Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 19

Rating T+ Genre manga Author Hiromu Arakawa Publisher VIZ Media External Links

Fullmetal Alchemist has always been one of the denser shonen titles out there.  Not to say that it’s more complicated or more difficult to read than most, but that it seems to have a greater number of layers.  Much of that can be attributed to the manga’s strong supporting cast.  I know a lot of series out there that really starts to show its weakness whenever we are out of the presence of the main cast, but in this volume, that is definitely not the case.

About a quarter of the volume deals with the past of Ed and Al’s father, Hohenheim.  We learn that hundreds of years ago, he was a slave named “Number Twenty-three.”  When cleaning his master’s lab one day, he comes across a homunculus.  Knowing that it was the slave’s blood that brought it to life, the homunculus offers to give him knowledge so that he may better himself in life.  We then learn about how Hohenheim received his name and become immortal.  The rest of the volume deals with Ed’s desire to take out Kimblee.  Unfortunately for him, things don’t go according to plan.  Meanwhile, Al tells Scar and the others not to go back to Fort Briggs.  There are a few other things that happen in the story, but they’re small scenes with big revelations, so mentioning them would just ruin it.

What this volume does well is juggling multiple advancing plotlines.  When having such an expansive bunch of a supporting characters you not only run the risk of confusing the reader, but also boring them to death.  It’s easy to lose touch with a set of characters when you’re only with them for a little bit at a time, but Arakawa is able to make it both interesting and easy to follow.

Although Mustang is in the volume for only a small portion, his time spent in the volume is important.  What starts out as a scene that I felt incredibly verbose and useless was later on shown as more in-depth than I first realized.  These types of layers are what makes the series good and what makes this volume, in particular succeed.  Arakawa also seems to understand very well that if we spend only five pages with a character, then those five pages better mean something.  It’s a good rule that is often forgotten in these long-running series.  But because of that, even when the plot is spread thin along many characters, the fact that each one brings something big to it is incredibly rewarding and only helps the reader get further engrossed in the story.

Those who have been Fullmetal Alchemist thus far have no doubt been waiting for this volume.  And as a continuation, it doesn’t disappoint.  But like many volumes before it, it never fully satisfies and often adds more questions than answers. But such is the way with manga in general, so in that sense, it really should come as no surprise.  This one will only keep you wanting volume 20 just as much as volume 18 left you wanting 19.