Full Metal Panic!

Full Metal Panic is for those who want action with mechs, but not have the show only revolve around war and battles, and FMP accomplishes that flawlessly.

FMP is about an Organization called Mithril that are something like celestial being from gundam 00 for those that have seen it. They intervene in things so that wars dont happen. But they are also out to protect certain people with the natural gift of knowledge of advanced technology called Whispered.

The main character is what makes this show so interesting. His whole life he has known nothing but military life and now he tries to adapt ... to japanese high school life in order to protect a certain girl. Of course all the other characters are a great enjoyment to have in the show as well.

The art work in this pretty good, and the use of CGI is integrated well. The mechs and battles as a whole always look top notch.

although the story is based on the idea i stated above, it evolves as it goes and you get lots of back story which leads to a really nice overall plot.

This show is always a joy to watch because of the hilarious things done by the characters that are ingeniously intertwined with an excellent story of war and the like.

This is actually one show i recommend the dub over the sub (which is extremely rare) because they just did such an amazing job on it.

Amazing show, a must watch. be sure to watch the OVAish type sequel Fumoffu and the direct sequel TSR.

Do you like mechas and military stories fashoned with comedy and fan service? This Anime is for you.

The story is excellent. It's a superb combination of both seriousness and humor. That kind in which you may have the bloodiest battle and the funniest comments in between, but all maintaining a coherent plot.
Characters also have impressive personalities, with many sides.
The art isn't thaaaat great, but it's great. I've nothing to complain about. Action scenes are very enjoyable.
The sound is very good. Music and effects suit very well scenes. Sometimes lips moved without voice and I think there are midi music, which I don't like (I don't ... like the fact that is not interpreted by musicians).

I really, really enjoyed Full Metal Panic and I'm preparing for watching Fumoffu and the sequel.

I really enjoyed the start of this series, but as I got further into it the shine wore off. I thought they tried to incorporate too many elements (mecha/military, magical girl, high school comedy) and didn't pull any of them off especially well. Things were brought up early in the series only to be completely forgotten about until near the end. I also thought that the series could have been half as long and would have benefitted from the faster pacing.

Wow. Just wow. This anime has some minor flaws, some incoherence but overall :
- Story is clearly well done, simple enough to be understood easily, but deep enough to not be guessed to much. Alternating light comedy and serious drama.
- Art is really nice, especially if you like anime of this epoch, old-and-simple style.
- Sound design is well done, and some musics are really cool, inspiring, and from an original creating comparing to music you usually hear in animes.
- Characters are various, well balanced and well developed.

Enjoyment : Maximal in my opinion.
Overall : DUDE ITS 2020 in less than one ... month, this anime aired in 2003 and some of the series aired in 2018 as a reminder, how come you didn't watched it yet ?

Full Metal Panic! is an undoubtedly interesting mecha series, but it has many weaknesses.

Story [7+]
The story is divided into two main plot lines: the mecha one and the high school rom-com one. Full Metal Panic! greatest accomplishment is how it blends these two genres together: even if the mecha plot line has more screen time, the rom-com parts are at the same time fun and essential for the development of the main characters.
The plot itself is quite simple, and the obscure mysteries around the mechas’ technology keep the viewer’s interest high.

Art [7]
In the first place, the character design of the main characters is very good; ... despite this, the animation is not always on point, and even if it’s never really bad, it’s not great either.
Besides that, even if the action scenes’ choreography is not that great, they are exciting due to their high stakes.

Sound [6-]
The weakest part of the show. The OP is okay, but it’s not really special.
The most part of the OST of Full Metal Panic! sounds like a mediocre copy of an 80s action series soundtrack like The A-Team or Hazzard.

Character [7-]
The main characters of Full Metal Panic! are quite good. They’re not super-deep or anything, but they fit very well in their role, especially Testarossa and Kaname.
The side characters are very enjoyable at times (for example, most of the soldiers of the Mithril are really interesting), and very bland at others (the main antagonist is really unbearable and flat).

