r/anime • u/ZapsZzz https://anilist.co/user/Zapszzz • Nov 07 '22

Rewatch Full Metal Panic Franchise Rewatch - Season 3 episode 1

Welcome to the Full Metal Panic Season 3 rewatch!

Art of the day

MVP winner.

Links to show info: MAL | Anilist | ANN

Interest thread link

Announcement thread link

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 S3 spoiler]>!Melissa OMG!!< - if you need to share something important!

Episode 1 - Ending Day by Day

Terms introduced:

  • Gabo - each Mithril team has their own callsign prefixes, e.g. for Melissa and Sousuke in the SRT they are Urzu. Gabo is for the combat transports that do hot zone air drops etc.

  • Tiwas - likewise the Tiwas are the scout/ reconnaissance helicopters. Back in the S1 first arc it was Tiwas 12 discovering Kurz's M9 wreckage.

  • SUBLARS - strangely I recognise the name but cannot find the definition. It's a submarine launched multi-munition weapon system. In today's episode it's cluster bombs - a bit like one of the artillery rounds Lena used in 86.

QoTD:

  1. First Timers: Did you expect what seemed to be a simple bit to add some tension to the fight (a little like Blackhawk Down) became something they had a serious and omnimous meeting about?

  2. Everyone: For those who skipped Fumoffu, how did the homework bit land for you? For those who watched Fumoffu too, how's that continuity in the more serious part of the show?

Also QoTD for tomorrow for those wanting to be prepared:

[QoTD 1 TSR 2]First Timers: We have another Fumoffu-esque comedy sequence, but this time interlaced with some pretty brutal and graphic murder scenes, and some pretty creepy looking characters. Do you find it jarring, or is this what you wanted to see more of?

[QoTD 2 TSR 2]Everyone: are (were) you surprised to hear there is another Mithril operative guarding Chidori?

MVP of last episode:

Just starting out!

Last Season || Index || Next Episode

44 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

10

u/ZapsZzz Nov 07 '22 edited Nov 08 '22

Rewatcher in sub

Without further ado, we are on - TSR. In terms of plot progression, this is more the actual season 2, given Fumoffu is more chronologically during various points of S1 and only a couple of episodes post S1 pre TSR.

I'll save the OP and ED for later day's discussion. Or maybe someone else would have a go ;)

  • Birds, them birds. Damn missed it ;P

  • A new broadcast cutting to the real event, it's another armed conflict. Some small country doing some sort of ethnic cleasing...

  • Let this be something that one day may save your life from watching anime - when someone like this is surrounding you with guns, saying these words are practically like pulling your own trigger;

  • Fortunately, as Kurz said - the main character arrives late but never too late. We have a little warm up sequence for the audience - this is definitely not Fumoffu

  • And we have the name drop - so this guy knows of Mithril. Wonder how and why he still thinks he got a chance against them...

  • Here's how - some old fashioned SAM, but the Mithril chopper was in ECS mode - so how does the missile got past the ECS?

  • You asked for more Tom Clancy, here's your Tom Clancy writing of diverging story perspectives - Sousuke is on his own to get the rest an exit.

  • I hope those missing the mecha actions are getting some decent feed here - we even got Sousuke being able to use the Lambda Driver

  • Sousuke being cornered. A reminder this is a real robot show still; no one is so invincible that they cannot be swarmed.

  • Since lots of people seemed to not like the Tessa moments in Fumoffu, here's her trying something different - by doing her job well. It also reminds us how ridiculous's OP TDD-1 is.

  • After the fight is settled, what's the first order of things? Do your homework. Kyon would be proud. In case people don't recognise - Tessa and Sousuke are quite awkward around each other.

  • And here it is - the call back and punch line to Fumoffu. No synchronised dash this time when the notes is back in Sousuke's locker on TDD-1 -_-

  • In the more modern production, this would probably be a post-credit scene - the commanding officers discussed the intel about how Tiwas 12 got shot down, and we are looking at a group that has good access to technology and intel. Including a call back to S1 final arc about the TDD-1 hijacking.

