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Cute manga is cute. There’s no other way to describe it.

Like other slice of life, seinen manga about a group of high school girls, the story is as simple as it gets. If you leave it like that, chances are the manga will become really shallow, or maybe even drab, so you’ll have to make up for it by making it special in another way. In A Channel’s case, that is accomplished by having really cute characters.

A Channel’s characters are your usual, cookie cutter moeblobs drawn in the same style we see a lot in recent seinen anime and manga, except with a little more ... detail. The four main characters are Nagi, the voice of reason of the group, who slips now and then. Yuuko, the shy, innocent girl with the dynamite body. Run, the blonde clumsy airhead. Finally, Tooru, the short and silent tsundere. Though not the most original set of characters, they are all still likable. My personal favorite is Tooru.

You might find yourself remembering Lucky Star or Azumanga Daioh while reading this manga, because just like in those two, the story in A Channel progresses as the four girls go through their daily routine, experiencing common activities and events in a high schooler’s life. The manga is also in a 4-koma format, so each story ends quickly and doesn’t drag on.

Even though it is listed as a comedy, from what I’ve read so far I don’t think it’s that funny. As I was reading the first 12 chapters, I only found myself chuckling once. Either it’s not funny enough or I’m just hard to please. Still, I do think that it’s worth reading.

If you’re a fan of Lucky Star or Azumanga Daioh or slice of life, seinen manga or anime in general, then A Channel should not be missed.

Vampire anime has never been my cup of tea. I’ve seen a fair amount of such anime and for me, they usually turn out to be really corny (such as Dance in the Vampire Bund), boring (such as Shingetsutan Tsukihime), shallow and chockfull of fanservice (Rosario + Vampire) or just plain lame (Black Blood Brothers). I’ve gotten tired of seeing vampires presented to be as majestic, perfect, idol-like creatures, leading glamorous lives and just happen to suck blood for nourishment. Are vampires really monsters, or just sissies?

Then I saw Shiki.

It’s surprisingly good. I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece but it’s interesting, not to mention actually ... quite frightening, as horror stories should be. The first few episodes hint on what is happening, but you’re not completely sure what it is until the characters discover it for themselves. Because of that the pacing is quite slow for the viewers, but for the characters it’s actually timely and realistic.

Speaking of the characters, there are a lot of them and as expected with a large cast, development is hard to manage. There are some characters who disappear from the story for a bit, and when they come back, clearly a lot happened but not a lot about it is said so you’re left to ponder on it. There are some scenes that I would have liked to see, and I’d like to give some examples but I’ll leave it at that to avoid spoiling anyone.

Fortunately though, the most interesting character in my opinion is the one who is most developed, and that is the doctor Ozaki Toshio. You get to see a lot of what is going on in his mind - what he discovers as the story progresses, how he deals with it, what kind of person he is, etc. I really think his character is very fascinating, and will make you think what you would do if you were in his place. How far will you go to survive? Ozaki and the other characters all answer that question in their own way as the story progresses.

It’s generally a likable cast, and the voice acting only makes them even more so. Among the roster of the voice actors chosen for this anime, I noticed that a good portion of them are relatively new/under the radar, including the young and promising Yuuki Aoi. Regardless of tenure, all members of the cast, even those with the smaller roles, are good, capable and convincing.

What isn’t entirely convincing though, is the art. Sometimes the facial expressions of the characters are too exaggerated, that it seems fake, such as this scene: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lha4faBeSw1qdbg2p.jpg
I get that she’s really happy to see Natsuno, but I don’t think she’s that happy.

The character designs in general are a little cartoony, with the weird hairstyles and all, but only for the more dominant characters. The lesser characters look more subdued. The gore seems a bit over the top too, but I think it’s acceptable in this case because it’s part of the story-telling.

Overall, the art is okay. The visuals really compliment the story. It’s a little inconsistent now and then and the colors clash sometimes but I like how they went for something a bit more colorful, because usually with horror anime the visuals are dark and gloomy.

As for the music, I think the soundtrack is very well done. From the subtle sound effects to the background music, it all really contributes to the feel of the story and makes each scene more special. The OPs and EDs are very good too. I really like the first OP, “Kuchikuze” by rock band Buck-Tick. I think it really goes well with the series. The vocals are really good, the lyrics relate to the story and it’s quite catchy and memorable.

