Review of Full Metal Panic!

I'll be honest; I once believed this to be the greatest anime ever, before I actually seriously began watching anime. After re-watching it again sometime last year, I realised that perhaps I was wrong, it's in no way the best anime ever, however, I still consider it to be one of the funniest anime I've seen. I'll base this review on the re-watch of the anime. I'll start with the story. It starts off strongly, and continues with its strong introduction throughout the first ten or so episodes. Then it gets to the filler episodes, and they are truly terrible. Well, when I say 'they' I'mactually referring to one in particular, which features a carnival and tries too hard to blend the robots with comedy. Only one of the filler episodes is really worth watching, as it expands the relationship of two of the supporting characters, but besides that the rest are watchable only once. The wave of filler only lasts for about three episodes, then it gets back into the quality of the first ten episodes right until the end. The second (and only other) problem I have with the story is that there are some rather stupidly illogical decisions made in the last episode or two that could have allowed the entire last battle to be avoided. Besides those flaws, the story really works well, fulfilling all of the elements of action/comedy nicely.

The art, considering when the series was made (2003) is great to behold, with the animation during fights remaining fluid, while characters are detailed and backgrounds are consistently well-designed and nice to look at without detracting from the scene at hand.

The music is fitting and fulfills the required role to match each scene, however none of it really stood out to me as anything outstanding. None of it's unlistenable or annoying though.

The characters, for the most part, are likable and well developed throughout the series. The main character, Souske Sagara, hardly develops over the course of the series, which isn't such a bad thing considering his circumstances, going from the battlefield to a high school in which he has no experience whatsoever. His personality contrasts with that of the female lead, Kaname Chidori, the popular high school student who is easily agitated at seemingly every action Souske exhibits. Despite this contrast, the two characters have an undeniable chemistry that develops over the course of the series, which makes their banter rather amusing. The supporting characters all fill their roles, providing ample comedy relief when needed, and filling the archetypal action role when the series hits its more serious stages.

So yeah, overall the series mixes the action of mechs with highschool comedy incredibly well, allowing enough of a blend without one ever being overbearing. Full Metal Panic is thoroughly enjoyable, and is well worth the time invested.

Sorry if this was a bit sketchy, it's my first review on here. I'm sure I'll warm to it shortly!