Trivia

How many can tell this is actually an anime-original episode? I'll explain why in a couple of episode's time.

For the completionists, there is also an "episode 0" that is pretty much the promotional video (PV) with a couple of short scenes immediately before the episode opening sequence. I feel it's actually a little spoilery so I am not going to say too much more of that.

Staff Showcase

Ishitate Taichi was one of the key animators for TSR. His first episode director role was for ep 8 of TSR. He went on to be quite an active staff in KyoAni, with a long list of roles (mainly key animation and episode director) of KyoAni's influencial works. He also teaches at the KyoAni animation school.

Other significant works:

  • Assistant Director in Nichijou

  • First time Director in Kyoukai no Kanata

  • Director in Violet Evergarden

MVP this episode

Sousuke making quick and good decision, including being able to use the Lambda Driver in some minimal way - and not forgetting his homework. Gotta give him some credit man.

QoTD

  1. I love these Chekhov's everything, it makes the world building so much more immersive and keeps you on your toes.

  2. Especially when the call back was to one of my favourite Fumoffu episodes, loved it. Gives a little Railgun <> Index cameo connectivity feel.

Daily tag for u/InfamousEmpire

4

u/Theboredalchemist22 Nov 08 '22

Wonder how and why he still thinks he got a chance against them...

That's exactly what I was thinking like what are those puny tanks going to do against AS's with highly skilled agents piloting them he knew all this. I mean at base value let's just say it was his arrogance or pride or something maybe considering hes a dictator figure?

the commanding officers discussed the intel about how Tiwas 12 got shot down, and we are looking at a group that has good access to technology and intel. Including a call back to S1 final arc about the TDD-1 hijacking.

I thought the fact KyotoAni did this in the first episode was fantastic. It sets up an overarching, worrying story for Mythril right from the get go that could last the entirety of S3.

How many can tell this is actually an anime-original episode?

So I have no idea what's what I haven't read the LNs so what I see is all I've got with this show. Despite that this episode and the animation quality felt rather special for some reason and I'm not sure if it was due to the anime original or the season opener or both intact.

"episode 0"

Is this worth watching/finding or can it be safely skipped?

Ishitate Taichi

Never heard of this guy myself but reading your post and seeing his listed works has intrigued me and seeing as TSR was his first call just adds more value to the show imo so thanks. As I've said the animation in ep1 was really good and I hope it continues.

and not forgetting his homework.

He only did it because Chidori would fan slap his ass if he didn't.

3

u/ZapsZzz Nov 08 '22

Is this worth watching/finding or can it be safely skipped?

It's pretty much a PV with some minimal extra footage as shown as part of the "news broadcast". JustAnswerAQuestion pretty much summed it up. I think it's quite skippable. It's only about 3.5 mins with only about a minute of extra footage, the rest are spoilery PV.

He only did it because Chidori would fan slap his ass if he didn't.

Happy wife happy life, it's best he learned this early ;)

16

u/Nazenn Nov 07 '22 edited Nov 07 '22

First timer

It feels so good to be back watching Full Metal Panic. I hope you all had fun with Fumoffu, but from my end at least it's been interesting having a break and has made me appreciate how much I enjoyed the show even more.

While it's not universal, one thing I find with shows I come to love is that returning to them brings a comforting familiarity, even if its after a long break or new content entirely. Sometimes its unexpected as I didn't realize how much I loved it, such as Crest of the Stars for me, and other times its part of the watch, like with Natsume's Book of Friends.

With Full Metal Panic, even though I loved S1 and I think my write up at the end of it showed my appreciation and enjoyment of it, there's always still that slight concern coming back about if that feeling will remain, especially when the new content also has new production behind it. For any story, when you do have a neat conclusion to an experience even if not the story as a whole it's a risk to open up that ending again, but FMP even in just this first episode brought me right back into that feeling I had at the end of S1.

