If you are reading this, then in all likelihood you are a fan of anime, just like me, and in being a fan of anime you have probably seen or at least heard of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (aka FMAB), which is arguably one of the best anime series of all time. Well the movie “Fullmetal Alchemist The Sacred Star of Milos” takes place within the FMAB universe which means that this must be an amazing movie? Right? Truthfully it is only half true, but that didn’t stop me from seeing it a few weeks ago, at the Cinema Village Theater on 22 East 12th Avenue. I felt that it was my duty as a Anime fan to watch this movie in order to increase the small likelihood that more anime movies will premiere in NYC. I’m glad I went and was only slightly disappointed with the results.
Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is about a world where anyone with enough intelligence, artistic skill and a magic circle can breakdown and rebuild matter through the rule of equivalent exchange. The main characters of this universe the Elric Brothers, Edward and Alphonse, attempted to use this same rule of equivalent exchange in order to revive their deceased mother; however when using alchemy on humans is considered taboo and they pay the ultimate price when the process backfires and as a result a void to the realm of god opens and Edward’s leg is devoured by the void and his younger brother Alphonse looses his entire body to it. In a desperate response Edward decided to sacrifice his arm in order to retrieve his brothers soul and bind it to a suit of armor. Once they recovered they set on a journey to find the fabled philosophers stone that supposedly has the power to surpass the basic rules of alchemy of equivalent exchange.
The video above is from Fullmetal Alchemist not Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood but it depicts the scene I explained above.
This movie takes place between episodes 20 and 21 of FMAB, which is a long look back considering that it is 64 episodes long, but that really doesn’t matter all that much unless you are a continuity Nazi, and its really difficult to be one when it comes to the bridge between Anime Movies and Anime Series. There is always a disconnect because they want to attract new viewers without alienating their faithful followers. I think that is one of the major reasons they choose to create a movie that took place between episodes rather than one that took place at the end of the series.
The movie is about a brother and sister that are torn apart because of a war that engulfs a small nation. The was which was caused by the prospects of making a philosophers stone ends up becoming the saving grace for it. It full of plot twists and holes that no one who watches the show really cares about considering in the end it becomes irrelevant. Sooner or later the Elric Brothers come onto the scene and attempt to meddle in the affairs of strangers when they learn of a possible new form of alchemy that they may be able to use to reclaim their original bodies.
Watch the Fullmetal Alchemist The Sacred Star of Milos trailer above.
Wishy-washy is how i would describe the art in this movie. Sometimes its really incredible and other times you can see that they must of ran out of funds and had to rush in order to make the deadline. The characters are stylized differently in one scene completely differently compared to the next. You can also tell that a few scenes were cut because characters that were perfectly fine in one moment of the movie could be dirty and bleeding in the next.
In the end Fullmetal Alchemist The Sacred Star of Milos did not live up the to expectations that I held for this great series. It was entertaining and full of action, but the art and the story could of used a lot of work. In the end if someone asked me if I would see this movie again I would say no.
Fullmetal Alchemist The Sacred Star of Milos is rated Scrap
I liked how they gave Ed’s eyes a slight greenish tint with the gold. Very nice.
I agree. Sometimes the animation and colors were amazing, other times no so much.