I love Fullmetal Alchemist, especially the manga. If I had to pick one series to declare my one and only all-time favorite, FMA would be the one. I love the manga so much I went out and bought very volume that was released in the United States at the time (up to volume 16). When I read it, I found it was littered with typos and mistakes throughout the volumes. Even though the mistakes bugged the hell out of me whenever I read it, I went and bought it anyways.

Then one day, when I got into a conversation with a friend of mine, the topic turned to the manga of FMA. She was also a fan of the series, she loved the manga too (and we are both fangirls of Edward Elric). I don't exactly remember what was said, but at some point she stated how the FMA manga she got when she was in Singapore by Chuang Yi, was much better than the Viz version that I had. She also said that she decided to get me some copies of this other version and she would send them to me as a present. So when she went to Singapore, she got me all kinds of goodies, including 2 copies of the FMA manga she told me about. When she (finally) sent them to me in the mail, I was able to finally see what she was talking about. After reading this other version by Chuang Yi, I looked upon my collection of the FMA manga by Viz and felt like a complete idiot for wasting my money on it.

Before I continue, a bit of background information on the companies that you should know:

VIZ Media- Viz has been around sense the late 1980's and was one of the first companies to bring manga to North America in English. When they first started to release mange in the United states, they released it like a typical monthly American comic book (a slim, large-sized issue), then later released into one collected volume (with a hefty $15 USD (United States Dollar) price tag). Not only did they just translate it into English, they also "flipped" the art work, changed names in some cases, edited sound effects that where in Japanese into English text, and even edited dialogue at times. (What I mean by "flipped" was that they reversed the artwork so instead of reading it from right-to-left, its read from left-to-right, like how books are usually read in the United States). In early 2000, when people began to grow more aware of anime and manga and its origin, Viz (like other companies) began to leave the manga they relased more faithful to the original japanese version. So the stopped flipping manga, and kept translations a little more faithful to the original content. However, they still edited sound effects into English text. Today Viz is one of the major manga publishing companies in North America, and distributes their manga throughout much of the world that reads English (including the country where Chuang Yi is based at)

Chuang Yi- A company that is based out of Singapore and publishes manga in both Chinese and in English. When the company began in 1990, they only released series in Chinese, it wasn't until around 2000 when they started to release series into English as well. Not only do they distribute their manga in the country of Singapore, but in a few other countries like Malaysia, India, the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand.

Now with that said, lets start moving into the comparison....

One thing that I noticed among these companies is that if Viz grabs the license to a particular series before Chuang Yi does, Chuang Yi won't bother grabbing one of the same series. After all, Viz does distribute thier manga is Singapore, so Chuang Yi tries to grab titles that Viz doesn't have. I think in the case of FMA, was that both companies managed to grab the license for it around the same time, seeing how the first volume of both versions where also released during the same year. So Chuang Yi would have grabbed it first, followed by Viz a short while later. Although I found it amusing how Viz released their version on May of 2005 and Chuang Yi released theirs on August of 2005. So Viz wins this round for getting their version out first.

Now if both companies where based in the same country, there would be no way they would be able to release 2 different versions of the same series in the same languge, at the same time. However, this is a special case. As stated before, Viz is from the United States, and Chuang Yi is from Singapore, which is why these companies are able to get away with releasing two different versions of the same manga.

Have I lost any of you on all of this? I will now be moving on into the actual comparison of the Fullmetal Alchemist mangas itself. Lets start with Viz because it was released first. (Please note i'm commenting based on the first 16 volumes I own/have read of the Viz FMA manga, and not just the first volume. See my indiviual volume comparisons for that.)

Cover-wise, like all manga Viz has released, they printed it in a typical manga paper back form with a glossy cover, that just screams out that its a comic book (okay, its not as bad as the Shonen Jump and Shojo Beat series, the designs of those covers look down right trashy to me). Viz also went and put the usual English Fullmetal Alchemist logo on thier version. Now one factor I like about the Viz version is that for the first edtion of the first 3 volumes, they printed it with these really cool shiny covers. This way it gives it a metal look, so it looks real nice. There is a downside to this though, scratches show up on the cover much easier this way, and if you leave it in the heat (like a hot car or out in the hot sun) the cover tends to curl. I know this because my own copies (which are shiny) are now covered in scratches from wear and tear, and one cover actually did curl when I left it in the heat (I managed to uncurl it though by keeping something heavy on top of it). Anyways, after the first 3 volumes of shiny covers, Viz stopped doing this, and left it plain (as well as reprints of the first 3 volumes afterward). Perhaps they did this because they found it too costly?

