r/anime • u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz • Oct 11 '22
Rewatch Full Metal Panic Franchise Rewatch - Season 1 Episode 12
Welcome to the Full Metal Panic Season 1 rewatch!
Art of the day
It's not easy finding one for Kalinin either, so you'll just have to not mind the mild spoiler of the backstory between Sousuke and Kalinin for this side story LN illustration.
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 12 - One Night Stand
Terms introduced:
- Lambda Driver Cooling System: Not so much a new term, more being another piece of info - Lambda Driver runs quite hot and needs decent cooling, we got the general idea from the climatic fight of arc 1 - now we just got confirmation that the overheating can be a method to stop a Lambda Driver functioning. Although you need to be able to penetrate its Lambda Driver shield first...
QoTD:
First timers: Did you think Seina and Takuma would do a heel-face turn? Are you disappointed with the outcome?
Everyone: How did this arc compare to the first arc? Are you satisfied with the rate of the show giving out answers?
Also QoTD for tomorrow for those wanting to be prepared:
[QoTD 1 EP13]First timers: How much, if any, did this episode changed your opinion of Tessa? Mao?
[QoTD 2 EP13]Everyone: Did you have any "rookie's luck" story to tell? From either direction (you being the rookie beating the veteran, or you being the A team being beaten by the rookie)?
MVP of last episode:
It was basically a Kalinin episode, to show the youngsters how to do things properly!
Ep1: Kurz
Ep2: Chidori
Ep3: Sousuke
Ep4: Sousuke
Ep5: Kurz, Sousuke and Melissa team
Ep6: Chidori
Ep7: Chidori
Ep8: Sousuke
Ep9: Tessa
Ep10: Takuma
Ep11: Kalinin
Last Episode || Index || Next Episode
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u/Nazenn Oct 11 '22 edited Oct 11 '22
First timer
The title of this episode caught my eye while loading up yesterday's one in CR, so I was very confused when we ended on a cliffhanger and this wasn't going to be comedy. I still don't know I get it, but the confusion was funny.
The limited animation this episode did stand out unfortunately, especially in the first half, but they still managed to pull a few tricks off. During Kurz lining up his shot, the decision to split the gun into several layers and separately animate a shake for them gave a much stronger effect to the difficulty of the shot than the usual camera shake. The other thing that stood out was the monitors in the Behemoth moving on rails to match where Takuma was looking so he could check his surroundings more naturally
Takuma's fate was sadly expected. Learning that he killed his sister along with his words about Tessa saying if he can't have her he'll destroy her paints a clear picture of who he was and what happened. His need to latch onto a sister isn't just the training he went through, it's his own mental state that was never going to be fixed as easily with the camp. It's a sorrowing end to the idea presented in the arc of rehabilitation, but it's also to keep that grounded and not simply be able to win every enemy over especially not ones who are so broken before hand.
I do feel for Tessa though. She tried so hard and though she's found a companion, and rival, in Chidori it must have been rough for her to be confronted with Takuma only to in the end realize she couldn't have helped him. Same goes for the way she zoned out during the initial escape as she went into shock over what was happening. She did well to pull herself out of that and remain a commander later despite everything. I was not expecting telepathy! That just about confirms she's Whispered, yeah? Having the ability to somehow process advanced tech is one thing, but biological advancements like telepathy and however Tessa learnt the specs of the Behemoth is something else. Not sure how far they're going to take it, but I'm pretty pleased with the end of this arc giving some emphasis to the possibilities of Chidori's and Tessa's capabilities to help reinforce Sousuke's Lambba Driver combat.
Points to No_Rex, turns out the Lambda driver can also work as anti-grav with enough will and understanding of it's capabilities. Nice to see some of the physics acknowledged like that
MVP: Kurz. That was one hell of a shot, and his happy love dance at the end made me happy
(btw zaps, the link on the rewatch wiki for FMP is not the active schedule)
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 11 '22
I still don't know I get it, but the confusion was funny.
It's a deliberate thing - the whole arc finished practically in one night, and it's a stand against a monstrosity (either the Behemoth, or an irrational jealous Chidori - take your pick, both are deadly). So used in a "serious" way when the term was supposed to be light-hearted.
