Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid

This is the best Full metal panic part of the story, you can feel how relationship between Souske and Chidori goes deeper and the struggle to live a normal life gets Souske to his limits, wonderful Mecha scenes with a lot of action packed with feelings much of us can only feel trough this kind of stories. The best art of all Full Metal Panic! Series, tremendous antagonists and you got to reach to final 4 episodes were you will see the most memorable drama moments a boy an a girl could be in to, those feelings never seen in another anime.

This won't be much of a review actualy. After watching this anime however you cannot simply walk away without a word. I mean how on Earth it is possible that such a amazing piece didnt receive any continuations of the story. Full Metal Panic first sezon was great really unique, but then Second raid is improving upon it twofolds. It is amazing in story art and characters. You can see how much efforty was put into it and it ends in a way that begs for continuation, with second raid only prepering the stage for future content. There are lots of series spread thin in action, without any substancial story, with plot going on in circles, yet they span for several seasons. And when there is finally some increadible series packed with action, with great evolving story it gets cut short in place where evrything begun to really shine. It might be one of the worst diapointments for me in Anime. Sure we can still hope someone will sometime pick up on this old series but it wont be the same it could have been. Still Full Metal Panic remains an unforgetable experinence. With Second Raid beeing an example how should sequels be made.

Note: For this review, I decided to do something special: The entire commentary on the show is opinionated Episode by Episode(to help you relive the series and hopefully relate to this review better), be sure to tell me if you liked that. Also of course, this means its full of spoilers. It might be difficult to recall some references and moments in the episodes so maybe it's best to read each set of commentary as you go through the episodes yourself(assuming, you're willing to watch it). If you haven't seen the entire series you should just read my overall opinion(at the bottom). I will still try my best to make it a good review for anyone and everyone! Episode One: What I way to return. The Very first episode has just as much or more action as it's predecessor. I love how they didn't try to hard to pull you back into the swing of things like other anime Spinoffs/OVAs, and yet they still managed to stick to their roots. Honestly this one seems to have gotten rid of a lot of the flaws too... damn near perfect so far. Episode Two: Best stuff from FMP I've yet to see - Overwhelmingly entertaining, I wouldn't have been able to dislike no matter how hard I tried. Just amazing really. Hilariousness is definitely back in business and the new Villain guy... Awesome. I have unexceptionably high expectations for the rest of this show now! Even though it was obviously gonna happen sooner or later I'm glad to see Chidori and Sousuke are at it again. Also, this was by far the hottest episode from FMP so far. Episode Three: Spider-Man! - Why doesn't Sousuke man up and ask Captain Tessa on a date already? even a square like him should be able to tell that's what she wants. Already starting the missions again Sousuke? Come on... I want more school shenanigans to happen first. I can't wait to watch Fumoffu? because honestly these interrupting missions are becoming a huge annoyance to me. But I am glad to see the series is staying rounded. So far so good. Episode Four: Things are getting a deeply weird, previously this anime has been fairly realistic(besides the robots and technology). Now with those sister-things and the sicko villain guy it's kinda creepy. I don't mind new elements being added--just please don't let it take over the show....I love it the way it is. Still enjoying it pretty good though. Episode Five: Not a dull scene to be found! I'm really growing fond of this writer. FINALLY we're going to see what Sousuke thinks about what's going on, seriously....took long enough eh? I love episodes where you're satisfied and also you're left having no idea what the one will be about, FMP does this often... and always does it right! Episode Six: Told ya he was spontaneous! Sousuke is such a wonderful person deep down. Anyways... to be honest I'm not exactly bananas over what's going on... they finally start really getting somewhere and now it's over?? NO! This better work out or Imma be pissed. Even though this show is still delivering greatness, are they really going to end the greatest part of the anime? I doubt it but... I'm worked up about it. Regarding every thing else in this episode, wasn't that good....too much politics and too much emotion is pouring out of Tessa--it's not much fun watching her act like a bab why do they keep doing it? Episode Seven: Ah, um... I don't know what to say. I need more to know how I feel... Sousuke you bastard. One of the most sad shows ever, I guess you don't know a good thing til its gone. Poor Chidori.... No matter how good a bodyguard, that scumbag Wraith isn't going to make her feel good though! I'm sorry for making this emotional but what else could I possibly say about this episode? Episode Eight: No Chidori whatsoever, unforgivable! So, they have a new captain ... that's great and all but what about Chidori!? Give us a cliffhanger leave us hanging even in the continue, weird. It's clear Sousuke is now inspired to reach new heights in power, the only thing that is worth looking forward to right now. Episode Nine: I take it back, I forgive FMP... and what a return. Chidori is truly one awesome psycho hottie lol (: even with all that deep voice & trash talk that guy who was watching her still got demolished!! I like this new guy(Tessa's brother)... finally someone comes onto the Blue-Hair Goddess properly. Pretty intense action too. I'm offically hooked again. Episode 10: I love Sousuke. There he goes again... Kind of a typical episode but its clearly made to lead up to a great ending so I'm still excited. Episode 11: What're you doing Sousuke!? Just because you're too scared to try with the real Chidori your gonna let yourself get AIDs from this lookalike floosy? That was close... maybe now he'll go to chidor--what the hell is he picking up..? NO FORGET THAT GO TO CHIDORI. I'm getting frustrated. The last few episodes have just been dragged out worthlessness leading up to no event. What the hell. At least I'm almost done with this series. Then again, maybe that means I'm about to get an awesome ending. Episode 12: Whoa... Surprises and action, nice. There's still so much to be sorted out and a show like this has to go out with a bang, right...? How is all of this going to fit into one final episode. Well I'm about to find out. I look forward to writing about it honestly. Episode 13: I figured maybe Chidori would step in this episode and Sousuke would save the day but wow... that was beautiful. I'm sorry for being so simple about it but I don't know how else to describe it. Chidori admits she wanted to jump into his arms as she was beating him up and motivating him at the same time. The battle is definitely epic, although it hardly made sense it still was awesome just because it was. Sousuke grows a personality somewhat and tells Tessa how he really feels. Sousuke returns to school, things are back to normal and then she starts crying--What stopped him from holding her? It becomes clear now that they both absolutely LOVE each other, teen love is weird but it possesses just as much beauty as any love and Full Metal Panic did it better than anything I've ever seen. Back on the train again... what stopped her from telling him what she wanted to say? It'd be nice to know what she was going to say but honestly; it doesn't really matter. All that matters is that They're back Together, for some reason this only becomes clear as it happens. Solid ending. Overall: Amazing start, amazing finish. Am I really clever enough to make this anime sound as good as it is? I really don't think so. Throughout the episodes there is many little moments to take note on but, the real highlights of this show are so clear I don't need to mention them all I have to say about them are: Wonderful. - This anime does have several problems but they easily get overshadowed by the time you finish the series. This is review though so here are the downsides: Useless episodes, there is at least three to five of them and they seriously offer nothing--some of them happen while important events are going on... Somehow they get ignored and the whole show ends up being about how someone is feeling or something... Some of these episodes are the most entertaining but still, it just doesn't feel right. Another problem is that this is supposed to be a new season with a new name right? well then why the hell is EVERYTHING exactly the same??? They even brought Gauron back(although it was kind of expected). I'm glad things weren't a awkward transition but come on... give us something. No matter how good your story is you should never be afraid to try and improve it. Lastly, Just t the plain simple fact that it's over... the ending leaves us with so much hope for Sousuke and Chidori... but what's the point if it over? A great anime still overall, so great that I can't help but want more. - Please be honest in telling if this was helpful or not. -- Thanks!

