InsaneJournal

manga
Spiral vol. 1 is here! Go! Read it!

It's an interesting contrast between the early manga art (Ayumu is more chibi) and the sharp, clean lines of the anime. The manga cover art actually takes the stark image to extremes, making the characters look almost ethereal. Of course, I must admit that I only noticed this because of a comment of Hiromu Arakawa's - that Spiral makes Fullmetal Alchemist look wide/fat. I disagree - Hagaren looks/feels real, Spiral gives a sense of being other-worldly. After all, Hagaren has a lot of action and earthy people; Spiral's got more of an intellectual bent.

The fourth Fullmetal Alchemist novel is also out - it's two shorter stories, both from earlier times in the script. One is all Ed, the other is all Roy.

Also recently released:
Hana-kimi 20 (Nakao is chibi)
Art of Fullmetal Alchemist 2
With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child
+Anima 5 (Husky is chibi)