How is it?

Well the animation is absolutely horrid. That alone will put you off.





"People scare better when they're dying"
Frank , OATITW

I personally liked it very much. It's essentially a stand-alone film that isn't part of the main story, but that doesn't keep it from being good. The main thing to keep in mind is that this is an action/adventure film that features the FMA characters, but is not primarily their story. Rather, it's the story of the characters they encounter that are unique to the movie, and how they interact with these new characters. Don't expect there will be any major new revelations or development of the main cast, since that isn't the goal of the film. What I like best about the film is that it continues to show the breadth of the FMA world: you can essentially create a whole new locale and group of characters, bring the Elric brothers into that setting, and have an entertaining and enjoyable adventure.

Also, regarding the animation, I know that a lot of people have very different opinions about the animation quality, but I'm in the camp that very much like what BONES did with the art style and action animation. It's certainly not 'horrid,' but is deliberately done in a very sketchy style completely unlike the smooth, clean lines of the previous anime versions. It has a different character designer and overall design sensibility, which gives the film a radically different feel. I think a lot of people look at the difference, are put off by it, and therefore say the animation quality is bad, but basically, I feel it's just different. What you have on display in the Milos film is a great example of really sketchy, loose-line animation, which really brings out the stamp of the individual animators and places it front and center on the screen. Never will you think this is a movie 'drawn by one hand.' Instead, there's a great deal of fantastic, individual work throughout, as can also be seen in other 'animator movies' like REDLINE and the more experimental films of other studios. The best animation is in the action scenes, where a variety of really interesting and complex art techniques are used. I particularly love the use of extreme, wildly-sketchy close-ups during the last fight, and the ultra-detailed effects animation of the magical energy beams, ice, blood, and fire. Any animation fan (i.e., someone who loves the craft of animation and the showcase of individual talents within the medium) will have a field day with this. However, if you're more inclined toward clean, precise animation that doesn't have a sketchy feel, or if you prefer the characters stay 'on model' at all times more than you enjoy the actual type of movement being used to animate them, you may greatly dislike this style. It's all a matter of opinion.

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REDLINE - The Latest Anime Masterpiece from Studio Madhouse and Takeshi Koike

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