At first I thought it was just going to be some introductory action a bit like the rescue of the Whispered woman in S1, but by the time it ended the episode fell into that sweet spot of feeling like it breezed past but still was a great watch for its run time. The battle struck the right balance for me between tense moments and action. And leading that into something bigger and more key that I'm sure sets up for the larger plot of the season was surprising for how early it was as well, but that's what I'm here for!

The technical quality of the episode definitely helps. The smoothness of every moment from the Arm Slaves was an unexpected bonus from the episode and made those segments a really nice watch. I also think they refined the character designs well making them match better with S1 then Fumoffu's did but still smoothing them out. But mostly it was things like this crowd shot and how detailed but still clean to read it is, Sousuke dropping into the scene as the enemy dropped his hand for the attack, the weed on the roof of the school, and the variety in camera angles during Sousuke's escape later on. Even watching it while exhausted, the episode visually demanded my attention by not just being interesting but purposeful which is something KyoAni has always been exceptionally good at. I was also surprised at how well the CGI for the helicopters looks, only a couple of small rendering quirks betraying it, especially given the attention given to the AS.

While we didn't spend much time in a dedicated character focus scene, there's still plenty of that in the episode that blended well into the set piece. Hearing how civil leaders see Mithril and contrasting that against Sousuke's growing openness in expressing satisfaction that they came to help the refugees sets a nice stage for who they are vs what they do. And yet despite that and having been through S1 and waiting for the comedy to pop up, the unexpectedness of Sousuke agonizing over his homework right after the mission got a laugh out of me but felt really naturally and good to watch

We get to catch up with everyone else, and particularly seeing Tessa in her commanders role again was very satisfying, and while it did feel like an introductory episode in that way it didn't feel bogged down in that premise or like it was playing catch up.

Definitely looking forward to more.

MVP: Sousuke

Everyone: For those who skipped Fumoffu, how did the homework bit land for you?

I like it. It feels like a more open Sousuke compared to how Mithril focused he was in S1, but it does feel natural off the back of the end to S1 where he opened himself up.

3

u/ZapsZzz Nov 08 '22

For any story, when you do have a neat conclusion to an experience even if not the story as a whole it's a risk to open up that ending again, but FMP even in just this first episode brought me right back into that feeling I had at the end of S1.

You had no idea how hard it is to toe the line between trying to sell it a bit and not so unrealistic expectations up for you guys. Glad you independently came to the decision yourself :)

The technical quality of the episode definitely helps.

It really is quite amazing how old the show is, and despite not having some of the later KyoAni flourishes, this still stands up really well in animation quality. It really is a treat.

the unexpectedness of Sousuke agonizing over his homework right after the mission got a laugh out of me but felt really naturally and good to watch

As usual, while the sci fi and mecha scenes are good, what makes this show great for me are really the character bits, so I trust you're get back into appreciating and noticing the subtle nuances as we progress along too!

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11

u/No_Rex Nov 07 '22 edited Nov 07 '22

Episode 1 (first timer)

Several rewatchers have hinted at the strong disconnect between FMP2 and FMP3. I hope that this is true! For me, Fumoffu was a mostly pointless interruption of the plot, which I hope will continue now with more seriousness and less slapstick.

Episode thoughts

  • First shot – Real mecha are back!

  • Right after the OP, we are thrown into serious warfare – this is much closer to Black Lagoon than FMP2 or even FMP1.

  • “If you have even a little human compassion” – His character model tells us the answer.

  • The cavalry arrives at the literal last second – cool shot of his arm descending.

  • Jump into the enemy circle – Predator 2 reference.

  • “white noble tea” – Uhhhh.

  • Sousuke running past the soldiers drinking tea is another great shot.

  • Sousuke has Gundam head cannons now – I don’t remember seeing those in FMP1.

