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REVIEW: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie Blu-ray




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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8458
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:15 am Reply with quote
Well, first, I liked this movie quite a bit, as I stated in my response to the latest ANNCast. It's not perfect, mostly because of the mechanics of alchemy set up by the series being screwed with (why does the Gate have to be opened and closed from both sides?) and some of the "trying to accomplish too much" you mentioned, but it was still pretty solid, and beautifully animated (it must look even better on BD, right?).

I must disagree with the charge that the villains are one-dimensional. Well, not entirely, I guess. True, they're really more obstacles than real villains, but they believe what they're doing is right for their country, and the main villain even admits that her real reason is out of fear for that other world. They're not too well-developed, but then, they don't really have to be. Pick up a history book. Bones obviously did- obviously they did their research, as shown in the booklet that came with the LE version of the DVD release of the movie.

I also have to take you up on the opinion that the dub is great, and Vic Mignogna's Ed being anything more than undersold in his performance. Now, it's hardly a popular opinion, but I find the FMA dub to be overrated. I will agree that Aaron Dismuke is always an excellent Alphonse, though.

I found the movie to be a satisfying conclusion to the series, albeit not one that was entirely necessary. I believe it was said in the ANNCast that it suffers from "We're a movie now!" attitude, which I wholeheartedly agree on, but it's a very enjoyable film.
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KanonAirHaruhiShuffle



Joined: 18 Jul 2008
Posts: 199
Location: California
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:03 am Reply with quote
penguintruth wrote:
Well, first, I liked this movie quite a bit, as I stated in my response to the latest ANNCast. It's not perfect, mostly because of the mechanics of alchemy set up by the series being screwed with (why does the Gate have to be opened and closed from both sides?) and some of the "trying to accomplish too much" you mentioned, but it was still pretty solid, and beautifully animated (it must look even better on BD, right?).

I must disagree with the charge that the villains are one-dimensional. Well, not entirely, I guess. True, they're really more obstacles than real villains, but they believe what they're doing is right for their country, and the main villain even admits that her real reason is out of fear for that other world. They're not too well-developed, but then, they don't really have to be. Pick up a history book. Bones obviously did- obviously they did their research, as shown in the booklet that came with the LE version of the DVD release of the movie.

I also have to take you up on the opinion that the dub is great, and Vic Mignogna's Ed being anything more than undersold in his performance. Now, it's hardly a popular opinion, but I find the FMA dub to be overrated. I will agree that Aaron Dismuke is always an excellent Alphonse, though.

I found the movie to be a satisfying conclusion to the series, albeit not one that was entirely necessary. I believe it was said in the ANNCast that it suffers from "We're a movie now!" attitude, which I wholeheartedly agree on, but it's a very enjoyable film.


It's a shame that Aaron had to go through puberty just before Brotherhood but he's still just a kid(well almost an adult) just like when he started like in Fruits Basket and that was like what 6-7 years ago approximate. It was perfect for the OVA especially when he says, "It's called puberty Ed, maybe it might happen to you someday." But would of been nice to have him in Brotherhood as Al but I guess that's just impossible now with his puberty voice kicking in.

I always liked Vic's voice even back during when he 1st started working for ADV.

The movie was nowhere near perfect i'll admit it but to be honest it felt kind of weird but at the same time it's still quite good.

And yes I can't wait to go to Best Buy on Tuesday to pick up the movie on Blu-ray(despite the fact that I bought both versions of the dvd), and also the Tsubasa season 1 Blu-ray. Plus, both of them should be excellent on Blu-ray.
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pachy_boy



Joined: 09 Mar 2006
Posts: 1323
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:46 am Reply with quote
You feel that it did too much, while I felt it did just enough. The series was the series, and the movie was the movie, and because it was the movie the creators naturally wanted to deliver something cinematic and go out with a bang, which I believe they accomplished. Who wouldn't in the first place? On top of that, it was executed in a way that made sense and stayed true to Fullmetal Alchemist. I had no problem with the Nazis being the villains since it felt natural enough in the context of the story, and I didn't think Fritz Lang's depiction was any different or worse from any other historical figure cameo like from the Indiana Jones movies. This movie is almost pure awesomeness through and through.
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Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4410
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:24 pm Reply with quote
I'd say this movie was worth rebuying since it does look much better, at least to my eyes. Also, I wouldn't have minded a 3 hour long movie! I also am somewhat hopeful for a blu-ray release of the series. Granted, it would have to be reasonably priced, but the recent number of re-releases that Funimation has had on blu-ray has me hoping.

Last edited by Greed1914 on Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:56 am; edited 1 time in total
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xchampion



Joined: 21 Jan 2009
Posts: 370
Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 5:48 pm Reply with quote
I want the series on blu-ray as well but we`re going to have to wait for it to happen in japan first because they don`t want any reverse importing to happen which, happens more often then most people think. If they don`t release in japan first, people will just import the version released in america because we all know they usually come with subs on them. When that happens the japenese companies lose money. It happened with the DBZ movie releases and it would happen with a fullmetal alchemist release. It does happen because its not that difficult to get a region 1 blu-ray player that they would need to play it on.
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bglassbrook



Joined: 29 Aug 2006
Posts: 1243
Location: Gaithersburg, MD
PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 10:29 pm Reply with quote
Greed1914 wrote:
I'd say this movie was worth rebuying since it does look much better, at least to my eyes.

