Customer Reviews

Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid: The Complete Series (Remastered)

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Funimation has taken one of its most well respected mecha franchises and decided to give it digital remastering treatment for an upcoming Complete Series box set release.

Coming in at a total runtime of 320 minutes, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (TSR) The Complete Series spans 3-discs packaged in a pair of thin packs within a nice cardboard outer slipcase. As with the previous release, the set comes complete with the TSR OVA, Episode 000, 7-part featurette (scouting in Hong Kong), textless songs and a crop of Funimation anime trailers.

Language options are quite thorough with English (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or original broadcast Stereo) and Japanese (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround or original broadcast Stereo) with the option of running English subtitles below either language track choice.

The program wears an appropriate TV 14 rating due to some violent sequences, themes of conflict, and a bit of non-suggestive female (incestual) nudity.

In my opinion the mark of a solid piece of sequel anime is a show's ability to not only present new material but to also seamlessly intertwine it with the plot of the original. Enter Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid (TSR) from anime master workers, Funimation. This gorgeous set represents the proper formula for improving upon the season before it (which just so happens to be the first of the series) without pulling the story off onto an unrelated tangent.

The Second Raid follows the exploits of mercenary soldier Sousuke Sagara who, right from the beginning, does an adequate job of fulfilling his undercover mission as a regular high school student. Unlike the first season, which focused more on the importance of female-lead character Kaname Chidori, this time the viewer is treated to a bit more sympathetic take on the almost child-like innocence of Sousuke. While their hot and cold romance still forms the backbone of the tale, there is no shortage of political motivation or interesting characters to accompany the action.

While Souske resumes his meteoric rise to the title of Sergeant for the paramilitary outfit called Mithril, the major struggle being presented finds Mithril locked in battle with the terrorist group Amalgam. In truth, and despite how well the good guys are presented here, it's tough not to find the bad guys terribly interesting. Among these is a lesbian pair of twin sister assassins, the enigmatic Leonard Testarossa (who just so happens to be the brother of Mithril's own cheery colonel, Teletha) and his extremely wicked robotic enforcers. Last but certainly not least is the lead villain Gates who, quite frankly, captures the concept of full ought insanity in animated form like something American animators can only dream of achieving through The Joker.

And since Full Metal Panic! initially hooked me with its near-flawless use of mecha, it's only proper that I take a moment to recognize the simple truth that TSR not only picks up where the first season left off, it may even supercede the robotic combat at times. Notable here is the ongoing struggle for Souske to make full use of the full abilities of his unit, the Arbalest, and its emotion controlled Lambda Driver. In my opinion the FMP series succeeds where other robot shows fail in both the mobility of the robots (called Arm Slaves or AS' for short) is in their sheer speed and maneuverability. Right from the beginning of the very first episode viewers are treated to an incredible display of AS stealth, speed, and power. It's cinematic showmanship in the purest form and enough to give even diehard anime fans the chills.

Although not entirely essential to the overall plot progression, I should mention that another Arm Slave, the M9 Falke, makes a few appearances that just dazzle with eerie coolness.

The discs themselves contain no shortage of bonus entertainment. The complete 13-episode series is presented across three discs in uncut, digitally remastered glory with dialog coming in the selectable form of English, Japanese or in original broadcast format with English subtitles. While the series itself technically consisted of 13 episodes, Funimation packed both a mini-bonus episode (complete with a scene that had this reviewer actually laughing out loud) and a conclusion OVA full-length episode as well. There is a 7-part featurette entirely in Japanese with English subtitles that does a few interesting things whether they were intentional or not. The first of which is that this section provides an unrivaled look at the Hong Kong lifestyle complete with unlimited comparisons to how life differs there from life in a typical US city. Next it paints the show's creative staff in an entirely different light. I'm guilty of stereotyping anime writers, producers, artists, and directors as moody, withdrawn and slightly disturbed individuals but nothing could be further from the truth with the down-to-earth team responsible for FMP. Finally, anime may be known for an unsurpassed level of detail but never is this reality made clearer than when the viewer is offered a chance to look at the actual Hong Kong locations that inspired the backgrounds of the show. It's downright mind-boggling and a testament to the amount of work that goes into putting a series like this together!

Additionally the set contains a comical little segment in which our creative team takes a trip to a Japanese Self-Defense Force expo for inspiration on the military equipment that appears throughout the series. There are Japanese (English subtitled) commentary tracks across every single episode from several of the show's voice actors and finally the set offer textless versions of the show's theme songs.

