Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu

Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 22:30 by animesempai

Summary:

The name "Fumoffu" is the sound made by Bonta-kun, a fictional mascot in the series who resembles a giant yellow teddy bear. During the series Sousuke designs and places into production heavily modified Bonta-kun suits for the purpose of aiding in tactical situations. Except for only being able to move at normal walking or running speeds for a human, the suit is essentially a miniature Arm Slave - however, the suit's "voice changer" renders all speech into either "Fu", "Mo", "Ffu", or "Ru", and the F.M.M.F.O. OS will immediately crash if the pilot tries to deactivate it (as referenced in Episode 10). This results in Kaname needing to act as a translator via headset radio if Sousuke needs to make himself understood.

Story: 9.5

Although Fumoffu can be considered a second season to Full Metal Panic!, it's not exactly a continuation. Rather, it's more akin to an alternate universe, or a collection of side stories taking place between story arcs of the first season. Revolving around teenage mercenary Sousuke Sagara's futile attempts to adjust to civilian life at Jindai High School, Fumoffu completely scraps the action and drama found in the first FMP! in favor of fast-paced comedic misadventure. Largely episodic in nature, the series alternates between full thirty minute episodes and fifteen minute half-episodes, all focusing on Sousuke putting his own militaristic spin on such everyday (and not-so-everyday) activities as art class, rugby, a day at the beach, and even kidnappings and local Yakuza rivalries. Of course, always by his side is friend and suggested love interest Kaname Chidori, who manages to prevent Sousuke from going too far in his antics while raising plenty of hell on her own. These two prove to be an ideal comic pair, as the interplay between them provides much of the rapid, well-written humor that drives the series.But while Sousuke and Chidori are undoubtedly Fumoffu's central focus, a wide collection of new and returning characters all come together to aid in the relentless onslaught of hilarity. Returning from Full Metal Panic!, military otaku Shinji, free spirit Mizuki, and Chidori's best friend Kyouko all get increased exposure and a bit more fleshing out as characters, though they still remain very much in the background through much of the series. The new additions to the cast fare better in terms of development for the most part, as a few get full episodes devoted to them. Most notable of these new characters are Issei Tsubaki, a nearsighted martial arts specialist who becomes Sousuke's rival, and the duo of Atsunobu Hayashimizu and Ren Mikihara. As student council president and secretary respectively, Atsunobu and Ren set Sousuke and Chidori off on many of their misadventures, and even tag along on a few. These newcomers are all very likeable characters, and prove to be welcome additions to the cast. Unfortunately, with Fumoffu's turn away from the first season's mech action, the fan favorite Mithril members - Tessa, Kurz, and Melissa - are absent for all but two episodes of the series. A bit of a shortcoming, but the already strong cast manages to more than make up for their absence.

Animation: 9

Like its predecessor, Fumoffu is top quality in terms of animation and design. Not losing a step, Kyoto Animation picks up where Studio Gonzo left off and make the series quite a visual treat. Character designs remain untouched from Full Metal Panic!, staying very attractive and surprisingly detailed for a TV series. The animation is very smooth, and effectively combines two-dimensional cel and three-dimensional computer techniques; it could be argued that Full Metal Panic! was one of Gonzo's crowning achievements animation-wise, and Fumoffu manages to keep up that level of quality. While not perfect, it's hard to find any genuine faults in the series' appearance.

Music: 9.5

Musically, Fumoffu is not quite as stunning as it is visually, but works wonders nonetheless. Toshihiko Sahashi reprises his role as composer from the first FMP!, and brings a nearly identical atmosphere to this season as he did the last. Like Fumoffu itself, Sahashi's score lacks much of the tense action, but still keeps the lighthearted tone and military influence that'd sound just as at home in an episode of The A-Team. The opening and ending themes, both by Mikuni Shimokawa, are very suited to the show, and make for excellent listening experiences on their own, as well. Fumoffu's musical presence isn't the strongest or most groundbreaking, but it does its job and does it well.

