Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 22

鋼の錬金術師 [Hagane no Renkinjutsushi] #22

by Hiromu Arakawa

In the war between science and magic—the future of the world belongs to 2 brothers.

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.

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Shonen, Young Adult

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Hiromu Arakawa (author: 荒川弘) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no renkinjutsushi).
Her real name is Hiromi Arakawa (荒川弘美).

Arakawa was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaidō.
She thought of being a manga artist since she was little. After graduating high school, she took oil painting classes while working on her family's farm. During that time, she also created dōjinshi manga with her friends and drew yonkoma for a magazine. After eight years she moved to Tōkyō and started out as assistant writer for Hiroyuki Etō.
Her debut as manga artist is in 1999 with STRAY DOG. In 2001 she started working on her famous and award winning series Fullmetal Alchemist, that soon gets a successful anime adaptation.
Other works include Silver Spoon (銀の匙 Silver Spoon, Gin no saji Silver Spoon).

Reviews

[Marquise]

This has reinforced my suspicion that it would be better to binge-read the last seven volumes of Fullmetal Alchemist in one sitting, because the rebellion that started by the second half of last volume is in full swing in this one.

Things are moving faster here, the action moves from one site to the other rapidly, and the transition between panels is more abrupt, too. I think this final sequence probably looks better in the anime adaptation, because it reads tailor-made for the screen.

Speaking of the anime, I'm told there are two adaptations, as they started the first anime whilst FMA was still ongoing and unfinished (hey, another cursed comparison to ASOIAF!), and that the anime overtook the manga, so they veered off track and did pretty much their own thing (insert sounds of Game of Thrones-induced PTSD here). This has made me curious as to what changes there are between the finale of the first anime and the manga, out of pure intellectual curiosity and not something I'd prioritise.

I don't know what else I could say about the events in this volume, because my text exchanges with my Cub have been a series of hurrahs! and curses interchangeably. Things change so fast! One scene shows you Task Force Elric have won, and then the next shows Task Force Sinful have regained control of the situation. All well salt-and-peppered with explosions. There's less character growth moments and more fire and bombings and battles, as could be expected from a finale.

I suspect my reviews of the last volumes will get shorter and shorter as the action keeps tossing me from one side to the other. I only hope there'll be some kind of quiet wrap-up once the Last Battle is over.

Oh! And ol' Ho has finally found Father! Hubris, meet Nemesis, and get your dwarf arse back where you came from. I'm going to enjoy this! A girl also needs some explosions and fire, you know?

[Elena Rodríguez]

"You talk about “sacrifice” as if it's something sublime, you don’t even know the meaning of the word ! By the time all this is over I might be a hero, but one thing’s certain…I’m not as soft as the "hero os Ishbal ".

Lo siento, tenía demasiadas expectativas con este tomo y sobre todo con la portada. Sin embargo, me han parecido una sucesión de batallas que al final no avanzaban nada en la historia y no me han entretenido tanto como esperaba.

“When all of this is over you can prove to the good people of this nation that we weren't the ones who crossed the line.”

Supongo que esto ha sido otro tomo de transición porque el final daba mucho que pensar. En fin, ya solo me quedan cinco tomos y voy sin frenos.

"After all, the main event has yet to begin !"

[Lilah]

I want to marry her but she's fictional and way out of my league

[Rod Brown]

I think we're supposed to be surprised when Arakawa brings back characters who haven't appeared in several volumes, but since she always brings back characters -- no matter how obscure or trivial to the series -- it loses a lot of the shock. I mean we have over 40 characters popping up in this volume alone. The sheer size of the cast continues to grind me down as all these extras steal screen time from the core characters, but Arakawa excels at character moments, so these little throwaway bits feel worthwhile even as the accumulation becomes excessive.

The final battle has a few false starts but is beginning to gather momentum by the end of the book, though the casualties so far are limited to minor side characters.

Speaking of minor side characters, Olivier Mira Armstrong has quickly risen from that status to pretty much stealing this book away from the Elric Brothers at this point. Any chance for a reboot starring her?

[freddie]

Zooming through this series ✌️

[Subham]

The fight is finally here as Pride fights the brothers and its epic and what he does to win and we see the limitations of his powers and we see a sacrifice and a well made plan to destroy him while others are on their way to meet the main Homonculus and things are tightening up as story elements come together and they have to fight their way through. Roy and his allies fight their way to central town and are met with help and challenges, long held characters return and finally the thing in the main branch with Mira!!