Well the story is a little different than the story of the first season. Because this time Souske gos a little emo and starts to think about his life he was even driven so far that he almost got drunk. :D The quality of the art is the same no changes. I think that the sound has gone better than in the first season and in the Fumoffu the sound is more detailed. Well all the old characters and four new ones and a surprise guest as the "Sensei" of tow killers, but actually you may know who he is afther about 4 episode, well i could. :/ But he will only appear at the last tow episodes. The enjoyment is pretty good because it has some funny parts and a ecchi one, well i think so at least. :/ And the fighting parts are pretty good too. Overall i give this anime a 6. P.S. The last fight reminded me the fight of Gohan against Cell, well you ll understand it when you will watch it.

So Season 1 is finished, and now we're already on to The Second Raid! For those who want, you can also read my review of the first season, as this is naturally the continuation of it ^^ Story - new characters, new villains, darker, conflicting emotions, and so on. For me, it surpassed the first season! 8/10 Action - no more school genre, but more action instead! Whether through mecha battles or personal fights between the two main characters! 8/10 Comedy - since The Second Raid is much more serious, you'll rarely come across it here. 4/10 Romance - I don't want to give too much away, so see for yourselves. The only thing I can say is, there is progress ^^ 6/10 Character - one of the strengths of this season! is character development. This is emphasized for both main characters. It's just a pity that the rest gets shortchanged. 8/10 Animation - an improvement over the first season. What else could one expect from Kyoto Animation? 8/10 Anime style - I personally prefer the art style of the first season. But it still looks very good ^^ 8/10 I think most people would agree that Season 2 provides an excellent sequel to the first season. Whether it's the new villains or the character developments of Sousuke and Kaname, much was done right here. Of course, there are also drawbacks that need to be mentioned here. On the one hand, it's because The Second Raid now returns to its roots as a darker anime with truly serious themes. On the other hand, this has led to the loss of balance from the first season. We no longer have the school genre here, no funny scenes, and also a long separation between the two main characters. This creates a completely different mood than in the first season. Conclusion 8.5/10 I've also already seen Invisible Victory and will also give it a review.

Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid is, in my humble opinion, the best entry of the franchise so far (including Invisible Victory). Story [8] Kyoto Animation did a very good job writing the sequels of the first season, namely Fumoffo and The Second Raid, because they split the two souls of the story, the funny high-school/rom-com part, and the serious military/mecha one, in two different seasons. Don’t get me wrong, how the original series blended the two genres together was very interesting, but it will have end up being annoying on a long time. The story itself it’s a classic coming of age story settled during a war against a mysterious group of terrorists, and it’s very well-paced and it achieves to remain very grounded even if it set the stakes really high. Art [8+] Although the art style is really good, I think that Kyoto Animation work on Fumoffo was better and more fit for the subject. That said, the animation far exceeds the one of the first season and it stays very constant during the whole season. Sound [8-] Compared to the first season, we can see a real improvement here. Even though the soundtrack has the same 80s action show vein to it, the tracks are by far more thrilling and original. The OP is far better than the one of the original season, but my by-far favourite opening is the Fumoffo’s one. Character [7] The characters are developed in quite a good way, but I think that their actions are far too predictable. The side characters, especially the antagonists, are very flat and less interesting than the ones of the first season. Enjoyment [8] I Definitely enjoyed it, even though I sometimes felt the lack of the school comedy I loved so much in Fumoffo. Overall [8-] I strongly recommend you to watch this if you liked the first two seasons because it combines the heavy war plot and action scenes of the original series with the improved animation and sound of Fumoffo.

Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid picks up right where the first season left off with VAST improvements across the board... Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid once again follows Souske and Chidori's antics at school while Mithril has a new villain in their midst with the sighting of particular Venom AS similar to Guaron's AS. Right off the bat, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid's plot isn't as much structured into arcs this season as it's more telling one cohesive story in the span of 13 episodes, this undoubtedly GREATLY reduces the "school antics" this season and more or less focus on plot at hand, it's new villains and FINALLY what LA was wanting from the first season to improve on which is our main duo of Chidori and Sousuke gets their development arcs this season in FULL FORCE and done brilliantly might LA add. Let's start with the new villains for starters, we have Gates voiced by John Swasey and Mouchuu Ootsuka along with Yu Lan Xia voiced by Kira Vincent Davis and Miyuki Sawashiro and Yu Fan Xia voiced by Emi Shinohara and Christine Auten and while Gates is probably the most unstable nihilistic villain in this roster of villains, he has VERY similar to traits to Gauron from the first season just jack his nihilism and add a quirky psychotically unstable personality and we have...a BETTER GAURON, so yes LA kinda liked Gates better than Gauron, BUT the Xia sisters were sympathetic villains to say the least even if they were ruthless assassins with ulterior motives using Gates as a results along with their mysterious "Sensei" giving them orders as well as Gates. There is one other villain but considering the loose plot points with him, LA thinks we'll be seeing him in another season. ALL in all the villains departments IS dealt with better in this season even if they aren't entirely fleshed out like Gauron but still LA liked the new roster of villains Sousuke and Chidori faces this season. Now onto our main duo and by all means, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid utterly gave what LA wanted the first season to flesh out and that's Sousuke and Chidori. Though Sousuke got the bulk of the development this season, Chidori obviously played a role as well. See the first season didn't exactly give us much about Sousuke's situation with both handling his job in Mithril as well as his "normal life with Chidori" and this season fully give us the levity of him struggling to handle both and done effectively enough that he's much more than a lapdog to the military and fleshed out his personality as a result. Chidori on the other hand had backstory and lore of the Full Metal Panic world through her being a Whispered and helped Sousuke with his Lambda Driver from the first season, this season Chidori was more of an emotional crutch to Sousuke AND better yet, showing herself that she can kick ass outside of Sousuke and goes into Sousuke's world by her own will for Sousuke this season and even faced her own villains outside of Sousuke's, essentially this development to both Sousuke and Chidori not only gave off a much stronger romantic vibes that were vaguely there in the first season but also fleshed out both characters both in personality and having a stake in the plot something that was really lacking in the first season. Because Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid hardly has any bearing towards school life (but more or less Sousuke's contemplation of it instead), this season really cranked up the seriousness of this season and no not in an edgy way, like shit really went down this season, from revelations of plans dating back to the first season, civil wars and brutal kills and deaths shown in gory fashion, sure the first season had this too but considering the animation it's warranted that along with the levity of the situation Sousuke and Chidori goes through as well as the new villains also warrants this. Because of the major focus being put on the the main duo of Sousuke and Chidori, it means the supporting characters become just that and that includes Tessa in this case and sure because she didn't get much screentime this season, Tessa was and is LA's favourite character in the franchise. Nonetheless in terms of minor characters, new and old get their screentime be it helping out Sousuke or Chidori (though the school side of things are VERY isolated considering the fact) or are obstacles in the way if they are villainous side characters. On speaking of animation well we have a change in studios, from Studio DEEN to Kyoto Ani and it SHOWS, from crisper character designs, decently good background work and again the crazy and bombastic yet ruthless battles with the AS and CQC this season goes through. If anything Kyoto Ani just trimmed the edges of Studio DEEN's work and gave it a more polished and crisper look to it is what LA is saying, nonetheless expected from the Kyoto Ani and from one of their earliest works no less. Now if you didn't notice but LA noted BOTH the Japanese and English voice actors in this season and yes LA looked at both versions (just switched from Japanese to English halfway through) and the English dub by ADV Studios well the dub is SEAMLESS to say the least. Seriously this dub gets most of the inflictions of the characters right down to a T, from Luci Christian as Chidori (but she was less abrasive than Satsuki Yukino oddly enough that made her a bit more tolerable in this dub) to Chris Patton as Sousuke and Hilary Haag was quite honestly a perfect cast as Tessa. LA was SURPRISED that John Swasey was voicing Gates as LA remembers him as Death in Soul Eater, LA will praise the ADR Director Don Rush with how great the dub is because of this. Ok nonetheless this dub by ADV was amazing and seamless and LA quite recommends watching the dub (only if you don't like Chidori in Japanese which LA was impartial about). As for the Japanese well it's expected from the original cast with Houchuu Ootsuka hamming it up with Miyuki Sawashiro and Emi Shinohara as the villains. Yes LA had a problem with Satsuki Yukino as Chidori mainly her violent tsundere tendencies and much prefer Luci Christian's Chidori but still Satsuki was great as Chidori considering she's the base template for the original Chidori and finally Tomokazu Seki was good as Sousuke with his limited turned "given more range" that Sousuke goes through. Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid was undoubtedly a massive improvement to the first season in not only quality but quantity considering it told it's story in half the amount of episodes as the first season (though you can say it's semantics in this case), improving on it's characters (mainly it's main duo), more likable villains though this was LA's bias in liking the new villains compared to Gauron, Kyoto Ani's touch in animation giving the animation a more polished look and though this season sucks up any "school life", it sacrificed that element for not only "seriousness in the plot" but a more focused yet brutal season as a result with a small detriment of giving this season little time to breathe but it was a compromise that turned out for the better in LA's eyes. Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid is by far LA's favorite season of FMP! no doubt about it and no it's not because Kyoto Ani is helming the project, it improved massively outside of it's animation among other things, but LA will see if Fumoffu! can beat out Second Raid or not in due time...

Compaired to the last series of full metal panic which i found was below average to good at best, this is certainly an improvement. The animation in the original was lack luster at best and at times looked extremely ugly. I know that can be a factor of me just liking the look of new anime moor, but I think this still looks worse then some anime during that time or before it. but, the animation in the second season looks spectacular and still holds up to this day the story is a lot better then the firs and it seems a lot less repetitive. I think the reason for this is because the characters deal with more internal conflicts now. The protagonist seems less of a blank slate in this season then he did in the last season. and i feel like some of the side characters are actually decent now. The sound track is still the same as the first one i think the characters are way better this season. the villain has a more bombastic personality and i like watching him, and the other new characters are good as well. I enjoyed this show and would recommend it. i myself am not much of a mech fan so if i can watch it then most people can to. its also a great introduction to mech series.

So I have put off watching this season for probably several years now because I heard that there was a cliffhanger at the end and because it ended several years ago there were basically no chance that there was going to be a forth season. Anyway, 2017 rolls around and a new season is announced. So now I have watched the second raid and I really enjoyed it for the exact reasons I enjoyed the first season. So if you enjoyed the first season I think you will enjoy this one. But the real reason I am writing this review is to inform everyone discouraged like me from watching this season like me that there isn't really a cliffhanger, they just leave the main story unfinished and some lose ends. Hope this is helpful.

