×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
REVIEW: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie - Conquer


Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
JoshuaStChristopher



Joined: 20 Jan 2006
Posts: 351
PostPosted: Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:39 pm Reply with quote
I basically agree with your review. It was definitely an entertaining film, but the story was pretty lacking, in my opinion.

And I didn't like the CG armour suits. : (

Still, I thought the main problem was instead of just trying to wrap up loose ends (which it did well, for the most part), it also tried to give us too much of a different and new story. The historical stuff was fun, but FMA had such an interesting world, and watching Ed run around in 1920s Europe just felt too off with the feel of the TV series. I didn't like any of the villains very much, and Fritz Lang was a kind of WTS moment for me. : P

On another note, the dub is fantastic. Better than the Japanese, for sure.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Joe Mello



Joined: 31 May 2004
Posts: 2251
Location: Online Terminal
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:41 am Reply with quote
JoshuaStChristopher wrote:
Still, I thought the main problem was instead of just trying to wrap up loose ends (which it did well, for the most part), it also tried to give us too much of a different and new story. The historical stuff was fun, but FMA had such an interesting world, and watching Ed run around in 1920s Europe just felt too off with the feel of the TV series. I didn't like any of the villains very much, and Fritz Lang was a kind of WTS moment for me. : P


See, I don't think a lot of people will get that without knowing of the movie Metropolis--not the Tezuka flick (although there's some similarity), but the silent film set in the dystopic future. Since I've actually seen the movie (yay, Sci-Fi class), I actually find the use of Lang to be a little clever.

I can see why the story could be lacking; a movie can't necessarily have the same twists and turns as a 52-episode series.

It would behoove Adult Swim to air this during sweeps or whenever they do one of those Saturday movie binges.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
JoshuaStChristopher



Joined: 20 Jan 2006
Posts: 351
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 1:05 am Reply with quote
Joe Mello wrote:
I can see why the story could be lacking; a movie can't necessarily have the same twists and turns as a 52-episode series.


Well, I don't see that as the case, necessarily. Maybe it can't have the same twists and turns, but the general feel and style, especially when dealing with the deeper, darker issues in the series, seems a bit absent.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Ashen Phoenix



Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 2904
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 1:06 am Reply with quote
While I thought the review was sound and very insightful overall, I can't say I agree with the reviwer in regards to the declining quality/enjoy-ability of the film. Even speaking as a huge fan, I can't say I disliked any part of it.

While that's not to say I can't understand where they're coming from. The gypsies certainly do appear to come off as replacement gimmick for the people of Ishbal, and the less-than-explosive depth to the plotline can be seen as disappointing, as well as the seemingly-lack-luster action sequences. These views are all very valid, and I recognize how these aspects can be seen as such. I, personally, however, was thrilled and thoroughly loved the movie in its entirety. And I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to see the special OAV specials included in the Collector's Special Edition DVD. Mr. Green

…So I wouldn't say I completely disregard any of the reviewer's points or remarks, quite the contrary, I respect the objective review, but I also disagree with them on some points (partially as a fan, of course). That's all. I enjoyed the review of Conqueror and am glad it was written so well. Anime catgrin
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:51 am Reply with quote
JoshuaStChristopher wrote:
I basically agree with your review. It was definitely an entertaining film, but the story was pretty lacking, in my opinion.


Agreed, but I still love it as the end to one of my most beloved anime series. I really wished this had been a 3-4 part OAV so that more time could of been spent on other characters....but it didn't happen that way. I still love this series and movie did a good job bringing back most of things I love about FMA, it's just lacking in depth. But then again not many one and half hour movie ever compare to a 50 episode series.

I can't wait for my LE to show up...I can't wait to see all the extras that come with it.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail My Anime My Manga
utawoutau



Joined: 27 Feb 2004
Posts: 190
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 3:25 am Reply with quote
At the end of the review, the writer notes that there is a drop in story quality with the series and the movie. I would argue that the drop in quality happened at the end of the series, and that it naturally impacted anything to come, including the movie.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Zalis116
Moderator


Joined: 31 Mar 2005
Posts: 6864
Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:10 am Reply with quote
Quote:
A Limited Edition version is also available which has additional extras.
...but not until November, right? That's why I haven't picked up the movie quite yet, as I want to sort out all this LE morass and get the version with whatever extras I like best. And for some reason, I haven't watched the movie via other means yet...
Quote:
...and a lot of the Japanese VAs struggle to correctly pronounce some of the Western-sounding names, especially “Edward Elric” and “Alphonse Elric.” (Normally this wouldn’t be worth mentioning, but if sub fans are going to level criticism at English dub performers for mispronouncing Japanese names then it’s only fair that seiyuu get similarly criticized for mispronouncing non-Asian names.)
Heh heh heh heh, most amusing... Cool I didn't want to start this argument yet again, but from what I know of language and interactions with Japanese students, it seems to require a significant amount of studying, practice, and immersion to master all the various vowel sounds, consonant clusters, and other difficult points of English and other Western languages. But, since most Japanese sounds exist in our phonetic arsenal, I believe it shouldn't take extensive studying to get reasonably close pronunciation, as long as there's proper direction and a bit of effort from the VAs. So it's not so much of giving a "free pass" to the Japanese VAs -- different language, different standards.