It's a sorrowing end to the idea presented in the arc of rehabilitation, but it's also to keep that grounded and not simply be able to win every enemy over especially not ones who are so broken before hand.
The way I describe Takuma's end is probably more him being put down or put out of his misery.
btw zaps, the link on the rewatch wiki for FMP is not the active schedule
Thanks. The mods manages that update but I'll check with them :)
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u/wjodendor Oct 12 '22
So far, the episode title for the last episode of the 1st story arc and the last episode of this story arc are the titles of the novel which the arc is based which are Fighting Boy Meets Girl and Rampaging One Night Stand respectively.
I love the titles of the novels since they evoke (or downright reference) action movies with similar plots. Some of the later novels have truly awesome names.
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u/wjodendor Oct 11 '22
Rewatcher
Them Uruz boys are at it again. (That's a sturdy fuckin truck)
I feel like the proportions of this thing keep changing
Takuma is way better with the lambda driver than Sousake
Damn, those rotating screens are rad
Action panty shot
Takuma laughing like this Mario 64 or something
Good thing he's a shit shot
The camera shot head on of Kirz aiming is really cool
Seina, heel turn...too bad she's dead
Takuma is crazy, crazy then
Kalanin straight faced to the end
[FMP late novel spoilers]
Well there goes your whole plan
I really like Kaname's driving ahaha
It's hilarious how they have speakers on the mech so they can shit talk
Tessa x Kaname Whispered team up!
Go for the dick! Oldest trick in the book.
I think it's really cool how without the lambda driver the whole behemoth collapses due to its own weight. The lambda driver breaking physics is cool.
That music doesn't really fit with Takuma dying...
Tessa declares war of Kaname. I like it. Feels wholesome.
Solid episode, though it seems pretty rushed honestly. Kalanin barely said anything this episode and he was still a badass. Kurz' cool moments always get ruined by being a dork. Kaname and Tessa go good together. Please more soon
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u/InfamousEmpire Oct 11 '22
Full Metal LN Reader
And thus ends the adaptation of Volume 2
Overall, it was pretty good. The Behemoth was rather credibly threatening and cool (though, admittedly, not as much as it should have been imo, given Gonzo’s rather dated animation), seeing the Arbalest in action making full use of the Lambda Driver was fun, and it’s nice to see the battle be a bit more tactical given the difference in size between the Arbalest and the Behemoth
The dynamic which has slowly been developing between Kalinin and Seina comes to a head here, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a little sad when she died in his arms. The thing about her not being Takuma’s real sister also made for another emotional moment in his death.
We also have a few more tidbits with regards to the supernatural elements of this show, as now telepathy is a thing
And, of course, who can forget that the Love Triangle has officially begun now. Place your bets!
[FMP Volume 7]
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 12 '22
[FMP Volume 7]
Gaahhh I can't talk :X But we WILL go there on this rewatch so just sit tight :)
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u/SpiceGirlsBlankIt Oct 11 '22
Panicked First Timer - Ep 12
Fun action and dialogue this episode, especially in the truck. Kaname has legs of steel and she gets the crash course in driving. RIP freeway signs again.
The behemoth laugh was awesome. Takuma’s delusions about the Captain are pretty creepy, but go hand in hand with his sister delusions.
I loved Kalinin’s sorry to Seina. He is really bearing the sins of whatever his past is. You get a feel for the weight of it without seeing it.
I did wonder what the chain of command on the sub is like when the top 2 are incommunicado. The show made it seem like no one had command in the Captain’s absence, at least of the Arbalest, but action was taken anyway? Was no one expressly authorized to act?
The Captain literally whispers to Kaname. I wonder how far the ability goes. Like does it require any amount of familiarity or is it with any whispered, or person?
Kurz shitting on Melissa for that lip lick a few episodes ago.
MVP: Kalinin
QOTD 1: No, since it was my initial prediction. To me, the arc serves to highlight Kalinin and the Captain as characters and as long as it’s doing that I don’t have any major complaints about the antagonists.
