Monday, February 27, 2017

Full Metal Panic Part 3-Episodes 13-18


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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