The answer is likely yes, but I sure am grumpy about it.Fullmetal Alchemist is a series nearly every manga and anime fan as seen in at least some form. But I’m going to have to figure out if I am QUITE that much of an FMA manga fanatic to have two versions. ![]() What this edition is good for is either a) fans who are willing to forgo the omakes and other content and 2) super fanatic collectors who don’t mind owning two versions of the manga- a high quality color release that doesn’t have the extra comics but has a few new sketches and a low quality black and white release that does have those comics. The omakes are an ESSENTIAL part of the FMA manga experience and should not be missed. So, for new fans, I unfortunately have to recommend the original release rather than this. I know this is par for the course, but it’s deeply irritating that the so-called “deluxe edition” REMOVED content. But now I can’t, because these are missing content. This REALLY disappointed me, because my plan after getting these was to sell or give away my original collection so I could introduce some lucky soul to FMA. Also missing is a ton of other stuff from the original- including Arakawa’s intros to each volume that are always coupled with a comical self-portrait and the old in-between sketches. I have no idea why they would leave these out- Arakawa’s omakes are top tier and it’s clear she loves doing them. The biggest loss is the omakes/extra gag comics. Then we come to the biggest downside of this whole volume, which is that despite claiming to be a “deluxe” edition, a TON of content is missing that was in the original release. Hopefully “Cselkcess” will become “Xerxes” and so on. ![]() I wasn’t surprised by this, as I figured the “updated translation” would mostly updating names so they’d be more consistent with the official translations in Brotherhood, etc. “Hakuro” is now “Halcrow” (fine? I guess?) and they left the “h” out of his son’s name. Viz claimed this re-release came with an updated translation, but so far everything is word-for-word the same, with a few minor name changes. There’s some new sketches used as in-betweens for chapters- one of Gluttony and one of Roy trying to be cool while Riza sighs at him. There’s also a 2 page spread or Arakawa’s original character concept sketches for Ed in the back, which her notes translated (one version looks like the older Ed we’d see later in the manga, while another version is super cutesy). For this volume that meant we got three page color intros to chapters 1 and 6. ![]() The font is also slightly different and clearer looking.Īs for new content, a big plus is the color intro pages and covers actually being in full color. The paper stock is pretty nice quality- it’s semi-gloss paper and thicker, bigger, shiner and much sturdier than the cheap newsprint stock of the original release and three-in-one editions. There’s a full-color full-figure pic of Ed with a white background on the first page- it may have been done specifically for this edition, as it certainly looks like Arakawa’s later work. The inside of the book is Ed’s favorite red, as is the content’s page. The title and alchemy symbols are done in nice shiny letters and there’s a clear imprint of the Flamel symbol transmutation circle (aka Ed’s transmutation circle) on the back cover, which you can see when it catches the light. The physical quality of the release is very nice, as could be expected of a hardcover. ![]() The price is $19.99 though it’s currently on sale at around $16.24 on Amazon. It’s called “the Fullmetal Edition” and seems to be based of the “Perfect Edition” that was released in Japan. This is the first volume for the hard-cover re-release of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga.
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