okie dokie, thanks :3

Well we all knew that the US release would catch up the Japanese release. They have to slow down or else we'll being waiting months or even YEARS for a release, like what I am doing with Excel Saga

I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but I was hoping the US releases would make it to Volume 15 without too much slowdown (the Ishbal War and how it impacts the rest of the story is my favorite part of the series - plus we get to see Hughes again!).

Oh well, at least there are the online scantilations to keep me busy.

i have been downloading the manga.....from online manga viewer.....i have all the chapters (1 to 60).....but now i cann't download them.....cz they r in gif format....and they cann't be runned...in ACDsee......so i wanna......know if there's any other site tht i candownload rest of them!!
pls let me know

You can get all the chapters past 44 from "Zomg Fruit Tree Alchemists" (much thanks to the ladies who run it). I guess I'm not supposed to direct link such things (Though it seems people do that all the time /shrug) Anyways, just google the above name, and you should find it.

Anyone know which issue of Shounen Gangan chapter 47 premiered in? I've got a friend over in Japan and I'd like for him to grab a copy for me, but for the life of me I can't determine which issue (which month/year, specifically) chapter 47 appeared in.

........ check chapter 46?

and the answer is June issue 2005

Are you getting that specific chapter to see how Gluttony got pwned? XD
or to see Ranfun chopping her arm off...? o_O
or the Winry with omg gun?

Yeah, that chapter was on June 2005 issue of GanGan, that came out on Thursday, May 12, 2005. ^^


ETA: Keeping the thread open so that the thread author can post and let us know that he/she read AA Battery's post and got the information.
@Kiarrens - If you read this, please post and let us know so that we can close this thread. (And, a little word of "thank you' to AA battery wouldn't hurt, IMO.)

As expected, we never hear from this OP again.. as before. Hence...

Merged to FMA manga Q & A thread.

~ Infinite/limitless Energy, Dead Souls = Infinite/Limitless Energy? ~

In some Sci Fi stories they have claimed/theorized that you can attain virtually infinite energy by using the souls of the dead, deceased, taken, etc. Does anyone here agree with this theory/statement that you can get virtually limitless amounts of energy by using souls? If so, could the Manga Philosopher Stone actually be a source of near infinite energy since its literally made out of human souls and its rumored to allow the user to virtually ignore the laws of equivilent exchange and maybe some other stuff we dont know about yet?

Well...there is probably a definite reason as to why the Philosopher's Stone needs human lives to work. And perhaps a relationship between the sacrificed souls and the energy of the Stone.

But in the anime at least, [spoiler]as the Philosopher's Stone is used, some of it erodes away as some of the souls in it pass through the Gate and are used as alchemic energy for transmutations. In a way, you're still not bypassing the law of Equivalent Exchange, since you simply give up part of the Stone a.k.a. some of the lives that went into it for your transmutation, such as in the case of a part of Al eroding when Tucker used part of him to try to revive Nina using human transmutation. The Philosopher's Stone is like a substitute for whatever you have to give up. [/spoiler]

I'm not sure if it works the same way in the manga though.

its possible but in theory it has its limits: to my understanding the homunculi have a genuine PS in them (PS=Philosopher's Stone). These PS are able to sustain them for hundreds, maybe thousands of years without ageing. However [spoiler]in the case of Gluttony and Lust[/spoiler] this power was shown to be limited, causing [spoiler]both homunculi[/spoiler] to be unable to regenerate after extreme injury. Proving the power has its limits but only if use continuously for a prolonged period of time. Seeminly if a homunculi avoid injury for some time, it is able to recover.
This brings a greater whole in both formats of FMA (anime in manga) to how even after it looses power it can regain it. Maybe somehow running around homunculi can accumulate more souls into their PS or maybe the souls are attach to the PS and cannot fully go into the gate until the PS in destroyed so they return after a while.

Sorry if this doesn't give any clear answer.

Not in FMA, I think. As far as I know, in FMA, the soul "energy" stored in PS is not infinite.
It's definitely finite. Possibly it's rechargeable, tho not sure, but I don't think it's self-regenerative.
Maybe some other FMA experts can explain it more articulately.