Yeah, hearing that it is a worthy repurchase is excellent news, so I won't have to hit it too hard with the price penalties.
Greed1914 wrote:
Also, I'd wouldn't have minded a 3 hour long movie!

Absolutely! Down with directors' cuts... give us screenwriters' cuts!
Greed1914 wrote:
I also am somewhat hopeful for a blu-ray release of the series. Granted, it would have to be reasonably priced, but the recent number of re-releases that Funimation has had on blu-ray has me hoping.

Also agreed, but I just wish they put more of them out in HD from the start, rather than having to sit back and wait to avoid the double-dip.
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Zalis116
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Joined: 31 Mar 2005
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Location: Kazune City
PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:50 am Reply with quote
Greed1914 wrote:
I also am somewhat hopeful for a blu-ray release of the series. Granted, it would have to be reasonably priced, but the recent number of re-releases that Funimation has had on blu-ray has me hoping.
I don't know, do 4:3 TV shows fly with the Blu-Ray watching crowd? I imagine Funimation themselves learned their lesson from the DBZ season sets and wouldn't crop it. But I can just imagine the reaction, "Hey, what's with these black bars on the sides of my TV, give me widescreen dammit!"
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Greed1914



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 4410
PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:55 am Reply with quote
Zalis116 wrote:
Greed1914 wrote:
I also am somewhat hopeful for a blu-ray release of the series. Granted, it would have to be reasonably priced, but the recent number of re-releases that Funimation has had on blu-ray has me hoping.
I don't know, do 4:3 TV shows fly with the Blu-Ray watching crowd? I imagine Funimation themselves learned their lesson from the DBZ season sets and wouldn't crop it. But I can just imagine the reaction, "Hey, what's with these black bars on the sides of my TV, give me widescreen dammit!"


Well, my experience with people's reactions to the Blu-ray of Justice League Season 1 would indicate that you're exactly right about the reaction. Some people get worked up over the lack of widescreen, and those that know that the widescreen would actually be cropped prefer/don't mind the 4:3. Personally, I got used to watching the 4:3 with the side bars pretty fast. Justice League still looked amazing.
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Zac
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 05 Jan 2002
Posts: 7912
Location: Anime News Network Technodrome
PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 12:57 am Reply with quote
Zalis116 wrote:
I don't know, do 4:3 TV shows fly with the Blu-Ray watching crowd? I imagine Funimation themselves learned their lesson from the DBZ season sets and wouldn't crop it. But I can just imagine the reaction, "Hey, what's with these black bars on the sides of my TV, give me widescreen dammit!"


Uh, Bluray is still kind of a small crowd and new home theater tech is generally embraced by movie/gadget nerds first and the masses later.

Meaning your average Bluray enthusiast knows about things like "aspect ratio" and would be angry if they cropped a 4:3 TV series for Bluray release (plenty of old silents and early Disney movies are released in the proper aspect ratio - there would've been hell to pay if Disney had stretched or cropped Snow White for the HD release). The masses who complain about "black bars" won't be consuming Bluray en masse for a few years yet.
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giascle



Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 157
Location: Denver
PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 6:06 am Reply with quote
I very much enjoy the phrase, "Oh-my-God-we're-a-movie-now Syndrome".
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Mr. Toto



Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 139
PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 10:57 am Reply with quote
Just a quick addition. Though Fritz Lang was inserted into the movie, this isn't the first time a film has done this. Godard's Le Mepris does the exact same thing, specifically with Lang as a character, though I can't say I remember what his role in the Fullmetal Alchemist movie was.
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief


Joined: 28 Jul 2003
Posts: 1684
Location: Los Angeles, CA
PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:45 pm Reply with quote
Mr. Toto wrote:
Just a quick addition. Though Fritz Lang was inserted into the movie, this isn't the first time a film has done this. Godard's Le Mepris does the exact same thing, specifically with Lang as a character, though I can't say I remember what his role in the Fullmetal Alchemist movie was.


Really! Interesting. Did they depict him differently? According to everything I've read, Lang was a tyrant -- nothing like the gentle guy we see in FMA.
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bleachigo66



Joined: 16 Jul 2009
Posts: 246
PostPosted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 7:01 am Reply with quote
Though the ending of the movie made me sad; this review made me more excited to get the blu-ray! Very Happy
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InuNaruPokeAlchemist



Joined: 10 Sep 2009
Posts: 406
PostPosted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:39 pm Reply with quote
I already own it 2-disc special addition on DVD, and after this pic i saw from the blu-ray version, i might not get it.

I liked the original verison of this way better.

http://pwnwhich-productions.deviantart.com/art/Gluttony-144233889

honestly, the way they re-did the artstyle for that scean, just doesn't fit well with me. I might oneday chose to get the Blu-Ray version, but I'm just very scared of that pic I have posted a URL to.
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Agent355



Joined: 12 Dec 2008
Posts: 5113
Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready...
PostPosted: Tue Dec 01, 2009 2:45 pm Reply with quote
I rewatched the movie last night on DVD, for the first time since I saw it (fansubbed) years ago. A few points struck me:
--it was boring. A few sequences dragged on, and did not improve upon the plot or characters;

--Roy remains bad-a**, despite a nasty case of ptsd;

--Ed grew up! He showed the most development of all the characters, he really matured! This surprised me the most. Ed didn't even *want* to go back home. He understood that people are the same everywhere, and was content to stay in his new world, doing his small part against societal wrongs. This is a big change for a guy who used to only care about his personal goals. He seemed more mature than his manga counterpart, and as a fan, it made me proud of him.
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