Just got back from the theater. Loved it! I mean, REALLY loved it! I haven't so freaking obsessed with a movie this much since, well, Howl's Moving Castle at least. Looking at the movie as a sequel to the series, it succeeRAB on every level of both fan-service (the alternate world versions of the cast, the battle with Roy and Armstrong, Wrath's envolvement) and fan-surprise ( good Pride/nazi Hughes, Gluttony's return, the ending). Even as a stand-alone film, it holRAB up on its own values (I was seeing it with a party of anime fans, some of which hadn't seen many episodes of the show, but still could understand and appreciate the movie anyway), although I'd assume it would feel much more serious as most of the comic leveling was based off in-jokes. Animation-wise it wasn't any Disney/Ghibli production, but certainly a step up from the TV series, which certainly isn't anything to complain about since the TV show itself featured some pretty appealing art. The only flaw of the film would be the mechanics of how the breaking between Sharabala and our world was opened, and on repeat viewing I'm guessing it'll turn out to make more sense. If you missed this film in theaters, I pity you. Probably an A-grade work objectively, but I'll give it an A+ simply due to my case of FMA-withdrawal.
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Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conquerer of Shambala TALKBACK (SPOILERS)
- Thread starter Dean O
- Start date
lilchikka2005
New member
I'm probably the only one, but I don't know if I like the idea of
the Elric's souls being used as alchemic energy when they die
doncrisp99
New member
This was actually the first anime film I ever saw in theaters, so it was a milestone of sorts.
One thing I liked about the movie was that the story was told well enough so that even if you're not a hardcore FMA fan who's seen every episode, you wouldn't be totally lost. The movie worked well enough as its own entity, even though apparently the last few episodes set up what happens in the film. But, for example, I've probably only seen 13 episodes of the show, all at random intervals, and I still enjoyed the film. The Nazi element of the storyline certainly didn't hurt, as they always make good villains.
Soundtrack was solid, animation, while it didn't blow me away, was competent enough and got more elaborate in the second half, and the dub is fine as always. In particular, Luci Christian gave a great performance as Wrath in the scene where
.
I'll definitely buy the movie when it comes out in Septeraber.
One thing I liked about the movie was that the story was told well enough so that even if you're not a hardcore FMA fan who's seen every episode, you wouldn't be totally lost. The movie worked well enough as its own entity, even though apparently the last few episodes set up what happens in the film. But, for example, I've probably only seen 13 episodes of the show, all at random intervals, and I still enjoyed the film. The Nazi element of the storyline certainly didn't hurt, as they always make good villains.
Soundtrack was solid, animation, while it didn't blow me away, was competent enough and got more elaborate in the second half, and the dub is fine as always. In particular, Luci Christian gave a great performance as Wrath in the scene where
he sacrifices himself to kill Gluttony
I'll definitely buy the movie when it comes out in Septeraber.
Ted Garrad
New member
This is definitely one of the best tv anime movies I've seen, actually having consequence to the show itself. I can't wait to see it again, once I'm done watching the rest of the series. But between being a fan of both FMA and old movies... Total geek heaven seeing Ed take on Nazis with the help of
I'm just curious how it all works with the last tin set, but it sure is epic.
Fritz Lang http://imdb.com/name/nm0000485/
Mrs. Taylor Lautner
New member
I have answers to most of your qualms Timmay...
Roy demoted himself and I could have sworn that was because he felt he didn't gain that rank honestly since it was Pride pulling the strings behind his promtions. Roy was also quite depressed so that probably played a part into things.
I'm not sure if you've seen the Fullmetal Alchemist: PREMIUM COLLECTION, but this (particularly the Chibi Party, which is like an "after party" celebrating the movie) has fun with the Ed/Win angle. It's quite funny because essentially Winry gets drunk and has a few choice worRAB (and maybe a few tools) for Ed.
I loved the movie, but I hated the ending.
It doesn't even make sense.
It works as an ending to the movie, but not as an ending to the series.
It doesn't even make sense.
Why do Ed and Al need to close the gate on the other side when there's no one on the other side to open it anyways? It made zero sense, and I hated them not staying in their own world.
It works as an ending to the movie, but not as an ending to the series.
There is also the idea according to recent revelations of the manga:
A.Magik
That Roy's reign as a Fuhrer would have been a very short one. With the authority he would dismantle his own position and give the power back to the Parliament. He would also remove the State Alchemist institution, which would have him and his fellow Alchemists convicted for war crimes.