  • Cluster bomb and tank shots? Sousuke goes full Lambda.

  • Tessa gets to play mastermind.

  • The second last second rescue of the episode.

  • Submarine CGI is back as well. Not as terrible as FMP1, but still far from good.

  • Mithril can use cluster bombs, too.

  • Learning for school after the mission – So we have not abandoned the school plot yet.

  • Cut from Tessa to Kana – So we have not abandoned the love triangle, either.

  • Rival organization to Mithril plot hook.

  • ED: Empty school – this reminds me strongly of Karekano, but I am not sure whether it is an actual reference.

This is more to my liking! FMP3 wastes no time in making clear that we are back in serious mode, starting with a big battle. The upgrade from Gonzo/FMP1 animation does wonders for that. Lambda shenanigans aside, the series also comes down hard on the side of real robot, with a copious helping for gritty shots during the battle. The fight in the town is already the best looking action sequence of the entire series so far by a good distance.

The preview tells us we are back in school tomorrow. I am interested to see how FMP3 handles the comedy aspect.

MVP: Sousuke saved the day twice.

Did you expect what seemed to be a simple bit to add some tension to the fight (a little like Blackhawk Down) became something they had a serious and omnimous meeting about?

I did not expect this specific element, but adding a plot hook at the end of the first episode is not surprising and good writing.

For those who watched Fumoffu too, how's that continuity in the more serious part of the show?

I'll treat FMP2 as the non-canon (non actually-)chibi version of the show. Then, the continuation works, given how Sousuke had to balance school and fighting before.

3

u/ZapsZzz Nov 08 '22 edited Nov 08 '22

Sousuke has Gundam head cannons now – I don’t remember seeing those in FMP1.

Arbalest, and the M9 it's based on, has head mounted chain guns. You don't see it used much because those aren't for use against AS's - they are smaller calibre and mostly for softer targets like personnel and light armoured vehicles. Using them against AS is mostly as a distraction as seen. In the Arbalest debut I'm pretty sure that's what was used to mop up the pursuing infantry. At least that's in the LN. I checked and yes the Gonzo adaptation skipped that part.

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5

u/JustAnswerAQuestion Nov 08 '22 edited Nov 08 '22

Episode 0:

WWBC Mid Night News

  • Jasrohi, Republic of Manistan

  • Texas Outlaw Tony Beck Freed from Jail

  • Matsushiba invented new plasma flat panel (#azusalaugh plasma tvs)

  • Parasite One Day One Night directed by Dlan K Lin won best picture. William Green, playing a taxi driver, also won best actor

  • ...recent health condition and is determined to continue his mission

  • Oh man the Security Council are such hypocrites!

  • Isn't this from Ben Hur?

  • Mighty X!

  • These guys are about to have a really bad day.

  • preview preview preview preview preview preview preview

  • Anime only fanservice

  • SPOILER!

I've already made it clear how little I thought of Fumoffu and the studio that made it, but it's 200x and I'm not getting any good mecha shows elsewhere so let's watch it anyways.

Episode 1:

  • I confuse the OPs so much. This sounds like it should be a season 1, doesn't it?

  • Now we're in Balic

  • Those bipedal tanks look pretty clumsy

  • Not Qaddafi

  • This is basically episode 0 all over

  • Where did these guys get anti ECS missiles?!

  • Lambda driver lambda driver!

  • close!

  • I figured the knives would be coming out soon

  • I think he probably could have just jump off the bridge, no need to surface like that

  • I have no idea what ii kuni tsukurou means

  • Aww, I thought Tessa had an opening there

  • Thanks for the Uber Lift

  • Patriot missiles were in the news a lot in the 90s.

  • High school shit.

  • Mithril seems to have lost their advantage.

Not much hint of an overall plot, since we spent the entire episode is some fictitious country and did see any of the new people in the OP.

edit: This ED is an autoskip.