As an anime fan, if there's something that makes me really happy, its when the second season of a certain series fixes/upgrades on what the first season did and makes it much more enjoyable to watch. The first season of Full Metal Panic! (will be known as FMP! for now on) suffered from boring fillers and whether it wanted to be a Slice of Life High School Comedy or a Military Action Mecha. There were easy resolutions to these problems. First, the fillers consisted of mainly the comedic portion of FMP!, so instead of creating a full-on Fumoffu?-esque episode, why not just include the comedy while the main action is going on? Second, FMP! really shined as a Military Action Mecha more than the SoL HS Comedy, so keeping it centered on that would be great. With that, the boys over at Kyoto Animation took over Gonzo's work and created the brilliant sequel of FMP!, known as The Second Raid. Our characters are still the same from last time. We have our war freak Sousuke Sagara and the woman he is assigned to protect, Kaname Chidori. Don't worry, the loveable supporting characters are also still there, but don't play as big of a part. Its a damn shame too, because there were some pretty cool supporting characters that didn't really get the love they deserved, like Leonard and the Xia sisters. The story is kind of like the original FMP!'s in a way. You would have Sousuke living the school life that he was assigned to and some form of mission would come up that he would have to attend to. It does work out in the end because, like the original, all the missions in TSR have to do with one large issue in their way, which is Amalgam, another independent organization like Mithril. The only issue with the story is that you aren't given a large background of Amalgam. Its like KyotoAni just wanted us to know that Amalgam is Mithril's biggest problem at the moment since they have technology that is equal, or even superior, to Mithril's. The rest of the story plays out well, but it would've been nice to at least hear more of how Amalgam got together. It shouldn't have been difficult because Gonzo told the story of Gauron and what he meant to Sousuke and why he was a threat to Mithril in less than 13 episodes, which is the length of TSR. Shit, they even showed Gauron at work a couple times and didn't even put in a lot of screen time for that stuff either. Once again, the story does end up being very well done, taking the amazing Action Mecha elements from the original series and making that the main premise of TSR, along with adding some superb dramatic scenes to increase the level of quality. The new antagonists are also very nice to see and I would say are much more of a threat than Gauron was, but I wouldn't say that there were as cool as him. KyotoAni also improved the animations from the original series. In the first FMP!, it seemed that Gonzo was too scared of showing off really gruesome moments. I'm guessing KyotoAni noticed that and made the actions scenes even better, showing things like throats getting slit and just letting TSR become more of a bloodbath in general, something that I also thought was missing in the original. I was never too much of a fan of the first season and Fumoffu?'s OP and ED. TSR has a very nice OP that I didn't end up skipping, until I got near the end of the series. The ED is average though, nothing really amazing. If you watched the original/Fumoffu? dubbed or subbed, then the same voice actors/seiyuus are here. I felt like the dub took a step forward from the original series, so props to the English voice actors for stepping it up. TSR was just an enjoyment overall to watch. There really wasn't one moment that I could say I was bored of a certain scene. Overall, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid really improves over the first series a bunch. Its shorter than the first, but does a great job of telling the story in just a mere 13 episodes. The only things stopping TSR from being perfect is the uninformed background history of Amalgam and the lack of progression in the supporting characters. If you've seen the original and you're wondering whether or not to start this or Fumoffu?, I would suggest watching this one first, but you can't really go wrong with either one in the end.

This was an improvement over season 1. Full Metal Panic's unique sense of humor remains in The Second Raid but has been reworked. The season has fewer episodes, so there is less time for Sousuke's funny behavior and Kaname's reactions. While there is an episode dedicated to this to remind viewers of the show's style, it is less frequent later on and usually happens alongside more serious events. The show now focuses more on the war-drama element, with a more complex plot and a significant increase in violence. However, the show never forgets its comedic side. The first season didn't really impress me, so it's great to see The Second Raid finally strike the perfect balance in terms of storytelling. This season has a better plot and better character development. Instead of having many characters in one scene, each episode focuses on one or two key characters. Kaname has a smaller role but is still important to the series. Sousuke is the main character, and the season shows his transformation from a mercenary to a soldier who learns about his own emotions. Even minor characters like Melissa Mao and Kurz Weber have their own moments. The villains, Amalgam, are more interesting and eccentric than the villains in the first season. Gates is especially eccentric, and the Xia twins are a dangerous force. As the season progresses, Sousuke's past catches up with him, and some familiar faces appear at the end. The animation is better, as well. The Arm Slave battles are especially well done due to the blend of animation and cel-shaded CGI, which makes movement much more fluid. The use of CGI for close-ups of human faces may take some getting used to at first, but it fits well with the show's aesthetic. Although The Second Raid has its strengths, it falls short in some areas. Towards the end, the plot becomes rushed and tries to cram too much information into only a few episodes. Meanwhile, earlier episodes don't advance the plot much. Unfortunately, the final fight is not as exciting as it could be and leaves an important question unanswered. While the show does explain what the Lambda Driver is and how it works, the definition of a Whispered remains a mystery.

