Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa
Encyclopedia
is a 2005 Japanese animated
film directed by Seiji Mizushima
and written by Sho Aikawa, and acts as a continuation of the first Fullmetal Alchemist
television series. The film follows the story of alchemist Edward Elric
as he attempts to return to his homeworld, having lived for two years on Earth
, which exists in a parallel universe
to his own, while his younger brother Alphonse
is equally determined to reunite with his brother by any means necessary. Edward's search attracts the attention of the Thule Society
, which becomes determined to enter his homeworld, believing it to be Shamballa
, in order to obtain new weapons to help them in an upcoming war
.
The film premiered in Japan on July 23, 2005. A CD soundtrack has also been published featuring music from the film developed by Michiru Oshima
and L'Arc-en-Ciel. It has been edited in DVD twice in Japan, with the second being a limited edition. The film was licensed in North America by Funimation and featured in cinemas for a short time. The film has been released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America.
Most of the staff from the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime
started development on Conqueror of Shamballa shortly after the anime's ending. As the original script
was a hundred pages long, the staff had to cut until the film's length became 105 minutes. During its premier in Japan, Conqueror of Shamballa remained as one of the most popular films from Japan from the year according to the Japanese box office. Critical reaction to the film has commonly been positive with reviews praising the film's story and graphics used.
was dragged from his homeworld through the Gate of Alchemy to the parallel world
of Earth
in the year 1923, which is fundamentally governed by the laws of modern science
instead of alchemy
. Stripped of his alchemical powers and his newly restored arm and leg, Edward researches rocket
ry in Munich
, Germany
with his friend Alfons Heiderich, a young man who resembles his brother Alphonse
, in the hopes of returning to his world. One day, Edward rescues a troubled, persecuted gypsy woman named Noah from being sold. Noah is taken in by Edward to live with him and Heiderich, and begins having visions concerning Edward's life in his world. The next day, Edward meets Fritz Lang
, a Jewish
film director resembling King Bradley, who persuades Edward into helping him hunt down a "dragon" he has been seeking out for inspiration for his next film. The dragon, which turns out to be homunculus Envy, attacks Edward until he is weakened and captured by members of the Thule Society
.
The Thule Society, led by Karl Haushofer
and Dietlinde Eckhart, use Envy and Edward's kidnapped father Hohenheim as catalysts to open a portal to Ed's world, believing it to be the utopia Shamballa
. A number of armored soldiers are sent through the portal, only to emerge on the other side in the city of Liore as mutated zombie-like creatures. Alphonse, who had come to visit Liore, fights off the armored soldiers and merges a part of his soul to one of their suits in the hopes of finding Edward on the other side. In the real world, Edward breaks into the Thule Society headquarters and accidentally reopens the portal, returning the dead armored soldiers to Earth and allowing Alphonse's armored form to briefly reunite with his brother before his soul returns to his body, increasing Edward's determination to return to his world.
Alphonse is guided by the homunculus Wrath to the underground city beneath Amestris's Central City to reopen the Gate of Alchemy. There they are attacked by the homunculus Gluttony, who brutally fights and mortally wounds Wrath. At Wrath's insistence, Alphonse transmutes and sacrifices the two homunculi to use as material to open the Gate. Meanwhile, in Munich, the Thule Society persuades Noah into guiding them on how to correctly open the Gate based on what she had learned from reading Edward's mind. Edward learns that the Thule Society plans to use the weapons from his world in order to help Adolf Hitler
in his attempt to start a revolution
, and heads to stop them. Hohenheim and Envy are both transmuted at the same time that Alphonse transmutes Gluttony and Wrath. With the Gate opened, Eckhart successfully leads a fleet into the other world, where she gains the ability to use alchemy. However, she begins to go mad with power and fear of her new surroundings and launches an attack on Central City. Heiderich launches Edward in a rocket-powered plane to return to his world before being gunned down.
