Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa

Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa (劇場版 鋼の錬金術師　シャンバラを征く者, Gekijōban Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Shanbara o Yuku Mono^?) is a 2005 Japanese animated film directed by Seiji Mizushima and written by Sho Aikawa,^[1] 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.

Plot

 

Two years have passed since Edward Elric 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 rocketry 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.

New characters

Alphonse Heiderich (アルフォンス・ハイデリヒ, Arufonsu Haiderihi^?)

Voiced by: Shun Oguri (Japanese), Jason Liebrecht (English)

A young German rocket 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 his attempts to leave, 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 a member of the Thule Society.

Dietlinde Eckhart (デートリンデ・エッカルト, Dētorinde Ekkaruto^?)

Voiced by: Kazuko Katō (Japanese), Kelly Manison (English)

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 she finds there 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 Eckart.

Noah (ノーア, Nōa^?)

Voiced by: Miyū Sawai (Japanese), Leah Clark (English)

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.