Customer Reviews

Full Metal Panic! The Complete series [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just received this set and have watched through roughly 4 episodes and a little bit.

For those that don't know, Full Metal Panic (or FMP) is a show from early 2000 based on a series of short novels. The story involves a boy soldier (well, mercenary), sent by a secret organization to protect a girl who is known to be a "Whispered." Being a "Whispered" means that the person holds knowledge of "black technology" without really knowing they know it. Mostly it's about Sagara Sosuke, the boy soldier, being clumsy with people and having an obvious crush on the girl he is supposed to be protecting. The feeling is mutual and the girl he is protecting, Chidori Kaname, is just as awkward in dealing with Sosuke.

Giant robot action is also included as a sort of bonus. Think of the show as a romantic comedy with serious drama and military action thrown in.

In terms of the Blu Ray, this release is an upscale of a standard definition release as the studio that animated it, Gonzo, was only animating in SD at the time of its release. Either way, a proper software upscale done on a Blu Ray will always look better than an upscale done through hardware (watching a DVD via the PS3 upscaled to 1080p for instance). This release is no exception.

The nice thing here is that the opening sequence is unaffected by the upscale this time around, unlike Funimation's release of Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Box Set [Blu-ray] where the opening was improperly encoded and skips frames.

Picture quality is nothing short of amazing. Crystal clear and from everything I can tell, there are no artifacts or other weirdness brought in from the upscale. If you had this on DVD and want an upgrade in picture quality, this is a worthy purchase as it looks perfect. If upscaled DVD looks good to you, well there may be no point in upgrading to Blu Ray.

Something to keep in mind is that this show was originally done in the 4:3 aspect ratio (SD). The opening, while widescreen, isn't anamorphic and wasn't actually animated in HD, so it will always contain bars at the top and bottom of the picture. This is as it was originally animated and FUNimation has taken no liberties to try and stretch it to a widescreen format, which is appreciated.

The opening and endings are the same as the ADV DVD release so the opening/ending title cards are all in English. If you're looking for the Japanese title cards, you'll need to purchase the Japanese releases to have Japanese title cards as they are not included in any ADV or FUNimation release.

In terms of audio, you have 2 options. You can watch the show in Stereo Dolby True HD in spoken Japanese (the original show was 2.0 stereo in Japan, so you are getting the audio as originally intended by the Japanese producers for the Japanese market) and you are also given the option of Dolby True HD 5.1 in spoken English. When ADV released the series oh so many years ago, they upgraded the 2.0 audio to a 5.1 mix in the US. The result in English, for me, is a mixed result as much of the time it still feels like a stereo mix. I also generally watch Anime in Japanese, so I was really just swapping around during action sequences to see how the channel separation sounds and it's good, but nothing amazing.

Overall the audio sounds pretty good. There are no drop outs or other audio issues and the added bitrate afforded by Blu Ray and True HD, but then, there weren't really any issues with the original DVD mixes either.

Some nice extras are included, including one that wasn't in the original single release from ADV (nor was it included in previous ADV sets). The new extra is the interview with the show's producers and original author of the novels. This was recorded for the Japanese Blu Ray release (or possibly to air during the re-airing of the series on Japanese TV, I'm not sure), I believe, so it actually is encoded in HD, 1080i. It's a look back on the show's release and is really good.

There is something missing from the extras. The original DVD release included some production sketches in video form. These do not exist on this release, which means it isn't "complete," however they weren't amazing. It is disappointing they aren't here though.

You have 8 episodes per disc, on 3 discs. I was worried there would be audio or video issues trying to cram so many episodes on a disc, however the bit rates are high throughout and it really looks quite amazing.


If you love the series and want the release with the best video quality yet released, this is the one to pick up. If you need to have all the extras, you'll need this release (or the DVD equivalent) and the original ADV release for the production sketches.

If you've never seen the show and don't own a previous version, this is the one to get.

EDIT- one mistake. The ending credits are NOT the same credits ADV used. They have been redone and no longer "scroll" up the screen, which is nice. Still would have been nice to include the original op/ed credits from the Japanese version as an extra if nothing else.

If you are an avid anime fan and enjoy action/drama/comedy series then this is for you! Though it is now several years old, the series is still in my top 10 or 20 of all time. The balance of drama, action, and comedy is well done and the characters are genuinely likable.