Edward appears in his world and is reunited with Alphonse and his friend Winry Rockbell
, who fits Edward with new automail limbs. The military manages to stop most of Eckhart's soldiers with the help of Roy Mustang
. Edward battles Eckhart before Alphonse transmutes parts of his soul to a group of armors, which attack her and force her to retreat. Upon reappearing to the real world, Eckhart is covered by shadow creatures from the Gate and killed by an officer out of alarm of her new, monstrous appearance. Knowing the danger the connection between the two worlds poses, Edward returns to Earth to seal the Gate on that side, knowing he will be trapped on Earth forever. Instead of sealing the Gate on the other world's side as per Edward's request, however, Alphonse has Mustang seal the Gate and secretly follows Edward to remain with his brother. Following Heiderich's funeral, the Elric brothers leave Munich with Noah with the intention of destroying the weapons meant to be used in Hitler's attack and enjoy their new lives together on Earth.
, who also had directed the series as well. Mizushima allowed a camera crew and interviewers into the show's conference room at the Bones studios where he described how production went, as seen in a special feature on the DVD release of the film. The conference room was filled with every cut and drawing created for the show and movie, but it was eventually cleared out to make room for other projects.
The original draft of the film's script
was written by Sho Aikawa at a hundred pages long, making the film over three hours long. Mizushima and others had to cut a third of the script's scenes out in order to make the film an appropriate length. Some scenes and characters were removed from the final cut, including a character named Steiner who could see auras, having a role similar to Noah's. A scene which was cut involved characters Roy Mustang
and Winry Rockbell
meeting in front of the late Maes Hughes' grave. It was a highly awaited scene from the perspective of the fans. By October 2004, the script was completed and the pre-check storyboard
s were produced. The pre-check storyboards showed the movements of objects and characters in each shot along with the characters' lines. Production on the proper storyboards began in November of the same year, but the schedule in producing the film was immensely busy, so the directors of the film split the storyboards into six section, one for each of the directors to create.
The opening and ending scenes were drawn by Mizushima; the scene involving the debut of the film's villain was drawn by Soichi Masui; the middle section of the film was drawn by Shingo Kaneko; Edward Elric's return to his homeworld was drawn by Masahiro Ando; action scenes were drawn by Shinji Aramaki
; and the battle between Wrath and Gluttony was drawn by Yutaka Nakamura. Mizushima was repeatedly harassed by the head employees at Aniplex
to speed up work on the storyboards. The artwork for the film was produced once Kaneko was finished and cel-animation was used to produce several characters or items in the film. Seven hundred of the film's animated frames had to be redone with only two weeks to the film's release.
A trailer was produced for the film in December 2004 with Romi Park, the voice actor for Edward Elric, narrating it. Three posters were produced for the film, two teaser posters and a third for the release of the film. A "Fullmetal Festival" was held on December 26, 2004 to celebrate the show and film. Most of the directors finished their assigned storyboards by February 2005 except Shingo Kaneko, who was taking longest due to the general slow process, but his storyboards were nevertheless impressive.
, who worked in the music of the anime. L'Arc-en-Ciel gave two of their new songs for the film's opening and closing credits, "Link
" and "LOST HEAVEN," respectively. The film's orchestral music was performed by the Moscow Orchestra. "KELAS [LET'S-DANCE]," the song performed by the gypsy women while Edward and Heiderich hitch a ride, was composed by Ferenc Snétberger (who also played guitar for the song), with vocals by Tayo Awosusi. A soundtrack CD of the film, Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie Conqueror Of Shamballa OST, which contained forty-six tracks, was released on December 21, 2005. Single CDs of the songs "Link" and "LOST HEAVEN" have also been released by L'Arc-en-Ciel near the film's premier.
were released on January 25, 2006. A limited edition including with a special box, English subtitles and a series of other extras was published on the same date.
The movie premiered at Montreal Fantasia's Festival on July 22, 2006. On February 27, 2006, Funimation annonunced that they licensed the film. The movie was premiered on August 25 in a small number of theaters by Funimation Films with little promotion. Some only ran less than 10 showings of the film. Some promotional activity was done after the film was already gone from theaters. The movie trailer was shown to a group of about 300 persons at Shiokazecon in Houston, Texas on April 27, 2006. Vic Mignogna
, the English voice actor for Edward Elric, heavily promoted the film at anime convention
s. It was announced on the movie's MySpace
that the movie was going to be shown again in select theaters on September 20, 2007, but only for one day. During the 2006 Nan Desu Kan
anime convention, the film was screened. Seiji Mizushima, director from the film, attended the screening.
