History Anime / FullmetalAlchemistTheSacredStarOfMilos

''Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos'' is the second movie in the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' franchise. Unlike [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa the first movie]], which acted as an epilogue for the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 series]], this is a standalone side story.

''Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos'' is the second movie in the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' franchise. Unlike [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa2003 the first movie]], which acted as an epilogue for the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 series]], this is a standalone side story.

* ArtShift: While taking place in the ''Brotherhood'' continuity, the character designs were altered for this film and are closer to their counterparts from the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 series]].

''Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos'' is the second movie in the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' franchise. Unlike [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheConquerorOfShamballa the first movie]], which acted as an epilogue for the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 series]], this is a standalone side story.

** Zigzagged with [[spoiler: Atlas also posing Melvin Voyager. He certainly stole Melvin's identity for his 'Hide in Amestrian Prison' plan. However, Falman and Breda's investigation reveals Melvin had left his hometown and come to Central 4 years ''before'' Atlas stole the identity and no one back home had heard from Melvin during that time. It's left ambiguous if Atlas ''did'' kill the real Melvin, or simply stole the identity of an already-missing person.]]

* SupportingProtagonist: Ed and Al serve in this position for the film. While still the main characters, the movie makes it clear from the beginning that this is Julia's story - we're just seeing it through the brothers' eyes.

* ArcWelding: Averted. [[spoiler: No attempt is made to tie the Sanguine Star and its influence on Milosian history to the Homunculi conspiracy and their Philosopher's Stones. YMMV whether this is a good thing or not.]]

** Director Kazuya Murata's admitted in interviews that this Trope was very much in play when they were developing the film's story. It was a challenge to find a point in the ''Brotherhood'' timeline where the film could plausibly fit, ensure it wouldn't contradict the established canon, and plausibly explain why the events of the film were never discussed in-universe during the series.

* FridgeLogic: Invoked in-story when Roy, Riza, and Winry travel to Table City and discuss Ashleigh Crichton. They know by this point in the film that his prison sentence was a means of finding a safe harbor (relatively speaking) from the Cretan Agents pursuing him. That also know now he broke out early because of Julia's arrest and impending deportation back to Creta. What's bothering Roy, though, is that this doesn't explain everything in-between. If he could've broken out of prison at any point, ''why'' would Ashleigh wait 5 years? The only explanation that makes sense is that Ashleigh was waiting for ''something'' to happen during that interim. [[spoiler: Their hunch is correct: Atlas was actually waiting for Julia to grow up, as her tattooed half of the Sanguine Star's map was too small and didn't match his stolen half of the real Asleigh's tattoo at the time.]]
* GambitPileUp: The second half of the film, as the Milosians, the Cretans, Amestrian Major Soyuz and his corrupt officers, and [[spoiler: Atlas]] all simultaneously make their respective plays to acquire the Sanguine Star -- and with the Elrics caught right in the middle.

* GeometricMagic: [[spoiler: Similarly to Amestris itself in ''Brotherhood'', Table City is one giant Transmutation Circle meant to create a Philosopher's Stone. However, Table City is also unique as the first (and so far only) three-dimensional Transmutation Circle in the franchise.]]

** Possible example during [[spoiler: the tunnel standoff with the Cretan Chimera. It's not explicitly stated, but upon a re-watch, it's plausible that 'Ashleigh' killing the Chimera wasn't just trying to rescue Julia. He may have also been trying to silence the Chimera before he could spill the beans about 'Ashleigh'.]]

* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler: The Cretan Chimera that pursues Atlas into the Milosian tunnels and takes Julia hostage. He has a prime opportunity to reveal 'Ashleigh' is an imposter to the Milosians and the Elrics and doesn't. If he had, he might've survived (and Atlas wouldn't have racked up his body count for the remainder of the film).]]
* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler: Beginning with the reveal in the Central Tower, Atlas takes quite a lot of punishment that should've killed anybody else in his position. It finally takes the real Ashleigh revealing himself in a sneak attack to put down Atlas.]]

* OutsideContextProblem: Milosian Alchemy is initially presented as this. Similarly to Xingese Alkahestry, it's a different kind of alchemy from its Amestrian counterpart. This is part of what gets Ed and Al involved in the plot, as they want to investigate Milosian alchemy and see if they can use it in their own research to restore their bodies. [[spoiler: However, it's then subverted when it's revealed that the Milosian Alchemly is just another riff on the Philosopher's Stone. This also allows Ed to hold his own (for a bit) against Atlas when he briefly acquires the Sanguine Star (as Ed's had experience fighting against Stone-empowered foes like the Homunculi and Father Cornello.]]

* ArcWelding: Averted. [[spoiler: No attempt is made to tie the Sanguine Star and its influence on Milosian history to the Homunculi conspiracy and their Philosopher's Stones. YYMV whether this is a good thing or not.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler: When ]Ed calls out the real Ashleigh on his plans for using the Gate and trying to play God, Asleigh [[VillainHasAPoint scornfully]] points out that Ed's one to talk given his (and Al's) own violation of the Taboo.]]

