Amber's DevArt journal entry: Arakawa-sensei has a son?In an interview that was published in Feb. 2010 issue of Japanese magazine, Eurika (came out in Jan 2010) she siad she had a 2 year old son.
pretty interesting article. (See Tombow's post below for the source of this info.)

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Arakawa-sensei's works during the pregnancy (ETA by Tombow, source)

April 2007: FMA 4opages ・ JuushinEnbu 44 pages
May 2007: FMA 40 pages
June 2007: FMA 44 pages ・ JuushinEnbu 46 pages ・ Noble Farmer 8 pages
July 2007: FMA 44 pages
August 2007: FMA 38pages ・ JuushinEnbu 44 pages、（FMA vol 17 & JuushinEnbu vol 1 out）
September 2007: FMA 36 pages・Noble Farmer 8 pages
October 2007: FMA 34 pages ・ JuushinEnbu 34 pages、(JuushinEnbu anime starts)

- sometime in October or November, the birth of her baby -
The time of her birthing in terms of FMA storyline is: around the time Ed had a pole stuck in his tummy, and Gorilla chimera and Lion chimera become Ed's allies, and the story of Envy gets "bitten by an ant" (chapter 79).

Announcement of her upcoming [maternity] hospitalization
Hiromu Arakawa: "For the first time in my life I will be in the hospital!"
SFX (Arakawa-cow): Bwaaa

November 2007: FMA 32 pages
December 2007: FMA 32 pages ・ JuushinEnbu 32 pages ・ Noble Farmer 8 pages、（FMA vol 18 out）
January 2008: FMA 35 pages、（JuushinEnbu vol 2 out）
February 2008: FMA 32 pages・ JuushinEnbu 40 pages
March 2008: FMA 38 pages ・ Noble Farmer 8 pages、（FMA vol 19 out, JuushinEnbu anime concludes)
April 2008: FMA 35 pages ・ JuushinEnbu 46 pages、
May 2008: FMA 42 page
June 2008: FMA 34 pages ・ JuushinEnbu 40 pages・Noble Farmer 8 pages
　

gawd is this article true? Arakawa is such a tough person, she never misses a chapter, and she even went through pregancy and childbirth and child rearing without even a blip? She is so awesome!

@rzerox21xx - Whoa, that's an interesting news, to say the least! Is there any way you can ask the author of this post and find out the name of that magazine the author read this interview on?

ETA: I found it. "Eureka" magazine, Feb. 2010 issue, Hiromu Arakawa interview by Kazuhiro Fujita (manga artist, also from Hokaido...he is from Asahikawa, Hokkaido, while Arakawa-sennsei is from Tokachi, Hokkaido)




Mr. Fujita asks Arakawa about her not going out much recently, and asks if she is concentrating on her work at the studio or at home, and she answers that since she has a two years old child at home it's hard to concentrate on her work at home. (Though she says she gets a babysitter to help her. ^^) She says after experiencing the birthing she understood how strong her mother was. (laugh) Then she says it's a boy, and when he gets to be 15 years old she would like him to read her manga (FMA) and wants him to think her manga is totally great fun, and that gives her new meaning to make her manga a great one.








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<Program Note>

Later, I'm going to merge this to About Hiromu Arakawa thread. And meantime, I'm moving this from Open Chat forum to FMA Manga forum.

Meanwhile, everyone please feel free to add your reply posts here.

already did. waiting for the reply.

^...and that's why we luv ya! Joking aside, thank you! ^^

Got a response. the magazine name is Eureka and heres the link of the issue.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%83%A6%E3%83%AA...2919&sr=8-1

seem like a long link well go back to the article and see the comments.

Wow, that's really interesting!
Arakawa is so cool.

I'm surprised she never even mentioned her husband for that matter, but she has a son? In her comics, the only people in her life she talks about are her co-workers and sometimes parents and siblings. So, I just assumed she was single.