Funimation released the English DVD on September 12, 2006, while the limited edition was published on November 14, 2006. Similar to the Japanese version, the English limited edition features several extras such as interviews with the Japanese cast, a video explanation of the film's creation, and an 18-page guidebook featuring character sketches. A special edition featuring extras, a book and cards was published on June 23, 2009. In May 2009, Funimation announced that the film would be released in Blu-ray format. It was released on November 17, 2009 and features the same special features on the limited edition minus the 18-page guidebook.
9,712,635 during 2005. Overseas, it grossed to $10,197,984 during 2005. As of 2007, it grossed to ¥
1.22 billion ($10.8 million) in the Japanese box office. It became the seventh most popular anime film released in Japan during 2005. In a theatrical chart from the same year, Conqueror of Shamballa ranked as the seventh best film from 2005 in Japan.
During the "9th Japanese Media Arts Festival Winners," the film was listed as "recommendable anime." In the "Tokyo Anime Fair," the film won in the categories "Animation Of The Year," "Best original story" (Hiromu Arakawa
) and "Best music" (Michiru Oshima
). In an Oricon
's survey from 2005 the theme song from the film, "Link" by L'Arc-en-Ciel, sold 235,751 copies, ranking as fourth in the "Top 10 Anime Theme Songs of 2005." It also won the "2005 Animation Grand Award" prize in Mainichi Film Awards
, and "Best Animated Film" prize in Fantasia International Film Festival
(Montreal
, Canada). During the American Anime Awards
, the film was also nominated in the category of "Best Anime Feature." The first English DVD was the third bestselling Japanese anime DVD in the United States in 2006 with a sale ratio of 31 compared to the sales of the #1 title as 100. During 2007 the limited edition DVD from the film ranked 23rd with a sales ratio of 23. In the NEO Awards 2007 from Neo
, Conqueror of Shamballa won in the category "Best Anime Movie."
Critical response to the film has generally been positive. It currently holds a 91% rating among the Rotten Tomatoes
community. Theron Martin from Anime News Network
having found Conqueror of Shamballa as a very entertaining film "as it has all of the action, flashy magic, comedy, snappy dialogue, drama, and intrigue that made the TV series so great." The few negative points he found about the plot were lack of discussions of morality which were featured in the anime series and that "the writing and plotting just don't feel as sharp as they were for the series." He praised the additional content from the limited edition DVD as well as the English dub, but criticized the subtitles for having grammar mistakes. Although Dani Moure from Mania Entertainment did not find the story to be very original, he still favored it due to its mix of themes, turning it into an entertaining film. He also praised the staff from the series, commenting they have done an "admirable job," making the film a "sequel well worthy of bearing the series' name."
It also received praise by IGN
's Jeremy Mullin, who gave it an overall 9 over 10, having had good opinion of the graphics used during the film and how the film expands Fullmetal Alchemists story. The film was compared to The End of Evangelion
due to how both titles expand their anime's endings, resulting in a "proper ending" due to the characters' development featured in the film. Mullin also liked the audio from Conqueror of Shamballa, but added that some of the English voice actors lacked accents. DVD Talk
writer Todd Douglass Jr. also liked the film as he was "pleased to report that the story was handled nigh-flawlessly. The inclusion of real world events helps ground the fact that Edward is in our world, but there was just something surreal about that after seeing it." He found the film's ending to be fitting for the Fullmetal Alchemist and said it will be well-received by fans from the series. While reviewing the special edition DVD, Douglass commented the extras featured in the DVD "are worth the price." However, he also added that "some people just don't care about the extras" and concluded that "this is a strong reissue that could have possibly been better, but is fine just the same."
