Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa

I remember this movie was widely criticized back then: The fans of the original manga which disliked the plot changes of the original "Full Metal Alchemist" anime considered this movie made the ending even "worse", and those who liked the ending of the original television series considered this movie "ruined" a perfectly satisfying conclusion.

I personally liked a lot the final episodes of the original Full Metal Alchemist show, to the point I prefer it to the super-happy conclusion of "Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood", but I liked this movie too.

Maybe the fans were expecting a "Happily-ever-after" perfect type of ending with Edward reuniting with Al and Winry, but such type of resolution would feel totally out of place in comparison with the rest of the series.

My only complaint is that the antagonist was a little bit underwhelming, and the final confrontation lacked the epic feel a story of this kind should have.

But other than that, this movie does a good job adding some closure to certain loose ends frm the original television series, not "ruining" it as some fans claimed, but fullfilling it instead.

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.

I absolutely love the anime series! Everything about the series was awesome. I needed something to watch so I decided to pick it up one day and I love it. Its got a great story, excellent characters, character development, and the animation is awesome. I recommend it to anyone that likes anime or if you are just looking for something to watch.

Now....when I finished the series I just had to know what happened next! So I paid 5 extra bucks on shipping and handling to get the movie faster.....it wasn't worth the 5 extra bucks...

I don't really want to ruin anything for people that haven't seen it. The story line was only okay. it seemed like it was missing something though. Like some of the characters weren't right and the relationships didn't seem right or something. I guess I expected better reunions and stuff and like some stuff seemed like it was just thrown in there. I didn't like how Al stole Eds original look either. ANd they should have had more of Mustang, Winry, and some other the other characters. i don't know. And they also used CGI in with the drawing. I personally don't like when they use the computer stuff with the normal anime. If you know what I mean. I didn't like the ending either. Its not the way I would have ended it at least. Ed and Al should have ended up in their side of the gate. And Ed should have ended up with Winry.

Its not like super terrible though. There were some good fight scenes and still the good animation(except for the CGI stuff). Edwards look is cool and he looks older.

It was disappointing I guess is the way to sum it up. The series was just so awesome that I expected so much from the movie and it was just a letdown. Not the ending I wanted :( But you should see it and form your own opinion.

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!

First off, after watching all 51 episodes of Full Metal Alchemist, i was excited at the prospect of a Movie to conclude the series. All the cast are back, and slightly older than they were in the series.

Since the dramatic turn of events, we are brought up to speed with whats been going on in the time we were gone. All the favourite characters are back, and this movie takes a interesting spin on its location. The plot is a fast paced, actioned packed affair with even better fight sequences than the series.

So if you liked the series then this is the desert you deserve. It rounds things up nicely, and does it with style to boot.