Episode 27

Aired 20060908. Teacher. Same as original title. Here's the episode guide and detailed recap at TV.com.... ah no recap again. (I'm sooo getting used to it. Sigh...)

Overall, the biggest translation mistake, is for all the kids to call Izumi "teacher". She's NOT a teacher by profession. She runs a meat shop and she doesn't teach. Ed and Al are only exceptions. Moreover, it feels really strange and wrong in English. "Master" might work better than "teacher".

In Japanese, "sensei" most commonly means "teacher" alright, but they also call doctors, or any kind of specialized professionals "sensei". So, Izumi is call "sensei" because she's an alchemist, not because she's a teacher. This is a big culture crash.

And... the scene where the brothers beg Izumi to take them as apprentices doesn't work in English. Ed calls her "old lady", which sounds too strange. She isn't old at all! But I can't think of any other way out either. This is a tough one. "Auntie"... maybe? This is another culture crash. It totally destroyed the original humour.

In the flash back, Ed's voice is as annoying as ever. Sigh... Asking the adult male voice actor to play a 10-year-old boy is way too much.

I was having a discussion with my Japanese blog friend about voice actor. Yes, I agree both the Japanese and American Eds are pushing their voices. But a forced lower female voice has thickness. A forced higher male voice sounds like a monkey! So the female voiced Ed has depth and seriousness. The male voiced Ed just sounds like a jerk.

Isn't it like cross-dressing? When a woman dresses up as a man, she usually looks chic and good. But when a man dresses up as a woman, the result is usually comical.

Last but not least, this episode is both excellent in story, direction, and animation. Chiko's death, and then the sunset scene where Izumi beats up the brothers, and then a big hug, is quite touching. Wait a sec... isn't that S&M? (Haha just kidding!)

Japanese sites spying time: (^_^)
The review of episode 27 at Yoo's blog Fuuyuu.
The review of episode 27 (page 1 & page 2) by Saori Amano at Egaoni Aetara.