I think the main reason why I like Shiki is because it’s not shallow like most vampire anime. It allows us viewers to think, instead of blinding us with how “cool” vampires are. Sure, vampires are amazing beings with many traits and abilities that normal humans don’t have, but they are still monsters, and to survive, they need to feed on humans. If you think of it that way, vampires aren’t really that cool, huh? It seems that in the latest vampire anime, as well as in general media, they fail to emphasize that in their representation. Thankfully, Shiki does well in that aspect and in many others. If you don't mind gore and you want to watch a horror anime that’s a little more deep than the usual, then surely Shiki is for you.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Good concept but disappointing

STORY – 6/10

It’s about Yume Kikuchi, a mage in training, equipped with more magical capabilities than the average mage, and how she learns more about magic during her stay in Tokyo. I think that the fact that Yume had tremendous magical capabilities was somehow forgotten throughout the series, among other things. Each episode had a storyline that was barely related to the other episodes, which made it difficult to like. It went from one story to another, leaving gaps in between, which made the story hard to follow.

Other than that, I found the concept of the ... government controlling magic quite corny. Those two things just don’t go together. I understand that there’s a need to control magic but what’s the point in having mages if they can’t use their magic on their own. That makes the magic thing less of a big deal, really.

CHARACTERS – 6/10

I tried to like the characters but none of them had enough good qualities to be liked. Most of the characters were static. Character development wasn’t good, even for the main character Yume Kikuchi. After 12 episodes I still felt unfamiliar to her character. I don’t know her anything about her personality, I don’t know how she would react to certain things, how she interacts with other people.

The producers of the show probably wanted the characters to be endearing to the audience, but to me Yume seemed like a stranger, and the supporting characters seemed more like extras too. Even Runa and Kera, who had their own episodes, seemed like random extra characters who would show up just to fill out air time. I found this quite annoying, and but not as annoying as I thought Angela was. Everything about her seemed so off. She was supposed to be a witchy-type mage, who is quite anti-social and somewhat defiant but passionate about magic, but her voice acting and character design didn’t match her character at all.

I liked Yume Kikuchi’s voice actor though – I have to admit there’s a little bias because it is the adorable Aoi Miyazaki, but I really like what she did with Yume’s accent. It certainly stood out and reminded me of Yume’s country bumpkin side. Generally, I think that the voice acting for the characters with accents (Runa, Yume’s mother and friend, etc) was really done well.

ART – 6/10

Art was pretty much average. Character designs were simple to the point of being bland, and so were some of the backgrounds. I wish they put more detail into the salsa bar. I’ve never been to a salsa bar before, but I assume that they should be colorful and lively looking places. Oyamada’s bar did not look like that at all. It looked like one of those gloomy and quite bars where people go to get drunk and rant about their problems to the bartender.

Having simplistic art isn’t necessarily bad, but they should’ve at least worked on the quality. Unfortunately, the quality wasn’t that good either, resulting in inconsistent and non-fluid animation.

MUSIC – 6/10

The music is probably the best thing I liked about Someday’s Dreamers. I found both the OP and ED catchy. I like the background music too cause they contribute to that [too] relaxing feel of the show, but I wouldn’t necessarily purchase the soundtrack. The music was good, but not good enough to make me want to listen to it outside the anime.

ENJOYMENT – 5/10

I was really looking forward to watching Someday’s Dreamers cause I thought it was going to be one of those shows that give you a relaxing feeling. Well, I certainly got that feeling from watching it but I got too relaxed, and I ended up being bored and uninterested (not to mention easily distracted whenever I watch an episode).

I was very disappointed by the anime, but I haven’t given up on the story yet. I think it’s a good concept but the execution was lacking (and maybe there could’ve been more episodes too), which is why I want to give the manga a shot. I’m going to read the manga in the hopes that it will have a better development of the story and characters, and that it’ll fill in the gaps that the anime was unable to fill. However, that doesn’t change the fact that overall, I give this anime a 6/10.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Not a lot of action

As a yaoi fan girl, nothing pleases me more than a transfer student asking to be corrupted by his new school mates who are into “different extracurricular activities”. Such is not really the premise of Gakuen Heaven, but yaoi fan girls like me should know otherwise, right?

Gakuen Heaven is about Ito Keita, seemingly an ordinary, supposedly straight teenage boy, who is suddenly invited to a prestigious all-boys school named Bell Liberty Academy, or BL academy (How ominous XD). As soon as he gets there, his bishounen school mates start fawning over him because he’s cute. It’s ... almost like the yaoi counterpart of Strawberry Panic, if you ask me.

