After the comedy antics of 'Full Metal Panic: Fumoffu' this series sees Sgt Sousuke Sagara of 'Mithril' return to front line action in a direct sequel to the original series. Sousuke is still undercover at Jindai High School protecting Kaname Chidori however his frequent absences due to secret operations elsewhere lead her to fear he will fail at school. These operations are against an organisation known as Amalgam which has equipment that surpasses that of Mithril. Amalgam is led by Gates; a somewhat crazed individual who is plotting to start a war in a divided China. Events lead to Sousuke questioning his role in Mithril as conflict threatens to engulf Hong Kong.
This series is much more serious in tone than Fumoffu. That doesn't mean it is totally without humour but the humour certainly takes a back seat... instead we get plenty of impressive action and a fair amount of angst. Our protagonists are fun as are many of the villains... even if Gates was a little over the top for my liking, just a bit too much of the pantomime villain. The assassins, twins Xia Yu Lan and Xia Yu Fan, were more interesting characters as they were at least a bit sympathetic. The animation is impressive; especially during the action scenes. Away from the main action the Sousuke/Kaname plot works nicely and leads to some emotional moments, as well as most of the comedy. Overall a solid series; I'm glad I finally caught up with it.
These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.
This series is much more serious in tone than Fumoffu. That doesn't mean it is totally without humour but the humour certainly takes a back seat... instead we get plenty of impressive action and a fair amount of angst. Our protagonists are fun as are many of the villains... even if Gates was a little over the top for my liking, just a bit too much of the pantomime villain. The assassins, twins Xia Yu Lan and Xia Yu Fan, were more interesting characters as they were at least a bit sympathetic. The animation is impressive; especially during the action scenes. Away from the main action the Sousuke/Kaname plot works nicely and leads to some emotional moments, as well as most of the comedy. Overall a solid series; I'm glad I finally caught up with it.
These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.