chidori Archives | Page 2 of 2

Tessa takes a shot, Mithril is under heavy attack, and Sousuke and Chidori are still on the run. This anime knows how to make an entrance back onto the scene.

Full Metal Panic has always been an anime series that has managed to balance really gripping drama with the sillier comedy aspects it presents, but Invisible Victory has brought us straight into the drama. There are no quips, no lighter moments to be found in this twenty minutes as all of the characters we’ve come to love over the course of the series find themselves under heavy attack and with very limited options. It doesn’t feel like a different show, but rather feels like the climax from season 2 never quite ended and we’ve been plunged straight back into conflict. And I must say, I’m kind of loving it.

Tessa is at her most serious in the episode and while she might play the ditsy mascot captain when things are going well, she is most certainly the one in charge and trying to keep the team together, even if that is through fairly open threats. The internal conflict is quite understandable because Mithril is a mercenary unit. I’m more surprised these sorts of situations don’t come up more often given while we’re often led to believe they are one big happy family, the people are there because they are paid and paid well. However, high pay and happy times when victory is assured doesn’t necessarily mean loyalty when your back is to the wall.

But it is Sousuke and Chidori who dominate in this episode as they are taken on a fairly thrilling car chase sequence and then foot pursuit. The poor CG not withstanding, it is an intense sequence where both characters show us where they are. We can definitely see Chidori is finding the death and injuries hard to take and the differing opinions of these two on collateral damage is most definitely going to lead to some issues for them sooner rather than later. Particularly with that end to the episode.

Unlike so many other returning series this season, FMP is the one that has managed to strike exactly the note I was looking for from episode 1, and episode 2 just made it better. Really looking forward to more of this.

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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Despite still not actually writing my reviews of the original Full Metal Panic series (first season, second raid and fumoffu), I’m a huge fan of this franchise and am thrilled it is back. So how does this first episode start off the new anime?

There was something very nostalgic about this first episode of Invisible Victory. Partially that has to do with the fact that the visuals don’t seem to have changed at all from second raid, which is both a blessing and a curse. So far this anime looks dated for a 2018 release and yet at the same time it meant instant immersion into a story that has been on break for a very long time. And I guess if they were trying to appeal to fans of the original, they’ve succeeded at recapturing the look and given the story is incomprehensible without prior knowledge at this point, despite some really awkward conversations where exposition was dropped in to catch people up, there’s really no reason for someone to jump into the series at this point.

Sousuke and Chidori are back, and that is a big yay! The impact of the events at the end of second raid are pretty clear with both of these characters being a bit more subdued than we’ve seen them. I’m kind of sad we didn’t get a slightly longer look at their daily life post second raid before events conspired to mess it up, but at the same time I’m glad the anime isn’t wasting time in getting to its story.

With the return of all the faces fans want to see, diving straight into conflict, and Chidori and Sousuke looking cuter than ever together, this was a well appreciated series return for me but unless someone wants to go back and watch at least season one and second raid, there is nothing here for newcomers and visually this anime is showing its age even though this is a new series.

Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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