At the 2017 Anime Expo event, VIZ Media announced that they will be releasing a “Fullmetal Edition” of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist manga! The new version will contain new lettering and updated translation. A special hardcover edition will also be available and will contain original color art pages and character sketches from Hiromu Arakawa herself! The Fullmetal Edition is set to release in North America in May of 2018.
VIZ Media currently holds the license for physical distribution of the series in North America while Yen Press holds the license for digital distribution. Two anime series have been produced as well. Fullmetal Alchemist, which deviated from the manga, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which stayed true to the source material.
MyAnimeList.net describes the story as follows:
Edward Elric, a young, brilliant alchemist, has lost much in his twelve-year life: when he and his brother Alphonse try to resurrect their dead mother through the forbidden act of human transmutation, Edward loses his brother as well as two of his limbs. With his supreme alchemy skills, Edward binds Alphonse’s soul to a large suit of armor.
A year later, Edward, now promoted to the fullmetal alchemist of the state, embarks on a journey with his younger brother to obtain the Philosopher’s Stone. The fabled mythical object is rumored to be capable of amplifying an alchemist’s abilities by leaps and bounds, thus allowing them to override the fundamental law of alchemy: to gain something, an alchemist must sacrifice something of equal value. Edward hopes to draw into the military’s resources to find the fabled stone and restore his and Alphonse’s bodies to normal. However, the Elric brothers soon discover that there is more to the legendary stone than meets the eye, as they are led to the epicenter of a far darker battle than they could have ever imagined.
