I look at the clock on the wall, it says three minutes to midnight.

Twelve years since the end of its last season, Full Metal Panic returns to continue the story of Sergeant Sosuke Sagara of special paramilitary force MITHRIL and his mission to protect Kaname Chidori, high school student and one of the legendary mutant prodigies known as “The Whispered”. Based on the Light Novel series from 1998 and continuing the first season from 2002, FMP has been pretty sporadic with its releases, with a “Fumoffu!” (a comedy spin-off) airing in 2003, and proper sequel “The Second Raid” airing in 2006. Over a decade later, and with most of the old cast reassembled, the battle begins once again.

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

On the outskirts of Portsmouth, Captain Teletha “Tessa” Testarossa solemnly visits the graves of her parents. Yes, her name sounds oddly like it should be “Teresa”, but for now, her brother Leonard (Blake Shepard) also arrives to pay his own respects. However, as one of the heads of AMALGAM, MITHRIL’s archenemies, he’s also come to try to bring Tessa over to his side. Luckily, as a Whispered, she planned for this and unveils an Arm Slave (this show’s giant robots), piloted by Sosuke (Chris Patton). Being a Whispered himself, Leonard has also come prepared with an AS of his own. No blood is shed, but the battle lines are drawn. Before boarding a plane, Leonard meets with a man named Kurama (Chris Sabat), who questions why he didn’t just kill Tessa, to which Leonard responds it most likely would’ve been a stalemate. Kurama compares himself to the two previous antagonists and commits to hunting down Sosuke and Kaname, as well as noting that Leonard’s planned “Zero Hour” is only a few hours away.

Back at Jindai High School, student council elections have concluded, with the current president, Hayashimizu (Chris Ayers, WELCOME BACK MAN!), finally being able to step down, as well as Kaname (Luci Christian) as Vice President. But Hayashimizu takes Sosuke aside for some guy talk. He’s been keeping track of the plot of the last two seasons and has been able to deduce that Kaname has been at the center of some recent major incidents, in which Sosuke apparently disappears and a mysterious armed group arrives to protect her. He’s not snooping, but he does know that these kinds of complications will only spell problems for Kaname’s privacy and her relationship with Sosuke, so the two should really talk about it soon. And, whether they like it or not, their peaceful school lives will have to end eventually.

Taking these words into consideration, Sosuke walks home with Kaname and asks to hold hands. The walk seems to go better than usual, and the two plan to have dinner together, but are interrupted by the presence of Leonard, who last met Kaname when he saved her from an assassin and kissed her before professing his love for her. Though this visit is a bit less friendly, bringing more of his human-sized AS units to guard him. AMALGAM is finally striking back against MITHRIL, who they believe have meddled with their plans long enough. They’re hellbent on capturing the Whispered, including Kaname, and this last meeting was merely a courtesy before they get serious. Before leaving, he questions if Sosuke should be allowed to lead his peaceful life with the many deaths he’s caused, a sore spot for the sergeant.

After contacting MITHRIL about the encounter, the couple goes into hiding. At the base, Tessa sends out Sosuke’s personal AS unit, the Arbalest, to assist them before alerting a fellow admiral about the situation. The admiral tries relaying supporting worries, but the signal begins to cut out. As he tries to reconnect communications, his base is bombed by a plane. The plane sends out a signal to “Commence Zero Hour”. Tessa sends her troops into full alert, including Sergeant Kurtz Webber (Vic Mignogna) and Second Lieutenant Melissa Mao (Allison Keith), suit up in their own Arm Slaves.

Sosuke, meanwhile, is reading news about global communications disruptions while trying to protect Kaname. Now that her status as a Whispered is known to their enemy, it’ll be harder, maybe even impossible, for them to maintain normal lives, and MITHRIL might not even be able to keep them alive. Sosuke considers asking her to run away with him when he receives word of a fellow pilot about to pick them up…and notices they’re surrounded by enemies, human and AS alike.

OUR TAKE

Wow, what a way to through us back into the fray! Considering the nearly triple space between seasons compared to the time between the first and Second Raid, I was expecting more of a recap of the whole situation for new viewers, but not so. It’s right into the heat, with new threats already making their first moves and all the reminders of what makes this show such a standout, especially in the mecha genre.

Full Metal Panic has two major components, the grizzled military drama with a hint of sci-fi, and the complex developing romance of our two leads, both of which are highlighted sufficiently here. AMALGAM’s initial strike is quick, planned, and effective, and while you’ll need to be caught up on the show’s previous stories (which I absolutely recommend because they’re the BEST), Sosuke and Kaname’s relationship is still as cute and wholesome as ever.

Something the typical viewer may not know about FMP’s history is its jumping around animation studios. The first season from 2002 was completed by GONZO, known for swinging wildly in animation quality. Its spin-off, Fumoffu, and the sequel, Second Raid, were produced by Kyoto Animation, a high profile studio who is best known for shows like Haruhi Suzumiya and K-ON. But for whatever reason, Invisible Victory is done by Xebec, provider of trashy harem anime, not that you could tell from this episode, which handles itself quite nicely in the visuals (although I am worried about how much of the eventual mecha fights will be in CGI).

Also of note is the return of virtually all of the cast from previous series dubs, including Chris Patton (FMA, Black Cat), Luci Christan (One Piece, D Gray Man), and Hilary Haag (DN Angel, Chrono Crusade), who voiced the principal characters from day one. And it’s especially nice to see the return of Chris Ayers to voice acting after his recovery from treatment for COPD, and surprising since I’d always thought his character was made for the comedy spin-off and would never show up in the main plot.

Full Metal Panic has a special place in my heart as one of the first things I stumbled upon when I started getting really serious about anime, and I’m honored to cover its return to the airwaves. It’s a shame the season will only be twelve episodes, but I look forward to seeing this story continue in the meantime.

Score 8/10