Fullmetal Alchemist: Conquerer of Shambala Review

[Zephie-chan]

Yes, you saw right. This is my official review of the movie! F'in sweet!

EDIT: Updated to reflect the DVD release version (where an English translation was provided to me by a friend of mine).

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Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Shambara wo Ikumono...
... is the theatrical sequel to the popular 50 episode anime series of the same title, "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi", or "Fullmetal Alchemist" if you prefer (both accepted in the Japanese otaku culture), created by Hiromu Arakawa.

STORYLINE
Munich, Germany, 1923. Two years have passed since Edward Elric was dragged from his own world and into ours, torn from all he knew: His country, his friends, and his little brother. Stripped of his alchemic power, he has spent his time with Alphonse Heiderich, a young man with a stunning respemblance to his little brother, studying rocketry science for the German goverment, hoping to some day find a way home.

His efforts thus far have proven to be dead ended, but during an archeological expedition, Edward encounters and unexpected enemy from his past and witnesses something that could be the key to end his ordeal once and for all, but might throw both worlds into chaos.

Meanwhile, in his own world, Alphonse Elric delves deeper than ever before into the mysteries surrounding alchemy where he hopes to find a way to reunite with his older brother, but first he must face the past he has forgotten...

ANIMATION
Direct from the artists of the series, with a touch of maturity, they return with the stunning artistry that we loved so much in the series. Of course, the children we once knew have changed, have grown up, they have matured (Winry more than others), and the art shows it has come to grow with them.

It was a little weird for me at first to get aquainted with the new Edward, new Alphonse, new Winry, and new Roy, the only characters that seemed to have undergone a change.

Edward sports a German business suit throughout most of the series, his prototype limbs now flesh-colored and fully functional for his needs, and his hair longer, his face more pronounced. But it's still the same Ed.

Winry now wears her own type of business suit that gives her an air of maturity well beyond her actual age of 18. Her hair is drawn up into a ponytail or bun, sometimes a combination of both. She looks hawt... Wait, did I say that out loud?

Alphonse, at 16, wears his older brother's clothing that was left behind in the underground city, it having been resewn and repaired by Rose while he retrained in the world of alchemy with Izumi. His hair style is long and almost looks like Ed's in the series, but a little more tame, in my opinion. His face is longer, and he looks older (of course). I liked the new Al.

And finally Roy. With a lovely new eyepatch to conceal his destroyed eye from the battle between him and King Bradley during the series, he's let himself go in the hair department; it is now longer, his bangs hanging almost over his eyes, and the back of his hair down to the bottom of his neck. He's demoted himself to Corporal with border watch at the Northern Amestris border -- a constant snow driven area cut off from human contact where he's forsaken Alchemy.

MUSIC

"LOST HEAVEN" by L'Arc~en~Ciel (OP)
And what a lovely opening song. Ever since I got my hands on the single, I've always listened to this song. It can be heard on the teaser trailer (trailer 3) singing "We think about heaven, how we long for heaven" and the such. The chorus of the song is in English, while the bulk of the song is Japanese. It's a lovely mix, and I recommend buying the single if you ever get the chance.

"LINK" by L'Arc~en~Ciel (ED)
An insanely addictive tune, Link is another song I sincerely recommend buying the single to. You can hear the song in the official trailer (trailer 4) singing the chorus. The song is entirely Japanese, contrary to their OP for the movie, as stated above, which has an English chorus. It was the perfect song to end the movie, without a doubt. Buy it!

On a side note, L'Arc~en~Ciel also sang one of the opening songs in the series called "Ready! Steady! Go!". It's the song Cartoon Network uses as their main opening theme. They're awesome.

FINAL COMMENTS
I liked the fact that not a single character from the series is missed out on, wether it be in our world or Amestris (the Alchemy world). We see Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, Winry Rockbell, Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, Maes Hughes, Alex Louise Armstrong, and even Wrath, who is equipped with an automail set like Edward's [spoiler]and lives on a hill overlooking Izumi's grave.

OVERALL SCORE: 10
A prefect fucking score! Oh, yeah, baby!! I would have given it a 10.5 or 11, but that would be breaking the rules. It's not to be missed if you're a Fullmetal Alchemist junkie, or even if you've just watched the series. It brings goosebumps to your skin, it delights you, and brings you back to all the old memories that made you feel at home.

But... is it over yet? No... their adventure is just beginning!

[Zephie-chan]

I've updated the description and the review a little bit now that I've gotten the DVD and a friend has provided me with an English translation.

[Verence]

I watched it too.

I'd give it an... 8.7, but only compared to the series, which was 9.8.

It was great, don't get me wrong, just not as awesome as the series, in my opinion.

I hope to see more of Amestris as soon as possible. ^_^

[Zephie-chan]

I know. I really think that Arakawa Hiromu created a world filled with so much vastness that it could deal with a couple more installments of either the original Elric duo or some new characters who meet up and/or become friends with everyone who's still left, such as Winry and Roy.

I'm leaning more towards the latter. Because now that the brothers Elric are in our world, it would kinda be corny and cliche to bring them back unless it was mysteriously at the middle or near end of the new characters' series... Kinda like how Hoenheim showed up in the series. No real warning, just kinda... appeared. I'd like to see that.

[Verence]

I want a new series dedicated to Alex Louis Armstrong! *Glitter* *Pose*


According to the "Children" OVA:

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The brothers never return home, but rather live out their days peacefully in our world.