I was blown away by this series when I saw it on Cartoon Network, and was excited to see this continuation where we got to learn more about Edward and him being in the real world, and I was not let down at all. In fact this was an incredible ending to one of the best anime series I have seen in a long time. And this is an incredible climax to the series and I hope this is not the end of this series, because it could easily go on from here, especially with the ending of this film. The animation is top notch as is the story. And this series has always been about the characters, and this is no exception, though many of the characters only show up as their real world counter parts, but you do get to se them.

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS…

This starts off with an adventure of Edward (park Romi) and Alphonse (Kugiyama Rie)during the original series where they go up against a man who developed a neutron bomb, and they had to stop him, but it turns out to be a story Ed is telling, 2 years after the end of the series, to Alphonse Heiderich (Oguri Shun) the double of his brother, as they both live in Germany and work on Rocketry.

Back in Ed’s world his brother Alphonse Elric is alive and well and no longer armor, though he has no memory of his whole journey with Ed, but he now dresses like his brother and is obsessed with getting his brother back, and has become a skilled Alchemist with the ability to easily transfer part of his soul into armor.

Ed become involved with his worlds double of Rose, who is a Gypsy named Noah (Sawai Miyuu) who has the power to read about people and can tell Ed also does not have a home. He takes her in to stop the men who are chasing her and want her, and it turns out they are also the men who start funding Alphonse’s rocketry work. These people are working with the Nazi’s who are planning a revolution to make Germany strong and kick out everyone except the Germans. These people are led by Dietlinde Eckart who is searching for a giant snake, that turns out to be Envy, Ed’s half brother and she is planning on using Envy and a alchemic circle to open a doorway to Shamballa and use it’s weapons to make the Nazi’s strong and defeat their enemies. Ed falls in with the double of the Fuhrer who in the real world is the Jewish Filmmaker Fritz Lang who helps Edward because he loves Germany, but is scared of this new movement that will make him leave the country.

Back in Ed’s world Eckart manages to send some soldiers in Armor through the portal though they die and become zombies attacking people and forcing many soldiers back into service like Armstrong, though the Colonel has seemed to have permanently retired. Ed draws a circle and because his own blood is used it opens and brings the dead soldiers back, so Eckart realizes Ed may be important and makes a deal with Noah to get his information so she touches him while he sleeps because she wants to go to Ed’s world.

Alphonese goes with Wrath to try and open the portal to Ed, and because Glutony attacks he uses their bodies to make the circle and it links with Eckarts to make a permanent portal. And Eckart sends her fleet of rockets into the world, but not before the real world Alphonse who is dieing sends Ed back home. Ed finds Winry who give shim a new automail arm and leg and the Colonel returns and with Alphonse they go to battle Eckart and win and send her home, but Ed decides to go with her because he must close the portal on the real world side, and the Colonel will close it in their world, but Alphonse comes with him, so they are both stuck in the real world. Eckart is killed and the Nazi movement seemed to have failed, and Adolf Hitler is arrested (just as what happened in the real world). And Ed and Al set out to find the Nuclear bomb that Eckart got from Ed’s world, and they can be with Noah, not only that but when Alphonse left their world he got his memories of their journey together back, so the Brothers are united again.

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Such an amazing film, and a great ending, though sad that Ed is still away from Winry and Rose who both love him. And Ed is becoming a real man with big responsibilities who will do anything to make the world a better place.

The animation is top rate, and this is a great film, I just wish I had seen it in the theater.

It contains a Japanese documentary talking about the making and the whole process. Interesting and informative.