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Jan 17, 2025
Conqueror of Shamballa is one-part Indiana Jones fanfiction, one-part rushed FMA epilogue, and other-part full-on disappointment. FMA 03 is an anime I finished a couple of days before this review that's actually quite underrated and should be watched before Brotherhood. I can recommend this as someone who is a residential Fullmetal Alchemist manga enjoyer and of course watched Brotherhood.
The movie has stellar animation that is very fluid and polished. I'd assess this to be the best production Fullmetal Alchemist ever had not just cause it's a movie but they also nailed the hell out of the art direction. It has the signature grit of the
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03 anime but with a nice refinement, filter, and immersive 16:9 aspect ratio. Both Amestris (whenever we get to see it) and 1920s Germany are jaw droppingly gorgeous to look at. Conqueror of Shamballa also nailed the fights. They are choreographed extremely well and easy to follow. They mix up different types of action too between close quarters, gun fights, and alchemy battles. There are also some great moments between Edward and Alphonse.
Unfortunately I don't have many more praises. The list ran short this time around. The movie is plagued with shitty villains like Dietlinde, massive plot holes, rushed character arcs and overall rushed pacing. I felt like it was 2 movies put together into one and that's not too far off the actual production history. Mizushima and company were disappointed that Bones did not give them the resources needed to fully realize their vision. I recommend reading further into the scenario book as it details what I think the movies should have been.
Yeah that's right movies. I would've loved a Lord of the Rings-style trilogy to end this series. It's especially horrific when characters will either be killed off without much of an explanation or start in one mindset, the next scene be a completely different character without any build up on-screen. God it's frustrating. The extra screentime would've remedied this problem. My biggest critique is the Romani character Noa. This is cause they do nothing with her apart from introduce clairvyoance. A mechanic that should not exist in the real world but A. it does B. it's limitations are not explained or easy to intuit and C. is just a magnet for good ole fashion 1920s racism to happen.
And the thematic work is so weak here. The themes of war, racism, revenge, etc. are just as deep as a puddle whereas in any other version of Fullmetal Alchemist, especially the manga and 03 if we're talking about war, they are given way more depth and felt impactful. That's part of the issue with bland character writing. If you write abilities before characters there will be a brick wall when those abilities, I mean characters, need a personality.
I will give one more praise before I wrap this review up. I think the English dub is actually really good. The voice actors gave more of a damn than any corpo executive up in Bones. This really was Funimation at their best. Overall, it's just a mixed bag for me. It does some things well, some things not so well, and then some things are filled with rough draft OverSimplified videos. It could've been so much more but was never was. At least that's what she said.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jan 30, 2020
This is perhaps the biggest disappointment of 2019 and considering Carole & Tuesday exists, this is saying something. If I ever wanted a prime example of why I show a lot of hesitation to recommend something as a show is airing this is why. So to start properly let's go from the beginning.
Babylon started off initially as something that is actually an interesting idea, covering suicide. The way the show treats suicide seems like it'd be very similar to the marijuana debate which is actually a great idea if it wants to present suicide as something inherently morally gray. Especially the proponent of this Kaika
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Itsuki. But however this highlights one of the first problems of it is that rather quickly the show will disregard this morally gray stance in favor of what I dub the comic book villain, Ai Magase. So you'd think the story would present Itsuki as the antagonist especially for the protagonist Zen Seizaki but you'd be wrong it's Magase. Magase is just without a doubt evil without the slightest hint of good, she's practically as evil as Dio but Dio being evil made sense, they don't even try showing how Magase ended up being as evil as she ended up being. So naturally in a show like Babylon introducing Magase completely ruins the narrative and why would you do this? It makes no sense.
What also makes no sense in the Whore of Babylon which is supposed to be a symbol for Magase and why the show is named Babylon and that symbol is evil as in clearly not good or even in between. It's not only misplaced in this show it makes me hate the name, so this is what Babylon is named after? Wow, I'd rather them not answer that at all. Also, the “Whore Of Babylon” (Magase) has the ability to kill people by speaking vague words into their ear? I know anime isn't reality but I doubt it would go even that far this is just someone taking acid instead of a good writing class. She's definitely the worst offender of the poor characterization in Babylon with Seizaki being up there as he never really changes from being a moral puritan and if he does there aren't any sense of natural progression or an epiphany. The rivalry between Seizaki and Magase in the end feels like an inferior take of the rivalry between Tsunemori and Makishima, if anything this feels like inferior Psycho-Pass.
