Manga Review: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Complete Four-Panel Comics by Hiromu Arakawa

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Publisher: VIZ Media

Release Date: March 2019

Volumes: 1.

Spoilers?: No.

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Goodreads Synopsis:

No joke is too cheesy and there are no sacred cows in this zany take on Fullmetal Alchemist!

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. Though the Elric brothers' circumstances are tragic, in these spoofs penned by author Hiromu Arakawa, the duo’s quest to reclaim their bodies is completely hilarious!

This complete collection offers the beloved four-panel comic strips from the graphic novel series and bonus strips from the anime DVDs of Fullmetal Alchemist and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, as well as rare strips from Japan!

Review:

Full disclaimer, I have not read any of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. I've only ever watched the original anime, not Brotherhood, and that was quite a long time ago.

Now, saying all of that, this was still a fun volume. It features all of the 4-koma comics from all other FMA outlets—it collects the comics from the manga, yes, as well as comics from the original anime and the Brotherhood anime release, and other miscellaneous product releases, and some bonus comics.

Not even being fully caught up on the real story, this was still a fun volume. I'm sure some of the jokes would have made more sense/been even funnier, had I had more context. But I still had fun reading it. The author pokes fun at the characters in fun ways, and the humor is easy.

If you're a fan of FMA, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.

A review copy was provided by the publisher, VIZ Media, for an honest review. Thank you so, so much!