Comics / Manga

Fullmetal Alchemist: Volume 23

By Leroy Douresseaux
July 20, 2010 - 10:51

Fullmetal Alchemist Volume 23 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

The manga Fullmetal Alchemist is set in the country of Amestris (located on an alternate-history version of Earth) and focuses on brothers Edward & Alphonse “Al” Elric.  The brothers used a forbidden alchemical ritual to bring their dead mother back to life.  After the ritual went wrong, Edward lost a leg, but Alphonse lost his entire body.  Edward grafted his younger brother’s soul into a suit of armor, a process which cost Edward an arm.  Edward replaced his own missing flesh with “auto-mail” limbs and eventually became a state alchemist in service of the Amestris state military.  Edward searches for the Philosopher’s Stone, a legendary substance that can restore their bodies.

It’s battle time in Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 23.  Alphonse takes on the Homunculus named Pride (who is also Selim Bradley, the son of the President of Amestris) and Solf J. Kimblee – the psychopathic Crimson Alchemist.  Sister-brother duo, General Olivier Mira Armstrong and Alex Louis Armstrong, battle the Homunculus Sloth.  Ed and his gang join May Chang in a desperate fight against the Homunculus Envy and puppets injected with the Philosopher’s Stone.  Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye join the battle, and Envy says something that causes Mustang to lose control.

THE LOWDOWN:  The closer the story comes to an end, the more daunting Fullmetal Alchemist will be for new readers.  Vol. 23 will please current readers, especially those who enjoy fight comics, as fighting is what Chapters 92-95 are about.  However, this 23rd volume is a testament to this series’ overall high quality, so new readers should be undaunted when considering whether or not to read Fullmetal Alchemist.  It’s worth going back to the beginning.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for excellence in science fiction manga will want Fullmetal Alchemist.

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Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12