Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa (2006)

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa is a 2005 Japanese anime based on the Fullmetal Alchemist series and manga. The movie is a direct follow-up of the series and gives resolution to many of the conflicts that remained at the end of the show. The story follows Edward Elric, a young alchemist, stuck in a parallel world and trying to find his way home. Driven to be reunited with his friends and family, Edward must face new adversaries who also want to travel to his home-world, but for much more nefarious reasons.This movie is a fan feast, with characters brought back from the series along with answering a lot of the questions we were left with at the end of the show. Full of fun action scenes, great animation, some funny moments, and a story with a surprising amount of depth, Conqueror of Shamballa is a great movie to top off the series. The story ties into real-life history, making the story all the more enjoyable. The movie also ends strong with a very exciting climax.Despite this, Conqueror of Shamballa suffers from a common problem with anime: melodrama. Over-the-top, obnoxious personalities occasionally contrast from the serious story line. Another problem with this movie is that it does not stand alone. You must watch the series, otherwise you're just seeing the last chapter to another story. This prevents outsiders from enjoying this anime. Also, while fun for the most part and having an exciting final act, the movie is boring and drags on through the second act.Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa is a fun movie overall, and a must-watch for any who enjoyed the series. With a great story and plenty for the fans, watching this movie is a perfect way to finish the series. If you have not yet seen the show, come back to this anime later. You're meant to know the events from the series and this movie builds on that. The series is excellent and will be well worth your time.

I expected more. And by more I mean much much much much more. That's an understatement, but you get my idea. I finished watching The Fullmetal Alchemist in like two weeks and was so psyched by the ending and wanted to see the movie as soon as possible to tie the loose ends and finally give some closure to it all. I didn't expect, as someone put it before me, "an evil Nazi movie". I don't like spoiling movies so I won't give you anything in detail, but I feel some aspects were not thought through completely and some characters deserved way more space than they got, not two minute sequence after which no one seemed to remember them. If I had a time machine, I'd probably go back and told myself: "Don't watch the movie, imagine how the series could have gone on and you'll be much happier."

An excellent film ending to Fullmetal Alchemist, featuring the Elric Brothers trapped in different worlds trying to find a way to reunite after a two year separation. The older brother Edward is in Munich Germany in 1923, mixing with historic figures and Nazis, while the younger brother Alphonse is wandering around his world to find a way to reach Ed. Various characters, both old and new appear to either lend a hand, cause trouble or just be there to please fans.However, I strongly recommend moviegoers who have not watched the television show to watch it first before watching this movie. Although the opening five minutes and the opening credits do explain the story of the show, later parts in the film may confuse viewers who have not watched the show beforehand. This film has excellent voice acting, animation and an awesome soundtrack!

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.