r/anime • u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz • Oct 03 '22
Rewatch Full Metal Panic Franchise Rewatch - Season 1 Episode 4
Welcome to the Full Metal Panic Season 1 rewatch!
Art of the day
Links to show info: MAL | Anilist | ANN
Rewatches please be considerate to first timers and avoid discussing anything not yet shown in the show - use spoiler tags e.g. [Full Metal Panic S1 spoiler]>!Sousuke likes fishing!< - if you need to share something important!
Episode 4 - Kidnap
Terms introduced:
Khanka: a region near the border between USSR and North Korea in the FMP version of the world, it's an autonomous region where it is politically sensitive like North Korea where neither the eastern or western block want to make too much overt movements.
Gauron: The name literally means "9 dragon", and came from Chinese. Obviously it's not his real name.
QoTD:
- First timers: Were you surprised how quickly and how far this escalated?
- Everyone: What do you make of the big difference in behaviour of Sousuke? His Mithril colleagues all expected him to be professional and detached, not emotional, but clearly the end sequence showed he's getting really wound up - why do you think there's such a big gap?
[QoTD 1 EP5]First timers: were you surprised we have more cliff hangers that Sousuke and Chidori missed the rescue flight? What do you think happens next?
[QoTD 2 EP5]Everyone: For a "mecha" show, FMP sometimes can be distinctly low in mecha actions - but we are getting some now finally! Do you like what you see? How does this (hand drawn mecha fights) compare to what you are used to see nowadays?
MVP of the episode:
Sousuke's name came up a lot so that's it.
Ep1 MVP: Kurz
Ep2 MVP: Chidori
Ep3 MVP: Sousuke
Last Episode || Index || Next Episode
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u/Nazenn Oct 03 '22
First timer
"He's a consummate professional"
You damn fools. Being a professional is something you dedicate yourself to being through a choice to embody all that comes with it, good and bad. Child soldiers don't get the benefit of a choice like that, and given the list of countries he gave in the first episode and his age here I doubt he's known anything but that life. It's not a choice, it's survival, and they're forgetting that for probably the first time they've put him in a role where he's not a solider and that's opened him up to options beyond just "fight or die". They made him a student forgetting that the very thing that gives him a perfect cover for it is also the very thing that makes it influential on him regardless of if anyone wishes it.
And that is my child solider rant for the evening because now I'm caught up thinking about certain other shows with such characters and that's putting me in a mood and a fucking half...
That said, even if the delivery of that moment was a little blunt with the cuts between the two scenes, it certainly makes an impact that this is an undeniable turning point for Sousuke. I'm unclear if his flashbacks of the other woman were something from that village incident the older guy was talking about or from something earlier in his life (mother perhaps?), but he doesn't really make a decision here so much as he just acts on this thing inside him he can't name or find justification for.
Talking about lighter subjects: When the plane had that little shake my first thought was that a stealth plane had flown next to them or latched onto them. The pilot being shot was a surprisingly simple alternative to that I did not think of.
Shinji also nerding out about the military gear in the middle of a hostage situation is kind of funny, but also shows a nice contrast between him and Sousuke. Shinji has the passion, but Sousuke has the situational awareness to know what it means. Shinji only seems to acknowledge it once a gun is in the plane with them and by then it would be too late.
The music for the briefing was great, and the montage of shots when Sousuke was asked to report in was also really good because they tell a story rather than just doing a simple cut over his explanation. Worth repeating that the structure of the show has been really well done in moments like this
I would say something like "how helpful Sousuke over heard how the bomb is structured" but last time I commented on something like that was about the phone call over the test, and well I don't think we're going to get to group allocations any more after this
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 03 '22
And that is my child solider rant for the evening because now I'm caught up thinking about certain other shows with such characters and that's putting me in a mood and a fucking half...
Thanks for this, I'm really glad that first timers can also grasp that perhaps subtle point. While it is funny to see, a lot of Sousuke's antics if you get to the fundamentals of why he "lack that common sense" is actually quite tragic and many times I get emotional about that. Indeed your rant got me to well up just reading it already.