Okay, now paper-quality. The artwork is printed on thick recycled paper from wood, and the older copies I've had sense 2006 are already starting to faintly turn brown. I noticed in later volumes the paper looks like it would be easier to tear on accident, so they must be using a type of paper slightly lower in quality in later volumes.

Now for the fun part, the translation and text, and this is where Viz manages to screw up BIG time. In every single volume I have there is always at least a few errors. Whether if it be a typo, somebody saying someone else's dialogue, or a grammatical error, there is AWAYS a screw up somewhere. The dialogue itself is also very watered down, and uses simple phrases and terms. Much like the kind of text you would see in a book that was designed to help younger kids learn how to read. Its like these guys are insulting my intelligence, because I'm most certainly way beyond this level of reading. Its like the people who made this failed English class, and its Viz for Christ's sake, one of the major companies of North America that has been around for 20 years! These guys are professionals yet they don't seem to be doing their job! What about the editors? They shouldn't have let all of these problems appear in the final print! Were they sleeping on the job when they let all these flaws slip by!? I've seen fan translations better than this, and they do it all for free, without pay!

Now before I murder the folks at Viz for thier subpar quality, lets look at the Chuang Yi version.

Chuang Yi version is a major improvement over the Viz version and is MUCH better in quality. Cover-wise, it looks much nicer than the Viz version, and even looks more like a real book instead of a comic book. Instead of the usual English FMA logo, they created thier own logo title. They also earn of few extra points for having the original (untranslated) Japanese name in smaller text on the cover ("Hagane no Renkinjyutsushi") Then ther's also the removable cover jacket (that's right a "removable cover jacket", see the right image above). The original Japanese manga also had the same similar removable jacket as well. Underneath the jacket here the book has a plain white, slick cover with the title and some gag drawings by Hiromu Arakawa. I'm not sure if the original Japanese manga also had these little drawings under the cover as well, but they are certainly there in the Chuang Yi version. (Viz also kept these same gag drawings, but put them in the back of the book as "extras" instead.) Now there is one thing I don't like about the Chuang Yi version. The book jacket does not have a glossy coat to help protect it, and black part of the cover can easily show scratches, fingerprints, and smuges if you're not careful.

(The one image above sums up this whole review in a nut shell...I highly recommend viewing the larger version.)

Paper quality-wise, Chuang Yi uses a special kind of paper that's not even made from wood that's supposed to be environmentally friendly. In a strange way, the paper is thicker and heavier than the paper Viz uses, yet Viz's volumes are lighter but larger in size. This special paper stays white and doesn't turn brown like the paper Viz uses. Also, this special kind of paper allows the artwork to stand out more, even the fine details, giving a nice, clean presentation when reading. There's one problem though, much of the time the ink kinda bleeds though to the other side of the page. So you can see the next page (or previous page you just read) on the other side of the page you are reading, when most of the time Viz did not really have this problem.

Now, for the part where Viz failed and where Chuang Yi wins by a landslide: the translation and text. When Viz took the lazy way out and gave us something that was s***ty in quality, these guys took their job seriously. The translations and text in the Chuang Yi version are much more professional and sounds much better. They don't dumb down the dialogue, use more complex terms and phrases, and the editors actually do their job and check for errors. I should also point out they use the original Japanese sound effects and have a caption in English of what it says.

It amazes me how a company like Viz, which has been in business for about 20 years, has improved very little in quality. Yet in another part of the world, another company that has been releasing manga into English for a shorter time, gives us something that's a lot more professional and worth the money we spend. Speaking of money, now to unveil the biggest shocker of all.

Now you would think the reason why Viz gives us something of such low quality is to cut costs right? Then a higher quality version, like the one Chuang Yi released, would cost more because more time and effort was put into it, right? At least that's how it usually works, but here's the kicker. So Viz's Fullmetal Alchemist manga costs $10 USD and the one by Chuang Yi is $8.50 in Singapore dollars. Convert those Singapore dollars into American dollars, and the Chuang Yi version costs about $5.75 USD. Boy, Viz (as well as the other companies from the United States) certainly know how to jip the public now don't they? Now I understand if the reason why it costs more than the original japanese version (which is also about $5 USD) is because they need the translate it and all, but Chuang Yi shows us that it is possible to re-release a manga in another language, in another country without having to up the price so high. So this obviously shows there is no need for these companies to charge us $8-$12 (USD) a volume!

The verdict: Screw Viz, and go buy the manga by Chuang Yi, nuf said...

(Now does anybody wanna trade my Viz version of the FMA manga for the Chuang Yi version? The Viz version would be good to get a fire going with at least.)

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