FMP: Fumoffu - Final Thoughts
Well, eleven out of twelve ain't bad. And, paradoxically, the worst episode may have been the best episode... which makes no sense at all, but bear with me.
FMP:F is a comedy series about a teenaged boy who has grown up fighting wars as a mercenary, and knows nothing else. Oh, sure, ask him to blow something up, or shoot someone, he's your guy, no question! Ask him to flirt with a girl, though...
...see, he doesn't know what flirting is. He's never done it, never HAD to do it. He asks one of his classmates, who tells him it's a "girl hunt," and... well, this is the result:
Yup... fish outta water, that's Sagara. So what's he doing in school?
more...
Posted by: HC at September 04, 2007 09:15 PM (V+5Zy)
2
The Girl Hunt episode was my favorite. If only for Wife Chodori. Oy!
Posted by: Mob at September 05, 2007 12:42 AM (f+cPk)
3
I'm still new to the whole anime thing. Having only watched a handful of episodes from four different series, I would have to agree with your comments. I'm currently watching two series, the original "Full Metal Panic" and "Divergence Eve" and I have to say that as a newbie Full Metal Panic is entertaining, humorous and easily "accessible" to someone still learning what's what when it comes to anime. That is in comparison to Divergence Eve where I feel like there's something I'm just "not getting". Sounds like the entire FMP series might be exactly like the first... light fun entertainment (which there's definitely a place for).
Posted by: madmike at September 06, 2007 06:44 AM (o+iiH)
4
Mike, I'll be honest with you: I dislike the first series of FMP. It didn't click with me at all. The humor seemed weak, the rest of the show too grim, for me to really get into it... or WANT to.
Obviously, FMP:Fumoffu is far from grim (except for the last episode), with a lot more of teh funnay. It took watching two entire episodes on an ADVocates Screener DVD and laughing the entire time for me to go out and pick the series up... and a bit of insanity.
So I'm not sure that the entire series is like Fumoffu, nor am I sure that it SHOULD be. I think that 12 episodes was the right length: they were repeating storylines (rugby/yakuza training, for the most obvious example), and that's a BAD thing in a short series.
I CAN see that FMP could be 'accessable', though, and that's a great thing. Just because it wasn't my flavor of the month doesn't mean it can't be yours! Plenty of anime to go around, after all!
Posted by: Wonderduck at September 06, 2007 03:53 PM (DMnkh)
5
I can definitely see now what everyone meant the first time I asked about "where to start" with anime and everyone said..."just because I liked it doesn't mean you will". Wiser words were never spoken. It's been a fun learning experience so far!
Posted by: madmike at September 07, 2007 04:14 AM (o+iiH)
6
Ooh...thanks for the Tessa shot. She was always my favorite character in the first series (which I liked)...mostly because she's cute.
Posted by: Arson55 at September 08, 2007 04:24 PM (6drOH)
FMP: Fumoffu: First Impressions
It's a heavily-armed romantic comedy.
...and I love it. I've just watched the first eight episodes, and I can't tell you how many times I've broken out laughing. Sagara and Chidori are great characters; I like them both a LOT more in this than I did in the original series.
Of course, FMP:F doesn't take itself anywhere NEAR as seriously as the original does. It's a flat-out, full-fledged comedy. Paper-fan level violence abounds (though the rugby episode has some more violent violence in it, even that's more in the way of 'Three Stooges' than 'Platoon').
So far, most episodes are made up of two 12-minute stories. This keeps the humor fresh, I'm finding; what works for 12 minutes might drag for 24... in fact, the few full-length episodes have proven to be the weakest, in my view.
This is not to say that they're bad. 'Weakest' in this context means that they're earning a solid 'B' grade instead of an 'A'.
I didn't realize this when I bought the series, but it's animated by Kyoto Animation... the same people who've brought us Kanon 2006, Air TV, Haruhi Suzumiya, and Lucky Star. As you can guess, it's frickin' beautiful, though not quite as lush as those series (though there ARE moments...).
More to come when I finish, but right now I'd give this a hearty two wingtips up and a big 'recommended' for anybody looking for a laugh.
I thought Gonzo did a decent job on the first series. My problem with it was the story, not the animation production. But evidently the author decided to let KyoAni have the title after the first series.
Posted by: Steven Den Beste at September 02, 2007 06:23 PM (+rSRq)
Recently Acquired
Ten days or so ago, in a fit of depression, I paid a visit to the local BigBlueBox store and picked up ADV's thinpack for Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. I'd seen 2 episodes of it via screener disc a while ago, so I didn't go in blind, but it's odd, 'cause...
...well...
...I don't like FMP. I hated the first series, and what I've seen of the "2nd Raid" did nothing to change my mind. So why did I buy this?
It's a comedy, and one that doesn't much take itself seriously. That's about my speed at the moment, so I'll give it a watch and get back to you... there are worse ways to spend a Sunday.
Posted by: Wonderduck at
05:32 PM
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