Full Metal Panic - Mission 02

Rating:
Summary: Full Metal starts to enter the side of Panic
Review: After battling secret organizations in his invisibility and hi-tech-armed mecha, Sagara Sousuke finds he and his crew of Melissa Mao and Kurz Weber...trying to blend into Jindai High School as a bodyguard for 16-year-old Kaname Chidori.

In this second installment of Evangelion meets Spriggan meets GTO, Sousuke continues to try to assimilate into Jindai so he can guard Chidori. With little success. Not only is Chidori the school's most popular girl, Sousuke a hardened veteran, fighting in the Middle East since he was eight, is constantly paranoid that everyone's trying to attack Chidori.

That being the case, Chidori's entire school has been kidnapped via airplane hijacking...they are held hostage, while she is led away to be the target of several experiments regarding her status as a "Whispered." Sousuke manages to slip away and recover some weaponry and communications devices to relay their situation and location back to MITHRIL. A rescue operation is planned and executed...all of the hundreds of civilian hostages are rescued without a hitch except for Sousuke and Chidori.

This is the first step toward moving "Full Metal Panic" from comedic to dark. All pretenses are dropped as Chidori watches in awe as Sousuke flawlessly pilots a older model Armored Slave to battle the terrorists. She knows now that he is not merely a strange, war-obsessed student.

The rescue mission is built around a quick strike that not only saves the students, but ensures that none of the MITHRIL armored slaves are captured or even examined. Should the time limit for the operation pass by, the order is in place for a massive bomb strike that will eliminate all traces of MITHRIL left behind. While performing a last minute sweep in a nearby forest, however, Sgt. Weber runs into a lightning-fast Armored Slave with long, silver hair, and abilities unlike any Armored Slave before. Enter the bad guy.

Volume 2 viewers get to meet Gaul, the main villain of the series, survivor of multiple explosions, stab wounds and even a direct sniper shot to the temple by a young Sousuke. This is one of the vilest, wickedest villains ever: ruthless, perverted, highly-skilled and nearly invincible. If Hannibal Lecter was ever allowed to pilot a giant armed robot, his name would be Gaul. Sousuke dispatches most everyone he comes across, but Gaul proves an eternal thorn in his side, right up to the series' climactic end. Gaul dispatches Weber's Armored Slave and escapes before the bomb strike.

As this volume closes, we continue to learn more about Chidori being a "Whispered," a psychic blessed with an in-depth knowledge of "Black Technology" that she cannot comprehend, but has known of since birth, the very reason everyone from the KGB and various terrorist sects wants to get their hands on Chidori.

Chidori, Weber and Sousuke reunite in the forest and begin to run from the pursuing terrorist sect, and the mysterious new Armored Slave. The Toybox, MITHRIL's uber-cool submarine, manages to locate the trio and launches a new, top-secret, top of the line Armored Slave to their location, setting up a battle that will change the relationship the already evolving relationship between Chidori and Sousuke. The new Armored Slave runs on a form of black technology known as "Lambda Drivers," mind-operated enhancements that endow Armored Slaves with uniquely deadly abilities. The mysterious enemy Armored Slave re-appears and begins to thrash Sousuke, who can't grasp the idea behind Lambda Drivers in his own new Armored Slave. We get our first glimpse of what a Whispered is truly capable of, as Chidori uses her talents to help Sousuke battle the villainous Gaul.

The art goes from 10 in the first volume to about 9.7 in this offering (which is usually the case in anime series anyway, starting off with a extra attention to detail in the pilot episodes). The CG effects are in quite a few of the shots, especially of the Mithril moving super-submarine base the ToyBox. The fights are ninja-quick and visually dazzling. The poppy, guitar-riffed backgrounds are a weak point but not to the point of being bothersome.