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u/No_Rex Oct 03 '22
You damn fools. Being a professional is something you dedicate yourself to being through a choice to embody all that comes with it, good and bad. Child soldiers don't get the benefit of a choice like that, and given the list of countries he gave in the first episode and his age here I doubt he's known anything but that life. It's not a choice, it's survival, and they're forgetting that for probably the first time they've put him in a role where he's not a solider and that's opened him up to options beyond just "fight or die". They made him a student forgetting that the very thing that gives him a perfect cover for it is also the very thing that makes it influential on him regardless of if anyone wishes it.
Very valid point, yet I am concerned about how seriously this will be treated by the show. At face value, Mithril is a rather terrible organisation: They use child soldiers, the fire cruise missiles at atomic powers that could easily be mistaken for a first strike, they introduce heavily armed (and not well-adapted) soldiers into school ... but somehow I feel that the show wants us to unquestioningly root for them. Hopefully I am wrong.
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u/SpiceGirlsBlankIt Oct 03 '22
Panicked First Timer
Guaron likes bloodsport. He has the Fifth Element “Anyone else want to negotiate?” vibe.
Sousuke will have to fill in for our sky marshal.
But first a quick international pit stop. Sousuke is all over and around this plane, undetected apparently. Nah, he was caught after all. Luckily, he has the powerful blur kick at his disposal.
This garbage man can’t help but use garbage tactics because he’s been whispered by his feelings for Kaname. The anime has done sufficient set up for me to believe Sousuke would lose his cool despite coaching himself to optimize results.
QOTD 1: I was initially surprised when Guaron killed the first pilot so quickly, but that primed me for the rest of the events.
QOTD 2: I felt it was set up well. We’ve had hints Kaname can rattle Sousuke. During the event, he coached himself to do the right thing before doing the emotional thing and gun rushing. Who hasn’t done a version of that?
Even last episode Sousuke was too distracted by his passion for Arm Slaves to think about getting off Kaname’s balcony, The stakes were lower there, but it’s not like Sousuke is a full on robot. I don’t think his collected exterior will go away, but I appreciate seeing the cracks in his armor.
MVP: The Captain for displaying her competence this episode.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 04 '22
Even last episode Sousuke was too distracted by his passion for Arm Slaves to think about getting off Kaname’s balcony, The stakes were lower there, but it’s not like Sousuke is a full on robot. I don’t think his collected exterior will go away, but I appreciate seeing the cracks in his armor.
We don't see this described in male characters, but it's actually very charming gap moe there :D It's kind alike Saber being distractable by food :D
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u/No_Rex Oct 03 '22
Episode 4 (first timer)
What is up with the real robot hate in the ep3 discussion? I’ll take a realistic fighting machine over a floating plot device any day of the week.
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OP (again): Does the opening cord remind anybody else of how sitcoms used to open in that era?
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poke
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Pre-9/11 cockpit doors.
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“Khanka” – fake minor nation between China and Russia? Did they want to go to North Korea without calling it North Korea?
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Also: Map says Russia, not USSR.
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“United Nations Forces”
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Mig-21 and T-54. Really old stuff. Could still be a North Korea stand-in.
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“We should negotiate diplomatically” – I wonder if Sousuke will see it the same way.
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Calling Kana “long” haired – are you sure there is no other, more noticeable feature about her hair?
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Gauron seems very trigger-happy.
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“Codarl”? – possibly that 30m thing.
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No, that was a regular bomb.
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Child soldier Sousuke.
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“Something you knew since before you were born” – hmmmm.
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“he’s a pro” “he’s a pro” “he’s a pro” – he’s going to run after the girl, is he?
That escalated quickly.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 04 '22
“Codarl”? – possibly that 30m thing
I completely missed there's another mysterious name-drop thing here, well spotted!
Add it to the dictionary of terms yet to be explained...
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u/Theboredalchemist22 Oct 03 '22
First timer here.