Which is kinda what happened in the movie: The Parliament is in power, with no State Alchemists. Note that when Central was attacked, there was no Alchemist defenders save for Armstrong (who had resigned), Al (who was not a State Alchemist), Ed (who had been in an alternate universe), and Roy. It is possible to assume that Roy's demotion and exile was the Parliament's punishment for the crap he pulled in Israbroadal. And as Riza has said, Roy pretty much let it happen out of guilt over Hughes (he sent Hughes to his death without realizing the true extent the Homunculus controlled the government, and he also betrayed Hughes' memory by getting revenge).
Which is kinda what happened in the movie: The Parliament is in power, with no State Alchemists. Note that when Central was attacked, there was no Alchemist defenders save for Armstrong (who had resigned), Al (who was not a State Alchemist), Ed (who had been in an alternate universe), and Roy. It is possible to assume that Roy's demotion and exile was the Parliament's punishment for the crap he pulled in Israbroadal. And as Riza has said, Roy pretty much let it happen out of guilt over Hughes (he sent Hughes to his death without realizing the true extent the Homunculus controlled the government, and he also betrayed Hughes' memory by getting revenge).
A.Magik
stillheartherain
New member
I saw this movie through my sister's imported DVD.
I did enjoy the way it started during a really cool event that was not portrayed within the TV series and then flash forwarding to what happened after the series. Even without alchemy, Edward is still pretty good in a fight while Alphonse was pretty awesome with his alchemy skills.
I thought the movie started out pretty good but I am also one who did not like the ending. Didn't like the idea of Ed and Al getting separated from the rest of the cast for possibly the rest of their lives. Usually if I don't like a movie's ending, it ruins the entire movie for me but this movie's ending was not that bad.
I did enjoy the way it started during a really cool event that was not portrayed within the TV series and then flash forwarding to what happened after the series. Even without alchemy, Edward is still pretty good in a fight while Alphonse was pretty awesome with his alchemy skills.
I thought the movie started out pretty good but I am also one who did not like the ending. Didn't like the idea of Ed and Al getting separated from the rest of the cast for possibly the rest of their lives. Usually if I don't like a movie's ending, it ruins the entire movie for me but this movie's ending was not that bad.
iimaxdreamerrxx3
New member
Yeah, Ed and Al did seem to be in quite a situation. But I think they can hold out on their own.
Sir Sandwich Slayer
New member
I'm just gonna spoiler-blockout the whole post, 'cause I'm not really feeling like making it look like a released top-secret document....
edit^2 ... stupid tags.
I hadn't realized that it'd have had coherency independent from the series, since I watched the series at least a time or two before seeing the movie,
Infierno, I think that aspect is mainly just on the idea that you need massive amount of alchemic force on both sides, seems like a very good balance to have an extremely monsterous Homunclulus on each side, with the "barely still human" Hoenhiem dying on the science side, and the "almost human" wrath dying on the other, and BOTH dying being bitten by the monsterous one of their side, and the initiation of the transmutation.
I watched it subtitled, but in the japanese I agree that Wrath's end-scene was fantastic, and really sold it, (his convincing Al who of course, was far more emotionally soft than Ed, who would have understood and done it far faster)
didn't someone say, like on the way for his fight with Pride, that if he does this (take revenge on the fuher for his betrayal) he'll never be accepted as Fuher, and will never hold a rank again? I figured his demotion was merely an execution of that.
I'm pretty sure the whole point of the gate and THAT method of creating it, was that it created a permenant conduit between the 2 worlRAB. but again, it is a slight bit of rational-jumping that BOTH gates would need to be destroyed.
and I too hated them leaving winrey behind... poor lonely winrey,
oh, another thought would be that they wanted to find the nuke that was sent over from the alchemy side, by the dude in the first sequence, inadvertently, when he tried ressurecting the workers, (and apparently was pseudo-successful? I got the impression the "omg they were already dead!" armored soldiers that were first sent through, were the uranium miners from the alchemy side in the initial sequence)
Infierno, I think that aspect is mainly just on the idea that you need massive amount of alchemic force on both sides, seems like a very good balance to have an extremely monsterous Homunclulus on each side, with the "barely still human" Hoenhiem dying on the science side, and the "almost human" wrath dying on the other, and BOTH dying being bitten by the monsterous one of their side, and the initiation of the transmutation.
I watched it subtitled, but in the japanese I agree that Wrath's end-scene was fantastic, and really sold it, (his convincing Al who of course, was far more emotionally soft than Ed, who would have understood and done it far faster)
didn't someone say, like on the way for his fight with Pride, that if he does this (take revenge on the fuher for his betrayal) he'll never be accepted as Fuher, and will never hold a rank again? I figured his demotion was merely an execution of that.
