I am a member of several different anime and manga fan forums, and someone suggested I take a look at Full Metal Panic! Full Metal Panic! is a twenty-four episode series that has two sequels: Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu and Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid.
Editor’s note: A big RF welcome to Sarah and the first of what will be many looks into the strange world of anime.
Full Metal Panic!
4 Stars
I am a member of several different anime and manga fan forums, and someone suggested I take a look at Full Metal Panic! Full Metal Panic! is a twenty-four episode series that has two sequels: Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu and Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid.
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The story starts out with Second Lieutenant Melissa Mao, Sergeant Kurz Weber and Sergeant Sousuke Sagara are given a mission to protect one of the Whispered. Without any other knowledge of the mission, they are sent off to Jindai High School where Sousuke is to blend with the students. Sousuke, a mysterious military teen, becomes somewhat of an open book as the episodes slowly dip into his past. Sousuke, as a hardcore mercenary, has a hard time adjusting to the high school territory, which makes it hard for him to blend.
In the mission at hand, they are to protect the Whispered, Kaname Chidori. Kaname is an orphaned high school student who has special knowledge that causes her to get into trouble.
In the series the main antagonist is Gauron, he seeks the Black Technology that Kaname inherently posses. Sousuke is the only one who can stop Gauron, but only with the help of Kaname’s Whispered knowledge.
Quick character analysis:
Sergeant Sousuke Sagara: also known as Urzu 7 in battle. Sousuke, now approximately seventeen years old, got his start in the military as an eight-year-old guerilla. He then joined with Mithril about two years prior to meeting Kaname Chidori. Sousuke is squad mate to Sergeant Kurz Weber and their squad leader is Second Lieutenant Melissa Mao.
Kaname Chidori: One of the Whispered. Before Sousuke and Mithril came along Kaname was a normal high school student. Now she is burdened with military involvement. Her Whispered abilities are in advanced mathematics and science. She often helps Sousuke in battle so he can better understand the Lambda Driver in his Arm Slave.
Second Lieutenant Melissa Mao: Urzu 2. She is the squad leader to Sousuke and Kurz. She is approximately 25 years old. Melissa Mao accepted Sousuke and Kurz into her Special Response Team after seeing spectacular marksmanship from Kurz and a particular battle between Sousuke and an Rk-92 Savage.
Sergeant Kurz Weber: Urzu 6. Sousuke and Melissa Mao’s squad mate, he is an exceptional marksmen, and usually is seen fighting from long distances with a sniper rifle. Kurz is a big flirt who hits on all the women, including his Captain Teletha Testarossa.
Captain Teletha Testarossa: also known as Tessa. She is also a Whispered. Her and Kaname become friends after Kaname aids Sousuke and a battle with Behemoth. Tessa is in love with Sousuke, which creates a love triangle between Sousuke, Kaname and Tessa.
Personally, I believe this series is one to look into. I enjoyed every single episode. If you are into the action animes mixed with love stories then this is your anime. But keep in mind that it is the stereotypical anime where the boys are all lechers [no matter what]. Also another thing to remember is that when the protagonist is in battle they cannot fight their hardest unless they are saying a woman and they use their most powerful weapon in the nick of time to save the day.