA), Historia de maestros (tiene OVA), Una noche larga (bellísimo)
🎞️ Colección de extras de las lecturas complementarias (4-komas) y viñetas
❤️‍🔥 Un spin-off llamado "Capítulo 44.5"
🤖 Un capítulo inédito (Fullmetal alchemist 0)
📖 Una novela corta especial creada para este tomo
🎮 Los prólogos (en viñetas) de los videojuegos
🎨 Y varias páginas a color entre un poco más de 200, en formato A5 🤩
.
En definitiva, un lujo ✨ Imprescindible para completar la colección de mangas y darle un cierre a la serie.

[Teeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

What an awesome way to commemorate twenty years of FMA. Not only is this a beautiful physical edition, but you can really feel the love and joy of having created something that so many people have enjoyed. Arakawa's little bovine avatar guiding us through the very beginning, through books, light novels, radio dramas, animations, and live action is such a treat. Seeing all of the original and subsequent voice actors leave little notes and thank you messages for her is so super sweet. I think my favourite part of the collection was the little comic where we learn about Izumi's alchemy training, and that there are still rumors of a wild woman on that mountain. All fans of any form of FMA should pick this up and get a dose of the behind the scenes excitement.

[Nico Decri · Rating 4 out of 5]

se siete fan accaniti del manga eo anime dovete averne una copia nella vostra libreria!!! nulla di che ecclatante, si tratta di capitoletti di introduzione ai videogiochi o storie a se prettamente comiche ma è un bel modo di celebrare l'anniversario di uno straordinario manga

[-moonprismpower- · Rating 5 out of 5]

I freakin love FMA. Happy 20th anniversary!

[Kristina Larsen (Reader's World) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jeg elsker Fullmetal Alchemist, så denne 20års jubilæumsfejring var bare rent glæde ned ad memory lane.

[Pidge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arakawa Sensei you will always be famous

[Nicolas Montero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente libro de aniversario.
Contiene un repaso cronológico del universo de Fullmetal Alchemist, mensajes de directores y principales seiyuus y finales alternativos de carácter humorístico.
Es un buen libro para completar la colección personal, además de que contiene mucho contenido que no se aborda en los mangas originales.

[Mariana Prieto Montañez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro muy especial si eres de las personas que ya vieron el anime o leyeron el manga. Tiene curiosidades varias con historias que te hacen recordar lo bonito y entrañable que fue conocer FMA.
Me lo regalaron mis amix en mi cumple 31✨

[Guido]

Vuelven Ed y Al.

[Ana Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como seguidora de la serie es un gran placer poder disfrutar del contenido extra que se lanzó en Japón. Tener ese contenido extra nos da la oportunidad de volver a revivir esta excelente obra de la maestra Hiromu Arakawa.

[Wafflepirates · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

This book is a great collection of bonus stories and promotional materials that were created for various FMA related events, video games, movies, etc. A lot of these were things I had not seen before, so it was fun to see some of these rarer pics. The majority of this book is a collection of shorts and comic strips, each of which are introduced with a short description of what it was created for. I enjoyed reading this, it was vary nostalgic to see some of these, as I am a big fan of the series. Those who love FMA will definitely not want to miss out on this book!

[Dom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I BLOODY LOVE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST!!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥 more roy mustang would've been appreciated (but i am biased!! 🔥🔥🔥)

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of my favorite pieces of media, like, ever. I absolutely adore the world, story, characters... it has all stuck with me for a long time. Hard to imagine that I first watched the 2003 anime adaptation over ten years ago now. And the series itself is twice that long!

This book is a beautiful compilation of the series as a whole, covering nearly everything from the original manga, to the anime, movies, and even video games. I thought I knew a lot about this series before, but there is some content in this book that I have never seen before. It really makes me admire this series even more than I already did, especially the dedication of manga's author/artist, Hiromu Arakawa. This woman is seriously my hero. This series was really ahead of its time, and it is all due to her and her incredible dedication to telling a moving narrative.

All in all, this book really made me want to rewatch the series. It was a joy reading about this world again!