That is cool news! It may be a little late to say this, but Congrats Arakawa! She is also really dedicated to FMA if she still draws it after just giving birth.

aww! that's nice to hear
I had no idea she has a son. o_o
and wow, she's really dedicated. xD she's awesome.

Mommy has to pay the bills ;P.
But jokes aside, it was a bit surprising but it makes the whole story more authentic. At least we now know why Arakawa-sensei is always trying to resolve things using the good path (and even though I'm still a bit annoyed by the fact Mustang didn't kill Envy, now that I know she wants to show it to her son it makes more sense). Anyway, congratulations to Arakawa-sensei .

What's to say she isn't? We don't know if it's mentioned in the article or not.

actually , I thought that Arakawa is a man ( ) but after reading this ... I'm surprised that it's a girl !

compared to FMA series, it seems like she's is a mother already 'cause
there are a lot of mentioned kids and mothers and families in the story and also,

her experience as a mother might be one of her inspirations to make that manga ...








but I prefer if she's a cool single woman !

with this, it seem like maybe her characters will have kids. Roy/Riza and Ed/winry the likely.

And this fact seriously makes me admire her more.

I can imagine her instilling "Those who don't work, don't get food!" into that kid.

Wow... you learn something new every day.

Wow, that's very interesting. That's really great for her!


I agree with amestris-star, it makes me admire hher even more.

penguintruth: your comment made me lol like crazy and I'm not sure why.

I agree with what a lot of you guys have said about her being a mother relating to all the 'find happiness' theme in FMA. It certainly makes a lot more sense that way. I hope her kid enjoys reading it and takes some valuable life lessons from it.

o_o...

o_O...

O_O...

Wow my admiration and respect for her just shot up to over 9000 level.

She never misses a chapter! She went through pregnancy and drew FMA?!

Wow. I must buy the whole set of FMA manga in Japanese when the series is done just to show my support and respect to her. Even though I already have the whole set in Chinese and a few volumes in Japanese. I hope they will release a collector's edition for FMA later =D That would be nice to get.

I guess the period when she had less than 40 pages per chapter was when she was busy with childbirth (chapter 72-ish)? Now I feel bad about feeling angry at her for drawing less pages back then XD;;;

Just when I thought my admiration of the beyond-epic-Arakawa couldn't go even further...it did! She is amazing!!! How did she do that?

I bet she's a great mother. She has strong morals, and you can tell from her writing that she's confident, and is understanding of children and what they go through in different stages in their life (since we got to watch the Elric brothers, and how they matured so much, you can tell she understands). Plus, she has a lot of great mother figures in her story.

I can't help but wonder what the father is like! XD




My thoughts exactly!!!

more info on arakawa mother info, doesnt say much about her child but does say where the conversation came come and who she was speaking to. Also has hints of her thoughts when writing volume 23 and 24

http://amber1003.deviantart.com/journal/29996260/


she been right about every info that came out on brotherhood so I trust her sources.

Cool info! I love the fact that she didn't miss a month even if she gave birth... Shows how dedicated she really is.. Awesome!

Everyone seems to be impressed by how she has continued her manga without even a single break during pregnancy, childbirth and all that comes after; taking care of her newborn son, being a tender, loving mother etc.

The relaionship with their mothers is very important for infants, they need a lot of love and physical contact.

I just hope that Arakawa isn't running short in her motherly areas because of her devotion to FMA. She should put all her focus on her son and her own life when it comes to important things like this.

But if she's actually doing all this, and still, AT THE SIDE OF EVERYTHING, managing to draw FMA, then yeah, I'll admit that I'm impressed too

Oh-my-goooooooosh! I wish I knew Japanese so I could send her a postcard to congratulate her. Now I am being unusually happy for someone that is neither my friends nor my realative but I just can't help it. She is Arakawa sensei OK? After seeing so many mangakas sacrifice their chance to build their own happy families just to be totally devoted to their works, I never stop wishing someone as cool and tough like her will end up with a worthy man and have children appreciating her mangas. Wow I see my wish was listened.