So this is the second time for me watching this season, and i am glad i did. It`s animation is far surperior to any show from 2005, and its prior seasons. Rigth now i am having some heavy anime hangovers, but that is probably just me, because i experience some nostalgia watching this serie again. However i am still amazed of how good its story is, and even through i am one of does guys who DO NOT LIKE MECHA ANIME I STILL LOVE THIS SHOW. One of the reason for my love of the Full Metal Panic Franchies, can be that its one of the few anime`s out there, with a very strong female lead, even compared to today. I can`t think of a show with a female lead, as unique as Kaname Chidori from this show. On the other site we have Tessa, Sosukes captain, that have to take extreamly hard desition, and put her own situation aside, to support our main characters, even though it is emotional hard for her. This season is alot more action packed than season 1, and it tells a far better story, and expants the universe just like a good sequel should do. At the same times it keeps its humor high, while still stepping into some emotional territory and it is doing it got damn good. I would say that my enjoyment of this was outstanding, compared to the first season, and one of the reason may be that it was some good and packed 13 episodes i was provided with. I am in such love with the Characters that i have to give it 10/10, i don`t know if its nostalgia that let me think so high of this serie, but it just hits me like a wrecking ball.

As a quick recap, Studio Gonzo did Season 1 and then dropped Full Metal Panic. For the record, Studio Gonzo makes questionable anime with sub-par animation for the most part. Full Metal Panic The Second Raid (FMP TSR) was then picked up by the amazing Kyoto Animation (FMP Fumoffu). Kyoto decided to go with director Yasuhiro Takemoto whom previously that year work on the show Air. It is important to note that at this time, Kyoto Animation was still in the process of establishing themselves as a studio, so it was important to get FMP The Second Raid right. This series is set two months after the first series. It is still focused on our two main characters. Sonusuke Sagara is still the ultra-serious military soldier with zero common sense and given the task to protect Kaname Chidori, the hyper quick emotional cute school girl with special psy-powers of some kind called being “whispered.” The military organization that Sagara works for is Mithril and for this series, the focus is about a secret organization that has obtained a technology to counter Mithril’s mech-cloaking system. TSR is a fun take on the mecha genre as a whole adding loads of comedy to create a fun and serious show simultaneously. This time around, Kyoto went with adding a bit more fan service to go along with it. Compared to the “ok” go around Studio Gonzo had with the first series, the comedy and action elements never seemed to completely mesh from mech battles to the high school comedy. In the case of how Kyoto handles everything is done supremely well. The action is top notch even though it is very much the same: go on mission, complete mission, next objective. It is how Kyoto went with adding more serious elements where TSR shines. The comedy is still slap stick fun, but when serious romance and creating moments for the main characters to start grasping conflicting emotions, the audience also becomes emotionally involved with the characters. Now for the bad. The amount of plot holes is insurmountable and this creates a huge issue with how the show ends. This is a season of 13 episodes. It ends completely rushed. For a single season this would have been fine, but the series does not continue after this aka read the manga. This is a real shame since TSR was so fun, and not a way to complete FMP. Without another season, the ending is nothing other than unsatisfying. This is not something that can be watched as a stand-alone show. Knowing the characters and watching the first FMP is important. Any fan of the mech genre and comedy would love FMP TSR, and want to experience so much more… time to get the manga.

Of course I would recommend watching the prequels to the series, or else watching this anime is completely pointless. This series (FMP, Fumoffu and TRS) is a perfect blend of comedy, suspense, and drama. I would suggest this anime to anyone who has a bit of free time and enjoys a good laugh. The plot of the series is severely lacking though. It introduces Kaname Chidori as being one of the "whispered" but after that it doesn't go into much depth about this being, which I thought could have played a bigger role in the series. But nonetheless the anime was still great. The character development was amazing, and if you've watched all 3 seasons then I'm sure you would agree. The art work for the 3rd season was a definite improvement from the first two, which I thought was a major plus! I very much enjoyed watching this anime, and I wish for a 4th season, but I know that is not going to happen.

Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid I actually dont like sci-f at all really so if i like fmp then its obviously good. lol just kidding its not the greatest what i really like about it is the love, drama, romance that goes on between the wanna be gundam fights. Unfortunately the battle strategic scenes do last way to long the actually battles dont drag on for episodes which i like. The lovely dovey teenage humor is a nice touch. Since there are a few seasons the characters go quite into depth. ( make sure to watch the first season this is the second ) The second season doesnt really relate to the first season. So you will probably be okay if you dont even watch it beforehand.

