Review of Full Metal Panic!

Full Metal Panic was at first not on my list of things to watch when I saw its Newtype Magazine spread a while back. For the longest time I had not been very keen to watch another damn mecha anime. It seemed from 2004-2008 that is all we had to watch was mecha or hair-brained shoujo. However, wanting to give it the benefit of the doubt I had rented my first copy of it and popped it in on a snow day from school. Surprise, surprise I found out that I actually like FMP even if it was mecha. The strategic blend of comedy, drama, andaction worked so well I was impressed. To me the situations and characters did not feel forced or out of place; everyone worked smoothly. Characters make up a good portion of the anime we watch and it is always good to know we have a solid cast to view. Full Metal Panic takes our rather common sense lacking main character Sosuke and places him in the funniest situations. His lack of knowledge on civilian life is what makes up about 87% of the show's comedy.

Even with that being said when it comes down to action and drama the show delivers, and boy does it. Right in the beginning of the series we are introduced to one of (my personal favorite) villains, Gauron. He is a no hold back, slimy, double crossing creep but he is such a good villain for Sosuke to play off of. While both thrust into similar situations their thinking could not be more opposite. It is that opposition that truly made them one of my personal favorite hero vs villain duo.

Animation for this series is very lively and well done as is again done by Gonzo Digimation. The opening theme Tomorrow by Mikuni Shimokawa is uplifting and nostalgic, and the ending theme is peaceful and melodious.

All in all a great series if you want good characters, a solid war story without the boring bits, and lots of good action.