Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa's next manga series is called Yomi No Tsugai, and it will make its debut in less than a month.
The new series was revealed today without warning by Square Enix's Shonen Gangan, the magazine which published Arakawa's most famous work, Fullmetal Alchemist, and will also host her new creation. Entitled Yomi No Tsugai (roughly translated as "The Underworld's Turn"), the new manga tells the story of a boy named Yuru, who lives a quiet life as a hunter in the woods. Yuru's life changes, however, when his twin sister Asa is called to work within a nearby village's jail, a duty which requires her to be confined within its walls as well. Sensing that something is wrong, Yuru begins to investigate the mysterious village and rescue his sister. The manga will publish its first chapter in the next issue of Shonen Gangan, which will be released in less than a month on Dec. 10.
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The new series was originally revealed last July with a rough illustration drawn by Arakawa. The announcement of the series was made to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Fullmetal Alchemist's original publication.
Anticipation and expectations for the series is high as Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist was one of the most popular and critically acclaimed manga series of the early 2000s. The series was originally published in Square Enix's Shonen Gangan magazine from 2001 - 2010. The series tells the story of the two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who both possess an unusual aptitude for alchemy, the art of transforming one object into another. After an attempt to resurrect their beloved mother goes horribly wrong, the two brothers decide to become state alchemists, working as soldiers for their country's government, as they try to find the legendary Philosopher's Stone, a powerful artifact that will allow them to undo the damage they caused.
The series was adapted into anime twice: the original series premiered in 2003, and while it was a huge commercial success, many fans criticized this adaptation for straying too far from Arakawa's original manga. A second anime, entitled Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, was produced in 2009. The second series was a much more faithful rendition of the manga and received a substantially more positive critical reception.
Following Fullmetal Alchemist's conclusion, Arakawa worked on the similarly lauded Silver Spoon manga, which came to an end in 2019. Since 2013, she has also worked on The Heroic Legend of Arslan, a manga adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka's fantasy novel series of the same name.
An international release for Yomi No Tsugai has not been announced at this time.
Source: Shonen Gangan via Comic Natalie