Customer Reviews

Full Metal Panic FUMOFFU - The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

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

 

 

For those wondering about the show, my review will be quick. Sousuke is a teenage soldier/mercenary for a clandestine secret organization called Mithril. His job? Protect Chidori Kaname at all costs. Chidori is a "whispered;" someone with innate knowledge of high tech weaponry and defense tech. Of course, she doesn't actually KNOW she knows.

While the original series, Full Metal Panic! The Complete series [Blu-ray] has a small amount of comedy mixed in with the action, suspense and love drama, Fumoffu sheds all but the comedy and love drama from the picture. Fumoffu is light hearted and fun. In terms of series, the original series I would say is the most even in terms of balancing the comedy and action/violence. Fumoffu falls into the comedy side of the balance, meaning there is no balance. Then you have the final series released to date, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Box Set [Blu-ray]. Fumoffu and TSR are almost diametrically opposed. If you placed Fumoffu on the comedy end of the balance, you would place TSR squarely in the serious/violent end of the balance.

If you're looking for comedy, this is a good series to buy. If you're looking for action/violence, go for the follow up series, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid Box Set [Blu-ray].

Now as for the discs themselves:

Video:

Wow. Anyone that's seen the ADV release and can compare side by side can attest to the fact that FUNimation has done an amazing job with Fumoffu. You see, when ADV released the series, they used the masters they were provided; composite masters. This means that if you watch Fumoffu from ADV you will see a lot of video issues, from dot crawl to cross coloration. The Blu Ray release? GONE are these video artifacts. Evidently FUNimation went back to the original production house and requested/demanded (I don't know which) component masters, which means proper color separation and an elimination of composite video problems that plagued the original release.

Is it perfect? No. The original release was for broadcast TV and it included a 24 fps opening/ending animation sequence so there may be some noticeable skips in the op/ed animation. I, however, DID NOT notice it. Also, with the way it was encoded you sometimes, if you pause the video, can capture a scene that bleeds into another. I'm watching on the PS3 and a 52" DLP TV and in motion, rather than in pausing and scanning frame by frame, you don't notice anything wrong.

While not perfect, it is SO much better than the original DVD release that even if you own the original DVD release it is definitely worth the upgrade. You just have to take into consideration if the video on the DVD is bad enough, for you, to warrant double dipping here. For me, it was a no brainer. Even with minor video issues on the Blu Ray, the video quality is MILES better than the original DVD release and most likely this is the best release we are likely to get in Region A/Region 1

Audio:

Dolby TruHD for both the Japanese and English mixes. For the English release, ADV dubbed it in 5.1, remixing the original stereo Japanese elements for this mix. As with most of the remixes from stereo to multichannel, the results are spotty to good at best. The mix isn't horrible but the directionality is minimal. Of course, when you consider there really isn't a ton of explosive action in the series, multichannel audio may have/may be over kill. However, it still sounds good. Clear and problem free.

The Japanese stereo mix is also Dolby TruHD, however it is only a two channel stereo mix. This is as it was originally aired in Japan and has NOT been remixed even for the Japanese DVD/Blu Ray re-releases. The audio sounds very good and there are no problems with the Japanese mix either.

Packaging:

Well, I'll miss the series box and all the cover art that was included with the original release. The cover here is nice and in order to include as much cover art as possible, FUNimation has included a cardboard slip cover just as they did with the other two FMP releases. The nice part is that the artwork on the cardboard sleeve is different than that on the Blu Ray case cover, which is actually nice considering the more "budget" release audience they are targeting here.

The artwork on the discs is pretty nondescript and lame, but in keeping with the FMP feel. It's has a mechanical look to it and the only difference between disc 1 and disc 2 is the label for "disc 01" and "disc 02." Otherwise they are identical.

Extras:

Gone are the video character artwork extras from the original DVD release. For some this won't matter and for others, it means that this collection is NOT complete.

However, you ARE now receiving the original Japanese TV Spots (commercials) for the series that were absent from the original release.

Also included are the clean opening and closing animations, which are also nice. The one thing I wish they would have included is the original Japanese opening/ending with the Japanese text left intact. Such is not the case though.

If you are a completionist, you will need to have the DVD and Blu Ray (or DVD re-release from FUNimation) for all of the extras. If you don't mind not having the character artwork video sequences, you'll be OK selling the DVD release and putting the money towards either this Blu Ray set or the FUNimation DVD re-release.



Over all this is a quality release for the budget conscious. Packaging is in line with the previous releases so it will fit right in with those sets on your shelf.

If you owned the original release and hated the video quality and think it is a series worth double dipping on, buy this release without question.

If you didn't notice the poor video quality or don't want uncompressed audio or didn't like the series too much, well, this release won't do much for you on Blu Ray either.

Full Metal Panic Fumoffu is a standalone comedy series created by Kyoto Animation. It does not follow any established manga plotline or pre set materials. It was created more as a love letter to the fans of Full Metal Panic who loved the absurd situations Sousuke got into when trying to protect Kaname Chidori, and at his time at Jindai High School.

The enjoyment of this series comes when you know Sousuke and the characters involved in Full Metal Panic, watching this without seeing the other 2 shows in my opinion is pointless as you may just find it a little. Well silly, you won't appreciate it if you watch this first.

Moving on.

Mostly based at Jindai High School these are short storys that show various random situations that Sousuke gets into when trying to keep Kaname safe from harm. The humor here comes from Sousukes tendency to over react and see everything as a threat.

