Fullmetal Freelancer
Nov 30th, 2008 by Jake Forbes
This weekend I dug into the script edit for the 20th volume of Fullmetal Alchemist. The series is noteworthy for me as:
- It’s the highest number of volumes that I’ve been involved with editing/adapting a manga series
- It’s the last translated manga series I’m still involved with
- 20 volumes is quite an achievement for a monthly series that has long since passed its anime heydey
- The series amazes by continuing to get better and tighter with every volume!
Any anime fan who’s followed the scene for the last five years is probably quite familiar with this ongoing tale of angst and alchemy, but if you’ve only experienced Fullmetal in its animated form, you’re really missing out. The manga, still going strong in Japan and the US (courtesy of Viz), diverged from the anime back in volume 9.
In the anime, characters opined on the horrors of war and unchecked primal sins, but in the end, the characters managed to remain firmly in the innocent realm of adolecense. Evil, in the anime, remains a very fantastical thing. Characters serve symbolic roles as shockingly adult themes are gracefully skirted around, but I never felt like Ed and Al’s world was really… real.
The manga take on the Elric brothers’ journey deals with many of the same themes, but instead of bringing the world down to the level of its teenage protagonists, it challenges the characters and the readers by keeping the world distinctly adult. It isn’t just the gritty take on war and genocide (volumes 16 and 19 are largely dedicated to flashbacks in which entire cultures are wiped out). Even though Fullmetal is a shonen manga from a teen magazine, characters like Roy Mustang, Scar, Izumi Curtis and, at long last, Van Hoenheim, are as richly drawn as the adults in a seinen manga mangazine. The series never panders — it’s just great drama.
The manga-ka, Hiromu Arakawa (a woman in a man’s world) coninues to amaze with art that continues to improve in detail, but remains grounded by its focus on character. Even as the scope of the series grows more epic, her art style becomes more intimate. Hers are the most soulful eyes I’ve seen in a shonen series
I’m credited as rewriter on this series, but mostly, I consider myself more of a copy editor and caretaker. The translator, Akira Watanabe, does an absolutely incredible job. It doesn’t really need a “rewrite” in the sense that some other translations I’ve worked on do. There’s an occassional stiff line, and sometimes he uses a combination of words that are a little too verbose to fit in small balloons, but really, my role is more like a chisel than a sledgehammer, which is how it should be.
Volume 17 of Fullmetal Alchemist is the latest volume to be published in English. This volume takes place almost entirely in the frozen base of Fort Briggs. We get our first showdown (or is should that be slowdown) with Sloth, the sixth of the Homunculi, as well as a first glimpse at a new foe (who if you do the math with the seven deadly sins, you can probably identify). Volume 18 is a solid installment, but it’s volume 19 that really answers questions that longtime readers have been wondering for years now. Van Hoenheim’s backstory is incredible and casts many events of the last few volumes in a whole new light. Volume 20 is shaping up to be even better, as we get to see the undoing of one of the remaining Homunculi, as well as a return to Prince Lin (aka Greed 2.0). When after a hard days work I find myself eager to find out what happens next, I know I’m a part of something great. Arakawa-sensei, my hat goes off to you.
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Woah, apparently I need to get the manga because that sounds way cooler than the anime even tried to be. It goes without saying that I loved the anime, but that sounds a lot more… complicated. Me like complicated.
I loved the anime, and I escpecially loved the movie (though it was twice as violent as any episode of the series). The manga didn’t really appeal to me though because I usually buy manga where the anime is not available to me (the one exception being Rurouni Kenshin which I love!!!). Though now that you’ve explained it, I might just check out the new adventures of Edward and Alphonse.
One thing I didn’t like about the anime was that there were too many side stories they dealt with. Like the fake prophet who supposedly brought Rose’s boyfriend back to life with a fake philosopher’s stone, or the two imposters that took Ed and Al’s identities in order to get jobs. Or the foxy bandit who went from being a nurse, to a nun, to a teacher.
