Creative Staff:
Writer/Artist: Hiromu Arakawa
Translated by: Akira Watanabe
Adapted by: Jake Forbes
What They Say
In the midst of heated battle, Ed and Prince Lin of Xing are swallowed whole by the homunculus Gluttony. Will they survive the depths of Gluttony’s gullet like Jonah inside the whale, or has Al lost his brother for good? And the political power structure of the military may be irreparably shattered when Colonel Mustang confronts Führer President King Bradley with his horrifying suspicion that Bradley is a homunculus!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Gluttony’s on a rampage, and in his frenzy, he swallows Prince Lin, Ed, and Envy! However, the belly of this particular beast is not what you might expect. Just as his appetite is never-ending, Gluttony’s gullet is an expanse, a dark world unto itself. Desperate to escape, humans and homunculus team up to force their way out. But will Ed’s plan work? Meanwhile, Colonel Mustang goes to Central Military Headquarters to expose King Bradley as a homunculus, only to realize too late to the true meaning of Hughes’ final cryptic warning to him.
Arakawa again maintains an iron grip on your attention with Mustang’s confrontation with the military’s heads and the discoveries that Lin and Ed make as they wander through the terrifying landscape within Gluttony’s belly. Having revealed Gluttony’s true form in Volume 12, Arakawa now unveils Envy’s true form in Chapter 51. All I’ll say about that is that Envy’s alternate form in the Full Metal Alchemist Movie is much, much cuter.
I was able to follow most of the plot twists without any trouble, but I did have difficulty comprehending the logic of Ed’s plan to escape Gluttony’s stomach. Self-human transmutation seems a far-fetched way to access the portal of truth. It also seems a little too convenient that Ed is able transport all three of them across dimensions, considering only Ed and Envy are really involved in the alchemical ritual. Aside from that, I’ve no other complaints and eagerly anticipate the fate of Team Mustang and Hohenheim’s next appearance in the next volume.
Extras consist of a story thus far summary and character lineup, four pages of post-manga extras, and ads for other Viz media products.
Content Grade: A-
Art Grade: A-
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: May 15th, 2007
MSRP: $9.99
