Funimation Losing 'Fullmetal Alchemist' Film License

Fullmetal Alchemist has kept quiet on the anime front for awhile, but it seems things are shaking [...]

By Megan Peters

Fullmetal Alchemist has kept quiet on the anime front for awhile, but it seems things are shaking up with one film. Funimation is urging fans to pick up copies of the anime's second film as rights for the movie are about to move into limbo.

Taking to Twitter, the anime licenser posted a notice about the Fullmetal Alchemist switch up.

"It's that time, folks -- our rights for the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood movie The Sacred Star of Milos will be expiring in *one month* on November 21," the company's official page wrote.

"Grab your copy before it's out of print and costs an arm and a leg!"

For those unaware, the movie Funimation is losing rights to is the anime's second. The film debuted in 2011, just two years after Fullmetal Alchemist released its reboot series. You can check out its official product description below thanks to Amazon:

"A fugitive alchemist with mysterious abilities leads the Elric brothers to a distant valley of slums inhabited by the Milos, a proud people struggling against bureaucratic exploitation. Ed and Al quickly find themselves in the middle of a rising rebellion, as the exiled Milos lash out against their oppressors. At the heart of the conflict is Julia, a young alchemist befriended by Alphonse. She'll stop at nothing to restore the Milos to their former glory – even if that means harnessing the awful power of the mythical Philosopher's Stone."

Currently, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos is going for $14 USD for DVD while its Blu-ray is on sale for about $28. At this point, there is no word on if another licenser will pick up the anime feature, but places like Aniplex have picked up such rights in the past.

Will you be picking up a copy of this movie? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics and anime!

Fullmetal Alchemist was originally created by Hiromu Arakawa for Square Enix's Monthly Shonen Gangan magazine in 2001. The story follows two brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, who learn alchemy in order to bring back their deceased mother. After a terrible miscalculation, however, the two brothers pay a terrible price with Alphonse even losing his body and linking his soul to a suit of armor. As the two boys search for an alchemy that will restore their bodies to their original forms, they join the military and deal with a whole host of new political, ethical, and moral issues.

Bones' first attempt in 2003 successfully ran for 51 episodes, but was marred by fans for its pacing issues and deviations from the original source. Bones produced a more faithful adaptation in 2009 with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and there were two films released in 2003 and 2011 respectively.

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