I like the story, I think it’s cute as a whole, but I thought there wasn’t enough material to work with. Most of the episodes dealt with Keita trying to adjust in his new school, when 3 episodes would have been enough. Also, just when it was about to end was a climax that came out of almost nowhere. I thought it didn’t fit the image of the story. Heck, Ham-ham heaven was better than that climax.

Now for the more important part – the “action”. Yaoi fan girls should know what I’m referring to. Sadly, there wasn’t enough “action” in Gakuen Heaven. Most of the “action” were fake and plain teasing. There was only one kiss throughout the whole thing, and I thought that kiss was kinda awkward and disappointing.

I have to say though, that Gakuen Heaven has a beautiful cast of bishounens. Yes, the cast is heavily dominated by men. There was only one episode with women, and they’re not even that significant, nor attractive. Not that it’s important. My favorite characters are Niwa a.k.a. King. He’s like a dashing prince that reminds me of Conrad from Kyou Kara Maoh. I also like Shunsuke’s playful nature, the impish twins, and the cute Keita.

You’d think I’ll be contented with the bevy of bishounens, but I’m not. I’m a little disappointed because there wasn’t enough differentiation between the characters. They all look almost completely alike, except for Keita, Shunsuke and the twins (probably explains why I like these characters the most). Everyone else had the same facial structure and would look the same if they had the same hairstyle. That’s just a small qualm though. Overall, visuals really look nice. I like the coloring, because a wide variety of colors were used. The illustrations and the backgrounds were all very detailed but not overwhelming to the eye.

As for the voice acting, 2 names immediately caught my attention. The first name is Jun Fukuyama, who was Lelouch Lamperouge in Code Geass, and Watanuki Kimihiro in xxxHOLiC, and is Ito Keita in Gakuen Heaven. What a talented guy – I almost didn’t recognize it was him since Lelouch and Watanuki have such strong voices, while Keita has such a soft, almost girly voice. The second is Takahiro Sakurai, one of my favorite male voice actors. He was Shun in Gatekeepers, and Cloud in Final Fantasy: Advent Children. In Gakuen Heaven, he is Kazuki, who’s actually my least favorite character, but at least he has a talented voice actor to back him up.

I usually wouldn’t like songs similar to the OP “School Boys”, but I really like that song. I think it’s poppy and catchy, and I even dance to it when I hear it sometimes. It’s the same for the ED, “Panorama” – I didn’t expect I would like it at all. However, I still prefer the OP since it’s more upbeat.

In the end, the story seems to be Gakuen Heaven’s weakest point. I know it may seem that yaoi fan girls are more concerned about BL when it comes to yaoi, but the story’s important too. If the story had a different, more suitable climax, I probably would have liked it more, but Gakuen Heaven was still worth watching.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Needs a third season

As a whole, Zero no Tsukaima’s first season seems better than the second season. If I didn’t like the first season, then that would mean that I probably wouldn’t like the second season, right? Then how come I like the second season more than the first? Read on and I’ll tell you why.

The story obviously needed work. I think the problem was that they tried to fit in many different storylines at a time. There was Saito and Louise’s relationship, the ongoing war with Albion and there was Anies’ story too. Each story would have been potentially ... better as stand alones, especially Anies’ story, but a combination of the three isn’t such a good idea. All three at once can be too much, maybe one or two at a time would’ve been better.

Furthermore, I’m really getting tired of the Louise and Saito’s love hate comedy act. It became so predictable – Saito does something that displeases Louise (usually looking at other girls), Louise brings out her whip, screams “You damned dog!” and beats Saito up. It’s been like that since the first season. The only improvement is that both are more aware of their status, that Louise is a noble while Saito is a plain commoner, which is why they’re still not official as a couple.

I’m a little disappointed that there was less screen time for the characters from the first season. I’m sure a lot of Zero no Tsukaima fans were disappointed to see less of Kirche, Tabitha and Guiche. A good side effect from that was more exposure for Henrietta - She was barely seen in the first season so I didn’t like her back then, but the second season showed a different side of her which made me like her more. I also like the new characters, Anies and Julio. Anies has such a cool personality and background, while Julio is such a hottie. He is so much better than Guiche.

Visually, it looks the same as the first season - same colors, same backgrounds. However, I do think the character design looks different. I think the character designs look more crisp, but at the same time, the drawing became more inconsistent. I’m especially glad that there was less fanservice, or rather, more tolerable fanservice in the second season.

