Catalyst Castle

I recently finished watching the anime series Full Metal Panic!, so here's my review:

The series follows Sousuke Sagara, a member of the covert anti-terrorist mercenary group Mithril, tasked with protecting Kaname Chidori, a spirited Japanese high school girl.

Unbeknownst to Chidori, she is a specially gifted person called a "Whispered", and has highly sensitive technological secrets locked away inside her brain. This is what makes her a prime target for certain terrorist organizations.

In order to protect her, Sagara infiltrates Chidori's high school, posing as a transfer student. He is only 17 himself, but is an accomplished soldier. He was born in the fictional, war-torn country of Helmajistan, and has been fighting on battlefields since he was 8 years old. For this reason he finds it very difficult to integrate into normal high school life. That's where a lot of the comedy in the show comes from.

The story starts out rather light-hearted with Sagara receiving his assignment and struggling to fit in to high school society while keeping a watchful eye on Chidori. The action comes in fairly quickly though when a group of terrorists manage to kidnap Chidori and her entire class. Sagara springs into action, with the aid of his fellow agents, to rescue her and the class. I like that right from this first encounter they establish pretty clearly that Chidori is not a damsel in distress, but is a brave and competent young woman. While she doesn't have the skills that Sagara has, she keeps a cool head under pressure and helps devise a plan to enable their escape. The series progresses with three major plot arcs, each raising the stakes for both of the main characters.

This struck me as a very well developed and balanced anime. The main plot was very serious in tone, with daring heroics and tragic consequences, while they still managed to insert a fair amount of humor throughout. There was also a good balance of action, plot, and character development. The supporting cast, including Sagara's fellow mercenaries and Chidori's classmates, were very colorful and interesting in their own right and did much to enhance the show. There are two continuations to this series, so obviously the ending couldn't wrap up the story entirely, but it was a satisfying conclusion nonetheless.

This anime was produced by a studio called Gonzo which does some of my favorite modern animation. The animation is very crisp, vibrant, and dynamic. They make use of CGI effects for some scenes, including the outside shots of Mithril's submarine. The character designs also have a very fresh, flashy style that I prefer. The soundtrack was fine, but not outstanding. The Japanese voice acting seemed to fit the characters well, but I didn't listen to any of the English dubs.

Now, in spite of the various good things this show has going for it, and even with the absence of anything I really disliked about it, I don't feel particularly compelled to buy it like I do with most of my favorite anime. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because, with two continuations to the series that I still haven't seen, I just haven't got the whole story yet. After I see the follow-up series maybe I can make a better judgment of the entire franchise.

Roleplaying
Because of my obsession with roleplaying games, I tend to watch most movies and shows with an eye for what I could take from it and apply to gaming. Here are some ideas from Full Metal Panic!.

A Soldier in Civilian Clothing: This series wasn't actually one of my inspirations for the "Freshmen Agents" RPG I thought of running with the BESM system, but I did find myself mining it for ideas for that game. Sagara's awkward position as an agent undercover in a normal high school produced a lot of plot ideas I'll probably twist, reconfigure, and reuse in "Freshmen Agents".

Recurring Villain: I don't think it's giving too much away to say that, yep, that bad guy from the first story arc is going to show up again. I don't believe I've ever really used a recurring villain in an RPG before, at least not to good effect. I think I should give that a try, as recurring villains can be powerful motivators for protagonists, especially if the villain is tied in with the hero personally some how.