Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos - Movie Review

     Something that I've been itching to try is to start doing anime reviews. Watching anime has been a part of my geeky routine for the past few years, and I've done a few posts on the blog about such things. As of late, this blog has been lacking in that department. I've just finished watching Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, so I figure now is as good a time as any to start doing anime reviews. For this review, you should have already watched Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, preferably all the way through. So, without further ado... Ikuzo!

Plot: It's safe to say that you will need to have seen most of Brotherhood in order to understand what's going on. The story takes place during the events of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, sometime after the Elric brothers have figured out how to make a Philosopher's Stone and after Al has opened the "Door of Truth". The back of the box says:

The search for a fugitive alchemist with mysterious abilities leads the Elric brothers to a remote valley of slums inhabited by the Milos, a proud people struggling against bureaucratic exploitation. Ed and Al quickly find themselves in the middle of a rising rebellion, as the exiled Milos lash out against their oppressors. At the heart of the conflict is Julia, a young alchemist befriended by Alphonse. She'll stop at nothing to restore the Millos to their former glory - even if that means harnessing the awful power of the mythical Philosopher's Stone.

     The story is great, although a bit over the top and unrealistic at times. This is Fullmetal Alchemist we're talking about, so that is to be expected to a certain degree. The movie takes place primarily on the Amestrian border with Creta, an area that hadn't been used in the anime. At first glance the border doesn't make much sense, but the story about how it came into being is interesting. I liked seeing how they fleshed out the world outside of what we had already seen in the show. I don't like giving spoilers, so I'll stop there. If you want to know exactly what happens, go watch the movie.

     One part I liked about the movie is the way alchemy was used. The way Fullmetal Alchemist uses alchemy is amazing in my opinion. Here's how I look at things: when I see a form of magic in anime, video games, or fantasy the first thing I think about is, "How do I weaponize this?" Fullmetal Alchemist does weaponized alchemy extremely well. I love the action in the show, and it's bridged over to the movie as well. The action sequences are extremely well done, even with the bad animation. We'll get to that later...

Sure, go ahea- Wait, what?

     One thing that the show had that is missing in the movie is the comedy. This is a very serious movie, whereas Brotherhood had small comedy bits thrown in throughout to ease the tension. I'm actually upset that no one mistook Al for Ed (there was a perfect opportunity at the beginning), and that no one made a joke about Ed's size, both of which are staples of any Fullmetal Alchemist show. I'm also upset that Colonel Mustang didn't have a bigger part. At some points it doesn't really feel like Fullmetal Alchemist. It certainly doesn't look like it most of the time either...

Animation Style: This is one of my main grumbles about this movie. The animation took a dip in quality compared to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, even though it was drawn by the same company. It's drawn like Brotherhood, but it seems scratchy and a lot of detail is left out. The shading and shadows don't look right either. It's really noticeable in the hair. Some parts are especially bad. For example, at one point a man transforms into a wolf chimera (kind of like a werewolf) and the animation is pretty bad.

Ugh... Just, ugh.

     The animation style reminds me of movies like Summer Wars or The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. At some points it looks like a Miyazaki movie (Studio Ghibli). It's not bad, but it's not Fullmetal Alchemist. To be fair it does get better at points. It really wouldn't be so bad if we didn't already have something to compare it to. It's definitely not drawn to the same standards as Brotherhood though, and it took a bit of getting used to. Simply said the animation is decent, but I was hoping for better with it being a movie and all...

Characters: Most, if not all, of the voice actors of Brotherhood reprise their roles, with the addition of a few, movie specific characters. These movie specific characters are also central to the twist, therefore I won't go into too much detail. I will say that I liked the majority of them, especially the masked Cretan General.

The man is intense...

     The characters had a sense of depth to them, a sense of purpose. They were not just created for the sake of having more people to work with.

Music: The music is pretty good, although somewhat forgettable. Nothing really jumped out, but that can be a good thing too. Music should add to the experience, not distract the viewer. The Sacred Star of Milos does that. The music is fitting in each situation, and does help to set the mood whether it be action, sorrow, etc.

Objectionable Content: content which may be objectionable...
- The Sacred Star of Milos is about as violent as Brotherhood was, although it feels like the blood and gore has been stepped up a few notches. As every anime fan knows, bodies in anime contain gallons of blood. This movie utilizes those gallons. People get run through with swords and their blood flows like a fountain. One guy's head gets popped like a zit with alchemy. Dozens of people are shot, stabbed, or bled-out. And I've never seen so many Amestrian soldiers die.

Everybody dies...

Everybody...

Yeah, that's not ketchup...

- Going along with the seriousness of the plot, there is no pointless fanservice. There is one part where one of the main female protagonists has the back of her shirt cut off to reveal a tattoo of a transmutation circle, but nothing is shown.

- There's very little profanity, at least in the subtitles. I watched it in Japanese with English subs, which is all I'm ever going to watch it in. I can't stand dubs...

     In conclusion, it really comes down to whether you've seen, and like, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. The Sacred Star of Milos is very dependent on your knowledge of the Fullmetal Alchemist universe. Even though I had problems with the animation, the story is solid and complex and I enjoyed the fast paced, alchemy action. The "twist" is pretty incredible, and is more of a "double twist" when all is said and done. I thought I had figured it out, but I was wrong and pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Then there's the fact that I love Fullmetal Alchemist, so even if I had problems with some parts it's not enough to make me dislike the entire movie.

Goongala's Rating: KEWL

Would have gotten a ZOMG! if the animation was better...

(Pictures taken from the DVD because the Bluray was being difficult...)