"Conqueror of Shamballa" serves to conclude the original anime after that series ended on a bittersweet note. I was excited when I first saw this film back in the day to see how everything ended and it didn't disappoint.All the characters who lived are back and everything is different. The characters are a few years older and more mature. The story does an interesting take on the idea of parallel universes and we get to see alter egos of characters in Ed and Alphonse's world in the real world setting of Europe cira 1925. Ed and Alphonse are separated on both sides of the gate and both are attempting to return to each other. In the midst of all this a fringe group of the Nazis is studying alchemy in an attempt to pass through the gate and conquer the alternate world in order to fuel their supplies for war. It moves at a brisk pace and has great action sequences befitting of FMA. The animation has much better production value than the show (although some of the CG used hasn't aged well) and makes great use of color for both worlds. The film has a good villain but not as good as in the series. I can't recommend this film to people who haven't seen the show because it requires prior knowledge of the show to understand the events of the film. If you liked the original "FMA" then you will most likely enjoy this film.

The ending was disappointing in my opinion. I won't say what happens, but I was really enjoying this movie being a fan of both TV series and the manga until this movie ended. I mean, really, the ending is everything to a movie. The greatness of both anime series is almost beyond words, and it's up there on the list with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann and Gin Tama of top twenty anime series of all time.So why did the ending of the movie leave me unsatisfied and somewhat depressed? Because it was unsatisfying, I wonder what the writers were thinking?Well, I'm done complaining about the ending, now for the positive: the story is STILL good in my opinion (until the ending), and the animation is awesome and seems to improve from the first series (please note that this movie is a finale to the first animated series ONLY and is in no way associated with Brotherhood) animation. Seeing the characters grown up a bit was neat and the plot revolving around two alternate worlds is always good if it's done right (which it was, until the ending), without being too damn confusing to follow.Now, for the basic outline of the story: Ed and an alternate world Al are now studying rocket science, since in that world alchemy doesn't exist. But then a certain 'nice' lady wants to open up the portal to Ed's original world where alchemy DOES exist to find the legendary Shangri-La, opening an opportunity for Ed to get back home.Overall, 7/10. If it wasn't for the ending it would get another point added.

FMA is a great anime (on par with Cowboy Bebop), which made the movie all that more of a letdown.. It wasn't bad; the animation is good and the story was okay, however the plot was severely lacking. After I finished watching the movie, my first impression was that someone had made an excellent movie, removed a fifth of it, and replaced it with fan service. The plot simply does not flow; there are a number of instances where plot devices are randomly introduced and just as quickly dropped (e.g. the spear of longinus), where the story progression seems horribly contrived (Ed's conversations with Fritz Lang-especially the talk about parallel worlds), and where important scenes have simply been removed without compensation (most obvious in the opening subplot-why is Ed wearing that shiny helmet?). My other major gripe is the fan service. A little fan service is OK, but this is ridiculous. All of the popular characters from the anime had cameos, regardless of whether or not they offered any significant contribution to the story. Rather, they are just dropped in for a couple of scenes, did their trademark thing, and left. This wouldn't be nearly so bad except for the fact that important scenes were probably sacrificed so old favorites could have a minute of screen time.That said, the movie is still entertaining. A lot of people disliked the ending, and while I don't think it was amazing, I believe it was consistent with the anime. My final recommendation: if you know nothing of FMA, watch the anime (which is far superior to the movie). If you've seen all 51 episodes, the movie is definitely worth watching, if for no other reason than that it significantly progresses the story.

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of my favourite manga series of all time, written and drawn by the brilliant Arakawa Hiromu and published monthly in Shonen Gan Gan. So, I was expecting the movie to make up for the lacklustre, morbid anime series. Unfortunately, my expectations were not met.The movie picks up where the anime left off, with Edward trapped in post-World War II Germany. He's found an alternate version of his younger brother, Alphonse, and is staying with him in his flat. Around this city are several other look-alikes, including alternate versions of Fuhrer King Bradley, Maes Hughes, and Hughes's wife Gracia.So far as I could tell, Alternate King Bradley is searching for a dragon so he can help his crazy Riza Hawkeye-looking employer open the gate to Edward's world, and that's about where the plot seemed to disappear. From there onwards, the movie seems to get itself muddled in complicated dialogue and poetical, nonsensical statements, as well as the depressingly large number of plot holes. The ending in particular annoyed me; Edward Elric's choice to return to Germany, abandoning his girl Winry seems so completely out of character and a pointless gesture of idiocy to boot. As well as the bit about Al somehow appearing on the other side---the half of the ship he was standing on fell to the bloody earth! There was no WAY he could have jumped that gap, not without Edward noticing. Important secondary characters such as Riza Hawkeye and even other main characters such as Roy Mustang are pushed into the background, treated more as props to try to support the sagging plot line of the movie.On the plus side, the fight scene between Gluttony and Wrath is rather enjoyable, if gory, as well as Armstrong's shenanigans in Lior. Even if the plot is hackneyed and mildly confusing, at least the meaning in the movie is fairly obvious; humans fear what they cannot control. The lady who opened the gate feared Edward's alchemical world because she didn't understand it. Also, the animation is very well done, as well as the voice acting (in the Japanese version, anyways), and the music (composed by Michiru Oshima) is undeniably beautiful.Overall, it's worth tracking down a copy of Shamballa if you enjoyed either the anime or the manga, just to say you've seen it. I wouldn't buy it, but I'd at least borrow a copy from a friend.