Fullmetal Alchemist Profiles

Fullmetal Alchemist: Art & Companion Books

by Hiromu Arakawa

In an alchemical ritual gone wrong, Edward Alric lost his arm and his leg. He was lucky¿his brother Alphonse lost his entire body. With Alphonse's soul grafted into a suit of armor, and the other brother equipped with mechanical limbs, they become government alchemists, serving the state on deadly missions and fighting the evil alchemists called the Seven Deadly Sins.

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Reference, Art, Japanese Literature, Friendship, Alchemy

184 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2003

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

[Kirito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome anime and good story with the best characters.

[Khristie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I preferred this one than the anime one. Since they redid the anime into Brotherhood, the first anime I wish never existed. Wrath was not wrath, pride was not pride, it was a big sloppy mess.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

To be honest, this book is pretty pointless. If you've got the spare cash to complete the collection, then go for it. There's a really interesting interview with HA at the end. Other than that, if you've read the series you already know everything and the info's pretty obvious. I don't think there's any new art really. The ART OF: FMA books are a better investment.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Very Okay compilation for what it is, which feels mostly like a cash grab than a real encyclopedia of the series. Or, I guess, it's "Profiles" but not ALL profiles. The main problem is it was made in the middle of the series, so important characters like, Sloth, Pride, and Wrath are noticeably missing. Some of the art is reused *in the same book*, like the panel where Ed says he will rehabilitate in "ONE YEAR!" Some feels like filler to meet a specific page count, like the quizzes. About the main reason to get the book at all is the exclusive content, like an interview with Arakawa, the funny "relay" gag comics (where Arakawa and the assistants take turns drawing a panel), and the bonus comic at the end of the book (beginning, when read right-to-left).

Actually, the fact the main part is left-to-right but the comics are left as right-to-left makes it confusing, and I wish it had been rearranged so the reading order would be more consistent throughout the book. It was my complaint with the Charles M. Schulz manga biography, that a right-to-left manga was made about a left-to-right comic, which made reading disorienting, particularly with Schulz's unedited art inserted at key points.

Recommended for fans looking for exclusive content, though there isn't a lot of it compared to other books.

[King Haddock · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book doesn't really provide new information about characters or story, and most of the information is material you probably know off the top of your head. It's also to note that, because of its early publication date, Profiles only covers material from the start of the manga (or 2003 anime series).

What is most important about this book for collectors and FMA lovers - and the reason why I made sure it was on my shelf - is because it includes several omake that don't appear in the VIZ Media paperbacks, and because it has the English-translated bonus chapter "The Blind Alchemist."

[Paula Greenfield]

It's a great reference for the series.

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, creepy and moving....more than I expected from a profiles book

[Alistair · Rating 4 out of 5]

與本傳相隔了一段時間，裡頭的小測驗已經連第一階段都過得勉勉強強。

[Viper · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐, rounded down.

[Chantale Pard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would certainly be a cool starter book to browse through before starting the manga, if you were looking for a little bit more clarity on the characters and story.

Overall, however, I found the layout strange. The western style read (front to back) didn't mesh with the occasional manga-style page read of right-to-left. I found the translation/narration confusing as well - in one part of the page it would be third person explanations, while an adjacent paragraph would explain something else in first person (with no clear marker on who the narrator was unless you really knew the story - ie - someone talking about "My brother Al" is clearly Ed, speaking).

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're a fan of the manga than this is a great piece to add to your collection. Characters bios as well as plenty of illustrations are provided that would entertain a fan over and over again.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is yet another profile book, I don't think it's one of the best FML profile books, but it's enjoyable.