This volume was epic as all story elements are coming together for a big payoff and a big battle as teased by the last page and I love how characters from long ago are becoming pivotal now just showing the brilliant writing and also giving Ed and Al their own challenges and thereby showing how far they have come along is something!

[Caroline]

WELL well well all of the different plans are starting to come together in a big way and that is super exciting. I was a little confused at first because some stuff seemed to come out of no where because it involved characters who we don't follow all the time. But I really liked the frequent shifts in perspective this volume. It made it very exciting! Also I could not stop laughing when they trapped Selim in the rock dome! That was great!

[Laura A. Grace]

Another incredibly epic volume!!

And YOOOOOOO to Havoc!! We see some old faces and it was just sick! One of the best things I've seen yet!! SO GOOD!

Gotta give it to Al in coming up with amazing ideas that are incredibly dangerous to him, but refusing to give up on himself and the ones around him! I have always enjoyed his character, but I have really come to love his character so much more these past few volumes. He has such a huge heart and it's hard not to hope right alongside him and cheer him on as he cheers on those around him. <3 (Also please kick that guy's butt!)

It's interesting because before now, I always though Edward would save the day but I feel maybe that won't be fully true? I'm not sure to be honest, but this volume really makes me pause and wonder if Van is going to be the one to destroy the dwarf in a flask?

But until I see if that's right or not, I LOVE seeing Edward and Scar have to work together! WOOT WOOT! Had to laugh when he straight up threw Scar "under the bus" so to speak! LOL! Definitely great stuff!

I didn't enjoy seeing Kimblee on page (as always), but was glad to see Armstrong still be amazing as ever! (Seriously, I think I get stars in my eyes watching her on page! LOL) She really does not bend or break!

The dolls were creepy. *nervous laughter*

Also what is May going to do now?!

Favorite extra: Roach Motel! BAHAHAHAHAHA!

Epic volume!

[Nərmin]

Intense moments and full of action! And Envy is back!
What will Al do with philosopher's stone?

[yel ᰔ]

4.5 of 5 stars

[Cindy Alanis]

uma loucura atrás da outra, simplesmente NÃO HÁ PAAAAAZZ!!! pra onde a história vai o caos tá lá pra bater na nossa cara

[★]

to think i almost felt bad for the kid #you'llsuffer

[Marianna]

Nel 21 ho notato come in certi punti traspare la visione di una società abbastanza gerarchica tipica del Giappone.
Mi ha fatto sorridere che Winry si sentisse in super imbarazzo a spogliarsi di fronte a Ed, hahaha! E poi lui che dice:
"Le chiacchiere sono cosa da donna."
Ho comunque adorato il momento in cui si raccoglie l'esercito di Ishbar. *_* Non è ancora pienamente entrato in azione, ma sono sicura che sotto la guida di Scar faranno grandi cose. E quanto è bello che "i nostri" combattono con un homunculus dalla loro parte! Bella anche la parentesi in cui Selim/Pride parla della sua famiglia (che tipetto acido!). Ora che sono ritornati Ross e Havoc sono curiosa di vedere cosa combineranno...

[Becky]

Scum like you who observe the battlefield from a safe location talk about "sacrifice" as if it's something sublime. You don't even know the meaning of the word!

[Aaron]

Kimblee's back (boo!) but so is Envy (yay!).

[Ravioli]

Ed's face when looking at an enemy 😇🥰☺️
Ed's face the millisecond that they turn their back in him 😃😈👹

[Sydney Stories]

AHH I I'm getting so into this everything is ramping up so much. I love Olivier she just does not GAF.

[Dulce]

Que emoción cuando se empiezan a juntar todos los personajes y hay reencuentros, simplemente amo muchísimo está obra

[michelle ☽ ♡]

finalmente agarrando vuelo la wea

[DonutKnow]

How are they going to beat pride and the guy underground?!

[yelenska]

❤️‍🔥

[Sapphire]

3.5

[Lashaan Balasingam]

While Pride is momentarily taken care of, all the key actors move forward to Central where things get heated up, notably with the release of scary puppets. Although they all aim to take down the homunculus, everyone faces new obstacles, one way or another, and has to work together to survive this journey.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/

[Juho Pohjalainen]

I've got to wonder about Pride's origin and the reason to his appearance. How is it that the first homunculus created would also end up a small, seemingly innocent, child? Was it a conscious decision on Father's part, or did things just fall into place that way? Does this childlike form imply that Father did want to be a parent - whether subconsciously, or by deciding to give it a try for real - or does it just symbolize the fact that his own pride is rather a childish and ignorant thing, overbloated yet without any mature merit?