Thank you God!

This is so lovely to hear. : )

I don't think she'll be putting her child aside for her work as people seem to be suggesting. Mums work all the time and still have time for their children, also, leaving them with babysitters is the norm when they're busy. It's hard work for any mum juggling a job and a child, so I wish her the best in everything to come! I really respect her.

Maybe Arakawa will draw herself as her regular cowself with a little calf. huh?

^ That'd be so freakin' adorable. xD

It'd be cool if she put in the volumes some little drawings by her two year old, like Hoshino did with her little brother's. xD (I think it was her little brother or cousin...or something. xD)

I think it's great that she's a mother. Also, it's amazing how she has been able to keep it fairly quiet for 2 years! When you're a famous writer in America it's hard to keep things private.

My first reaction: she's married?!
And people were lamenting that she's single like Rumiko Takahashi, when in fact her son was already born XD


I guess Japanese mangaka are fairly low-key. I searched around for Arakawa-sensei and a total of ONE photo came out And that was her receiving an award for FMA, lol.

Congrats to her. She sounds like an awesome person; I agree with everyone who reckons she'll be a wonderful mother.

To be truthful, I'm envious of her son. Can you imagine having a mum who not only actively encourages you to read manga/comics but to draw it as well?

Where has that "married" thing come from? She could be single, for all we know.

But that would explain a couple of things. Honestly, I like the most those chapters before the "promised day" thing, specially the ones before Briggs. (And it isn't because I read the latter ones on a monthly basis from then on... In fact, I started reading the manga when chapter 94 came up ) From then on, it's been mostly tying loose ends and happy-ending epicness (of which I do like the "epic" part, but not so much the "happy-ending" part). Maybe the fact that she became a mother has something to do with that.

It may sound like a rant. It isn't: I still love the way she figures out everything, her drawing and... well... the FMA spirit of it all XD. It's just that I don't feel it is as cool as before. Maybe the ending will prove me wrong, like in an "epic-failing" way. ^^U

Anyway, I want that interview! Translated or raw, I don't care! Pleeease!

Exactly, why does everybody assume that you're married just because you have kids?

@A Pierrots Aria: Yes, of course you still need to work when you're a mother, and leaving your children with a babysitter or at a daycare is the normal thing to do. But, at least here where I live, you usually take about a year off from work to properly be able to take care of your newborn child after pregnancy.

But since drawing manga is something you can do from home (and which Arakawa does, I assume), I guess that makes it more okay. Maybe she's been sitting up late at nights desperately trying to finish her chapters in time XD

Also, being a manga artist isn't exactly a normal "job", so she probably won't get any compensation from taking maternity leave. (Unless the state funds it? I don't know how this works in Japan....)

^ I don't know how it works in Japan, either. xD But in the UK we do get maternity leave, too. Perhaps she had already made preparations since she knew that she would be giving birth? Kind of like what Eichiiro Oda does; he says he does a few chapters in advance just in case. xD Or like people have suggested, it may be why sometimes there isn't as much pages as usual. Maybe even her assistants help her out more so she can spend more time with her child? Who knows? xD But being a mangaka must be so difficult and time consuming, especially when taking care of a child.

I didn't mean to make a big deal out of it or anything, I just thought it was kind of harsh to assume that she'll be shoving her child aside to tend to her work. xD; Sorry if I stepped on anyone's toes.

No worries ^^ I didn't really assume anything, maybe I formulated my post in a way that made it seem like I did.

Er, because it's Japan? I wouldn't assume this if it were anywhere else, but my impression is Japanese people are pretty traditional, they'll probably marry before having kids. Or get married after getting pregnant. I think single mothers are rare. Could be my impression is wrong though, kindly correct me if that is so.


That is sooo nice, we get 2 months maternity leave here in Malaysia And the child usually gets taken care of by grandparents /a sitter/ a maid, unless the mother actually resigns from her job to be a full-time-mother.

