鋼の錬金術師 OVA (03) 師匠物語
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi OVA (03): Shishou (Sensei) Monogatari
Fullmetal Alchemist OVA (03) – Tales of the Master

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:

An eighteen year old Izumi arrives at the Mt. Briggs to train with the noted alchemist, Silver Steiner. He is old and hard of hearing but agrees to train her if she survives living on the mountain with only a hunting knife. Izumi uses a cave for shelter and learns to hunt game as well as Briggs soldiers, robbing them of their supplies in a “law of the fittest.” By doing this, she learns the “one is all, all is one” philosophy and manages to survive the required thirty days. Returning to town with a bear she’s killed, Steiner reveals that he’s actually Gold Steiner, Silvers older brother and there had been a miscommunication. He’s willing to train her how to fight, but she’s had enough and punishes the old man.

Izumi returns to a town where she’s to meet the master to teach her alchemy. While carrying the large bear, she bumps into a man and drops her load. Initially she’s irritated by this but after getting a good look at the man (a young Sig), she’s smitten. In a daze, she starts to leave but is called back by Sig with the bear. When their hands touch, it was love for both parties, as Izumi tells a young Ed and Al years later.

Thoughts/Review:

Heh. I like these little side stories that have been featured in the OVA. Obviously, these would be difficult to have in the main story as they would interrupt the flow. That said, having them in the OVA’s (which I’m told match how the manga treated these stories — as extras) works well for me.

This time out is Izumi and I found it interesting to see where she obtained her own “one is all, all is one” method for initially training Ed and Al on that island. While we don’t know who trained Izumi on alchemy, clearly the lessons learned on Briggs (which her adventures had been eluded to in the regular series) aided her in her alchemy studies. However, it also explains why she is a good fighter and how she was able to throw Sloth in episode 55.

Finally, for those wondering about the Romaji title and why I have “sensei” in parenthesis. The Kanji “師匠” is for the term “Shishou,” which means “master” or “teacher.” However, the Furigana in the episode spells out the word “Sensei,” which also means the same thing. I’m guessing that since Ed and Al call Izumi “Sensei,” that was spelled out above the word “Shishou.” However, “Shishou” is an honorific usually used for martial arts instructors.

So, another fun OVA. ^_^