Enjoyment [8-]
Even if the series itself is not that great as a work of art, I really enjoyed the series as an entertaining mecha show.
It’s not as deep as Neon Genesis Evangelion or Bokurano, or other psychological mechas, but it’s a funny and thrilling way to spend your free time watching giant robots fighting and beautiful waifus being badass.

Overall [7-]
To sum up, I won’t recommend this show to you except if you are a huge mecha fan and can stand early-00’s mediocre animation.
In conclusion, I personally enjoyed this show and I’m really looking to watch other entries of the Full Metal Panic! universe.

When i started this series i had very low hopes because it was a 7.5 out of 10 on mal. this one of my favourite series because it has all of my favourite genre in one anime, if you like action, sci-fi, comedy, a little romance, war and shonen all in one anime then you will like fmp. in my opinion this show is very under rated, even though it has a low score on mal i will still recommend to anyone.
the characters are so perfect, they got every character done perfectly. In my opinion the first season is the best out of all 4 ... of them.
this series has everything you would want to see in a good anime.
Not once in this anime did i get bored which is another reason i gave this a 10 out of 10.
For me this is a must watch anime for everyone.

I, um... I'm going to stop writing reviews for a while after this one because honestly, this series was hard for me. Nothing about it stood out and more often than not I expected the MC to yell "KAGOME!!" in place of the lead female's actual name. I can't suggest this series to anyone who wants to be entertained.

The story is about a 16-year-old girl in Japan who falls into a well and discovers she's been transported back in time to the feudal era where apparently demons existed but don't in the modern era. She discovers a demon named Inuyasha bound to a tree ... by an arrow and fre- Oh, what? That's a different series? Then what the Hell is this?

Full Metal Panic follows Sousuke Sagara (Who I will now rename Soggy Sausage), a member of a "top-secret" military organization that everyone with a laptop and a wifi connection knows about. He is sent to protect the token tsundere from some mean enemy military people because she's the key to a weapon they already have in their possession and their leader has the same power as her and is military-trained making the whole thing rather pointless WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE SO STUPID?

If you expected me to review this series' characters (the military personnel in particular) as good, you were hopeful. Unfortunately, I had to suffer through 24 episodes of someone who somehow functions well enough in a strict military structure to rise through the ranks, but can't figure out why stalking someone in broad daylight is a problem. Oh, and the tsudere starlet doesn't help since her reactions are what you would get from someone with Borderline Personality Disorder and not a rational, reasonable-minded person.

What side characters? Oh, you mean those walking tropes almost every other series has? Those forgettable members of the cast that if they died and were replaced with a plank of wood you wouldn't notice? Yeah, even the villain exists to just be there. The climatic final fight scene is... Boring. I've watched mecha anime like Bokurano, Code Geass, and even Gurren Lagann and the first one despite the slowness of how the damned thing moved was more entertaining that whatever FMP was trying to do.

The music isn't there. I don't remember it and looking on youtube just doesn't strike me as a fruitful endeavor. The opening just feels out of place or maybe because the entire thing is a mess it just doesn't work. Nothing about the characters, the story, or the art draws you in and it's unfortunate because the art is similar to that of Escaflowne (Probably a product of the industry at the time). Nothing about this series is meant to appeal to anyone but a crowd of hiveminded persons who consider Inuyasha a masterpiece.

If you're still curious, go watch Blood+. At least you'll find something to enjoy there.

I enjoyed Full Metal Panic alot!

It was one of the first animes that really captured and stayed with me as a favourite. The characters are very likable and the development was great, although im not a huge mecha/ war fan,this anime actually made me like the genre more!

The anime is very funny but also has another more serious and action side, which blend well together. I have been searching but I havent been able to find an anime with the atmosphere and enjoyment that i experienced when watching this anime!

The downside of the anime may have to be that it ends!

Overall, I have to give ... 10/10 as it is a story and an anime that i will always love and remember.

The FMP universe is, as of now, still an incomplete one, though a pretty good mech-based contender. The first FMP, in my opinion, is the weakest of the works, but nonetheless is required viewing if you want in on the series.

Sosuke is part of Mithril, a secret organization dedicated to protecting the planet from terrorism with technology and armament far surpassing that of any nation.