Characters: 9.5

MAIN: Sousuke Sagara Sousuke is an approximately 17 year old sergeant within the paramilitary counter-terrorist force, Mithril. He is a member of the SRT (Special Response Team) of the Western Pacific Battle Group "Tuatha de Danaan" aboard the assault submarine of the same name under the command of Captain Teletha Tessa Testarossa. His call sign is Urzu-7 and his ID number is B-3128, and operates as team pointman as an Arm Slave specialist. In addition to being a capable Arm Slave pilot, Sousuke is a specialist in Arm Slave operations and maintenance, improvised explosives, small arms, survival training, anti-armor combat, trap setting and camouflage. Additionally, he is proficient in logistics, demolitions, breach and forced entry, covert intrusion, and hand to hand combat. His background and experience as a guerrilla fighter, and later a mercenary soldier has made him much more sensitive and knowledgeable about tactics and methods more commonly used by guerrillas than government trained regulars. Sousuke is unfortunately not very good at social interaction off the battlefield. He constantly causes many problems for Kaname Chidori due to his military nature. Even in school he carries a gun with him although it is loaded with non-lethal rounds. He is also very bad at blending in with normal members of society due to his nature (i.e. following Kaname with stalker-like aspects and jumping off a train to follow her). That is, he has no readily available "civil" concepts about life, like entertainment or anything recreational and tends to horribly misinterpret the actions of people around him (like considering a guy who dumped his girlfriend a high-level tactician who is to be reckoned with). This is shown throughout the main series in multiple episodes, and the Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu! series focuses mainly on this aspect. This part of his personality is indeed one of the main sources of the series' humour. Kaname Chidori Kaname is the main female protagonist of the story, and appears to be a "normal" 16 year-old high school student at first glance. The character was taken from a friend of the authors, whose name was also Kaname Chidori, living in Japan. The discovery of her Whispered abilities attracts the attention of terrorist organizations. As a result, Sousuke has been assigned by Mithril to protect her. While Sousuke Sagara's battle intuition generally saves her from dangerous situations, she often considers Sosuke's instincts an irritant in daily high school events, leading to countless comical situations. Nonetheless, she and Sousuke continue to grow closer, to the point where they have expressed their feelings for each other. Kaname's Whispered abilities also grant her an inherent knowledge (but not necessarily understanding) of advanced mathematics and science. It is no surprise then, that she consistently achieves top scores in these subjects at school. Her abilities as a Whispered, however, are a bit buggy. She does not know her full abilities, and also sometimes enters a near-trance, where she understands Black Technology completely. After a point in the series, she makes it obvious to herself that she likes Sousuke, but that doesn't stop her from hitting him with her harisen. Kaname is very easy to anger, especially considering Sousuke's antics. A humorous comment made by Kurz Weber about her anger was when he saw her lose her temper and commented, "What happened to my angel?" A majority of the stunts pulled by Sousuke will cause Kaname to go into a rage fit and either hit Sousuke or chew him out. However she has a soft spot for him and when he does a good job she will often cook for him or give him a compliment. Kaname is constantly battling with Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa for Sousuke. Although the two usually end up making either fools of themselves or hurting Sousuke. Kurz Weber Kurz is a member of Mithril and has the rank of Sergeant in the SRT (Special Response Team) of the TDD-1 Tuatha de Danaan Pacific Battle Group. He has the call sign Urzu-6 and his ID number is B-3127. He is an SRT Arm Slave pilot and designated marksman, equally proficient with sniper rifles and Arm Slave long range precision cannons. It is said he can visualize the exact trajectory of a bullet, resulting in an almost inhuman accuracy. He most often forms a three-man cell with squadmate Sousuke Sagara and squad leader Melissa Mao. He is regarded as a finicky genius, burdening the Mithril