Full MANGA Alchemists

Send us Fan Mail Lin Yao has just captured Gluttony! Will Ed and Al be able to capture Scar as well? How does Winry deal with the feeling of always being the one waiting for someone else? It's a chapter of action, realizations, and growth for multiple characters. Tim and Patrick discuss FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST chapter 48!

Send us Fan Mail The battle against Scar continues, and Winry continues to work through her grief over her parents. Will she shoot Scar? Will the Elrichs and Lin Yao pull off their plan to capture a homunculus? Will Tim and Patrick quit misunderstanding what’s happening in particular panels? (A probable “no” on the last one!) Listen for the answers as we discuss FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST chapter 47!

Send us Fan Mail Winry continues to mourn her parents, and worries that other loved ones could be gone at any time. Meanwhile, Lin battles Bradley as the brothers fight Scar, wondering why the fight hasn’t attracted any homunculi. Tim and Patrick discuss chapter 46 of FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST, and ask, what’s that short-handled ninja spear called? How do alchemists have one up on Spider-Man? Is there r...

Send us Fan Mail Our characters share relevant info with each other and make some progress on figuring things out — more than they actually realize! But at the same time, Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 45 has plenty of action, comedy, and sound effects! Tim and Patrick analyze this rollicking chapter… and also find translation errors small and egregiously large.

Send us Fan Mail Ed and Al are at last reunited, and Ed shares his recent discoveries. Also, Winry notes changes and Mustang gives the best pep talk ever, in Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 44. What pearls of wisdom will Tim and Patrick share about this chapter? Well, you know, you get what you pay for...

Send us Fan Mail As Ed makes a discovery about the attempt he and Al made to resurrect their mom, Al worries about whether his armor body will reject him, and a long-neglected "new" character returns. Tim and Patrick talk about the meaning of a certain tree and of a character repeatedly being dissected by a panel gutter. Join us as we discuss Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 43!

Send us Fan Mail Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 42 follows up with Ed’s confrontation with his long lost dad, and raises a surprising question about Ed and Al’s attempt to resurrect their mom. Why did their father come back? Why is Lin, a prince, always passing out from hunger? Who might be able to help Havok get back the use of his legs? We discuss all these questions and more.

Send us Fan Mail Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 41 gives us a background explanation of what happened before … with a nagging question left unanswered, as well as some startling coincidences. We also discuss the possible meaning of this chapter’s title and the broken chain shown on the title page. Also, our favorite sound effects, and one or two dumb puns!

Send us Fan Mail At last, in chapter 40 of Fullmetal Alchemist, we find out why Armstrong dragged Ed to Resembool! We note the difference between "Wrath" and "Pride" (but no spoilers!) and consider the comic's surprising acknowledgement that Ed and Al's quest has stirred up lethal forces, and check Hiromu Arakawa's reference to actual Chinese history.

Send us Fan Mail The title of chapter 39 of Fullmetal Alchemist is an understatement! "Complications" include homunculi trying to kill our heroes (minus Ed), who have learned a little too much about the military's secret operations. Who won't survive this chapter? What are our favorites of the many sound effects in this action-packed chapter? Join Tim and Patrick for the discus...

Send us Fan Mail "Action" is the word in Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 38! Mustang, Hawkeye, and Al go up against the homunculi as Barry's soul pursues his body - and NOT in order to get back together with it! Meanwhile, Tim and Patrick object to an odd use of the word "gulp" and enjoy Arakawa's insertion of comedy into serious action scenes.

Send us Fan Mail The mood moves from mourning to subterfuge in Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 37! Who is this mysterious "other" Barry the Chopper? Where is Armstrong taking Ed, and why? Who is Mustang seemingly flirting with on the phone at work? Tim and Patrick discuss the answers to these questions and more!

