How FullMetal Alchemist's Ending Sets Up a Movie Sequel

The FullMetal Alchemist live-action movie adaptation is now available to stream on Netflix. For fans of the manga and anime adaptations, it's a hotly anticipated release. Fans will also be happy -- or at least, intrigued -- to hear that the film may not be a standalone feature, with the ending and post-credits teaser leaving room for much more to come.

FMA is one of the few manga series to have had two completely separate anime adaptations made within a short span of time: FullMetal Alchemist in 2003 and FullMetal Alchemist: Brotherhood in 2009, with Brotherhood being more faithful to the source material. To answer the question of which anime series this live-action movie is based on, the answer -- according to director Fumihiko Sori -- is actually neither. Sori explained in a press conference in March 2017 that he was a huge was fan of Hiromu Arakawa's manga, and he'd tried to condense a portion of the 27 volumes down into an approximate two-hour runtime.

The film starts where you'd expect: Edward and Alphonse's naive attempt to use taboo alchemy to revive their dead mother. From there, the film skips ahead to the present day and follows the boys' mission as State Alchemists trying to recover Al's body, which was lost during the failed transmutation attempt, by tracking down the fabled Philosopher's Stone. Along the way, they -- with the help of mechanic Winry Rockabell, Colonel Roy Mustang, Captain Maes Hughes and Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye -- uncover military corruption at the highest levels and battle the Homunculi trio of Lust, Envy and Gluttony, who are at the center of it.

Let's get into spoiler territory now to discuss the open-ended conclusion to the film. Things get a little Resident Evil towards the end as our heroes try to contain an army of dummy soldiers animated by hundreds of Philosopher's Stones illegally created by General Hakuro, who conspired with the Homunculi. Riza is left with a platoon of soldiers to dispatch the horde while Roy, Ed, Al and Winry have a final showdown against Envy and Lust, who, as artificial humans, are tricky to kill. Tricky, but not impossible, as Ed surmises from their decreasing recovery rates. Just as he does in the manga and anime, Roy steals the spotlight to deliver the final blows -- or, flames, in his case. In acknowledgement of Ed's help, he gifts the Philosopher's Stone that he plucked out of Lusts' chest to use as a bargaining chip for Al's body.

Ed communes with the mysterious, smoky being at the Gate of Truth who agrees to accept the Stone in exchange for the human form of Ed's little brother. But, at the last minute, the young Alchemist has a change of heart, realizing the immorality of buying back one life at the expense of another. He tearfully renews his vow to recover his brother's body somehow, meaning that his life's mission remains to be fulfilled. Roy also swears that he will root out the corrupting rot within the military government.

The other loose end, of course, is that Gluttony is still alive, and -- as is revealed in the post-credits scene -- so is Envy. As the camera zooms in on the charred remains of the presumed dead Homunculus, a tiny, reptilian creatures bursts from its remains and scuttles away, indicating that Envy's true form has been unleashed. The biggest mystery that the film leaves unresolved, of course, is who this sinful group is working for in the first place -- their "creator." All of this will no doubt be returned to in any potential sequel.

The movie was theatrically released in Japan all the way back in December 2017, and -- as it typical for films of its kind from Japan -- has taken its time to reach Western audiences. It follows fairly hot on the heels of Netflix's live-action Death Note adaptation, which whipped up the same controversy as the live-action Ghost in the Shell adaptation for being too Americanized and race-bending its characters. Anime fans concerned about these issues needn't be for this FMA film. The movie is an all-Japanese production and features an all-Japanese cast.

Closer comparisons are the recent Tokyo Ghoul live-action movie and the two Attack on Titan live-action movies. The latter pair from 2016 received mixed reviews; praised for their hybrid of practical and computer-generated effects to bring the titular Titans to horrifying life, but criticized for the major liberties they took with the story and characterizations. This FMA adaptation is certainly a much stronger attempt at something studios around the world have been consistently struggling to do: Make a live-action anime adaptation that holds a candle to the original. It's not without flaws, but the decision to segment a story with such an epic scope as FMA is a smart one.

What will be interesting to see going forward is whether a sequel -- or sequels -- will remain true to the source material or interpret the world of FMA differently, just as the first anime adaptation did, to create some surprises for new and old fans alike.

CBR

How FullMetal Alchemist's Ending Sets Up A Movie Sequel