Am I overthinking it? Maybe. I'm just bringing it up here because, whatever the reasons for its genesis, that thing is deceptive at all hell. It constantly keeps me underestimating its true danger and malice, and it even got Alphonse to lower his guard. I'm glad it's not enough to make the heroes hesitate, as a general thing - I'm not so sure I could manage the same.

We also get more of the pacifism, and a great contrast to what I said a few volumes ago. Edward failed in his convictions because he was too weak to pull it off, lacked the will and the reason. Roy and his men, by contrast, are more than skilled enough to pull their punches and go easy on the enemy, and in this situation they have the reason to do so as well - trying to show themselves as the better alternative, the heroes of this story. It's just a shame the Briggs men don't have the same qualms.

I also like how sketchy it can make things when you take a half-year break of the story. Now you have no idea where anyone is, and how they might show up. It makes every hero's sudden intervention feel perfectly logical - since they had the time to maneuver themselves this way - and Kimbly's villainous reinforcements as all the scarier. How have the villains spent the intervening time? Is there something else we don't know of?

[Jedi JC Daquis]

I absolutely loved everything written in this volume. The chess pieces has all been set and Elric's group has made their move. It's a perfect start for the last arc of the series.

Arakawa has done it outstandingly well in managing these so many characters in one big war, efficiently showing their mission, their current state without making the story convoluted. Moreover, there are still those moments of comedy sprinkled across dozens and dozens of epicness. And this is not yet the last volume!

Reading FMA makes me so happy to be part of the lore. It made me fully invested with the characters, good or bad.

[Anna]

L'esercito immortale mi ha inquitato parecchio (ma cavolo, che bei disegni). Adoro, adoro, come tutti i personaggi siano gentili e pronti ad aiutare il prossimo. Mi spiego meglio: Mustang che protegge la moglie di Bradley, Hohenheim che lascia a Ran Fan la possibilità di andare a cercare Lin, Ed che sigilla la porta per non far scappare i mostri. Mi da un senso di calore assistere a tutte queste buone azioni.
Ps è tornato Envy! Si prospetta una battaglia davvero avvincente!

[lu ¿ aero]

mado si sente proprio la fine che si avvicina piano piano che paura

[Swissy Cheesey]

ACTUALLY CAN SOMEONE KILL KIMBLEE LIKE ACTUALLY

[Ben Truong]

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 22 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and contains the next four chapters (88–91) of the on-going manga series.

Working with his father, Van Hohenheim, Alphonse Elric traps Pride alongside him in a cave where there is no light, and so, preventing the homunculus from using his powers. As Alphonse remains trapped with Pride, Edward's group now allied with Scar, join together to defeat Father, while Greed goes by himself.

Edward's group, May Chang and Envy enter Father's base, but Hohenheim and Lan Fan separate from them. Edward's group and May are attacked by puppets injected with Philosopher's Stones, and Envy takes this opportunity to steal a body and recover his powers.

Meanwhile, Major Solf J. Kimblee finds Pride and Alphonse, and frees them after wounding Heinkel. Before falling unconscious, Heinkel gives Alphonse Kimblee's lost Philosopher's Stone to face his opponents.

In Central, Colonel Roy Mustang reunites with his most trusted soldiers and kidnaps Bradley's wife in an attempt to reveal the Military's true nature.

This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The narrative is separated into three fronts with Alphonse Elric attacking the homunculi, Edward Elric planning an attack on Father, and Roy Mustang trying to reveal the true nature of the military.

All in all, Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 22 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems really intriguing and I can't wait to read more.

[Joseph R.]

A desperate plan hatched by Alphonse captures Selim Bradley, aka the homunculus Pride. The rest of the heroes are converging on Central City, fighting the conspirators' forces along the way. In the city, they use a disguised ice cream truck to move about. Major General Armstrong reveals her intention to fight the President's men and escapes from inside the president's headquarters. Hopefully she can unite with the others to evade the "Day of Reckoning" that is threatening the whole country. Ed's reunion with his dad isn't so emotional since there's still so much to get done to foil the bad guys.

The story is exciting as ever with fun and intelligent action.

Recommended.