If you haven’t checked out Netflix this week, you need to browse its latest additions. The streaming site finally got a hold of Fullmetal Alchemist, and we don’t mean the anime. The franchise’s first live-action venture is up on Netflix for fans to watch, and the movie ends with the fresh promise of a sequel.
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So, spoilers below!
Fullmetal Alchemist is the latest of several recent live-action adaptations. Its director Fumikhiko Sori told audiences he would forge a new story with the movie as it would deviate from both the manga and its ensuing anime titles. And, as fans can see, Sori was not lying.
Fullmetal Alchemist starts off simply enough: Edward and Alphonse Elric are looking to right a childhood wrong and need the Philosopher’s Stone to do so. Ed is determined to get his brother’s body back after a failed attempt at Human Transmutation crippled them. After becoming a State Alchemist, Edward pulls strings to forward his on-going quest with Alphonse, but the pair’s journey is threatened when wartime corruption seeps into the military.
By the end of Fullmetal Alchemist, fans have a clear view of where its sequel will go. The Elric brothers learn the State Military is corrupt after General Hakuro reveals his alignment with the deadly Homunculi. Though the higher-up dies, Hakuro is just one of many brassy soldiers willing to abuse the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Homunculi are willing to help along that sort of destabilization.
The vixen Lust may not leave the film alive, but both of her partners survive. Gluttony waddles away from the movie intact, and Envy wasn’t really killed by Colonel Roy Mustang. Despite being burnt to a crisp, the Homunculi lived as a post-credits scene shows Envy’s true reptilian form bursting out of his now-cooked corpse. Their survival ensures they will show up in the sequel as Fullmetal Alchemist never explained who their creator is or why they are so invested in the Philosopher’s Stone.
As for the brothers, they are still searching for a way to get back Alphonse’s body. The movie did see Edward gain a Philosopher’s Stone, but the pair chose to forgo using the relic after they learned it was made using human lives. The Elric brothers will not help themselves at the cost of another life, but the movie stresses there is hope yet for the duo.
What do you want to see from the sequel? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!