FMP is a mech/action about Sosuke who is sent to protect a high school girl, Chidori, who unknowingly possesses amazing technological knowledge. Overall, the series is pretty good but is overshadowed by the grandeur of it's successors (Fumoffu and TSR). This ... is also one of the first shows that I'd watched so please bear with my minimalist review.

Animation:
Personally I think the mechs look strange and, well, unappealing. The characters are also somewhat odd at first, but I overcame that. Those aside, the general animation is done fairly well and the colors reflect the mood of the series. Expect a good dosage of action and a bit of gore.

Sound:
The OP was fairly good but I didn't like the ED that much. The background music also wasn't anything that memorable. Voice acting is the only plus here with the two main characters (Chidori and Sosuke) having superb voice actors.

Story:
There is a sharp contrast between the real battle world for Sosuke where death is a daily reality and the innocent high school life of Chidori.

The plot basically has Sosuke fighting to protect Chidori from various foes, and certain fights are quite intense. There isn't really a conclusion, more of a settling down after the climax, which makes sense since TSR takes place right after.

Character:
Sosuke is an amazing character. Not only is he highly trained and knowledgeable about military technology and mechs, he is also completely clueless regarding civilian life. This makes for a great deal of humor. His antics with Chidori alone make this an above average show.

Value:
While the show was entertaining and exciting at times, it is neither as intense as TSR nor as humorous as Fumoffu. Therefore, it serves only as the base and background for the latter two series.

With a name like FULL METAL PANIC, I wasn't expecting anything but fan service shit

surprisingly

the story is very cool and very likable,

it has a pleasant mixture of fan service and serious plot, the serious plot compares to a game of chess, with both sides more or less evenly matched, and the winner gets the strategic "prize", unique bimbo characters born with a special understanding of the higher functioning of any machine.

The characters were a disappointment for me, the easiest way to describe the main character is assbergers, and with every assbergers character in anime there is a "model potential" girl character who ... caters hand and foot to the assberger laden main character to try and get his attention. Other characters follow the cookie cuter code of anime, the seductor pretty boy that fails at everything except comic relief for the viewer and the older "lady" that secretly cares about all of her crew mates even though she's a cunt and finally the emotionally unready to command "prize piece" higher functioning 16 year old.

The best character is the bad guy, he is a dick, he will kill lie cheat steal and stab you in the back to get what he wants and he will have fun at the same time.

The art was able to demonstrate the awesomeness of the tide shifting battle abilities that the rare mech's had. The underwater fight scenes are also very detailed and cool.

There are times when the setting just goes out into left field, yet because I did enjoy the story so much , I will simply assume that it is because I am not a high ranking military official that I don't know of the secret american chemical warfare base 10 miles off the coast of Japan.

In Conclusion, Full Metal Panic was good, I would happily recommend it to anyone because even though it lacked depth it was a very enjoyable anime over all.

WARNING BEFORE READING THIS REVIEW PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THIS IS THE OPINION OF ONE INDIVIDUAL. WHETHER GOOD OR BAD YOU SHOULD NOT LET IT DETERMINE YOUR FEELINGS OF THE ANIME. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT UNLIKE SOME PEOPLE ON THIS SITE I WILL NOT WRITE A GOOD REVIEW JUST BECAUSE IT IS ANIME. THE ANIME HAS TO BE GOOD IN MY OPINION.

Full Metal Panic! With this weak, cliche story line... you should panic. Full Metal Panic is an anime that came out in 2002 as a military, school life comedy. It is rated PG-13 for some references to sexual content, a little adult language, and ... violent scenes.

For starters, I watched this as a dub. I am the type of person who will watch the anime as a dub first if it's available. If the dub is not good I will stop watching the dub and continue in sub. The fact I did not stop watching in dub is because the dub voice acting was actually good. The female lead voice Chidori Kaname was voiced by Luci Christian and like all of her works she made the emotions of the character shine. The male lead voice Sousuke Sagara was voiced by Chris Patton and his serious, professional voice is what saves the anime from being a totally flop.

