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trenchkamenI really want to have a drink with Park Romi after seeing her interview on the extras DVD for Conqueror of Shamballa.
Seriously, not only does she voice two of my favorite characters (Edward Elric and Oosaki Nana), she's loud, talks like a boy, gets drunk and winds up with stitches as a result, and is willing to openly flirt with Kugimiya Rie (Alphonse Elric) on camera. It didn't sound much like Elric fanservice given that Rie's voice is infinitely more moe than when she voices Al, but for some reason it reminded me of a Nana/Hachi interaction.
Oh, I did finally watch Conqueror of Shamballa, and since I'm too lazy to type another review, I'm pasting the un-edited ramble I wrote for My Anime List.
If you slept through high school history, and you know who you are, your appreciation of the depth of this movie will be greatly enhanced by reviewing the following things: Treaty of Versailles, Weimar Republic, rise of the Nazi party (including history in the 1920's), the Manhattan Project, the Thule Society (yes, it's real), Shambala (yes, it's real), Nazi occultism, and, if you somehow missed it, the Holocaust. Japan's opinion of nuclear weapons should be obvious to anybody with a basic grasp... of the history of World War II. They're never portrayed as a Good Thing in Japanese media, and frankly, I can't blame them. They represent the end-all be-all of total destruction and horrific weaponry, a symbol of the Apocalypse. This race-memory seems embedded in Ed and Al from the moment they hear the term "Uranium bomb", even though they live in pre-1945 parallel-universe Germany. This entanglement with world history is prevalent throughout the movie, and while sometimes a little heavy-handed, it's good.
Sometimes I have to wonder if "Conqueror of Shambala" is being deeper than I should give it credit for, but given the stunning depth and quality of storytelling displayed in the TV series, I am inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. I was shocked and dismayed at the behavior and petty idealism of one of my favorite characters from the TV series as portrayed in Weimar Germany (I'll give you a hint: his daughter just turned three), as he was one of the most accepting, intelligent, and gentle people in the series, but we are a product of our circumstances, and as a modern-day American I feel I have no right to stand in judgment of those who were members of the National Socialist Worker's Party in the 1920's. It started out sounding like a true people's revolution, and Adolf Hitler was a true charismatic leader. I just would have expected better of you, Hughes, especially when you outspokenly buy into myths about every race but the Aryan. I pray he came to his senses before Kristallnacht or later became a defector. I guess the upcoming new series will tell.
I guess that was the biggest problem I had with the movie. I felt as though it would be more in-character for Hughes to be an anti-Nazi activist, but our idealizations often do not match with reality. And this brings me to the theme pervading the movie: people destroy so much that they do have searching for idealizations that do not exist. L'arc~en~Ciel expressed it best in the ending theme: "we're letting go of something we never had". Whether it's the mythical land of Shambala, a country for the German people, a scapegoat, Equivalent Exchange, Mustang's ideals of reforming the military, etc, each of the characters faces the realization that he or she must live with the reality life has given, even when it's not pretty, and even when it's heartbreaking.
I find it interesting that Lior and Munich were linked through the parallel universes; both cities were devastated and eagerly looking for a prophet to come and save them and restore them to former glory. This is the destructive side of idealization; people make themselves vulnerable to being used by charismatic leaders. They make themselves gullible. They make themselves terrifying in their devotion to that ideal, even if it means destroying things they see as interfering with their ideal world. Sometimes those things are a scapegoat. You see where this is going. Etc.
I guess this is my very roundabout way of saying that this was a stellar movie, all things considered. It hit me square in the chest and made me tear up, and it ties up many of the loose ends left by the end of the TV series. Roy Mustang is back with a vengeance ready to kick ass, and I hope that he and Hawkeye finally get together. My heart almost broke for Winry. She has become an even stronger, smarter, and more resourceful girl--no, woman--than she was in the TV series. Alphonse is still painfully naive, and, returning to an underlying theme, his idealism and naivety come to bite him in the ass hard toward the end of the movie. Edward has become a little calmer, a little wiser, and a little more distant, but ultimately he is still the same hot-headed, stubborn boy--no, man--that he was in the TV series. The artwork is supurb, rich and realistic, and the music is sweeping.
Though the movie was written to be able to be viewed as a stand-alone, it's enjoyable on a quantum level beyond if you have seen the entirety of the TV series. And, if you plan on seeing the TV series EVER, the movie will spoil it utterly. I cannot recommend it enough to FMA fans. It's bittersweet, strange, and painful, but ultimately, a solid ending to the saga.
Also, Yazawa Ai, you're breaking my heart.
