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ANIME AICN - Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa
SPOILER ALERT !!
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Column by Scott Green
Leading up to FUNimation's September 12th release of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa on DVD, the company screened the movie theatrically on August 25th and 26th (Texas fans can still see it September 5-7, see here for details). Based on the audience reaction in the Boston area screening, though the movie went a bit far astray for the anime series' epilogue, the audience received what they are looking for.
The original 51 episode Full Metal Alchemist TV series has been a well warranted hit among anime fans. Where series like the popular Naruto requires allowances for the contortions needed to manufacture more episodes while remaining behind its source material manga, the Fullmetal Alchemist anime takes on the framework of a well planned epic. Fluid, complex action animation work from BONES (Cowboy Bebop: The Movie), mature handling of characters, compelling, often harsh developments and little reliance on formula compound to make for a series that will thrill anime faithful as well as those wary of the conceits of popular anime.
The anime is set in a world physically and metaphysically governed by the Law of Equivalent Exchange, which an alchemist may utilize to turn one form of matter into another. Young brothers Ed and Al break this law attempting to resurrect their mother. In the bloody, disastrous procedure gone awry, Ed loses an arm and a leg. Al looses his body, though Ed is able to affix the younger Al's soul into a hulking suit of armor. Taking up the quest to find the Philosopher Stone in order to re-obtain their original bodies, Ed, outfitted with mechanical replacement limbs, trades freedom for knowledge by becoming a "dog of the military" joining his nation's State Alchemists. As their journey continues and the innocence of the young heroes is stripped, their idealism frequently comes into conflict with the consequences of their action.
If you're hoping to avoid learning too much about the particulars of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie: The Conqueror of Shamballa, the thumbnail evaluation would be that it is everything a fan would want in an anime action movie and little more. Though it largely deviates from familiar trapping of the anime series, it offers plenty of well receive crowd pleasing moments of the favorite characters expressing themselves in movie quality animation. In contrast to many anime-franchise movies Seiji Mizushima constructs one that is neither rushed or incomplete, nor does it have the out of character non-urgency that makes many franchise movie seem like official fan-fiction. Instead, it is well paced and logically constructed throughout. Mizushima's habit of inappropriately using humor to lighten moments in scenes that for dramatic effect should not be lightened is present in a few rather pronounced instances with character making deliberately comedic overtures in moments when they are seriously engage. BONES's animation carries a more detailed design work than the television series, and there is some absolutely spectacular creature work in the movie, but more often many of the effects and fights are overly familiar. The climax fight scene specifically is very reminiscent in its motion of one of the highly regarded fights of the anime.
There is a spectacular creature fight 1/4 into the movie, and a much larger, much more impressive one 3/4 in.
Theatrical anime works frequently aim to show high magnitude animation prowess with this type of scene, but here, BONES in particular leverages starkly contrasting elements and fluid animation to produces memorable visual displays.
However, especially the second one, the integration into the larger movie is problematic to the point where the scenes clearly don't know what do with characters who are present for the event.
Beyond that, plot is essential to the movie, and it should not be discussed in detail without going into the plot.
The movie was not just plastering the Fullmetal Alchemist name over another concept the way some fans might fear. It isn't the kind of radical format break that a movie like Ghost in the Shell: Innocence was. It doesn't appear that the movie's makers had tired of the franchise and grafted an separate idea onto the names of the franchise. Instead, the movie appears to be an exercise in exploring a moment of history that had previously been linked to the title along facets of the familiar work. As such, previous knowledge aids enjoyment of the movie, which has more to do with viewing existing structures of personalities and events from slightly skewed angles. It is less in the business of created or even re-creating than in its in turning and repositioning.
Conqueror of Shamballa follows intersecting stories in the world of the original series and in a historical moment of our own world. Shou Aikawa's script adeptly develops a Fullmetal Alchemist story within the context of this history. It pulls in the politics, science and mysticism that are both appropriate for the time and in what gives Fullmetal Alchemist its character.
The title refers to a plot by the proto-Nazi, esoteric Thule Society, which includes Rudolf Hess and Karl Haushofer, to open a gate to Fullmetal Alchemist' original world, assumed to be a hollow-Earth theory variant of Tibet's legendary Shamballa. As such, the movie draws inspiration from Oberth's rocket work and the Nazi' beer hall putsch of Weimar Germany in 1923 Munich.
