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

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa Blu-ray Movie Review

The long-running television series receives a much deserved ending.

Reviewed by Dustin Somner November 12, 2009

As with any successful television series, it seemed a foregone conclusion that “Fullmetal Alchemist” would eventually receive a film makeover. We’ve seen it happen time and time again with other successful anime franchises such as “Mobile Suit Gundam”, “Neon Genesis”, and “Escaflowne”. However, instead of merely condensing the plot of the series into a big-budget rehash, the creators of “Fullmetal Alchemist” decided to proceed with a production that’s entirely geared toward current fans of the series. Most would view their intentions as a risky venture, given the restraints placed on the target market of the film, but considering the immense popularity of the “Fullmetal Alchemist” series with both Japanese and western audiences, one could easily substantiate the decision to reward those loyal fans by continuing the tale of our two favorite brothers of alchemy.

Crossing paths with Gluttony is a recipe for disaster.

Picking up after Ed and Al’s separation in the final episode of the original series, we’re given a glimpse of Ed’s new life on Earth (Germany just prior to the first World War), where he’s become an active participant in a rocket research program with his new friend Alfons Heiderich. Unbeknownst to his fellow researchers, Ed hopes to find some form of technology to help him return to his home world of Amestris, and reunite with his brother on the other side of the gate that separates them. His wish comes true when he unknowingly assists an organization called the Thule Society by capturing the homunculus named Envy (a dragon like creature from Ed’s home world). Ed is then introduced to the leader of the Thule Society, a woman named Dietlinde Eckhart, who has her own sinister motivations behind opening the gate between Amestris and Earth. After briefly activating the gate, Eckhart sends a band of armored soldiers into the portal, where they face the powerful alchemy of Ed’s brother Al, who quickly dispatches the armored suits back to earth. Recognizing the deadly intentions of the Thule Society, and the implications their plans would have on his home planet, Ed sets out to prevent a second activation of the gate, knowing full well he may never see his brother again.

If you ever find yourself bored, try sitting down to write a one-paragraph summary of Conqueror of Shamballa. Not only is it difficult to make the plot sound cohesive to those who haven’t seen the series, it’s also downright impossible to touch on every twist, turn, and character introduced in the brief 105-minute runtime. From the opening moments of the film, we’re bombarded with familiar faces, new perils, and epic power struggles that make it difficult to take your eyes off the screen for longer than a second at a time. I’m not complaining, but I found myself rewinding several scenes with the assumption I’d missed an important aspect of the dense plot.

As I mentioned in the opening paragraph of the review, Conqueror of Shamballa is a film made entirely for the fans. Ed is slightly older with a greater level of maturity, Al’s been given his human body back, and Gluttony undergoes a terrifying makeover that makes his battle with Wrath the hands-down highlight of the film. Despite the changes in several elements of the “Fullmetal Alchemist” universe, there’s always something familiar thrown in to keep the experience balanced. Any good sequel should maintain attributes of the original, but not feel restricted or confined by the trappings of the prior story. Along those same lines, I have the utmost praise for the decision to set events on Earth during the lead-up to the formation of Nazi Germany. This certainly isn’t the first storyline to mix a science fiction tale with the Nazi uprising (Hellboy and the “Resistance” video game are two easy examples), but it gives the story an easily-identifiable setting that viewers can readily associate with.

Despite the popularity of the television series, newer anime enthusiasts or casual fans with limited exposure to “Fullmetal Alchemist” will be completely lost without the series as a base of reference. To be honest, I even had moments of confusion when characters emerged in different forms, or appeared in the film for no clear purpose other than giving fans a glimpse of various players from the original series. Granted it’s been more than a couple of years since I waded through the 51-episode series, but that should give you some idea what you’ll be in for when you sit down to watch the film. Bottom line -- if you haven’t seen the series prior to watching the film, expect to only gain a cursory understanding of Ed and Al’s plight.

My only real letdown with Conqueror of Shamballa is the animation. Produced immediately after the conclusion of the television series (back in 2005), the film sequel barely exceeds the quality of the show, and never approaches the quality of most other theatrical anime productions. I can understand the producer’s attempts to maintain consistency between episodes of the series and this sequel, but they needed to consider the difference in display size, and go the extra mile to deliver a clear upgrade over the series. As it stands, characters lack texture, backgrounds appear bland, and movements seem a bit stiff. Corners are cut around every turn, and the inexplicable use of CG animation in the latter portion of the film felt a bit out of place. Call me crazy, but I expect far better production values from a film that grossed nearly 20 million during its international theatrical run.

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 27Mbps), Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa looks decent enough in high definition, but the lackluster animation quality doesn't allow for a huge upgrade in the transition to 1080p. Lines in the animation are nice and crisp through 90% of the film, with the other 10% appearing a touch on the soft side. I'm nearly positive this haziness is a result of intentional effects in the original animation, but it still diminishes the visual experience from time to time. From a color standpoint, the spectrum switches back and forth between a drab, colorless environment on Earth, and a bold display of rich hues in Amestris. The contrasting tones of both environments make it easier for viewers to tell when they're on each side of the gate, clearing up a hint of the confusion generated by the overall plot. Continuing with the positive attributes of the transfer, black levels offer adequate depth, and contrast provides sufficient differentiation between the various shades in the transfer. Lastly, I never noticed the presence of noise in the background, color banding is kept to a minimum, and I couldn't spot a single instance of artifacting.

If you're accustomed to the visual quality of the more impressive television anime productions hitting the Blu-ray format courtesy of Funimation, you'll have a fairly good idea what you're in for on this release.

