1. Overview
Hiromu Arakawa (荒川弘Arakawa HiromuJapanese, born May 8, 1973), whose real name is Hiromi Arakawa, is a prominent Japanese manga artist from Hokkaidō. She is widely recognized for her globally successful manga series, Fullmetal Alchemist, which has been adapted into multiple anime television series. Her other notable works include Silver Spoon, a realistic portrayal of agricultural life, and The Heroic Legend of Arslan, an adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka's fantasy novels. Arakawa is known for her distinctive drawing style, her blend of fantasy and realism, and her recurring themes of agriculture and social commentary. She often represents herself with a unique self-portrait of a cow wearing glasses, a nod to her upbringing on a dairy farm.
2. Biography
Hiromu Arakawa's life and career are deeply rooted in her rural upbringing, which has significantly influenced her artistic perspective and the themes explored in her works.
2.1. Early Life and Family
Born on May 8, 1973, in Tokachi, Hokkaidō, Japan, Arakawa grew up on a dairy and potato farm in Churui Village (now part of Makubetsu Town). She is one of five siblings, with three elder sisters and a younger brother. Her family's connection to Hokkaido dates back to her great-grandfather, who settled there after fleeing due to an arrest warrant related to his anti-government activities alongside Tanaka Shōzō during the Ashio Copper Mine Incident. This historical background subtly informs her critical perspective on societal issues.
2.2. Education and Early Interests
Arakawa's passion for manga began at a young age, with her frequently drawing in textbooks during her school years. After graduating from an agricultural high school, she spent seven years assisting with her family's farm business, engaging in both dairy and crop farming. During this period, she also attended oil painting classes once a month. Her practical experience on the farm led her to acquire a large special vehicle driver's license.
Beyond her agricultural duties, Arakawa actively pursued her artistic and intellectual interests. She practiced karate in high school, achieving a black belt, and maintains the physical strength to lift a 22 lb (10 kg) dumbbell with one hand. She created dōjinshi manga with friends and drew yonkoma (four-panel comics) for magazines. Under the pen name "Edmond Arakawa," she contributed illustrations and yonkoma to the game magazine Gamest and its sister publication, Comic Gamest. She also used the pen name "Chicken George" (ちきんぢょーぢChikin JōjiJapanese) for illustrations and yonkoma in Koei's history magazine, Rekishi Paradise. A lifelong fan of Romance of the Three Kingdoms since watching the "Puppet Show Romance of the Three Kingdoms," she frequently traveled to China and cited Gan Ning as her favorite general and Xu Shu as a character she particularly liked. Her deep appreciation for the historical epic is evident in some of her early works, including remakes published in Sangokushi Damashii. Arakawa also publicly expressed her admiration for Yasuhiro Nightow's manga Trigun and contributed an illustration to its movie adaptation. She considers Suihō Tagawa, the author of Norakuro, as the fundamental influence on her artistic style.
3. Career
Hiromu Arakawa's professional career as a manga artist began in the late 1990s and quickly rose to international prominence with her highly acclaimed works.
3.1. Debut and Early Career
In the summer of 1999, Arakawa moved to Tokyo to pursue her career in manga. She started as an employee at Square Enix and worked as an assistant to Hiroyuki Etō, the creator of Mahōjin Guru Guru, from whom she learned valuable lessons in composition and drawing. Her official debut came in 1999 when her one-shot manga, Stray Dog, won the Grand Prize at the 9th Enix 21st Century Manga Award and was published in Monthly Shōnen Gangan magazine. Following this, she published a chapter of Shanghai Yōmakikai in Monthly Shōnen Gangan in 2000.
3.2. Major Works
3.2.1. Fullmetal Alchemist
In July 2001, Arakawa launched Fullmetal Alchemist (鋼の錬金術師Hagane no RenkinjutsushiJapanese, lit. "Alchemist of Steel") in Monthly Shōnen Gangan. The series quickly became a massive hit, both in Japan and internationally, spanning 108 chapters and collected into 27 volumes before its conclusion in July 2010.
Fullmetal Alchemist was adapted into two anime television series by Bones. For the first anime adaptation (2003), Arakawa provided assistance during its early development. However, she was not involved in the scriptwriting, leading to a different storyline and ending compared to the manga, which she continued to develop independently. When the second anime adaptation, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (2009), was nearing its conclusion, Arakawa shared her plans for the manga's ending with director Yasuhiro Irie, allowing both the manga and the anime to conclude around the same time.