Familiarity with history is a useful tool for approaching the movie.
Given that the theatre crowd was audibly surprised and discomforted to learn that the beer hall ranting was swelling into a Nazi rally, it does not seem safe to assume that everyone is going to realized the movie positive PROBLEM-SOLVED tone to the failure of the November 8th coup and the arrest of Hitler and Hess didn't mark the end of the Nazi party's rise, or that the movie diverged from real history. Knowledge of the wider context isn't just illuminating, but makes the niche the world builds out more interesting.
The movie teases the the franchise as it does history.
Plenty of dramatic irony is worked into the relationships between the worlds. The man who was Führer King Bradley of the original world is shown to be the counterpart of movie maker Fritz Lang, who plays and active role in the story. Fan favorite Hughes is shown to have a counterpart in the German police who is far less mentally or morally impressive. There's no offered up explanation why these twin with some spiritual similarities, but radically different lives.
The movie's greatest accomplishment is that it is able to coherently integrate all elements it works with. On the Fullmetal Alchemist front, the movie is able to bring back many of the familiar players from the anime, and while a few of their contributions are forced, their sub-stories are often satisfactorily complete.
There is some character advancement, but more often that advancement takes the characters back into familiar positions. Thematically it is retreading familiar ground for the franchise, with little new for the characters. Al beginning to resemble his father, as Ed began to the TV series, but in a different way than his bother did could have given the movie a unique angle. Yet, despite working on his own, he's still the deuteragonist, and only given a limited window. Disasters and innocent victims suffering as the consequence of pursued goals is old territory for Fullmetal Alchemist. Even if the escalation of a host of characters' intersecting paths does provide the expected gravity, the movie was be a bit lazy in the demonstration. Illustrating the cost of war through a bloodstain and teddy bear pales in comparison to the original series crimes against humanity.
In all, the movie remains engaging four its hour and 45 minute running length, and holds together far better than most works of the format. It is a tale that speaks well, covering a well constructed set of characters situations along with a fascinating, pivotal moment on history, without figuring out a way to say much new about either.
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I agree. A huge letdown.
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I think it totally got fucked after the first 26 episodes. That's like 100 + episoded of utter filler crap afterwards. How the fuck did they destroy the story so badly?
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I thought that the movie tied up the whole series pretty good.
And as far as Naruto, it's good up until ep 136, where they start the filler crap for 60+ episodes (it's on 108 right now, and supposedly the fillers end on 199) to allow for the manga to get farther ahead. -
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Azo8heDmNoQ#
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It seems to me that the Fullmetal Alchemist works percisely because they did invent a story that they could complete, even if it did diverge from the manga. While not perfect, the narative beats ouy plenty of other, far more disorganized manga based action anime.
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I saw some episodes of the show before I even knew it was based on a manga (which I've never read). And I've seen most of the episodes, and I believe that the later ones are just as good wth new complications and resolutions that make sense. They do seem a bit different, but that's cool because it gets deeper into the mythology, characters, and philosophy of the show. So, since the show's alright, and if you think the manga's good, I'd say it's a good thing that the two have diferent storylines so that you might enjoy both the anime and the manga and find them both original. I still haven't seen the movie
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but I take it that it's generally considered to be among the top entertaining anime series and is well worth seeing? Btw, the last two story arcs of the Naruto series weren't all that bad. Not great, but definitley better then the usual crappy filler episodes. And any truth to the rumors that the Naruto filler episodes are going to end? Judging by the episode titles http://tinyurl.com/g8dt9 the fillers don't appear to end at 199.
