The story of Full Metal Panic, as stated earlier, tries to combine both Drama at highschool and intense military and mecha action. However, what causes its down fall is not falling at one side or the other but the mediocrity of both aspects. The entire set up of the situation, the heroine's 'Whispered' candidate status, serves as an excuse for this story. While there are a few moments of comedy gold and intense showdowns, the series as a whole does not do anything particularly well. The actions scenes are okay, the dialogue between classmates is basically filler and overall, it lacks focus. The ending, while nice, is preceded by one of the weirdest final boss fights I've ever scene, making me do a double take before saying good bye to this series.
STORY 7/10
The art shows its age with no real CGI to speak of. The style also seems a tad generic. The designs themselves are not bad (well, at least not the characters. The mechs are a different story) its just how they are drawn. They show emotions and are quite dynamic, but a certain stiffness to the animation can be felt.
ART 7/10
The catchy opening was a welcome addition to the OST, but everything else did not seem up to snuff. The voice acting was quite well done, with characters capturing their roles perfectly.
SOUND 8/10
The characters of this series had the potential to be something great, but most of them get little development. Sousuke, the hero, is a mercenary with a blood stained past. He reminds me of Setsuna of Gundam 00, except he is much more likable due to his going to extreme lengths to protect Chidori. He provides nice comic relief, more so than his one trick pony pal Kurz, who is the typical girl-chasing best friend. Testarossa, the commander of their group, may seem like a naive girl at times, but her sincere nature and deep thinking make her one of the more well rounded of the characters. There's also Mao, another of Sousuke's friends, but she does not see as much spot light as the other females.
As far as Chidori goes, she is a defining feature of this series. She represents the end product of the show: a highschool drama with mecha elements. Her involvement in the military side of the plot feels shoehorned in, especially during the instances where she becomes a damsel in distress. She herself is a typical tsundere-esque girl. On numerous occasions, she tries to show depth, only to fall flat. She holds an important military secret, but her 'secret' is about as original as Obama's Fried Chicken in China. Overall, like the anime itself, she's full of pointless drama and while she's initially appealing, not a lot of thought went into crafting a unique experience.
There's also the main villan, Gauron, and I'll just say this: Ali-Al-Saachez takes a lot of cues from this guy.
CHARACTERS: 7/10
While I was watching FMP, I did enjoy it. It was a nice romp, but looking back, I just can't help but think of its flaws. Its cliche devices and the characters of Chidori and Kurz really brought it down. Sadly, the rest of the cast, while good, were not enough to carry the aging animations and lukewarm soundtrack.
ENJOYMENT: 7/10
Its a shame that FMP did not live up to the hype around it in my anime community. I must say though that while it mirrors the more recent Gundam 00, it does what 00 did, but with a lot more consistency.
OVERALL: 7/10