Other reviews and the synopsis cover the plot and events pretty well, but if you are a fan of military style anime with some fan service thrown in then definitely pick this up.

I recommend watching with the Japanese dialogue and English subtitles. Souske's Japanese voice is PERFECT! I also recommend a 13+ age for viewing as a lot of the humor is slightly 'flirty' in nature and young audiences won't get a lot of the humor.

Full Metal Panic is a good action anime and to many is a classic. The characters are distinct and the story is oddly enough pretty good despite it's genericness. Even I have to admit it's an enjoyable show to watch even though i don't really like these mecha animes.

If you love mech action combined with classic Japanese high school comedy, then this is your Anime! lol. greta price too. :)

This anime is great for those people who enjoy a mech anime with a side of comedy. This is fish out water story where mercenary Sousuke who is 16-17 years old has to join a school in Tokyo to watch over a girl named Kaname because of her "whispered" abilities. From there a good action and comedy story takes place. This season is more on the action side which doesn't take away from the fact that it is a great show.

If you are into the comedic aspects then watching or purchasing Full Metal Panic!? Fumoffu is for you, not much action in that series.

The animation is great for having been produced in 2002, especially compared to shows being produced at the time With that let me discuss the reason for the title above, while the english dub sounds good and no actor is bad, I personally felt that Sousuke's personality and the fact that he is oblivious to everything he is doing wrong is lost with the english dub. Even with the Japanese audio being in stereo I would say stick with that, but if you dislike reading subtitles then the english audio is perfectly fine.

I really enjoy when a show or anime can blend together multiple genres and make a successful final product, the only genre that ends up lacking a little bit is the romance but that is a result of the characters personalities and interactions aka Sousuke is again oblivious to everything not military related.

Rating: 4.5/5

Sousuke Sagara is a seventeen year old military specialist with an interesting mission - become a high school student in order to protect Kaname Chidori, who is a "Whispered", a person unknowingly in possession of "Black Technology". Unfortunately, while very knowledgeable of military subjects, Sousuke completely lacks basic social skills. Also working against him is the very thing that makes him a good soldier, a healthy paranoia and quick reflexes, which results in many a innocent student at gunpoint. While Sousuke is intent on guarding Kaname from terrorists, she works hard to protect the school from Sousuke!

I started this series without any expectations, and I must say I was quiet pleasantly surprised. Sousuke is quiet an ernest, likable character and Kaname isn't as annoying as I had expected her. Over time I even grew rather fond of her. Sousuke's social inaptitude is the focus of most of the humor, but wasn't too overdone. He does seem incredible dense sometime, but you have to keep in mind the environment that he was raised in, and take into account that he doesn't really care about social correctness and doesn't make much of an effort to learn. The balance between military missions and high school social life is well done and provide an entertaining contrast.

I tried watching this show in English for an episode and then gave up and switched to Japanese, which was much better. Sousuke's voice actor in particular did a very good job. The English dub isn't too bad, the Japanese is just much better.

If you enjoy this show you will be please to learn that the two OVAs are even better. Full Metal Panic FUMOFFU is 12 episodes of random short stories and Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid is 13 episodes with one storyline. Fumoffu is very entertaining and funnier than the original series. Second Raid is a little darker than the original and the story is much more solid. I recommend all three.

Here it is, the first series out of three in the Full Metal Panic anime franchise in full HD! Witness how Sousuke Sagara and Kaname Chidori first met and how the action and humorous hijinks ensues(and continues on). The insane, off the wall comedy will at times have you literally almost rolling on the group and the intense Mecha action and drama on the battlefield will hit home. Anyway, on with the review.

Video:

Although this is a blu-ray remastered release, oddly it's in 4x3, full screen aspect ratio instead of the usual 16x9, widescreen aspect ratio used in high definition media. This means you have to manually configure your TV's aspect ratio to widescreen(16x9) if you want to get rid of the black bars on the left and right sides of the screen, if your TV or blu-ray player doesn't do this automatically. I really don't see why they did this for the blu-ray release. Maybe they couldn't get the rights to the full HD remaster of the series. Who know. Anyhow, aside from that, the video quality is really good. The colors are vibrant, the outlines on the characters, mecha, and etc are very sharp. You don't get any kind of blurry, hazy, or distorted parts whatsoever in any of the episodes.