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I've seen the series and movie and am currently following the manga. In my opinion, FMA does deserve all the good word of mouth it's generated... Based on a manga with fresh ideas, it's really something unlike you've ever really seen in anime before! The humor, characters and complexity all work very well! The series follow the manga pretty much directly up to around episode 30 I think... and I'd agree that the series tightens things up and paces things far better than the manga up to that point that it even surpasses it! Even the made up episodes after that, rather than relying on filler etc. actually continue on and seek to grow and resolve the mysteries within the series! It is great throughout and I'd even agree is better than the manga even now... however... where I feel the series loses me is directly at the very last episode when it suddenly introduces this whole new world (supposedly ours) and ends the way it does... I was very unsatisfied with it (and I hadn't begun reading the manga at that point). I was glad to know there was a movie releasing, but even after seeing Shambala, I'm still disappointed with the ending... It's not that it's necessarily bad, but the whole story just feels incomplete... picking up where the manga's going, it continues in a totally new direction and even as genrei said, begins to unravel more things about what made the show interesting... the alchemy, the role of the military, the homonculi, Al and Ed's bodies (particularly why Ed is short being related to alchemy), Winry's role, the Philosopher's stone, other countries and their forms of Alchemy, Ed's father etc. and it looks like it will go on for a good deal longer... I guess I just want a more satisfying conclusion which is why I'm following the manga and I certainly do hope that there'll be more for the series/movie version of FMA rather than just end it at that point, because after Shambala, you just leave with the feeling that aside from Ed and Al, the other characters seem worse off and never reach their intended goals. Because that's what makes FMA so great! It's not just the lovable main characters, but their solid cast as well, both villians and friends, and you want to see more solid resolution for them over an arc of time rather than just underusing them as plot devices in the film, even their alternate reality 'clones' don't satisfy like the 'originals.' I don't mind if the series/film remains different from the manga, but I want more finality to it...
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As in the author stopped writing the manga and there are no plans to continue the anime or manga except an occasional movie/OVA?
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The manga is still ongoing. Beyond the TV and movie, the anime has a few cutesy short OVA's that FUNimation hasn't licensed yet. And I think some video games follow the anime continuity. I wouldn't be shocked if more anime comes out at some point, but none are announced and the TV series itself is able to stand alone well. The movie just makes an interesting epilogue.
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This column is awful. Just kill it please.
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I'll put that series on my "try to see" list. Though at 51 episodes it'll probably be easier to find/get into the manga over the TV series.
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Forgot to mention, it looks like Gedo Senki is doing pretty well in the theatres. A few more weeks at #1 and it should make it over to this side of the world for sure.
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It is doing quite well, and the bad reviews seem to mainly be in Japan, so I figure they are still carrying the whole weight of all that gossip between father and son into the theatre. Though one can understand where Hayao is coming from, as Ghibli is a very well revered studio and it's not a great idea to hand over a large scale project to a first timer... Anime News Network gave Gedo Senki a pretty decent review, and of course we can expect some faults from a first time director, but overall it sounds like good viewing although for the most part the creator of Earthsea commented that the movie has practically nothing in common to her books and is it's own story... I've never read the book so it should be alright for me. Some are wondering if Disney will release this film under it's own label or Miramax's as it's supposed to contain some degree of violence on par with Princess Mononoke. That's what I heard anyway...
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Well, since Sci-Fi Channel has the rights until '09, we they have a few years to figure out what to do with the release. On the other hand, IF the Japanese R2 DVD release had English subtitles, it wouldn't be the first Ghibli movie to include that feature. Personally, if Ghibli was going to put out something less magical than Hayao Miyazaki's work, I'd rather have something with some interesting technique, like Cat Returns, than the what seems to be very conventional Gedo Senki (I haven't seen it).
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Is it me, or did I see WWF Wrestling on the SciFi channel the other night???? WT... F? They must have the same execs over on the Cartoon Network running that taco stand. I guess that means there's a good chance they'll bungle the Gedo rights. Personally, I don't mind seeing a more commercial/theatrical anime as long as it's entertaining and has something going for it. I think it must have been tough to have a genius/industry God as a dad and hope Goro is able to establish his career and his own voice and style over time. And I'm sure that at the very least, the Ghibli animators will come through with some quality work.
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but,I loved the Fullmetal Alchemist anime. The showdown between Ed and Sloath was sad and brilliant. The history between Dante and threir father.
Mustang's battle with Pride. I thought the leading to the enbding and the ending itself was very satisfying.
I agree with others. Mayes Hughes was a favorite character of mine too. I sorry to see him die, but Ithought they handled his death and its effects on the other characters well.
And I too wish that the Cartoon Network would focus more on their anime, and there is certainly no excuse for SciFi airing WWF Wrestling. -
I was lucky enough to get a copy of the Japanese version from a friend. I did enjoy it, and although I was disappointed with not finding out what happened with Mustang's situation, I was, overall, pleased by the movie.
If handled right, another sequel could be done. However, I believe that what has kept FMA close to the viewers hearts is the fact that the series was never dragged out like so many others.
I just wish that more theatres here in the states would be more willing to show anime movies in general, i.e., more locations other that the coasts.
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