To end, here is a quote from Atomu Mizuishi, the actor for Alphonse in the live action movie, that I think humorously sums up my thoughts on this compilation, and on this series as a whole:

"A surprisingly large number of people around me said, 'Fullmetal is the bible.' It must have drawn them in... I know it drew me in."

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review!

[knife man · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ay, la verdad esperaba más historias cortas, las que contiene son muy buenas (excepto las que están relacionadas con videojuegos o películas que se sienten más como un prólogo).
También esperaba más sobre el proceso de creación de la obra.

[Cornerofmadness · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy 20th anniversary FMA. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one as Fullmetal Alchemist is still one of my favorite manga/anime of all time (and I say this as someone who's been consuming the media for over forty years).

There was no way I was missing out on this one so why not five stars? I have to admit, there were things that disappointed me, namely there wasn't all that much new in it. Yes, all the letters of congrats from various voice actors, artists directors etc which I confess to having little interest in. I suppose I was hoping for something new for this, even a short story or a few character sketches (there is certainly plenty of post canon scenes we'd have loved to see)

To be fair there is a short story created for this, a missing scene of Havoc and Maria Ross, calling her back from Xing. I didn't find it all that interesting. Havoc settling in and working for Mustang post-injury or Ross IN Xing might have interested me more. Ah well.

Everything else was not new, but some of it was new to me as they were only ever offered in Japan and not translated...officially. So the first few never translated short story panels I have seen before because fans translated and posted SO much back in the day. Still, it was nice to see it officially.

The Start of the Journey short that was given away at the movie (sob, would have loved to have gotten my hands on that) was something I hadn't seen before. It was fun (even if I had trouble seeing Basque Grand like that!)

I did love seeing Arakawa's cover art and her comparison to the original sketch from 20 years ago.

So mild disappointment aside, I'm glad I have this on my shelf where it'll be staying for another 20 years (and I need to get back to my reread of the series) Thank you for giving use wonderful characters like this. They feel like old friends even after all these years.

[Hannah Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's in the Collection?

A better question would be what's not included. This book has everything you could hope for Fullmetal anniversary collection. There are vignettes and small comic pieces which feature some of Fullmetal Alchemist's cult-favorite characters. There are prequel mangas for the PS2 and Wii video games and other short stand-alone manga stories. There is also a detailed timeline, notes from Hiromu Arakawa, and letters from those involved with the manga and anime. Finally, the book concludes with a new, exclusive prose story. This book is filled with Fullmetal bits and pieces you won't find collected anywhere else.

Review:

This collection is filled with manga, notes, and colorful art. The details in this collection are just exceptional. If you're a hard-core fan of Fullmetal Alchemist, this is a must-have book. There are rare bits included that would be difficult, if not impossible, to track down another way. On top of that, there's an excellent exclusive prose story. You would win the Holidays if you gave a hardcover copy of this collection to the anime or manga fan in your life.

Thanks to VIZ Media for a review copy of this book! All thoughts are my own.

[Steff Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fullmetal Alchemist’s 20th Anniversary Edition is pure fandom add-on. It’s kind of just a collection of many additive stories and posters for the series accompanied by some commentary and congratulations regarding FMA being 20 years old.

And for what it is, I loved every second of it.

This series was such an amazing one for me, my first foray into Anime in general. And it’s stuck with me through the years that I actually owned this book well before it was published in the United States and well before it was translated into English. A lucky chance layover in Japan and a book purchase later, it was sitting on my shelf.

I have to say, being able to read it in English without the use of a phone translator was nice.

It’s not really the sort of book that you want to reread over and over again as there isn’t much story to it. I’d much prefer to pick up the actual manga over this book just about any day of the week. But I’m excited to have it on my shelf and so thrilled at the journey Arakawa’s work has had over the years.

I may also have to try out those video games at some point in the future, since I hadn’t yet stumbled upon the series when those were released.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, my god. I loved this so much. Fullmetal Alchemist is my favorite anime and manga of all time. It was incredible seeing Arakawa-Sensei talk about her journey into creating this series. Not to mention the amazing shorts that tie-in with the movies/video games. Of course, I loved the funny little four-panel strips that she's known for. The Shou Tucker story really threw me. I hate that man so freaking much, but of course Arakawa-Sensei had to break our hearts again. I have to say, though, it was interesting to see Shou before he was a State Alchemist, feeling forlorn because Edward, a 12-year-old, had become one when he was struggling. And that gleam in his eye when his wife says she'd do anything to help. Ugh, chills. I love how much impact Shou and the Nina storyline has on the series as a whole, and I'll never ever get over it.