I agree that it is finite - to gain the regenerative power, part of the stone must be given up. There is still the Law of Equivalent Exchange, except that what you give and receive is much, much more than just simple reconstructing and breaking down. As for being able to "recharge" the Philosopher's Stone...I'm not sure, maybe creating another one seems more plausible.

Alchemists are killing the planet by using up all the Mako energy

Its one of the Infinite power, but not infinite per se, virtually infinite would be the proper term because this power is reliant on life.

Bahahah. Serious LOL at this post

No there isn't, not in the manga at least. When hommunculi regenerate they use up alchemical energy (souls) stored in the stone. When they use up all of the energy, they cannot regenerate anymore, and if they've been deadly injured, they die and disintegrate, period.
What you say about hommunculi recovering over time is no different than they recovering fast, it's just that they regenerate and the energy is spent anyway.

~ Plasma: The 4th State of Matter. Application in Alchemy? ~

We all know that Alchemy in FMA Universe has to do with the manipulation of States of Matter. So far, we've only seen it done in the manga and anime with Solids, Liquids, and Gases. However, we've have yet to touch the 4th State of Matter: Plasma. Theoretically, could alchemists potentially manipulate plasma since it's also a state of matter? Maybe it sounds a little too Sci-Fi, plasma has several potentials such as creating an electromagnetic fields, direct energy weapons, or maybe a type of energy blade. I dont know if we'll see plasma in the future, it is still a state of matter though.

It's ionized gas, after all- not the easiest element to handle. But remember, Mustang is the Flame Alchemist. Flame is a terrestrial plasma, is it not? But let's look deeper into this, assuming that you mean fully ionized gas. After all, fire is only low temperature partial plasma, only a small part of it is ionized. Now, not many alchemists use gas, let alone plasma. looks very easy to create a pathway of hydrogen to the intended target and snap- however, gas is very vagarious, as I mentioned beforehand. Even Mustang can't make the flame head straight toward the target(I believe that is impossible, in fact), and instead in a zigzag pattern. So if Mustang is the only alchemist (that I know as of yet) that is able to use gas in such accomplished manner(well, I haven't even seen any others controlling gas like that-correct me if I am wrong), manipulation of something like plasma would be extremely difficult. Keep in mind that the free electric charges are obviously electrically conductive. That makes it highly sensitive to electromagnetic fields, and every living being possess biological EMF, including the alchemist himself. If you do create an EMF artificially, that is potentially harmful to the alchemist, as non-biological EMF has been shown to be harmful to living beings. Also, plasma is an extremely efficient source of radiation. In fact, even lightning exude x-rays and gamma rays. With all these (and more) in mind, it would be toilsome to create an array for plasma, and do not forget what happens if the reaction rebounds. I doubt that, even if plasma was considered a separate state of matter, there would be sufficient research documents of it as of yet there. In other words, it might be too risky for the alchemist to try. Or even if there was an alchemist studying plasma extensively, maybe he died as a result- like Marie Curie and Radium. Maybe they would be able to, in time.

Can someone please explain:

1. Why the homunculi left ed, al, mustang and the others who know that the homunculi are behind the military alive?

2. And did the higher corrupt officials know about this the whole time?

3. Sloth is tracing a path around amestris in the pattern of the philosopher's stone transmutation circle, yes? What did the Ishbal and other wars have to do with this?

4. Is Kimbley's stone a philosopher's stone or a fake? And the stone's which make up the homunculi, are they real or fake too?

5. What is the difference between the fake (red stone in the anime) and the real stone? (Meaning do both contain human souls?)

If anyone who can answer these questions you have my thanks.


<Edited the thread title to make this a general thread for all FMA manga questions. ^^ 08/12/07 ~Tombow>

Roy and the Brothers Elric are important to the Homunculus' plans.


Yep. The higher ups are rotten to the core.


Besides the fact that Ishbal and the other conquered nations are points of the circle, it's the same reason in the anime. More deaths mean more Philosopher stones.


