Fullmetal Alchemist Special Collector’s Edition Announced

When it comes to popular shonen series, Fullmetal Alchemist is still a top contender. The series, which debuted back in 2003, remains a favorite with fans more than five years after its end. Creator Hiromu Arakawa wrapped work on the Fullmetal Alchemist manga back in 2010, and its finally getting a long-awaited collector's release.

This weekend, Anime Expo 2017 kicked off as thousands of fans convened up the Los Angeles Convention Center to celebrate. It was there that Viz Media announced plans to release a hardcover collector's edition of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Fullmetal Edition is slated to hit shelves in May 2018, and the edition will be a must-have for any State Alchemist enthusiast. The special print will come with remastered work like new lettering, updated translations, and original color pages. The hardcover edition will also include brand-new character sketches and color art from Arakawa.

Aside from Fullmetal Alchemist, Viz Media confirmed several other manga titles would be published under them next year. Fire Punch, Kenka Bancho Otome: Girl Beats Boys, and Sisyphean will all get releases next year.

If you want to read up on Fullmetal Alchemist but can't wait until next year, then you do have other options. Viz Media already have the manga out in print, and Gangan Online is also doing a rerelease of Fullmetal Alchemist right now. The website will release a new chapter of Arakawa's manga on its website each Monday and Thursday until the series runs out.

You can read Viz Media's synopsis for Fullmetal Alchemist below:

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. Equipped with mechanical "auto-mail" limbs, Edward becomes a state alchemist, seeking the one thing that can restore his and his brother's bodies...the legendary Philosopher's Stone.

If you are not familiar with Fullmetal Alchemist, then you have plenty of time to watch the anime before its live-action film arrives. The series follows brothers Edward and Alphonse after their mother tragically passes. They attempt to use alchemy to resurrect her, but the attempt takes Edward's arm and leg - and it takes Alphonse's entire body. Determined to get their bodies restored, Edward and Alphonse try to become State Alchemists so they can find the location of a powerful item known as the Philosopher's Stone. But their journey ultimately leads them into a seedy world of government corruption and mass genocide.

This year, fans of the shonen series will be able to see more of the Elric Brothers than they have for some time. In December, Warner Bros. Japan will release the first live-action adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist.

Fullmetal Alchemist will debut in Japan on December 1.

[HT] IGN