Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa [Blu-ray]

So this is a review for the DVD not the show its self. If your a Full Metal Alchemist fan, you will want to watch. It continues where the series ended. Doesn't wrap things up. But a fun story. DVD has English version. Well packaged. Original print DVD. Not a bootleg.

This film takes place two years after the end of the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime series. Many of the characters from the series are seen in the film; those who have died are seen in the parallel world that Ed is now living in under different names. Ed, who has lost his ability to perform alchemy, is trying to find a way to return to his world.When it comes to the Blu-ray release itself, the packaging is rather "bare bones." There is no actual insert with information for the film included inside; instead, there is an insert playing up other titles that FUNimation had released on Blu-ray.As for the video quality, I have to admit that I didn't see a lot of difference when I compared it to the DVD copy of this film I had viewed previously. However, this doesn't mean that it's a bad picture quality on the Blu-ray; all it means is that I personally didn't see any significant differences.According to the box, the main feature is 1080p High Definition 16X9, while the extras are 480i Standard Definition. For audio, the box says the main feature has Dolby TrueHD in English 5.1 and Japanese 5.1, while the extras are Dolby Digital: English 2.0. However, I do have to question the audio listing for the extras, since one of the extras on the Blu-ray is a talk session with the director and some of the Japanese voice actors, which is in Japanese.All of the bonus features from the DVD release are included here, as well as an additional feature that was not on the DVD pressing; this means there are six special features in all. The first is the 40-minute long documentary, "The Making of Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa." The "Original Trailers" include one US trailer for the film, seven Japanese TV trailers, and the Japanese theatrical trailer; the Japanese trailers included English subtitles. "Production Art" is a slideshow that runs for one minute and fourteen seconds, and it includes character designs and backdrops. "Image Gallery" is another slideshow, which runs for one minute and thirty-five seconds and includes still frames from the film. There are also trailers for other FUNimation releases included as an extra.The Blu-ray exclusive extra is a "talk session" with Seiji Mizushima (the director), Romi Park (the Japanese voice actress for Ed), Rie Kugimiya (the Japanese voice actress for Al), and Toru Ohkawa (the Japanese voice actor for Mustang). This feature is in Japanese with English subtitles. Over the course of 54 minutes, they talk together as a group, with the discussion being led by Romi Park. Intercut with this are talk sessions with two of the participants together. The full group discussions focus on the film itself, while the smaller group interviews focus more on the various individuals' lives and interests. Personally, I thought this was a nice little feature.If you enjoy Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa and own a Blu-ray player, I would suggest purchasing the Blu-ray simply to have all of the bonus features that FUNimation released for the film.I wrote this review after watching a copy of this Blu-ray that I purchased for my husband as a gift.

FMA: The Movie is purely for fans. If you didn't watch the show, I would very much recomend against starting with this movie. In fact, if you haven't watched the series in awhile, I would recomend re-watching it prior to watching the movie. There are a ton of references and nuances specifically provided to satisfy the fans of the series, and will leave the unitiated scratching their head.As to the movie, it is a really for fans who wanted more as the series ended. Some complained that there was not enough resolution at the end of the series, and it was very open ended. These people will be largely satisfied with FMA: The Movie, which acts largely as a closer to the entire series. Plots are threaded up, with some deeper meaning to the show added. The original voices are intact, and the animation is consistent. Though merely a fan service, it is a very well done fan service. I was very happy with the movie and would recomend it to any FMA fan.

The story can be very convoluted if you have not seen the FMA episodes to make reference to. I appreciate the fact that the director, screenwriters and producers game Alphonse a more pivotal role in this segment than in previous installments of FMA. We were made to believe that it is all about Ed, but we know that Al is just as important. The way they made the interaction between Al and Ed in the end really can pull on your heartstrings. That's how family should be, right? There is so much for either fans of Al or Ed, well in my case Al. I'm the older brother in my family, but feel more of a connection to the younger brother, it must be the fact that I'm more willing to sacrifice, lol. The packaging could have been better, there is no reference guide inside or any other FMA promotion inside. Also the artwork could have been better (i.e. FMAB's packaging). Overall, good purchase to complete your collection.

First off I gotta say I loved the FullMetal series and it is probably one of the best thought out and extremely will voice acted shows I have ever watched and the movie does not pale in comparison to the show it actually raps up the whole series very nicely. The video quality of the Blu Ray version of this movie is clean and crisp it looks extremely good. The 5.1 HD Audio is done very well to. If you watched the show at all and liked it you need to complete the series if you have not already and watch this movie. The story starts out a few years after the ending of the show. Ed is living life like he should and Al has grown up quiet a bit and has become a pretty strong alchemist in his quest to find Ed. The story line of the movie is a very interesting one at that. I felt the way it was portrayed was very nice and ez to keep track of. Most of the loose end at the end of the series are all wrapped up by the end of the movie. The only thing I did not like about the movie was that it had to end. My advice is Buy this movie and ENJOY! :)

Like I posted on 2nd FMA movie, I'm a huge fan of FMA. I loved very first TV series (during watching first time, I got shocked, was being sad, deeply touched and was happy)The first FMA movie. The first TV series didn't go as manga's storyline which is mess up pretty good original storyline wide, but they concluded really good as TV series.This series came out between first TV series and new TV series. so it based on first movie's storyline.Totally original and it gave me clear about ending of first TV series. That's why I love this movie even after I watched second movie.Like other FMA movie, if you are FMA fan, you HAVE TO WATCH!! most of times remake series is better than first series, but FMA, I recommand to watch both of them.