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Information
Title (English) Full Metal Panic
Title (Japanese) Full Metal Panic
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Fantasy Novel

Notes
Classification -
Synopsis FMP is an action/comedy set in a near future which is either an alternate world, or one in which the Cold War has broken out again. A mysterious super force called Mithril ( with a logo that looks a lot like the logo of Funeral from "Argento Soma" ) is battling evil forces in secret. Mithril has a stealth technology that allows their giant mechas and VTOL aircraft to become invisible, even in the daylight.
A special team of solder/agents from Mithril is assigned to protect a Japanese high school girl named Kaname Chidori who has unknown powers.
Review I just got to see the first episode of the "notorious" new Wowow anime "Full Metal Panic", ( FMP ) which is produced by Gonzo ( with animation assistance from AIC, amongst other companies ). This is the 24-part action series that was supposed to start last Fall but was postponed in the wake of September 11. (see episode 4).
FMP is an action/comedy set in a near future which is either an alternate world, or one in which the Cold War has broken out again. A mysterious super force called Mithril ( with a logo that looks a lot like the logo of Funeral from "Argento Soma" ) is battling evil forces in secret. Mithril has a stealth technology that allows their giant mechas and VTOL aircraft to become invisible, even in the daylight.
A special team of solder/agents from Mithril is assigned to protect a Japanese high school girl named Kaname Chidori for mysterious reasons. The protection must remain secret, so one of the team members, Sosuke Sugara, who grew up in trouble spots around Africa and the Middle East, goes undercover to pretend to be a transfer student to Kaname's 2nd year class. This is where the humor comes in - Sosuke is totally dedicated to his job, has essentially spent his life as a solder and has no sense of humor, let alone irony. So right off the bat he starts to overreact and do things wrong, without even realizing it.
Kaname is a typical Gonzo heroine - big, athletic, busty - she could be the heroine from "Real Bout High School - Samurai Girl" except with blue hair instead of red. At first the Mithril team thinks that she is a quiet, nice girl, but they soon find out that she is loudmouthed and opinionated. Kaname is also sort of interested in Sosuke right off the bat, because he seems different and she is tired of the losers that her girlfriends set her up with. However, Sosuke is only interested in his work, not girls, so I suspect this will be used to set up more humor.
Not much actually happens in the first episode - mostly it sets the stage and introduces the characters. The prologue also sets up a bit of the mystery. There is an awful lot of effort made in the background animation - the interiors of the mechas, sub, VTOL's and so on are exquisitely detailed. The show also uses a lot of the typical Gonzo 3DCG. The mechas look quite good and avoid a lot of the typical 3DCG problems, but the submarine looks as if it were leftover from "Blue Sub #6". I can't remember any of the music in FMP, so it didn't make much of an impression on me. Also, as with most Wowow series, there is a certain amount of fan service, but so far FMP is definitely not another "Najika".
So I'm not certain what they are going to do with this show that might make it unique - my current hope is that as with "Gatekeepers" they make it entertaining if not original. But what I've seen is interesting enough to keep me watching it for a while. (Dave Baranyi)

I saw episodes 3 and 4. In episode 3 we have more of the comedy, in which the team try to protect Kaname Chidori from an intruder but there is a misunderstanding involving a pair of panties.
In episode 4 there is some real military type action drama, which is handled well. We still don't discover exactly why the enemy should want to kidnap Chidori.
Though the characters aren't particularly interesting, this series is worth watching as a drama. (GC)

Credits
Episodes 24
Release
TV Showing See the whole series for free? This series may be syndicated to regional cable, satellite or terrestial TV stations. For Europe click here.
Date 2002 January 8 -
Production Gonzo
Broadcaster Wowow
Animation
References & Help Look up the latest data on this title at:
Richard Llewellyn's Animated Divots, or
Anime News Network (see Encyclopedia section) ,
or in "The Anime Encyclopedia" (Clements & McCarthy, Stone Bridge Press, 2001).
Help & further information.

 

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