This was a hell of an emotional ride. To me the three seasons were very much that, seasons. Season one was spring. Season two was summer for obvious reasons. Season three is winter. This season is past the silly introductions, the awkward moments of getting to know the characters, the sweet ignorance that the story had in the first season. Now it gets into the grit of reality, and the world is ugly. Fear, betrayal, loss, loneliness, anger, depression, numbness... All these dark emotions come boiling up to the surface for good reasons. And yet, this season is one of the best I've ever seen, with an ending that far outshines any other that I've ever seen. They make you work for that finale, but oh what a glorious finale it is! I swear to you, make it through the season, because I believe with such the drastic contrast, that last episode has changed from a good golden one, to a shining diamond. It's worth it.

Full metal panic: The Second Raid, was just brilliant. It was like the first series but a hole bunch better. It had all the comedy you needed, the action, the art, the characters, the suspense, the thrill, the excitement, the story, and the romance. Just i mean that paragraph sums it up. Its really a cool anime, because its party a war but its not historical nor is it a slice of history. It takes place in Japan, but where to classify it. I dunno. I would suggest this to everyone but people who obsess over generic series like Naruto and Bleach.

THIS IS A SPOILER-FREE REVIEW Full Metal Panic is a classic mix of mecha, military, comedy and romance. The original series managed to mix all of these genres wonderfully, making for a mildly entertaining show with potential. A few years later, after a big studio change and a wild comedy spin-off, the show returned with a completely new vibe. As a big fan of Kyoto Animation, this was one of their shows that I was the most eager to watch for a long time, as it is constantly praised for being a huge step up from it´s predecessor. But does this fun little show manage to truly exceed expectations? Story – 8/10 After the first season relied on it´s big genre variety, ranging from fun little comedy episodes to full-on military war-arcs, the studio shifted and Kyoto Animation released the comedy spin-off “Full Metal Panic Fumoffu!”, which was a nice change of pace for the series. But “The Second Raid” flips the complete script on it´s head. This is a full on character drama with higher tension, higher stakes, formidable villains and interesting military politics. It really feels like the vibe of the franchise changed completely. The action spans across Japan, Italy and, most prominently, Hong Kong. Kyoto Animation slowed down the pace considerably, which helps the story so much. I absolutely loved the amazing setting of the second arc, the fights as a whole where much better than in season one. Mithril itself, which used to be just a simple depiction of a heroic mercenary group, now contains a huge political divide, different interest groups inside the organisation and a much realer feel to their whole structure. There are still some comedic elements, especially in the first few episodes and the Sicily arc, but the show feels just so much more mature than before. I expected something like that before watching it, but i did not think it would be this extreme. This turned into one of my favourite mecha shows really quickly! The only real downsides were the lack of one clear antagonist (the show juggles a bit to much at once in this department) and there are also some key information to Amalgams Hierarchy that were missing to get the full picture. I also think the pacing during the final episodes slowed down a biiiit to much – more on that later in the character analysis. Art – 9/10 What began with a huge step up in animation during the run of “Fumoffu!”, evolved into an absolute Kyoto Animation masterclass in this season. They just do not miss when it comes to this category. The character designs from the original have been kept intact, but everything else got a huge make up: Interesting backgrounds, amazing lighting (This was 2005!!) and absolutely perfectly animated Mecha. Especially nowadays, with all the CGI in the genre, you really appreciate fully hand-drawn mecha more and more. They just have a certain weight to them that just can´t be replicated with CG. The show can feel a little bit light on action in some episodes, but that just makes the scenes we get that much more potent. Guns, Swords, Bare Hands: Everything is handled with a lot of care. I think it speaks for the studio if they can do this well with a show that does NOT fit their specialized genre at all (“Kyoukai no Kanata” is the only other notable action show in their repertoire). Cinema. Sound – 7/10 The Openings were solid as always (they brought Mikuni Shimokawa back for the theme song performance), but i think they are not quite as iconic as the first one or even the “Fumoffu!” OP. The BGM was the real standout here: Especially during the arc that focused on Kaname, the music is used to create a really eerie atmosphere, almost like a horror anime. It really sold the more serious direction this season decided to take. I love the voice actors (Especially Mao´s!) and I hope they will all return in the next season even though a lot of time has passed between the two. Characters – 9/10 Absolute standout category in this season! Every single main character gets a huge chunk of development. Sosuke Sagara, our protagonist, completely turns from a nonchalant soldier to a true character. There are a lot of big obstacles for him to overcome this season, obstacles, that really put his beliefs in Mithril, the Arbalest and his whole life up to that point to the test. A lot of his story arc was clearly inspired from the classic “Neon Genesis Evangelion” (what Mecha show isn´t?), but the show managed to put a whole different spin on it. He really needs to figure out who he wants to be, what he values, and who he wants to protect. Kaname Chidori, who was just your average 2000s´ tsundere girly in season one, gets a lot of screen time alone this season and it was fantastic. I think this is really the part of the story where her character really starts to stand on it´s own. Her relationship with Sosuke is the central theme of this story, and you can absolutely see Kyoto Animation playing to their strenghts (Which has always been Drama). Great stuff. The same goes for Tessa Testarossa, whose position as Captain of the Tuatha de Danaan gets continuously challenged this season, both from political rivals as well as her own subordinates. We get some interesting lore on Melissa Mao sprinkled throughout the season, and her bromance with Kurz is still entertaining as hell. There was also a really cool new character introduced, that completely changed the whole dynamic of the crew. The villains were much more interesting this season. Aside from Gates, (who was just an absolute lunatic who should not ever be near a mech) i thought our main villains, the Xia Sisters, were fantastic. They really pose a threat to our heroes and carry a lot of the exciting action throughout the show. Everyone else was solid, but like i said, i think the show would have improved if they focused on one single villain. Generally, this was a great category, but not perfect. In the second half of the show, the pacing slows down considerably, and we really focus down on Sosuke. These parts were not bad, but I think it was a little bit tooo edgy, the show did not really need alcohol or prostitues to show how far Sosuke has declined. Other than that, fantastic work. Enjoyment – 8/10 This was amazing. The franchise changed a lot during it´s different iterations but I think this right here may be the right direction for the show in the future. I will of course read (and review!) the manga very soon. If you like your Mecha, i think this is a must-watch show. If not, watch the first season: If you like it, it´s only getting better from there on. - Marco_Yooo FINAL SCORE - 8/10

