Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 18

鋼の錬金術師 [Hagane no Renkinjutsushi] #18

by Hiromu Arakawa

R to L (Japanese Style)

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.

Automail engineer Winry is captured and held hostage to force Edward to do her captor's bidding. Hawkeye discovers the disturbing truth about President Bradley's son. Our heroes have fortuitous and not-so-fortuitous reunions with old friends and enemies. And multiple intrigues and double-crosses ensue as some plot to save the world while others scheme to destroy it.

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

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 22, 2007

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

[Marquise]

This is the volume in which I finally came to love Winry.

And it's not that I disliked her, not at all. I simply was having much difficulty warming up to the members of Task Force Elric for all of the series. To give you an idea, I still am unsure how to feel about Edward, and am only marginally more positive towards Alphonse. But, with the sole exception of Sigizumi, I am either indifferent to the characters in the Elric circle or I outright dislike some of them, such as Granny Pinako.

But not anymore, now I can say I do like Winry. A bit ironic that I'd come to like her unconditionally before the leader of the bunch. My Cub says that it isn't that the Elric boys aren't great characters by themselves, it's just that they have the misfortune of being surrounded by better, and I have to agree with him here, seeing that my overall favourite is Mustang.

What was it that made me warm up to Winry? Slapping Edward's bratty face and slapping Lin's princely idiot face already earned her 99% of her points with me (heh!), but what made it 100% was her action towards Scar when she had him defenceless and at her mercy. I could never be as good as her. I truly admire people who have forgiving natures, and I liked it very much when Winry makes it clear she separates sin from sinner and forgiveness from condoning. She has had a few great moments so far, but this is her volume to shine.

Task Force Sinful also have their time to shine here, to a lesser extent, with the revelation of the Original Sin's identity. "Wait a minute, Marquise," you'll say, "didn't we already see who Pride was? You even had a crackpot or two about his identity!"

Yeah, yeah, laugh at all the pottery shards around me! All my crackpots are utterly broken and smashed and turned to clay dust. I declared victory too early. Pride turned out to not be who I had pinpointed as him, and Father isn't who I thought he was, and the Elrics' father isn't who I thought he was, and I'm not who I thought I was for all I know. It's been a giant headache trying to untangle this mess, I failed at crackpottery and have yet another giant platter of hats to eat...

Ugh, I miss the simple school days when the least complicated philosophical thingie we had to try and understand was the Trinity, ya know? Gott der Vater, Gott der Sohn, Gott der Heiliges Geist and you got top marks, a popsicle, and the black-robed teacher smiling at you proudly. Instead, you have Der Stolz, Der Vater, und Dreiundzwanzig. I demand to know what school Arakawa went to and who the psychos she had for teachers were that nurtured her sadistic streak.

And speaking of sadists, those three tasks for Edward were cruel, I tell you! I did guess he'd weasel his way out of the deal, but I'm still curious as to how he will do that. Especially because Pink Plant Ladyboy isn't a fool. I still dislike him, but even I gotta respect that he is a villain who isn't dumb or is outsmarted easily. He knows what he is up to, what he wants, and what he must do to get it. That's a quality on its own.

[Elena Rodríguez]

4.5
"I want to see who is right...
who is stronger...
and who will survive...
and which side the world will choose."

VALE.

He de admitir dos cosas: la primera que me salté un capitulo bastante importante sin quererlo y destripándome algo muy importante y la segunda es que la información nueva que me están dando me esta produciendo taquicardia. Yo así no vivo. Cuando termine este manga me recogen en camilla. Sé que lo he dicho mil veces, pero bueno quien avisa no es traidor.

"In the end the people who understand and support us the most seem to be the comrades we once fought alonside, eh ?"

Por cierto, Olivier, quiero un manga solo de tus hazañas, los demás me dan igual. También necesito una precuela de todo lo que hay en este manga. Seguro que sería tan bueno como este.

Sinceramente, el final me ha dejado medio destrozada. En el siguiente tomo o en el siguiente a este se va a producir algo muy fuerte y no sé si estaré preparada mentalmente para ello. Ya tengo a mi disposición pañuelos y pastillas para el dolor de cabeza futuro.

"You must not forgive the cruelty of this world. It’s our duty as human beings to be angry at injustice. But we must also endure it, because someone must sever this chain of hatred".

[Tony Z]

— Debes aguantar
— ¿Me está diciendo que perdone al ejército?
— No confundas el concepto. “Aguantar” y “Perdonar” son dos conceptos muy distintos. Nunca podremos olvidar las atrocidades cometidas contra nosotros. Tenemos todo el derecho de estar furiosos, pero debemos aguantar esa rabia. Alguien tiene que mantenerse en pie y cortar esos lazos de odio, si uno deja que su rabia lo controle, no será mejor que un animal. Aunque el mundo rechaza a Ishbal y a su gente, aun somos humanos. No debemos caer tan bajo. Si demasiada gente deja que esas emociones negativas les controlen, el mundo se convertirá poco a poco en un río de odio, pero si las dejamos ir y mantenemos las emociones positivas, el mundo será un río de paz y justicia.