So in this steaming pile of crap that is this show why is it any good? I'll list two things that prevent me from giving it a one. #1 the soundtrack wasn't awful, it's just a shame it couldn't fit the tonally inconsistent mess that is Babylon. #2 the directing which I'd actually praise. The director Kiyotaki Suzuki directed Babylon amazingly well. He experiments with angles, aspect ratios, and even though Magase isn't actually that threatening of a character his direction can make her feel threatening or have quite a presence. I hope he gets better work as he has some amazing talent.
My last point of contention is the ending, while I won't spoil it in this review it's basically if Murphy's law could apply to an anime, everything that can go wrong in an ending did. It's a fireworks display of nonsensical debating, complete lunacy and utter mindlessness. It culminates into an epic shitshow that you'd have to see to believe but for now you'd have to believe me because I do not advise anyone to watch this anime at all, I doubt you'd enjoyed it, hell I didn't enjoy this anime at all, it wasn't even hilariously bad just bad. If it gave up taking itself seriously and just became a comedy it could've at least redeemed itself with that but it still would've been a horrible anime. I even enjoyed Carole & Tuesday more than this and that anime had a horrible ending as well. I'd rather watch Goblin Slayer 3 times then watch Babylon ever again.
Overall I give this a 2/10 and is one of the worst anime I've had the “honor” of completing. I'd use this as an example of what not to do when writing an anime, especially an anime focused on a morally gray topic.
Also this is my 2nd review so any constructive feedback of my review is appreciated, hope you enjoyed my review.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Oct 2, 2019
This will be the first review I have ever written so forgive me if it might not be the most professional or well written review you've seen on this site like in the case of Lyter or Ryuseishun but regardless here goes nothing.
The sequel to the original TV series that aired in Fall 2018 Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl is certain a marvelous movie and a must watch if you're a fan of the Bunny Girl Senpai movie. This movie is to Bunny Girl Senpai fans what the Disappearance of Haruhi movie is to Haruhi fans. (By the way one of my
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favorite anime movies of all time). While it might not be as good as well that, it certainly reaches heights that can rival some of the best anime I've ever seen.
Story:
The story will send you on a roller coaster of emotions, it'll make you cry, laugh, be angry, and everything else you can think of. It works so well as a way to tie in some of the loose ends that the original show left and it ties it in so beautifully and answers a lot of questions. It also does a very nice job of fleshing out Sakuta, Mai, and of course Shouko Makinohara. The story is definitely very competent.
Art:
The art is certainly better than the show. 90% of the time it is gorgeous to look at. My only gripes with it were the poor implementation of CGI, although it wasn't as bad as the original show and one moment where the animation could've been a lot better. Still it holds up really well so I don't have much to complain about.
Sound:
The OST is the same as last time, just some piano beats in the background meant to be in the background. It wasn't really much of a standout in the show nonetheless the movie. The reason why I'm giving this a ridiculously high score is the impeccable voice acting. Inori Minase, Kaito Ishikawa, and Asami Seto as the principle characters Shouko, Sakuta, and Mai respectively do a phenomenal job at bringing their characters to life, especially in some of the more emotional moments this show has and this is crucial as it'll tug on your heartstrings more than the show.
Character:
I can now safely say without a doubt Sakuta is a man amongst men and one of the most well written MCs in anime. It's hard not to like the dude which is good and he goes through some of the hardest struggles he has had yet. You genuinely feel for every character in the anime you're supposed to and there is no one you can hate. All the motivations are believable and you feel as though you're right there with them. The writing is absolutely on point. Also some of the gags the characters had in the show return in the movie and they're always a joy to see.
Enjoyment:
The subjective part of any scoring and seeing as I enjoyed it as much as everyone else in the theater I watched it in. There's no doubt I'll give it a 10 here. There was never a moment, even with some of the minor flaws the movie had, where I felt bored. The witty writing and emotional beats did so much to suck me in it's unreal. It also helps that I'm of course invested into the series, but regardless it certain excels in this department.
Overall:
9/10. While it could've used a better OST and animation, the story and characters more than make up for it. It's certainly a property I won't forget for a long time and now Bunny Girl Senpai is one of my favorite anime of all time.
Side Note: Feel free to criticize my review but don't be a jerk about. It's my first and I might do more of these in the future if I feel I can go somewhere with it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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