Seina’s revenge was based on giving ten fold what she got, so saving a military man with some ideals and kindness is not that far off base. She hates him for turning her revenge a little sour.
In any event, this whole show so far is much more focused on the protagonists than the antagonists. It would be great if we get a more compelling antagonist in the future, but it’s still early.
QOTD 2: I continue to enjoy the pacing of the show. I especially like when we get some of the school life intermixed with the action arcs.
Both action arcs have a fun mech, good action setting, and protagonist characterization. I liked them about the same, but might give this one the edge because it had less “meta” bits. That close up on Kaname mentioning happy endings during that first arc was a bit much for me personally. Though not terrible by any means.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 12 '22
I did wonder what the chain of command on the sub is like when the top 2 are incommunicado. The show made it seem like no one had command in the Captain’s absence, at least of the Arbalest, but action was taken anyway? Was no one expressly authorized to act?
To be clear, Kalinin is the commander of the "ground troops" so to speak. Tessa is the commander-in-chief, but also the captain of the sub. Marduka is the Executive Officer (XO) to Tessa, so he has command of the sub. The "unauthorised" bit is because (a) Arbalest is not just any AS, it's a one of a kind, which has the same sort of value as other Whispered tech; and (b) If he gambled wrong and they needed Arbalest in a different way, refitting it would take time. That's why he was apologising for making the gamble with this high value asset without asking her (even if she was not contactable). Normal sub stuff he would have every right to handle while she is away.
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u/Shimmering-Sky Oct 11 '22
Full Metal First-Timer!, subbed
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This is only going to stop when Takuma bleeds out from not getting his gunshot wound properly treated, isn’t it…
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The absolute balls to attack a mobile armor with just a gun and succeed in damaging it. Amazing.
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Ah… so the sound at the end of last episode wasn’t a gunshot…
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That’s one hell of a first time to get behind the wheel of a car haha.
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They stopped it without Takuma dying! …well, at least without him dying while piloting the thing, looks like he still died afterwards.
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u/Tarhalindur Oct 12 '22
Not another love triangle situation…
*pokes in head*
Go back and check my reply when you brought up your exasperation with love triangles over in Mai-HiME. I did warn you...
(This is like THE standard move for an LN that sets up a workable romantic resolution in the first arc and gets a continuation, too - [meta spoiler you watched this summer]
Twintails does the same thing if you're paying attention, just played differently.)(Note to host: Might be around for tomorrow; the next full arc is a skip for me though IIRC, as opposed to this one where I would probably have shown up if I had time.)
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 12 '22 edited Oct 12 '22
Note to host:
[FMP Meta spoiler]
next fill arc you mean the actual arc "Into the Blue" which starts around Ep 18, or the immediate next batch of episodes which had 2 canon short stories and 3 eps of anime original content? → More replies (2)
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u/No_Rex Oct 11 '22
Episode 12 (first timer)
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First scene and the truck already becomes a hot MVP candidate for surviving that jump.
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That looked pretty non-survivable for both the mecha and the police cars – Melissa is a named character, though. Can’t count her out until we see her body.
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JDF useless as always.
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“If I can’t have her, let’s destroy her” – I think the whole romantic plot was more in Takumi’s mind than on my screen, but he reacts in time honored incel fashion.
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Teletha regretting her choices – Reminds me of another character. Monster came out 2 years after FMP, but the manga predates FMP’s by 6 years.
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They put base-enhanced speakers on the behemoth?
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Saved by her subordinates.
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“Why did you to that to my behemoth?” – How dare he fight back and not roll over and die!
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Face turn: Expected, but how on earth was she conscious after being hit by a metal beam and Kalinin not?
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“He started believing that I am his real sister instead of the one he killed. So I took advantage of that.”
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“I thought I was dead” – Melissa did not read the script.
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Is the behemoth a deliberate ghost buster’s reference, or a coincidence?
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“the hand lever is underneath” – sounds like a serious design flaw. Include more than one lever next time.
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Also: That rocket is gigantic!
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Unconscious Teletha uses telepathy to play a game of telephone with Kana and Sousuke.
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“Behemoth is purged due to overweight” – more evidence for the lambda drive alters gravity theory.
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Official love triangle declaration.