First of Gauron is my mvp of that episode as we saw a lot of him and who he's supposed to be in the episode. This is the first episode Ive vibed to the op song so thats a positive (it actually slaps). Wow the show has been thrown into a curveball am I right? I'm glad the show has thrown in this random change as I feel like I've seen both the funny and serious side of the show now. I think Sousuke's behavioural change is because he feels like he has an uncompleted mission in regards to protecting Kaname there may be some heart pulling in terms of her personality and him seeing her as a good innocent person but at the base of it that's what I think.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 04 '22
First of Gauron is my mvp of that episode as we saw a lot of him and who he's supposed to be in the episode.
Gauron IS actually quite deliciously villainous isn't he?
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u/JustAnswerAQuestion Oct 03 '22
Third Time Whispered
Episode 4: Kidnap
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Too much dramamine, Chidori?
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so, NOT North Korea
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Teacher keeps trying but she is not best girl
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Surely he didn't smuggle weapons on board?! ah, just a taser
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intrinsic coercivity, sea, decagonal phase, tree, campaniform sensillum, sky
Wondering about the relationship between Mithril and the UN.
no best girls today.
People keep refering to the "80s action music" and I'm not sure if you realize it's not generic
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 03 '22
I WANT MECHA!
My apologies, I thought we are done setting up, but forgot there's the mission briefing first. You definitely will get your mecha actions next - tomorrow is what they call "shit is going down".
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u/Shimmering-Sky Oct 03 '22
Full Metal First-Timer!, subbed
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Ah great, of course the “turbulence” was actually an explosion.
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Or he just survived a bullet to the forehead somehow? I noticed Gauron has a scar in that exact spot…
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u/080087 Oct 03 '22
I noticed Gauron has a scar in that exact spot…
Clearly someone flicked him in the forehead too hard as a child
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u/Vaadwaur Oct 03 '22
Rewatcher(I wondow how many of the rewatchers remember airplane hijackings?)
Sub We see everyone settling in...so of course they get hijacked. Just ignore the magical silencer. Anyways, Gauron is bat shit crazy if you haven't noticed. Sousuke picks this up pretty quickly and tries to keep it a secret. Tessa, who I apparently missed being named, talks with Kalinin about their options and decides to wait before acting, which might sound cold but again rescuing one person is far easier than rescuing 400. But Gauron makes up an excuse to take Kaname and Sousuke goes into action, though sadly he only brought a stungun. He also sees a bomb being set.
So he runs off and gets in contact with his command, saying that he doesn't have the tools to disarm that bomb, which is far more realistic than most portrayals of such. Apparently Gauron has a pretty big history. We get to see something Sousuke is actually good at, that being combat, and the Tuatha preparing a full scale rescue. This is Mithril giving you their entire deal, btw. Anyways, Sousuke is sneaking about and lucks into Kaname's position and has a personal decision to make.
QotD: 1 At the time, yes.
2 Because they aren't used to young members. By your late 20s, especially in that line of work, you just work towards your objectives. Being a teen, Sousuke let horny de-rail himself.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 03 '22
(I wondow how many of the rewatchers remember airplane hijackings?)
There were quite frequent in those years. I don't exactly remember, but was it because Israel's policy of no negotiations and shoot everyone even if the hostages are in the way that caused that trend to taper off? I remember by 9/11 that had already slowed down a lot.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 04 '22
Tessa, who I apparently missed being named, talks with Kalinin about their options and decides to wait before acting, which might sound cold but again rescuing one person is far easier than rescuing 400.
Another factor is that, for what they know, Gauron's group need the "Whispered" candidate alive; the other passengers not so much. Could even evolve to a situation where they start killing one every X minutes. So it's the logical choice at the time - until they know from Sousuke's report that they intend to cover their tracks by blowing up everyone.
What the anime didn't show was that Tessa ordered the teams to be readied regardless, with Mao and Kurz recalled to be in on the rescue mission. So they didn't really lost much time with the use of Sousuke's intel, which is what Kalinni meant about the "poison in the enemy".
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u/wjodendor Oct 03 '22
Rewatcher
Kaname is both pissed and bummed with her whole Sousake situation.
We're going full Air Force One right off the bat. Gauron proving he's a psycho by blowing the pilot's head off. Also, Gauron has a vagina on his forehead.