The story line for the anime follows soldier Sousuke Sagara as he and two others are assigned the task of guarding another "Whispered" Chidori Kaname. In the anime the whisper knows stuff that enemy armies want so they are in danger. I felt the plot was played out and not original. I have watched so many animes about a guy guarding a girl with mystical powers that quite frankly it is getting old. You must keep in mind that this is a trend of anime, so it's not a big surprise. It's successful usually, so it's okay. To make the plot even more unoriginal is how they try to throw comedy in the mix. They make Sagara a military nut that does outrageous things in Kaname's school. It acts as a double sword making the anime unique, but at the same time corny.

The characters are not original either. The male lead is another serious type, the only thing that is original about it is that he is too serious. The female lead comes off as a dismal in distress, but is another loud, abusive female lead. Other characters include Weber, Kurz (Vic Mignogna) classic perverted male, Testarossa, Teletha(Hilary Haag) classic quiet person who creates the love triangle for Sagara.

Nothing pops about the art style. It makes you feel as if the mangaka was playing it safe by not being different. Overall this anime can be amusing if you are a person who likes school comedy and military antics. If you are looking for something original this is not the anime for you. If you are looking for something that will keep you being bored, anime for you. This anime keeps you tuned in, but in the end feeling empty instead of begging for more.

The entire Full Metal Panic! series is simply amazing. What make the series great is the characters and their interaction. The Series includes everything, Romance, comedy, action, etc. I've watched the series multiple times and loved it every time. It's a good laugh yet thrilling at the same time. I highly recommend it.

Full Metal Panic is a lot of fun! It features an outstanding sense of humor and great set of characters. Sousuke Sagara is hands down one of the funniest and fascinating anime characters ever conceived and Kaname Chidori; while she may appear to be an angry tsundere most of the time, she feels like a real person and is also very funny in her own right. These two combined is comedic genius and the situations and interactions presented here are downright hilarious!

Then there is the other side of the spectrum: The military stuff... Looking back on it, i really didn't care about most of ... it. Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed all the sitcom aspects a lot more than the Mecha-stuff which i'll probably just skip on rewatch. It's just not that interesting, outside of the Mao/Kurtz banter and for the fact that we get to know about what drives Sousuke which IS interesting. The creators just wanted to have their cake and eat it too, but only really succeeded with one.

...And despite how completely unrealistic her being a 16-yo submarine captain is (let that sink in) I like Tessa Testarossa: She's cute and the resulting love triangle makes for some fun moments (see Episode 13) but c'mon - We all know she's just a wacky obstacle in the Chidori/Sagara relationship! We want those crazy kids to get together dammit - The fans demand it!

All in all I award this first season a 7.5/10: The military stuff is decent, if a bit dull, but what makes this series great and so much fun is the characters and their witty interactions!

*I highly recommend watching the English dub sorely because of Chris Patton's hilariously methodical portrayal of Sousuke and his chemistry with Luci Christian as Kaname. In fact all the English VA's do an outstanding job - Check it out!

Having been a mecha/military anime fan for as long as I can remember, Full Metal Panic (hereby referred to as FMP) was a treat for me. It was the combination of serious military/political action and amusing comedy/romance. That being said, it becomes evident that FMP is a hotchpotch of genres, breaking free from the traditional single-minded seriousness that's often the standard of military themed anime (not that I'd know what traditional would be)

Story
Set in what slightly resembles today's world, FMP tells the story of Sgt./Specialist Sousuke Sagara and the exploits of the pseudo-UNish organization of peace, MITHRIL. (it would make a killer acronym.. actually, it ... probably is) That's the gist of the plot, which flows smoothly, creating an alternate universe that's believable. In fact, it's so believable that you can't help but get pulled into it.

Being the sort of person that appreciates a healthy twist in the plot every once in a while, FMP offers quite a lot of unexpected moments of suspense scattered throughout the fog of your typical action scenes.

The best part of FMP for me, which many people tend to overlook, is the sheer amount of realism applied throughout the plot. Being a military otaku myself, it was kinda self-gratifying to see accurate depictions of AEGIS class missile cruisers, Los Angeles class submarines and.. well... Sousuke's guns.

Art
First thing I thought after watching was "their noses are too pointy." Then, "Wow, that C-17 Globemaster III looks so cool o_O" ... Yeah, that's about it.

