FMP! The Second Raid - 13 (END) October 19
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Summary:
In the aftermath of the explosion, Sousuke is approached by his comrades who tell him that his friends have engaged Xia Yu Fang’s AS. Sousuke learns that the Arbalest is being launched to him, and shortly after, it arrives. Sousuke is less than happy to see it until, feeling distraught after hearing of Chidori’s death; that is, until he hears a voice behind him, a very familiar female voice…Chidori’s. After beating him up a bit to release her own anger, Chidori she motivates him into going to help his friends and settle things. Meanwhile, Clouzot in his M9 is being beaten pretty badly by the Codarl-class AS. After Clouzot’s AS suffers some major damage, he notices a group of five Venoms nearby. Their target seems to be Xia Yu Fang and, after Gates dangles her sister’s dead body in front of her, he impales and destroys her. Once that’s done, Gates turns his sights on the crippled M9. However, a blast from a nearby rooftop chips his red armor, courtesy of no other than Sousuke and the Arbalest. In a brilliant firefight, Sousuke moves from Venom to Venom, defeating each one. As they progress, Sousuke and Al start to synchronize their thoughts and speech. To finish off Gates, Sousuke uses the Lambda drivers to completely shatter his opponents AS while not harming Clouzot’s M9, which Gates was using as a shield. With the battle over, Sousuke contacts command and tells them that he’ll be abandoning the Arbalest. When Al asks, Sousuke replies that his problem, no, their problem, has been solved. He then climbs out and returns to Chidori and the two fly back to Japan. He returns to MITHRIL at one point to change his contract: he wants to go to school while also working for MITHRIL. Despite some initial resistance, the officers agree to let him have his way. Afterwards, he apologizes to Tessa for the way he acted before, and he actually addresses her by her first name, which makes her incredibly happy. Back in Tokyo, after another Sousuke-screws-up incident, Chidori finally breaks down crying in front of him, hitting him for leaving her alone back then. Kyouko approaches them from behind and wonders if Sousuke did something weird again. On the train home, Sousuke asks Chidori about what she was trying to say before in Hong Kong, but she doesn’t answer, instead holding onto his sleeve. It seems that everything is back to normal.
You know what impresses me most about this episode?
I expected this to be mostly action, with some epilogue at the end. This episode turns out to not only have the action and ending that I wanted, but it also adds comedy and drama that I did not expect to see in a single (albeit extended) episode. Chidori’s return was funnier than I remember, bringing much humor to a serious scene. But then it becomes serious just the same, as Chidori is unable to confess her feelings to Sousuke, and then motivates him to fight. And Tessa’s little dance at the end is just too cute and funny. The other part that I really enjoy is the additional ending (compared to the novel) on the train. Although the two of them haven’t been able to confess their feelings to each other, they certainly have gotten a lot closer over the course of all this.
There a boatload of changes from the novels to the animated adaptation. The basics of the story are the same, but the little details changed: who arrives to tell Sousuke of the ongoing battle, how Gates presents Xia Yu Lan to Xia Yu Fang, how Xia Yu Fang dies, etc. I could go on for a long while listing each one, but since none of them terribly impacted the story, there’s really no need. The only complaint I have with the episode is the usage of the opening song at the climax of the battle. It makes the scene feel a tad cheesy, similarly to the effect Number One has in Bleach. Not that I didn’t love that scene anyway; it’s just so freaking pretty.
And now that The Second Raid is over, where do we go from here? Life is back to normal for Sousuke and Chidori (with Wraith still guarding her) and the MITHRIL team, but Leonard is still on the loose, and Amalgam certainly hasn’t bowed down. There are several more novels to cover, with the next one being the A Dancing Very Merry Christmas, and then Continuing On My Own. However, it will probably be a (long) while before we see those animated (and I hope we do).
Final Thoughts: For fans of the Full Metal Panic! series, The Second Raid is a must-see. For everyone else, this is the latest incredible sequel to a very impressive series. The return of Sousuke and Chidori, along with several new faces, creates a new and thrilling story. Kyoto Animation does a tremendous job: not once did I think that the production quality dropped, something that is very rare with series these days. The only complaint? It leaves you wanting more. Here’s to hoping for several more FMP! series to come!
mae at 5:13 pm on October 19th, 2005
sousuke for teh win!
i’m happy that it’s over, yet at the same time, severely disappointed. now, just gotta wait patiently (for another couple of years) for DVMC =(
Rasmiel at 5:21 pm on October 19th, 2005
Holy ****! A knee to the face! O_O
Downloading the RAW now, hopefully, Sousuke learns Ramda Driver once and for all now -.-
bj0rN at 5:35 pm on October 19th, 2005
Surprisingly, it ended so quickly!!! I was thinking that it might be longer..