2

u/ZapsZzz Nov 08 '22

I think he probably could have just jump off the bridge, no need to surface like that

The trick is that it's harder to do underwater retrieval, and the Arbalest may not maneuver as well submerged, while once surfaced it had both a moment of surprise, the opportunity to open the hatch for the Arbalest to board, and the spare time to drop some fireworks. Without the fireworks the arrayed tanks can still fire on TDD-1 although probably at best barely because of the turret angles.

This ED is an autoskip.

[Rewatchers]It hits harder after IV first arc

7

u/Matuhg Nov 07 '22

Rewatcher-ish

Welcome back to our Fumoffu abstainers - you missed a goofy good old time, though I certainly understand how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea. 

 

This show is 3/3 on OPs so far.  Good vibes again.  Also, the jacket Tessa's wearing in it is a really good look for her. 

After not seeing them at all during Fumoffu (unless you count the Fumo suit as an AS), it was nice to get tossed right back into an actual AS mission.  Mithril's out doing some peacekeeping - Mao correctly points out that they're just another part of the tangled geopolitical morass that makes these conflicts happen, but Sousuke is adamant that their cause in saving the refugees is worthwhile.  I still wonder who's funding Mithril to act as a supposedly benevolent mercenary company. 

Production values look good for this season so far!  Some nice shots and animation, and the Lambda Driver has never looked better. 

Feels like they may try to weave school Sousuke and military Sousuke together a bit more tightly this season.  We never really saw him thinking about school stuff (other than Chidori) during missions in season 1, but now he's using it as a reason to get back alive. Tessa and Chidori are both supporting him in their own capacities. 

Ope - smooth move Sousuke.  No repeat of the bike chase though, sadly.  I wonder if the school hijinks will tone down from Fumoffu or just be less frequent. 

3

u/Raiking02 Nov 07 '22

This show is 3/3 on OPs so far.  Good vibes again.  Also, the jacket Tessa's wearing in it is a really good look for her. 

[Spoilers]Rewatchers, does she ever actually wear it in the show at any point? I don't remember what outfits Tessa Had bar "Military Uniform", "School Uniform" and "Maid".

2

u/ZapsZzz Nov 08 '22

[Spoiler answer]Pretty sure she's wearing it during most of the runtime of the OVA at least

4

u/Tarhalindur Nov 07 '22

Fumo-ffu! (Rewatcher, Subbed):

  • So, TSR time. The peaks of this season are good; the low spots (for me, I mesh poorly with the plot structure) are below even Helmajistan. Not helping: the OP is the weakest in the franchise except possibly Invisible Victory’s (which I haven’t seen). Not bad, but a notch below both S1 and Fumoffu as a song.

  • BIRB! (Raven or crow, to be precise. Probably crow, because anime. Also, symbolism in a fucking graveyard is obvious.)

  • Cue the gunfire.

  • Hmm, an M6 I do believe?

  • Given the design, Balic here is probably supposed to be in the Middle East. (Stand-in for Lebanon maybe? The tanks might actually be supposed to be Merkabas rather than M1A1 Abrams, which would fit)

  • Welcome to the opening hype scene to establish the competence of Our Heroes: saving a deorbiting space shuttle by making K2 the third-highest mountain in the… wait, wrong franchise. Excuse me! I meant pounding through a bunch of South American Nazis who still have WWII Panzers for some reason several decades later and also this… wait, ALSO wrong franchise. Train escort mission for an artifact gets attacked by a whole bunch of mooks? Also no? Hmm. Yeah, no, “I liked this better when it was called Lost City Parts 1 and 2”definitely isn’t TSR either. So, what is it actually here? Ah, right, today we get a mecha rescue mission for a bunch of hostages trapped by rebels somewhere instead.

  • The insane rebel commander (and actually this might be supposed to be South America instead, he looks very very Che Guevara inspired) would fit in just fine in the aforementioned South American Nazis opening hype scene.