First and foremost, what blows me away about “Full Metal Panic the Second Raid” is how shockingly different it is from the first season. The first season, and its successor “Full Metal Panic Fumoffu,” had a heavy emphasis on comedy. Lots of zany antics and bear suits. This one is a full on thriller, equipped with trauma, violence, cliffhangers, and life-changing situations - The very world of the main character is shaken up. (Shaken? Shooken? Shaked?) Sosuke Sagara faces his worst nightmares, his own personal demons, and he has to deal with them all by himself. We see the main character in the darkest part of his life - we feel it. A rather beautiful episode that I think about all the damn time is when a lonely and depressed Sagara hires a prostitute just to talk to her - but he doesn’t do much talking. - This season is not afraid to get down, dirty and ugly. The main villain is an absurd, over-the-top, borderline Doofenshmirtz who faps to cats and drowns people! The first episode begins with an international border dispute, with Mithrill acting as world police, preventing terrorism and war - heavy stuff. The action is nail-biting, fast-paced, realistic, and topsy-turvy - you never know who’s gonna come out of it and how - Themes, people! The Second Raid starts the bold, previously unheard of discussion about how much humanity one has room for in inhumane environments. Sosuke Sagara sees death, blood and violence day in and day out, yet still tries to balance school work, relationships, and home life. Can he! Should he give up on one? Which on? Which one i more important to him? To everyone else? Deep stuff, man

We're back with Sousuke, Kaname, and Tessa. This time with a lot more action and much better pacing. Let's jump into it. Characters This series, Sousuke is noticeably more fleshed out. He's still his serious self, but we notice a little more development. He's often torn between when his orders contradict his feelings, a theme continued from the beginning of the original series (which I thought was the strongest). Kaname is slightly more fleshed out as well. There's a nice episode where she's shown to be quite resourceful in the face of danger. Other than those few scenes, though, there isn't much. Tessa's character is still great. She too must balance her feelings and her duty. It shows and foils well with Sousuke's conflicts. Unfortunately, none of the other characters get much development. When a certain character from last season reappears, his motivations are still an enigma to me. Other supporting characters are more cliches than actual people. Belfangan is just the hard but fair, leader. Melissa is still the gunslinger girl. Kalinin gets like two lines. The villian is a crazy guy, etc. 6/10 Story The story is much better paced this time, at the cost of less humorous episodes. I don't mind the lack of humor since there's a whole other season of them lying over there ^. And they're not bad. As for this story-- we get a crazy baddie working for some weapon development, evil corporation. Sound familiar? Honestly, it's the same old thing done over again with better pacing and character development. Again, the series never explains why Sousuke is at points so godly and at points a wimp. There's this whole, season long conflict where Sousuke is having trouble using his mecha, but then it all wraps up for no (real) reason at the end of the series. It still doesn't make any sense-- which hurts the show terribly. 6/10 Art/Sound The art/sound are good. There's actually some very nice lighting throughout the series. The voice acting is also noticeably better. 8/10 Enjoyment The series still feels distilled, lacking. But this one is well paced and flows well, so you'll still want to come back for more. 7/10 Overall 7/10