Sticks & Stones: Full Metal Panic!

Ah, anime. The new litmus test of geekiness in 21st century America. One can tell so much from those that revel in the style of those across the sea. As such, then lets do it right. Let's make sure we can divide between good and bad anime using a grade school rating system. This segment will be an intermittent deluge of words on anime and manga. And that's exactly what we all need. More reading, less watching. There aren't enough written words strewn about the internet on it. Clearly, we need to plug more grime into the internet pipes. Grime from my viewpoint. I'll try to keep my posts as spoiler free as possible or so vague that you'll only get it if you watch it. To start off with we'll check this one series:

Full Metal Panic! 

ooo..dramatic positions everyone!

First off: no, I didn't add that exclamation point because my writing style is akin to that of a teenager (although I fear that may be true). It's truly there. Full Metal Panic! is a series that came out in the early naughts and deals with a mercenary group that has to protect a high school girl because she has...well...some sort of power/knowledge? As with a lot of anime, an explanation is pretty much just waved off, never to even be broached (except probably into the manga, but that's often as much a dead end as the show). This group consists of a teenage soldier who clearly hasn't read any 'slice of life' stories, and doesn't really know how to deal with people. The series does a fine job in straddling the line between comedy, drama and action. The weakest part being the drama though. The dramatic arc is typical of other anime and adds nothing to the Japanese style that we all haven't seen before. The action is pretty good, and is rather reminiscent in many ways to Gundam. Yes, this IS a mecha anime. But like all good mecha anime, the creators don't put mechas first and add the rest later. It's a fleshed out story. It truly feels like they wanted good characters and good mecha to go hand in hand. And good characters we have. 

Kaname Chidori (the girl who the enemy wants) has a 3-dimensional personality. She occasionally needs rescuing, but often does the rescuing herself in a way a non-combatant can. She's both strong and smart, but not mean. She's the kind of character you could actually see people liking and following. Souske Sagara, is a slightly less believable character. For someone who has been a soldier since 8 or 9 years old, he doesn't seem all that scarred. But he's also completely oblivious to what normal social behavior is like. In the end, he's more of an interesting foil, and often the story revolves mostly around him, but it is truly best when it involves both Sargara and Chidori. The stakes are often high, and the enemies do somewhat win at some point (don't worry, I didn't spoil anything). Which surprised me some. This is definitely not an adult (read: for ages 21+ in terms of theme) story, but it did get a bit more hardcore than I expected to. Essentially, I think this is the kind of series that would be a great addition to someone who has an interest in anime. It's fun, It has action and I really did laugh out loud at times. And the conceit is a good one, hence why there are two other series after this one. But by no means is it a classic. This is essentially a B or B- anime. It'll fill in the cracks until something great comes along.

hell..angry..rat/gerbil/mickey mouse wannabe

 

I assume that due to the success of the series it has spawned off two other shows. One called Fumoffu and the other The Second Raid. Fumoffu focuses on the odd situations of Sagara in school. This series is created purely for humor purposes and has a different tone, much more lighthearted  than the first series. It has a lot of smacking of characters, things blowing up for no real reason and the scantily cladness required in these kinds of episodes. This series borders on ridiculous and then decides to go diving right into it. To give you an example, Sagara ends up selling an amusement park rodent mascot decked out with military gear to the Miami Police Dept. If you liked the first series, don't expect to like this one. It's quite different. Unfortunately, I feel that the humor doesn't hit as well as in the first series. I give it a C-. Watch it if you like the characters of Full Metal Panic! and if you like ridiculous stuff. Which I kinda do sometimes. But it doesn't need watching if you want to continue on with the story, as there is no connection of any kind.

No one is having a good time in this picture

 

The Second Raid is by far the best of the bunch. Adding to that, it's also the kind of series I wouldn't think parents would want their kids to see. Not that it's particularly graphic in terms of sexuality or violence, but it hints at it pretty greatly. It is definitely a bloodier show and is a bit more risqué in its fan service. Also, the production values are higher, the visuals were much improved and the last episode was very well animated and had me on the edge of my seat (when I say that, I always mean it quite literally). Sagara is a much improved character, without having to make him a big talker, they somehow made him more interesting. Probably because he's just better written. Unlike in the first series the cracks of being a child soldier start to show. Chidori is even better than before, although I feel she gets a bit short-changed in the end, but at least she develops nicely. The villain is also treated in a more interesting fashion than in the first one. You gotta think joker, but funnier. I enjoyed it when he was on-screen, but he kinda feels just like a guy who's there to be amusing. Although, he does that handedly, I have no idea where he comes from or what his goals are... or anything really. I don't feel like there are any weak episodes in this series, unlike in the first one, and the last episode is made specifically made for fans and feels to me what Fomoffu should have really been like. This is clearly an A effort, and a show I would easily recommend to anyone. Unfortunately, I don't know if I can recommend it independent of the first series. I don't think you'll as much for the characters as long as you've had some experience with them. It would definitely not feel as good. As such, even though it's not quite as good, I would have to say: watch the first and then come to this one. In any case, if you didn't like the characters in the first series, you're not gonna like them here.

As a complete aside and a way to date this post, apparently Full Metal Panic is in Hollywood development hell with Zac Effron being cast as Souske. *shrugs* Make of that with what you will.

Thanks for reading and nice comments are welcomed and negative ones are grudgingly welcomed too, as long as they wipe their feet on the mat before coming in. There will be more of these and hopefully the writing will be better as I work the knots out of unused essay styles.