The truth is that it is very difficult if not impossible to come away from this presentation without having taken something worth remembering. The anime itself is rich, deep, and oftentimes silly enough to warrant a chuckle but there's something here even for those who wouldn't consider themselves fans of the genre. The creative process and attention to detail is downright awe-inspiring.

While it still looks good (much better than the highly compressed DVDs that have tons of blocking artifacts), this show was originally animated in SD resolution and was upscaled for Blu-ray (it's still worth buying if you don't already have the DVDs or are bothered by their compression artifacts).

What's more, it was encoded at 1080p24 despite the opening animation being animated at 30 frames per second. This means that while the main show animation is fine, the opening appears choppy on Blu-ray compared to the DVDs. The movement is not as smooth since frames are missing.

Since 1080p30 is not supported by Blu-ray, the opening would need to be encoded at 1080i in order to show all 30 of the frames per second. Since it's not possible to have the opening at 1080i and the rest of the show at 1080p, they could either encode all of the show at 1080i (like the Japanese Blu-ray release), or encode the show at 1080p while encoding the creditless opening in the extras at 1080i. I would personally prefer the latter, but I would be satisfied with either solution.

This review assumes you have already watched Full Metal Panic! season one.
The Second Raid (TSR) is characterised by violence and strong language. The enemies are crazier and deadlier, the Arm Slave action better and the Chidori-Sagara relationship cools a little. The upper echelons of Mithril play a strong part in the plot, which is unfortunate because several more seasons would be required to reveal what could be going on there. Tessa's brother plays a teaser role, again unfortunate because he obviously needs a full season on his own.
This season feels like the Empire Strikes Back of a trilogy. Dark, brutal, violent, it is excellent in its own right: but it requires at least another season to follow it.

TSR follows on reasonably directly from FMP season one. The Fumoffu! season can be seen as a comic relief interlude, and fits between the two.

Since FMP! The Second Raid has been out for sometime now I am not going into the story in detail, but the Video/Audio transfer (Which is, for the most part why we invest in blu-ray). As some would note, this is one of the most cleanest and slickest looking animes to date. Coming from Kyoto Animation I would expect no less as this new addition to FMP! on Blu-ray was inevitable due to its slick visuals and fantastic designs. I should note that this is a triple dip for me. (Collected individually, then the Box Set, now this Blu-ray addition)

THE MOVIE ITSELF: (Maybe some spoilers)
If anyone has followed the first season to FMP! and even the addition FMP!Fumoffu you will know that this is the second season and a hell of a season it was. Unlike the last season, the 2nd Raid is really straight forward and it leaves out the random filler type episodes. This time around the story continues almost 3 months later and sorely focuses on Kaname and Sousuke's relationship. To be short, in the amidst of all the craziness, they both realize how important they are to each other. As I said, I will not go into much detail, this was a great season you should check it out if you have not already.

VIDEO: (Presented in an AVC-MPEG4/1.78:1/1080p)
I will be up front and say; "You haven't seen FMP! The Second Raid in all it's glory, if you haven't seen it in Blu-ray!"
I have watched the DVD additions time and time again and this one is an eye opener the first time viewing it. It is definitely more vibrant, sharp, and the lines are really clean; not just another plain upscale like some thought it would be. The studio actually went in and remastered it for HD release and more importantly they removed a lot color banding. Though I might add, it is present in some scenes but rarely apparent. Just to check if my eyes were not lying to me, I went back to the DVD addition (Upscaled 1080p), and yes this is definitely a step up from that.

AUDIO: (Presented in 5.1 ENG/JP Dolby TrueHD) ^^b
Unlike the video presentation; the audio has been beefed up enormously. Some of the key upgrades in audio are more rear surround use and a bombastic use of the LFE (sub). What I appreciated the most was the liveliness that they gave the Arm Slaves; whether they were just walking or in the amidst of action, they definitely rocked the LFE thundering the house. Good stuff, not audio demo worthy, but good stuff for an anime. It would remind you of the Cloverfield monster rampaging through the city.

EXTRAS:
Unfortunately they did not add anything that the DVD additions didn't have already. All of the extras which included Episode 000 and the Bonus OVA (presented in HD as well) are all crammed into the second disk. I should note that you can view a short trailer of the Blu-ray addition of Burst Angel; if your are wondering how it would look that is.

In conclusion, if you are a video/audiophile like me and you love to watch your anime in a high fidelity or you just love FMP! that much; you definitely want to add this one to your collection. This one is a nice addition to the Funimation Blu-ray venture. Here's hoping for Season 1 and maybe Fumoffu for Blu-ray!