Huorfae at 6:41 pm on October 19th, 2005
hahha..couldn’t sleep well til i saw ur review!! lol. okie, seems pretty long til the nxt series, well. is wraith a guy or a girl? im betting on a SHE. =S OOO, cant wait to get all the episodes from my fren..splendid job for all the reviews!!
Anza at 6:54 pm on October 19th, 2005
Who was Wraith I never caught that but I thought it was revealed…
AvexMode at 8:12 pm on October 19th, 2005
For the next season (hopefully), they probably have to combined A Dancing Very Christmas and COMO since the christmas arc is not that really long.
mae at 8:30 pm on October 19th, 2005
i could see dvmc and como being combined into one 24 ep series, with possibly a couple of the side stories thrown in. but immediately after, theyd have to start animating burning one man force because the fans, including me, will be out for the animators’ blood for leaving it on a cliffhanger, considering how como ends.
flou at 10:27 pm on October 19th, 2005
I hope they announce a third raid soon. But this time, it has to be at least 24 episodes.
Fury at 11:37 pm on October 19th, 2005
IF u want to know who WRAIT IS contact me @ missninlink@gmail.com i know who she is XD
Fury at 11:43 pm on October 19th, 2005
its only a speculation but if u wanna know anyways contact me
Kuchiki--Byakuya at 12:27 am on October 20th, 2005
Wow. TSR has been a great series, and I loved the way it ended. though I wished it never end =( . I hope what is said isnt true and we dont have to wait a long time for DVMC and COMO to be animated. i couldnt take it =( its just to much. I guess i will have to rewatch FMP and fumoffu again and again and again until they animate it. They did a great job of building up the suspense, i wanted to slap Sousuke, i cant take it anymore, between him and Chidori. but never-the-less TSR has a GREAT plot and GREAT character development, and overall was a fantastic series. CANT WAIT FOR DVMC and COMO!!!!! I am sure they will do it justice like they did with the last 3. =)
yuz at 12:41 am on October 20th, 2005
huh.. it ended already quite sad sob..sob.. i thought it will at least go on for a little bit longer since it has been a while after fumoffu that we get TSR anyway good job..great anime and hope to see more of it adios
aikming at 2:25 am on October 20th, 2005
Man, they squeeze so much in one episode and even I was impressed with how things work out. FMP TSR also seems tight up but not in the last episode. I think they end it very well since the last couple of episodes were pretty “crap”. But they ended the series nicely. Arbalest won, Tessa & Chidori is happy, Sousuke still alive in spirit, enemy defeated.
FMP TSR, what an amazing anime!
Nanami Kamimura at 5:43 am on October 20th, 2005
You said sometime before that the last Ep would be a cliffhanger. But it not only surprised that the animators decided to finish everything in one blow. Even I don’t understand how she got into Hong Kong (without a passport). I’m thinking it was Wraith, but I could be wrong. At least, though, Kaname and Sous’ke were back together again.
But there’s still Leonard and the Amalgam, and they must have those ends tied up, but we got to have a very satisfying ending to one chuck full of drama. We may wait a long time before we see those animated, but I can’t wait till it is localized (especially here in the Philippines, where FMP’s 1st season is being shown).
Thanks for filling me with everything, Omni!
aikming at 8:57 am on October 20th, 2005
Wow, I just finish watching episode 13, it was excellent. I can say the battle was the best of all battle. Dont want to spoil too much ehre but, the last punch, with all the music and emotion, makes all the 13 episode worthwhile. I replay and watched the battle for 4 times! Going for one more time
Arbalest ’s cool!!!
Kahn27 at 4:16 pm on October 20th, 2005
Yup ! I saw the episode this morning which is great but I am a bit disappointed. The battle is very short. And all along the serie, we saw step by step how sousuke felt. Just time to snap fingers and all is OK again, he is ready to fight and so on…..also, he doesn’t have much time to cry for Chirdori’s “death”. For me, it is clear that all couldndn’t be dealt in one episode. The end is really great, but definitively, this serie needed more than 13 épisodes. Like many people here, it’s been a LONG time that an anime didn’t please me like this !!! As all of your guys, I hope that another season will come !!
Rasmiel at 9:05 pm on October 20th, 2005
Fukuda should watch this anime and learn what a real ending of an anime should be like >.>
Awesome season. Didn’t think they would be able to pull everything together with such short notice.
chdri at 8:22 pm on October 21st, 2005
I WANT MORE FMP!!!!!!!!!!!
Over :( at 2:16 am on October 22nd, 2005
Nooooo…..it’s over for another (?) year……..I need more FMP!
bangsters at 1:41 am on October 23rd, 2005
watched ep 13 finally…WOW…i need to add the dvds to my collection of the 1st FMP…
….damn this episode was more than thumbs up for me. Very detailed and was able to end the series with a bang. very impressive, worth watching over and over again.
…now i feel like i want to contribute my share with FMP fans. FMP fansite? or hosting others’ FMP site?