And well, this being Arakawa-sensei, I'm sure she'll be around for her son. After all, she is the author of the story where a pair of brothers commit a sin because they missed their mother and their father was physically and emotionally unavailable

I agree on the "because it is Japan?" point. Unless you really fail at having a proper life, you'd really marry before having a child. Single mothers are indeed *rare*; even high school girls giving birth is quite rare (usually they'd go for abortion - NOT that I support that.) So yeah, keep in mind the cultural difference guys! I think it's more likely for her to be married than not.

And about how "no one knew she has a kid" part, the media in Japan are pretty respectful to the need for privacy. Crayon Shin-chan's mangaka died and no one in the Japanese media posted his photo up (upon the mangaka's own wish to never show his photo to the public)... even now no one has a photo of him up on the internet. That's why back then the Chinese media *failed* and used someone else's photo for the new article of his death, until someone confirmed that it's a photo of someone else lol.

Not assuming she is married doesn't mean assuming she is single. I just wanted to stress the "we don't know" point. And the need of the full source if available.

I know Japan is quite traditional, etc.; but there is always people doing things in a non-customary way. Besides, she is a female mangaka doing shounen... It's not like she is standard anyway. XD

But I prefer the idea of her having a husband. It's better for her and the kid that way, I think.

@he03: I love your avatar.

Well, despite Japan seeming traditional in the marriage sense, my tour guide during my trip there said that the divorce rate is high in Japan, and a lot of couples get divorced not long after the honeymoon. ^^;

yey, I too love her more now! Not only that she is amazing, not being late with one chapter! But I find the thought of her having a child just too cute! I don't know why!

I know that you can raise kids without a husband, I was raised by a single mother myself. It's just that we're all very curious about Arakawa's life now that this is mentioned, and perhaps our curiosity is making us jump to conclusions about the other members of her family, that's all.

Really, she doesn't talk much about herself, which could be a quality to be admired, I suppose.

How about Takahashi Rumiko? =P
She is one of the richest individual in Japan for drawing Shounen.

Though I don't think the discussion about whether she is single or married should continue... to be respectful to Arakawa as it is not something she chooses to tell the public. ^^ Maybe she'll tell everyone after FMA is done?

Well actually it really depends on the manga-ka. A pretty big deal was made when Oda's (One Piece)
wife had a baby. There also was a lot of news when Ninomiya (Nodame Cantabile) had a baby.

Arakawa did always come off as sort of private. Well I think it's really awesome that our favorite manga-ka is a mom.

WHOA. that is SO COOL. jealous of her son, can't u imagine how many FMA things u'll get FREE OF CHARGE. since u R her child anyway!!

I hoping that her motherhood will reflect on her character especially Riza and Winry if she does a time skip into the future. Maybe by some miracle, Izumi will get her insides back while Ed gets his lims and al his body and Roy his sight. Izumi will have a second chance to be a mom.

It may sound bad, but I don't want her baby to influence her works. I'd prefer she won't make FMA less brutal or more child-, or family-friendly (but I've already got a feeling manga is getting more and more moralistic), because she have a little kid. Of course, this is great info, I find it very cute and respect her for not showing off her private life. I wish her best.

I personally don't think the manga has changed at all (or gotten more moralistic) since she began writing it. I see the same themes and natural progression for all the characters since the beginning of the story.

I'm just going to bump this to say that yes, she does have a kid. A 2 year old little boy.
~amber1003's LiveJournal page

ETA: Oops rzerox21xx already posted the same link on the first post of this thread.

Damn. I can't rely on ChaCha for anything anymore. (Earlier this year I asked if Arakawa had any children and it said "Hiromu Arakawa is the manga Artist who created Fullmetal Alchemist. She has no children and is currently unmarried.") *Sigh* Oh well. Haha.

Anyway, that's awesome news! I would have never guessed! Now I want a family picture.

I think it's great that she has a child, and I bet that this important life experience will be useful for her when she'll start a new manga, especially since she declared to gain ispiration from real life and people for her stories.