With Kaname safe, for now, Sousuke is allowed to enjoy
some time as a normal kid for a change…for all of five minutes. A sighting of an old enemy sends Sousuke on a
special mission to one of his former, war torn stomping grounds. Time may have passed but the land of
Halmajestan still retains the ghosts from his past. Things get worse when Sousuke and his
temporary team are horribly outmatched in combat and one of their enemies is a
former ally of Sousuke’s. When the dust
settles from this tragic mission, Sousuke may realize that the girl he has been
tasked to protect may be the one person he needs more than anything in the
world.
When you’re trying to combine two genres as different as
Mecha and High School Comedy, balance is essential to keeping things straight
and consistent. As of right now, Full
Metal Panic is having a very iffy time with that. When it gets things right, it gets them
right, particularly in the action department.
When it comes to the comedy, there’s a lot that could turn off viewers
depending on the scenario.
This week, we got another even split down the line with
both comedy and action storylines. Like
before, the comedy was more sidestory for the first couple of episodes. Between the two, I liked the Mecha Festival
Competition more. For starters, it gave
side character Shinji a decent tale as we saw him and his equally mecha
obsessed dad team up to lead the charge against their rivals. It also reminded me a lot of Martian
Successor Nadesico with it’s execution: I could easily see Yurika ropping Akito
and his team into ping pong competitions with their Aestevalis units. Also, there’s something funny about Sousuke
trying to disguise himself in a paper made mecha suit to try and slip into the
competition to help Shinji. On the
opposite end, Tessa trying to one up Mao in a one on one AS duel was less successful. This is mostly cause…I just don’t like Tessa. I get that theyre trying to go against some
more familiar attributes youd find with a typical captain and theyre trying to
toughen her up or show some hidden special qualities. But Tessa is more annoying than endearing. Both Kaname and Melissa question how a girl
who trips over her own two feet can be the commander of one of the most
powerful pieces of hardware in the sea and it’s hard not to argue with their
doing so. I would not follow this girl
into battle or hell even if she has the shortest skirt in the world. Now Kaname or Melissa, hands down full speed
ahead. Kaname’s proven herself
resourceful and Melissa is an excellent leader, if a bit unorthodox. Tessa’s definitely going to be tested more
than ever if the show is headed where I think it’s heading for it’s supposed
final act. Let’s just say I’m not
holding out much hope for her handling an encounter with Gauron.
The real meat of this week came from Sousuke’s return to
his Middle Eastern homeland to track down the terrorist who just wont die. I feel like I should save a lot of the rant I
want to give Gauron for next week…so I’ll do that and focus more on
Sousuke. The three part mission to the
Middle East was super effective and a far cry from any serious moments this
show has had so far. Sousuke was both in
his element and full of difficult memories the more time he spent here, showing
us that all of his battle hardened mindsets aren’t just for show, theyre real
after effects of one of the toughest periods of his life. The desert warfare was so intense that I
feared for every single person on the battlefield, even Sousuke. This is notable in that, except for the
lovely and accepting Grey, I didn’t like a single person on Sousuke’s temporary
squad. The cockiness I get, it needed to
be established before Gauron and his men massacared them. But questioning Sousuke after ignoring his
suggestions and letting everything go to hell?
I wasn’t going to miss a single person who got taken out, again save for
Grey, who I think could have made a good new addition to Sousuke’s team if she
had survived. My distaste for Sousuke’s
comrades didn’t stop me from feeling the intensity of the battle. This could have been a pretty bad Kobayashi
Maru (the no win scenario from Star Trek) for Sousuke. If one area could have used a bit more
improvement, it would be the appearance of Sousuke’s childhood friend,
Zaied. Sure they had an intense duel and
the story did a good job of establishing their friendship through a few
flashbacks. I guess I just wanted a
little more, especially a face to face encounter. What I did like the most was cutting back and
forth between Sousuke’s doomed mission and the lonely, wandering Kaname. You’ve
never seen these two so vulnerable and unsure in both situations before. Seeing their reunion at the end was more
somber than heartwarming but after what Sousuke went through, I know it will
make him appreciate what he has with Kaname more than ever, bumps, bruises and
all.
The desert setting did offer some good old fashioned
mecha action for the most part. Seeing
Sousuke wipe out AS units from the sandstorm he whips up adds further
comparisons to Solid Snake from Metal Gear.
I think I liked everything best
when it was just down to old fashioned guns and ground tactics. When Gauron gets involved with his super
powered, magical tech, that’s when I start getting a little disappointed with
things. I don’t mind an enemy that cant
be defeated so easily. If they’re
cunning and skilled, kind of like Char Aznable and Anavel Gato from the Gundam
Franchise, then they’re likeable. When
they have a God Mode Cheat plugged in: like Gauron or Naraku from Inuyasha or
Aizen from Bleach, they become less threatening and more annoying, like theyre
so drunk on their own BS abilities that they don’t think they can ever go down. It makes their appearance on the battlefield more
“Ugh why don’t you ever die” rather than shaking in your shoes terrifying. Huh, guess I did get a Gauron rant in there
after all.
And it looks like the terrorist who might as well be
immortal is heading into a final showdown with Sousuke, Kaname and
Mithril. Full Metal Panic pulled off an
emotional and heavy handed win in the story department this week, even managing
a win or two with the comedy. Can it
combo for an effective win in the series (or season I should say) finale next
week? You’ll know when I do after I write
the review. Catch ya next week everyone.
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