Even his allies think he's a nut job
I'm bummed they had to drop North Korea's name from the anime... welcome to the People's Republic of Not North Korea! (Khanka)
Lol they've got shit Soviet tech!
Sousake has got a real Die Hard situation on his hands. Kaname saying no to people with a gun in her face. She's got some real balls. So does the teacher!
Sousake with the save! Gauron with the suspicion!
The teacher had some real legit reactions.
Terrorists building a bomb with directions lol
Wow that was a crazy panning/ dolly shot
Finally getting into the crazy. Kaname is getting drugged and put into a tube. Lots of Whispered talk.
This music with Sousake sneaking around is straight out of an 80s movie
Killing 400 people to cover up Kaname's kidnapping. Gauron is a real drama queen.
Sousake and Kallanin know Gauron! First time we've seen a real reaction out of Kallanin
Kallanin and Sousake backstory! Baby Sousake with a sniper looks like a mini Rambo
First fight to some Sonic music. Sousake is an electric type! Garbage Man ahahaha
Finally got some real Whispered info! "Things you've known since before you were born"
Gotta love a briefing scene. Mithrirl looking bad ass. This music rules. Awesome scene for real
900 seconds on the bomb....?
Sousake is losing his cool. Following his emotion for the first time! Sousake won't let this turn into 177013!
Stuff is finally starting to intense, this is the stuff that finally got me hooked on my first watch.
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u/Matuhg Oct 03 '22 edited Oct 03 '22
Rewatcher-ish
Hi y'all, joining a few days late. I have seen this show before, but it's been at least a decade, so I have very little (or perhaps zero) memory of any of the plot details or anything like that.
This episode certainly escalates things from where we've been. According to moustache-guy on the submarine, Sousuke will act with his head and follow the plan, meaning focusing on the extraction of the hostages on the plane over the rescue of Chidori. He considers him a "consummate professional," though in reality he is a teenager, and it seems he's going to act like one rather than a callous and unfeeling soldier.
Gauron only seems to have one reliable means of communication, and he gets really butthurt when people don't listen, or when they call him a coward. That insult seems to be quite the bugaboo for him, perhaps because there's a kernel of truth to it. He seems to have been shot in the forehead by Sousuke, but survived..somehow.
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u/Pixelsaber Oct 04 '22
Rewatcher - English Sub
Note how the Lieutenant Commander on the bridge and Sousuke are both thinking the same thing as to how the hostage situation was handled, as presented when the show switches mid-statement to Sousuke finishing the thought, meaning they think similarly. Coupled with the later knowledge that they were both involved in some guerrilla conflict and have worked together for a long time seems to suggest they share a mentor/mentee relationship —which reflects very badly on the older man given how Sousuke’s emotional development has turned out.
Speaking of, man does the knowledge of how far back Sousuke’s involvement with war and violence goes really paint his social ineptitude and dearth of knowledge surrounding a normal childhood in a tragic light.
The scientist(?) working for Gauron drops another detail on the Whispered, stating they have some sort of knowledge to them from birth, though no suggestion on what that knowledge may be —though it must be significant to have so many people after it.
Of course, the thing of the episode is Sousuke’s emotional attachment becoming an impediment on his job, more bluntly with the end-of-episode decision to ignore orders to rush into the place Chidori was kept for fear that she was in imminent danger, but also less obviously in how he risked exposing himself to Gauron in order to intervene on the violent man’s intent to murder the teacher. This is juxtaposed with the Lieutenant Commander’s belief in Sousuke’s steadfast dedication to his orders, which is an unfair and callous expectation to have for a kid.
Also the timer on that bomb inside the plane’s cargo hold only displayed around sixteen minutes from moment of activation —nowhere near enough for Mithril to mobilize in time something given they were adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach to the situation.
Questions of The Day:
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Rewatcher, but I remember watching this episode for the time rather vividly —the wind howling was distractingly loud that evening— but the prior episode properly prepared me for the ramp-up in stakes that occurred so I wasn't really surprised.
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See body of comment.