Sound
It seemed adequate, but didn't impress much. ... Really, what else do you want me to say?

Character
The characters are vibrant, varied, and very likable. Sousuke's otakuness and social ineptitude are the catalysts for most of the comical scenes in FMP, while Kaname's aggressiveness (tsundere, anyone?) and her chronic Sousuke-beating sessions exacerbate said catalyzed circumstances. But does this dynamic ever change? Not really. The one weak point I see is the inadequate amount of character growth. There are some changes the viewers see with respect to Sousuke's emotional capacity, but largely, the characters remain relatively identical to when the series started. In fact, it's The Second Raid that manages to build upon this more effectively than the first season. So when the series winds down to a close, Sousuke will still be incapable of giving a girl a proper gift, and Kaname will keep beating him up. But that's why we keep watching.

Enjoyment
10/10 guaranteed. The comedy was brilliant, with plenty of Sousuke-driven faux pas to laugh at. In terms of the serious parts, they leave you breathless for more... in a strange asphyxiating kind of way...

It was a mediocre anime, while the first arc was quite good and succeed in having a blend of comedy and action, what came next was either boring, confusing and at times just frustrating.

To begin with, what the anime does well, the characters while being quite generic, are likable and have some good interaction, the main duo (Chidori and Sousuke) works really well both in the comedy and more serious scene. The world introduces is interesting and believable (at least at the beginning) and the comedy is quite good but that subjective.

The problems begin to appear in the second arc (from ep9), mainly because everything ... is really confusing:
- we know nothing of the enemy but some character are for strange reason connect to them
- the terrorist goal makes no sense
- for some reason the commander is left without any protection
- ...
But while that arc is confusing it's far from being as annoying as that pile of shit that is the third arc.

First, the enemy of the arc is again Goron. Second, what should have been an elite team from mithril is a group of morons unable to listen to the info they are given or the man added to their team because he is a specialist.
They have tactics on par with a shonen protagonist (attack from the front, without cover and without knowing where their target is), and to add to their stupidity they know of the borderline magic lambda drive and that the enemy as one but don't act accordingly.
Unfortunately, Sousuke isn't better, and never uses the lambda drive outside of the final battle when it would have been very useful against his former friend. And obviously, he never confirms the kill, so that the final arc villain can be Goron.

I will be short for the fourth arc because: it's like the third but a little less retard, and with some development on the plot.

Overall it was mediocre with a good start and a really bad third and fourth arc, in fact, the filler episodes, more focus on comedy and characters were way better than the regular episode in the second half of the series.
To conclude the author should have stick to comedy where he is quite good, which is confirmed by Full metal panic fumaffu being way better.

Full Metal Panic! is about this teen military soldier who is on an assignment to protect kaname chidori a blue haired high school girl..
personally i don't like mecha much (gurren lagann as an exception) but this was really good
i really enjoyed this anime. there were parts of awesome action comedy romance and emotion and all four genres were very well balanced
id definitely recommend this anime.
it was overall very enjoyable and the show can be divided into 4 main arcs. also the main villains name rhymes with Sauron!
looking forward to 2nd Raid.
id give this anime a 8 on 10

Hi! Time for Robert's Too Late Reviews! This time we're stepping all the way back to 2002 to take a look at Full Metal Panic!, a mecha comedy/action/light romance anime. I actually did a review on the latest season which was revived and aired in the past year, but didn't realize at the time I hadn't reviewed the beginning of the show! Today we're here to correct that! I'm going to be dealing with the dubbed version and only talking season 1. I might come back and update after rewatching the Second Raid. I plan for the season entitled "FMP! Fumoffu" to get it's own ... review as it's really a whole different pony show. As the overall number shows, I did quite enjoy FMP! and think there's something for most anyone's tastes to enjoy. However, this time I would suggest not giving up on it in the first few episodes, as it doesn't gel as quickly as other titles. Now let's get to it, see if we get some new wallpaper for the RTLR wall of mecha warfare!

