Full Metal Panic? FUMOFFU 1: Full Metal Pandemonium

Full Metal Panic Fumoffu is the sequel series to the original Full Metal Panic anime series in which Sousuke Sagara and some of his buddies from the anti-terrorist agency called Mithril were assigned to observe and protect Kaname Chidori. Kaname is one of the "Whispered", a person who unknowlingly carries classified military secrets in their memories. The original series never gave very much more info about it than that. Sousuke is sent into Kaname's high school posing as a fellow student.

Whereas the first series tried to strike a balance between Sousuke's combat missions and the humorous slapstick of high school life, sometimes with mixed results, Fumoffu focuses solely on the comedy bits at school. Sousuke doesn't have a clue as to how to live a normal teenager's life. He's been trained to kill since an early age. So, for example, when a secret admirer puts a love note in his shoe locker, Sousuke, noticing his locker has been tampered with, proceeds to place plastic explosive on his locker and detonate it. Another example of his approach to life is when him and the rest of the characters are playing a watermelon smashing game at the beach, he takes out a police riot shotgun and blows it away. And he also has no clue that Haname likes him. To him, romance is irrational and unknown. It's up to Haname to show him how to function in the real world beyond fighting mecha and covert ops.

Haname has her own problems though, whether its an obssessed voyeur, or Sousuke scaring the rest of the students with his handgun brandishing, but its nothing a punch, a hit with a fan, or a baseball bat beating can't solve. Another nice touch is that the class president sees all of Sousuke's antics as acceptable and perfectly normal, much to the consternation of Haname.

This is a really funny show. I always liked the characters but was a little put off by the melodrama that sometimes plagued the original series. All the peformances by the Japanese voice actors are heart-felt and very expressive, and have some really nice touches in the comedic moments. It is also animated extremely well, especially the frenzied homework episode where Haname and Sousuke are racing against the clock to retrieve some class notes. The preview of Volume 2 on this dvd shows that Fumoffu will get ever funnier. Highly recommended.

The dvd contains the standard character artwork, some background information about the series, openings and closings, and some Japanese TV spots.

I would recommend viewing the original series first, which has been recently collected in a boxed set. Also check out the manga. If you liked Fumoffu, you should also think about Azumanga Daioh in anime and manga versions for more high school comedy. Another funny show is Dokkoida.

First, if you read the manga, you would realize that this series is more of a supplemental than a sequal. Several mini-stories were delayed to make the first season more mecha-based. Second, Chidori is still a Whispered. Third, the title is based off the words of Sosuke (silent Japanese U) in a Bonta-Kun outfit. Fourth, more Panic can only be a good thing!

Someone related this to Ranma 1/2, but if you want more of than, see Kenshin. This series has some of the same woman-beats-on-man, but with a different twist. Chidori is trying desperately to teach Sosuke to deal with Real Life (as opposed to mercenary life--which is why he still attends high school, to protect his Whispered assignment). Sosuke takes her abuse, although in any other situation, he'd defend himself better, and that is just one symptom of his attraction to her. There are a lot of subtle references, and some not so, with these two, which makes the series all the more desirable to watch.

Romance! Guns! Comedy! Things blowing up! How could it get better? Oh, yeah, if Sosuke ever gained the courage to kiss Chidori...

Full Metal Panic? - Fumoffu is taken right from the pages of the original manga that made this franchise a hit! Unlike the original Full Metal Panic!, Fumoffu is a light romantic comedy with no mecha in sight (unless you count the Bonta-Kun outfit). Even so, this series is packed with enough of the serious sergeant's antics that will leave you rolling on the floor with laughter.

The downside, as with all ADV releases, is that you don't get many episodes for your buck (there are only 3 on the first DVD). The only special features are the design sketches and some background information on the scenes and episodes that weren't included in the original television airing in Japan but are included in the DVD.

Even so, this is a great series that you can watch shamelessly with people who aren't into anime at all.

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