Fullmetal Alchemist (2017) is a Japanese-language superhero film adapted from Manga, directed by Fumihiko Sori and starring Ryosuke Yamada and Tsubasa Honda. The film is a standalone production outside any shared cinematic universe and was released by Warner Bros. Japan. Audience rating: 6.2/10.
What is Fullmetal Alchemist (2017) about?
Two alchemist brothers attempt to revive their dead mother using forbidden alchemy, losing their bodies in the process. They seek the Philosopher's Stone to restore what was taken. Based on Hiromu Arakawa's manga.
Released in 2017, Fullmetal Alchemist was directed by Fumihiko Sori and produced under the Warner Bros. Japan banner. The film occupies a significant place within the Independent — telling a self-contained story outside of shared-continuity superhero franchises.
The film features lead performances from Ryosuke Yamada, Tsubasa Honda, Dean Fujioka, among others, anchoring a story that adapts characters first brought to life in Manga. Its source material gives the film a foundation rooted in decades of published storytelling, which Sori and the creative team interpret through a cinematic lens.
The film's 6.2 audience rating indicates a mixed response. Even so, it holds interest as part of the broader Independent catalogue and for how it fits into the lineage of Manga-based cinema.
What happens in Fullmetal Alchemist (2017)? — Full Plot
In the alternate-history kingdom of Amestris, alchemy is a recognisizd science. Edward Elric (Ryosuke Yamada) is the youngest State Alchemist — a military-recognisizd alchemist with combat and scientific abilities. Edward's prosthetic arm and leg are the result of a childhood alchemical accident; his brother Alphonse (voiced by Atomu Mizuishi) had his body destroyed in the same accident and now inhabits a suit of armor through soul-binding alchemy.
The Elric brothers are searching for the Philosopher's Stone — an alchemical artefact capable of substantial reality-altering transmutation. They believe the Stone could restore their original bodies. Their search has taken them across Amestris; they have gathered intelligence about Stone-related historical events through their State Alchemist credentials.
Edward's investigation leads him to the city of Liore, where a sun-cult priest named Cornello (Kanata Hongo) claims to perform miracles using a Philosopher's Stone-like artefact. Edward's investigation exposes Cornello as a fraud — the artefact is an inferior imitation Stone capable of only limited transmutations. The exposure causes Cornello's congregation to riot; the city is left in chaos.
The Liore investigation attracts attention from homunculi — supernatural beings created through failed human transmutation. The homunculi Lust (Yasuko Matsuyuki), Gluttony (Shinji Uchiyama), and Envy (Kanata Hongo in dual role) have been manipulating events to position Edward as a tool for their own purposes. Their substantial supernatural abilities make them formidable antagonists.
Edward and Alphonse confront Lust, Gluttony, and Envy in combat. The battle features elaborate practical-and-CGI alchemical-effects work; Lust is defeated through alchemical-fire transmutation. The homunculi retreat with vows to return. The middle act establishes the franchise's primary antagonist threat; the homunculi will continue to oppose Edward across the sequel films.
Edward's investigation gradually reveals the truth about the Stone: it is created through the deaths of countless innocent people. The discovery is the franchise's primary moral pivot; Edward must choose between restoring his body and the moral cost of using a Stone derived from murder. His commitment to ethical alchemy is the franchise's primary character-development arc.
Who stars in Fullmetal Alchemist (2017)?
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What are some facts about Fullmetal Alchemist (2017)?
Fullmetal Alchemist released in 2017, placing it within the 2010s era of comic book cinema — a decade that saw superhero films become the dominant force at the global box office.
Directed by Fumihiko Sori, the film was produced by Warner Bros. Japan and adapts source material from Manga.
The principal cast features Ryosuke Yamada and Tsubasa Honda, with key supporting roles played by Dean Fujioka, Yasuko Matsuyuki.
The film belongs to Independent — an independent / standalone production, not tied to a shared cinematic universe.
Fullmetal Alchemist carries an audience rating of 6.2 — a middling reception but one that hasn't prevented its cultural footprint.
The Manga source material for Fullmetal Alchemist has been in continuous publication for decades, giving filmmakers a rich well of storylines, character arcs, and iconography to draw upon.
Modern superhero films like this one use a mix of practical effects and digital VFX, with entire sequences often shot against volume walls or LED stages pioneered by shows like The Mandalorian.
Fullmetal Alchemist is catalogued on Movies on Comics among our collection of 163 comic book films spanning 48 years of cinema — from Richard Donner's 1978 Superman to the present day.
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