Full Metal Panic...
A few years ago, I picked up Full Metal Panic...
I started watching Full Metal Panic and quickly found that undercover agents in a high school setting wielding giant robot power suits was a bit too much for my humble brain to absorb all at once. I was almost impressed with the opening battle between a helicopter gun ship and a battle robot, but, by the time I got to the commando-style panty-raid, I had lost interest in the series.
I'm not a fan of the giant robot genre of anime apart from Patlabor and Neon Genesis Evangelion and perhaps one or two other titles. With initial release of Full Metal Panic by ADV, I would have had to invest in seven separate volumes, but, now that Funimation has rescued the license, the entire series is available in a convenient box set at about what it cost me, way back in the misty dawn of time, to buy one volume.
From what I can remember, there are no naughty bits and only occasional violence. It takes a while for things to get moving and I found myself not really caring enough about the characters or the world they live in, to see how things turn out. Since I lost interest in the series a while ago and at a point fairly early in the series, I think I probably don't need to revisit the world of Full Metal Panic. I have the first volume of the original release. I gave Full Metal Panic a 1 out of 5.
Volume 1
On the surface, Kaname Chidori appears to be a normal, popular high school student. The problem is, she doesn't realize just how popular she is. Unbeknownst to her, a group of terrorists believe she possesses the special powers of "the Whispered," and they're out to kidnap her.
Enter Sousuke Sagara, a young, hotshot agent from the stealthy anti-terrorist organization Mithril. Will he be able to protect Kaname without her finding out what's really going on? Or will he just drive her crazy as he tries to fit in as her awkward, gung-ho, war-crazed classmate?
Volume 2
They say vacations never go according to plan, and school trips are no exception. Instead of enjoying sunny skies in Okinawa, Sousuke and Kaname's classmates are under cloud cover in Siberia, playing the part of hostages. A vicious and unbalanced terrorist has kidnapped Kaname to donate her brain to science-with or without her consent! Will Sousuke and MITHRIL be able to scramble an ad-hoc rescue? Will they be able to get everyone out alive?
Volume 3
A young boy flies into a psychotic rage passing through customs, and Mithril flies into action. Is he some sort of brainwashed terrorist? Or is he something even more dangerous and sinister? Hidden away in Mithril's secret research facility, Captain Testarossa and Lieutenant Commander Kalinin attempt to find out. Has someone done experiments to fit the boy for the mysterious Lambda Driver?
Suddenly, their research grinds to a halt when an armed group attacks, reducing the facility to a burnt-out shell. With Kalinin injured and missing in action, Captain Testarossa turns to the only person who can help her: Sergeant Sousuke Sagara. Little do they know that waiting in the shadows is their biggest enemy yet...
Volume 4
When tempers flare between Sergeant Major Mao and Captain Testarossa, there's only one way to settle the score: an AS duel. The stakes are high, the price of failure a fate worse than death - a naked lap around the track on the Mithril base. Later, even high-schoolers Shinji and Kaname get a turn behind the controls of an AS!
But the summer fun grinds to a halt when Sousuke is called away for a top-secret mission at his old stomping grounds, where painful memories threaten to bury him alongside his fallen comrades. Will he make it out alive? Don't miss a minute of the non-stop action that charges forward with both barrels blazing!
Volume 5
It's never easy being the new guy. Ask Sousuke - proving himself to a squad of teammates at least ten years his senior will be an uphill battle. But when the mission drops them deep behind enemy lines with no support, it's going to take everyone's cooperation just to stay alive. Suffice to say, not everyone cooperates. Nor does everyone who dies actually stay dead.
And speaking of things that won't die, the rivalry between Kaname and Tessa finds new life on Tessa's home turf. It's the de Danaan's first birthday, and Kurz has taken the mike to emcee a racy game of bingo for the crew - promising the winner a red-hot kiss from Captain Testarossa! Will Sousuke win the big prize? Everything is turned up full-blast in the fifth scorching volume of Full Metal Panic!
Volume 6
Sergeant Major Mao exposes her past when she tells the story of how she first met Kurz and Sousuke. Meanwhile, terrorists have taken over a U.S. chemical weapons dismantling facility and taken the island residents hostage. Mithril's entire Special Response Team and the de Danaan are committed to the mission, but sudden shifts in the power structure threaten to tear the crew and the ship apart!
Volume 7
The Tuatha de Danaan is under fire! A U.S. Navy captain with an axe to grind has targeted the sub. In order to stop this modern-day Ahab, Mithril's Lt. Commander Kalinin goes straight to the top.
But aboard the de Danaan, the chain of command is missing a few key links, leaving Sousuke and Kurz to find out just who is running the ship. Meanwhile, Kaname has to call on every ounce of her power as a Whispered. Boatloads of intrigue, dynamite action, and a knockdown, drag-out fight to the finish! It's all here in the final installment of Full Metal Panic!
I started watching Full Metal Panic and quickly found that undercover agents in a high school setting wielding giant robot power suits was a bit too much for my humble brain to absorb all at once. I was almost impressed with the opening battle between a helicopter gun ship and a battle robot, but, by the time I got to the commando-style panty-raid, I had lost interest in the series.I'm not a fan of the giant robot genre of anime apart from Patlabor and Neon Genesis Evangelion and perhaps one or two other titles. With initial release of Full Metal Panic by ADV, I would have had to invest in seven separate volumes, but, now that Funimation has rescued the license, the entire series is available in a convenient box set at about what it cost me, way back in the misty dawn of time, to buy one volume.
From what I can remember, there are no naughty bits and only occasional violence. It takes a while for things to get moving and I found myself not really caring enough about the characters or the world they live in, to see how things turn out. Since I lost interest in the series a while ago and at a point fairly early in the series, I think I probably don't need to revisit the world of Full Metal Panic. I have the first volume of the original release. I gave Full Metal Panic a 1 out of 5.