* A variation when [[spoiler: Soyuz tries to do this to Roy. Ed is just beginning his debriefing, so Roy doesn't know at this point about Soyuz's corruption yet. However, Soyuz knows Roy ''will'' be able to bring him down once Ed spills the beans. So he tries to kill Roy both to play this trope straight and to try and blame his 'death' on the Milosians.]]

* CorruptBureaucrat: [[spoiler: As the Amestrian military overseer of Table City, Major Soyuz turns out to be a de facto version of this.]]

* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler: As part of his performance as the fake Ashleigh, Atlas adopts a characterization that seems like a logical extrapolation of how the real Ashleigh's personality and behavior would've been like after the events of the last 5 years -- such as a deep, bitter hatred of the Milosians. When the real Ashleigh finally reveals himself late in the film, it turns out Atlas' artificial characterization wasn't actually too far off the mark from what Ashleigh's modern behavior.]]

* RasputinianDeath: [[spoiler: Atlas.]]

* RememberTheNewGuy: The Milosians, who've never been mentioned in either the 2003 series or ''Brotherhood'' before this film. Justified, as they're a small population overshadowed by Creta (and as Ed and Al's adventures haven't taken them anywhere near the Amestris-Creta border).

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Soyuz, the Amestrian Colonel in charge of Table City, looks remarkably similar to Yoki (and is likewise just as corrupt).

* UnknownRival: [[spoiler: Ashleigh is this to Atlas. Justified, as Atlas went AWOL from the Cretan military 5 years earlier and would've had no idea who was commanding the Cretan Chimeras who were after him (on top of having good reason to believe the real Asleigh had died in the Prologue).]]

* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler: The real Ashleigh became dangerously close to turning out as bad as Atlas in order to achieve his revenge, neartly destroying a country to do it.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: Julia does this in order to [[spoiler: save her brother]] by opening the Gate and losing a leg in the process.
* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler: When Ed calls out the real Ashleigh on his plans for using the Gate and trying to play God, Asleigh [[VillainHasAPoint scornfully]] points out that Ed's one to talk given his (and Al's) own violation of the Taboo.]]

It's a different design from its final

** During the final fight, an enraged [[spoiler: Ashleigh screams at Ed that the Amestrian can't possibly understand the unbearable pain he's had to live with in the last half decade. Ed and Al, of course, know all too well the traumas of losing your parents and alchemical body horror.]]
*** During this same fight, Ed earlier calls out [[spoiler: Ashleigh for being willing to sacrifice countless lives in his quest for the Truth. Ashleigh counters this is no different than the Amestrian military's slaughters (like Ishval) and calling it justice. The irony of course, as ''Brotherhood'' viewers know, is that the Amestrian bloodshed is part of Father's quest to acquire the Truth.]]

* FamedInStory: As the film takes place partway through the ''Brotherhood'' timeline, Ed and Al have built up their reputations enough to the point where even Julia and the Milosians down in the Valley have heard of the Elric Brothers. The Cretan Chimera on the Table City Station Train likewise also realizes he's being pursued by the Fullmtal Alchemist once he sees Ed's automail.

* FridgeLogic: Invoked in-story when Roy, Riza, and Winry travel to Table City and discuss Ashleigh Crichton. They know by this point in the film that his prison sentence was a means of finding a safe harbor (relatively speaking) from the Cretan Agents pursuing him. That also know now he broke out early because of Julia's arrest and impending deportation back to Creta. What's bothering Roy, though, is that this doesn't explain everything in-between. If could've broken out of prison at any point, ''why'' would Ashleigh wait 5 years? The only explanation that makes sense to Roy and Riza is that Ashleigh was waiting for ''something'' to happen during that interim. [[spoiler: Their hunch is correct: Atlas was actually waiting for Julia to grow up, as her tattooed half of the Sanguine Star's map was too small and didn't match his stolen half of the real Asleigh's tattoo at the time.]]
* GambitPileUp: The second half of the film, as the Milosians, the Cretans, Amestrian Major Soyuz and his corrupt officers, and [[spoiler: Atlas]] all simultaneously make their respective plays to acquire Sanguine Star -- and with the Elrics caught right in the middle.

* {{Interquel}}: The film is set partway through ''Brotherhood''. Fan consensus places the story's events between episodes 20 and 21 (since Director Kazuya Murata's cited Ed having deduced Al's body was still inside the Portal of Truth as the perfect catalyst for a road trip to investigate new alchemy). At the very least, it's also set prior to episode 24 (as Mustang's staff has not yet been split up and reassigned by Bradley). Although apart from Al using array-less alchemy (and using the ''Brotherhood'' voice cast), it can also fit in the 2003 series' continuity.

