Best Fullmetal Alchemist covers

60 ELO points separate Volume 27 from Volume 23 at the top of the Fullmetal Alchemist cover ranking, after 1708 duels.

That gap between ranks 1 and 2 is the largest in the entire ranking. Volume 27 dominates with 1355 ELO points and wins 67% of its duels, while Volume 23 trails at 1295 points despite facing more matchups at 134 duels. Volume 21 follows closely in third place with 1287 points. The top 5 all sit above 1279 ELO, suggesting a cluster of fan-favorite covers near the series' conclusion. At the other end, Volume 5 anchors the ranking at 1017 points with a 32% win rate across 123 duels, indicating it struggles to compete with the series' later visual work. Volume 3 and Volume 7 round out the bottom, suggesting the earliest covers have not aged as well in the eyes of voters.

This ranking draws from 1708 duels fought by 18 players across 27 contenders, updated on 12 October 2026. Each volume cover has been tested in direct confrontations, letting the community decide which artwork hits hardest. Whether you favor the dramatic intensity of the final volumes or have a soft spot for the early entries, you can weigh in and shift the standings by casting your own votes.

Updated on October 12, 2026

How this ranking is computed

Every duel won lifts a contender and every loss drops them, by an amount that depends on the opponent's strength: beating the leader is worth more than beating the last. It is an ELO, the same principle as in chess. Duels are not drawn at random — an adaptive entropy sort puts the least predictable match-ups first, which settles the ranking far faster than a full round robin. A worldwide ranking is only published past 30 completed plays. Known limit: a contender who has faced few opponents keeps an approximate score, and the bottom of the table moves more than the podium.

How our rankings are made →