[Caroline]

OMG what a revelation! I feel like this series is already building to the conclusion and at times the tension is too much. There's so much happening and I'm starting to wonder if there's going to be a lull soon or if it can keep this up. I love Winry so much she is precious but is also super strong and determined and I really admire the journey her character has gone on. If you'd told me at the beginning that she would become one of my favourite characters I wouldn't have believed you but here I am.

[Ashley Marie]

The Scar/Winry storyline certainly has my attention.

[Juho Pohjalainen]

This issue has a lot going for it in terms of plot advancement, emotional turmoil, villains turning heroes, politics, and battle - but in my mind, it's all outdone by a small bit early on, one of the single best reveals in the entire series. The identity of the final homunculus is likely to come completely out of left field for a new reader, yet when you go back and look at all the signs and hints, it makes perfect sense. It raises tension and stakes that little bit more, is obviously going to be trouble in the future, an absolutely brutal and seemingly implacable killer... and it also gives Hawkeye an opportunity to demonstrate her immense willpower and - later - cunning, so that's good too.

And speaking of cunning women, Winry gets a few good moments as well. Less in willpower (though there's that too, plenty of it), though, and more in kindness. One of the most persistent and fanatical wild-cards in the story has become an ally at last - all thanks to someone that should hold a grudge, that should carry on planting more seeds of hatred, yet refuses to do so. A great moment.

[Subham]

This one was big and epic! It starts off with us finding about what is going on with Al and Ed and they have to carry out Kimblees order or else something will happen to Winry and most of the volume is about them on the hunt for scar and how the battles go, double scheming and what ultimately happens but the main highlight is the meeting between Winry and Scar and at that moment she became one of my faves.

Also interesting stuff going on with Mira and the drama that follows from last volumes event and a big reveal about who one of the sin is and that was shocking.

And finally I love the slow paced nature of the story and its building to that ultimate fight. The repercussions will be huge and change these characters.

[Rod Brown]

The front end of the book has lots of good moments for the female members of the cast, but the last portion spent too much time with the villains. I'm already so tired of Kimblee and his new pack of henchmen. (Oh, yay, more cast members. ~sigh~ But even with them, the author showed restraint and only crammed in 29 this volume.)

I might be feeling a little mid-binge letdown . . .

[yel ᰔ]

4 of 5 stars

[Anne (ReadEatGameRepeat)]

Another great volume. You see a lot of little plot threads tie together in this one.

[Esma T]

Olaylar ilerledikçe büyük resim oraya çıkıyor ve seri giderek güzelleşiyor, merak ettirici unsurlar giderek artıyor. Şimdilik heyecan dorukta umarım son sayıya doğru seri formdan düşmez.

[Lilah]

My three star rating may or may not have anything to do with my stressful exam week and general disdain toward every little thing, it just felt boring compared to the previous volumes which were more exciting

[freddie]

i love this series so so much.

[Sapphire]

W końcu doczekałom się mojej fav postaci 🤌

[yelenska]

Parfait!!! Ça avance bien, dans le tome précédent on a découvert un gros truc, et y a juste tellement de choses qui ont été mises en place et qui sont en train de se relier petit à petit. Oh et le passage avec Winry qui confronte le meurtrier de ses parents... ça me réconforte dans l'idée que j'adore ce personnage. 🩷

[Mars]

FMA Reread of 2012:

5/5, because the women are awesome! I'm going to quote adventuresofcomicbookgirl in here:

For instance with Winry, she very deliberately set up Winry as the tool the military used to emotionally blackmail the Elrics- and when Winry finds out about that, she actually makes commentary on her own role in the story- "It's unfair I've been forced into this position and I am going to do my best to get out of it." It's like she's aware of how her role of being the female loved one of the heroes is robbing her of her agency and she is not going to let that stand. And then of course, Arakawa very deliberately sets it up to look like Scar's kidnapped Winry and damsel in distress the Elrics must save her oh noes! only to turn around and go "hahaha you losers of course not this is Winry's badass plan she thought up herself and she and Scar are working together. She's only pretending to be a hostage and playing the military's expectations about her, she fooled them and she fooled you too don't you feel silly".

So yeah, Winry was fitting the damsel in distress archetype, but she went out of her way to subvert that archetype. She deliberately uses it against her captors to save the others and herself!