From what I'm getting, I don't know if there really is a difference. The jist of things is that any Philosopher stone is composed of human souls. The 'anime' fakes solely existed in the Brothers Tringham's work.

Claudius

Well, I think Claudius pretty much answered everything ^-^
Only, fakes did exist, even in the manga. After Cornello's stone breaks, Ed realized that it was a fake and flipped out. Remember that?
I don't think that the difference between the 'fake' and the 'real' Philosopher's stone was blatantly stated as of yet...but who knows, maybe we'll find out in the future.

Thanks.^^

Can't wait to see how fma ends!!

I like the manga better in all ways accept for what the philosophers stone has become. Well maybe I should change that, I don't like how the humonculi are made in the manga. It makes no sense, I am hoping the explanation will be good but if there are thousands of souls in a stone how does one humonculi personality come out of it? I think the anime explanation of humonculi are much better. Neither are too close to a real world meaning of it , but the anime's is closer.

Yes, but at that time, Ed knew nothing about the philosopher's stone, except that it was a powerful alchemy amplifier. We can say that the more souls there is in it, the most "perfect" a philosopher's stone is, because it will last much longer. Shape must also be a good sign of how perfectly a philosopher's stone has been made : the new stone of Kimblee mustn't have that much more souls in it that his first one, but it is perfectly round, so I suppose that it is more powerful.



I think that it is obvious that Father put a little bit of his own soul in the stones of his "sons", it must be that part that enables each Homonculus to get his own personnality.

There are already threads to compare the manga and the anime. Take it to there.

Wouldn't creating an 'Unanswered Questions' thread for the manga section too would be good, so it would be needless to make a new thread every time?

(Hey guys~ If I have questions concerning the manga, do I ask them here?)

From chapter sixty-something, I all confused, cuz I don't know what's happening..( well, I forgot):

1- Why does Ed have to go to General Armstrong's place? What is he searching for?

2- Why does Kimbley reappears? What's his goal/mission? Why does he have to catch scar?

3- What is Xia Mei doing with everybody?

Summary: WHAT'S HAPPENING??!!!

P-S: yes, i know i can reread all these chapters, but my internet speed is too slow (it takes ~ 1minute to load one page since last week // I can't download them (the chapters) cuz we only have 2gb per month ===> I don't want to go over the limit~ ;_;

What if I said no? =P


They are searching for Mei (the little girl from Xing) to ask her about Xing's alchemy (aka rentanjutsu)

cuz Envy gave Kimbley a new "mission" (which is not explained in detail yet, but it has something to do with "craving a blood seal" at the North with Ed)... and he wants to *kill* Scar because he failed to do so in their first encounter (and the homunculus want to get rid of Scar as well)... remember that Kimbley works for the Homunculus (sorta)

Mei didn't really intend to hang out with everybody at the first place, because she went to the North to check out Scar's brother's alchemy notes (and they met up with the Elrics' by coincidence)


We will be able to answer this properly after FMA finishes.


Uh, you know, reading them online = downloading already, since your computer would have to DOWNLOAD them onto your computer before they appear on your screen.... so might as well save them properly since you have already "downloaded" them.

Yes, we have been getting requests for the FMA manga Q&A thread for some time, and yeah I agree that it's time for us to have one.
Sooo... I'm turning this into FMA manga Q&A thread, if everyone is ok with it. ^^

Thanks in advance, to guys and ladies who are the FMA manga experts on our board for your kind efforts to help us out with the answers!!

( Lol~ When you load a page, you do not download it~ The computer only loads the page.. (Ex: When you go on Youtube, you load videos, but you can't really save them on your computer, right?) Cuz when you want to download something, you have to: right-click and click on ''save as'' or click directly on a link ^^ (then there's a bar where you can see the progress, etc.) ..Anyways, let's talk 'bout other things..) ( Sorry if I've said something that offenses you ><)

Anyways, thx for having answered my questions

EDIT(14th August xD): *smacks head* You guys are right~ I can't believe I've said such random thing~

^Wrong. It's still downloading because you need to use MBs/KBs/whatevers to "load" (as you've stated) the page. So basically, it's more worthwhile to save the stuff on your PC.
Hope you understand. Gosh, I'm starting to confuse myself .

