New anime film captures spirit of original TV series

Show two people half an episode of the anime Fullmetal Alchemist and you would probably get very different responses. One might say it is a lighthearted comedy of brotherly love. The other might say it’s a tragedy about the nature of divinity and the consequences of man playing God. These coalescing tones are one reason Fullmetal Alchemist  is a highly watched anime.

Its spinoff film, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, directed by Kazuya Murata, explores a mix of malaise and merriment with all the flair of the television series. That it does not go beyond the standards of the anime, however, could disappoint certain viewers.

For the uninitiated, the world of FMA is a steam-punk version of Industrial-era Europe. Alchemy, in the world of FMA, is a high form of science that allows the transmutation of objects, such as a crowbar into a claymore, as long as there is an equal exchange of matter. The only transgression in alchemy is to perform transmutation on a human.

Edward and Alphonse Elric, protagonists and brothers, break this taboo after their mother dies, and the disastrous experiment leaves Ed dismembered and Al’s body destroyed with his soul bound to a suit of armor. Now Ed has become an elite alchemist working for the government, while also trying to find a way to restore their bodies.

In The Sacred Star of Milos, the government sends the Elrics after an escaped prisoner, who is also a talented alchemist. Tracking the convict to the neighboring country of Creta, the brothers run straight into an uprising. The people of a slum-ridden valley called Milos are fighting to reclaim their country. To win, they want to invoke an ancient power in the land, despite learning it will require human sacrifices.

The Sacred Star of Milos is actually the second FMA movie, with Conqueror of Shamballa as the first. However, the two films take place in separate timelines. Shamballa takes place after the first series, and Milos takes place in the same chronology as the remake TV series, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.

FMA has always posed questions — the immutableness of death, the foundations of morality and the conflict of goodness versus intention, to name a few. It’s not a philosophy dissertation in the vein of Xenosaga, but it adds complexity to the story. Milos is driven by the question of sacrifice in the name of truth.

Though the series often connected these questions to the antagonists, Milos’ chief bad guy simply swoops into kill mode. If there is an answer to the question of sacrifice, here it seems to be “don’t be so eager to die for a cause — someone might oblige you.”

The characterizations remain consistent between series and film. Ed is full of hot-headed charm and, occasionally, hard-won wisdom. Al is as cute and cuddly as a hulking suit of armor can be, but with a melancholy that sometimes makes itself known.

The film’s animation has more fancy effects than the TV series, and the run time is substantially longer — yet it still comes across as a standard episode. If you were a Pokémon fan in elementary school, think back to the awe and wonder of Pokémon: The First Movie. The battles were more epic, and the drama was more intense than the television show.

Milos is longer than a usual FMA episode, but not more enthralling. The battles might be flashier, but they are only just as compelling as they are in the series. This is not necessarily a weakness — FMA is a popular show for a reason — but one can’t help but wish the film had something extra besides length.

As it stands, Milos is like a good episode of FMA. Not the best. Not the worst.

Newcomers to FMA should not start with the films. Though Ed and Al’s backstory is mentioned, the true horror remains unspoken. Because the film takes place in the middle of the series’ chronology, the characters have already been developed, and there is little context for their thoughts or actions beyond the events in the film.

The ambiguity is not necessarily a flaw of the film itself, but rather a misstep involving the assumption that viewers are familiar with the canon. Those who aren’t familiar will be stuck wondering, for example, why there’s a guy named Roy Mustang who has no apparent bearing on the plot.

Fans of the series should not fear. Milos isn’t just milk from a cash cow. The film is its own self-contained story that fits easily into Brotherhood.

It just happens to fit so well that you might watch it and wonder why the episode feels so long.