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nebroadweNo spoilers, I promise.
Having finally sat down to watch the R2 release of Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa, I found the film to be a skillful, entertaining and thought-provoking, though not perfect, cap to the t.v. series. Its chief flaw is being more ambitious for closure than its running time allows. All of the threads left dangling at the end of episode 51 are tied up neatly, but some are merely knotted off without much (or any) review of context, the film relying on the viewer's memory of previous events to provide that. Shou Aikawa's script provides an orientation to FMA's high concept at the outset and does its best to in-clue the casual viewer with brief flashbacks and explanatory references throughout, but the more you already know, the easier you'll find it to keep up. The plot mechanics show occasional signs of strain (mainly in forced coincidences and a refusal to have any truck with the physics of falling bodies) but the central action is always founded on character bedrock and therefore works. There's one late scene where a set of contrasting reactions to the same event lays out the differences between two characters without a word needing to be spoken -- and then, when words are spoken, they're exactly right. Needless to say, the voicework continues to be excellent, both from the old hands and the newcomers. It's easy to believe in the action (even the forced coincidences) when the seiyuu deliver their lines with such conviction.
The animation is lovely: character and background designs continue strong; the action sequences are fluid, exciting and easy to follow; and, although some of the CG screams "CG!", that might be a deliberate aesthetic choice. (Not sure I agree with it, but I can see the possible utility.) The setting ranges widely, but differences in color saturation help keep you oriented even when the land- or cityscapes look similar. Director Seiji Mizushima has a good eye, framing scenes well and occasionally choosing unusual angles and effects for emphasis. The camera tracking the passing fields and woods from a pickup truck rumbling down a dirt road bounces realistically enough to induce motion sickness, frex. And one character gets a death scene that is guaranteed to break your heart -- it's so simply and beautifully composed. [This is hardly a spoiler; death in the FMAverse is a given.] The score introduces a couple of new themes but recycles most of itself from the t.v. series -- which is not a problem, Michiru Oshima's work being as good as it is. Sometimes the recycling is straightforward (there's a reorchestrated version of "Brothers" that plays very softly toward the end, almost lost beneath the ambient sound and the dialogue, that's very effective when you finally notice), but other times it's almost ironic, as if to say, "Remember when we used to have scenes like this? It's not quite the same now, is it?" Nevertheless, the film retains both the high seriousness of the series' concluding episodes and the sometimes-goofball humor (visual as well as verbal) that ran throughout and integrates the two seamlessly -- no small feat! The ending is bittersweet; despite invoking the ongoing-journey motif, the story has clearly reached its natural end. I think I'm going to go back and watch the whole series again now. It rewards rewatching splendidly.
Having finally sat down to watch the R2 release of Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa, I found the film to be a skillful, entertaining and thought-provoking, though not perfect, cap to the t.v. series. Its chief flaw is being more ambitious for closure than its running time allows. All of the threads left dangling at the end of episode 51 are tied up neatly, but some are merely knotted off without much (or any) review of context, the film relying on the viewer's memory of previous events to provide that. Shou Aikawa's script provides an orientation to FMA's high concept at the outset and does its best to in-clue the casual viewer with brief flashbacks and explanatory references throughout, but the more you already know, the easier you'll find it to keep up. The plot mechanics show occasional signs of strain (mainly in forced coincidences and a refusal to have any truck with the physics of falling bodies) but the central action is always founded on character bedrock and therefore works. There's one late scene where a set of contrasting reactions to the same event lays out the differences between two characters without a word needing to be spoken -- and then, when words are spoken, they're exactly right. Needless to say, the voicework continues to be excellent, both from the old hands and the newcomers. It's easy to believe in the action (even the forced coincidences) when the seiyuu deliver their lines with such conviction.
The animation is lovely: character and background designs continue strong; the action sequences are fluid, exciting and easy to follow; and, although some of the CG screams "CG!", that might be a deliberate aesthetic choice. (Not sure I agree with it, but I can see the possible utility.) The setting ranges widely, but differences in color saturation help keep you oriented even when the land- or cityscapes look similar. Director Seiji Mizushima has a good eye, framing scenes well and occasionally choosing unusual angles and effects for emphasis. The camera tracking the passing fields and woods from a pickup truck rumbling down a dirt road bounces realistically enough to induce motion sickness, frex. And one character gets a death scene that is guaranteed to break your heart -- it's so simply and beautifully composed. [This is hardly a spoiler; death in the FMAverse is a given.] The score introduces a couple of new themes but recycles most of itself from the t.v. series -- which is not a problem, Michiru Oshima's work being as good as it is. Sometimes the recycling is straightforward (there's a reorchestrated version of "Brothers" that plays very softly toward the end, almost lost beneath the ambient sound and the dialogue, that's very effective when you finally notice), but other times it's almost ironic, as if to say, "Remember when we used to have scenes like this? It's not quite the same now, is it?" Nevertheless, the film retains both the high seriousness of the series' concluding episodes and the sometimes-goofball humor (visual as well as verbal) that ran throughout and integrates the two seamlessly -- no small feat! The ending is bittersweet; despite invoking the ongoing-journey motif, the story has clearly reached its natural end. I think I'm going to go back and watch the whole series again now. It rewards rewatching splendidly.