With this Sousuke clashes with the more spirited characters in the show. From a crazy teacher to a Karate club to a crazy old man who Sousuke unknownly did something horrible too.

Being put into weird yet funny situations like coaching Rugby to fighting Yakuza in a giant Bonta Kun outfit, Sousuke never fails to amuse.

The normal life is a relative unknown to Sousuke. All he has ever known is war, conflict, things like that when he served as a guerilla soldier as a kid, and when joining Mithril and the TDD.

This in my eyes is where the series excels. Sousuke can be completely clueless, everyone around him and in his classes knows this, but he's learning. He's a good guy with a good heart.

Amazing Series. There's something to love in every episode.

Although I am starting this review, my son will finish it.

What are the good points about this anime -- it makes fun of the entire Full others. Too bad there are not too many others quite like it. So far we have seen gigantic robots that lost their story plot rather quickly or something so full of nudity or barely clothed girls that it made it difficult at best to watch. NOT THIS SET THOUGH.

The main characters are ridiculus in a scary movie type of way. Just think of an ex-military guy going to high school without any idea about girls, fun, or anything else us normal people take for granted. In one episode the ex-military guy has rigged explosives to lockers because he knew someone had gotten inside it. Later he discovers that it was just a girl who wrote him a love letter and dropped it off in the vents of his locker.

Now if you can handle this type of humor than you will definitely like this show. I have never seen the original Full Metal Panic, but plan on purchasing it after seeing this show. Even if Full Metal Panic winds up being more dramatic than this set, I think it will be still be worth watching, because so far this has been the best anime I have seen.

Full Metal Panic is one of my favorite animes of all time and this season is definitely a must have. I watched this with a friend and it was incredibly funny from start to finish. This season basically takes a vacation from the main plot, but as long as you've either watched season 1 or both 1 and the 2nd raid you won't be confused. The overall seriousness of the anime has been blocked for this season and the comedy has been released.

This set deals mostly with the characters Kaname Chidori and Sosuke Sagara as they struggle with the hijinx and hilarity as Sosuke is forced to muddle his way around a typical High school as part of his duty of protecting his charge Kaname from any dangers perceived or otherwise. The set doesn't have any drama like with the first season or the hardcore drama and action like the second season, this thirteen episode set gives us the more humorous and slapstick comedy to a much higher degree. Case in point in one episode we have Kaname and Sosuke forced to help train the school's rugby team to be more tougher during their games and after various tries Sosuke takes a hand in helping the rugby team overcome their adversity though with a much more different result then what Kaname and the rest of the school was expecting. The set is meant as expected to be a straight forward slapstick comedy if you're expecting anything more dramatic or serious I suggest getting the FMP Second Raid set to satisfy that requirement. The animation and soundtrack are pretty much the same as the first seasons and the voice cast did a wonderful job in their character roles. If I have any complaints it's just that the set was to short I truly wish we had more of these entertaining episodes but regardless a very enjoyable set and affordable price for it are right here for any anime fan to get right away...

This is a pretty light-hearted series, based (like oh-so-many Anime) at a high-school. Only several of the students are really Mercenaries, and one in particular takes his bodyguard role way too seriously. Those are the best moments in the series - his over-reaction to everyday occurrences. It's like putting Conan the Barbarian in charge of Medieval times and telling him to make it real. Way over the top and hilarious. You feel so sorry for Sousuke - but want to see him fail so badly.

If you're a FMP fan, I'd watch this series (FUMOFFU - that's a mouth-full) - like light hearted adventure? Ditto. Looking for the all-out blast-fest that is FMP? Nope! This is a fun, family romp.

The product was delivered in a timely manner, was exactly as described and made for a satisfying transaction.

The DVD set was brand new and in original packaging. The price was right and the shipping cost and time was also a solid feature.

The series was quite enjoyable for fans of the original Full Metal Panic. They designed this twelve episode series in a way that compliments the characters while not going over the top or stretching too much. This is a mech-romantic comedy that you are sure to enjoy.

This is just as good as the other Full Metal Panics. The only difference is, in FUMOFFU, there's no AS (Arms Slave) usage. It just follows the average life of Kaname and Souske. But it's still the same amount of awesomeness and hilarity. I abolutely LOVE when Kaname beats the hell out of Souske! The last episode is when the hilarity goes into overdrive and there's a little surprise at the end for all you ecchi lovers ;D

This is a more comedic version of FMP! a bit silly at times, but still worth the purchase, especially if your already a FMP! fan. good price :)

I watched this after first watching the first season followed by the second season. I actually wasn't too interested in watching this. I bought it and it sat on my shelf for about 3 months before I decided to watch this. Full Metal Panic is a series I enjoyed but the first and second season's didn't do enough to make me say this series was one of my all time favorites. I bought Fumoffu simply out of being a completionist. After the first episode though I was hooked!

The whole romance and comedy premise wasn't interesting to me because I felt the characters were a bit flat in the first and second raid and without interesting characters, romance and comedy just don't work. Without being distracted by war conflicts and action sequences, the creators were able to make the characters much more interesting and it really caught me by surprise. I really fell in love with the characters in Fumoffu and my only disappointment is that it ended.

In the end, I feel Fumoffu is the best that Full Metal Panic has to offer and I highly recommend it.

I think you do have to watch the first season in order to appreciate and understand the relationship between the two main characters. If you've seen the first raid and you were disappointed... fret not... Fumoffu can really deliver.