Reviewed with:
Samsung LN4061F
Yamaha RX-V465 w/Orb Audio satellites and sub
Sony PS3

I would have given this 5 stars if not for the advertisements that I'm forced to watch every single time I pop any disc into my player. They can't be skipped. They can't be fast-forwarded. I can't go to main menu directly. Each of the 4 discs contains about 5 minutes of advertisements (mainly Dragonball Z & Black Cat) that you must sit though before you're able to do anything else. I swear I'm never watching either Dragonball or Black Cat anime. Ever. To all marketing people out there: the surest way to ensure whatever it is you're marketing won't sell is to force the public to watch your ads before they're allowed to go on to the thing they actually want.

So that's all for my only gripe here. Other than that, this boxset really is superb. The packaging is well done, and comes with 4 booklets filled with FMP goodness, things every fan would love to know. Dialogue is in Japanese/English (selectable), with English subtitles.

The discs are also filled with extras, the best of which has got to be the bonus 30-minute OVA, "A Relatively Leisurely Day in the Life of a Fleet Captain", which can best be explained as fan-service for Tessa fans... but seriously, it's humourous in the vein of Fumoffu, and every FMP fan (even non-Tessa fans) would love it.

The anime itself is of course top-notch. It's FMP, after all. Seriously, if not for the compulsory ads that can't be avoided no matter what, this would be 5-stars. Possibly the only issue I had is the slight jump in continuity towards the last few episodes, but nothing serious that can't be explained away easily. Like Fumoffu, TSR was done by Kyoto Animation, and is not to be missed by any FMP fan.

If you have seen the other 2 Full Metal Panic series, this one is required viewing. You will not be disappointed. This series goes back to the gritty action and drama seen in many portions of the 1st series. Most definitely the least humorous out of the three but that's what allows this one to shine through. Plus, we get to see the much more emotional Sousuke, rather than the socially inept and more laid back Sousuke in Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. Anyway, the conversion to blu-ray makes the overall animation quality crisper and clearer and the colors are more vibrant. The sound quality is much richer and noticeably more dynamic. Definitely a much better way to enjoy this awesome series.

For people new to the Full Metal Panic universe, this one and the other 2 series are recommended if you: 1) enjoy mech battles and war/battle based stories, 2) enjoy "tongue and cheek" humor, 3) enjoy nice doses of action(explosions, gunfire, and etc), 4) like interesting and engaging storylines, and/or 5) like memorable characters and good character development. So basically, if you don't mind an anime that gives you everything from absolute seriousness to zany humor, and some of the stuff in between, you will probably enjoy Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid(and the other 2 shows).

This is quite a remarkable follow up to the first season of Full Metal Panic - it takes the tone of the first season and brings it up a notch - meaning that the action is a little more intense, the story is a bit more complicated, the relationships are more strained, and the fan service is a little more...well... obvious. Everything that I would expect from a sequel. The animation is fluid and easy on the eye, the new characters are interesting and engaging while our old friends from the first season all make their appearances.

My only complaint (if you can call it that) is that because the story is more complex (with various story lines continuously interweaving throughout all the episodes much more than in the first series) there was much more to explain and explore and not enough time in all the episodes to develop all the new characters and storyline as I would have liked. This does not detract from the enjoyment of watching and it doesn't necessarily detract from the story itself either - but it definitely leaves you desperately waiting for a 3rd season to answer a lot of your unanswered questions.

The set itself is simple - the DVDs are kept together in a slim box set case. I don't recall any amazing DVD inserts and the DVD extras are not really anything to get excited about - but for my purposes (which is just to watch enjoyable complete anime series on DVD) this is a perfect fit and I would not have purchased a different set.

A great anime, and a great box set... includes a bonus OVA, commentaries for pretty much every episode, and a handful of behind-the-scenes specials that provide an in depth look at how the show was made. Well worth the purchase price.

What could be better than having what of the greatest anime series of all time on bluray? Out of hundreds of series that i've seen, this is easily in the top 5. The first season is good, but this followup season is amazing. You laugh, you cry, and you enjoy it all the way through. This series moves me like few others do. Treat yourself and pick this up! The first season comes out on bluray soon too, so make sure you watch it first!!

This is a great show, and the packaging and extras are pretty cool, but I gave this boxset 4 stars because there are unskippable 90+ second ads for anime like Dragonball Z at the start of every disk. If someone bothers to pay for a series instead of pirating it, don't reward customers by shoving advertisements down their throats unless you want them to start pirating again.