Manga Review -Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 13-15 (Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1, Vol 5) by Hiromu Arakawa (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Steampunk/Manga
Length: 576 pages
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Release Date: July 9, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1421554921
Stand Alone or Series: 5th volume in the Fullmetal Alchemist 3-in-1 series
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 stars

“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.

In the midst of heated battle, Ed, Envy and Prince Lin of Xing are swallowed whole by the homunculus Gluttony. When they finally escape, they find themselves face-to-face with the “father” of the homunculi, who offers Lin immortality as the new Greed. Meanwhile, Colonel Mustang learns the military’s corruption goes all the way to the top, and the truth of what really happened in the Ishbalan War is revealed.”

Series Info/Source: This is the 5th 3-in-1 volume in the Fullmetal Alchemist series and contains volumes 13-15 of the original series. I purchased this copy.

Story (4/5): The first part of the story is spent with Ed, Envy, and Prince Lin stuck in Gluttony’s stomach. They struggle to find a way out of this disgusting domain. I really enjoyed this part of the story and how we learn more about the homunculi and about the Father of all Homunculi. The second part of the story is spent mostly with Colonel Mustang as he struggles to figure out how high the corruption goes in the government. This leads to a flashback where we learn what really happened in the Ishbalan War. I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first half, although the flashback to the war did provide a lot of interesting background.

Characters (5/5): I continue to really enjoy all the characters in this series. We meet a couple of new characters in the flashback and they are well done.

Setting (4/5): This volume jumps around a lot between different locations and settings. I still really enjoy the world created here, but felt like all the jumping around really disjointed things some.

Writing/Drawing Style (4/5): This continues to be a very well drawn manga series, lots of details. Some of the fight scenes in Gluttony’s stomach were a bit hard to follow and some of the complex battle scenes in the Ishbalan War flashback were also a bit tough to follow as well. I continue to enjoy how the story is put together and the dialogue is really well done too.

Summary (4/5): This was a solid continuation of the Fullmetal Alchemist but my least favorite of the series so far. There was just too much jumping around and too much time spent on politics. Hopefully the next volume will spend more time with Ed and Al and their quest for the Philosopher’s Stone.