mechanics with extremely difficult to understand complaints and requests. Kurz is a Caucasian male, roughly six feet tall. He is of German decent, and sports a blond mullet and has blue eyes. He is very good looking, and combined with his outgoing personality easily befriends most people. His reputation with women in romantic terms is largely spoiled by his unflinching and overdone pursuit of "the fairer sex". Melissa Mao Melissa MaoServing as the SRT's second-in-command next to Gail McAllen, she serves in Mithril under the call sign Urzu-2. Her expertise in electronic warfare is valued by the Pacific Battle Group Tuatha de Danaan. Her rank was Sergeant Major, but by the novel Continuing on My Own she has been promoted to Second Lieutenant, making her a commissioned officer. She is 25 years old. Melissa is very proficient in use of an Arm Slave, however she lacks exact control. She tends to use fast and furious methods in her firearm use. Later in the series she usually does not pilot an Arm Slave, but she can still pilot excellently, although her capabilities are nowhere near those of Sousuke Sagara and Kurz Weber. Aside from English, she can also speak fluent Cantonese due to her time spent in Hong Kong, particularly in Kowloon. Teletha "Tessa" Testarossa Teletha "Tessa" Testarossais the charmingly clumsy Captain of the revered TDD-1 Tuatha De Danaan submarine of the anti-terrorist organization Mithril. She is American by birth but has lived on submarines and military bases for the majority of her life. She was born on December 24, 1984[4] and is a child prodigy who rose to such a high rank at the age of only sixteen. She has platinum/silver hair and gray eyes. Later revealed as being a Whispered, her high level of mathematical and scientific adeptness is dwarfed only by her brother's, which seems to have given her a sense of inferiority. Though not very athletically inclined, she has shown to be a very good swimmer (as shown in episode 8 of Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu!). She has an interest in Sousuke that extends beyond a professional one, generating a love triangle she shares with Sousuke Sagara and Kaname Chidori. Even though Chidori and Tessa seem to compete against each other for Sousuke, they are good friends in reality, as during several episodes they talk about Sousuke and his unique military charm. Teletha is also one of the chief designers of the TDD-1 Tuatha de Danaan offensive submarine, and the creator of Dana, the submarine's Artificial Intelligence. Civilian: Kyoko Tokiwa is Chidori's humble best friend who brings around her trusty camera. She is constantly trying to bring Chidori and Sagara together, however impossible it may seem given Sagara's tendency to blow things up at whim. Shinji Kazama is Sosuke's Arm Slave loving classmate. He shares the same amount of passion to AS as Sousuke and could be considered Sousuke's best school friend besides Kaname. His father is Shintaro Kazama and a secretary of Narashino's Assault Machine Troop. Shinji's love for AS began when his dad failed to become an AS pilot. As a result of his father's failure, Shinji strives to discover the result of the failure and to fulfill his father's dream of becoming a pilot. There is no indication as to what happened to his mother, but it's assumed that Shintaro is a widower before the series started. Mizuki Inaba is a classmate of Chidori who initially blames her for having stolen her boyfriend. She becomes one of her closer friends later on in the series. Mizuki is easily infatuated with various men, who usually take an interest in Kaname instead. Eri Kagurazaka is an English teacher at Jindai High and is the class advisor to Sousuke, Kaname, Kyoko, Shinji and Mizuki at Class II-4. She is a kind and understanding teacher, who is willing to put the interest of her students over her own, as shown when she confronted Gauron and some North Korean secret agents over taking Kaname from her seat in the hijacked Boeing 747 in Sunan Air Base. However, she's known to get a mean temper whenever she finds Sousuke to be responsible for disastrous things in the school (which she always is a victim of). MITHRIL: Andrei Sergeivich Kalinin (Russian: ?????? ????????? ???????) is Sagara's commanding officer and one of Tessa's military strategists with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, fulfilling the role of Operations Director. He is also the foster father of Sagara. He and Sousuke were once enemies, as mentioned in a two part episode by