Another aspect that didn’t change is the voice acting. I’m glad it didn’t change at all since a lot of my favorite and famous voice actors can be found in the cast list. Rie Kugimiya (Al in Fullmetal Alchemist, Shana in Shakugan no Shana) and Satoshi Hino (Yuuji in Shakugan no Shana, Kouichi in Kimikiss) are still Louise and Saito. There’s also Ayako Kawasumi (Ruriko in Gate Keepers, Ohno in Genshiken) as Henrietta, Yui Horie (Eri in School Rumble, Hanyuu in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai) as Siesta and Takahiro Sakurai (Shun in Gatekeepers, Cloud in Final Fantasy: Advent Children) as Guiche.

I also like the music. In fact, I think the music is better this time around. In the first season, the songs were too cutesy, but in the second season, the songs were more striking and had better quality. I really like “I say yes” by Ichiko, which is the OP. It’s so different from all the other Ichiko songs I’ve heard. I think it has more power and emotion to it, which makes it so special.

Despite of its many shortcomings, I still like it better than the first season. I thought it was more funny and entertaining, I like the new characters, and I’m especially glad that there was less fanservice this time around. However, the main reason why I like the second season more than the first is potential. I thought the second season had more potential than the first, and I want to see that potential in a third season.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Definitely not typical shoujo anime

If you looked for the meaning of "Romantic Comedy" in the dictionary (or maybe even Wikipedia), you'd probably see "Lovely Complex" written in its definition. Okay, maybe not, but somebody should put it there!

As much as I love shoujo manga and anime, I do get tired of it sometimes because most shoujo follow the same formula. Such is not the case for Lovely Complex. I think Lovely Complex is the true embodiment of the romantic comedy genre. A love match between a tall girl and a short guy is like the perfect recipe for a romantic ... comedy. Not only that, it's also heartwarming, but funny at the same time. That is what makes it so refreshing. I don't think I laughed and cried for a shoujo anime as much as I did for Lovely Complex.

The 2 main characters are different from the usual shoujo protagonists as well. You have Koizumi Risa, taller than the average girl, slightly tomboyish and awkward. There's also Otani Atsushi, shorter than the average guy, insecure, and kind. Together they also deviate from the usual shoujo anime/manga couples. When they officially become a couple (not really a spoiler because it's obvious they'll get together XD), it's evident that Risa is more dominant than Otani.

To be honest, I didn't like Lovely Complex right away because I wasn't used to hearing so many characters speak in Osakan accents. The moment I heard one of them speak, I thought to myself "Obviously Osakan". Not that I have anything against Osakans, but at times, it sounded as if they were speaking in Chinese and couldn't understand what they were saying (I have the habit of translating in my head even while reading the subs). I'm still iffy about the accents, but then I realize that the Osakan accents really work well for Koizumi and Otani's personalities - loud. Very loud.

I like the character designs - Again, not typical shoujo anime/manga designs in which characters are usually bishie-fied. The characters look cute and their clothes are always so trendy. The only typical element you'd find in the character design is the out of proportion bodies, but in a different way. Sometimes Risa does look boyish because she doesn't have a figure, but I guess her look matches her personality. I also like the colors, consisting mostly of yellow-orange tones. The colors made the visuals of Lovely Complex really attractive, cute and current.

I didn't like the first set of OP and ED themes at first, because I thought that kind of music was kind of corny and for older fans. Just when I was starting to like both songs, they replaced the OP and ED themes with Hey! Say! 7 songs (around episode 13), and I'm really glad they did. The latter set of songs is more current and trendy as they should be, because the anime itself is current and trendy. I especially like "BON BON" by Hey! Say! 7, the second ED. I think it's a really sweet and cute song.

I'm glad I picked Lovely Complex when I was looking for a new shoujo anime to watch. It turned out to be one of the best series (in general) I've ever seen, and I strongly recommend it to all anime fans, whether you like shoujo or not.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Nothing special. Bland.

If I would describe Shinigami no Ballad in one word, I would describe it as bland. I usually like loli anime, but Shinigami no Ballad barely caught my attention.

Cute girl gets her hands dirty by working a job that involves death. Such premise is almost similar to the plot of Hell Girl, except Hell Girl had more “zing” to it. There were no high or low points in Shinigami no Ballad – it was monotonous during the whole 6 episodes. There wasn’t really a climax either. You’d think the last episode would be more exciting than the first ... 5 episodes, but nothing really set it apart from the other episodes. I think the problem lies in the storytelling – the sequencing of events were a bit off, there were some holes in the story, and you couldn’t really relate to the events or the characters.