*backs out*

*cough* Okay...so let's go on-topic again, shall we? So if anyone else has a question, feel free to post...

EDIT: I think AA battery's post↓ just fried my brain. Throw me magnetohydrodynamics to work with, but electronics and how they work? No. Just...no.

Right. That's the concept.



The computer loads the image and downloads them into temp folders in your computer. If you have an older version of Windows (ie, win ME), you may find incomplete download files (ie, the download died half way) in your C drive some where. Doing the save as process for IMAGES does NOT take up extra bandwidth (unless your temp folder's size is tiny, or that the image itself is gigantic like... 3MB?) because as you are loading the page with Firefox/Internet Explorer and such, your computer has already downloaded the image into the temp folders. By saving the image, the computer simply moves the image file from the temp folder in your computer into the designated folder that you want to save into. This process does NOT take up extra bandwidth.

If you read the chapter 5 times this month... assume that the chapter is 10MB, then you have used 50MB bandwidth (+ bandwidth for the background images and site images...etc)

and the same goes for saving text.

Well of course, if you are downloading a zip file, then yeah that's separate bandwidth used... but downloading the zip file does indeed take LESS bandwidth than reading online (unless the websites you are reading from resized the images to make them smaller), because when you go to websites, it's loading the website's background, text, images...etc + the chapter itself.

If you visit a lot of websites containing a lot of images, and if you go to youtube a lot, then you would've used up a LOT of bandwidth (each youtube file uses about 5-30MB bandwidth).

And it IS possible to download YouTube files with something such as the firefox videodownloader plugin. However, this one is different and it does take up extra bandwidth (I don't want to go into details about how videodownloader plugin works), so I don't suggest you use this. I do use it though because I like to rewatch files and I don't like to redownload them and before youtube deletes them XD.

I also suggest turn off the signature viewing option when you are hanging out in forums, because people's signature can take up a lot of bandwidth too.

Well, at least that's what I figured out through using comp for years... please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

----

Uh >.> Someone please ask a question... sorry about being anal about the image saving and bandwidth usage issue.

From the looks of chapter 74, it looks like we might get answers rather soon on the issue of homunculi. Apparently, homunculi are created by some unknown process involving a beaker and human blood. Or, at least, one that looks rather Prideish was.

i have a few more questions...

I totally didn't understand the part when al and ed try and bring back they're mom..al says he looked through that thing's eyes?? How;s that possible. Can someono please explain that incident to me.

And when they realize that what they brought back wasn't theyre mom why do they feel so relieved? Cause they did kill the "whatever it is" they brought back..

Thanks in advance.

@teeniv


Ed figured out that the human transmutation didn't fail. However, it didn't exactly do what they wanted it to do. What Ed and Al wanted was to: 1) create a human body, and 2) pull out their mother's soul and put it into that body. What actually happened was that they created a human body and put Al's soul in it, instead.

As Ed explained, their mother was dead, and her soul no longer existed (also here). They couldn't put a non-existent thing into the body, so the reaction naturally found a closer target--Al's soul. His soul was then transmuted into the created body. This allowed the body to exist as some sort of "human" for a few seconds immediately after the reaction. During this time, Al saw Ed as if he were looking through the thing's eyes because his soul was inhabiting that thing. However, rejection happened, and Al's soul, lacking a container, was sent to the Gate to join his body (that was transmuted as an ingredient in the reaction). Ed then managed to take Al's soul out of the Gate (because Al had not died) and embed it into the suit of armor. Amazingly, rejection has not (yet) happened.


Well, yes. They did kill it, and Ed feels remorse for letting it die. However, imagine how terrible they would feel if they had let their mother die. It's more relief by comparison.

EDIT: Added some links.

How do you pronounce Xerxes, and Xing? Since they're kind of based more off of chinese ways, are the X's pronounced like "Sh" or something, I've heard it either way, and I'd just like to know so I don't sound like an idiot when I talk to my friends

I believe that "X" in Xerxes would be pronounced as a "Z". (That is just me though.) I also pronounce the "X" in "Xing" as "Sh".