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
film directed by Seiji Mizushima
Seiji Mizushima
is a Japanese anime director. He has directed such series as Slayers Next, Shaman King, Fullmetal Alchemist, and more recently, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and Un-Go...
and written by Sho Aikawa, and acts as a continuation of the first Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist
, is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa. The world of Fullmetal Alchemist is styled after the European Industrial Revolution...
television series. The film follows the story of alchemist Edward Elric
Edward Elric
, commonly nicknamed , is a fictional character and the main character of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime and manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa. Edward, titled , is the youngest State Alchemist in the history of the fictional country of Amestris...
as he attempts to return to his homeworld, having lived for two years on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, which exists in a parallel universe
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
to his own, while his younger brother Alphonse
Alphonse Elric
, commonly called , is a fictional character in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa its respective adaptations. Alphonse is a child who lost his body during an alchemic experiment to bring his deceased mother back to life, and had his soul "attached" to a suit of armor...
is equally determined to reunite with his brother by any means necessary. Edward's search attracts the attention of the Thule Society
Thule Society
The Thule Society , originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum , was a German occultist and völkisch group in Munich, named after a mythical northern country from Greek legend...
, which becomes determined to enter his homeworld, believing it to be Shamballa
Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala or Shangri-la is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia...
, in order to obtain new weapons to help them in an upcoming war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
The film premiered in Japan on July 23, 2005. A CD soundtrack has also been published featuring music from the film developed by Michiru Oshima
Michiru Oshima
, is a Japanese composer who has worked on several video game, movie, and television titles. Her works include composition for the video games Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf for Super Nintendo, Ico for PlayStation 2, Legend of Legaia for the PlayStation , is a Japanese composer who has...
and L'Arc-en-Ciel. It has been edited in DVD twice in Japan, with the second being a limited edition. The film was licensed in North America by Funimation and featured in cinemas for a short time. The film has been released on DVD and Blu-ray in North America.
Most of the staff from the first Fullmetal Alchemist anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
started development on Conqueror of Shamballa shortly after the anime's ending. As the original script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was a hundred pages long, the staff had to cut until the film's length became 105 minutes. During its premier in Japan, Conqueror of Shamballa remained as one of the most popular films from Japan from the year according to the Japanese box office. Critical reaction to the film has commonly been positive with reviews praising the film's story and graphics used.
Plot
Two years have passed since Edward ElricEdward Elric
, commonly nicknamed , is a fictional character and the main character of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime and manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa. Edward, titled , is the youngest State Alchemist in the history of the fictional country of Amestris...
was dragged from his homeworld through the Gate of Alchemy to the parallel world
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
in the year 1923, which is fundamentally governed by the laws of modern science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
instead of alchemy
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
. Stripped of his alchemical powers and his newly restored arm and leg, Edward researches rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
ry in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
with his friend Alfons Heiderich, a young man who resembles his brother Alphonse
Alphonse Elric
, commonly called , is a fictional character in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series created by Hiromu Arakawa its respective adaptations. Alphonse is a child who lost his body during an alchemic experiment to bring his deceased mother back to life, and had his soul "attached" to a suit of armor...
, in the hopes of returning to his world. One day, Edward rescues a troubled, persecuted gypsy woman named Noah from being sold. Noah is taken in by Edward to live with him and Heiderich, and begins having visions concerning Edward's life in his world. The next day, Edward meets Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
, a Jewish
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
film director resembling King Bradley, who persuades Edward into helping him hunt down a "dragon" he has been seeking out for inspiration for his next film. The dragon, which turns out to be homunculus Envy, attacks Edward until he is weakened and captured by members of the Thule Society
Thule Society
The Thule Society , originally the Studiengruppe für germanisches Altertum , was a German occultist and völkisch group in Munich, named after a mythical northern country from Greek legend...
.
The Thule Society, led by Karl Haushofer
Karl Haushofer
Karl Ernst Haushofer was a German general, geographer and geopolitician. Through his student Rudolf Hess, Haushofer's ideas may have influenced the development of Adolf Hitler's expansionist strategies, although Haushofer denied direct influence on the Nazi regime.-Biography:Haushofer belonged to...
and Dietlinde Eckhart, use Envy and Edward's kidnapped father Hohenheim as catalysts to open a portal to Ed's world, believing it to be the utopia Shamballa
Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala or Shangri-la is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia...
