Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa

Series experience: I watched Brotherhood a few years ago, read the manga earlier this year, and saw the 2003 series before this

Short review: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conqueror of Shamballa, which serves as a sequel to the 2003 series, Fullmetal Alchemist, attempts to provide us with a full-circle ending for the Elric brothers, but ultimately ends up as a less-than-satisfactory watch. It almost feels like an alternate universe fan fiction, forgetting the characters that shaped the journey.

Full review:

Warning: review contains spoilers

The ending of the original Fullmetal Alchemist was not that rewarding - it almost felt like sequel bait. This movie was released as the last chapter to the tale of the Elric brothers, and it left people with more questions than answers. The beginning of the movie was not bad, actually, going the way an anime movie of a large franchise usually does, with a short adventure to introduce first-time watchers to what the series is about and lay down the rules of the universe. This part was fun, as we get to see Ed and Al in all their usual glory, beating out bad guys, joking about height, and just blowing stuff up as usual. However, when we move on from this intro, we see Ed depressed with his situation as he is stuck in [our world], which in the FMA universe, is "the other side of the gate".

From here on out, the tone changes, and we are introduced to a world completely new to series watchers. We are aware that Ed is stuck here in the end of the series, but a few years have passed and the situation is just too dire. A few things are set up to draw watchers closer to the parallel characters of the world Ed is in, mirrors of the characters we came to love in the original series. An issue with this is as the movie attempts to do this, it is also introducing so many odd plot twists and characters that are from our reality, it takes from the experience of being something distinctly Fullmetal Alchemist. Placing the story smack dab in the Third Reich is awkward and it just feels strange to see historical figures of the time clash with Edward and the others.

Once Ed manages to return to the FMA world we were initially introduced to, he gets really short interactions with the other characters, and after some intense battling and the main dilemma of the movie being introduced as a dictator who wants to take over the FMA universe, Ed decides to return to [our world] and close the gate - trapping him in it forever. This effectively ends everything with Ed firmly stuck in a universe not his own, and Al is revealed to have followed him there. I don’t know what other viewers feel about this ending, but I personally was very disappointed as this felt like it was going against a lot of what all the characters stood for. On a side note, the brothers’ bond still is a shining gem when it comes to this series and at the very least, the writers stuck to that.

Ed and Al started their journey relentlessly pursuing the philosopher’s stone to get their bodies back. Finding out the ingredients, they never gave up and always decided there would be other ways. The ending given to them in this movie just shuts their spirits down as two kids who suddenly realize there’s no other way. They suddenly abandon their dreams, their world, and the people they love. The development given to some of the side characters was also quite strange - Hohenheim was reduced to the tragic father lost for drama, and Winry just a pining childhood friend accepting her love’s fate. We’re given a new love interest out of nowhere that really felt like she was being pushed in the audiences faces, and the “human” equivalent of Bradley was such an unnecessary addition. It was nice to see some other characters again, but even Mustang, Hawkeye, and Envy weren’t given the spotlight they deserved. The little cameos of the characters dead in the FMA world - shown in the real world - were however nice little treats for the fans of the original series.

Regarding the art and animation, there’s nothing too new. The action scenes were pretty cool, given that it is a movie release, but nothing that stands out too much compared to the original anime.

Overall, I believe the ending was an unnecessary addition to the series. Open as Fullmetal Alchemist’s ending was, it still concluded with the much more believable stories for the characters. This movie not only renders a lot of growth we’ve seen as useless, it also tells us to basically forget a lot of the side characters as there are new ones they tell us to pay attention to. A lot of attempts were made, but I think for what is supposed to be a grand farewell to a beloved series, The Conqueror of Shamballa falls short.

Plot 5/10

Animation 8/10

Characters 6/10


Overall personal enjoyment 6/10

Thank you for reading!

Review for the prequel anime: Fullmetal Alchemist Review