It's just the right mix of tragedy to comedy, fighting to romance and character development to technology. Volume 2 is still considerably on the lighter side of Full Metal Panic, but begins to show the darker possibilities this series eventually explores. Must have if you've started collecting the series. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: You may not use the packaging or disc as a lethal weapon.
Review: Previously, on Full Metal Panic!: When we left off, Chidori had been kidnapped, the students were trapped on a jumbo jet with a bomb on it, and Sosuke was charging into danger to rescue Chirori after he heard a gunshot. A villain who should have been dead was still alive. And MITHRIL was mounting an all out rescue operation.
We pick up with Sosuke executing a dangerous rescue, commandeering a Soviet mecha, and making quick work of their kidnapper's forces. Unfortunately, Gauron, Sosuke's mortal enemy, has a newer model outfitted with Black Technology. He succedes in wounding both Sosuke and his ally, Kurz Weber (no relation to this reviewer ^_^)
Sosuke, Kurz, and Chidori are trapped behind enemy lines, and only a high-risk operation can rescue them.
We begin to learn the secrets of the Black Technology, technology that can actually manifest physical force based on human emotion. Outfitted with a highly experimental, and untested mech, Sosuke and Gauron battle each other once again. Aided by Chidori's waking knowledge, Sosuke manages to defeat his foe.
And so, he is sent out on a new mission...and to quote The Who "Meet the new boss/same as the old boss." Once more, he is assigned to protect Chidori from those who might try to use her for evil purposes. Sosuke and Chidori understand each other a bit better than before, but that doesn't mean there aren't complications.
Returning to the humor element of the show, Sosuke must not only protect Chidori from the KGB and other terrorists, he must also safeguard her against lecherous perverts, and defend her honor from graffiti written on restroom walls.
Sosuke has no clue when it comes to women. Dumped by a dating sim, taking lessons on love from a girl whose boyfriend dumped her to pursue Chidori, and failing to understand just how truely unsensitive he is (though, not in a sexist chauvenistic way, but rather in a boorish, single-mindedness kind of way) Sosuke has his work cut out for him.
The art is top notch, and the voice acting is good on both the English and Japanese language tracks.
And as an added bonus, we get the Japanese disclaimers on the bonus features. We also get them read to us in English by the actor who plays Sosuke on this disk.

Rating:
Summary: Full Metal Panic - Mission 02
Review: This is one of the best anime DVDs I've seen in awhile. The story is awesome, the characters are funny, but there is also great action. The quality of the drawings is top-notch, the voice acting is done well, and the main villain is awesome.
This DVD picks right up where the last one left off. It starts with the main character, Souske Sagara, trying to rescue Kaname Chidori, a Whispered, a person who holds knowledge of advanced technology. There isn't a dull part in this DVD. I love it and I will definetely purchase the next volume in this awesome series!

Rating:
Summary: ADV at its best
Review: When I purchased Neon Genesis Evangelion, I thought ADV did a less than satisfactory job of both licensing and producing an otherwise brilliant series. That's why I was crestfallen when I heard ADV had gotten their greedy hands on Full Metal Panic, another stellar anime series. To my complete surprise, ADV did a fantastic job with FMP mission 1, and I hoped they could keep the trend going with Mission 2. They surpassed my expectations.

Full Metal Panic alone is a fantastic work of animation. The production quality is high, and the plot keeps getting better. However, I would have to say that I would give these four episodes alone a 4.5/5. That isn't to say ther series is declining, but these episodes in particular were a little misleading. It should be noted that although some language problems need to be worked out, I still enjoyed these episodes thoroughly.

ADV, surprisingly, is the reason why I'm giving this DVD a solid 5/5. ADV went the extra mile with the FMP DVDs, giving owners who want to emmerse themselves in the FMP universe a little something extra. They included a slideshow of production scetches that are actually fun to watch. ADV also included a pamphlet which doubles as a poster and a information booklet, giving you info on everything from the Arm Slaves to new characters and props in the show. I even like the way the case itself looks, with the clear plastic...

For those of you looking for an action, mystery, or comedy series, Full Metal Panic is what you've been waiting for. Check it out, you won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: ADV at its best
Review: When I purchased Neon Genesis Evangelion, I thought ADV did a less than satisfactory job of both licensing and producing an otherwise brilliant series. That's why I was crestfallen when I heard ADV had gotten their greedy hands on Full Metal Panic, another stellar anime series. To my complete surprise, ADV did a fantastic job with FMP mission 1, and I hoped they could keep the trend going with Mission 2. They surpassed my expectations.

Full Metal Panic alone is a fantastic work of animation. The production quality is high, and the plot keeps getting better. However, I would have to say that I would give these four episodes alone a 4.5/5. That isn't to say ther series is declining, but these episodes in particular were a little misleading. It should be noted that although some language problems need to be worked out, I still enjoyed these episodes thoroughly.

ADV, surprisingly, is the reason why I'm giving this DVD a solid 5/5. ADV went the extra mile with the FMP DVDs, giving owners who want to emmerse themselves in the FMP universe a little something extra. They included a slideshow of production scetches that are actually fun to watch. ADV also included a pamphlet which doubles as a poster and a information booklet, giving you info on everything from the Arm Slaves to new characters and props in the show. I even like the way the case itself looks, with the clear plastic...

For those of you looking for an action, mystery, or comedy series, Full Metal Panic is what you've been waiting for. Check it out, you won't regret it.