Yen Press also has the rights for the digital release of the volumes in North America due to the series being a Square Enix title. The manga was published and localized in English by Viz Media in North America, Madman Entertainment in Australasia, and Chuang Yi in Singapore. Set in a fictional universe in which alchemy is one of the most advanced scientific techniques, the story follows two alchemist brothers named Edward and Alphonse Elric, who are searching for the philosopher’s stone to restore their bodies after a failed attempt to bring their mother back to life using alchemy. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution. It was serialized in Square Enix’s Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine between August 2001 and June 2010 the publisher later collected the individual chapters into twenty-seven tankōbon volumes. Fullmetal Alchemist (Japanese: 鋼の錬金術師 Hepburn: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi, lit. ”Alchemist of Steel”) is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa.
