“Fullmetal Alchemist Exhibition: Returns!” commemorating the 20th anniversary of Hiromu Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist manga series opened at Hirakata Park’s Event Hall, Osaka on March 12, 2022. The exhibition will run until June 26.

A total of 300 illustrations and other items, including the newly drawn ones by the author are exhibited in this special event. Over 140 items including new manga manuscripts and colour originals have been added or replaced since the last 2017-2019 exhibition.

The space is divided into six main sections, each of which features handwritten texts and original colour illustrations that introduce the story’s highlights and noteworthy scenes.

Each artwork is accompanied by a remark from Arakawa explaining the situation she was in at the time as well as the drawing’s composition.

Toy guns, communication gadgets, and other artefacts collected by Arakawa as reference materials, illustrations contributed for fan books and other publications, artworks for TV series adaptations, and props used in live-action feature film adaptations are also on display at the venue.

In addition to “Prologue” and “Door of Truth”, RETURNS has newly set up an exclusive video area focusing on the “battle” scenes of the Amestris army.

The 20th anniversary Fullmetal Alchemist exhibition comes with two audio guides to choose from. Visitors can choose between either Edward and Alphonse or Roy and Riza.

Additionally, visitors can buy items that feature the characters. Merchandise includes apparel, acrylic stands, sticky notes, keychains, badges, and much more.

Fullmetal Alchemist Exhibition: Returns! was previously held at Ikebukuro / Sunshine City Exhibition Hall, Tokyo in Dec 18, 2021, to Jan 16, 2022.

A special online event released a teaser promotional video to commemorate the announcement of the exhibition in February 2022.

Arakawa’s Fullmetal Alchemist was serialized in Square Enix’s Monthly Shōnen Gangan shōnen manga anthology magazine between July 2001 and June 2010; the publisher later collected the individual chapters into twenty-seven tankōbon volumes.

Bones Studio adapted the manga into two television series and two films. There are light novels of the same name as well. A live-action film based on the series was released in 2017.

Arakawa‘s latest manga series Yomi no Tsugai started serialization in the January issue of Monthly Shonen Gangan which was released on Dec 10, 2021. The mangaka returned to the industry after 10 years.

Source: Asahi, FMAB Exhibition Website