Volume 12 covers chapters 46, 47, 48, & 49, and out in Japan on November 21, 2005!!


~ Anyone Here Got A Close Look At Volume 12's Cover? I have to say, it's a work of art ~

Just recently managed to get my hands on volume 12 of the FMA manga (which covers ch. 46-49), and I have to comment on its particular cover art. It is perhaps the most artistic of all the FMA cover arts that Mrs. Arakawa has done so far. I remember seeing a small thumbnail of the art some months ago, but I didn't feel true emotional impact until I held the book in my hands.


Minor spoilers for old chapters....


The way it's arranged, it's all very beautiful. Ling defending the grievously injured Ran Fan against the overwhelming power of the Fuhrer. Scar, literally bigger than life, imposing a sense of menace to the entire scene. Especially telling is the tearful figure of Winry to the side, with Ed (whose hand is the only thing visible) reaching out from the side to hold Winry's arm to convince her from walking down a path of violence, all without a single spoken word. I'm not very knowledgable about artistic terms, but that picture of Winry and Ed was perhaps the most telling of the entire scene. Even though it is clearly off the center of the focus of the art, my eyes couldn't help but throw looks at this sad imagery.

Compared to all the cover art that has been released so far, this one's by far my favorite, since it's something more than a simple collection of characters. I hope that Mrs. Arakawa continues such inspired work.






*Note: Did anyone else catch the "Konami code" in ch. 47? The "creator interview" comic in the back was particularly amusing as well. The omakes also did not fail to make me laugh.

Oh, could you scan it for us all to see? I'm very interested in seeing it now, but I can't find a picture anywhere.

OH!..Is that the one with Ling on the cover??...It's one of my favs!! It is an amazing piece of art! i love it!!

After some "clever" >_> googling invovling the manipulation of both Korean and Japanese, I have this to offer you:



Edit: Why not, here's the one I got...

Whoa.
I must agree: this is perhaps the most artistic cover Arakawa has ever done. She's really outdone herself this time.
You're absolutely right.

Thank you for the eloquent writing!! I totally agree!!
I'm a big fan of Ling and RanFan, and it's thrilling to see Arakawa chose (I'm assuming she gave ok) them for this cover!!

The volume 12 cover looks awesome!! =D

Whoa. That's just beautiful.


(Sqee! LingxRan Fan!)

... somehow right when I saw the Korean cover... I saved it. XD

Full metal Elf

What part of the manga is your sig from, the one with Ed coming out of the shower? I don't remember that. Is it an omake?

It's from chapter 56 (the last chapter released). Of course there is no mention of fangirls.

You know, right after I posted this I found chapter 56 and read it.

Thank you though.

The 12 cover is sheer beauty. Only one flaw aggitates it's perfection.

Xiao Mae on the (Outer) spine.

I just don't like her.

I have volume 12 too (got the yonkoma book with it!). I simply LOVE the cover.

i never got a good look at it before but it is amazing! Arakawa's artwork just blows my mind, the things she's able to do
thats one of my fav covers now, it and the one with Hohenheim Ed and Al, i think thats everyone on the cover

Volume 9's cover has got to be my favourite. Havoc and Hawkeye just look so utterly awesome on it. <3

Everyone check out volume 13's cover. It's awesome!

http://community.livejournal.com/hagaren_m...23.html?#cutid1

Emo Elric!

Who want's to bet Envy's on the outer spine?

all I can think of is IA! IA! CTHULHU FHTAGN RYLEH!

I... am.... Speechless.(Keeping with the HPL reference:) There are sensations/feelings words cannot descript...


And to think I'm still missing 11 and 12... T_T

Against Father? I'm game. It's either one of the 2 fo' sho' (or, more improbable, Ran fan...).

What shall we bet?

Oh, and on the inner spine, the many a souls from Envy's PS... (FMA is really running short on dying characters, as of late)

And volume 14...? OMG Gluttony! With Lust waiting for him in heaven... How beautiful *snif* T_T
(Unless someone dies in 57... But he'll be there anyway I guess)

And don't forget the chimeras that Scar and Mei killed in the inner spine!
and I don't thinks gluttony's dead....or maybe he is...*need to reread 56*

*looks at vol 13*
thats HOT (I actually said that out loud XD)

Oh, right!

wait, they killed them in the inner spine? What were Scar and Mei Chang doing in the inner spine?

Stupid jokes apart, is this volume 13 or 14...? I can't remember now, nor check (I'm @ work 'n stuff U).

Well, Maria Ross wasn't either

Or, closer to this case here, nor was Greed in volume 8 (we know now)
(Yeah, I know, his memories were taken so you could say he DID die there, unlike Gluttony, but the situation is still similar. So sue me. )

Truth must be spoken, for everyone to know.

What was it... oh yeah, when I saw Al in chapter 53, I was at home with my mum around and I said "Al!"
My mother: "What? Did you say sth?" Me: "No, no..."} (;ñ_ñ)/

I love the cover...it's awesome!...Ed looks so...mysterious...mwuahaha...