Speaking of the characters, the characters didn’t grab me either. As much as I like lolis, I didn’t like Momo at all. I thought her personality was weird, she seemed almost bipolar. Whenever she did her job, she seemed cold and stoic, but in the end she would always cry for some reason. It wasn’t really explained why she was such a crybaby, but apparently her assistant cat (Daniel) thinks the same. As for the other characters, they were all forgettable and almost insignificant. They all lacked charisma.

The character design needed work too. I didn’t like how the characters looked like each other – if they had the same hairstyle, there would be almost no way to tell them apart. Furthermore, nothing about the character design was striking. In fact, as a whole, Shinigami no Ballad’s visuals were bland.

I don’t completely hate Shinigami no Ballad, I actually like the voice acting. The voices really matched their respective characters. Also, a lot of notable names on the cast list, such as Ai Shimizu (Koyori in Sola, Tamao from Strawberry Panic), who played Daniel. Other notable names are Daisuke Ono (Yukito from Air, Koizumi from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya), Kana Ueda (Yumi in Maria-sama ga Miteru, Sakuya from Hayate no Gotoku) and Ryoko Shiraishi (Hayate from Hayate no Gotoku). I’m a little disappointed that these voice actors were only present for one episode each.

The music wasn’t bad either. I liked the playful BGM, but it was still lacking. There was nothing really special about the BGM. It’s the same for the opening and ending themes. It was okay, but not great – the themes didn’t grab me at all. If any, they made me a bit sleepy because both songs were too mellow.

I’m glad that Shinigami no Ballad was only made up of 6 episodes, but then again, I think that more episodes would make it better. Shinigami no Ballad definitely has potential to become a great story, probably even better than Hell Girl, and I think having only 6 episodes stifled that potential a bit. More episodes would definitely provide more room for that potential to shine.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Better than the first season

Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha A’s certainly strayed away from the usual, formulaic mahou shoujo stereotype. No more collecting Jewel Seeds for Nanoha and Fate. This time they face bigger, more powerful enemies that get in their way.

The new plot really made me excited, mostly because I’ve been waiting for Fate and Nanoha to become closer friends as well as become team mates. The new characters were also very intriguing and interesting, especially the Velka-type Knights. I like how Nanoha and Fate have to go against them, because they’re not as evil or twisted as Precia Testarossa ... from last season, but their objective is much more threatening.

Speaking of the Velka-type Knights, they are Signum, Shamal, Vita and Zafira. They all have different personalities and abilities that mix well together, that’s why I consider them formidable opponents for Nanoha and Fate. To make things more interesting, their master, Hayate Yagami, is absolutely adorable. Out of all the new characters, I like Hayate and Signum the best.

Since there new additions to the cast, there are also new voice actors. I like Vita’s voice actor the best, who is Asami Sanada. Her voice screams tsundere. It really reminds me of Rie Kugimiya’s work in Shakugan no Shana. Also, just as I like Raging Heart and Bardiche’s voice actors, I also like Levantine and Graf Eisen’s voice actor. I thought for sure he was German – he was really convincing.

I think animation has also improved, because the drawings are more consistent compared to the first season. I also love the character design, the new characters and their battle outfits are really flashy and modern. The transformation scenes are less ecchi but more eye catching too.

There might have been a switch regarding the opening and ending themes for this season. Nana Mizuki still sang the opening song, “Eternal Blaze”, and I love it because of its faster beat. I definitely like it more than the OP of the first season. Also, this time around, Yukari Tamura sang the mellow song, which is the ending theme “Spiritual Garden”. It’s cute, but I like the ED of the first season better.

Since the second season was so much better than the first season, I could only hope that the third season is even better and possibly the best out of the three and it does look that way.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Mahou shoujo with some zing

I watched “Triangle Heart ~Sweet Songs Forever~” before Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, and personally, I’m glad that MSLN’s story is a lot different from Triangle Heart.

Nanoha Takamachi was also a character in Triangle Heart, but she was sort of an extra character there. She takes the stage as main character in MSLN as a normal third grader who suddenly meets a ferret who is actually a mage from another world, and he asks Nanoha to help her collect Jewel Seeds that have scattered all over her world. It seems a lot like Card Captor Sakura, but ... each MSLN episode isn’t as uniform as CCS episodes. The pacing is faster, which is good since MSLN only has 12 episodes. Also, Jewel Seeds aren’t cutesy like Clow Cards – they are way more dangerous and threatening.