Audio:

The HD audio remastering of this version is really good like a lot of blu-ray conversions of once DVD only material. The music is more powerful and clear, the sound effects are more powerful and crisp. Also, the quality of the character's voices was a lot clearer and more dynamic. These are to expected from blu-ray audio, though. The better your audio set up for your TV is, the closer you get to the "theater-like" sound experience.


Story:

Well, what can I say? It's over the top comedy fused with Mecha action and drama. You get a little bit of everything in this show. Scenes where you will laugh really hard, scenes where you will be gripping the edge of your seat/chair/couch/etc, scenes where you will feel the pain the characters are feeling, and scenes where you will feel warm and fuzzy inside. A very brilliant story, indeed. It has enough mechs and action to drawn in the mecha/action anime fans, enough comedy and romance to attract the comedy and romantic comedy anime fans, and enough gripping drama to lure the drama and "thought provoking" anime fans. A hardcore warrior-minded mercenary boy clueless to the ways of normal, every day civilian life meets violent, tomboy-ish (somewhat)normal civilian girl clueless to the ways of life on the battlefield was never portrayed as well as this. Definitely a must see for any anime fan.

To put it simply, with zero spoilers-- It has mechs, love, humor, action, and just about everything you could ever want in an anime. Seriously, it's perfect.
There is something I must warn you about though. You can't watch this and not want to watch Fumoffu and The Second Raid, so prepare to see all of them. ^^

Take Macross, update it, put it under the sea, and you have the seed for FMP. Mercs, big battle bots, a love triangle, mutant chicks, advanced weaponry, underwater battle platform / sub (reminded me of the old Stingray series) - this series has it all. Rescue missions, pure revenge, jealousy - these folks face it all. It's a non-stop battle-fest, with an occasional time-out for awkward "he's gotta love me, really!" moments. Two chicks fawning over the same guy, and he'd rather clean his weapon than be alone with either one. He's more comfortable killing than kissing. Makes for some interesting moments - actually most of the humor in the series.

The battle scenes are pretty realistic, the weaponry well thought out, and the characters well done.

Like with another series I had already owned, the previous box set of this series I had had one disk that was cracked in the middle so instead of buying the older box set I decided I get this much more affordable one. The set comes in four dvds put into two thinpack dvd case and into paper sleeve like the recent Funimation box sets, and while it cuts from the previous set of seven dvds the video quality is still the same. That would be the biggest desicion for myself as I was wondering about the possibility of any video difference or not, and there isn't though the frame rate runs smoother so the video looks a little clearer and with fewer miniscule frame distortions but nothing majorly different from the earlier released sets. The one thing that has vastly improved though is the much more clearer audio soundtrack, unlike the previous set a few years ago this one only has 5.1 English audio or 2.0 Japanese audio as Funimation like with the re-release of Kiddy Grade have tossed away the old 2.0 English audio. Also I haven't check all the old series release set dvds yet but it looks Like Funimation touched up the subtitles of this newest release to translate and fit what the subbed cast are saying a lot more better which is nice, also there are pretty much the same we had with the earlier sets with the t.v. promotional spots, trailers, and textless intro/ending songs. If you already have the earlier boxed sets I would say just stick with those unless you need to replace a disc or two, overall with the exception of a cleaner and clearer audio and fewer disc overall you won't see a major difference between this set and the set that was released a few years ago..

The series itself is very entertaining for any mecha or action anime fan as you'll get a good dose of both, the short basic storyline is you have people called "Whispered" who have innate knowledge of advanced sciences ranging from medical to weapons design and because of this there are a variety of groups who are seeking these unique individuals for their own shadowy agendas. One of these whispered is our main female character a spunky young japanese High school girl Kaname Chidori who is being targeted by two groups one of which our main male character Sousuke Sagara a young teenage boy and very skilled mercenary fighter is with is chosen to protect her from these nefarious people. The characters grow on you and the other cast members are all endearing in their own little way as well. The voice cast were great in their roles both the Japanese and English cast played their roles very well and the soundtrack fits the series too. So if you're a fan of series like Gundam or action animes or just a good show in general try checking this series out for your anime collection....