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With a new version of Conqueror of Shamballa on DVD and the OVA collection finally hitting us in the states - not to mention the new series, Brotherhood - it’s clear that Fullmetal Alchemist is on top of a world it had already conquered.

Conqueror of Shamballa: it was the movie that was intended to heal our broken hearts, to tie up the loose ends that the series left. And the end of the series, as beautiful as it was, did leave a gigantic, gaping hole in my heart. Now, in Shamballa, we pick up in a world that could be ours with Ed, who spends every moment as if in a daydream, thinking only of Al. And what of Al? He’s grown into a young man very like Ed, with the long blond hair and the red jacket, able to perform alchemy without a circle and on a quest to find his brother. And Al isn’t the only one we get to see again; every character we came to love gets revisited. But most importantly, the brothers Elric quest to be reunited, and the end is unexpected, but satisfying.

This new version of the DVD has two discs, and the bonus features are the point of pride for this new release. Disc one has a documentary on the making of FMA, a gallery of production art and the original trailers. Disc two has three, count ’em THREE commentaries: the Japanese actors, the American actors, and the Japanese director and staff. Toss in an hour long chat with cast and crew, and you’ll learn more about FMA than you ever thought there was to learn.

The OVA release is a beautiful thing; though there isn’t a whole lot of plot relevant to the show, it is a ridiculous amount of fun. The OVA collection is mostly comprised of three short films and one interactive video. Together the shorts are roughly seventeen minutes long, and the interactive experience puts the watcher in the world of FMA. This is the plot: you’re the new recruit, and the homunculi are the enemy. You can fight alongside the Elrics and Col. Mustang and crew.

The three shorts include a live action film with Al and a chibi wrap party that allows the characters to voice their opinions on the movie. The last one is quite possibly the sweetest and most relevant to the series. It’ll make your heart melt. 

Not too long ago, a leaked message from Studio Bones whetted our appetites for something we always wanted, but never really thought we’d get: another series. And now it’s here, on the internet: Fullmetal alchemist: Brotherhood. Soon enough there will be another DVD to sit next to your FMA collection, and that will be a miraculous day (though I highly doubt that miraculous day will be August 26th of this year, as stated by Wikipedia. More than likely it was getting the OVA collection confused). But when that day comes, you can bet I’ll have the news for you, because this Otaku girl loves her some Elric brothers.

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