Ooh, I like it. ☆


Ed looks SO much older in these past chapters. So much more mature than in the anime.

Well, what Chapters does it cover? Chapters 50-53, right? Father only appears at the end. He is no doubt important, but as he is restricted to the end, it will most likely go to another character (Although Father will most likely take Volume 14). The other main players during this arch are Roy, Bradley, Edward, Ling, Envy, Alphonse, Gluttony, Scar, and Mae, all of whom have already taken a spine, except Envy and Gluttony, and between those two, who do you think is more likely to get it?

I'm placing all my money on Envy. I also think the "In Memorium" will be dedicated to the souls of Envy's stone.

I wonder what Vol. 14's cover will look like...

I agree with you, Envy does seem the most probable.

But, then again, I have this little theory of mine, by which maybe Father could get this volume's spine.
I'll post on this this weekend.

wow, I didn't really mean it when I asked what would we bet...

Now, what did you say your bank account number was, again?

Boy, be patient, and enjoy what you already have

Wow. He actually has his hood on.

What I find most amusing about the cover is I can’t recall Ed having the red coat or his hair in a braid for this entire volume.

You question that but not the fact that he has his hood up which he's NEVER done even once? The closest I guess is Al wore the hood up twice in the movie, but that's the movie. I think it's just meant to look nice, which it does!!

In fact, he rarely wears the coat AT ALL anymore. Besides the fight with Scar, he hadn't worn it since they left for Dublith.

He looks better without them, I say.

I've been wanting to know, what chapters does vol. 12 contain?

1, 2, 3, 4, 5; same as my luggage.

Somebody watches too much Spaceballs. That's my guess, at least xD

vol. 12's cover was absolutely beautifully fantastically wonderfully AWESOME. and then i saw vol. 13's cover, and i was surprised there was even something better than vol. 12. i had shivering for the next 5 minutes after seeing vol. 13 cuz... it's just so... unexplainably.... un-put-into-words-able-ly.... great.

ed looks soooo hott i couldn't stand it XP and his hood looks really cool too. and oooh... it's volume THIRTEEN this is one awesome manga, and arakawa is a heck of a good artist. *sigh*

i even made an avatar =] (but i couldn't think of anything good to write... so it says muahaha XP)

Never miss a chance to make a relavent Spaceballs referance.

46 Distant Backs to 49 The Monster Within

( u_u)/

I'll take note.

Wait, does this mean I've been fooled? Damn!

Note to self: Watch Spaceballs again someday. Long time i've forgotten...

46, 47, 48, and 49, I think. Which is TERRIBLE, because it means that 11 stops right when

[spoiler] Ran Fan gets slashed by Bradley[/spoiler]


Terrible for the people who haven't seen it, at least.

Thank you, Sensenic and Summoner Colette!

I kinda want vol. 12 cause of its cover, the story is kinda at the good place in my option, and THERE'S A LETTER ANSWERING SECTION FROM ARAKAWA-SENSEI IN VOL. 12!


The cover for vol. 13 is..... is.......... JUST SO...... (low on vocabulary) OMG!!
Arakawa-sensei is getting better and better on the covers now!!

I still like Vol 12 better than Vol 13 cover, actually...

I like 13's cover better. It has Ed on it. Yes, I'm kinda simple that way.

12 has Ed's arm in it

Oooooo really?! Kay, I like 12 too! I like 13 better still though cause it's got ALL of Ed, not just his arm!

Anyone think that Ed on 13 kinda looks like Anakin Skywalker? Not in looks obviously but in stance, attitude, type of dress (whole hood thing) and expression?

The only cover I can find is teeny as hell though! Doesn't anyone have the picture that size? Since we all agree it's gorgeous as hell (not meaning to imply hell is a pretty place or anything, I'm not like that). This makes me think of the last episode of the all-too-conterversal-hate-love anime, when Hohenheim says there is a small gate in everyone. *.- It's so awesome my eye is twitching... Staying on topic as I can though (12) Ling and Ranfan art's totally awesome as well... I'm waiting until I can get these cheapest before I buy them, though.

Didn't he give his coat to Winry after she finished crying? Maybe she kept it?

As to the braid, I hate his hair in a braid. He looks better with it in the same style as his dad.

Yep, Ed gave Winry his coat in Vol 12.
He didn't wear it much while at Izumi's, the weather may have been nice down south.
He wore it in Central, but then Armstrong dragged him off without letting him get anything to take.
He wore it again when he got back from Xeres, but we haven't seen it since the Scar/gun incident. Of course, as of chap 57, that was only yesterday manga time
It's not missing, yet, although I noticed that no one had it when Ed/Al/Win returned to the hotel, right before they take her to the train.
So it was probably left somewhere in HQ, but like anybody there wouldn't know who it belongs to

Ok, I give. Where is it?