Sousuke’s mission in Namsac comes to a bloody conclusion
as he wages a one man war against Kurama and Amalgam’s army of mercs and Arm
Slaves. Will he find the woman he loves
at the end of his bloodrage or will Sousuke’s quest for revenge mean the end of
the Serious Sergant? Meanwhile Tessa and
what’s left of Mithril resurface and declare their intentions to strike back at
Leonard Testarossa and Amalgam. It seems
the enemy has the upper hand and is slowly pushing Mithril into a corner. That is a decision they may come to
regret. To save Kaname Chidori,
everything is work the risk.
Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory both amped up the
exciement and stumbled a bit this week.
However, flaws and all, every week has always ended with me clutching my
chest and fists in anticipation of what comes next. This week is no different, especially now
that the stage is being set for the biggest finale yet.
The conclusion of the Namsac Arc was both bloody and
entertaining and showcased that for all we’ve heard, and what’s been parodied
by Full Metal Panic as a whole, Sousuke truly is an Army of One. It’s hard to peg which situation he was in
was the best. The Arm Slave duel was
creative and proved Sousuke knows his mecha, leading his rivals better equipped
AS into a choke point he could use to achieve his victory…oh and his foe has
cloaking so the “Invisible Victory” subtitle makes sense now eh? (bad joke
moving on). But then there’s Sousuke
running literally guns blazing against a gauntlet of AS units and footsoldiers
just to reach Kurama (the Leon the Professional looking Amalgam agent). Sousuke pulled no punches, showed no quarter. If you were in his way, he wasn’t worrying
about your life and if it would be spared.
This meant a lot of blood being spilled.
This has not been a Full Metal Panic for the feint of heart, that is for
sure.
And while Sousuke did get his revenge against Kurama, it
was satisfying but it couldn’t mask a couple of big reveals and tragic
ends. Like I said in last weeks review,
it’s not like I didn’t like Nami, I just wasn’t sure what her overall being in
the series did for Sousuke. Seeing her
gunned down so suddenly…it’s sad, yes and it fueled Sousuke’s vengeance filled
murderfest of Kurama and his men. But it
feels like they just set Nami up to be killed and remind Sousuke of someone
else he lost in similar fashion…and that feels kind of wasteful to me. Likewise, Lemon suddenly being revealed as
some French Special Forces agent doesn’t really do anything for me either. He wasn’t an interesting character to begin
with and he isn’t anymore special now.
Seeing how Sousuke finally subcumbed to a gut wound he sustained (and
still managed to kill Kurama, damn), I only see Lemon as a way to get Sousuke
to the next stage of his mission to rescue Kaname, nothing more or less.
Speaking of Kaname, this weeks set closed out with a
great check in on the rest of the FMP cast.
I was a little thrown off by Tessa’s amnesia game to lure in Amalgam but
the jig was kind of up when I saw the assistant of the shrink who was tending
to Tessa. I love Melissa…but I saw
through the disguise pretty easily.
Still, Mithril is alive and kicking and it’s one huge sigh of relief to
still see them fighting the good fight.
Still, no action or sound off of the cast will ever top Tessa’s foul
mouthed declaration of war to her brother and his organization…I wont lie, it
made me clap. Yes, four seasons in and I
am clapping and cheering for Teletha “Tessa” Testarossa (granted I was doing
that by the end of The Second Raid too).
As for Kaname, we didn’t see much of her this week, other than just a
brief appearance to let us know she was ok and still holding out hope for
Sousuke to save her. It feels strange we’ve
spent so much time with Sousuke recently.
With only a few episodes left, apparently, it’s going to be a challenge
to bring us up to full speed on Kaname and Mithril’s whereabouts before closing
out the season. Will there even be a
proper finale or will this be a “to be continued” two part season? Given how Sousuke does have a bullet wound in
his gut to recover from, I feel things might be headed in that direction.
The finish line is in sight and I do have some concerns
and reservations about wrapping everything up.
It was more than a decade between Seasons Three and Four of Full Metal
Panic, so it would be kind of a cheap shot to end on a cliffhanger that goes
unresolved for the same amount of time.
BUT those are concerns that can wait for next week. This week, however, was action packed with
Sousuke taking the lead and we got to see Tessa, Kaname, Melissa and Kurtz all
alive and well. Now if only the finale
can stick the landing. So far, it’s been
great, even when it’s stumbled. Come on
Full Metal Panic, you’ve got this.
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