Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood Ova Collection [Blu-ray] [2012] [US Import]

This is a review of the Region 1 version of the DVD/BluRay combination pack. And I spoil a bit. So... that's the warning for you.This contains the four Original Video Animation stories that featured among the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood series. In Japan, these stories were aired among the series itself, although they weren't in the direct timeline of the series. The OVAs are also based on original stories created by Hiromu Arakawa and published in magazines and some special extras in Japan. Only the first OVA, "The Blind Alchemist", is available in manga form in English as part of the Manga Character Files book.The stories are "The Blind Alchemist" about a man rumoured to have successfully brought a dead child back to life for a wealthy family, "Simple People", which tells why Winry wears the earrings she does and why Lieutenant Hawkeye decided to let her hair grow long after her trip to Resembool, "A Tale of Teacher", that gives the audience a clue as to why Izumi assigned Ed and Al such a strange test to determine whether they deserved to learn alchemy from her (with a second, shorter story after that about how Izumi and Sig first met), and "Yet Another Man's Battlefield", which shows both how Roy and Hughes met, but also how they are as different as they are alike.Each story is charming and emotional, as well as funny. Standard Fullmetal territory here. But wait, there's more. For as part of the Extras, 16 short comic collections are included, "The Fullmetal Four-Panel Comic Theater". These are done in a different art style, similar to that used for both the super-deformed sections of the anime and for the omakes in the manga volume collections. Think of it like newspaper strip cartoons, and you're there. They are basically "what if" sessions: like What If somebody held up a magnet to fight Ed and Al? What if, when Hughes was trying desperately to warn Roy about what he learned, Hughes had been forced to listen to hold music of Roy rapping? They are all good, but some are howlingly, achingly funny.Absolutely terrific stuff here, and a must for all fans of the Brotherhood series of Fullmetal Alchemist.