Monday, November 19, 2018

Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory Part 3 Episodes 7-9


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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