Sometimes I make a mistake when I form an early impression of an animé series. Usually, it’s that I’m too generous about the plot, assuming that there is a method to the writer’s madness, when actually, there’s a madness to their method. In such cases, I’m disappointed by the failure of the writer to clean up (or even acknowledge) the loose ends. Right now, Simoun is trending that way; with only two episodes left, they’re still piling on mysteries and weirdness, with only one answer to the prior questions.
In the case of Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, I may have made the opposite mistake. Several months ago, I saw the first episode’s fansub, but I didn’t like it. It wasn’t that the series looked bad; it was that they seemed to abandon the trademark balance of comedy and drama that makes this series what it is. I had passed on Fumoffu, partly because it was all comedy, and it looked like TSR was going to be all drama. The sole nod to humor in the first episode didn’t work for me; Kanamé’s bitchiness was overplayed.
For people unfamliar with the series, or needing a quick refresher, according to Anime News Network, “Full Metal Panic! is based on a series of novels by Gatoh Shoji. The first season of the Full Metal Panic! anime covers the first 3 novels, while the second season, Fumoffu, covers various of the short stories. The third season (aka The Second Raid) adapts the two Owaru Day by Day novels.” There is also a 30-minute OAV that takes place after the end of TSR, though I don’t know if it will be bundled with the series for North American release. The first series was done by Gonzo, but the rest have been done by Kyoto Animation.
FMP takes place on a slightly altered version of our own world: the Soviet Union still exists, and mainland China has broken into two parts in a civil war. Mercenary military organizations exist, and are hired by various parties. Of these, Mithril is both the most capable and secretive. Their reach is worldwide, their technology is ten years ahead of everyone else’s, and they often undertake missions on their own initiative. Who pays for all this is never stated–in fact, one of the major flaws of the series is that so much of the background hasn’t been adequately explored. For what it’s worth, this is the fault of the original author, not the animators. Another unexplained phenomenon is “The Whispered,” people who can sometimes hear a voice describing technology in advance of our own, and how to build it or make it work. Mithril’s advantage comes from the fact that it’s been very successful in finding and recruiting such people at a young age, including the 17-year old Theresa Testerossa, who built and is captain of the Tuatha de Dannan, a super-submarine operating from Mithril’s Pacific island base. It is heavily armed, highly automated, and capable of launching six Arm Slaves (mechas) either on the surface or underwater. Despite her youth, it’s obvious that Mithri trusts her to run it, although they’ve evidently given her a very experienced and capable staff to make sure everything goes well.
FMP isn’t her story, although she’s a major character and possible romantic interest; it’s the story of one of the AS pilots, Souske Sagara, and Kanamé Chidori, a young Whispered attending a high-school in Japan. For yet another unexplained reason, Sagara ended up being abandoned as a child in a west asian conflict, and grew up as a mercenary. From age 8, he’s never known a civilian life. Recruited into Mithril, he is the youngest AS pilot in their forces, and highly capable. Kanamé Chidori on the other hand, is a perfectly normal if, ah, highly assertive Japanese high-school student…well, normal except for being a Whispered. In addition to somehow knowing details of how AS’s work, she occasionally gets premonitions, and can even manifest telepathy under pressure. The first FMP series tells the story of how Sagara, because of his age and ethnicity, is assigned to Chidori’s school to guard her when Mithril somehow (not explained!) learns that she may be a Whispered and targeted by forces unknown. Steven notes it’s a fish-out-of-water story, and Kanamé is much better at adapting to Sagara’s world than he is to hers; Souske’s antics are the source of most of the slapstick humor. On that score, prepare to suspend disbelief, big-time. One-tenth of his stunts would be enough to get him banned from school for life, if not thrown in jail. For instance, when he discovers someone in the next room is spying on Chidori, his solution is to blow a hole in the wall and take him down at gunpoint. Chidiori’s solution to Sagara’s excesses probably left bruises; she has no fear or hesitation to tear into him when he screws up. They’re a regular Punch-n-Judy act, only when they’re together, he’s Judy.