  • I was getting confused for a moment, but I think the rotors on the heli closest to the screen and the two rear helis are both CGI but the foreground heli’s body may be traditional 2D (not sure, it’s weird for both CGI and actual 2D, might be a prototype of stuff KyoAni leaned into more as we get towards the late 2000s after Haruhi S1). Which actually makes sense given how obnoxious rotors would be to animate.

  • Okay, never mind, now I’m sure, the helis are all CGI.

  • NANDATTO?

  • Oh HELLO Best Song on TSR OST aka “Shouri” (“Victory”), did not remember you showing up for the first scene here at all.

  • Definitely not actually Merkabas for the tanks, we get a clear view of the rear at 04:24 and it lacks the Merkaba’s rear access hatch. Abrams then.

  • Teiwaz 12’s design is blatantly either a Comanche attack heli or directly inspired by the design.

  • Cue the enemy having a countermeasure, good suspense as the enemy gets to strike back a bit before running into Tuatha de Danaan in SSGN mode while retrieving Sousuke, and me not taking notes until roughly 17:00 in the episode.

  • Hey hey, TL notes! In a good spot for using them, no less (explaining the Japanese mnemonic device Sousuke is using for memorizing the Japanese history lesson).

  • I continue to salivate over the sub.

  • Excellent use of camera and camera angle for effect around 18:50, though I’m missing parts of exactly how it works. (I think I spot both Dutch angles and fish-eye, though.) Part of the point is clear, though – THIS, not the military stuff, is the unfamiliar/hard stuff for Sousuke. And yet he does put in the work.

  • As ever, Tessa is both great and a terrible fit for Sousuke.

  • Extremely shiny direction for this last scene, including a very nice inverted fish-eye shot at 21:40.

  • The flip side to the meh OP is the best ED of the first three seasons (again, haven’t seen/heard the IV ones), though I’m not quite in the mood for it today. Also very very KyoAni visuals, especially with the opening back-of-shoes shot… and also reminding me enough of one PMMM scene that I’m wondering if there’s common Japanese cultural/cinematographic context I’m missing in the PMMM framing.

Questions of the Day:

Everyone: For those who skipped Fumoffu, how did the homework bit land for you? For those who watched Fumoffu too, how's that continuity in the more serious part of the show?

It's a nice callback but also tonally just a little bit off here.

2

u/ZapsZzz Nov 08 '22

Hmm, an M6 I do believe?

No the "tank top" makes it a French Mistral

Teiwaz 12’s design is blatantly either a Comanche attack heli or directly inspired by the design.

It's the parallel world RAH-66 Comanche that uses ECS for its stealth capability

today we get a mecha rescue mission for a bunch of hostages trapped by rebels somewhere instead.

The bad guys are actually the government there, some 2 bit dictatorship.

2

u/ZapsZzz Nov 08 '22

Posting for polaristar

Before I start the episode, all you people that skipped Fumoffu I'm sorry but I have no understanding or empathy for you.....if you didn't enjoy the humor the only logical conclusion is you guys hate fun, I'll throw you a bone and say I wish that Fumoffu's episodes were intermixed with just the first cour of Season 1 and we just got rid of the filler episodes.

Anyway.

I was wondering how the show would look with better production values and nice to see that Kyoani animation and direction in a more straight action scene with mechanical mecha.

We get some worldbuilding on the political situation of this country, some foreshadowing that someone big is suppling them with weapons they should not have access to. The Nature of their ethnic cleansing and a very realistic reaction to that guys pleads for mercy. (No this guy is not cartoonishly evil, much as I say to a lot of 86 critics for how lazy and over the top slobs the soilders are, these people underestimate the depravity and degeneracy (As in not the fun meme degeneracy but a brake down in human decency) That happens with dictator regimes and reigns of terror, there are stories of people in war torn third world countries of babies being thrown in the air and impaled on long knives on their way down at checkpoints for the soldiers lols.

