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Fullmetal Alchemist's Hiromu Arakawa Launches New Manga
posted on by Alex Mateo
The August issue of Square Enix's Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine announced on Monday that Hiromu Arakawa (Fullmetal Alchemist, Silver Spoon) is launching a new manga in the magazine "soon."
Monday marks the 20th anniversary of Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist manga, and the magazine also highlighted some of the commemorations of the anniversary, including a rerun of a previous art exhibition for the franchise in Tokyo and Osaka this winter and next spring, respectively. Other commemorations include preparation on a 20th anniversary commemoration book for the franchise, upcoming digital releases of Arakawa's one-shot works, a free digital release of the first volume of the manga for a limited time, and a special livestream event on Monday at 8:00 p.m. JST (7:00 a.m. EDT).
Arakawa is best known for her Fullmetal Alchemist and Silver Spoon manga. Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist manga ran in Monthly Shonen Gangan from 2001 to 2010. Viz Media released the series, as well as related novels and art books, in North America. The manga inspired television anime adaptations in 2003 and 2009, two OVAs, two anime films, and a live-action film. Similar to the 2003 Fullmetal Alchemist anime, the 2009 Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood anime is based on Hiromu Arakawa's original manga, though the latter hews closer to the manga's story and ending.
Silver Spoon debuted in 2011, and ended in November 2019. The first Silver Spoon anime season based on the manga aired on Fuji TV's Noitamina late-night programming block in July 2013, and the second season premiered in January 2014. Aniplex USA released both seasons on home video, and Crunchyroll streamed both seasons of the anime. A live-action film adaptation opened in Japan in March 2014.
Arakawa launched The Heroic Legend of Arslan (Arslan Senki) manga in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine in July 2013. The series adapts Yoshiki Tanaka's (Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Sohryuden - Legend of the Dragon Kings, Tytania) novel series of the same name, which ended with the 16th volume in December 2017. The first season of the television anime adaptation of Arakawa's manga premiered in April 2015 and ran for 25 episodes. The second season, titled Arslan Senki: Fūjin Ranbu (The Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance), premiered in July 2016.
Sources: Monthly Shonen Gangan August issue and magazine's website
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