** [[spoiler: Julia's arrest and detention end up being this for Atlas. It forces him to break out of Amestrian prison earlier than he had intended (since he has to get Julia before she gets deported to Creta and ends up out of reach).]]
** [[spoiler: Atlas and Amestris both independently derailed the Cretan Military's goal of acquiring the Sanguine Star 5 years before the events of the film. Atlas' unexpected treason stalled momentum (but didn't entirely kill it, as Ashleigh survived and continued working for the Cretans). However, any research breakthroughs Ashleigh made were rendered useless because of Creta unexpectedly losing Table City to Amestrian annexation (and being unable to retake it without triggering a full-scale war).]]

* EarlyBirdCameo: [[spoiler: Atlas and Raul both appear in the prologue when the Crichtons are assigned their Cretan guard detail and briefly speak. However, it's an intentionally brief introduction and Atlas and Raul (the latter specially) are kept in the background and partially in shadow. This is all done to help hide the twist about their true allegiances and identities at the end of the Second Act.]]

* {{Interquel}}: The film is set partway through ''Brotherhood''. Fan consensus places the story's events between episodes 20 and 21 (as Director Kazuya Murata's cited Ed having deduced Al's body was still inside the Portal of Truth as the perfect catalyst for a road trip to investigate new alchemy). At the very least, it's also set prior to episode 24 (as Mustang's staff has not yet been split up and reassigned). Although apart from Al using array-less alchemy (and using the ''Brotherhood'' voice cast), it can also fit in the 2003 series' continuity.

* FalseFlagOperation: [[spoiler: To stop Ed from revealing his corruption to Mustang, a concealed Soyuz tries to gun down the Colonel and blame his death on the Black Bats (who are still in the middle of attacking the City). Unfortunately for Soyuz, Roy and Hawkeye hear him raising the rifle from his concealed position and Soyuz quickly learns Riza's markmanship isn't exaggerated.]]
* FamedInStory: As the film takes place partway through the ''Brotherhood'' timeline, Ed and Al have built up their reputations enough to the point where even Julia and the Milosians down in the Valley have heard of the Elric Brothers. The Cretan Chimera on the Table City Station Train also recognizes Ed from his automail (which is also justified in-story as Cretan operatives would have access to intelligence on key Amestrian military personnel).

* FreudianExcuse: [[spoiler: The real Ashleigh wished to wipeout the Valley and conquer Table City because he wanted revenge for his and Julia's parent's forced exile, which led to their murder and his gruesome disfigurement.]]
* FridgeLogic: Invoked in-story by Roy about Ashleigh Crichton when he, Riza, and Winry travel to Table City. They know now his prison sentence helped him hide from Cretan Agents on his tail and he broke out early because of Julia's arrest and deportation. But what's bothering Roy is that still doesn't satisfactorily explain ''why'' he was content to wait 5 years. [[spoiler: Atlas was actually waiting for Julia to grow up, as her tattooed half of the Sanguine Star's map didn't match his stolen half of Asleigh's tattoo at the time.]]

* {{Interquel}}: The film is set partway through ''Brotherhood''. Fan consensus places the story's events between episodes 20 and 21. Although apart from Al using array-less alchemy (and using the ''Brotherhood'' voice cast), it can also fit in the 2003 series' continuity.

** [[spoiler: Atlas and Amestris both dependently derailed the Cretan Military's goal of acquiring the Sanguine Star 5 years before the events of the film. Atlas' unexpected treason stalled momentum (but didn't entirely kill it, as Ashleigh survived and continued working for the Cretans). However, any research breakthroughs were nullified by Creta unexpectedly losing Table City to Amestrian annexation (and being unable to retake it without triggering a full-scale war).]]

* UsedToBeASweetKid: Very cleverly played straight ''and'' subverted with Ashleigh. The Ashleigh that returns to Table City is darker, more cynical, and more brutal than the young man we first meet in the prologue. Initially, it seems to be an understandable consequence of the death of his parents, being separated from Julia, and 5 years on the run and in prison. [[spoiler: It's all a subversion and misdirection. The changes in his characterization are actually clues that 'Asleigh' is an imposter. When we ''do'' finally meet the real Ashleigh again late in the film, though, he's become just as cynical and brutal as Atlas (and ironically ''because'' of Atlas destroying his and Julia's childhoods).]]

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: Ashleigh stabbing Miranda through the back, revealing his true colors.]]

** [[spoiler: Atlas himself also ended up being this for Creta. His treason derailed the Cretan Military's plans to acquire the Sanguine Star. While Ashleigh Crichton survived and continued his parents' research, it was likewise derailed by Creta unexpectedly losing Table City to Amestrian annexation (and being unable to retake it without triggering a full-scale war).]]

* UnknownRival: [[spoiler: Ashleigh is this to Atlas. Justified, as Atlas went AWOL from the Cretan military 5 years earlier and would've had no idea who was commanding the Cretan Chimeras who were after (on top of having good reason to believe the real Asleigh had died in the Prologue).]]