It recently came to my attention that I haven’t watched any anime in over a month, which is a decent dry spell for me. My friend group I usually watch with is unavailable/going through some changes, so we haven’t been able to keep up with our shows. I’m also not particularly interested in any new or ongoing shows on streaming platforms, so I don’t really have any pressure to watch anything that’s not an old favorite.
And since it’s been a few years, I decided it’s high time I sat down and watched one of my favorite series of all time: Full Metal Panic! (2002-2018)
I will definitely be watching the three main (serious) seasons, but depending on my mood I may also watch the joke season Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. Fumoffu was technically the first FMP story I watched (absolutely wild that that was my introduction to this world), but as I got more and more into the main story I started to just see it as a waste of time. Too much jerking around and not enough real intimacy building.
I’m definitely looking forward to The Second Raid, that’s when I really feel the series hit its stride and really started to develop the characters. Kaname and Sousuke don’t change a ton between the start and the end of the first season, despite the huge life shifts they go through. It isn’t until TSR that we see Kaname becoming proactive about her situation and Sousuke really thinking about his feelings and the impact of his decisions.
That’s a lot of vague spoilery stuff, so for anyone reading this blog who doesn’t know what Full Metal Panic is I’ll say this: it’s a mecha/action/comedy/romance anime (it’s a lot). A teenage mercenary is assigned to infiltrate a Japanese high school to guard a popular girl with latent psychic abilities that would make her a target for militarized groups (mostly global terrorists). He is terrible at blending in with normal civilians (because he’s a child soldier), but eventually he makes friends and establishes a close relationship with the girl he is guarding. For her part, as she gets pulled more and more into his world by various kidnapping attempts, she learns to harness her psychic abilities (as well as her existing bravery and forthrightness) to protect herself and her loved ones. There are also hijinks with the mercenary group our male lead is a part of as well as at the high school, and there’s a bullshit love triangle that I like to ignore most of the time (because Sousuke and Kaname are OTP).
The action is packed, the jokes are mostly pretty good (thanks in large part to the excellent voice casting, minus Mr. Filet Mignogna), the romance burns achingly slowly, and the animation really gets good once Kyoto Animation comes on the scene. Every time I start the first season I remember, “Oh yeah, anime in the 2000s was a little rough…” but I even relish getting through it because I know how great it gets later.
Assorted thoughts while watching FMP episodes 1-9:
- Sometimes people pronounce Kaname’s name more like Konami and that bothers me
- I think this relationship dynamic (hyper-competent vs autistically oblivious) permanently scarred me
- Karenai Hana is still one of my favorite anime theme songs of all time, and I still want it played at my funeral
- The scene where Mao hears the order to destroy Kurz’s M9 is heartbreaking, I felt such a sense of loss
- The 2002 obsession with panty shots/calling someone a pervert is killing me!!
- The A21/Behemoth arc is a real snooze (and where I ultimately stopped), particularly because Tessa is so annoying. “I’m the captain of a…what is it again?” Are you serious right now?? You can’t be a legitimate rival to someone like Kaname if you don’t seem like a credible threat. Get your act together, you big baby!
Thoughts From Barbara Yaga 