. A number of armored soldiers are sent through the portal, only to emerge on the other side in the city of Liore as mutated zombie-like creatures. Alphonse, who had come to visit Liore, fights off the armored soldiers and merges a part of his soul to one of their suits in the hopes of finding Edward on the other side. In the real world, Edward breaks into the Thule Society headquarters and accidentally reopens the portal, returning the dead armored soldiers to Earth and allowing Alphonse's armored form to briefly reunite with his brother before his soul returns to his body, increasing Edward's determination to return to his world.
Alphonse is guided by the homunculus Wrath to the underground city beneath Amestris's Central City to reopen the Gate of Alchemy. There they are attacked by the homunculus Gluttony, who brutally fights and mortally wounds Wrath. At Wrath's insistence, Alphonse transmutes and sacrifices the two homunculi to use as material to open the Gate. Meanwhile, in Munich, the Thule Society persuades Noah into guiding them on how to correctly open the Gate based on what she had learned from reading Edward's mind. Edward learns that the Thule Society plans to use the weapons from his world in order to help Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
in his attempt to start a revolution
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
, and heads to stop them. Hohenheim and Envy are both transmuted at the same time that Alphonse transmutes Gluttony and Wrath. With the Gate opened, Eckhart successfully leads a fleet into the other world, where she gains the ability to use alchemy. However, she begins to go mad with power and fear of her new surroundings and launches an attack on Central City. Heiderich launches Edward in a rocket-powered plane to return to his world before being gunned down.
Edward appears in his world and is reunited with Alphonse and his friend Winry Rockbell
Winry Rockbell
is a fictional character from the Fullmetal Alchemist manga and anime series by Hiromu Arakawa. Winry is mechanic who often spends time with the central characters, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric , who are childhood friends of hers. Specializing in mechanical repair, specifically prostheses...
, who fits Edward with new automail limbs. The military manages to stop most of Eckhart's soldiers with the help of Roy Mustang
Roy Mustang
is a fictional character from the Fullmetal Alchemist anime and manga series authored by Hiromu Arakawa. In the series, Mustang is a State Alchemist of Amestris' State Military as well as the superior of the series' protagonist, Edward Elric. Roy holds the title of the for his ability to create...
. Edward battles Eckhart before Alphonse transmutes parts of his soul to a group of armors, which attack her and force her to retreat. Upon reappearing to the real world, Eckhart is covered by shadow creatures from the Gate and killed by an officer out of alarm of her new, monstrous appearance. Knowing the danger the connection between the two worlds poses, Edward returns to Earth to seal the Gate on that side, knowing he will be trapped on Earth forever. Instead of sealing the Gate on the other world's side as per Edward's request, however, Alphonse has Mustang seal the Gate and secretly follows Edward to remain with his brother. Following Heiderich's funeral, the Elric brothers leave Munich with Noah with the intention of destroying the weapons meant to be used in Hitler's attack and enjoy their new lives together on Earth.
New characters
- A young German rocketRocketA rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
scientist who Edward befriends some time after arriving in the real world. He is similar in name and appearance to Edward's brother, Alphonse Elric. He is easygoing and enjoys listening to Edward's stories of his homeworld, and while he doubts whether or not they are true and is hurt by how distant Edward behaves, he is nonetheless supportive of his efforts. He suffers from a fatal lung disease and hopes to make a difference for the world before he dies. His wish is granted when he helps Edward return to his world through the opened Gate on a rocket before he is fatally shot by Rudolf HessRudolf HessRudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
of the Thule Society.
- A member of the Thule Society and the primary antagonist of the film. She is an ambitious young woman who desires to open the gate to Edward's world, believing it to be the utopia "Shamballa," so that she may harness the powers and weapons of that world and overthrow Hitler in contrast to her organization's goal to support the Nazi Party. Upon seizing leadership of the Thule Society and entering the other world, however, her lust for power and shallow understanding of alchemy cause her to gradually go mad with fear of her new surroundings and try to destroy Amestris's capital of Central City. When she is forced back into the real world, she takes on a fearsome appearance after being covered with shadow creatures from the Gate of Truth, leading her to be shot to death by an officer resembling Maes Hughes. She is based loosely on the real-life Thule Society member Dietrich EckartDietrich EckartDietrich Eckart was a German journalist and politician, together with Adolf Hitler one of the early key members of the Nazi Party and a participant of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch.-Biography:...