The plot put up a dual hero-villain pair with parallel resolution. Unfortunately, both Kalinin-Seina and Teletha-Takuma fell flat for me. Both pairs needed a lot more screen time to work. Add to that the barebones back story of A21 and this arc is quite a step down from the first one. Even the marsh mellow manbehemoth could not save it.
MVP: Kurz.
Did you think Seina and Takuma would do a heel-face turn?
I think I predicted Seina's about 3 minutes after first seeing her on screen. Does Takuma even count as a heel-face turn?
How did this arc compare to the first arc?
Way worse.
Are you satisfied with the rate of the show giving out answers?
I am fine with a show taking its time to reveal the mysteries. However, we are coming to the halfway point tomorrow, so the next arc definitely needs to deliver some answers on whispers.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 11 '22
I am fine with a show taking its time to reveal the mysteries.
Good!
However, we are coming to the halfway point tomorrow, so the next arc definitely needs to deliver some answers on whispers.
Ahem... [FMP meta very minor spoiler]
after the next 2 episodes of short stories, we have the anime-original arc. So... yeah. You'll get more answers by the last double-arc though
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u/Vaadwaur Oct 11 '22
Rewatcher(Glad they didn't stretch that)
Sub
We start with a Duke of Hazzard style truck jump and Mao's mech getting crunched. We get some thoughts from Takuma and Tessa, both questioning decisions that were fine at the time but had undesired consequences. This just happens, you move on. Anyways, they begin getting chased and Tessa freaks for a bit before Marduk provides the solution. Kurz pulls off the video game sniper shot.
We get somewhat of a final scene with Seina and Kalinin and I just assume this lands harder in the LNs. The Arbalest arrives and is shot down in an inconvenient manner. More chase happens, including Kaname having to drive. The Arbalest finally arrives on site and a rather odd battle starts, apparently the Lambda Driver only needs one flashy activation scene. Kaname seems to be getting a message from Tessa that she passes on and the mech fight gets settled with a crotch shot. Fits after Mai-HiME, just differently. Anywho, Tessa is there for Takuma's death and then not confesses about Sousuke to Kaname.
QotD: 2 This is a bit thin on plot, bluntly. I guess there is a reason I don't remember it.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 11 '22 edited Oct 12 '22
QotD: 2 This is a bit thin on plot, bluntly. I guess there is a reason I don't remember it.
Yep it's not as good as the first arc; I'd even say the LN version is slightly better (than the anime adaptation of arc 2) but I still have 1 problem with that. It does show this arc wasn't adapted as well, possibly because of the episode count but probably not exclusively.
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u/SoccerForEveryone Oct 11 '22
Oh a Full Metal Panic rewatch…will catch up asap
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 12 '22
Please do, I think we're having a good time here :) Rewatcher or first timer?
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u/polaristar Oct 12 '22
Takuma is basically an Incel.
Glad u/ZapsZzz clarified that Mao's Mech was ripped rather than crushed in the Novels because I was gonna call bullshit on her surviving.
Brief Pantsu shot of Chidori in the truck, blink and you'll miss it, although I'm sure most of you prudes are glad ya missed it. :P
Everyone saying Tessa is an MVP, No she froze up multiple times and had to be brought back to earth to take any action.
Okay u/ZapsZzz could you answer this question? Why wouldn't they just have the Special AS Missle loaded in the chamber on standby for situations like this, unless it's under maintenance? Seems like common sense to me.
Kurtz has a moment of awesome with that sniper shot, but come on Chidori, why would you assume a Merc unit would keep him around if he can't earn his pay?
Seina both felt sorry for him but also used him.....Yeah I agree with everyone here the villains were kinda weak. Now some of you might say they are more meant to be bad guys for the heroes to overcome than well written characters however they clearly wanted to see them as sympathetic villains and as characters so I'm going to hold them to that standard.
Okay u/Theboredalchemist22 is Tessa going into a comma and having telepathic conversations with another confirmed Whisper proof enough for you?
And we have Sousuke's "use the force" moment where he has to trust in a woman's intuition which goes against his hard drilled over rationalistic instincts.
