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Review* Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu by Anthony (Kurosaki Ichigo) Original Air Date: August 25 - Nov 11, 2003 Network: Fuji TV Official Web Site: Click Here |
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| Kaname and Sousuke are back for another go, but not in the way you think. "Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu" is the second installment in the FMP series. It is not exactly a sequel, but more like a look into what was going on at Jindai High School with Sousuke and Kana-chan during the original 26 episodes of FMP. There are no Arm Slaves, no Lambda Drivers, and no terrorists. Fumoffu is your average high school romantic comedy, without being average whatsoever. The crazed high jinks are all about Sousuke’s inability to fit in with the “Peaceful Environment” of Japan. In other words, it is all about laughing at seeing a square piece try to fit into a round hole; the old “fish out of water” bit. It may seem like it could get dull after a little while, but the over the top nonsense keeps it fresh and hilarious. The first DVD installment of Fumoffu includes the first three episodes of the show. Two of which are divided into 10 minute mini-episodes. The second you boot up the DVD, you can see the kookiness of the show as the main menu looks just like the ones from the first season DVDs with the exception of a chibi Sousuke and chibi Kaname walking across the screen. The episodes featured on the DVD are “The Man from the South”, which shows how Sousuke deals with a secret admirer and her lover letter (and yes, a sniper rifle is involved). Hostage with No Compromises” is the controversial episode that was not shown on Japanese TV due to its portrayal of a child kidnapping, a serious problem that was occurring in Japan at the time. The second two part adventure is “Hostility Passing-By”, and “A Fruitless Lunchtime”. One being about an attempted sabotage of the school’s baked goods, and the latter involving a lunchtime race by our favorite miss-matched duo to retrieve a notebook from Sousuke’s place. Episode three, the full length episode entitled “Summer Illusion of Steel”, has the class going on a field trip to the beach and includes a rescue mission by Sousuke. Each episode has plenty of side-splitting comedy, gun-toting action, and a nice balance of very “kawaii” moments between the characters (remember it is still is a romantic comedy, just in its own unique way). The show does include new characters into the mix, although it does not develop them much yet, they are still an important part of the mix. Other features on the DVD include “the mysteries of FUMOFFU”, clean opening and closings, character artwork, and the original Japanese TV spots. For the most part it is your basic “oh woop-dee-doo” extras, nothing special but at least there is something there. The artwork in FUMOFFU is top-notch; it is definitely right up there with the best looking shows coming out now. The colors are greatly displayed and everything is very vibrant. The original series had a great style and it now just looks better. There is less CG used in this one; and because of that in the rare occasions that there is CG, it blends right in with the regular art. All the Japanese voice actors have returned from the first season and deliver another great job. Unfortunately, the English voice actors are back too, and deliver yet another piss poor job. Chris Patton does not fit as Sousuke at all. Instead of sounding like a stern, military guru, Sousuke sounds like an obedient flake who is a wuss. The same goes for Luci Christian as Kaname. Much like most female anime characters dubbed into English, she sounds like an idiot whose voice is like a switchblade in the ear. I won’t even mention Monica Rial as Kyoko, all I’ll say is I’ve had more fun at the dentist then hearing her voice. Also in the dub, every character mispronounces Kaname’s last name (Chidori); they do not pronounce it as “Chee-dore-ee” but as “Chi-der-ee” with the first syllable having the stress and sounding like you would say the word “chicken”. There are other problems with the dub that I will not even waste time on, it is just plain terrible. To fully enjoy this show, I feel you must watch it subbed with the Japanese voice actors. Satsuki Yukino as Kaname and Tomokazu Seki as Sousuke capture the personalities of the characters perfectly. This show is by far one of my favorites that I have seen in the past year. It is ridiculously funny, has great art, good music, and I can watch it over and over. The short episodes are perfect for the ones that follow this structure. They are just the right length that they will make you laugh a great amount but not drag out too much where it becomes less funny. I actually saw all of Fumoffu before I even saw the first season of FMP, and I still thought it was awesome. If you just know a little bit about the story of the first season, you can easily enjoy Fumoffu and I’m sure you will love it. I highly recommend this show and DVD 1 to everybody. UMO!” Sub: B+ Dub: D- Animation/Art: A Music: B Overall*: A |
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