The September issue of Square Enix's Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine is announcing on Thursday that Hiromu Arakawa is drawing a new special Fullmetal Alchemist side story manga in the next issue on September 11.
— Anime News Network
Special Side Story Manga? One chapter, right? Then I don't call it milking. (red - contra; green - repetitive for replies; blue - worthy-to-read for replies)
More after the jump...
Talkback from ANN's discussions:
Dragonpiece: (Facepalm) The series is done now, lady. Show's over. Don't add anything else, it already had a great ending. Anything else would ruin it.
Whoomp: I am truly shocked, who'd have thought that letting a money cow roam free after such a long time in captivity would work? It's often too hard on the owner to part with it so of course (s)he have to capture it again to squeeze it until the milk goes sour. Good job of Squareenix's manga-farm!
mglittlerobin: What's the matter with her writing a side story? It's her story, she can do whatever she wants. If J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter side stories, nobody would be complaining. Arakawa-Sensei can do whatever she wants. I don't think she's milking FMA at all, (her self-portrait is a bespectacled cow) but I like that there's a side story, it'll be fun. So stop complaining.
Aura Ichadora: [...] I'd love to see what kind of events she's exploring with this side story and with whom the side story is following. It should be very interesting.
Seraphim_Alchemist: [...] Hopefully it'll be something about Xing.
Jaymie: @ Dragonpiece: It's probably just some 40-page Gaiden that shows the characters being happy and stuff. The final volume (or the penultimate volume, at that) isn't even out yet, so this chapter will probably be included at the end of it.
Maidenoftheredhand: @ Jaymie: [...] Writing one little side story that will probably be included in the last volume is not milking anything. It's not like you have to spend extra to get this side story. And I highly doubt a side story is going to change anything about the ending.
doctordoom85: I've always hated the term "milking". It's like apparently an author has no freedom in revisting characters and stories that THEY established and that THEY worked so hard on. Yes, as fans who legally support the series, your voice can certainly be heard and you're free to criticize a new installment ONCE YOU'VE ACTUALLY SEEN/READ IT, but the author should have ultimate say, and a term like "milking" just seems like a desperate attempt at criticism.
SoloButterfly: [...] Also, I find it odd that people get mad when companies/authors are "milking" a series, yet at the same time, some of those same people are complaining that series X ended and why isn't there a sequel?!
Ulinox: I didn't like the ending of the main series at all, so I hope this side-story gives somewhat of a better conclusion or at least hints of what actually happened to the main characters [...]
Teriyaki Terrier: And here I thought I'd be the only one who would say that. Seriously, the series ended on a great note, so let the permanently end for good. The anime is either near conclusion or has ended (it's been a while since I read anything FMA related in terms of anime), the manga concluded, all the games that needed to were to be made are now made, all the trading cards, OVAS, action figures, CD's and posters etc, have now been made. It's great that more material is being made, but now it feels like the series is just being milked for as long as it can. The show is over though and that is the truth.
Gyt Kaliba: What's with the outcry for one side-story chapter? I'm not saying this to be rude, especially since the majority opinion is that this is a cool thing, but how is one bonus thing milking it? Honestly, it's a gift to the fans, not some kind of 'let's ruin the ending' thing, sheesh. I'm not saying it'll be good for sure or not, but it can't be that bad.
darksharingan: Her story, she can do whatever she wants because she understands her work better than anyone, it's not like some retard is adding crap to it or remaking it (I'm looking at you Michael Bay). It's the creator at work.
penguintruth: I think the more trivial and throw away the side story is, the better. Just something really entertaining about some of the side characters, like a funny story about what Father did to pass the time when most of the story of the manga was going on. I'm looking forward to whatever Arakawa comes up with, though.
garfield15: @ Teriyaki Terrier: I'm sorry how is a simple side story milking the franchise? It's a manga! The lady wrote it! She can do whatever she wants with it. It's not like we're seeing an announcement for "Fullmetal Alchemist Z" or anything. Yeah, I think she knows that, that's why we're talking about a manga side story here.
Revolutionary: Wow, didn't think anybody would actually be too mad about this. It's just a single side-story.
Charred Knight: If she keeps on doing it or this turns out to be a full blown sequel than that's a problem. If it's the equivalent of Yahiko's Reverse Blade sword where we get an additional chapter than that's fantastic.