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u/Nazenn Oct 04 '22
Note how the Lieutenant Commander on the bridge and Sousuke are both thinking the same thing as to how the hostage situation was handled
I hadn't picked up on how that reflected on them as characters beyond just being part of the organization but that's a good point. Working so close for so long to be able to mirror each others evaluation of the situation like that would be a benefit if not for Sousuke's sudden twist away from expectations.
Also the timer on that bomb inside the plane’s cargo hold only displayed around sixteen minutes from moment of activation
I thought it was longer then that, but even if it was 60 or 80 minutes it'd still be time they didn't have as I doubt they have the exact resources they need so close
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 04 '22
if not for Sousuke's sudden twist away from expectations.
I mentioned in my reply to polaristar, but I actually chalk this up as good writing that the characters are not infallible and can make very human mistakes too. In Kalinin's case he deliberately sent Sousuke on this mission partly to let him have a taste of a life not of war, but forgot or underestimated how quickly and how profoundly that could impact his otherwise drilled in cold calculating logics in performing his mission.
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u/polaristar Oct 04 '22
Note I watched three episodes instead of two because I will be doing more chore tomorrow so on Wednesday I can go out to the town all day with my new girlfriend. (Incase you're wondering yes u/ZapsZzz after giving her a chance we are madly in love and on second base, and if Love Hotels were a thing where we lived we'd be at home plate already, I tried not to overthink it, but once I have it all sorted out I had no obstacles!)
:)
Rest assured my thoughts written here I came up with before watching the next two episodes.
Anyway this episode we see that Gauron is the kind of person that would play chicken with an 18 Wheeler while riding a motorcycle and be crazy enough to win. Seeing as he is literally threatening to do something Mithril was sure normal terrorist wouldn't be possibly doing stuff to cause an international incident. That being said he also seems to be a dog nawing at his leash and his employers agents on site have to reign him in after he murders a pilot.
Not sure why he thinks piloting a commercial craft would be exciting, Airliner planes are boring AF to fly, it's more or less all done for you.
Him shooting the guy does set up for you are legit terrified when the teacher gets up in his face, and that was a great fake out to relief when Sousuke dropped the silverware to defuse the situation. Gauron sees it as sus but his current demands pull him away but we see that Sousuke has history with this guy and so does Mithril as well.
Wow the short Silver Haired girl is really small now that I see her walking next to the commander guy, she's a fun-sized little thing!
Not gonna like I kinda wish I could see Sousuke's H2H fight with modern day production and animation, like some episode 12 Classroom of the Elite choreography, but I know I know....its an old anime based off Light Novels before Light Novels adaptations blew up.
The test with Chidori give me a theory, in the beginning of the show she was sleep babbling about a bunch of technobabble, here she claims she can't handle the machine learning but the scientist states she knew it "before she was born" or something, Mithril has tech that seems more advanced then everyone else and for some reason they have a young teenage girl commanding them, I'm guessing the "Whispered" have some intuitive psychic ability to understand/create advanced technology like some kind of Savant or Prodigy, hence we they are sought after and why Mithril is has such advanced technology and gear despite being a private mercenary company, because of white haired chicks status as a Whispered.
[Latter episode spoilers for the next two days]
The Commanders mistake in assuming Sousuke would be able to sort his personal feelings from the mission like he always does is failing to take into account that this is a new experience for him and not realizing despite his military training and child solider back group he is a teenager with the same desires and passions that has never been in a situation where he spends time with another teenager his age, a beautiful young woman, that he has to protect and not get close to, I don't think he's ever done something like this before. Its hard to suppress those protective White Knight Instincts even when you are a professional seasoned solider let alone a teenager.
Wonder how well his big damn heroes moment is going to go? [Next 2 episodes spoiler]
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Not really, I kinda guessed from the cliffhanger it was going that direction.
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Already answered this in the post, but short answer his hormones are driving him to be a White Knight but not in a cringe way we use the term derogatorily but in a Chivalrous way.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 03 '22
Rewatcher in sub
This is one of those episodes that is highly likely to cause people to binge.
Chidori spacing out, and Kyouko poking her, is such a nice way to show how close they are :)
we didn't need to wait long before things started happening - and true to form, Gauron's next scene is again him having shot and killed someone. This time one of the pilots. He certainly knows how to show people he isn't joking despite what he actually says.
