Review of Full Metal Panic!

There is no main story arc. The main villain almost always facing off against sagara but for reasons unknown. We never know what are the villians intentions to the very end of the show. His intentions are inconsistent such as with his infiltration of the submarine. He first said he will kidnap Chidori because she is made out to be a person with special abilities but in when he gains control of the ship he just tries to kill himself? Characters are also inconsistent. The greatest example could be made with the supporting character Weber. He is made out to be the comic relief ofthe cast but goes out of character during the final last few episodes. His personality is depicted as being a perv but instantly changes to being a white knight for Chidori when Sagara makes her cry.

There is no characterization or growth of the main character. Sagara who is a socially inept military nut stays that way through out the entire show. There is no growth to try and connect with others. The only instance we can see any actual growth is when he invites Chidori to the island but is only given the last three minutes of the last episodes to show that Sagara is trying to connect with her. Due to this moment only being given a few minutes we cant tell if is intentions are genuine or if he is just doing it to get Chidori to trust him again which would make his job of protecting her much easier.

Character conflict and how it is handled is laughable. There are two main conflicts that the main characters face. In the first instance, Chidori says that she hates Sagara but is resolved by her visiting him and saying sorry which concludes the conflict instantly. The second conflict is when Sagara tells Chidori that she doesnt know him at all. This is also concluded with a sorry from Sagara.

Thinking of what genre to put for this series is difficult. You want to put it as action but the movements are very stiff and it feels like a fight between two cardboard boxes. Putting this as a romance is inacurate as we cant even tell what the chemistry is like between Sagara and Chidori since Sagara also had a heated moment with Testarossa or if he is even ok with having a relationship with someone since in the first few episodes he says that having a relationship would cloud judgement. The comedy aspec is there but is only provided by Chidori and Weber. Chidori provides it by giving Sagara a hard time about is social ineptitiy which confuses the audience about when she is actaully angry with Sagara if she is like that 24/7.

In the end there is no lesson that the main character learns. He doesnt become anymore socially capable, he doesnt start anything with Chidori, he doesnt become a different person from the affects of the story, he just remains a static character. This would be fine if the actual plot was good but it just feels like playing a side quest. There really is no main goal or challenge for Sagara to overcome plot-wise.