[Jedi JC Daquis]

The plot reveal is something to look forward to in this issue. The political angle is so intriguing yet so syraightforward if you really think about it. FMAs story is not that original, but it is written by Arakawa in such a nice and smart way that everything feels new and undeniably gripping.

[★]

holy moly monopoly

[Δανάη Ιμπραχήμ]

Ed is head over heels for Winry :3

[নাজমুল হাসান]

The original Homunculus' identity is revealed at last to Liza Hawkeye and she can't get over the trauma after encountering darkness itself. Those who come face to face with the fear lurking around the corner, becomes afraid of their own shadow. Major General Olivia Armstrong faces consequences of her rebellious attitude, as Central come barging in to take over her place in Castle Briggs. On the other hand Kimblee puts Edward Elric to task, reminding his duty as a State Alchemist. Also he reminds him subtly about Winry who has been taken hostage without her noticing it. Even if it means betraying his friends, will Elric brothers succumb to the allure of Philosopher's stone? Winry comes face to face with Scar and the outcome is really surprising with lots of insight. Lots of planning and counter planning comes into play along with betrayal and scheming. One thing is for sure that the Dagger of doom is looming ever so close to Fort Briggs.

[Sharon]

I read this as part of my March 2021 challenge of only reading books by women writers for Women's History month! You can read more about my experience here!

I'm so glad this was the first manga volume I read in March. Two of the three best female characters in FMA - in this case Winry and Major General Armstrong - are featured prominently in these chapters.
Winry actually has some of the most magnificent panels and overall an amazing piece of character development.

Honestly, Arakawa can do no wrong and this might be my favorite volume yet! BUT ALSO THAT ENDING.

[Aaron]

Yoki finally proves himself useful 2/3 of the way through the series.

[Monica]

Vuelve un número sobresaliente a la saga. Los Elric siguen con la nueva cuadrilla, a la par que crean nuevas alianzas ( en concreto con unas Quimeras...muy en la línea del personaje “66”), combatiendo y ganando tiempo contra el bando del generalísimo y Padre; ésta vez con el temible y maquiavélico alquimista Carmesí. Scar y Mei dan un nuevo giro a su evolución vital, mrachando en pos de la derrota de un mundo abocado a la guerra entre Homúnculos y humanos.
Tomo muy intenso e interesantísimo, con escenas siniestras y su particular dosis de humor excéntrico; compensando tanta acción y emoción presente.
Para guinda, se nos desvela más sobre el hijo de Bradley y su final de número deja con muchas ganas, demasiadas, de más...
Y me encantó la aparición de “66”, xd.

[anotherfungurl]

Winry and Scar face to face again). Though this time the real Winry, not the one with the hatred.
"Why am I in love with this weirdo?" said Winry. I wanted to scream like, he is acting weird because he loves u too. I love Hawkeye. She is awesome. I didn't think that Selim would be homunculus too. He was innocent. But, whatever. Plot twists and cliffhangers))

[Murat]

2.5

[Francesca Martinello]

Penso che non potrei mai dare meno di 5 stelle a questo capolavoro

[Lashaan Balasingam]

So much scheming, so many parties. Pride's identity is also finally revealed and it is indeed an unexpected one. The story paces itself for significant confrontations while everyone slowly realizes what's at stake.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Roxana Chirilă]

This is the volume in which I realize I've forgotten some of the main plot twists from the FMA: Brotherhood anime series and, man, are they wonderful to re-read.

Also, I entirely approve of all the long-haired men in this series. It struck me that both bad guys and good guys have pony tails, which is great. 'Cause, you know, smooth-looking guys with great hair in Hollywood tend to be bad guys, it's nice to see the stereotype broken. (what? other people keep going on and on about how special the women in the series are and how feminist that is - I'm rooting for those poor, cool, long-haired guys who are underrepresented in today's egalitarian struggles.)

[L. J.]

This was okay. Not the best, but not the worst either, so. It had its moments.

In this volume, we still-still continue to encounter the makings of the beginning of the end.

I like that…Riza (I forgot her name, honestly, my bad) very quickly caught on to Selim being a homunculus; like, yes, queen. And good on Mustang for catching on really quick that something was wrong with Riza. I don’t think those two end up together at all but in my mind, they do. Good on Winry for not attempting to murder Scar, again.

Favorite Character: Riza; I love you, my queen.

Least Favorite Character: Selim/Pride; how dare you threaten my queen!

[Dony Grayman]

Edición argentina, tomo 18 de 27. Traduce cuatro capítulos:

Capítulo 70 - El homúnculo primigenio
Capítulo 71 - El hombre carmesí
Capítulo 72 - Cadena negativa, piedra positiva
Capítulo 73 - Ensueño

Más una tira cómica (Hayate, el perro fiel), agradecimientos y adelanto del próximo capítulo.
En el lomo figura...