Took advantage of the Mill Ave. Borders' going-out-of-business scale to get my GRE prep books. And so the fun begins.
Seriously, not only does she voice two of my favorite characters (Edward Elric and Oosaki Nana), she's loud, talks like a boy, gets drunk and winds up with stitches as a result, and is willing to openly flirt with Kugimiya Rie (Alphonse Elric) on camera. It didn't sound much like Elric fanservice given that Rie's voice is infinitely more moe than when she voices Al, but for some reason it reminded me of a Nana/Hachi interaction.
Oh, I did finally watch Conqueror of Shamballa, and since I'm too lazy to type another review, I'm pasting the un-edited ramble I wrote for My Anime List.
If you slept through high school history, and you know who you are, your appreciation of the depth of this movie will be greatly enhanced by reviewing the following things: Treaty of Versailles, Weimar Republic, rise of the Nazi party (including history in the 1920's), the Manhattan Project, the Thule Society (yes, it's real), Shambala (yes, it's real), Nazi occultism, and, if you somehow missed it, the Holocaust. Japan's opinion of nuclear weapons should be obvious to anybody with a basic grasp... of the history of World War II. They're never portrayed as a Good Thing in Japanese media, and frankly, I can't blame them. They represent the end-all be-all of total destruction and horrific weaponry, a symbol of the Apocalypse. This race-memory seems embedded in Ed and Al from the moment they hear the term "Uranium bomb", even though they live in pre-1945 parallel-universe Germany. This entanglement with world history is prevalent throughout the movie, and while sometimes a little heavy-handed, it's good.
Sometimes I have to wonder if "Conqueror of Shambala" is being deeper than I should give it credit for, but given the stunning depth and quality of storytelling displayed in the TV series, I am inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt. I was shocked and dismayed at the behavior and petty idealism of one of my favorite characters from the TV series as portrayed in Weimar Germany (I'll give you a hint: his daughter just turned three), as he was one of the most accepting, intelligent, and gentle people in the series, but we are a product of our circumstances, and as a modern-day American I feel I have no right to stand in judgment of those who were members of the National Socialist Worker's Party in the 1920's. It started out sounding like a true people's revolution, and Adolf Hitler was a true charismatic leader. I just would have expected better of you, Hughes, especially when you outspokenly buy into myths about every race but the Aryan. I pray he came to his senses before Kristallnacht or later became a defector. I guess the upcoming new series will tell.
I guess that was the biggest problem I had with the movie. I felt as though it would be more in-character for Hughes to be an anti-Nazi activist, but our idealizations often do not match with reality. And this brings me to the theme pervading the movie: people destroy so much that they do have searching for idealizations that do not exist. L'arc~en~Ciel expressed it best in the ending theme: "we're letting go of something we never had". Whether it's the mythical land of Shambala, a country for the German people, a scapegoat, Equivalent Exchange, Mustang's ideals of reforming the military, etc, each of the characters faces the realization that he or she must live with the reality life has given, even when it's not pretty, and even when it's heartbreaking.
I find it interesting that Lior and Munich were linked through the parallel universes; both cities were devastated and eagerly looking for a prophet to come and save them and restore them to former glory. This is the destructive side of idealization; people make themselves vulnerable to being used by charismatic leaders. They make themselves gullible. They make themselves terrifying in their devotion to that ideal, even if it means destroying things they see as interfering with their ideal world. Sometimes those things are a scapegoat. You see where this is going. Etc.
I guess this is my very roundabout way of saying that this was a stellar movie, all things considered. It hit me square in the chest and made me tear up, and it ties up many of the loose ends left by the end of the TV series. Roy Mustang is back with a vengeance ready to kick ass, and I hope that he and Hawkeye finally get together. My heart almost broke for Winry. She has become an even stronger, smarter, and more resourceful girl--no, woman--than she was in the TV series. Alphonse is still painfully naive, and, returning to an underlying theme, his idealism and naivety come to bite him in the ass hard toward the end of the movie. Edward has become a little calmer, a little wiser, and a little more distant, but ultimately he is still the same hot-headed, stubborn boy--no, man--that he was in the TV series. The artwork is supurb, rich and realistic, and the music is sweeping.
Though the movie was written to be able to be viewed as a stand-alone, it's enjoyable on a quantum level beyond if you have seen the entirety of the TV series. And, if you plan on seeing the TV series EVER, the movie will spoil it utterly. I cannot recommend it enough to FMA fans. It's bittersweet, strange, and painful, but ultimately, a solid ending to the saga.
Also, Yazawa Ai, you're breaking my heart.
Took advantage of the Mill Ave. Borders' going-out-of-business scale to get my GRE prep books. And so the fun begins.
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