.
- A young traveling gypsy girl who Edward saves from being sold to the Thule Society. On the surface, she is proud of her heritage and lifestyle, but is unable to bear being discriminated for it. She has the ability to read the minds of others, becoming fascinated with Edward's world after witnessing his memories of it. Believing she wouldn't be discriminated in Edward's world, Noah assists the Thule Society in opening the Gate based on information from Edward's memories, but relents once Edward points out that his home is no utopia, and leaves Munich together with the Elric brothers.
Production
Production of the film began shortly after the television series finishing its original broadcasting on Japanese channels, although pre-production started during the show's run in March 2004. The film's production was led by director Seiji MizushimaSeiji Mizushima
is a Japanese anime director. He has directed such series as Slayers Next, Shaman King, Fullmetal Alchemist, and more recently, Mobile Suit Gundam 00 and Un-Go...
, who also had directed the series as well. Mizushima allowed a camera crew and interviewers into the show's conference room at the Bones studios where he described how production went, as seen in a special feature on the DVD release of the film. The conference room was filled with every cut and drawing created for the show and movie, but it was eventually cleared out to make room for other projects.
The original draft of the film's script
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
was written by Sho Aikawa at a hundred pages long, making the film over three hours long. Mizushima and others had to cut a third of the script's scenes out in order to make the film an appropriate length. Some scenes and characters were removed from the final cut, including a character named Steiner who could see auras, having a role similar to Noah's. A scene which was cut involved characters Roy Mustang
Roy Mustang
is a fictional character from the Fullmetal Alchemist anime and manga series authored by Hiromu Arakawa. In the series, Mustang is a State Alchemist of Amestris' State Military as well as the superior of the series' protagonist, Edward Elric. Roy holds the title of the for his ability to create...
and Winry Rockbell
Winry Rockbell
is a fictional character from the Fullmetal Alchemist manga and anime series by Hiromu Arakawa. Winry is mechanic who often spends time with the central characters, brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric , who are childhood friends of hers. Specializing in mechanical repair, specifically prostheses...
meeting in front of the late Maes Hughes' grave. It was a highly awaited scene from the perspective of the fans. By October 2004, the script was completed and the pre-check storyboard
Storyboard
Storyboards are graphic organizers in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence....
s were produced. The pre-check storyboards showed the movements of objects and characters in each shot along with the characters' lines. Production on the proper storyboards began in November of the same year, but the schedule in producing the film was immensely busy, so the directors of the film split the storyboards into six section, one for each of the directors to create.
The opening and ending scenes were drawn by Mizushima; the scene involving the debut of the film's villain was drawn by Soichi Masui; the middle section of the film was drawn by Shingo Kaneko; Edward Elric's return to his homeworld was drawn by Masahiro Ando; action scenes were drawn by Shinji Aramaki
Shinji Aramaki
is a Japanese anime director and mechanical designer, born in Fukuoka Prefecture. He was a member of Artmic.He is noted for work on powered exoskeletons and his mecha and CG design on several anime series.-As director:...
; and the battle between Wrath and Gluttony was drawn by Yutaka Nakamura. Mizushima was repeatedly harassed by the head employees at Aniplex
Aniplex
, formerly known as Sony Pictures Entertainment Visual Works Inc. and Sony Music Entertainment Visual Works Inc., is a Japanese anime and music production and distribution enterprise owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan and established in January 1997...
to speed up work on the storyboards. The artwork for the film was produced once Kaneko was finished and cel-animation was used to produce several characters or items in the film. Seven hundred of the film's animated frames had to be redone with only two weeks to the film's release.
A trailer was produced for the film in December 2004 with Romi Park, the voice actor for Edward Elric, narrating it. Three posters were produced for the film, two teaser posters and a third for the release of the film. A "Fullmetal Festival" was held on December 26, 2004 to celebrate the show and film. Most of the directors finished their assigned storyboards by February 2005 except Shingo Kaneko, who was taking longest due to the general slow process, but his storyboards were nevertheless impressive.