Sagara himself. The foster father status may be on the school's official papers only but Kalinin is certainly a very fatherly figure to Sagara. Kalinin was formerly of the Soviet special forces - Spetsnaz - and was the leader of the team that found a crashed Japanese airliner. There was only one survivor: a three year-old child by the name of Sagara Sousuke. His wife is deceased and the whereabouts and status of the rest of his family is unknown. Richard Mardukas is an overly protective aide of Tessa's who insists on guarding her with his life. He holds the rank of Commander and is in charge of Mithril's TDD-1 when the Captain, Testarossa, is not on board; appropriate, given that Mardukas' position is that of Executive Officer. Mardukas is often seen wearing a hat bearing the name of the HMS Turbulent (S87), a real British submarine. NEW ADDED CHARACTERS: Atsunobu Hayashimizu. The president of the Jindai High's Student Council. He is in his third year. He often considers Sousuke's behavior a reasonable response to the kind of situations he finds himself in, much to the frustration of Kaname; this is why he assigns Sousuke the job of Security in the Student Council. His behavior is calm, and he is never seen angry. Sousuke and Hayashimizu share a mutual respect. On many occasions that involve the school, Sousuke tends to treat Atsunobu just as he would a senior officer in the military. Hayashimizu is also known for holding a white fan, on which various Japanese characters are written, with different words each time. Ren Mikihara.The Secretary of Jindai High's Student Council, friend of Kaname and daughter of a Yakuza boss, Ren is a yamato nadesico, an example of the Japanese ideal of femininity. She is beautiful, dependable and caring. She seems to have feelings for Atsunobu Hayashimizu, the Student Council's president. However, much about her is still unknown. Because the women in the time of Tokugawa were given names with two syllables only, usually adding the prefix "O-" to refer to someone who is considered honorific. That is why even if her full name is Ren Mikihara, Kaname prefers to address her as "Oren-san." In The Second Raid she is briefly seen from behind in Episode 3 and is mentioned in Episode 7 entitled 'Left Behind'. Issei Tsubaki. The leader of Jindai High School's karate club, he is extremely skilled at karate. However, he is extremely nearsighted and can see clearly only when wearing his glasses, which leads to several comic incidents. His sense of pride cannot accept the fact that he was defeated by Sousuke, and is constantly challenging him to rematches - which Sousuke usually avoids - intentionally or not. He has a huge crush on Kaname, but in the short story Irrelevant Emotion accidentally indicates Sousuke when he is confessing his love for Kaname. Thus, it is thought throughout the short story that Sousuke and Tsubaki are homosexual. In the Fumoffu! anime, Mizuki falls in love with him in the last episode, but in Irrelevant Emotion she falls for him after he narrowly saves her from falling out a window. His character is similar to Ranma 1/2's Ryoga for his determination to defeat his rival, and Mousse (Ranma ½) for being a nearsighted rival.

Overall: 9.375

Being a character-driven comedy, Fumoffu needs a standout voice acting cast to truly deliver. And fortunately, it's certainly not without that. All of the returning characters are reprised by their original seiyuu, who put in another all-around outstanding set of performances. Satsuki Yukino practically steals the show as Chidori; her voice fits the character so perfectly it's almost frightening. Tomokazu Seki's Sousuke provides the ideal counter to her more lively portrayal, as his deadly serious delivery is just too good to be ignored. The new characters are also competently managed, with the most notable role being Rie Tanaka's portrayal of the soft-spoken Ren Mikihara. With such a well-rounded voice acting cast, Fumoffu's already strong collection of characters shines all the brighter. All in all, Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu is a genuinely solid effort and a thoroughly hilarious comedy spinoff. Fans of the first season and newcomers to Full Metal Panic! alike will be certain to find something enjoyable in this series when it's released by ADV in the near future. With its excellent visuals, effective musical score, lively characters, and superb voice acting, Fumoffu is the sort of series that's genuinely difficult to hate. Definitely check it out.