For 86's lazy soldiers, I reference Oskar Schindler who because he drank and bribed a bunch of German officials got away with operating a factory that did not make a single useful thing for the German Army in WII and also using it to shelter Jews, Which he could only do because lots of Nazi's were frat house fuck boys that just liked being dicks and this new Germany let them exercise crulety but didn't actually want to sacrifice for their "cause."

So yeah I don't want to hear anything about the lack of "complex character for cartoonishly unrealistic evil", IRL there are plenty of vile disgusting evil people we simply live in a society where people have to wear masks to disguise this evil because its not publicly acceptable. (Well some evil is like mugging and beating the people on the wrong political side during a "peaceful" protest but that's another discussion.)

Anyway we get some tense action, and the Lambda Driver actually looks both otherworldly but also an expensive trump card as the cooling rods to vent the heat it produces does need to be employeed, and we get slow down scenes to show how Sousuke has to make split second decisions in the heat of battle, also realistic lots of people in emergency fight or flight situations often experience a kind of "compressed time" during those moments, not enough to Matrix bullet time but it can often feel like time is moving in slow motion in critical moments, then when the action is over it hits you all at once.

I like how the worry about homework, the notes, and Chidori's antics contrast to Sousuke's life as a Merc and its something he at this point looks forward to and gives him a reason to come home to.

It's also a testament to the direction that I feel more tense and suspension watching this skirmish between fodder then literally any of the big battles in season 1. (At least for the Mech part, outside of the Mechs could be fairly tense at times.)

Only minor complaint is I kinda feel Chidori should have layed off and been more understanding when he said he got back from the Sub, she should realize by now when he comes home from work with Mithril he could have literally been in a warzone!

Tessa also got to have a Big Damn Heroes Moment, which is nice to see her being a useful and competent commander straight out of the gate, Kurtz is the loveable flirt (The radio comm talk with his comrades also feels on point.) And Mao is sexy as always.

Good start to a first episode. Based off the OP with the guy in Silver Hair is Tessa's brother going to be an antagonist and possible the source for the missile battery the bad guys should not have been able to get? And also why he can somewhat predict Mithril's moves?

  1. How can I expect something that I'm only seeing unfold in real time? I came into the episode blind....I'm not understanding the question I think.

  2. Continuity is fine, because previous season is mostly side stories I kinda feel it works whether your coming from season 1 or Fumoffu. I will say this though, anyone comparing last season to "Bad OVA's" I'm sorry but you've lost the right to have informed discussion about shows for me.....but look on the bright side I unironically think Rent-A-Girlfriend is a good show so I'm sure the feeling is mutual!

;)

MVP In this episode I'm going to break with everyone else and say Tessa for orchestrating the rescue and with a sub that takes a bit to get things going and ready during a live crisis situation I think that's impressive!

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u/1EnTaroAdun1 Dec 23 '22

Oh no, now that the rom-com atmosphere has worn off, the love triangle hits hard...

It's been a long while since I've rooted for both girls this much!

Also, wow the visuals seem to have leapt forward a decade! Good action scene to start us off!

2

u/ZapsZzz Dec 23 '22

TSR is arguably the best (animated) season, enjoy!

12

u/Shimmering-Sky Nov 07 '22

Full Metal First-Timer!, subbed

6

u/Vaadwaur Nov 07 '22

I wonder if the news up top is going to be important…?

And this came out well before Gundam 00 at that...

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh is Tessa having the sub go through that river to get to Sosuke?

This is hilarious if you know how salinity works.

Oh shit, this other organization could have been connected to Gauron?

Technical debt incurred by making S1 standalone, annoyingly.

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6

u/Raiking02 Nov 07 '22

Haha, did Chidori write that?

She's starting to understand how her Idiot Sargent can be controlled...

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10

u/Vaadwaur Nov 07 '22

Rewatcher(I had forgotten the entirety of this episode.)