In the Japanese manga it is written how they're pronnounced:
As you said the 'X' in "Xing" sounds like 'sh' - "Shing"

But for Xerxes both X's sound 'ks' as in... well as in 'X' or "exodus" - "Kserkses"

Sounds fugly, I would have preferred "Shershes" myself, but that's how it is. U

Xerxes.

A great Persian king, btw. Those of you who know anything about Greek history (or have watched "300") should at least remember the name.

What exactly was Ed's leg and Al's body a passage fee for? To get the body of that "thing"? And if Al's body was taken to the gate, and after his soul was rejected by that "thing" the soul too went to the gate, when Ed tried to bring Al back, why did he only get the body back and not the soul if they were at the same place? And my last question. Al's mind is currently with his body on the other side right? And his mind is what connects his body and his soul correct? Just wanted to confirm that.

Just read chapter 74!! It's friggin awesome!!!

Not only that, but also for the soul transmutation itself. It costs a bit to (try to) embed Al's soul into that "thing".

To be honest, I'm not sure how much (if any) of the "payment" was for making the body of the "thing" itself. I know that it's (very) dangerous to use the anime for insight into alchemical principles in the manga, but Ed transmuted (anime!)Greed's body during their last fight, and he did it without losing any body parts in the process. This would suggest that the "expense" of a human transmutation lies in trying to affix the soul. The transmutation of the body itself would seemingly not require such sacrifice, as Homunculi and humans are human in (almost) all physical respects but only lack a soul. Once again, this is all drawn from the anime and is therefore probably moot, but oh well.



Uh, he missed? More than likely, Ed didn't know if Al's body was over there. He only knew that he could try to tether Al's soul in that suit of armor. Remember, Ed only just (in Ch. 53) figured out that Al's body is alive and (sorta) well and sitting in front of the Gate.



Yes, yes, and yes.

Thanks!!
And you're right about the greed thing, Ed does the same thing on sloth, changing her into Ethenol. (of course all anime)

And i have one more question:P (sorry if im bothering you guys!!!)

In alchemy, when you decompose a substance, and reconstruct it again, you can change its properties, correct? Like transmuting stones into gold, and metals into other metals etc.

How exactly is that equivalent exchange?

And if transmuting stones into gold (two completely different substances) is possible, i could think of a hundred things Ed and Al could have transmuted to save their butts!!!

I initially thought that the substance you rebuild had to consist of the same elements (including that part with greed in the anime. He converted his diamond-like carbon in his body into graphite, thus making it way softer.)

But then i read about the stone to gold thing again in that mine chapter and realised its like transmuting something into something totally different with no similar elements. If that's true then mustang could've just turned the water everwhere into petroleum or something even more flammable than splitting up the water into hydrogen and oxygen (In the chapter where he kills lust). And if this was true in the anime (and it is, as Ed keeps changing the metal on his automail to keep scar guessing, and also when he turns sloth into ethenol) he could've just turned Greed into cotton instead of graphite!!!

teeniv:

Uh...I find it best if I don't try to think too much about the specific mechanisms of alchemy. No matter what, at a certain point, logic breaks down because (let's face it) alchemy doesn't exist and do not abide by real-life chemical and physical principles. Therefore, trying to break it down scientifically will always fail at some point.

But perhaps a plausible argument (story-wise) may be that Ed is such a skilled alchemist that he can manipulate not only molecular structure but also atomic structure? (Of course, this begs the question of why he didn't just transmute some food when stuck in Gluttony's stomach, but oh well. Suspension of disbelief is important! )

ok this has been confusing me for awhile now is ed watch gold or silver because i keep seeing it said that it is either but could some one tell me what it really is?
thank you for all your help

I'm 99% certain it's Silver.

It's silver. There have been times were it's been mis-translated as gold, but the watch is silver.

At one point it was translated as gold, but it's definitely silver. That was just an error.

Okay, it's pretty much been stated that the watch is silver...perhaps mods should close this thread?
(By the way, maybe someone could change the title to Ed's Watch instead of Eds Watch? Thank you.)

Why? Seems completely pointless.