Send us Fan Mail We knew it had to happen: Ed, Al, and Winry finally learn of Hughes’ death and why it happened. It’s a tear-jerking chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist as our heroes struggle with grief and guilt. Tim and Patrick break out the hankies, but also enjoy the dose of comic relief included here in chapter 36. Also: Two new Fullmetal Alchemist live-action movies are due to hit Japanese theate...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when Ed, Al, and Winry return to Central in hopes of meeting up with Lt. Col. Hughes? How does the military handle the investigation into Hughes' murder? We discuss the answers to these questions and more as we dig into Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 35!

Send us Fan Mail The murder of Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes, back in chapter 15 finally comes to the fore - but Ed and Al still don't know he's gone! As that reveal moves closer to reality, Tim and Patrick discuss chapter 34 of Fullmetal Alchemist, and introduce a new feature: Best sound effect of the chapter (both the English version and the Japanese one)!

Send us Fan Mail When we left the Elrich Brothers, they had just met Lin Yao, who says he wants a Philosopher's Stone. Turns out, he's a prince with two ninja-like bodyguards and won't take "no" for an answer! Chapter 33 of FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST has the usual combination of plot advancement, goofy gags and unsettling revelations. Tim and Patrick take you through it.

Send us Fan Mail This time we're treated to a chapter that simultaneously brings back some familiar faces (Winry!!) and introduces some brand new ones, as well as revealing the name of the country where all the action has been taking place, and its place in the region where it's located. All this plus Tim and Patrick ask the burning question: What's the best sound effect for steppin...

Send us Fan Mail Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 31 gives us a) NO Ed and Al, and b) plenty of reveals, including a couple from President Bradley! Tim and Patrick also discuss the hazards of reading color pages reprinted in black & white, possible reasons why Al's and Barry's transformations were only presented to us as backstory, and more.

Send us Fan Mail In Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 30, the bloody end of the military's massacre of Greed's cohorts at the Devil's Nest causes Al to have a revelation. The chapter brings in a few story points from the past, including a returning character. Tim and Patrick discuss the moral ambiguity of nearly every character -- no cardboard cutouts, these characters (why do we end up l...

Send us Fan Mail Ed and Al's confrontation with Greed and his gang is broken up by a sudden, violent raid by troops led by none other than President Bradley. Tim and Patrick discuss Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 29 - and the humorous back matter of volume 7!

Send us Fan Mail Greed wants an, ahem, "equivalent exchange" with Ed: knowledge of how to bind a soul to an object, in exchange for the secret of how to make a homunculus.  Will Ed do the deal? Will Armstrong come to blows with Sig? Will Izumi beat the crap out of Sig for talking with hostesses? Tim and Patrick discuss Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 28, and some spots in it where the transl...

Send us Fan Mail Chapter 27 of Fullmetal Alchemist may be the funniest yet! It's a master class in character-based humor that isn't forced, and works in combination with more serious points made, as Izumi goes in search of kidnapped Al, and Ed encounters some old...acquaintances. Tim and Patrick discuss the story, and some bits of inaccurate translation in the Viz English edition!

Send us Fan Mail Ed leaves to get his overdue annual assessment by the military; while he's gone, Al gets kidnapped by some mysterious beings. It's another humorous and action-packed chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist, and Tim and Patrick will walk you through it. Also, we discuss how the world of Fullmetal Alchemist is not our world, and yet, a lot of stuff from our world somehow exists the...

Send us Fan Mail Ed and Al’s explanation of their “origin story” is over and we’re back in Fullmetal Alchemist’s present. How does their teacher, Izumi, respond to their tale of trying to resurrect their mother, and their cosmic punishment for it? The answer has a lot to do with a Japanese word that wasn’t translated in chapter 25’s title: “kejime.” This time, Tim and Patrick suss out the meaning...

Send us Fan Mail Ed and Al's origin story flashback concludes as we see how Ed became a state alchemist. Tim and Patrick recount the story, while also touching on such topics as: Are manga tough to get into for the new reader? Should Romanized Japanese use "L" or "R"? Also, the comics-language power of three little lines.