Music
The film's music was produced by Michiru OshimaMichiru Oshima
, is a Japanese composer who has worked on several video game, movie, and television titles. Her works include composition for the video games Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf for Super Nintendo, Ico for PlayStation 2, Legend of Legaia for the PlayStation , is a Japanese composer who has...
, who worked in the music of the anime. L'Arc-en-Ciel gave two of their new songs for the film's opening and closing credits, "Link
Link (song)
"Link" is the twenty-ninth single by L'Arc-en-Ciel, released on July 20, 2005. It is the second track by the band to be used in the Fullmetal Alchemist anime franchise, following "Ready Steady Go", used as the opening theme to the feature-length film Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of...
" and "LOST HEAVEN," respectively. The film's orchestral music was performed by the Moscow Orchestra. "KELAS [LET'S-DANCE]," the song performed by the gypsy women while Edward and Heiderich hitch a ride, was composed by Ferenc Snétberger (who also played guitar for the song), with vocals by Tayo Awosusi. A soundtrack CD of the film, Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie Conqueror Of Shamballa OST, which contained forty-six tracks, was released on December 21, 2005. Single CDs of the songs "Link" and "LOST HEAVEN" have also been released by L'Arc-en-Ciel near the film's premier.
Release and distribution
The film premiered in Japan on July 23, 2005. The Japanese DVD as well as the Universal Media DiscUniversal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on their PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform...
were released on January 25, 2006. A limited edition including with a special box, English subtitles and a series of other extras was published on the same date.
The movie premiered at Montreal Fantasia's Festival on July 22, 2006. On February 27, 2006, Funimation annonunced that they licensed the film. The movie was premiered on August 25 in a small number of theaters by Funimation Films with little promotion. Some only ran less than 10 showings of the film. Some promotional activity was done after the film was already gone from theaters. The movie trailer was shown to a group of about 300 persons at Shiokazecon in Houston, Texas on April 27, 2006. Vic Mignogna
Vic Mignogna
Victor Joseph "Vic" Mignogna is an American Anime Award winning voice actor and musician who has done voice work for many anime series, movies, and video games...
, the English voice actor for Edward Elric, heavily promoted the film at anime convention
Anime convention
An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels...
s. It was announced on the movie's MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
that the movie was going to be shown again in select theaters on September 20, 2007, but only for one day. During the 2006 Nan Desu Kan
Nan Desu Kan
Nan Desu Kan is an anime convention held annually in Denver, Colorado, usually lasting three days near the end of September or early October. The convention is the largest pop culture convention in the Rocky Mountain region...
anime convention, the film was screened. Seiji Mizushima, director from the film, attended the screening.
Funimation released the English DVD on September 12, 2006, while the limited edition was published on November 14, 2006. Similar to the Japanese version, the English limited edition features several extras such as interviews with the Japanese cast, a video explanation of the film's creation, and an 18-page guidebook featuring character sketches. A special edition featuring extras, a book and cards was published on June 23, 2009. In May 2009, Funimation announced that the film would be released in Blu-ray format. It was released on November 17, 2009 and features the same special features on the limited edition minus the 18-page guidebook.
Reception
During its premiere, Conqueror of Shamballa ranked 3rd at the Japanese box office. In the second week, it fell to 7th. By next week, it ranked 10th, but it did not appear in the top ten from the following weeks. In the Japanese market, the film's gross revenue summed up to $United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
9,712,635 during 2005. Overseas, it grossed to $10,197,984 during 2005. As of 2007, it grossed to ¥
Japanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
1.22 billion ($10.8 million) in the Japanese box office. It became the seventh most popular anime film released in Japan during 2005. In a theatrical chart from the same year, Conqueror of Shamballa ranked as the seventh best film from 2005 in Japan.
During the "9th Japanese Media Arts Festival Winners," the film was listed as "recommendable anime." In the "Tokyo Anime Fair," the film won in the categories "Animation Of The Year," "Best original story" (Hiromu Arakawa
Hiromu Arakawa
is a Japanese manga artist from Hokkaidō. Her renowned manga, Fullmetal Alchemist, became a hit both domestically and internationally, and was later adapted into two television anime series. She often portrays herself as a bespectacled cow.-Biography:...
