What…the…HELL? I mean yeah I called it way back but come
on, can I be wrong when I assume that Gauron ISNT DEAD!? Ugh, thankfully he might actually be gone for
good…otherwise he really is immortal.
And for once, Gauron’s appearance didn’t feel like a waste of time.
I think I skipped ahead a little. Let’s backtrack, WHOOOOOOOO HOOOOO!!!! Well that’s something I never thought id
really say about a super serious Full Metal Panic. Where did all of this awesome goodness come
from? This is such a far cry from the
first season and it’s soooooo good haha.
Oh wow, again, feel like im jumping ahead. Before I sing tons of praise in Final
Thoughts, let’s get to the ending itself.
At the end of last week, Sousuke deserted and from then
on it was nothing short of a downward spiral.
Aimless wanders, almost sleeping with a prostitiute who looked scarily
similar to Kaname (clone?), attempting to drunk burbon, Sousuke had hit as
close to rock bottom as he could have gotten.
Then Sousuke had his reunion with Gauron and the Psycho managed to lay
out some serious knowledge and taunts on his death bed. As I said above, Gauron actually felt
menacing even from a simple bed. With
nothing left to lose, he gave Sousuke intel on Amalgam before claiming Kaname
was dead. Wow did Sousuke react or what? I want to say Gauron wont be coming back from
being shot point blank several times by Sousuke and then getting blown up…but
given this guys history, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was back somehow. After that, Sousuke just said screw it, he
was done, it was all over…
AND THEN KANAME CAME RIGHT THE HECK IN!!!! Easily one of
the most “F Yeah” moments of Full Metal Panic came in the form of Kaname
beating the living tar out of Sousuke to shock him back to normal. Just how did she get to Hong Kong? I assume it has something to do with
Wraith…who is actually a woman, did I miss something? In the end, I didn’t care how because the
results spoke for themselves. It was
good to see these two again after all they’ve been through on their own. Granted their strongest scene was the very
last of the season but here, Kaname looking down on a bewildered Sousuke while
the sun rose behind her was the perfect set up for what came next.
Nevermind how Arbelast only works with Sousuke, again all
storytelling mishaps can be forgiven considering the serious beatdown he gave
Gates and his Venom sporting cronies. It
reminded me a bit of Asuka taking on the Mass Produced Eva line up in The End
of Evangelion. Sousuke cut through
everything like it was nothing, all the while boldly proclaiming he is a
student at Jindai High School and not a mercenary. Kind of wish Gates had freaked out when death
stared him and his…cyborg body (?) right in the face. Sousuke won the day with one punch,
impressing even Clouseau…yeah it felt right Sousuke and Kaname both got their F
Yeah moments in this finale.
Probably the biggest surprise was Tessa got a couple of
very strong moments that have changed my opinion of her character. I didn’t like her at all in Season 1 and
thought she was better served as the comic relief/romantic rival in Full Metal
Panic Fumoffu. However, her defense of
Sousuke and standing up to her XO on the bridge during an operation was
inspiring. She even admitted she was in
love with Sousuke but was putting her faith in the long list of accomplishments
he’s made more than her feelings. Add
that up with her mending things with Sousuke and his promise that they were
good, even calling her by her first name, and you’ve got a very smile worth F
Yeah moment for a character who I never thought id be rooting for.
And it doesn’t look like things will be completely back
to normal as the dust settles. Kaname
poured her soul out to Sousuke. She
still has her angry streak and will beat the heck out of him for sure. However leaving her crying like that while
her friends berated Sousuke for making her cry seems like things are going to
change for Kaname and Sousuke going forward.
This is as close to her saying “I like you” as Kaname can get right now
and Sousuke has made his feelings more than clear to the viewers given how
thinking she was dead completely destroyed his soul. This is the growth ive been waiting for with
Full Metal Panic and im glad it finally came my way.
Couple of last loose ends. I mentioned Wraith was a woman and was
probably the reasons Kaname made it to Hong Kong…why didn’t we get more with
those two? It looked like Kaname was
more the force of nature behind convincing the Observer she needed to get to
Sousuke. I just wish we had a tiny bit
where we saw them hash it out somewhere.
Then there’s Leonard Testerosa.
I’ve gotta say he seemed pointless throughout the series, only showing
up to indicate “I’m here in this show.”
His only real useful moment was when his men killed Yu Lan and when he
kissed Kaname to prove a point about her feelings for Sousuke. I’m glad we are getting a Season 4 of Full
Metal Panic and Leonard’s confirmed to be returning, cause if that wasn’t the
case including him at all in The Second Raid and doing nothing with him was a
waste of time.
Now for final thoughts: This was the best (normal) season
of Full Metal Panic. The tension was
raised exponentionally. Kaname and
Sousuke both got adequate time to develop separately, and together. The action was insane and very exciting. Gates and the Twins made for fun (if not
incredibly) disturbing villains to battle.
And characters from the past who bothered me greatly made strides to
better themselves (Tessa and Gauron).
While much of the humor was sacrificed, making things a little more serious
didn’t hurt the seasons momentum or storytelling power. Some elements didn’t live up to their
potential (looking at you Leonard) but with Full Metal Panic: Invisible
Victory, confirmed for early 2018, it looks like Full Metal Panic has a chance
to take everything it got right with The Second Raid and run with it to even further
greatness.
This was an excellent season, the best you could ask for
from a show that started on shaky ground.
For that, I award Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid…
9/10
Hooooo ok, now that that’s out of the way, it’s
December. And Angels are descending for
the holidays…foul mouthed, party hardy, sex and sweets loving Angels…they are
Angels right? Pray for me as I begin
tackling the bizzare Anime comedy Panty
and Stocking with Garterbelt starting next week, my last series to close
out 2017. See ya then everyone.
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