I'm pretty sure the whole point of the gate and THAT method of creating it, was that it created a permenant conduit between the 2 worlRAB. but again, it is a slight bit of rational-jumping that BOTH gates would need to be destroyed.
and I too hated them leaving winrey behind... poor lonely winrey,
oh, another thought would be that they wanted to find the nuke that was sent over from the alchemy side, by the dude in the first sequence, inadvertently, when he tried ressurecting the workers, (and apparently was pseudo-successful? I got the impression the "omg they were already dead!" armored soldiers that were first sent through, were the uranium miners from the alchemy side in the initial sequence)
edit^2 ... stupid tags.
Now do we come to the major argument about the ending:
A.Magik
Oh, poor Brothers Elric! Stuck in our world pre-WWII! The FMA universe was a paradise!
Okay, I added the last sentence. But that seems to be the implication I'm getting from this part of the argument. Here's my counter-argument:
-Who's saying Ed and Al are stuck in Nazi Germany? The ending showed they're leaving. For all we know, they avoided Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.
-Let's not forget Ed and Al are not babes in the wooRAB. These are not the kiRAB (actually a kid and a suit of armor) who left Reserabool in 1910. They're survivors. They can weather what is in store for them.
-How is our world worse than the FMA world? Has everyone forgotten what Dante and her minions did in that world? They annhilated past civilizations to the point of non-memory. Compared to that, the Holocaust in our world was like having your arm chopped off: Violent, gruesome, horrible, but you can survive. Judaism (as well as Poles, Slavs, and Gypsies) survived the Holocaust in our world, not in the FMA world.
-Just think of the advantages: I would love to see Al's experience with flying, motion pictures, and baseball.
Okay, I added the last sentence. But that seems to be the implication I'm getting from this part of the argument. Here's my counter-argument:
-Who's saying Ed and Al are stuck in Nazi Germany? The ending showed they're leaving. For all we know, they avoided Europe during the 1930s and 1940s.
-Let's not forget Ed and Al are not babes in the wooRAB. These are not the kiRAB (actually a kid and a suit of armor) who left Reserabool in 1910. They're survivors. They can weather what is in store for them.
-How is our world worse than the FMA world? Has everyone forgotten what Dante and her minions did in that world? They annhilated past civilizations to the point of non-memory. Compared to that, the Holocaust in our world was like having your arm chopped off: Violent, gruesome, horrible, but you can survive. Judaism (as well as Poles, Slavs, and Gypsies) survived the Holocaust in our world, not in the FMA world.
-Just think of the advantages: I would love to see Al's experience with flying, motion pictures, and baseball.
A.Magik
SuperDude C
New member
Ed & Al aren't exactly living in our world, since Hitler was arrested and the coup de'tat failed. So I don't think WWII (at least, the WWII we know of) happens in FMA-world.
I didn't really like the ending either. I mean, it's nice Ed & Al got together at the end, but to be separated for all eternity from their frienRAB? That's just mean.
I didn't really like the Homunculus' roles in the movie, either. Envy was just wasted, Wrath was far, far too underutilized, and Gluttony became just a random monster for Al to defeat. I also thought Hoenheim was under-used as well. It's like they threw him in without actually thinking about a way to properly use him.
Also, while the beginning scene was fun, it did feel ultimately pointless. Yea, the guy does some stuff behind the scenes, but it just doesn't feel like it connects to the plot at all. Also, Ed seemed off-model for most of the scene.
Not only that, but we didn't even see Hughes' family back in Ed & Al's world. That sucked.
Overall, it was a fun movie and I'll definately get it on DVD, but it's not my favorite anime movie and it's far from perfect.
I didn't really like the ending either. I mean, it's nice Ed & Al got together at the end, but to be separated for all eternity from their frienRAB? That's just mean.
I didn't really like the Homunculus' roles in the movie, either. Envy was just wasted, Wrath was far, far too underutilized, and Gluttony became just a random monster for Al to defeat. I also thought Hoenheim was under-used as well. It's like they threw him in without actually thinking about a way to properly use him.
Also, while the beginning scene was fun, it did feel ultimately pointless. Yea, the guy does some stuff behind the scenes, but it just doesn't feel like it connects to the plot at all. Also, Ed seemed off-model for most of the scene.
Not only that, but we didn't even see Hughes' family back in Ed & Al's world. That sucked.
Overall, it was a fun movie and I'll definately get it on DVD, but it's not my favorite anime movie and it's far from perfect.
Forever under 5 ft
New member
The coup d'etat failing and Hitler's being arrested (he got out in like 9 months) happened in our history too. NOthing changed.