Also, Makoto Inoue talking about they went silent when they said they love Hughes. *cries forever*

[Ilaria Massariol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ritornare per qualche istante nel mondo di FullMetal Alchemist è stato bellissimo.
Ho amato il manga sin da quando uscì la prima volta nel 2004 in edicola, e il mio amore è andato solo crescendo.
Ho a cuore questa storia per tantissimi motivi soprattutto personali, e rituffarmi nelle avventure di Ed e Al mi ha fatto scendere le lacrime.
Questo è un piccolo volume che raccoglie piccole storie create da Hiromi Arakawa che non ha mai menzionato nella saga principale, ed è stato bello vedere anche i dialoghi con il team di disegnatori, con i doppiatori, vedere della creazione del primo anime e dei videogiochi creati... È un mondo stupendo.
FullMetal Alchemist è amore, amicizia, sacrificio, battaglie, lacrime, sangue, ma soprattutto famiglia.
È il manga migliore mai costruito in mia opinione 💓

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the most well-written manga out there and this anniversary book is a great celebration of it. It is filled to the brim with bonus chapters--I'm especially grateful that this includes prelude chapters to all of the video games--with reflections from Arakawa-sensei along the way. It really gives a sense of how much time has passed since the beginning of the series and how far the series has come since then. There's a section where the seiyuu for Brotherhood (and a few that have been with the series since the 2003 anime adaptation) give their appreciation to FMA and Arakawa-sensei and that really got to me. This book is a love letter to FMA and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan!!

[Andreea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-have for fans of the Fullmetal Alchemist series.

This 20th anniversary book brings together all the FMA goodies you didn't know you needed in your life. It has notes from the author and friends, behind-the-scenes, bonus content, a timeline of all media associated with the series and a brand-new story featuring fan-favorite Lt. Havoc.

A lovely read that's bound to leave you yearning for a re-read/rewatch of the original manga or anime series!

✨Disclaimer✨
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's amazing to me that it's been 20 years since Fullmetal Alchemist was first published. My first introduction was with the first anime and it's come to be one of my most favorite series in both tv shows and books.

This book celebrates the past 20 years of Fullmetal Alchemist and gives insight into side stories and accompanying media that's come from the original manga. It's wonderful that even though so much time has passed, we are still getting to learn more about the world of Fullmetal Alchemist!

Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

[Ada]

***Dinsdag 20 februari 2024***
❌ No star rating because of reasons

This is perfect for fans of everything Fullmetal Alchemist. They did such a good job including some fun things and translating stuff for the English fans. Also a beautifully physical edition that matches the Fullmetal editions perfectly.

I really enjoyed myself but I have no idea to what kind of rating I could give this. I'm not a diehard fan so 5 stars feels too much but for the intended purpose it is a 5 star book. So no stars were given.

[Rosa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me feel so nostalgic...

Although I certainly not following this since the first time the comic appear but it has been around a decade since the first time I know this series.

All the compilation story is so good, they make me want to reread the series, watch the movies, and brotherhood series, also play the game (which I haven't)


Thank you for Arakawa Hiromu for created Full Metal Alchemist, I cried and laughed a lot reading it.

[Fer Barajas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este libro para festejar los 20 años de la mítica historia de los hermanos Elric es un gran material dedicado a los fans.

Una gran recopilación de historias complementarias de todo el universo que se ha creado alrededor de Fullmetal Alchemist con comentarios de todos los involucrados, desde Haromu Arakawa hasta los directories y actores.

Una amena lectura; para conocer más los invito a mi blog donde publiqué mi reseña.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good! Top tier! Loved every minute! I love the collection of special event mini mangas, and the commentary, and all the official fma/b crack I could ask for! Plus the Havoc story at the end! Love it all.

Tragically, despite the fact that I've never wanted to play a video game more, I am devastated to know that that'll be just about impossible.

Guess I'll have to content myself with rereading this a few times.