Story: 7
The story is really your basic 'fish out of water' plot. We have this version built around a young lady that possesses information subconsciously that is of great power, being protected by a life long soldier who has an awful time adjusting to his new undercover assignment. The pair of course go through the story and develop feelings for each other, as such things often happen. As I've said before, and will likely say again in the future, knowing the general course of things doesn't mean we can't enjoy the ride. FMP! falls squarely in this territory, and yet, it's not really all that much of an issue.

Our female lead, Kaname, is an energetic high school girl who has information inside her that relates to what is called 'black technology' and the operation of a near magical power inside certain mech robots called the 'Lambda Driver'. This is a real Macguffin as the only mention of origin for this information is explained by telling her she's known it 'since before she was born'. As Kaname's parents are completely out of the picture, to the level of pointedly remarking on living alone a few times, there's no chance for her to really discover how she becomes one of the 'Whispered' with the information. That is one place you just have to roll with 'because' being the only answer to the question of 'why is she a Whispered?'

Because she has this information that somehow would greatly benefit anyone that could access it, a mercenary group not tied to any government but with morals that make Superman look like an ass, decides to send a trio of mech pilots to protect Kaname from shadowy, evil-type peoples. In the group is the blonde playboy Kurz, the kickass Melissa, and finally our male lead Sousuke. He's the only one of the three young enough to pass off as a student, so Sousuke is enrolled into high school to serve as Kaname's bodyguard, with all of this being unbeknownst to Kaname herself.

Of course, hijinks ensue as Sousuke has been a soldier for so long that he doesn't have a single clue how to even appear as a civilian, let alone operate a cover as one. His personal details, revealed throughout the series shows that he's been in war after war for pretty much his whole life. This is where our fish flops on the land. He operates as though there is an assassin or kidnapper in every corner, and takes every small thing as a huge tactical threat. At first, his ability to even laughably hold his cover is missing, as he's often pulling his gun on other students, tackling and interrogating people, and just generally acting like a 'military maniac' as Kaname calls him.

Even after the story stabilizes a handful of episodes in, FMP! keeps this humorous angle intact. Kaname, even after discovering the mercenaries and the truth of what's locked in her mind *still* smacks Sousuke around for being completely overbearing and nearly ruining her entire high school experience. Kaname is a bit of a fish out of water as well, when she learns she's in the center of a very dangerous situation by prospect of just being a Whispered in general. This often finds her in the middle of battles or having to be rescued by Sousuke and the team. This still doesn't keep him from taking a fan to the forehead, as she's a bit quick to convert her fear to anger and taking that anger out on poor Sousuke.

As FMP! moves down the stretch, Kaname and Sousuke begin to develop a relationship based on more than just military necessity. Like any number of other movies, tv shows, and anime, being in constant stressful conditions causes a bond between the two, though they don't make it as far as anything serious. The show is geared mainly around the battle actions and the comedy. I think this is a good call, as it keeps from bogging the series down. (A flaw I noted in FMP! Invisible Victory season)

We end up with awesome robot battles and sweet action framed by the slightly sweet but mostly funny relationship between Sousuke and Kaname, and together it works, maybe even better than the sum of the parts in general. Throw in a very menacing villain who has personal history with Sousuke, and the mysterious mercenary captain who is so much more than she seems and what comes out of the oven is a fun little show.

Art: 8
The mechs, that's the question, right? They look good, they are not this bland CG makes of more recent titles. Nor are they the overly busy 'Transformers (movies)' looking creations either. They are well drawn and fluid in their motions. In fact, they sometimes seem to be a little too fluid, leaping about nimbly in hand to hand combat and dodging incoming fire. These are not lumbering beasts by any means.

The overall artwork is nicely done, especially for the time frame in which it was released. There is, to my eye, a different aesthetic for anime artwork in the late '90's and early '00's. This title does not look nearly as dated as many from that same era, and the animation does not come across as overly dated.

My one complaint about the art, and its completely personal, is that I do not like Kaname's hair color and eye color combo. I don't know why. I like everything else, but her blue hair and brown eyes just irk me most of the time. Not enough to take away from the enjoyment, but enough to make this old man grumble about it.

