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鋼の錬金術師 [Hagane no Renkinjutsushi] #4

Fullmetal Alchemist, Vol. 4

hiromu arakawa

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Trapped and injured in a secret alchemical laboratory, Edward Elric is at the mercy of his enemies, Lust and Envy. But they don't want him dead...they have other plans for him. As the laboratory goes up in flames, the brothers find themselves back at square one, with only an inkling of the massive scale of the Philosopher's Stone conspiracy. But then, Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes uncovers a shocking secret...

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 22,2003
Series
鋼の錬金術師 [Hagane no Renkinjutsushi]

This edition

Format
184 pages, Paperback
Published
November 15, 2005 by VIZ Media LLC
ISBN
9781591169291
ASIN
1591169291
Language
English

More editions

About the author

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hiromu arakawa

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Hiromu Arakawa (author: 荒川弘) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師 Hagane no renkinjutsushi).
Her real name is Hiromi Arakawa (荒川弘美).

Arakawa was born and raised on a dairy farm in Hokkaidō.
She thought of being a manga artist since she was little. After graduating high school, she took oil painting classes while working on her family's farm. During that time, she also created dōjinshi manga with her friends and drew yonkoma for a magazine. After eight years she moved to Tōkyō and started out as assistant writer for Hiroyuki Etō.
Her debut as manga artist is in 1999 with STRAY DOG. In 2001 she started working on her famous and award winning series Fullmetal Alchemist, that soon gets a successful anime adaptation.
Other works include Silver Spoon (銀の匙 Silver Spoon, Gin no saji Silver Spoon).

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 100 votes)
5 stars
37(37%)
4 stars
31(31%)
3 stars
32(32%)
2 stars
0(0%)
1 stars
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100 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
worldstraveller
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Alright, definitely one of the best books I've read in this series, I mean, really. Especially the whole deal with Al freaking out because Barry told him that his memories might be faked. Great, interesting rift in the brothers' relationship.

But the main comment I want to make is...

WHY THE HELL DID YOU HAVE TO KILL HUGHES?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
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Moooldaccount
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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I really like it so far, and I could've rate it 5/5, but I'm anxious and I'd prefer to leave the 5 star rating for the toms that will blow me out of my socks.
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IHadinot
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Some excellent brotherly bonding moments following the intense battle that allows us to better understand their complex relationship in their current forms. A staggering death also occurs to an important character who happens to have discovered a mind-boggling secret that could affect the ongoing events.

Yours truly,

Lashaan | Blogger and Book Reviewer
Official blog: https://bookidote.com/
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MYmanga88
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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This is at once both my favorite volume and one I can't stand. A testimony to the writing and characterization, I suppose, but that doesn't mean I don't quietly resent it.

That Hughes's death can hurt so much to read/watch after such a short period of time is truly amazing, but much as I respect the skill that went into it, I still wish it hadn't happened. In fact, eventually I'm going to plot out and perhaps write a Doctor Who/FMA crossover to change that and see what happens.


Spoilers for the nature of the evil plot: Re-reading is really nice, because now I know what Hughes figured out and how he did it. That man is a bona fide genius, to be able to put so many things together and see the transmutation circle on such a huge scale, especially after he'd only seen a rough diagram of it and just for a short period of time. And he probably at least guessed that Bradley was in on it, too, since his first reflex was to call the President and then he reconsidered.


The bonus story at the end does make the volume a bit more bearable, since of course it's the Black Hayate one - always good for a smile and very necessary, what with everything else.
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Krauser1999
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Ah, and here's the volume where the typical Japanese manga weirdness starts to show. There's a creepy guy who's obsessed with mini-skirts and who wants to hire only women in his military to make it his personal harem (and that's almost a direct quote). There's another creepy guy who can't shut up about his daughter and his family, and who basically kidnaps one of the female characters and makes her live at his home. And finally, there's the side-story about another character who adopts a puppy and then shoots the gun in the puppy's direction to potty-train him! And that's supposed to be funny! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS THAT. And these are not the villains, mind you! These are the supporting cast of the book who you are supposed to like and care about!

The worst part is, there wasn't really a lot of story in this volume otherwise. It keeps stalling for two volumes already, and if something doesn't start to happen soon, I'm afraid I might lose interest in this series completely.
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Iplemons
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
March 26,2025
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Oh my god. This one won me over. There is this one heartbreaking scene in this manga - I'm sure other readers will know what I'm talking about - that is just so good. Absolutely fantastic panelling. I'm glad we get to see some more brother dynamics in this volume.
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