Reviewers often distinguish between the manga and anime versions, attributing differences to their respective styles and subject matter. The manga is frequently described as having "dark thematic elements," being more "emotional," and featuring a "simple, dark style and plot choices," making it more suitable for teens and adults. In contrast, the anime is often characterized as more whimsical, "cartoony," and colorful, generally appealing more to children. Fullmetal Alchemist received significant critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the 49th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2004, the 5th Tokyo Anime Award for Original Work in 2006, the 15th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in the "New Artist Prize" category in 2011, and the 42nd Seiun Award in the "Best Science Fiction Comic" category in 2011.
3.2.2. Silver Spoon
In April 2011, Arakawa began serializing Silver Spoon (銀の匙Gin no SajiJapanese) in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday, marking her first weekly serialization. After the fantasy-driven success of Fullmetal Alchemist, Arakawa sought to challenge herself by creating a more realistic story. Silver Spoon focuses on themes of agriculture and rural life, drawing heavily from her own experiences growing up on a dairy farm. The series quickly became one of Shogakukan's best-selling titles and was adapted into an anime series by A-1 Pictures, which began airing in July 2013. Silver Spoon garnered several accolades, including the 5th Manga Taishō Award in 2012, the 58th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2012, and the 1st Content Award of Japan Food Culture Grand Prize in 2013.
3.2.3. The Heroic Legend of Arslan
In July 2013, Arakawa began her manga adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka's popular fantasy novel series, The Heroic Legend of Arslan (アルスラーン戦記Arusurān SenkiJapanese), which is serialized in Kodansha's Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine. The series continues to be ongoing.
3.2.4. Hyakushō Kizoku
Hyakushō Kizoku (百姓貴族Hyakushō KizokuJapanese, lit. "The Noble Farmer") is an autobiographical essay manga that began serialization in 2006 in Shinshokan's Unpoko magazine, later moving to Wings in 2009. This series directly reflects Arakawa's experiences growing up and working on her family's dairy farm in Hokkaido. Through this work, she expresses strong views on food self-sufficiency, contrasting Hokkaido's high self-sufficiency rate with Japan's overall low rate. She critically highlights what she perceives as the urban population's naive understanding of food issues and the realities faced by farmers, famously advocating, "If you don't want to starve, raise cows in Ginza. Plow the Hills." The series has also received international recognition, winning the "Best Manga Award" from the French Japanese culture free paper "Zoom Japon" in 2014.
3.2.5. Other Works
Beyond her major series, Hiromu Arakawa has contributed to various other manga and projects. She serialized Raiden-18 in Monthly Sunday Gene-X from 2005 to 2021, a work notable for featuring a jiangshi character named "Kezawa Higashi" (毛沢東Mō TakatōJapanese), which Arakawa stated was a subtle jab at the rampant piracy of her works in China. She also created Sōten no Kōmori (蒼天の蝙蝠Sōten no KōmoriJapanese, lit. "A Bat In Blue Sky") in 2006.
From 2006 to 2010, Arakawa worked on Hero Tales (獣神演武Jūshin EnbuJapanese), collaborating with Studio Flag under the name Huang Jin Zhou. For the anime adaptation of Hero Tales, Arakawa was responsible for the character designs. Her most recent ongoing series, Daemons of the Shadow Realm (黄泉のツガイYomi no TsugaiJapanese, lit. "The Hinge of the Underworld"), began serialization in Monthly Shōnen Gangan on December 10, 2021.
Arakawa has also lent her artistic talents to other media. She provided illustrations for books such as "Greek Mythology Dissection New Book" (1998), "Romance of the Three Kingdoms 6 Warlords Bible" (1998), and "Nobunaga Dissection New Book" (1998, with a new edition in 2009). She designed cover illustrations for Miyuki Miyabe's novel Stepfather Step (2008) and Sarah Rees Brennan's The Demon's Lexicon I: The Demon's Lexicon (2009). Additionally, she contributed end card illustrations for anime series like Pani Poni Dash! (episode 25, 2005), Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei (episode 8, 2007), and Arakawa Under the Bridge (episode 10 of Arakawa Under the Bridge x Bridge, 2010). In 2011, she contributed to "Weekly New Manga Japanese History" with a piece on Raiden Tameemon. More recently, she designed a manhole cover for Tomi, Nagano in 2023 and served as the character designer for the 2024 anime series Moonrise.