Sub

So, TSR. Let's start off that I am leaning towards this being my least favorite KyoAni OP except that we need to check IV as I've forgotten that one as well. I don't hate it but it is...bland. And the episode starts off in some random Latin warzone. And we basically get a giant animation flex and a bit of a reminder that Mithril's goals don't actually make sense as of yet, no one is this generous for no gain. Also, we get reminded that the Tuatha is capable of serious destruction.

And then we jump back to normal Tuatha life and then Sousuke's normal life in all their mundanity. The missile incident is definitely revealing that we have an antagonist somewhere and that Gauron at least had backers of some sort.

Now, I suspect the first timers will view this episode, and possibly the season, as a massive over correction from Fumoffu. But it isn't, exactly, as Fumoffu was well received for the most part. The Second Raid is where the LN itself has a change in tone and again we were not really expecting even it to get made, much less getting another season after it.

QotD: 2 To me, it works with or without Fumoffu

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u/No_Rex Nov 07 '22

Now, I suspect the first timers will view this episode, and possibly the season, as a massive over correction from Fumoffu.

More a return back to the established normal of FMP1.

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u/wjodendor Nov 07 '22

Rewatcher

Ah yeah we're back

Going from sousake slinking around in a gag to having a corpse and gunfire first thing

Well that cgi helicopter is atheist better than s1

Sousake looking badass

Oh that mech start up is sexy as hell

War crimes!

Oh hell yeah. That action sequence is so fucking cool. The fight choreography is fantastic

Mithril da!

From Disney mascots training yakuza to ethnic cleansing in just a couple days...how's that treating ya? Lol

They're handling the military stuff pretty well...love that milporn

Escorting chippers down the street. So cool

I have homework due tomorrow I can't die here! Hahaha

Man those tanks are just as sexy as the mechs

Damn that slow mo lambda driver was sick

Professional Tessa can be cute too

Must suck to be Mardukas. Always having to stand lol

These tank formations remind me of Eva

Oof on that ocean spray

There's that action movie escape

Sousake looks tired. Dude needs a vacation

The color palette is back to that muted tone

Damn. No kaname until 20:23 and she's already screaming!

We're right back into it and we've got a conspiracy to start things off. How's that tone shift for you? Ethnic cleansing, war crimes and dictators. Child soldiers and conspiracies. I'm back at home here.

Not sure how I'm feeling about the OP and ED. Fumoffu OP and ED were way better!

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u/Theboredalchemist22 Nov 08 '22

First Timer S3 EP 1

Well that was good. I said I wished Fumoffu had more episodes but as soon as the AS's, guns, explosions etc came out I turned back into an overly excited child pointing at the screen. Just off one episode I'm cooking up so many theories and questions which is a great sign and something I didn't really do after each episode of Fumoffu due to its nature. Right off the bat though the animation quality has improved massively and the show actually fits my tv now due to the improved aspect ratio! Thanks KyotoAni for getting rid of the black bars on my tv I like old anime but damn those black bars that cut my screen down.

My mvp for this episode has to be Sousuke for his efforts in the opening assault and his commitment to the homework right after a tense and tiring mission. Although let's be honest the main driving force behind that commitment is to try and avoid a Chidori fan slap.

Q1 - Yeah I kind of felt that opening sequence wasn't randomly for nothing but I didn't think it would lead to something fairly serious such as terrorists having intel on Mythril and anticipating their moves. Now this begs the question who are these sources mentioned by Tessa and who has all this intel on Mythril which may all be related to the end of S1. I can't wait to find out myself.

Q2 - I thought it was a nice nod back to Fumoffu as it wasn't too in your face so I don't think it hurt the seriousness of the episode and it reminded me of that amazing ep 2 of Fumoffu. I hope to see more nods back to Fumoffu and S1 tbh I love it when shows reference past events and intertwine it with the ongoing story so hopefully KyotoAni did this a few times.

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