After barely surviving a disastrous encounter with
Almagam, Mithril is ready for payback.
Sousuke, Mao and Kurtz are sent to Italy to retrieve the mole who sold
them out, getting him out alive might be another problem. Meanwhile Kaname and Sousuke grow closer in
Japan. But in light of recent failures,
the performances of both Tessa and Sousuke have been called into question by
Mithril’s ruling council. As Sousuke
begins to ponder what his own future could be, his time as Kaname’s bodyguard
might be terminated…a move that could leave both of them totally helpless and
vulnerable.
“I’m Sergant Major Melissa Mao from Mithril’s SRT
Division. More importantly, I’m a bitch
with the itch to pull this trigger and put your traitorous ass out of my
misery.” I shouldn’t feel bad for the
guy who did put my favorite Mithril team in jeopardy this week. But in this case…im envious cause at least he
got to spend a few short moments in bed with an incredibly sexy Melissa Mao in
an amazing dress, being sweet talked before she pulled a gun on him…some guys
have all the fun.
Ahem, ok that fantasy distraction aside, let’s jump into
Part 2 of Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid.
This is it, THIS is the Full Metal Panic ive always
wanted to see from the get go. The
stakes could not be any greater, the action could not be more fun, the Kaname
and Sousuke moments…this set of episodes was pure gold, with something for
everyone.
As if the show really wanted to reward me for sticking
with it, we kicked things off with the scene I quoted from above. In true Mission: Impossible/A-Team fashion,
Sousuke, Kurtz and Mao infiltrated a party in Italy to steal the traitor who
sold them out last week. Mao got to wear
the sexiest dress, Kurtz got to be his old joker self and Sousuke provided
weapons he was ready to jettison to make his car go faster…while trying to talk
to Kaname on the phone. It was
everything I enjoyed about this team in the first season when theyre allowed to
do their own thing. For once, Full Metal
Panic hit that perfect balance of action and comedy that Season 1 never really
got right.
Once the dust settled from that fun romp, it was time to
hammer down on the character moments.
This week it was all about Kaname and Sousuke and this time, it felt
like we were continuing to see the progress they had made in Full Metal Panic
Fumoffu, only this was a bit more quiet and mature. The haircut scene was an easy stand out. No fluffy soundtrack, no comedic routine,
just Sousuke sitting in a chair while Kaname cut his hair because she was the
only one he trusted to do so. Before
then, you could see Sousuke was really trying at the beauty salon not to freak
out and pull a gun on the poor barber.
It was one of Full Metal Panics normal funny moments but it had a twinge
of real truth to it. The only person
Sousuke trusts in the world outside of Mithril is Kaname and she’s extended a
similar sentiment to him, that when Sousuke is around, Kaname feels the
safest. The haircut scene is probably
the closest to a true romantic moment between the two we’ve seen yet, Sousuke
getting flustered so close to Kaname’s chest and Kaname almost coming close to
kissing a sleeping Sousuke. I’ve always
enjoyed Sousuke and Kaname as characters and as a would be couple. After seeming to fall back to their Season 1
states last week, this time felt like we were moving forward in the right
direction.
That same “right direction” also includes tearing them
apart in the harshest way. Sousuke’s
recall was sudden, as was his intense chat with the observer known as
“Wraith”. I have no doubt Wraith could
be a force to be reckoned with but does he really have Kaname’s best interests
at heart? Clearly Sousuke doesn’t think
so. For the first time, we saw a sign
where he didn’t want to follow an order.
His punching the computer screen after reading his new orders was
powerful. Equally powerful, if not more,
was Kaname’s freakout when one of the twin assassins passed her by. Clearly, they’re coming for her and now,
Sousuke is nowhere to be found. The shot
of Kaname standing in Sousuke’s abandoned apartment, alone in the silence, was
one of the most heart wrenching moments Full Metal Panic has done yet. The two leads have been separated…what the
hell are they gonna do now?
While Sousuke and Kaname weren’t the sole focus of things
this week, I probably have more to say about them than I do everyone else. We got to learn a little more about Tessa and
why she’s in her command in the first place.
We got mentions of a “Leonard” who was also talking with the assassin
twins next week. Is a relative of
Tessa’s one of the enemy? We also got
more wacky Gates antics, first him drowning his subordinate in comedic frustration
and then…well let’s just say I don’t need to know what kind of pervy antics he
gets up to in his spare time…ew. Lastly,
we have the assassin twins: Yu Lan and Yu Fan.
Not only did we get to see them killing guys Black Lagoon style (the
amount of bloodshed in this season has been kind of overkill), but we got
further clues as to their true allegiances.
Clearly theyre not with Almagam after murdering a factory filled with
workers and giving Gates the finger.
They also have it in for Mithril and Kaname and theres only one person
who got the crap kicked out of him by both…why is he still around, seriously
this season is better off without Gauron rearing his head again.
As much as I hate to say it, moving Kaname and Sousuke so
close only to split them up in such dramatic fashion is the best move for
now. Things could not be more intense on
Full Metal Panic right now…and that is the kind of storytelling that makes for
good sequel seasons to hit shows. Next
week we see just how Jindai’s Class Rep and Mithril’s Serious Sergent deal with
their separation anxiety…I think we might be in for a surprise.
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