I wrote up a review for it (which I won't repost here... go see it on my website), but some keypoints that I'd like to address:
To be fair, I think the movie pandered to the fans too much. Just how many characters did they bring back from the dead that had versions on the 'Germany' side? Other than Hughes and the Fuhrer, who had competent-enough roles, I didn't see a reason for any of the other 'revivals' other to be fan wanks.
Regarding Gluttony... now that I think about it, the fact that he even became more mindless (if that's even possible) was quite a turn-off.
As for the ending...
In the end, the movie does what the TV series didn't... accomplish Ed & Al's #1 objective. That's all that matters... all of the thoughts about their connections to other characters like Winry and Mustang... are just pretty much unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
To be fair, I think the movie pandered to the fans too much. Just how many characters did they bring back from the dead that had versions on the 'Germany' side? Other than Hughes and the Fuhrer, who had competent-enough roles, I didn't see a reason for any of the other 'revivals' other to be fan wanks.
Regarding Gluttony... now that I think about it, the fact that he even became more mindless (if that's even possible) was quite a turn-off.
As for the ending...
Doesn't necessarily mean there will ever be someone who eventually can or will want to.
To be honest, though, I kinda ignored that fact and came to the conclusion that at least on the other side, they're both together and with fully human bodies, regardless of whether my above statement ever comes to pass (even if they've thought of such an event).
To be honest, though, I kinda ignored that fact and came to the conclusion that at least on the other side, they're both together and with fully human bodies, regardless of whether my above statement ever comes to pass (even if they've thought of such an event).
As someone already posted, the Putsch failed BUT Hitler remained in jail for a few years. The failure only succeeded in convincing him never to try a coup again, instead gaining control legally (and we all know where that got him).
I dunno. It was fun to see Hughes' killer in such a crappy situation, finally getting his a-- kicked.
I guess since Earth-2 Gracia had a role in the movie, there wasn't much reason to add her counterpart. And there has been this popular (but unproven) fan response that the dead child Al tries to resurrect was Elysia.
I thought Earth-2 Gracia, though not having a dead counterpart, had an equally competent role, sorta a yin to Nazi Hughes' yang (I could say that I like this Gracia better than Earth-1's).
Interestingly, I think Lyja's Earth-2 counterpart is supposed to be Fritz Lang's mistress (The director was a womanizer).
A.Magik
I dunno. It was fun to see Hughes' killer in such a crappy situation, finally getting his a-- kicked.
I guess since Earth-2 Gracia had a role in the movie, there wasn't much reason to add her counterpart. And there has been this popular (but unproven) fan response that the dead child Al tries to resurrect was Elysia.
I thought Earth-2 Gracia, though not having a dead counterpart, had an equally competent role, sorta a yin to Nazi Hughes' yang (I could say that I like this Gracia better than Earth-1's).
Interestingly, I think Lyja's Earth-2 counterpart is supposed to be Fritz Lang's mistress (The director was a womanizer).
A.Magik
Must resist urge to highlight the spoiler boxes! Haven't seen it yet... I'm taking a road trip with a friend to see it (assuming it's bloody playing in our state), and we're cosplaying for it...
Stupid question~ Are the L'Arc~en~Ciel songs "Link" and "Lost Heaven" still being used as the movie's opening and ending themes? I mean, I don't know why they wouldn't be... like I said, stupid question...
Stupid question~ Are the L'Arc~en~Ciel songs "Link" and "Lost Heaven" still being used as the movie's opening and ending themes? I mean, I don't know why they wouldn't be... like I said, stupid question...
courtneyrhodeisland
New member
I will probably see this movie when it comes out on Adult Swim!
I'm just curious if Rose and her child make an appearence in the movie?
I think not because it sounRAB like we don't even get to see Huges' family.
What does Sharabala stand for?
A capital city in the world where Ed and Al came from...
I'm wondering if Dante has survived, possibly not since the preview only showed Gluttony, Wrath and Envy!
I really like the music, I wonder if there is a soundtrack to this movie, maybe in the limited/special edition DVD Set? Thank you
I'm just curious if Rose and her child make an appearence in the movie?
I think not because it sounRAB like we don't even get to see Huges' family.
What does Sharabala stand for?
A capital city in the world where Ed and Al came from...
I'm wondering if Dante has survived, possibly not since the preview only showed Gluttony, Wrath and Envy!
I really like the music, I wonder if there is a soundtrack to this movie, maybe in the limited/special edition DVD Set? Thank you
Playa Play
New member
Rose and her child do make an appearance in the movie, as a matter of fact. Don't want to answer the other questions because they could spoil things.