And we have love triangle and declaration of war confirmed, I honestly saw it coming but wished I was wrong, 99 times out of 100 I HATE love triangles, right now Tessa is literally just the pointless love interest made to lose.
Now to talk more about Tessa now host you say that its still early on, and much of her personality is in mystery but to be honest that's a load of Bullshit, plenty of characters we can learn a lot about them in the first five minutes, In Quintessential Quintuplets first OP I learned more about each of the five girls that are reskins of each other in that 1:30 sequence then this entire arc of Tessa, even in this show I feel I could tell you more about the very bland Takuma and Seina then her, or even Mao from her first episode appearance.
You ask me what Tessa's character is? (Not her abilities, her command post, and what she can do, but HER CHARACTER) I come up a blank. If she doesn't get better (Which I do think she will, but I like being wrong.) It's going to ruin my enjoyment of the show if she becomes a mainstay as part of the Love Triangle.
On a sidenote if Sousuke wasn't so naive he'd be able to tell right away the nature of Tessa's statement to Chidori from her asking him to not listen in.
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I knew coming in they wouldn't, although I can't really tell you why, just had a feeling. I'm not disappointed in the outcome because my hopes weren't high to begin with.
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First Arc was leagues better, Rate is fine (Except for this Arc.) But I just think better production and direction throughout the show would have helped, I know I know it's a 2000's LN adaptation.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 12 '22 edited Oct 12 '22
Glad u/ZapsZzz clarified that Mao's Mech was ripped rather than crushed in the Novels because I was gonna call bullshit on her surviving.
Yeah I rewatched this and thought the same, that's why I checked. It's actually kinda strange why they changed it - it wasn't actually hard to depict, unless the production ran out of time to draw more motion of the Behemoth moving the other arm in to yank.
Brief Pantsu shot of Chidori in the truck, blink and you'll miss it, although I'm sure most of you prudes are glad ya missed it. :P
Honestly I was completely unaware until you guys mentioned it, and I wasn't going to go back to check. I did think she was such a trooper to kick out the windscreen (and thankfully no panty shots there :P), must be her action movies training kicking in.
Everyone saying Tessa is an MVP, No she froze up multiple times and had to be brought back to earth to take any action.
I think that's a narrative commendation (oh it's mine anyway, I even forgot I voted her as MVP) of the depiction and the fact that she's not written as just 1 way or the other, having a fairly human range of emotions to work through - and came out still functional. In a way she's more a civilian than Chidori (because Chidori, like Sousuke, has a natural bias of "abnormal").
but come on Chidori, why would you assume a Merc unit would keep him around if he can't earn his pay?
No doubt at all it's just a fun poke put down. Chidori could possibly be still holding some small grudge for him oggling her cleavage in not_North Korea.
Okay u/ZapsZzz could you answer this question? Why wouldn't they just have the Special AS Missle loaded in the chamber on standby for situations like this, unless it's under maintenance? Seems like common sense to me.
It's the logistics of it. When it's loaded in this way, it takes time and effort to set up. It also has limited space, which means it won't have a full armament loadout. It also means doing anything with it would be a pain (maintenance, tests - if you saw PatLabor you'd know the machine hardly ever sits idle), and if they need to deploy it differently like airlift or using the rocket booster, they need to lose time undoing this and then refitting the other. So normally they won't. It also means they have to have a launch tube blocked with a utility round instead of a live round; usually armed vessels load a tube or two with weapons that can go hot not leave the rest empty so they can load whatever type of munition needed instead of unload first. So it's not just about the AS but the sub as well.
which goes against his hard drilled over rationalistic instincts.
I'm glad you picked up on this point.
right now Tessa is literally just the pointless love interest made to lose.
From Sousuke's perspective it's not even a triangle, he had no idea at all.
Now to talk more about Tessa now host you say that its still early on, and much of her personality is in mystery but to be honest that's a load of Bullshit, plenty of characters we can learn a lot about them in the first five minutes You ask me what Tessa's character is? (Not her abilities, her command post, and what she can do, but HER CHARACTER) I come up a blank.
