Full MANGA Alchemists

Send us Fan Mail Ed and Al's flashback continues with the story of their attempt to bring their mother back from the dead. This is the crux of their origin story; why is it in chapter 23 instead of chapter 1? Tim and Patrick share some thoughts about that question in this episode.

Send us Fan Mail Young Ed and Al are forced to spend a month on a "deserted" island, to prove they're worthy of Izumi's training. Can they solve her riddle before she comes back to pick them up? Can they even survive that long, when a masked man with a club keeps attacking them? Tim and Patrick discuss "Fullmetal Alchemist" chapter 22, "The Masked Man"!

Send us Fan Mail After being cornered by Izumi Curtis on the issue of their current armor-and-automail look, Ed and Al start to tell their story with this issue, finally revealing their "origin story" to the reader nearly two years after the original run of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga began. Why might Hiromu Arakawa have decided to hold back this information, rather than begin the stor...

Send us Fan Mail As Ed and Al reunite with their teacher Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 20 alternates between comedy and gut-punches. The subject of Ed and Al's father has finally arisen; we're getting closer to getting down to the business of this story! Tim and Patrick also discuss dealing with too-personal questions, and get into the topic of character names in Fullmetal Alchemist - are...

Send us Fan Mail This time Tim and Patrick discuss "Fullmetal Alchemist" chapter 19 with psychologist Dr. Ryan Kelly, who's been involved in using anime for "geek therapy" and is part of the organization Geeks Like Us ! Ryan has a lot of interesting things to say about Fullmetal, how manga and anime fit into Japanese art history, and more.

Send us Fan Mail Chapter 18 provides a reminder of what Ed and Al have lost, and frustration: what good is power if it doesn’t help you when you need it? There’s also a sign of a new life on the way. Tim and Patrick continue their re-read of Hiromu Arakawa’s “Fullmetal Alchemist.”

Send us Fan Mail Ed, Al, and Winry are in Rush City, the "auto-mail engineer's mecca." It's quite a comedic, slap-sticky chapter of "Fullmetal Alchemist." It seems like a diversion from the story, but Arakawa is always tricking us into thinking that. Tim and Patrick try to sort out any deeper meanings.

Send us Fan Mail A chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist can often include multiple moods in it, and chapter 16 “Separate Paths” is certainly no exception. From cheerful to sad to determined, this reflective chapter helps us digest the more frenetic chapters we’ve just been through and prepare for what’s coming. Tim and Patrick comment on the chapter, plus the comedy bonus material in the back of volume...

Send us Fan Mail Ed and Al work out the issues that have arisen between them, with Winry's help. We see Arakawa's hand in putting Winry in the right place at the right time - and also, some questions about sound effects translation. The story moves on. Hughes finds some important information - will he live to tell anyone about it? Also, some discussion about what Arakawa chooses to show...

Send us Fan Mail Winry's back! She comes to Central to repair Ed's arm, and also gets a sense of what it's like to have a baby sister. Will Al finally talk to Ed about the doubts instilled in him by Barry the Butcher? As we read chapter 14 of "Fullmetal Alchemist", we discover some gags that got lost in translation. Could we have done better?

Send us Fan Mail A bloody scene without a drop of blood, a certain facial expression of Ed's, the reasonableness (or lack thereof) of Al's fear that Ed may have fabricated his personality and memories, and more come up in Tim and Patrick's discussion of Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 13!

Send us Fan Mail Ed and Al fight for their lives against two former prisoners who have been turned into disembodied souls bound to armor - just like Al. Tim and Patrick discuss Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 12, and the end matter of volume 3! Natto, anyone?

Send us Fan Mail What is "the truth within the truth" of Marcoh's shocking notes on creating a philosopher's stone? What are the up sides to the current bodies of the Elric brothers that they don't like to face? What '70s sitcom does Fullmetal Alchemist remind Tim of? Answer to all these questions and more!

Send us Fan Mail Chapter 10 of Fullmetal Alchemist sees the brothers on their way to the library to retrieve Dr. Marcoh's notes. But the notes have been destroyed... except for a very convenient plot twist! This episode, Tim and Patrick talk about the twists and turns of Ed and Al's quest to find a way to get their bodies back.

Send us Fan Mail Chapter Nine of Fullmetal Alchemist isn't action-packed, but it gives us a lot to chew on regarding injuries and healing -- physically, mentally, emotionally. So it's a great time to bring in our first guest: Alice Jaggers, an expert in the field of " graphic medicine " -- a term covering not only sequential art about health topics, but the making of comics to...

Send us Fan Mail The eighth chapter of "Fullmetal Alchemist" introduces Dr. Markoh, as small details of the overall plot begin to appear. Can Ed and Al get ahold of his alchemical data? Tim and Patrick review the chapter, and the back matter of volume 2!

Send us Fan Mail Chapter seven provides a master class in mixing humor with serious moments, becoming neither too dark nor too silly. It also gives us a lot more information about Scar. Join us as we discuss another great chapter!

Send us Fan Mail The time for introduction is through! Chapter six sends us hurtling into the story proper, as Ed and Al have their first faceoff with alchemist-canceler Scar!

Send us Fan Mail We've arrived at the chapter that knocks us from our seats and tells us "This ain't no ordinary manga!" It's the shocking Chapter 5: The Alchemist's Suffering ! Mangaverse newsletter: Patrick will become editor Don't Assume podcast: Tim appears in episode 10

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Patrick discuss Fullmetal Alchemist chapter 4, which features both scary violence and violence for laughs. Why is Ed sleeping at his desk on the splash page? Plus, volume 1 back matter explained!

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Patrick discuss the third chapter of Fullmetal Alchemist , "The Mining Town." Why are alchemists hated as "the dogs of the military"?

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Patrick discuss chapter two of the series; while we remembered it as not having much of an impact on the overall story, the chapters in volume 1 turn out to do a lot of orientation to help prepare us for future volumes. We point out these signposts.

Send us Fan Mail This week we present the first installment in our new podcast series: The Law of Equivalent Exchange , a chapter-by-chapter discussion of the manga Fullmetal Alchemist . Tim and Patrick discuss what alchemy was in the real world, and the manga's creator Hiromu Arakawa , then walk through the first chapter of the story.