Introduction
Full Metal Panic consists of three series, with two of them being action packed and the other being just plain hilarious. Add in an OVA and this anime is certainly one of the more popular series out there.
Full Metal Panic!
This review is written by Llama_Guy.
When I first started watching this series, I had very high hopes for this, due to many of my friends saying great things about this series. You can safely say that I was not disappointed.
This series follows a member of the Mithril organization, Sousuke Sagara. He has been assigned with the task of protecting a high school girl, Chidori Kaname, from terrorists and other bad people. To do this, he has to enroll in her high school. Of course, when Sousuke is a stiff with no experience or knowledge whatsoever when it comes to socializing with other people, trouble is predestined to arise.
The story of this anime series is pretty good. In one moment, you're watching an intense and serious battle situation, where giant robot fights it out with futuristic technology, and in the next, you're watching a really good high school comedy. This series changes between those two a lot, and it's done well, because you get a mix of genres, varying from mecha to high school comedy at its best. This makes the story really enjoyable. There's one flaw, however, and that's the all to open ending of the series. But then again, it has a sequel, so I'm okay with that.
I really loved the animation style in this series. It didn't have a lot of unique features, if any at all, so I can't and won't give it a top score. There was however no noticeable flaws, and some very cool CGI at times (usually I'm not a fan of CGI in anime, but it was done pretty well here).
The soundtrack of this anime was, well, pretty average. It can boast about good OP and ED themes, but aside that, it's not very much to listen to at all.
The series feature a lot of various characters, from the un-killable bad guy to the stiff, no-experience-in-socializing military kid and the ever so normal teenage girl. There's a lot of other various characters (like a pacifistic girl who's the leader of the good guys' organization (at least she's the captain of their main submarine)), and the woman-loving, easy-going guy. Yes, the characters can seem very unoriginal, but I still enjoyed watching them. There was not a lot of character development present; aside a teeny bit on Chidori and Sousuke's part.
All in all, this was a very enjoyable anime series, and I'm keeping my hopes up for the sequel, as well as the spin-off. If you enjoy some good action as well as high school humor, you should definitely watch this series.
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid
This review is written by Llama_Guy.
If you haven't watched the original Full Metal Panic! series, you should watch it before watching The Second Raid, because it's the sequel to the original series. In regards to Fumoffu?, you don't have to watch it before TSR.
With that away, let's get to reviewing. The story in TSR easily surpasses any 13-episode show I've watched as of writing this review. The pacing varies a bit; suddenly this and that happens and then it's done quickly, and you may be left baffled, but some scenes are very slow, like the scene when Chidori cut Sousuke's hair. Some may not like that, but I think that the pace was just right at the right moments, and that it created just the kind of mood the scene needed.
TSR moves a bit away the funny high school life of Chidori and Sousuke, leaving the room for more drama and a couple of episodes focusing on Chidori and Sousuke's emotional struggles with themselves and each other after certain events happen. However, it preserves a bit of the great high school humor you're probably familiar with by now, especially in the earlier episodes. The story was excellent in my opinion, and the only thing that drags it down is the rather loose ending; it seems like things aren't over yet. There are also small bits of fanservice here and there, just so you're warned.
The animation quality is, to quote a friend of mine, "unreal". I thought the quality of the original series was excellent, but this just blew me right out of the water. The coloring is vivid, and the level of detail in the backgrounds is very good. The special effects are very good too, and the lighting effects are astounding. In fact, the best I've seen. The detail of screens and monitors is incredible, too. Shortly summarized, the animation quality is just perfect.
The soundtrack is a vast improvement from the original series. The OP and ED themes are as good as ever, and songs I'd listen to over and over again. The background music is incredible, too. The pieces are great to listen to, and they fit right in with the mood, and amplify it. The tense music during Chidori's episode was the best when it came to setting the mood, if you ask me. The sound effects are nothing I can say bad things about either, from birds chirping to explosion sounds.
The characters have gotten a lift, too. Of course, it's the characters we have learned to love, and now they're getting some good character development. Especially on Chidori and Sousuke's part. I really liked how they portrayed Chidori's feelings towards Sousuke, and in the finale episodes, Sousuke changed a lot. He's slowly turning into a human and not just a stiff guy who acts only on orders. Throw in a hilariously paranoid bad guy as well as two messed-up twin sisters, and it's perfect.
All in all, I really, really enjoyed The Second Raid, but I do hope there's more Full Metal Panic! to come.
Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid OVA
This review is written by Inudogger.
There is not much to say about a story here, because there are only 30 minutes worth of it. Although nothing amazing at first, it provides a decent plot. It has a few really funny moments (without going overboard or risking making the characters OOC) and it gives a couple of good laughs. The characters are the same that we came to love (or hate) from the previous Full Metal Panic series and some of them receive some good placed character development. The VA did a great job, as usual, voicing them, so there is nothing that can be complained there.
Sound wise, the music is barely noticeable and doesn't help enhance the atmosphere. It's just there, well place, and subtle enough to be ignorable without distracting us from the story. What was more annoying was the ED, or rather lack of it. The instrumental score that was used while showing the credits was boring, and the whole arrangement of pictures next to the written credits was too slow to be interesting. After the first seconds I just fast forwarded to the end to see if there was anything after it and to my disappointment, there wasn’t anything.
There is nothing exceptional to say about the animation except that it's good, but there is nothing bad to say about it either. It was nice, the same as the one from FMP: The Second Raid, although the previously mentioned series had, animation wise, some more memorable scenes.
Fans of the Full Metal Panic series, especially of Fumoffu, will probably really like this OVA. Other than that, there is no real reason to check it out as there is nothing special about it.
Full Metal Panic! Fumoffu
This review is written by Llama_Guy.
Okay, first things first. One: If you haven't watched the original Full Metal Panic! series, watch it beforehand. Knowing the characters *will* make the humor better. Two, if you didn't like the part of the original series that was about Sosuke and Chidori's everything but normal high school life, turn around, because that's all Fumoffu is about. Okay, let's get to reviewing.
The story in Fumoffu follows, as mentioned, Chidori and Sosuke's wacky high school life, and has none of the mecha aspects that FMP! had. This means that there is room for tons of comedy - given that you liked that part of FMP! You'll see everything from bacteriological weapons to flirt contests in this series, and not to mention, Sosuke's total lack of "street smarts". There is no continuous story from episode to episode, except two episodes which were tied together. Some of the episodes also feature two mini-episodes at around 10 mins. each instead of one full-length episode. While this system wouldn't have worked with, let's say, FMP!, it works perfectly for an all-out comedy show like Fumoffu. I see some people rate the story with a 4 because it's really no story (and I kinda agree with them on that), but I'm giving it a 9, because I consider what happens in each episode as well in my rating.
The artwork is as great as it was in FMP!. The coloring is better than most series out there, and other effects are okay. And while above average overall, it's nothing really spectacular, and so it ends up on a 9.
The soundtrack isn't much to brag about, and the worst aspect of the series, if you ask me. I hardly noticed it was there, and when I did, I can't say I was impressed. The only exception is the OP/ED themes, which were great, but not good enough to raise the music to a score of 8.
The characters are the same old people I learned to love in FMP!, and that love was enough to cover up for the big lack of character development - they were the same old characters throughout the 12 episodes. But then again, I didn't really expect much character development since it's a comedy show. The side characters that were introduced were really hilarious, especially that crazy police woman. I'm stuck on an 8.5 here.
All in all, I enjoyed the show a lot, and I laughed almost all the time. To summarize: If you liked FMP! and it's characters, and most importantly, the comedy aspects of the show, you have to watch Fumoffu.
Download
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