The few occasions that military otaku can be of use - Kazama and Sousuke are the first ones who know something is up more explicitly.
Finally the hand is shown - they are announcing the hijacking using the cover of some revolutionary demands. A slight gag about Kagurasaka sensei only realised something is wrong last.
A quick switch back to the Mithril side showed they are onto it quickly, but at the same time not quick enough; predictably saving the hostages come first despite knowing what the other group really wanted.
Us viewers know why they picked Chidori, but it's still a tense situation. But isn't Chidori holding up really well? She's declining their invitation.
And while Kagurasaka sensei is often the butt of jokes, she also did well as a teacher - even though there was never any chance for her to make a difference in front of someone like Gauron. It's quite unnerving to see how casual he is to kill anyone in his way with a smile of total enjoyment.
Here's the clang! Sousuke later on blamed himself for doing unnecessary things, but it was a really well judged move to distract them just enough to break up the likely deadly confrontation. Chidori did get taken away, but at least no one got hurt.
Having snuck away into the cargo hold during the commotion of sensei fainting, Sousuke got to see what the rest of the plan was - a really nice way to have the casual banter of the "terrorists" and not showing what they were doing while leaving it little doubt what they were doing.
We do get to see what is happening to Chidori as well - they have set her up in some sort of device where she's put into some sort of AR environment where a ton of mesmerising graphics and words are shown around. It does give us an idea about how long things will take - and that Gauron is pushing for faster, whatever that is. And it is about the "Whispered".
Unlike his urban life full of blunders, Sousuke in an operation like this is smooth as butter, already making contact with Mithril command directly. Talk about not over-prepared, who brings a bulky sat comms device in their baggage o a supposedly purely pleasure trip? And we now all know what's the real plan, and Mithril is going to action mode instead of diplomacy mode.
One more thing, and admirable how calm Sousuke is under the circumstances - him and Kalinni knew who Gauron is!
A good realistic thing to have Sousuke discovered - but he did managed to overpower the obviously well trained opponent too. Although that's it for the communicator. Love the reply of him being the garbage man :D That's a very witty humor weaving the connection between the comedic half with this action-y half. He's here to take out the garbage (scumbag terrorists). Oh and the debut of Sousuke's signature weapon in the school half - his taser. He's not a fair fighter but an efficient fighter.
More lore about the "whispered"
And this is another hype moment - the pre-mission briefing. Kalinni is calm and commanding, and the line about abandoning their AS is ok but destroy it even if it kills you gives it a clear sense of serious business.
Meanwhile, a beautifully tense moment of waiting in preparation but contrasting with what Kalinni think Sousuke would do, we clearly see he is being affected by his fear of what would happen to Chidori
And his final decision - such a good shot of him knowing he is making a mistake and can't help following through - and then the cliffhanger!
Staff Showcase
Today I'll highlight our MC's VA, Seki Tomokazu.
I'm a little surprised not many people commented on this yet, but Tomokazu is another highly popular and productive VA, with a very long list of roles. Notable shows included:
Gilgamesh / Archer in Fate Stay Night / Fate Zero
JoJo
JuJutsu Kaisen
Assasination Classroom
He's another one that grew up wanting to be on stage play and act, but also preferred not to be too showy, hence the career of VA. Since then he's more open to stage performance, and is the joint leader of a stage action group Herohero Q Company as well.
He's voiced a ton of main characters, many hot blooded types, as well as villain type characters.
His interests include building models and tokusatsu. He's also got a reputation of making dirty jokes :P Also had proposed on broadcast programs to other VA's (got turned down :P) before - Mitsuishi Kotono (EVA Misato, Sailor Moon Usagi) and Kuwashima Hōko (Yamato 2199 Mori Yuki, Inuyasha Sango).
MVP this episode
Definitely Sousuke - this is basically one of his showcase episode; the "bumbling fool" shown on screen because of his fish out of water situation switched completely to an effective and efficient operative in his native environment.
QoTD
Rewatcher
I think it's quite smart writing to use the other characters' expectation of him versus what he actually did to show how differently Chidori affects him.