There are actually two magical girls in MSLN, there is Nanoha of course, and there’s also Fate Testarossa. I happen to like Fate more, because sometimes Nanoha’s too nice that you get tired of it. Fate is sort of like a 9 year old Rei Ayanami with better hair, so I definitely like her more. Some characters from Triangle Heart have also reappeared for MSLN, such as other members of the Takamachi family. The only difference is that they’re all leading normal lives and not working as bodyguards or agents for secret services.

I’m familiar with most of the voice cast, but the names that stood out for me the most are Rie Kugimiya (Alisa Bannings) and Ai Shimizu (Suzuka Tsukimura). I liked their work in other series, especially Rie Kugimiya (Shana in Shakugan no Shana, Nagi from Hayate no Gotoku, Alphonse Elric from FMA), so I’m kind of disappointed that they got smaller parts in the series. Also, I like Raging Heart and Bardiche’s voice actors. I don’t know why but I like it when Raging Heart and Bardiche talk.

I’m a bit iffy about the visuals, specially the character design. Nanoha and Fate’s designs were both age appropriate and proportionate, but for the older women, I didn’t like the oversized chests and wide hips. It’s also a bit inconsistent, scenes from the first episode looked different compared to the latter episodes. All in all, animation was good.

Nana Mizuki did a great job in singing “Innocent Starter”, the opening theme. I wish it was more upbeat though, but since it was performed by the voice actor of Fate Testarossa, I guess I shouldn’t expect something more lively. I liked the ending theme more, “Little Wish ~Lyrical Step~” by Yukari Tamura, Nanoha’s voice actor.. It really fit Nanoha’s personality, and it was cute and catchy. I learned it right away.

At first I was hesitant to watch Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, because I wasn’t really a fan of the Mahou Shoujo genre, thinking that most series of such genre was the same. Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha had something in it, which makes it worth watching.

5 WORDS OR LESS REVIEW: Must watch after the series

Want a real conclusion to the events that happened in Fullmetal Alchemist? Then you should watch Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie – Conqueror of Shamballa. In my opinion, it is impossible to get some real closure from watching the series alone.

If you watched the series and followed it religiously like I did, you probably also marveled at how close Ed and Al are that they are willing to risk their lives for each other. If that’s the case, then you were also probably shocked that the series ended with the two brothers separated, Ed on Earth, specifically ... in Germany in the year 1923, and Al stuck in Amestris, specifically in Resembool. In the movie, Earth and Resembool are treated as parallel to each other, and you see how they interact with each other while in the process, the two brothers try to reunite themselves. It’s definitely a wonderful storyline that will give viewers the conclusion they’re looking for.

I guess to keep things fresh and exciting, the characters were given new looks to go with new storylines. Ed and Al certainly have matured (and they look cool!), and the same goes for minor characters such as Winry and Roy Mustang. I don’t want to spoil anything, but here’s a hint – dead characters are even brought to life in the movie, however they have different personalities. All the characters still have their respective voice actors from the series, but there are also new additions to the cast such as a gypsy girl named Noa (Miyu Sawai), who I don’t really like because she whines too much, and a new villain, Dietlinde Eckhart (Kazuko Kato).

Even the visuals of the movie were new and improved. The character design became sleeker, the backgrounds are more detailed and attractive, and the color coordination is better than in the series. I especially like how the colors in Earth have a slightly weathered look, while the colors in Amestris are bright and vibrant.

Michiru Oshima, who worked on the music of the series has returned to compose music for the movie as well, but I have to say I like the music of the series better. The music in the series was more striking and memorable compared to the music of the movie. L’Arc~en~ciel also sang the opening and ending themes of the movie, and just like the series, they also came up with catchy tracks for this one too.

As much as I liked the movie, I have to say that I like the series more. It’s not because of the plot per se, but I was disappointed that there was less talk of alchemy in the movie. Alchemy was so important in the series that it made the plot, but that wasn’t the case for the movie. Moreover, Al and Winry, two of my favorite characters, didn’t get enough screen time, so that disappointed me a bit.

However, I still recommend in watching the movie, because like I said earlier, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Movie – Conqueror of Shamballa will provide closure for the series.