#5-Bonta Kun Raid
(Full Metal Panic Fumoffu)
When comedy and drama didn’t mix that well, more they
kept jumping back and forth between tones every other episode that def made it
a little disjointed, Full Metal Panic proved it’s at its best when focusing on
one of the other. The second season,
Full Metal Panic Fumoffu, ditched the military drama for an all out comedy
featuring fish out of water soldier Sousuke trying not to blow his cover in
civilian life. This season also gave us
the adorable plushie mascot, Bonta Kun, which Sousuke acquired and turned into
a prototype mecha suit. He had a couple
of fun encoutners with this adorable fighting machine. The best of the these few and far between,
but well used, Bonta Kun moments was Sousuke giving a yakuza group their own
set of Bonta Kun suits to use in a mission to rescue Kaname and Rin. All that cuteness with rocket launchers,
machine guns, and that broken voice translator (so they can only say
Fumoffu). God we should have gotten a
fourth episode. Can we have one in
Season 4 pleeeeeease?
#4-Sousuke’s
Removed from Protection Detail (Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid)
If there was one thing Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid
was good at, it was showing actual character growth for the main cast. Sousuke and Kaname are both given incredible
character arcs this season but Sousuke’s takes the cake. When he is ordered to be removed from his
protection detail for Kaname…he punches the laptop containing the message. Holy S***.
Could you imagine Season 1 Sousuke ever doing that? The best yet came from one of the seasons
best scenes, where Tessa berates Sousuke for getting so close to Kaname. It’s taking all Sousuke has not to go all out
furious on his commanding officer. It
all comes to one very small but very effective moment in a hallway where
Sousuke and Tessa pass each other…and Sousuke gives a very, very low “hmph”. Tessa didn’t just force Sousuke to quit a
mission he excelled at, she broke his heart.
God this was such good stuff
#3-The Desert Arc
(Full Metal Panic)
The first season of Full Metal Panic had a ton of flaws
for sure. Most of that stemmed from the
not so neatly balanced elements of comedy and drama. The drama hit more and the comedy was far
more miss. Case in point is the high
mark of the first season, a story arc completely devoid of any humor. Sousuke returns to the Middle East, his
homeland to be more precise, to escort a dangerous payload through enemy
territory. Not only does Gauron show up
again but Sousuke must also contend with a childhood friend turned enemy. Ive often spoken of how “Metal Gear Solid”
Full Metal Panic can be sometimes (right down to Sousuke being a little Solid
Snake-y). The desert battlefield has
vibes of Metal Gear Solid 4 and the brutality of the action that unfolds is
nothing short of horrific. In the end,
only Sousuke returns from the mission alive, surviving a Hell he never thought
he’d return to. He might not say much in
the arcs final scene…but you know he’s so happy to be back with Kaname again.
#2-Extraction in
Sicily (Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid)
Sousuke Sagara.
Kurtz Webber. Melissa Mao. If you have a problem, if no one else can
help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire…The Mithril A-Team. This unusual trio of a serious soldier, sexy
drunk and a flirting sniper has had a lot of fun together since the series
began. The Second Raid delivered
possibly their most fun outing yet: extracting a Mithril Mole from a party in Sicily. It’s everything I knew Full Metal Panic could
be: a car chase that ranks up there with Black Lagoon; Sousuke volunteering to
ditch weapons in the car to lighten the load…weapons Mao and Kurtz really need;
Sousuke trying to drive while talking to a worried Kanamel; and, best of all,
Melissa Mao in the sexiest party dress ever…soldiers of fortune don’t come
anymore beautiful than Melissa Mao.
#1-The Season
Finale (Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid)
This was it, this was what I was hoping Full Metal Panic
would always get to. In many ways, I
expected this by the end of the first season, but only got a “so-so” ending
there. The Second Raid closed the
chapter on Full Metal Panics most successful season to date with an arc that
saw Mithril at its most desperate and Sousuke at his lowest point. But there’s only one way to go from lows and
despairs like that…shooting right back up to the top. As soon as Kaname charges in to get Sousuke
back on his feet, it is ON!!!! So much
good stuff: Sousuke and Arbelast kicking so much ass; Gates getting
annihilated; Tessa proving her faith in Sousuke, even if he cant return her
feelings; Sousuke calling Tessa her friend and reuniting with Kaname at Jin
Dai…you have to clench your fist tight and just mutter to yourself, “Yes…Frak yeah”. What a way to end this
year long journey. See you again down
the line Full Metal Panic…it’s been a privledge.
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