) and "Best music" (Michiru Oshima
Michiru Oshima
, is a Japanese composer who has worked on several video game, movie, and television titles. Her works include composition for the video games Genghis Khan II: Clan of the Gray Wolf for Super Nintendo, Ico for PlayStation 2, Legend of Legaia for the PlayStation , is a Japanese composer who has...
). In an Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
's survey from 2005 the theme song from the film, "Link" by L'Arc-en-Ciel, sold 235,751 copies, ranking as fourth in the "Top 10 Anime Theme Songs of 2005." It also won the "2005 Animation Grand Award" prize in Mainichi Film Awards
Mainichi Film Awards
The Mainichi Film Awards are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun , one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946.-Animation awards:...
, and "Best Animated Film" prize in Fantasia International Film Festival
Fantasia Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival is a genre film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996...
(Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Canada). During the American Anime Awards
American Anime Awards
The American Anime Awards are a series of awards designed to recognize excellence in the release of anime and manga in North America.The first annual American Anime Awards balloting was supervised by Milton Griepp of industry website ICv2. The first gala awards presentation was hosted in New York...
, the film was also nominated in the category of "Best Anime Feature." The first English DVD was the third bestselling Japanese anime DVD in the United States in 2006 with a sale ratio of 31 compared to the sales of the #1 title as 100. During 2007 the limited edition DVD from the film ranked 23rd with a sales ratio of 23. In the NEO Awards 2007 from Neo
Neo (magazine)
NEO is a 100-page monthly magazine published in the United Kingdom and Ireland by Uncooked Media that focuses on various aspects of East Asian entertainment such as Japanese anime and manga ; Hong Kong, Korean and Japanese films; and Japanese pop, rock and visual kei music, etc.The magazine...
, Conqueror of Shamballa won in the category "Best Anime Movie."
Critical response to the film has generally been positive. It currently holds a 91% rating among the Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
community. Theron Martin from Anime News Network
Anime News Network
Anime News Network is an anime industry news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, Japanese popular music and other otaku-related culture within North America, Australia and Japan. Additionally, it sometimes features similar happenings throughout the Anglosphere and elsewhere in the...
having found Conqueror of Shamballa as a very entertaining film "as it has all of the action, flashy magic, comedy, snappy dialogue, drama, and intrigue that made the TV series so great." The few negative points he found about the plot were lack of discussions of morality which were featured in the anime series and that "the writing and plotting just don't feel as sharp as they were for the series." He praised the additional content from the limited edition DVD as well as the English dub, but criticized the subtitles for having grammar mistakes. Although Dani Moure from Mania Entertainment did not find the story to be very original, he still favored it due to its mix of themes, turning it into an entertaining film. He also praised the staff from the series, commenting they have done an "admirable job," making the film a "sequel well worthy of bearing the series' name."
It also received praise by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Jeremy Mullin, who gave it an overall 9 over 10, having had good opinion of the graphics used during the film and how the film expands Fullmetal Alchemists story. The film was compared to The End of Evangelion
The End of Evangelion
is a 1997 Japanese animated science fiction film written and directed by Hideaki Anno along with Kazuya Tsurumaki; it ended the anime releases in the Neon Genesis Evangelion franchise until the Rebuild of Evangelion tetralogy remakes were announced in 2006....
due to how both titles expand their anime's endings, resulting in a "proper ending" due to the characters' development featured in the film. Mullin also liked the audio from Conqueror of Shamballa, but added that some of the English voice actors lacked accents. DVD Talk
DVD Talk
DVD Talk is a website for DVD enthusiasts founded in January 1999 by Geoffrey Kleinman when DVDs and DVD players were first beginning to hit the market.The site started as an online forum, an email newsletter, and a page of DVD news and reviews...
writer Todd Douglass Jr. also liked the film as he was "pleased to report that the story was handled nigh-flawlessly. The inclusion of real world events helps ground the fact that Edward is in our world, but there was just something surreal about that after seeing it." He found the film's ending to be fitting for the Fullmetal Alchemist and said it will be well-received by fans from the series. While reviewing the special edition DVD, Douglass commented the extras featured in the DVD "are worth the price." However, he also added that "some people just don't care about the extras" and concluded that "this is a strong reissue that could have possibly been better, but is fine just the same."