Why We Need More Manga Volumes Like the 'Fullmetal Alchemist' Fullmetal Edition

Viz Media has set the new gold standard for a manga collection with its recently released "Fullmetal Edition" of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Early this month, Viz Media released a deluxe hardcover collector's edition of Hiromu Arakawa's beloved manga series. Originally released in 2001, Fullmetal Alchemist has been adapted into two anime series, a couple of animated films, a live-action movie, and multiple video games. The series has sold more than 70 million volumes and is considered one of the best shonen manga series of all time.

With a gorgeous hardcover featuring a piece of new cover art by Arakawa, the Fullmetal Edition looks and feels different than just about any other manga on bookshelves today. It's also unusual for another reason: it emphasizes high-end quality design and production over adding in extra chapters, which is the norm for most other "special editions" on the stands.

As noted by our manga and anime expert Megan Peters, the Fullmetal Edition is a "major upgrade" over regular manga volumes. The paper is archival-quality and 25% larger than normal manga volumes. The slightly glossy paper adds an additional level of contrast to Arakawa's artwork, especially in panels that use dot shading or other computer effects in the background. The result is a printing style that gives Fullmetal Alchemist a very clean look, far better than it's looked in any other version of the manga. Viz also re-translated and re-lettered the comic, so that this isn't a pure reprint of older material.

Hardcover editions of manga are relatively uncommon in the United States, and most "special edition" releases seem to be about fitting more chapters into a volume rather than significantly improving the print quality than making the manga feel "special." This isn't a bad thing -- squeezing multiple volumes into a single edition makes it a ton easier and more cost efficient to catch up on a 27-volume manga -- but it's not ideal for collectors who want the best possible version of their favorite work on the stand.

The Fullmetal Edition of Fullmetal Alchemist fits in six chapters instead of the usual four per volume. That's just enough "extra" chapters to make readers feel like they're getting more for their money, but it's not so bulky that the binding could get damaged or come apart, which is occasionally the case with the large omnibuses you see from superhero comics publishers.

This isn't the only high-end "special edition" manga to be released in the US lately. Kodansha recently released a 35th Anniversary Edition of Akira, which came in a five-volume box set which was restored to its original "right to left" reading orientation for the first time here in US. Viz has also released the occasional hardcover or oversized edition in the past, usually for critically acclaimed work by literary creators like Junji Ito or Naoki Urasawa.

But the Fullmetal Edition is one of the first shonen series to get this treatment. And this could mark a major change in how we, as readers, look at manga series. Look at all the American comic series that have gotten hardcover and special edition reprints, made specially for collectors. Not only are these editions gorgeous to look at, the volumes are a subconscious indicator of the comic's value and importance. And with manga more popular than ever, it's high time that we started to get more printings like the Fullmetal Edition that treats these stories with the importance that many fans already see the book.

If you're a Fullmetal Alchemist fan, the Fullmetal Editions are a must-buy. And if you think that manga is just as valuable a medium as Western comics, you'll call on Viz and other English publishers to reprint more seminal manga series in the high-quality editions they deserve.