Sound: 8
The sound is good, the mechs sound metallic enough, with the appropriate crashes and rattles as they move about. The gunfire sounds aren't remarkable in and of themselves, but are completely serviceable. The voice actors are very well suited to each of their characters, and everyone sounds pretty much spot on. The captain of the submarine, who is around Kaname's age, does sound, at times, almost too innocent and young for the portrayal needed.

The supporting cast voices are really well done also, with Kurz, Melissa, and the senior officers of the group all sounding awesome. In the case of Melissa and Kurz, they are most of the time very humorous as well.

The background music is well done, has a bit of brass fanfare to it in places, big sounds, but that's fitting as we're dealing with huge battling mechs. The theme songs are a bit subdued for the kind of action and comedy presented, but still work fairly well. My big complaint with the music is that in the theme songs, about halfway or a touch more through the season, they keep the exact same soundtrack, but change the lyrics. Just about the time I get the words down well, they go and remix the lyrics! It's not an overly jarring change, at least in how it sounds, but I would have been happy if they would have just kept the one version of each song.

Character: 7
Sousuke is a great character, he's always business, or at least always seems to be serious, yet at times kind of seems to grasp a lighter view. He does move from being somewhat clumsy as a bodyguard in the beginning, coming very close to completely blowing the trio's cover more than once, but after a handful of episodes he get the swing of things, and while is still just as maniacal about Kaname's safety but acts in a much more convincing manner. This is very noticeable once the main villain takes the stage, and once this growth happens, he doesn't change too terribly much. We do see him falling for Kaname in littler things he does and says, but perhaps he's not even admitted his feelings to himself by the end of the season. This works well, his fairly static nature, as he's the straight man in the comedy setup. Not only that, once he really gets rolling, he's shown to be an utter badass of the highest degree. While he is only in his late teens to early twenties, his abilities with the mechs are so well honed that he's given the only mech that has the ultra powerful 'Lambda Drive' in it. He does have a bit of a tragic past, shown throughout the series. Overall, however, he remains a soldier trying to desperately complete his mission of guarding Kaname with little to no clue how to do it within his mission parameters.

Kaname is just bubbly and fun, and while she does have her moments of getting into tight spots, she's not totally some damsel in distress. She's also actively involved a lot in her own rescue when she needs it, as her status as a Whispered somehow allows Sousuke to operate his mech's 'Lambda Drive' at a power level far beyond any other soldier in the outfit. She seems to be taken with him almost immediately after they are introduced, yet spends most of the season in denial, even after learning that she's a Whispered. She is a very tsundere character, and when the stress of the battle is over, she's quick to vent on Sousuke's head with whatever object is nearby. As all tsundere characters though, she does really come around and reach a point of caring deeply for Sousuke, not wanting him to leave when they believe the threat to her safety is over.

The villain is an absolute beast, killing remorselessly and once he realizes who Sousuke is, develops a psychotic infatuation with him. At one point, when it appears both Sousuke and the villain are to die together, the villain even tells him he loves him. At first blush one might think, 'haha what a funny thing to say' but the villain delivers the line in such a menacing manner, touched with an almost eagerness to die that it's utterly creepy. He's a bad guy for the books, that one.

The captain of the submarine that serves as the mercenaries' base of operations is, as I said, a young woman with a mysterious past of her own. She also becomes somewhat of a mild romantic foil for Kaname, developing feelings of her own for Sousuke. She's determined, sometimes naive, but has a good heart, and will do anything for her crew or to spare innocents. She's almost a touch overly goody-two-shoed, but just almost.

Finally to round out the character set we have Kurz and Melissa, Sousuke's fellow mech pilots and operatives on the protection of Kaname. Kurz is a blonde playboy that tries to be smooth, and thinks every woman wants him, and Melissa is a hard-drinking, hard driving babe that makes sure Kurz knows that most decidedly not all or even most women want him. He's always playing loverboy, making passes at Kaname the few times they come into contact, and constantly ribbing Sousuke to 'move in' on her. Though he's a bit a pig when it comes to women, he's a reliable sniper and adept mech pilot who always steps up when the cards are played.

