Fullmetal Alchemist (volume one) by Hiromu Arakawa (an Oxford College Student Review!)

In this column, I feature comic book reviews written by my students at Oxford College of Emory University. Oxford College is a small liberal arts school just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I challenge students to read and interpret comics because I believe sequential art and visual literacy are essential parts of education at any level (see my Manifesto!). I post the best of my students’ reviews in this column. Today, I am proud to present a review by Stephanie Kola-Ogunbule.

Stephanie Kola-Ogunbule is a first-year student at Oxford College and is considering majoring in Business Analytics or International Business Her home is Atlanta, Georgia where she found her love for manga in local libraries. Stephanie’s favorite writers include Hiro Mashima and Tatsuki Fujimoto, and her favorite book is Vinland Saga.

Fullmetal Alchemist (volume one) by Hiromu Arakawa

The first volume of Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa brings the reader into a blast of the past in the early 20th century, with the added twist of alchemy, which changes this world into a darker fantasy-like endeavor. Fullmetal Alchemist is similar to a more well-known work in manga, Naruto, in which we see a young protagonist fight against his inner demons figuratively and literally while reaching towards a major end goal. This follows a hero’s journey that closely relates to the protagonists of Fullmetal Alchemist. The story follows two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, as they travel this world trying to figure out what has happened to their bodies and how to fix them after an accident involving alchemy at a young age. Fullmetal Alchemist is a wonderful manga that can serve as a gateway to introduce new readers to darker themes and literature, with plot points involving corrupted officials, heretics, and religion. However, exercise caution, as there is more extreme violence involving the antics the brothers get into that may involve some blood or death. This series has been completed and, in total, has 27 volumes that span over 100 chapters. Arakawa creates a beautiful story, and volume one takes us into this intriguing world.

Fullmetal Alchemist is the story of two brothers, Edward Elric, the older, and Alphonso, the younger, as they transverse their world, using alchemy to figure out how to get the original bodies back after the failed attempt to revive their mother. Both brothers have lost something in the past, which provides a good contrast to their personalities. The elder of the two, Edward, is depicted as a hot-headed boy who is steadfast in their search to restore his and his brother’s bodies.  He had lost parts of himself due to the accident, and he quickly saved his younger brother from oblivion. Overall, Edward as a character is seen at face value, but he displays the potential to become more dynamic in later volumes. Alphonse, who is often depicted as the quiet younger brother, is also seen as a giant, as he lost his entire body, and his soul is now housed in a large body of armor. He can use alchemy without restrictions due to the accident. They can move around by Edward becoming a state alchemist, which more often than not causes them more trouble since this world portrays alchemists as military personnel, and we see how the environment around Edward and Alphonse reacts to them.

Thematically, Fullmetal Alchemist deals with a few things about equivalent exchange and honor. As we travel through this world with the brothers, they encounter situations in which they not only have to do their jobs as alchemists, but also have to interact with citizens in the city-states, in which there is police brutality and in which religion is used as a way to control the masses. The reader sees how the honor of the brothers is first called into question by how deeply they have sinned against the laws of the world of alchemy.

When looking for more secondary characters, there aren’t many, as the story is set up as separate conflicts in each chapter involving different characters from different regions of the world. However, there are signs that Arakawa is building up some antagonists with two characters who are in the background and who are puppeteering may of the situations the brothers are getting involved in. This creates a mystery with the conflicts they will face when finding a way to get back their original bodies.

The art of Fullmetal Alchemist is rather unique in the world of shonen manga. There is neither heavy shading nor harsh accent action sequences; rather,  the character details are quite striking, with metal limbs and different eye shapes throughout the character designs. There are also a wide range of ethnicities and a variety of types of alchemists, which I appreciated since it also dives into how the differences in their world will be addressed in separate volumes. The world-building in the art is also well established since the setting looks like mostly desert that’s connected by train lines, giving it a Wild West feel.

Overall, I give Fullmetal Alchemist 4.5 out of 5 stars due to the way Arakawa presents her themes in the manga and the way she introduces the reader to a new world and a new power system that has not been seen in other manga. However, the reason why I do not give this first volume a five out of five is because I feel as though the series will get better and it will build upon volume one. Volume one by itself doesn’t give me an explicit reason to give it a five out of five rating. If Arakawa expands into a more concrete plot rather than just the boys fighting to get their bodies back, the readers can stay grounded in the world while still rooting for the overarching goal of the Elric Brothers gaining their original bodies back.