Fullmetal Alchemist - O Filme: O Conquistador de Shambala

The ending was disappointing in my opinion. I won't say what happens, but I was really enjoying this movie being a fan of both TV series and the manga until this movie ended. I mean, really, the ending is everything to a movie. The greatness of both anime series is almost beyond words, and it's up there on the list with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Gin Tama of top twenty anime series of all time.

So why did the ending of the movie leave me unsatisfied and somewhat depressed? Because it was unsatisfying, I wonder what the writers were thinking?

Well, I'm done complaining about the ending, now for the positive: the story is STILL good in my opinion (until the ending), and the animation is awesome and seems to improve from the first series (please note that this movie is a finale to the first animated series ONLY and is in no way associated with Brotherhood) animation. Seeing the characters grown up a bit was neat and the plot revolving around two alternate worlds is always good if it's done right (which it was, until the ending), without being too damn confusing to follow.

Now, for the basic outline of the story: Ed and an alternate world Al are now studying rocket science, since in that world alchemy doesn't exist. But then a certain 'nice' lady wants to open up the portal to Ed's original world where alchemy DOES exist to find the legendary Shangri-La, opening an opportunity for Ed to get back home.

Overall, 7/10. If it wasn't for the ending it would get another point added.

This is a sequel to the 2003 anime Full Metal Alchemist but in movie form, it attempts to follow on from the events of the shows finale and perhaps answer a few unanswered questions.

Sadly truth be told it creates new ones and delivers a highly underwhelming story that utilizes the weakest points from the anime itself.

I won't break down the plot as it will cause spoilers for the anime for anybody who hasn't seen it. I will just say there are some inconsistencies, it's a pretty lame plot and it does absolutely nothing for the FMA universe.

Sure, it was nice to see the characters back and it was nice to see several get the finales the anime didn't give us but ultimately it should have been a lot better than this.

Not good, not bad, but considering it's a follow on it's sad to say I wouldn't even call this essential viewing for fans of the franchise.

The Good:

Some great social commentary

Wraps up some story arcs/characters nicely

Follows on from the anime relatively well

The Bad:

Some contradictions from the anime

Story is pretty weak

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Science that doesn't benefit people isn't science at all

As a devote fan to the series, I got very excited when hearing that there was going to be a movie made. Part of me was worried that it wouldn't be made with the same meticulous perfection that the series was created with...I shouldn't have worried.

The movie itself is absolutely awesome. I found it very enjoyable and (unlike a lot of anime movies) find myself able to watch it over and over again.

And to those who complain about the ending. If the end of the movie had been *any* different, it would not have been FMA's style. I thought the end was brilliant. So, check it out!

Review By Kamal K

This movie is a direct continuation of where the first TV series leaves off and it's STRONGLY suggested you watch the TV series first in order to understand this movie, and to see this movie as a complete closure to it as well. A good portion charms I feel of what defines the TV series are still present, and the returning characters do have presence, but not to their fullest use in my opinion. Mustang does his thing, but I think in some way they could have still developed his character. But for general character development with Ed and Al as well as their relationship, it really does the job which I feel you have to see for yourself on how that pans out.

Yes, it does give closure, but some of the movie does have some unsolved questions. Such as it doesn't explain why Noah has the power to see somebody's life just by touching them. And outside of that, she really has no use to the story though her presence does symbolize that gypsies were scorned by the Germans just to make emphasize the history going on in Germany at that point. Another factor I didn't like was how little significance the opening becomes after that. It's supposed to be something important and you get an idea of what it's supposed to be (based on your knowledge of science and history), but after that, it really has no overall contribution of the story, nor did I felt it really established anything.

Take what I said about the TV series and times it by 2, and you perfectly get the quality of the art and animation of this movie. The moment that Ed's mechanical arm first appears, it's so detailed and rendered and yet syncs perfectly with the 2D art. The designs of the characters are simply for the sake of theatrical quality, but of course shows maturity to the features as well. Specifically, not just Ed by growing taller, but by placing his pony tail closer to the crown of his head to symbolize that he's an adult and to make him more scholarly looking. And my thoughts on the environments and action sequences still remain the same and the qualities are still there, but obviously better.

The voice acting in both English and Japanese is still a quality that I consider a standard to look up to. In addition to new characters, we got new seiyuus.

The music is just incredible. If you've already seen the first TV series, then it's a highly likely possibility you've watched this already. But if you haven't the TV series and have been meaning to watch it or currently watching it, then naturally you're going to watch this anyway. In the extras, it is revealed the original first draft was going to be between 2 to 3 hours long and I felt that a 95 minute movie was really too short to really give this installment of Fullmetal Alchemist a little too small of a conclusion.

FMA is a great anime (on par with Cowboy Bebop), which made the movie all that more of a letdown.. It wasn't bad; the animation is good and the story was okay, however the plot was severely lacking. After I finished watching the movie, my first impression was that someone had made an excellent movie, removed a fifth of it, and replaced it with fan service. The plot simply does not flow; there are a number of instances where plot devices are randomly introduced and just as quickly dropped (e.g. the spear of longinus), where the story progression seems horribly contrived (Ed's conversations with Fritz Lang-especially the talk about parallel worlds), and where important scenes have simply been removed without compensation (most obvious in the opening subplot-why is Ed wearing that shiny helmet?). My other major gripe is the fan service. A little fan service is OK, but this is ridiculous. All of the popular characters from the anime had cameos, regardless of whether or not they offered any significant contribution to the story. Rather, they are just dropped in for a couple of scenes, did their trademark thing, and left. This wouldn't be nearly so bad except for the fact that important scenes were probably sacrificed so old favorites could have a minute of screen time.

That said, the movie is still entertaining. A lot of people disliked the ending, and while I don't think it was amazing, I believe it was consistent with the anime. My final recommendation: if you know nothing of FMA, watch the anime (which is far superior to the movie). If you've seen all 51 episodes, the movie is definitely worth watching, if for no other reason than that it significantly progresses the story.