3.3. Artistic Style and Themes
Hiromu Arakawa's artistic style is characterized by its dynamic action sequences, expressive characters, and a blend of detailed and simplified elements. She primarily creates her color illustrations by hand, favoring traditional methods and expressing a preference for "analog" drawing over computer-based techniques. Initially using various paints for Fullmetal Alchemist, she later transitioned to Liquitex acrylic paints as her need for color work increased.
Her storytelling often incorporates a strong sense of realism, even within fantasy settings, a trait particularly evident in Silver Spoon and Hyakushō Kizoku. Recurring themes in her work include the importance of family bonds, the consequences of ambition, the interplay between science and ethics, and social commentary. Her works, especially Fullmetal Alchemist, are noted for their steampunk influences, creating a unique visual and thematic atmosphere. Arakawa's personal experiences growing up on a farm deeply inform her portrayal of agriculture and rural life, imbuing these themes with authenticity and a critical perspective on food production and self-sufficiency.
4. Influences
Hiromu Arakawa has cited several artists, works, and cultural elements as significant influences on her artistic development and style. She states that Suihō Tagawa, the author of the classic manga Norakuro, is the "root of [her] style as an artist," indicating a foundational appreciation for his work. During her time as an assistant to Hiroyuki Etō, author of Mahōjin Guru Guru, she gained valuable knowledge in composition and drawing techniques.
Other manga artists she cites as influences include the highly influential Rumiko Takahashi, known for her diverse and popular series, and Shigeru Mizuki, a master of yōkai and horror manga. She is also influenced by Kinnikuman by Yudetamago. Beyond manga, Arakawa is a fan of Mike Mignola's work, particularly his distinctive art style seen in Hellboy. Her childhood fascination with the "Puppet Show Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and subsequent travels to China also shaped her early interests and storytelling approach, particularly her appreciation for historical epics and character dynamics.
5. Personal Life
Hiromu Arakawa is a private individual, but certain aspects of her personal life are well-known, particularly her unique self-representation and her strong connection to her agricultural roots. Despite her pen name and sometimes mistaken perception as male, Arakawa is female, a fact she noted was a "culture shock" to discover that some readers believed otherwise. Her real name is Hiromi Arakawa.
She is married and has three children: a son born in 2007, a daughter born in 2011, and another daughter born in January 2014. Notably, she never took a break from her Fullmetal Alchemist serialization, even during her pregnancies and after childbirth. Drawing from her experiences witnessing cow births on her family farm, she humorously described her own childbirth as more akin to "checking delivery procedures" than an overwhelming emotional event. She has expressed a personal goal of having her children read her manga when they turn 15 and declare it interesting, viewing them as "future readers" who provide a "reason to fight."
Arakawa's most distinctive personal trait is her self-portrait: a cow wearing spectacles. This imagery stems from her upbringing on a dairy farm, her birth in the Year of the Ox, and her Taurus zodiac sign. The cow is often depicted as a Holstein, which she points out is almost always female, further emphasizing her gender. This self-portrait is consistently used across all her works, not just Hyakushō Kizoku. She also owns many cow-related objects and books. In 2017, Arakawa made her first television appearance in a video for the "Fullmetal Alchemist Exhibition" on TOKYO MX1. While her face was obscured by her cow self-portrait, her voice and general demeanor revealed her gender, surprising many viewers who had previously assumed she was male.
Her background as a farmer heavily influences her worldview, particularly her strong advocacy for food self-sufficiency. She often contrasts Hokkaido's high food self-sufficiency rate with the lower national average in Japan, criticizing what she sees as urban residents' lack of understanding regarding food production. Her famous quote, "If you don't want to starve, raise cows in Ginza. Plow the Hills," encapsulates her consistent farmer's perspective and her call for greater awareness of agricultural realities.
6. Awards and Recognition
Hiromu Arakawa has received numerous awards and honors throughout her career, recognizing her significant contributions to the manga industry:
- 1999: 9th 21st Century Enix Award for Stray Dog
- 2004: 49th Shogakukan Manga Award, Shōnen category for Fullmetal Alchemist
- 2006: 5th Tokyo Anime Award, Original Work category for Fullmetal Alchemist
- 2011: 15th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize, "New Artist Prize" category for Fullmetal Alchemist
- 2011: 42nd Seiun Award, "Best Science Fiction Comic" category for Fullmetal Alchemist
- 2012: 5th Manga Taishō Award for Silver Spoon
- 2012: 58th Shogakukan Manga Award, Shōnen category for Silver Spoon
- 2013: 1st Content Award of Japan Food Culture Grand Prize for Silver Spoon
- 2014: "Best Manga Award" from French "Zoom Japon" for Hyakushō Kizoku