And actually, most English dubs that are up to 2004-2006 standards do a decent enough job. It's just that some dubs do things like ignoring the original, making something up based on a surface glance at the name, or deciding, "eh, that name looks close enough to an English name, let's change it." (I'll forgive the Anglicization of Midori in Midori Days, since we're somewhat familiar with the word from imported beer/liquor.) And for all the faults in pronouncing "Edowaado Eruriku" etc. in the Japanese dub, at least they keep it consistent in how all the characters say his name. (That's assuming my memory serves me right, as it's been awhile since I watched FMA.) Contrast this to something like the English dub of Comic Party: Revolution, where some characters say [mihzuki] and others say [meezuki]. Which one is it, Director?
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
elsie



Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 61
Location: Virginia
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:25 am Reply with quote
The name thing does bother me, even though yes, I know Japanese is different. I remember watching the Japanese track of Trigun and finding the pronunciation of Wolfwood to be utterly unrecognizable, and shows like FMA in which most of the names are non-Asian are the ones I'm most likely to watch in English for that reason.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
hanachan01



Joined: 11 Dec 2005
Posts: 504
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:54 am Reply with quote
I'm suprised the various plotholes in this movie weren't mentioned. While I found the movie interesting and enjoyable, there were many annoying plotholes as well. First off, spoiler[how do you open the gate from the real world side, where there is no alchemy?] Also, spoiler[How do you destory the gate? Blow it up? It's even more confusing from the real world side] Also, I felt that the Noah character was too reminiscent of Rose, but without a personality. I love Heidrich though, I thought the fact that he cared for Ed was very similar to Al, but the way he cared was different, which I liked. spoiler[Too bad he died Sad ]

Otherwise, it was an interesting movie, and I liked that they put in the effort to make it as realistic as possible. I heard that Seiji Mizushima even went to Germany before production!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
Deltakiral



Joined: 07 Oct 2004
Posts: 3338
Location: Glendora, CA (Avatar Hei from Darker than BLACK)
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:31 am Reply with quote
Zalis116 wrote:
...but not until November, right? That's why I haven't picked up the movie quite yet, as I want to sort out all this LE morass and get the version with whatever extras I like best. And for some reason, I haven't watched the movie via other means yet...


Correct the LE version comes out on November 14 I heard that it's suppose to be like a book. Where the DVD sits on one side and there is hardback book in the middle. I am looking forward to getting my in November.....
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail My Anime My Manga
Key
Moderator


Joined: 03 Nov 2003
Posts: 18137
Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley)
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 9:46 am Reply with quote
hanachan01 wrote:
I'm suprised the various plotholes in this movie weren't mentioned. While I found the movie interesting and enjoyable, there were many annoying plotholes as well. First off, spoiler[how do you open the gate from the real world side, where there is no alchemy?] Also, spoiler[How do you destory the gate? Blow it up? It's even more confusing from the real world side] Also, I felt that the Noah character was too reminiscent of Rose, but without a personality.


Have to agree with you on Noah vs. Rose, although Noah's lack of comparative personality development can be attributed to time factors. (Rose appeared prominently in several TV episodes, Noah was around for only a fraction of the overall 1:40 movie time.) As for your second spoiler point, I agree that the movie skipped around dealing with that issue, probably because the writers couldn't figure out how to explain it.

Zallis116: Although I know I didn't make that clear in the review, my comment about the pronounciations was referring more to the way sub fans nitpick on even the tiniest thing on pronounciation of names, not the gross cases where anyone would notice. And since hard-core sub fans nitpick so thoroughly, I don't let seiyuu off the hook just for language sound/structure differences, as I've heard Japanese actors who can pronounce American names quite well.

But that's really a minor point overall, and I agree, not worth starting a big debate about. I'm still convinced the English dub is better even discounting the pronounciation thing.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
ryusaki





PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 9:50 am Reply with quote
Is it just me or Does any one see a 2nd Movie....and They take on Hitler...




Laughing
Back to top
halochief_90



Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 466
Location: Canada
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:22 pm Reply with quote
This review was quite timely, actually. Having just bought the movie this mourning, it's nice to see a review that's (mostly) on the good side.

However, since FMA is still airing on YTV in Canada at about episode 30, I haven't seen the whole series yet, so I only read a few paragraphs where it didn't seem likely there would be a spoiler (and I survived!).

Speaking of that, when I bought the movie, I didn't even read the back of DVD, I just threw it into a drawer where I'll remember where I left it! That packaging won't be unraveled 'til February or something of next year!

I never heard of this LE of the movie, but Wal-Mart (pretty much the only store, where I live, that sells anime!) would never get it anyway.

For what it's worth, the last four paragraphs of the review (the part I read) were great!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Ashen Phoenix



Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 2904
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 12:46 pm Reply with quote
Deltakiral wrote:
Zalis116 wrote:
...but not until November, right? That's why I haven't picked up the movie quite yet, as I want to sort out all this LE morass and get the version with whatever extras I like best. And for some reason, I haven't watched the movie via other means yet...


Correct the LE version comes out on November 14 I heard that it's suppose to be like a book. Where the DVD sits on one side and there is hardback book in the middle. I am looking forward to getting my in November.....


Yeah. I really think the LE is the way to go. Even though you have to wait longer for it (which I know no one wants to do), but it's worth it since it comes with the extras and the like. 'course, if you're not up to paying extra for the bounus materials, then you're better off getting the normal version. That's my opinion anyway. Wink (it's awesome either way)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Mini_Alquemist



Joined: 02 Jul 2006
Posts: 11
PostPosted: Sat Sep 23, 2006 5:40 pm Reply with quote
English Dub surpassed the japanese dub! Surprised
It's unusual, but the dub did an excellent job Very Happy (I'm still a fan of the Japanese version )
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4  Next
Page 1 of 4

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group