Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu Volume 1: Full Metal Pandemonium! - animated Bliss.com
- animated Bliss.com
- Tigerous
- 06/07/05
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Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu: Full Metal Pandemonium
Kaname and Sousuke are back in action!
And this time, the battleground is the school ground! High-yield explosives and hilarity come together with a bang as the somber soldier and his unwitting target brave everything from lovesick ?terrorists? to an unforgiving teacher who is bent on revenge.
But as good as he is with guns, Sousuke is one clueless commando when it comes to girls --specially Kaname! Don?t miss the hilarious antics of everyone?s favorite military maniac --and Jin High?s most fiery femal --as the full-throttle action begins!
DVD Features:
? Bonta-Kun Board Game
? The Mysteries of Fumoffu
? Clean Opening Animation
? Clean Closing Animation
? Original Japanese TV Spots
? Character Artwork
? ADV Previews
? DVD Credits
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INTRODUCTION
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Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu is the sequel to the popular series Full Metal Panic! While the original series blended action, drama, and comedy to create a compelling show, this new installment focuses almost exclusively on slap-stick comedy. The series is directed by Kouichi Chigara, who is also known for his work on Gate Keepers and Phantom Quest Corps. The series was scheduled to have 12 episodes, but the second episode was never aired since the kidnapping in the show mirrored real life events occurring in Japan at the time. However, ADV Films will be including that episode in the series DVD release.
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STORY - Rating: 9 (out of 10)
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The Man from the South/A Hostage with No Compromise
In this episode, Sousuke receives a love letter from a girl at their school. Since she had placed the letter in his shoe locker, Sousuke proceeds to blow up the locker and everything in it because it was the ?most reliable means of disposing? of the possibly hazardous materials in his locker. Obviously, this causes a great deal of confusion, especially after Sousuke mistakenly determines that the letter was actually a threat.
Hostility Passing-By/A Fruitless Lunchtime
The second episode of the series finds Sousuke causing even more problems when he causes panic and injuries by threatening the food stand workers with a gun. The workers refuse to return to work for a certain period of time, leaving the students to handle the food sales themselves. Unfortunately, for everyone involved, Sousuke decides to booby trap the food in order to prevent them from being stolen.
Summer Illusion of Steel
The final episode of this volume finds Kaname, Sousuke, and their friends visiting a beach. Kaname is approached by one of the body guards of a young boy who has a crush on her. When she goes off to spend time with the boy, Sousuke mistakenly assumes that Kaname has been kidnapped by hostile forces and he rushes off to her rescue. Kaname, on the other hand, tells the boy that Sousuke is really a pervert that follows her around. Obviously, this causes a great deal of trouble, when he sends his body guards to make sure Kaname is protected.
The first volume of the series doesn?t really seem to have any underlying storyline. Each episode is really pretty much self-contained. The only thing that really seems to remain constant is the relationships between the different characters as well as the quirky behavior of the main characters. The series follows Sousuke Sagara and Kaname Chidori in their day-to-day lives as high school students. Unfortunately for Kaname, because Sousuke is part of a secret military organization and is there to protect her, his behavior often leads to explosions, property damage, and numerous other problems for her and the rest of the school. The series stays true to its predecessor, but unlike original Full Metal Panic!, Fumoffu focuses almost exclusively on slapstick comedy and over the top action sequences. While there are a few dramatic moments scattered throughout, it?s much less common than in the original Full Metal Panic! series. Even so, fans of the first series should find plenty of things to enjoy in this newest installment.
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ANIMATION - Rating: 10 (out of 10)
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The animation is exceptional. Everything is bright and colorful and the movements are fluid. It shows absolutely no noticeable problems of any kind. The character designs are well done. Every character is distinct and easily distinguished from one another. The backgrounds are exceptionally detailed and beautifully drawn. There really weren?t any reasons to find fault with the series as far as animation is concerned.
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AUDIO - Rating: 8 (out of 10)
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Again, I was extremely impressed by the audio on this volume. The sound effects are realistic and help to add to every scene. The music is pleasant, but successfully stays in the background and enhances the show rather than becoming a focal point. The English language track was somewhat more robust than that of the Japanese one. This was due to it?s presentation in 5.1 surround sound. Both language tracks offered excellent voice actors as well. However, the English dubbing did differ somewhat from the subtitled version. Luckily, the differences weren?t significant. Occasionally, it altered the tone of the scene, but this was very uncommon. Due to these differences in presentation, there wasn?t a significant benefit from either of the audio tracks. Both were very good, while there was still some room for improvement.
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EXTRAS - Rating: 9 (out of 10)
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Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu doesn?t have large number of extras. Most of them are fairly standard ones like clean opening and closing animations and trailers. However, there were a few more notable extras. There was a section on the DVD called ?mysteries of Fumoffu?. This section helped explain how the creators came up with the title for the show as well as several other interesting bits of information. There was also a section with character art for many of the characters in the series. These images were nice to look at and played as a slide show with music. Additionally, there was a coupon code for the ADV Films website that allows you to purchase the entire Full Metal Panic! series as a box set at a 50% discount. If you haven?t already purchased the series and are interested in it, this discount is well worth the cost of the DVD alone, since it allows you to save over $40. The last extra that was really worth mentioning is the inclusion of a Bonta-Kun board game. Bonta-Kun is a character in the Fumoffu series. The board game doesn?t include any pieces or a die, but it gives instructions for how to play it. I haven?t had the opportunity to play the game, but it does look like it could prove to be fun. In any case, while this volume isn?t over flowing with extras, ADV Films did an exceptional job including a variety of high quality and valuable extras for fans of the series.
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OVERALL - Rating: 9 (out of 10)
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The first volume of Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu is an excellent release. The story, audio, and animation are all exceptional. The story should appeal to fans of the first series as well as those unfamiliar with it?s predecessor. While the number of extras isn?t large, the value of those that have been included more than make up for it. If you are at all interested in this series or the original Full Metal Panic!, this is definitely worth buying.
Posted on Tuesday, June 07, 2005 (Archive on Thursday, July 07, 2005)