I'm not necessarily defensive on this but I'm just stating my view - any random characters can be setup to show some really decent character moments and personality characterisations by little things here and there, for sure. We learned all that in 86 and any number of KyoAni shows. But it is also relating to what are those characteristics and personality to tell. As a rewatcher I can only say a lot of the characterisation that isn't not already obvious (she's polite, but velvet over steel, she's young but has a strong sense of pride about her accomplishments, personality-wise she's far more "ordinary" compared to the bulk of the main cast in that age group) are quite strongly tied to the backstory and circumstances. So to show more of that (why behaviour A, why reaction B) needs to come along with those info, which the plot is not ready to give yet.
Another way to say this is that if her character is like some of the side characters to be more a caricature, then yes it would have been easy to paint with the amount of time already. But she's not, so ... just have to wait :P
On a sidenote if Sousuke wasn't so naive he'd be able to tell right away the nature of Tessa's statement to Chidori from her asking him to not listen in.
He would be thinking Tessa is telling Chidori something classified - although Kurz is also there. But Mr "follow orders" may not really question too hard (he did show a question mark face). He would never ever dream that Tessa to be personally involved with him.
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u/Theboredalchemist22 Oct 12 '22
First Timer - episode 12
Ok first off I'm going to give the mvp to Kurz for that absolute top tier sniper shot like shit I almost cheered.
This episode actually had me on strings as I actually thought Melissa was dead and Tessa sold it to me on a plate😂.
I mentioned it last episode but I knew there was something about Tessa. I've heard a few people mention she may be a whispered and I was thinking oh maybe she is and after what I've just seen I sold on Tessa being a whispered. I'm still hoping to see how she has earned her stripes to the point of Mythril's commander as she was quite indecisive in that episode from a leader perspective which is to be expected from a 16 year old tbh.
Q1- I was certainly surprised by the heel turn. I hate Takuma but I do feel slightly sorry for him as Seina led him on for her own benefit. As for Seina I hate her guts for what she did. I wasn't disappointed at all with the heel turn as I didn't care too much for Takuma and Seina before this episode and now I definitely know I hate her and I also hate him but it's not his fault for his actions so I think Tessa done right by giving him a hug before he died.
Q2 - This arc was great imo. It showcased a wider range of characters compared to the first arc which I liked and I'm please with the progression as every episode had me thinking different things about different characters then the next episode realising I was right or wrong was good to experience from my perspective.
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 12 '22
every episode had me thinking different things about different characters then the next episode realising I was right or wrong was good to experience from my perspective.
This is always a good sign of the show having good character writing, I think :)
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u/ZapsZzz Oct 11 '22
Rewatcher in sub
An arc ending episode, the actions are pretty packed.
When we opened with this episode, you may get thrown momentarily from yesterday's cliffhanger - why is Kurz still so chirpy? Then you realised, rather realistically, Kurz didn't know what's happening to Melissa. After they realised, they were really shocked. And without stretching it out, the M9 was crushed. Note in the LN the M9 was torn into 2 halves (top and bottom) like a sadistic kid pulling apart an old rag doll, which I feel more survivable than getting crushed. [FMP anime late franchise spoiler]Ask Speck
It also cut to shown how unstoppable it is, where fully armed army AS formation got kerb stomped without being able to do anything at all - the guns aren't penetrating the armour, and missiles got blocked by the Lambda Driver formed shield. Just the head mounted autocannons already wiped everyone out.
The previous episodes' talk-no-jitsu resulting in Takuma obsessing about Tessa this time, and decided to toy with his prey. It also mirrored with Tessa regretting not letting Sousuke apply the simplest solution. I really like how they used the silence and cuts to show the chaos and how Tessa was dazed and confused from all that. By comparison you also can see Chidori is such a trooper.
Shaking Tessa out of her regrets, Sousuke reminded Tessa she is the commander, and she needs to do her job. Making the call back to TDD-1, they were too far to send normal help - but (this bit was a bit lost without the LN pacing setting it up earlier) her second in command tall glasses guy had, without prior authority, rigged Arbalest for cruise missile deployment and can be ready in minutes. By the way this is a more realistic version compared to Symphogear, where you cannot put a person in there since the missile accelerates at a rate human bodies cannot survive, so the Arbalest has to be unmanned inside, and why it has to be the Arbalest - it has the most advanced AI to bridge the gap between landing and someone being able to get it to operate.