First of all, thank you for your wonderful work on the English editions of this series. Out of all the series I read that are licensed by Viz, this one stands out for me as being very carefully and lovingly adapted. Secondly, thank you for everything you’ve said here regarding the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. I lament often (and loudly) about how I think Hiromu Arakawa’s genius is under-appreciated and overshadowed by the anime, at least over here, and it’s incredibly gratifying to read like sentiments from someone so intimately involved with the series in the US. With each new volume, I am overwhelmed further by the richness and complexity of this series and its characters, and by Arakawa’s powerful storytelling. I can’t wait to read the upcoming volumes!
Maggie,
The manga doesn’t really do side stories in the sense that the anime does — there are quite a few flashbacks, as well as a whole new faction of characters from the Chinese-themed Xing Empire, but all of these stories tie directly into the main narrative. Once Arakawa-sensei gets going, it’s pretty much a zero filler series, which is rare in anime and manga.
Melinda,
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the work we all do. The manga doesn’t get much fanfare anymore, but it’s still a top 10 seller when a new volume debuts — quite impressive for a series whose anime is old news.
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[...] a new volume of Fullmetal Alchemist in the works, and Jake Forbes, who edits the translation, explains what there is to like about the series, how the manga has more to offer… No comments [...]
Thanks for describing well *why* you thought the manga was better! This series has always seemed like the kind of thing I would really enjoy, so I tried the anime and it seemed well done, but no matter how long I watched it just never seemed to grab me at all, and I eventually gave up. I tried the first volume of the manga later, but at the time to me it seemed like it was just the same thing with maybe a little more ‘humor’/jabs about how short Ed is. ^_^; (Though I may just not have remembered the anime well enough by that point.)
But I could never put my finger on why it was not working for me. But reading this I remember now how the world did indeed feel rather immature despite the heavy themes. Maybe that was a large part of why I remained unimpressed. …Only now of course that makes me want to get past that part in the manga to see if I’ll like the rest…
…Aaah, I thought I was through trying to make myself like this series. …Maybe “thank you” isn’t actually what I should be saying here. ^_^;
Nawhal,
The manga did indeed start with a few too many short jokes, bicep flexes from Armstrong and chauvinist comments from Roy. I might be projecting, but I think that Arakawa realized after a few volumes that her manga had outgrown the pandering character quirks and they start to become rarer to the point where they really only appear in the omake gag stuff in the back.
Around volume 14 is where I think the series has its biggest turning point. At first I thought Arakawa had written herself into a corner by laying all the cards on the table with so many plot threads left unresolved, but then the series just keeps getting better and better. You’ll know what I mean if (when!) you read it. Try your local library if they stock manga, and if they don’t have it, put in a request if you can spare the time.
Hahahaha, well it’s reassuring to hear those kinds of things things bothered someone else (who even still liked the manga) as well, and that it fairly quickly becomes less reliant on them.
Aah, I somewhat recently had one of those kinds of moments in another manga. You think “Why did you do that!? Now this can’t work anymore!” You think the mangaka, despite the talent you perceived them to have, has finally screwed themselves over and then…Then a certain chapter comes around and you remember the reason you think they’re talented is because they’re much better at dealing with these things than your little head every will be, heheh. …I…I suppose I could stop at the library on the way home. *kicks self slightly*
I always found the manga more enjoyable than the anime. While the anime is very good, the manga has always managed to up the ante on both plot and character, and Arakawa doesn’t let anyone go to waste. I have to agree with a lot of the points you’ve made.
Do rewriters actually need a lot of knowledge of the source material they happen to be editting? It sounds like a really meticulous but interesting job. At the risk of being, um… criticized I guess, I’ve noticed a lot of online fan translations of manga tend to lack this particular role in their processes - there’s a lot of literal translation of the source material, but not much copy editing for grammatical and idiomatic sense.