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio offerings on the disc, with a primary Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix dubbed in English, and a secondary Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix in the native language of Japanese. If anyone recalls my level of disappointment with the audio discrepancies on Origin: Spirits of the Past, my feelings are mirrored with this latest product. Once again, we have a stellar English version, clocking in at a robust 3.5Mbps (average) bitrate, with the Japanese only afforded a 1.2Mbps (average) bitrate. Despite both tracks correctly listed as TrueHD 5.1, fans of the film will have no idea the Japanese mix is inferior until they pop in the disc (or read this review). I can't understand why the Japanese track wasn't given an equal share of disc space, since the special features are all presented in standard definition, and the audio engineers had 50GB of space to work with. I'd even be happy if they'd elected to split the difference between the English and Japanese tracks, delivering an experience that's fair to both language camps. Regardless, it is what it is, and I'm here to comment on the proficiency of both tracks.

Beginning with the Japanese option, you'll immediately notice a significant drop in volume compared to the English track. Dialog levels seem comparable, but the musical score and robust special effects fall flat next to the impressive clarity of the alternate mix. On the other hand, I have absolutely zero complaints with the English presentation. The hyperactive onscreen action during Gluttony's fight with Wrath bombards your surround field with exceptional special separation, and even the most subtle details can be heard with ease (listen for the falling red crystals from body of Gluttony). There's an excellent balance between the various elements in the sound mix, and the LFE track delivers some rousing moments courtesy of your subwoofer.

As stated above, the Japanese track is a big letdown. In fact, I eventually switched to the English track for the remainder of the film, since I felt I was missing a large chunk of the overall entertainment experience. Fortunately, the voice-acting on the dub is just as good as the television series, so it didn't bother me all that much. Bottom line, if you absolutely must watch anime in the native language, you're going to be disappointed with this release. For everyone else, the English track is highly competent, with a level of quality that almost approaches reference levels. I'm scoring the Japanese track a 2 out of 5 and the English track a 4.5 out of 5 (which explains the overall score of 3.5).

Addendum-My contact at Funimation provided the following statement regarding the perceived difference between the English and the Japanese audio tracks (courtesy of the technical team at Funimation):

"TrueHD is a truly lossless format that when played back on a supported Blu-ray player or A/V receiver recreates the exact sound as it exists on the master. What was delivered by the original mixing engineer is exactly what is presented by the player. TrueHD has a variable bit-rate however which may lead to speculation on whether it is truly a lossless format. This can be observed in players such as the Playstation 3 which has a bit-rate display that gives a rough estimate of the playback bit-rate. It is a common belief that when the bit-rate of audio or video goes up there is better quality and when it goes down there is lesser quality. This is not true with Dolby TrueHD. The TrueHD encoding process will analyze the incoming audio and apply just enough bits to maintain perfect quality. What this means is that when a simple or less complex part of the soundtrack is playing the bit-rate will be lower because less bits are needed to maintain perfect quality. This could be quiet! Scenes where there may be only dialog or little music and sound effects. This also means that when there are complex parts with lots of action, explosions, and music happening all at once the Dolby TrueHD encoder will raise the bit-rate to make sure perfect quality is maintained. Sometimes an entire mix may have a different bit-rate overall. For example, an English 5.1 surround mix coexists with a Japanese 5.1 mix on the same Blu-ray disc. Because mixing is a creative process the engineer doing the English 5.1 mix may make mixing decisions that require a higher bit-rate during the encode process. If differences occur either in the overall tone or in the bit-rate between the different languages it is simply because they sound slightly different. Both will be true to their original source."

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Carrying over all of the extras from the prior special edition DVD release, this Blu-ray version offers a decent collection of supplements, despite the lack of value-added content for owners of the prior version.

The Making of Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa (480p, Dolby Digital 2.0, 40:04 min): Presented in a count-down style (leading up to the film's release), this featurette jumps back and forth between an interview with director Seiji Mizushima (reflecting back on the production of the film), and behind the scenes clips of the animators, voice actors, and other staff members at various points during the 12 months leading up to the theatrical release. Mizushima is surprisingly candid during the interview, and provides an in-depth analysis of the step-by-step process leading up to the completion of the film. If you're interested in the technical aspects of anime, this supplement is highly recommended.

Talk Session with Seiji Mizushima (director), Romi Park (Ed), Rei Kugimiya (Al), and Toru Okawa (Roy): Presented in standard definition, this lengthy supplement (54 minutes) allows the three voice actors and director a chance to sit down (collectively and individually) and chat candidly about the television series and the film sequel. If you could think of a topic associated with the characters in the "Fullmetal Alchemist" universe, they probably address it in some fashion during the course of this hour-long interview session.

Rounding out the extras, we have seven standard definition trailers for Conqueror of Shamballa, a brief collection of production art, a collection of trailers for other releases from Funimation, and three full-length audio commentaries. Participants in the first audio commentary are Seiji Mizushima (director), Kugimiya Rie (Al), Toyoguchi Megumi (Winry), and Park Romi (Ed). The second commentary features the Japanese staff, consisting of Seiji Mizushima (director), Miyahara Yohei (technical director), and Oyabu Yoshihiro (production desk). Lastly, we have a commentary track hosted by Mike McFarland (Jean Havoc) and Colleen Clinkenbeard (Riza Hawkeye/Rose Thomas), who interview various voice actors on the English cast while the film plays in the background.

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you're a fan of the "Fullmetal Alchemist" series, there's little reason to pass on this release. The animation certainly isn't stellar, and the weakness in the Japanese audio track will disappoint language purists, but despite those two blemishes, there's a lot to like about Conqueror of Shamballa. We never know how long we'll have to wait for the original series to hit Blu-ray (or how drastic an upgrade it will offer), but at least fans have a high-definition snack to tide them over until the meal arrives.