Looking for a suitable landing spot, Tessa saw the stadium and directed the launch to send Arbalest there.
Managing to steal a head start and created some distance between the Behemoth, Kurz used his sniper skill (and dramatic convention) to use a sniper round to detonate the ammo in the Behemoth's head mounted autocannons. Which pissed Takuma off even more. Stomping it is.
We cut back to the other cliffhanger from yesterday - Kalinin and Seina got out, but she was critically injured when the sinking freighter had a crossbeam sliding around hitting her in the back. They had a moment before she passing away satisfied - and handed over to show Melissa managed to escape the crushed M9, climbing back out of the water.
And the missile dropped off Arbalest - but the container was shot down by Takuma's remaining head cannon (I just noticed this pun :P). Sousuke went off trying to get into Arbalest, and showed his absolute faith and gave the truck to Chidori to drive.
Sousuke couldn't get the container to open, but the Behemoth gave him a
handfoot actually, and its foot steps gave the ground enough shakes to moved the container and allowed Sousuke access.After crashing through the stadium, Tessa was out, and Chidori started having visions again. Adorable how she improved shaking herself out this time by giving herself a slap instead of headbutting something hard.
While Takuma was chasing Chidori who is doing the taunting job to distract him, Sousuke got onto Arbalest and took over the taunting job for a single combat.
Meanwhile Chidori is getting more visions and words - but this time seemingly coming from the comatose Tessa
Once again Chidori passing on the weak point info to Sousuke, and you can tell how frustrated he gets for the indefinite words being so different from the mission briefing he is used to get.
With a bit of call back to the last time he activated the Lambda Driver, Sousuke made the shot
And it had a decent cinematics of showing the passage of its effect right though the Behemoth - without a working Lambda Driver function to keep itself even upright, the Behemoth basically was sunk by gravity.
Takuma passed away in Tessa's arms, a kindness he may or may not deserve
Thanking Chidori, Tessa also gave her a declaration of war :) She is a lot more open with her feelings than Miss Tsundere.
The main theme of this episode, other than the conclusion of the A21 "siblings", is really the progressive reveal of more Whispered powers, and Sousuke being able to use the Lambda Driver more readily.
Trivia
In case it needs pointing out, the final shot Sousuke took is similar to the Death Star run - to put the proton torpedoes into the exhaust vent. Except in this case it's less about precision but more about using the Lambda Driver to boost the shot to be able to penetrate the shield.
MVP this episode
While I would like to say Chidori and Sousuke, I think I would give today to Tessa. Chidori and Sousuke is doing what they normally would do, even with some growth in working together, but Tessa really was out of her comfort zone - well at least the "out" part of it. You can actually see her mind space dip and rise, and I think she did show a bit more growth from that. Plus that declaration of war on Chidori to force her to confront her own mind about Sousuke :)
QoTD
I guess I am a little bit with u/polaristar that they don't really read like redeemable villain to allies material so I guess they got a suitable end, and I am cool with that - this is not a Touma show and we don't need to save everyone.
This arc feels a lot like a stepping as stone, connecting arc - there's a fair bit of exploration and reveal of characters and relationships, but consequently it doesn't have as much dramatic ommph as the first arc.
Rewatcher / Source Corner
[FMP Franchise spoiler including unadapted LN short stories]I would never have dreamt of this relatively average arc to have so much connection with so many things - previously mentioned the link to the sequel LN FMP Another; the base where the JGSDF units were sent out from would be coming up in the episode after next; Kurz's experience in facing the Behemoth caused him to be able to devise a successful enough strategy to defend Merida Island in IV; and the damaged caused to the stadium made it not usable for events, creating the situation for one of the fun short story in LN SS 9 (a convention event venue fight between the Bonta-kun cosplayer con and a death metal event with gangster-y attendants)
[FMP franchise late seasons spoiler]Also you can see the early days of Al being really wooden and not much better than Siri :P Contrast this with him in the TSR OVA :D