Melissa is always throwing back a Budweiser and puffing a cigarette and giving Kurz a hard time. She's tough as nails and because she's the highest ranked among the three operatives, always leads by example. She fights hard, and she plays hard, and she's just one tough cookie! The only complaint I have about Melissa (who I otherwise love) is that she develops a very sudden case of competitiveness with the captain. This seems to come kind of out of nowhere, springing in suddenly one episode with little to indicate it was going to happen. She is the captain's polar opposite, so them not getting along perfectly makes sense, but it still hits as a little odd to go from only captain and crewman to prim and proper and loud and proud. It works, it's just a bit sudden when it starts.

Enjoyment: 8
Yeah, I know we're getting long again, aren't we? I can't help but talk about all the things I love, and I hope you guys, if any of you have read this far, can appreciate the passion I try to put into these pieces. So, FMP!, I did enjoy a good deal. I've actually seen season 1 a few different times, have used it as something to watch when I wasn't feeling up to keeping up with a new series. It's a fun little show with cool action and some really funny and great moments. Being someone who was a gamer in the '90's I nearly fell out of my chair the first time someone pulled out a Jane's magazine (they used to make *awesome* flight sims) and swung it around. There's several moments like this, some I know that went over my head in regards to weapons and tactics, but still, the overall experience is very satisfying.

A note of caution however: watch the series in order if possible. Or at the very least do NOT watch Invisible Victory (the latest season) first. I actually prefer to watch season 1, then The Second Raid then Invisible Victory as they all have the same framework. I watch Fumoffu entirely separately usually after the Second Raid, as it's not really a 'mainline' entry, and deals mainly with only humorous elements and not any heavy plot takes. For example there is a whole episode dedicated to Kurz and a couple other guys trying to peek in on the captain, Melissa, and Kaname in a outdoor hotspring. Sousuke of course uses military grade non-lethal (paintballs, etc) equipment to keep the girls' virtues intact (well, as much as Melissa's can be salvaged at that point) complete with a VERY well placed rubber duck. So yeah, know that Fumoffu is the wacky spinoff, and don't start with the latest season, it'll mess it all up for ya. That wraps us up, feel free to throw me some love or hate, depending on how much your eyes are bleeding from this essay, I always love hearing from people. As for the great RTLR wall of mecha knife fights, the captain (Tessa) makes an appearance for Mithril and all of FMP! Two thumbs up!

REVIEW WITH NO SPOILERS

Full Metal Panic is a very bad mecha anime. That's it.

The story is really weak and sometimes you know what is exactly gonna happen. The characters are predictable.... the only thing good here is the relationship of Sousuke and the School (that is REALLY funny and non-sense).

But if you expect a great story or a beautiful romance you will not find this here.

I will recommend you this anime IF you really like bad developing romances or if you are looking for bad mechas.

Even though, MAYBE i see the second season cause I liked Sousuke character.

Beautiful anime, it has it all!, drama, funny moments, romance, great main characters, mechas and bad ass antagonist, I like the background of Souske Sagara and how it tries to fit in Japanese society meanwhile protecting Chidori, the most beautiful anime girl I have seen, also nice Mechas in story, It fill my senses, very nice, 10!

Opening and ending themes are fantastic, I am from Bolivia and I would like it to have been doubled because of Fummoffu is something great, but in japanese you engage with Main character Sagara Souske unique personality and all his struggle to set free from military standars.

Full Metal Panic is a unique blend of serious mecha military drama and high school slice of life the likes of which can only be found in the medium of anime. What other entertainment medium could flip so easily from a story about your entire platoon being wiped out in a horrible desert ops massacre to preparations for the school festival? It's actually a kind of black humor the way they treat Sousuke Bousuke as a joke for being so stiff and not understanding how a normal high school boy should act even though the reason he's that way is because he's only known the ... battlefield since he was a child.

So the show tries to keep a very light tone despite it's potentially heavy subject matter and for the most part manages to do so. It can actually be pretty funny at times. And because it's an anime with kids in high school they had to add a love triangle. Not sure how I feel about it, especially since because of some mind melding magic the two girls in the love triangle might end up becoming the same person anyway. It'll be like some Children of the Mind type thing.

I think this show falls into the category of "entertaining to watch, but not winning any awards any time soon." 7/10